Good Week So Far :)

Nothing extra special to report, but it’s been a good week so far. Last night we went to Jordan’s 13th birthday party at Rob & Alise’s house. Is my sweet niece really a teenager?! This is crazy, life really is so cliché isn’t it? Time really does fly by, and kids do grow up way too fast, and I’m getting old!! I love it though, I don’t want my girls to ever grow up, but I am looking forward to getting closer to them as they get older and having great talks with them, and going shopping together. I mean really shopping, not the kind we do now, with Kayla screaming the whole time and hiding in the clothes racks, and Eva talking her into doing things she shouldn’t, like running away from mommy. Yes, I am THAT mom at the store that can’t control her kids! They always talk me into the big huge shopping cart that fits two small children, and they never sit in it! They’re always running around and touching things they shouldn’t. That is why I have started grocery shopping on my lunch breaks, that’s been a wonderful solution.

Because Kayla’s birthday is next week, I want to make sure I report her milestones as she turns three. She’s almost three feet tall! And she weighs around 27 pounds. She’s still a tiny little thing, but her feet are huge! She wears an 8 ½ size shoe and fits perfectly into 3T clothes now. She drags around a “cozy” blankie everywhere she goes, we have about 7 of them in every color. She is pretty much potty-trained but I still like to put a pull-up on her at night. She’s wonderful, funny, and has a sparkle in her eye when she smiles that melts my heart every time.

While I am updating milestones, I must mention Eva too because she is going to be exactly 8 ½ on Kayla’s birthday (something that we’ll have to celebrate too of course). Eva weighs 67 pounds and is around 4’3” tall. She wears size 2 shoes and pretty much a size 8 in clothes, I just love her in jeans. She is growing out of Hannah Montana, but she still likes the Cheetah Girls and Jonas Brothers. She’s a daddy’s girl, loves to play Rock Band, and loves to read. She’s sassy, very helpful and giving, and is wise beyond her years. She is the best big sister, and will always be my “baby”.

I love you, girls!

Feeling Better

Eva was feeling lots better today, so that made Kayla feel better today too. I kept her home from school because I thought it would be best if she rested and drank a lot of water. When I came home at lunchtime to see them, Kayla had already bit, hit and punched Eva in the eye this morning and both were wearing very pretty dresses. I asked Kayla why she did that to her sister, and she said, "because I'm crabby!" with the biggest smile on her face. Eva does a really good job of just taking it and not retaliating, but I know the bigger Kayla gets, the more Eva's going to want to hit her back. Don't get me wrong, Eva does her share of provoking her sister, but she's just sneakier about it. There are way too many emotional women at our house! They both had dance tonight, and I'm so glad it's Friday tomorrow!

Little Eva's Not Feeling Well

Yesterday, we had to take Eva to the doctor's because her stomach was hurting her very bad the whole morning, and it was making me nervous because she wasn't throwing up or running a fever. Then, the fever started. And the doctor told us she has a urinary tract infection, my poor Eva. I had them when I was little quite a bit, so she's not very happy about those inherited genes! But what I am most concerned about is that our family has a history of serious kidney problems. They usually do not end up causing problems until early adulthood, but I am going to be as proactive as I can and keep my eye on her. Oh and, of course, Kayla was "sick" yesterday too because Eva was :) She had a stomachache too (not) and needed "medicine" too. I think someone is used to being the baby and getting all of the attention! But we babied her anyways and it was seriously like I had two sick children yesterday :) I am so thankful that the company I work for believes family comes first and I am always able to take the time off to take care of the girls. I am sure tomorrow will be a better day for Eva.

Sweet Surrender

I know I have an idea of how I would like the day to go, and what I need to get done today, but I also know it will not go the way I expect. It is going to go according to God’s plan, not mine, and I need to be ready for what comes today. God, I know work is going to be busy, and I probably will not be able to finish everything I need to get done. But please help me to put my co-workers first, and be kind and helpful to them. I know the girls are not going to listen to me today, and they will probably argue with each other many times today, but please help me to be patient with them, to realize that they are just being kids, and to build them up while I am disciplining them, and not tear them down. God, please guard my tongue today. I am up for the many challenges that today brings because I know You will be with me and will give me what I need.

