Busy busy days!

We are going to be one busy family here soon! wow I can not believe at 3 1/2 and 18 mo we are this busy!

Monday: alexis school 8:30-11:00 Alexis speech Therapy at school
Tuesday: Alexis school 8:30-11:00 Madison/austin school 9:30 to 2:00 Alexis OT therapy 11:30
Wednesday:alexis school 8:30-11:00
Thursday:alexis school 8:30-11:00 Twins school 9:30-2:00 Alexis speech therpy in school. Alexis PT therapy at 11:30 Austin Gymnastics now at 3:00-4:00
Friday: Madison Dance 4:00 to 5:00

But it will be well worth it!

photos

Cool new Website

A friend Blogged about this cool website and giveaway they are doing over there.
So right now they are giving away the most AMAZING stroller, it's like a mack daddy of strollers. It's the Trevi Twin Stroller. Sigh, it's awesome!

Here is a link to the manufacturer: www.chico.com

Here is the link to the contest: http://www.momdot.com/?p=1240#comment-34619

Update on Alexis

We went to the dr and in fact she does not have Chicken Pox Just a VERY bad case of hand foot and mouth. She at first thought it was until she saw the mouth and right before we got there 5 blisters popped up on her fingers. So now we have to let it run its course. Thank God its not!!

I am still going to get vaccinated just in case for the future. even though I may be immune.

The last time we got this we got it from the play area at the mall (the only place we had been that we were around that many germs)


Again we were at the play area when we got it again this time. GRRR They were out of sanitizer. I had some but i can not stop and sanitize my 18 mo when she is all over the floor and then hands go in her mouth all the time.. GRRR so frustrating!

My tumble bug!

Austin started Gymnastics today. He will go Wednesday's at 10 am. He did great! he loved it. He flipped, jumped on trampolines, did mini cartwheels, jumped,walked a balance beam and much more. it is right up his alley! He loves to flip and jump! Madison watched with me, she wanted to join in but was ok with cheering him on! She starts Dance Friday the 5th. I think once she starts she will forget about wanting to be with him doing gymnastics. I will have pics next week to show!

When it Rains....

We finally got some RAIN!

Along with rain outside came some rain inside so to speak...when it rains it pours!

Alexis has chicken pox!

we woke up to get ready to go and I noticed Alexis has CHICKEN POX! we were just at the dr on Tuesday, all three kids had allergies and we got meds for it. nothing bad!
Alexis had a diaper rash but i thought it was from her disposable diaper that the nursery at the Y put on her, she is allergic that is why i use cloth diapers. But apparently its not from that. she at the blisters in her mouth, nose, stomach, hands, feet, between her toes, bottom, genitals, and knees. She has a rash in other places. She will not eat much.

I am not sure where we got it from. We got the vaccine but all that does it lessen the symptoms if you get it, it can not guarantee you don't get it.

I on the other had have NEVER had them! of course the twins have not either. i had a blood test done when i was preg with her and it confirmed i have never had it. I have never had a vaccine either. SO i am PRAYING that i do not get it!

We go back to the Dr tomorrow for our 18m check up and now this too!

We also have Adam's Parents and grand dad in town. so that will help a lot when i take her to the Dr tomorrow.

Food Adventures

I read this on a fellow scrapbookers blog Amber
Food Adventures
Saw this on another blog and was surprised at how adventurous my tastebuds are! I'm fortunate to have completed a lot on this list due to my travels on business trips or vacations...the ones that are left either I haven't heard of or wouldn't rule out completely...with the exception of roadkill, horse and insects of course.

Here’s what I want you to do:

1) Copy this list into your blog or journal, including these instructions.
2) Bold all the items you’ve eaten.
3) Cross out any items that you would never consider eating.
4) Optional extra: Post a comment here at www.verygoodtaste.co.uk linking to your results.

