Toe Dilemma

   Ok so this is kinda gross what Im going to show ya (as a parent not so much, Ive seen worse) but Im writing this as a warning & it was really kinda scary! 

This is my 2 year olds toe the other day...

This picture was at the doctor on monday. She was curling her toes around because she thought I was going to touch it! 

So, lets back up a sec & Ill tell ya all about it. 

I noticed on Sunday her toe was a little red on the outside edge, I thought Oh no, she's probably getting an ingrown toenail. 

Monday morning when I was getting her dressed it was still red & there was pus, GREAT! 

So my anxiety instantly kicks in... I have 6 houses to clean in 3 days, its the week before Christmas, I need to get this taken care of before we leave to go back home, Call the doctors office, of course they cant see her today...take her to urgent care, Is it just an ingrown toenail, everybodys making me doubt myself , I feel stupid, I feel stupid canceling one of my houses for an ingrown toenail, its gotta hurt, she doesnt act like it hurts & 100 other thoughts that raced through my head!! 

So I did cancel one of my houses, & headed up to urgent care. 

By the time I had picked her up from daycare (just before 1:00) her toe was purple! Ok, now I dont feel so stupid just taking her for an ingrown toenail (cuz thats how they make ya feel ya know!) 

When we got to urgent care, I filled out about 30 minutes worth of paper work... Then they tell me its a 3 hour wait!! (Guess I shouldve asked first, live & learn)

And you know they are looking at me thinking, really, its an ingrown toenail, go home & soak it in some epsom salt... Also, let me add, she has a Christmas program at 5:15 & I really didnt want to miss it!

 So long story short... I left, found another urgent care that didnt have as long of wait, got her toe looked at. The doctor was wonderful, he said you absolutely needed to get her in here immediately, those infections spread like wildfire, especially on toes. He gave her 2 kinds of antibiotics, swabbed it for a culture & said it looked like either a staph or strep infection- YIKES!! 

How in the heck did she get that?!? He said we have those bacterias all over our body, she could've jammed in on something & that could cause the bacteria to move in. 

I felt stupid taking her to "urgent" care for a silly little ingrown toenail (so I thought) but in a 24 hour time span when her toe went from normal to purple, I knew something wasnt right. What wouldve happened if I had waited?!? Always trust your gut mamas & daddys out there!! 

I had a bad experience when Reese was 7 months old, she had a UTI, I will write about that someday, its a long story, that was very scary & I still have regrets about how I handled that. 

I knew something wasn't right, but sometimes others out there make you feel stupid or doubt yourself (Especially as a first time mom!) I try & tell myself that, but easier said than done!! 

Oh & we did make it back in time for her program... I flew home & changed her in the parking lot, but we made it! Ill post pics of that soon :) 

**UPDATE** we got the culture back & it was in fact a staph infection... Luckily the antibiotics cleared it up almost immediately**

Some Fun Ornaments

  Hope you're all doing well & getting ready for Christmas! I just love the way my house looks at Christmas, I really wish my house could feel as cozy & warm all year long with all the lights & the candles & all the decor! For some reason Christmas lights & all the cozy things dont go over so well when its 100 degress outside & all you want to do is stay cool. 

  This year I've had a little "elf" helping me all along the way, she even wants to help wrap presents & thats always interesting to see what she comes up with! 

               (My little elf) 

 I swear she is the best kid ever! She has never (not even last year when she was one either) touched the tree, unless I told her to help, she did help me put on some of the bottom ornaments. She has not touched one single wrapped present under the tree! I have to admit I was a little nervous putting wrapped presents under the tree so early (my tree has been up since mid nov.) I thought for sure she would be trying to unwrap or at least carry around the presents, nope! Not at all! Now this #2 that comes along, I'm sure it'll be a whole different story!! 

Anyway, so this year she helped me make her Christmas list ornament. Last year I did it in red ... 

I just took a glue pen & wrote the year & some polka dots, sprinkled with glitter & put her list inside. I had a pad of aged looking paper so I like to use that to give it a vintage look. 

This year Reese wanted to put the glitter on...she picked green :) Lets just say there will be glitter in the playroom for the rest of my life! 

She also wanted to help make her list, so I let her draw & we put that in her ornament too. It'll be cute to look back at her scribbles someday :) 

Tie it up with some red raffia & done!  

Last year I made a salt dough ornament with her handprint. I saw the picture on Pinterest, ours turned out pretty good considering when I tried to make her handprint she wanted to squish her hand all around! 