Fire in Fenton

An apartment caught fire early yesterday morning in Fenton. Thankfully, noone died but the whole building was destroyed and everyone living there lost everything they had. The girls and I went to the complex this morning to drop off some things, and it was just very sad. There were lots of donated items and it was very nice to see everything that people had brought in. But these people need furniture very bad right now. I saw a young guy in the leasing office this morning that I had met a few weeks ago when I was moving out of my apartment. He is part of a church missionary group and he came to my apartment door and asked if I needed help moving. He was so nice, and he remembered my name when I saw him this morning. I found out that they lived in the apartment building that burned down and they lost everything too. And they were there volunteering in the office this morning, offering their help to the other people that lost their homes. He even offered to help me again with anything I needed. My heart just goes out to him and his friends. Eva and I also learned this morning that Kayla is not into sharing or donating just yet. Eva put together some stuffed animals this morning to donate and when we were in the leasing office today, Kayla saw her stuffed snake and totally freaked out! The lady there gave it back to her, and Kayla was all smiles again. She doesn't quite get it just yet, but it was pretty funny. If anyone out there reading this has any furniture they would like to donate, please let me know.

Link to an article:
http://www.mlive.com/news/flint/index.ssf/2009/02/fire_at_silver_lake_hills_apar.html

Happy Valentine's Day!

Presents!

We spent the morning making candy iPods,

gotta love Eva's Irish flair!

They "listened" to them all morning :)

I love you so much, Eva & Kayla, Happy Valentine's Day!!

Love, Mom
xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxo

Pictures from Super Bowl Sunday

The girls and I spent SuperBowl Sunday together and we had such a fun night. We baked a football cake and the girls decorated it with their Playmobil people for Arizona and Pittsburgh. And they took a shower together before bedtime. It was Kayla's first shower! She kept saying, "Mom, this is so fun!" and it took her until her second shower to realize that she did not have to bend all the way over to rinse her hair. They love taking showers together now. And afterwards, I braided their hair so it was all wavy the next day, here are the before and after pictures.

So busy!

January really flew by for us and so much has been going on, good things and not-so-good things. Our very special Aunt Becky passed away a couple weeks ago. She is the aunt that my sister Becky is named after, and Eva’s middle name too. It was very sad and I’m sure extremely hard for my dad because it was the first time he had lost a sibling. We’ve been very fortunate on my dad’s side, he has a very large family, but Aunt Becky’s health was failing her and it was just very sad to get the news. More bad news (I’ll get it all out first), Dad has not been feeling very good lately and I’m really scared that his cancer is getting worse. He had a small medical procedure on Friday, so maybe that is why he has not been feeling well, but it just makes me scared. I hate cancer and everything about it, and I especially hate it that my dad has to suffer like this. He has fought for so long, and I know the last thing he wants to do is give up. But how long can you keep fighting when you feel so sick all the time? I still believe a miracle will happen to him though, I really do. More bad news came on Thursday, and it was because my mom was drunk again, and I think my step-dad is just fed-up with it all. FINALLY! That poor man has been more than patient as far as I’m concerned, but because I am going to try to be positive and believe that my mom is not going to drink again, I’m just going to stop here. But it got really bad on Thursday and the last thing I would have wanted to be doing was picking her up off the floor. Alcoholism is so complex and so sad and the damage it does is deeper than the alcoholic realizes. Now for the good news! The girls are great and sassy as ever, and we moved! We got a great house in Linden, with a huge yard. We love it, and there are deer and wild turkeys in the backyard every single morning. It’s exactly what we needed and I’m going to have a big birthday party for Kayla as a house-warming party next month. That’s all for the good news, but it’s enough, the girls are healthy and we’re just very happy and looking forward to some much needed warm weather!