The VGT Omnivore’s Hundred:

1. Venison
2. Nettle tea
3. Huevos rancheros
4. Steak Tartare
5. Crocodile-does alligator count?
6. Black pudding
7. Cheese fondue
8. Carp
9. Borscht
10. Baba ghanoush
11. Calamari - yum
12. Pho
13. PB&J sandwich
14. Aloo gobi(potato and cauliflower with curry)
15. Hot dog from a street cart
16. Epoisses
17. Black truffle
18. Fruit wine made from something other than grapes
19. Steamed pork buns
20. Pistachio ice cream
21. Heirloom tomatoes
22. Fresh wild berries
23. Foie gras
24. Rice and beans - yum
25. Brawn, or head cheese
26. Raw Scotch Bonnet pepper
27. Dulce de leche
28. Oysters
29. Baklava
30. Bagna cauda
31. Wasabi peas
32. Clam chowder in a sourdough bowl
33. Salted lassi
34. Sauerkraut
35. Root beer float
36. Cognac with a fat cigar
37. Clotted cream tea
38. Vodka jelly/Jell-O
39. Gumbo
40. Oxtail
41. Curried goat
42. Whole insects
43. Phaal
44. Goat’s milk - does goat's cheese count?
45. Malt whisky from a bottle worth £60/$120 or more
46. Fugu
47. Chicken tikka masala
48 Eel - sushi!
49. Krispy Kreme original glazed doughnut
50. Sea urchin
51. Prickly pear
52. Umeboshi
53. Abalone
54. Paneer
55. McDonald’s Big Mac Meal
56. Spaetzle
57. Dirty gin martini
58. Beer above 8% ABV
59. Poutine
60. Carob chips
61. S’mores
62. Sweetbreads
63. Kaolin
64. Currywurst
65. Durian
66. Frogs’ legs
67. Beignets, churros, elephant ears or funnel cake -
68. Haggis
69. Fried plantain
70. Chitterlings, or andouillette
71. Gazpacho
72. Caviar and blini
73. Louche absinthe
74. Gjetost, or brunost
75. Roadkill
76. Baijiu
77. Hostess Fruit Pie
78. Snail
79. Lapsang souchong
80. Bellini
81. Tom yum - tom yum krung
82. Eggs Benedict
83. Pocky
84. Tasting menu at a three-Michelin-star restaurant.
85. Kobe beef
86. Hare
87. Goulash
88. Flowers
89. Horse
90. Criollo chocolate
91. Spam
92. Soft shell crab
93. Rose harissa
94. Catfish
95. Mole poblano
96. Bagel and lox
97. Lobster Thermidor
98. Polenta
99. Jamaican Blue Mountain coffee
100. Snake

finally uploaded pics

Here are some pics I was meaning to upload for my previous posts.

We grow things big here

here are some wild pics from our garden!

Tomatoes are coming in great and we are getting a lot of them.

My cucumbers some are great and most are bitter from too much sun.

Squash well lets just say we don't have a whole lot just a little.

Peppers are awful too much sun and darn bugs!

Have you found My voice?

I have a major allergy attack/drainage issue!
2 Thursdays ago I took the kids to the Dr for a cough and come t find out all we had was allergies and drainage. Great!

Ok The following Sunday I coughed myself to a horse straining my vocal cords. Its now Thursday and I somewhat have my voice back, it just sounds like i am really under the weather. I still have a cough and drainage.

The kids are better. Grr why can't i get 100 % better!

I could not even go to work for over a week!

I had one point where I lost it all the way, now how do you communicate with 3 year olds with no voice!??

things could be better...

Around here things are the same pretty much except one thing...we are still recovering from being under the weather..I am right now horse (sp?) after I have coughed so much that I am losing my voice...grrr what if i lose it and i can not communicate with my kids during the day. I have not lost my voice since having kids. Boy would that be hard!

I have some pics to post soon of the First Friday nights concert we went to on the square in the boro Friday. It was sponsored by our church this month. it was Christian music night. OH was it AWESOME!!

We also did some tax free shopping over the weekend for back to school (mothers day out for the kids) and fall wardrobe.

I have a prayer request for a friend of mines Mom she has been diagnosed with Breast Cancer she has had 3 rounds of chemo already. she has pretty much been good with the normal side effects. Until this weekend she had to go the ER for fever, it turns out she has a staph infection, so pray she will heal quickly. also pray for her healing as We have an AWESOME God that will heal her. she is a still working when she can so pray she has the strength to continue with that.
I have

what is going on with us...

here are some things going on...

Alexis on Saturday said her first word!!!!!! Dada ,gaga,and yaha she will jus babble on and on sense too so stinking CUTE!

Our Garden now has TOMATOES ready to eat!!!

Madison and Austin are writing the Letter A and other letters. They love to learn!