Im sure you've all seen these around... This year instead of doing the salt dough ornaments I bought a plaster ornament & Im going to modge podge her picture on it (Ill show that later.) We're taking her to see Santa today, so if that picture turns out good Ill use that one! 

Kelly :)

Christmas!!

  Now that Ive got all my shopping & wrapping done, (yes done! I have never been done this early- ever!!) I can concentrate on sharing my decor & fun projects Ive been doing. Here's some pictures of my "mantel." 

That little wire wreath that I hung on the mirror is for my Christmas card display. 

I love that thing! It is the greatest for displaying cards! 

Our stockings with each of our letters on them... The "B" at the end is for baby... 

Its kind of ironic I bought that "B" stocking last year after Christmas for my stepdad (Bill) and I was going to try & find one of my mom with a "T" on it. I did find one with a "G" on it though (for grama) or Grohler. They always stayed at our house & we did Christmas Eve there. Mom always just brings all the stockings with her when they visit, so I was in the process of buying stockings for everyone, then we moved & I obviously wont be having Christmas at my house! Anyway, so this year I have two extra stockings.... a "B" (for Baby, or Boy) & a "G" (for girl) funny how that worked out! So for now I just have the "B" hanging for baby, because ya know we still arent telling the gender ;) 

I have been on the hunt for new stockings too, Either mine needs to be a different color, or Reese's... hers looks funny being the only cream one. I found some in a magazine I LOVED and they were personalized, but yikes- $35 a piece!! I may make some, not that I'll have anytime to do that in the near future! 

And remember my cute little dresser I got (yes its been about 3 months ago now)

That is going under my mantel if I ever get it finished! Its about halfway done now, but it got cold & I dont like to paint in the garage when its too cold. So Im probably going to have to bring it in the house & paint it...Maybe after Christmas!!

More projects to share later today!!! 

Kelly :) 

Almost 18 weeks!

How are y'all? Im a little behind, but Im almost to 18 weeks now. We found out last monday what the gender was but we arent telling yet!! I know, dont hate me! Im DYING to tell, but we know how we want to reveal it, so not too much longer & I'll share! And hopefully I dont slip along the way! So, here's my latest bump pics...

I really hate "selfies" but its about all I got right now... 

My husband did take this one... 

So, at 18 weeks the baby is the size of a mango (6" & weighs about 1/2lb) 

The heartbeat at my last appt was 143.

My cravings have been Monicals (and of course we dont have them down here) so watch out Monicals when I get back to IL!! Your going to have one hungry pregnant girl ready to eat!! And POP! Oh my what I wouldnt do for a big fat coke! Or cherry coke! I havent & wont have any though- I dont know why, Im just a freak about it I guess. I never had any caffeine with Reese & she's a pretty good, laid back kid, & I just know if I have it with this one it'll be all hyper & spazzy! Haha! The things I worry about! 

Ive gained about 6-7 pounds so far (thats according to my scale) 

I will post pics of our ultrasound as soon as I can! We got so many pictures from this last ultrasound & they are the 3D/4D, they are really great!! 

Its hard to believe Im almost halfway done already! 

Gosh I guess that is all I got for now! 

Thanks for reading... 

Kelly :)

16 Weeks

I hope you're all doing great! I had a dr appt yesterday & I am officially 16 weeks! I really cant believe Im that far already! Time has gone by so fast! 

So, everything went great, the baby is the size of a turnip this week (5in. & 5oz) 

The heartbeat was 155 & Ive gained 2lbs (according to the dr scale) They weigh me with clothes & shoes on, so I really dont know how accurate that is. I need to weigh myself at home, but I just dont do it often. I look & feel like Ive gained 20! And I cant believe we find out what it is on monday! Yay! 

I think Ive felt movement a few times, But its still a little early to say if thats what it was for sure. 

I havent had much for cravings, probably pizza would be my biggest thing, I really wish we had a Monicals here, that will be the first thing I eat when we go back for Christmas!! I did pig out on Thanksgiving dinner & that was pretty amazing! Ham, mashed potatoes & gravy, noodles, corn, deviled eggs, homemade rolls, pumpkin pie, pecan pie, & chocolate cream pie (that my neighbor lady made)... One happy belly!! 

So, here's my "bump" this week...

Until next time...

Kelly :) 

Holiday Shopping

Ok so here's my little rant for the day... Everyone is talking about boycotting certain stores for being open on Thanksgiving day... Im sorry but there's alot of people out there who dont mind working a holiday (I was one!) There are people that like the extra money & overtime or time & 1/2- some places pay double time if you work on a holiday. 