We are signing Madison up with Reese Performing Arts

Need prayer for my mom she will be needing neck/back surgery she has a herniated disc she is seeing the neurosurgeon today.

Austin and Madison are such a hoot singing their fave songs they hear on mommies radio. I listen to all types of music!

I am searching for my CD of Photoshop so i can put it on this laptop so i can fix this blog header.

Life...@ 30!

I can not believe I am already 30! (as of July 28th) wow what the heck! and If I am under the weather with these dang allergies! SUCKS! I hate coughing!
I slept so much this weekend due to this crud! (Thanks Honey for letting me sleep a lot and you watch kiddos)
We had cake and pizza and mom and Jared came over. The kids were so excited about the cake part!
I got a sushi dish kit and these wall words to go on my wall! SO awesome!

my scrapblog

When..

When will people start listening what a mother has to say about her child? Mothers know their children better than others!!

I have been saying for over 3 months if not more that Alexis needed speech therapy evaluation.
I kept getting from TEIS "we don't do evals for speech until 18 mo" I was so fed up because i know from others that they have kids or know kids younger or same age getting therapy for speech. So i fought with TEIS, and went to the director of TEIS and asked where this 18m rule was in the handbook. she said its not that they base all evals on each child, meaning there is not 18 m rule, if your child needs it at 5 mo or 13 mo they can get it.

DONT MESS with a MOM!!

Not until after the cord came to get the paper work started for this did she realize how delayed in speech she was! NO CRAP i told you she is 17m (well i told her before 17 mo) and she says no words, no letter sounds, she copies other mouth sounds and tries to say letter sounds by moving her mouth but no sound.

she FINALLY had an eval done today! Even the therapist said when she got the eval that they normally do not do evals this young! but after doing the eval she saw exactly what i was talking about in the delay! She scored on a 7 mo level in adaptive speech and 7 mo in expressive and overall 5mo!!!!! she will get ST 2 x's a week.

WOW maybe people should listen to a mother!

AWESOME sale comin up!

A friend of mine through the Twins club has a consignment business and it is AWESOME! she has new tags and all Gymboree clothes, boutique clothes plus the other awesome clothes her consigners bring. She has toys, equipment and everything! check her out at


I put the link in here with the blogger link button and i never can get it to show up!

so here it is
www.encoresandmorenorth.com

I know

I know I need to fix my header photo. I just need to install my photoshop on my new laptop!~

Toxins read the article

Our homes are filled with toxic products. Read on for an enlightening, but scary article. It's especially important if you have children and still have toxic cleaning products in your home.


Wisconsin State Journal
Hazardous Homes Part II: Household products that may be harmful

RON SEELY
608-252-6131

January 7, 2008

Donna Lotzer, poison education coordinator with UW Health, demonstrates how some medicines and household cleaners can be mistaken for candy or health drinks. The second gumball from the left is actually a vitamin. And notice how much the can of Comet sink cleaner looks like the adjacent container of parmesan cheese.

Though most of us think of our home as a place where we are safe from what seems an increasingly dangerous world, we are more often filling our houses with products and chemicals that may threaten our health. And much of the time we're not even aware of it.

Annual calls to the Wisconsin Poison Center have risen more than 40 percent in the past five years.

Today more than 75,000 chemicals are registered with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency but less than 20 percent of them have been tested for toxicity. That lack of research means doctors and researchers often know little about the effects these substances have on humans or how much is safe.

Federal labeling laws don't require manufacturers to list all toxic ingredients on labels so consumers don't necessarily realize what's in the products they use at home.

Mary Powers has personally heard the anguish that can come when an accidental poisoning happens in the home.

Powers is manager of the Wisconsin Poison Center in Milwaukee, part of the Children's Hospital of Wisconsin. But she is also a nurse who answers emergency calls at the center.

And those emergency calls drive home for her the realization that our homes, supposedly havens for our families, can also harbor little-known hazards. Last year, the center received 45,012 emergency calls about accidental poisonings, 75 percent of which came from homes and nearly 66 percent of which involved children younger than 5.

Powers said the phone calls from parents who find themselves in such situations are terrifying. "They're asking, 'Is this going to hurt my child? Is this going to kill my child?' "

But it's not just children who can be exposed to toxic threats in the home. It could be an elderly couple overcome by carbon monoxide from a defective furnace. Or someone working on the garden who is accidentally doused by pesticide. Or a housewife cleaning her bathroom floor who unknowingly mixes ammonia and bleach and creates poisonous fumes.

"It happens all the time,'' said Donna Lotzer, a poison education coordinator with UW Health. "You can get chemical pneumonia. An older person could die.''

Toxic products in the home account for more than 90 percent of poison exposures, according to the Wisconsin Poison Center.

Everyday exposure

While accidental poisoning in the home is a frightening experience, we are generally less alarmed at the increased and everyday exposure to toxins and chemicals about which we are not even aware.

But statistics from the EPA show that the average household in this country generates more than 20 pounds of household hazardous waste per year. Cleaning products, according to the agency, make up about 11.5 percent of the 3.2 billion pounds of waste produced annually in the U.S.

Studies are linking some of these chemicals to illness and disease. For example, consider two organic hazardous chemicals commonly found in our homes that present a cancer risk to the general population that is about 100 times greater than the EPA considers acceptable. These include formaldehyde, which is found in many home products including permanent-press sheets and naphthalene, used in mothballs.

According to the EPA, products we use in our homes can cause a wide range of health effects including eye, nose and throat infections, headaches, nausea, loss of coordination, and damage to the liver, kidney and central nervous system.

Of course, chemistry has also given us plenty in the way of products that make our lives safer and more comfortable. And chemical industry officials say threats from products such as household cleaning supplies are overblown and research on the dangers of the chemicals they contain are misleading because they often involve laboratory animals. Those results, officials say, don't necessarily mean that the chemicals are dangerous to humans.

Doug Fratz is vice president for scientific and technical studies for the Consumer Specialty Products Association, whose 260 members include manufacturers of everything from disinfectants and pesticides to household cleaners. He said it is misleading to blame health problems on the use of cleaners when the dust mites, mold and mildew brought into the air by cleaning are the more likely culprits.

Hidden chemicals

Frequently, the dangerous substances to which we are exposed are not apparent. That's because the chemicals that can harm us are hidden in pleasant-smelling perfume or in a poorly-labeled bottle of cherry-red cleaning fluid. The most frequent substances involved in poisoning of children 5 and younger, for example, are personal care cosmetics such as cologne or perfume. These contain ethanol, which can cause intoxication, coma and seizures. Chemicals called phthalates are found in products ranging from nail polish and fragrances to shampoos and hair spray. Some research has shown that high levels of exposure to these chemicals in laboratory animals can cause cancer or reproductive system abnormalities.

But the science remains uncertain. Other reports, including one from the Food and Drug Administration, say there is little risk from exposure to phthalates. Still, some cosmetic manufacturers are removing the chemicals from their products.

Second on the list of products most dangerous to children five and younger are household cleaners such as sanitizers and toilet bowl cleaners. These contain corrosives that can cause internal and external burns. Third on the list are over-the-counter analgesics such as non-aspirin pain relievers; they contain acetaminophen which can cause liver failure.

Inadequate labeling

A big part of the problem is that manufacturers are required to list only "active ingredients" and not all toxic ingredients on labels, according to Dr. Henry Anderson, the state's chief medical officer and an environmental and occupational disease epidemiologist for the state Department of Health and Family Services. Labels on many household cleaners are a good example, Anderson said.

"There are more and more of these agents such as brighteners, cleaners and polishers,'' Anderson said. "You look at the labels and they don't tell you anything.''

Yet such products are loaded with substances that can be harmful. Disinfectants contain the chemicals phenol and cresol, which can cause diarrhea, fainting, dizziness and kidney and liver damage. Furniture and floor polishes contain nitrobenzene which, if inhaled, can cause shallow breathing and, if ingested, poisoning and death. The chemical has also been linked to cancer and birth defects. Metal polishers contain petroleum distillates, which can irritate the eye and can damage the nervous system, kidneys, eyes and skin.

Powers, the nurse who answers emergency calls for the Wisconsin Poison Center, knows firsthand how little information is listed on many labels.

"I know that many parents have trouble finding the ingredients on a label when they call us,'' Powers said.

Packaging can also be an issue. Lotzer gives talks at schools and elsewhere in which she demonstrates how easy it is for a child or even an adult to mistake a bottle of cleaning fluid for a sports drink or a box of chewable vitamins with candy.