Keep in mind that the holidays aren't just a merry, jolly time for everyone! Some people dont have anywhere to go or any family around ( I spent one Thanksgiving at a bar because I didnt have anything else to do) 

Did you know the suicide rate is the highest this time of year? Because people get down that they dont have anyone, some people all they have is what they consider their "family" at work. 

 And whats also funny is bars & restaurants are open on holidays, & have been for years! Do you see people boycotting them? Nope! How many people go out to eat on Thanksgiving?? Even on the classic movie The Christmas Story they went to a restaurant (I know its just a movie, but really look how many restaurants are open on Thanksgiving!) 

Our grocery store was always open on Thanksgiving (they closed at noon & opened back up later) Did anyone boycott it? Nope, in fact there were alot of people getting things they forgot. 

I know several people that make it a tradition to go to movies on Thanksgiving night. And whats ironic is one person I know says "I just cant believe stores are open, thats just ridiculous!" Is also one that goes to movies on holidays!  So whats the difference?!? 

 Police officers, firefighters, gas stations, & anyone in the medical field has had to work holidays since forever & its funny how no one says anything about that, in fact police officers are usually the busiest on holidays because of domestics. 

How many people in the military cant be with their families? Or cant be home? 

My husband has to work Sundays sometimes, and no one blinks an eye at that. Sunday is supposed to be a day of rest, the Sabbath day, a day to rest & reflect on the Lord. Look at all the places open on Sundays, Im guilty, I shop on Sundays. Look at all the people that would rather be home with their families on Sundays. I would trade & have my husband work Thanksgiving to be home with us every weekend instead. 

Maybe we should all start boycotting stores on Sundays, then they'll start closing so people can spend time with their families then. Will that ever happen? Doubt it. 

I think its great that Hobby Lobby closes on Sundays, so their employees can spend time with their families. 

I am not a heartless person, I do feel sorry for those who have to work, I guess I just dont understand why all of a sudden this year everyone's ranting about places being open, when people have had to work for years. 

Do I plan on shopping on Thanksgiving Day? No, because I have family here to cook for, my shopping is almost done & what I do have left isnt anything that cant wait until later... 

My point is people really need to quit being so judgemental, & "throwing rocks" or stones or whatever it is. Everyone needs to step back & look at the big picture, everyone has a different story & circumstances.

 Just remember if you do go out shopping, maybe that cashier or waitress, or whoever is a lonely woman who doesnt have a family, maybe they lost their spouse & dont have any children & they would enjoy working instead of sitting at home by themselves. Maybe by having a conversation with them could make their day.  

However those that do "have" to work, that would rather be somewhere else, Im sorry for that. 

Now that Ive spoke my piece of mind, I hope you all have a safe & Happy Thanksgiving, no matter if your at home with your family, at a bar, or have to work.... And instead of taking one day or one month out of the year to be thankful, how bout count your blessings everyday :)

Pumpkin Crunch Cake

  This is my all time favorite fall dessert ever!! I have already made this twice this month & it probably doesnt help that its EXTRA good since Im pregnant, so thats double trouble! So here it is... 

PUMPKIN CRUNCH CAKE!! YUM!! 

Its easy to make too, so thats always a plus! 

You need: 

1- 15oz can of pumpkin

1- 12oz can of evaporated milk

4- eggs

1&1/2 cups white sugar

2 tsp. pumpkin pie spice

1 tsp. salt

1-pkg yellow cake mix

1 cup chopped pecans

1 cup margarine- melted

Cool whip 

Preheat oven to 350. Lightly grease a 9x13 pan. 

In a large bowl, combine pumpkin, evaporated milk, eggs, sugar, pumpkin pie spice, & salt. Mix well & spread in pan. 

Sprinkle cake mix over the top of the pumpkin mixture & pat down. 

Sprinkle pecans over that & drizzle with melted margarine. 

Bake for 60-70 min & top with cool whip

Its AMAZING!!

I was going to share with her but I guess I'll have to get my own bowl... 

Hope you try this one out! It is great! 

Kelly :) 

Elmo cake

  My little girl loves Elmo & Abby, we had a birthday party for her when we went back to IL & I had a cake made for her for that. 

Since her actual birthday was just at home with the 3 of us, I wanted her to have a cake on her actual birthday, but didnt want to go out & buy another cake. 

So, I decided I'd try & make her an Elmo cake! 

I scoped out Pinterest for ideas & found nothing helpful. Any tutorial I found that I had in mind had to use an Elmo cake pan & I didnt want to mess with that, so I decided to free-hand it. 

It turned out pretty good considering I was winging it, but if I made it a second time I think it would turn out much better. I'll share with ya how I did it & what I would do different next time. Keep in mind I have no cake decorating skills what-so-ever, so dont laugh! 

Here is the final product... 

 

Ok so here's how I did it, first I just bought a box cake mix, I made it according to the directions & first poured 3 cupcakes full of batter, then the rest in a 9x13 pan & baked as directed. Here's my cupcakes...

I frosted 2 of them with the frosting out of the jar, then I took a little spoonful & mixed it with red & yellow food coloring to make orange for the nose...

You only need a little bit. 

Then I took the 9x13 cake & just cut around the edges to round the corners..

Then, I messed up, I iced the cake with the white frosting, next time I will make it red before I ice the cake (duh!) 

Then I drew on the mouth & the eyes with the black icing (sorry I didnt take a picture, it comes in a can with different tips in the baking aisle at Walmart) I believe its just called decorators icing. I havent ever used it before & I wasnt real impressed with it either (could be operator error- haha) but no, It was pretty greasy stuff! 

Luckily I had bought red too, so I had that for back up, so I spread it all around until I ran out & then just smoothed it out with a knife

Why I didnt just use the red food coloring... Because y'all know me! I cant get through a project without messing something up!! 

But after I got it all smooth it turned out decent, so it worked & of course she loved it!! 

If you look at where I wrote her name you can see the oils from that icing, that just shows ya how much oil is in that stuff... Yuck! 

So, here's what I would do next time: 

1) I would make my cupcakes bigger, Elmo's eyes & nose need to be bigger! 

2) I would color my frosting before I put it on the cake! 

3) I wasnt impressed with that frosting in a can. Again, could be me, I like the way the mouth turned out, but the way her name turned out I wasn't impressed with the way the oils came out around it. 

And maybe it would help if I had an ounce of cake decorating skills- haha! 

Anyway, that's all for now! Thanks for reading!! 

Kelly :) 

14 weeks

~* 14 weeks*~ 

  Well Ive relaxed alot more this week, maybe because Im out of my 1st trimester. I am 14 weeks & 1 day, the baby this week is the size of a naval orange (4&1/2" & weighs about 2-3oz.)        I've still been feeling really good, starting to get more energy back! I actually got all my Christmas stuff out, so Ill be posting pics of that soon :) 

  I still have no idea what the sex of the baby is, we find out Dec 2nd though, and then I'll get another ultrasound again right before Christmas, so hopefully we'll be able to tell in one of those! I have done about every gender predictor- wives tale test out there (just for fun) I havent ran out & bought anything yet because I really dont believe any of them. My husband says why do you even waste your time then... I dont know, I guess just to see how they work, who knows, Its something pregnant women do to pass the time? I dont know. 

  So far here's my results....

1) Chinese gender chart...Boy

2) Intelligender test.... Boy

3) String test... Girl

4) Baking Soda test.... Boy, then Girl

(1st time I did it, boy result, then used 1st morning urine, girl result) 

5) Skull Theory (yes, they say if you look at the sonogram pic & if the skull is more round, its girl, if its wider & flatter, boy) Can you really even tell at this point?? Ya got me!! 

  My mom also talked to a psychic like a year or so ago & she said that her daughter would have 2 girls... So, we'll see who/what is right! 

  Anyway, cravings havent been much different, I have really been in the mood for grilled cheese with pizza sauce on it, Ive eaten a few of those this week. Buffalo Mac & Cheese (homemade Mac & Cheese with Frank's Red Hot) thats been one if my favs this week too. Other than that, not a whole lot of anything has changed.

 Here is this weeks bump picture, again I never like pics of me, but if I dont keep it here "on my journal" then Ill forget so here it is... 

I think Im about the size here that I was with Reese at 17 weeks, which Ive heard with each one you show earlier or more or something like that...

That is all for now, thank you for reading :) 

Kelly~*

  

13 Weeks

   Whew! I made it... 13 weeks! First trimester is done! I had a dr appointment today & I swore after this appt I would calm down a little bit & try not to worry so much! Easier said than done. Ive only been going 2 weeks between appointments right now, but it has felt like an eternity! You never know how much hearing that little heartbeat means until there isnt one to hear. 

I nearly spun myself into an anxiety attack at the drs office today waiting (and I had to wait forever today too!) I know, I know, worrying doesnt help matters either, but have you ever tried not to worry about something? Ya... Worry is my middle name! 