Anderson said misleading packaging and inadequate labeling can prove dangerous, even fatal. Over the past several years, he said, two people have died and hundreds became sickened using commercial waterproofing sprays to waterproof their tents, clothing and other outdoor gear. The sprays contain a water repelling ingredient known as a fluoropolymer. Because the chemical resin isn't considered hazardous at the concentration used in the sprays, federal law doesn't require that labels mention its presence.

But a cluster of cases involving the sprays in Michigan became known through data collected by poison centers. Studies showed that when the chemical is mixed with other solvents and pressurized in the can it can end up deep in the lungs of the person using it.

'Green' products

Growing awareness of the dangers posed by our increasing use of chemicals is bringing some change, however. For example, more "green'' products, formulated without most of the harmful chemicals used traditionally, are available.

Robin Pharo, who owns a Mount Horeb company called Healthy Homes and advises clients on how to reduce exposure to indoor contaminants, said safer cleaning products marketed by companies such as Seventh Generation are available on the Internet and in stores such as Target.

Terry Mayhall helps run a Madison cleaning company called Kleenmark and said that a few years ago the company made the decision to switch completely to green cleaning techniques. The company's cleaning crews use products that are made without harmful chemicals and they are taught to use techniques that minimize exposure, such as spraying cleaners or furniture polish on a rag first instead of dousing the object to be cleaned.

Mayhall warned, however, that even some so-called "green'' products are not necessarily what they seem. Some of the companies are also lax in putting all of the contents on their labels. Still, he added, the increasing availability of safer cleaning options to the consumer is a good thing.

The decision to make the change, Mayhall said, was prompted by concern for employees. But the company has found that homeowners are demanding the products they use and now sells many of those cleaners commercially.

— Tony Davis of the Arizona Daily Star in Tucson contributed to this story.

In case of accidental poisoning, call 911 if the person has collapsed, is having seizures or stopped breathing. Otherwise call the Wisconsin Poison Center at 1-800-222-1222 for advice on what to do.

Fourth of July

We went to GA for the 4th.
We left thursday night at 6p got there at 1:30a our time due to an hour delay of traffic! Kids finally went to sleep after dinner and were asleep until we got there. YEAH!

We got up the next morning and went to Lola and Joes for the day. we saw a BIG snake. I almost walked right on it. it was a Very long huge, black chicken snake. I was freaked! Joe finally killed it.
the kids went on the golf cart, the paddle boat and much more!
they the most fun throwing the nuts from the trees that fell in to the lake!
I have pics to load and show later.

We ate hot dogs and hamburgers. we shot the fireworks off over the lake that we had bought in TN before we got to GA. it was fun. Alexis did not want any part of it.

The twins enjoyed the sparklers and did very well with them. they also like throwing the those pop things down on the concrete.

Saturday we got up and ate then went to see Tim, laura, and Emily at the bozemans. Madison and Austin had fun playing with Emily! she had a DS and they loved that and they brought thier Leapsters over and they all played together. emily also had a scooter they loved playing with outside sharing!

We went back to adams parents house and Lola, joe, came over, nad megan and her baby Jordana and we had dinner.

Sunday we got up and Aunt Pam and brian came over to see us and so did Cousin Jeremy. we hung out and played. We packed up and headed out about 3p our time. we got home at 9:30 after a delay south of atlanta with rain people driving so slow!

mosaic

How cool is this? I found this on ambers blog

here's how it works...

a. Type your answer to each of the questions below into Flickr Search. http://www.flickr.com/search/?q=&w=all
b. Using only the first page, pick an image.
c. Copy and paste each of the URLs for the images into fd’s mosaic maker.http://bighugelabs.com/flickr/mosaic.php

1. What is your first name?
2. What is your favorite food?
3. What high school did you go to?
4. What is your favorite color?
5. Who is your celebrity crush?
6. Favorite drink?
7. Dream vacation?
8. Favorite dessert?
9. What you want to be when you grow up?
10. What do you love most in life?
11. One Word to describe you.
12. Where do you live?







1. Jennifer 2. japanese-food3.Langham Creek Lobos 4. Pink Tulip Field 5. Steven Tyler - Aerosmith, 6. sweet tea 7. on the beach 8. tiramisu9. A Real Job, 10. twins baby 11. love comes from the most unexpected places..12.Rutherford Co. Christmas Decorations at Night