Then, the little gal that took my blood pressure & stuff tried to listen first (Im guessing she was a nurse, but looked very young) she couldnt find anything... Ok dont freak out Kelly, I couldnt fight back the tears, I knew it, I knew something was wrong. Then she said "oh do you hear that" "oh its moving around alot in there"  No, No I dont hear it... I dont understand all the different noises, it all sounds like static to me, how do you know its not gas? Maybe my lunch digesting? 

So FINALLY my doctor came in & she found it almost immediately- WHEW! I have never been so relieved! The babys heartbeat was 164. Now that I am 13 weeks my risk for miscarriage decreases huge & so Im really hoping I can relax a little bit now! 

My dr has been so wonderful & supportive with me through all of this, Im so glad I found her, she is so understanding about everything. She always gives hugs (Ive never had a dr hug me ever, let alone every appt) and maybe thats the whole "southern way" and she says she's praying for me, such a sweet sweet lady! 

Other than that not much has changed in the last 2 weeks, I havent had too much for cravings. Im hungry all the time, but nothing really sounds good. Ive been making alot of soup (the cooler weather might have something to do with that though) 

Now watch this kid will be my picky eater, Reese, she'll eat just about anything-always has-  especially healthy. Maybe its because thats all Ive ever given her. I ate everything when I was pregnant with her, and I mean everything! I didnt care if it was healthy or not! 

Ive been sick about 3-4 times a week, always in the morning when Im brushing my teeth. Im still totally clueless as to what this baby's sex is, we should find out in about a month though :) 

Ok so Ill post this pic, but I need to do a retake or practice taking better selfies, because I dont think this is good at all, but it'll do for now... 

My 13 week bump... 

Thats all I have for now! Thank you to everyone who has said a little prayer for us, it really means the world! Ive also met some pretty amazing people in the past couple months & I just know that it was all part of Gods plan, he wanted us here for a reason! Its just so amazing just to see it all fall into place! 💝💝💝

Gender Prediction Test

  Ive been SO anxious since we've found out we were pregnant to find out the sex of the baby. With Reese I didn't want to know, I thought it would be fun to be surprised (but we found out, my husband couldnt wait!) 

 But not this time around! Im counting down the days until we can find out! I honestly do not care either way, I am just so blessed to even have another child- I really really didnt think we would have anymore. 

 So for fun I bought one of those over the counter gender prediction kits...

Im not holding my breath on this thing, because really its a 50/50 chance... The reviews were mixed on it, some said it worked everytime, others said dont waste your money. I thought it would be fun to see if it was right or not! 

Oh & I guess you want to know what it said huh!?! Well I followed the directions EXACTLY how it said & it said BOY!! 

 Also, the chinese gender chart (I know some people who SWEAR by it & let me just tell ya- it said boy with Reese too & look how accurate that was!) 

So I've got 2 boy results now, like I said I dont care either way, and I havent rushed out & started buying boy stuff yet either. Ill wait & see what my next ultrasound says ;) 

How about any of you? Ever did the gender test? And was it right? 

Happy Halloween!

   This mama is wore out after a very eventful week! 3 nights in a row of Halloween excitement- here is my cute little owl... 

 

This was the 1st night at her daycare, they had a little fall festival for the kids... How neat! They had all kinds of games & activities... 

Hopscotch... 

Fishing was her favorite! 

And Bingo!

Then a treat at the end! 

   The next night we had a similar thing at the church, which I got no pictures of, she wasn't there very long because she didnt want to do anything, she thought about the bouncy house for a minute, then when it came time to put her in, no way! I think she had enough excitement for one night! So her & daddy went home & I stayed & worked in the face-painting booth. 

   Night #3 we decided to stay home & hand out candy. Our neighbors did call & tell us to bring her over, they wanted to see her & had some special little treats for her :) They are the sweetest people & they love Reese like their own & she loves them too! She threw herself down in the middle of the driveway the other day because I wouldnt take her over there :( Anyway... 

She took some candy out of the big basket & put into hers so she could pass it out easier, but when the 1st kids came to the door she scowled at them like "Hey! Your not getting any of my candy!" So I took some out of her basket & showed her that we share & then we got more out of the big basket to refill hers. After a few more kids she got it, then she had fun transferring the candy around...

Watching for more kids...

Then when it started to slow down we did some puzzles while we waited for more kids...

Now I say "Reese do you know how cute you are and she says "O-tay" Thats her response for most things now days... "O-tay!" 

That was our excitement for the week! And wow... Is it really Nov 1st!?!