Mrs. Phillip D. blah, blah, blah...

Nine years ago today, at this very moment, at 2:30 on a Saturday afternoon, I walked out of a church in Lafayette, Louisiana the happiest woman alive. I had just become his wife.

God, has given me so very much to be thankful for. We have a wonderful home, two beautiful and happy children, and most of all, I have his heart and he has mine.

And there is No One in this world, or beyond, that could ever take his place.

I Love You, Phillip. And I wish that you were here right now. But look at the stars tonight and remember that we are never too far away from each other; I'll be seeing those very same stars later on, thinking of you, missing you, and loving you until death do us part.

Doing Better?

I THINK that Sarah is feeling better.

Yesterday, I tried to give her about 15 cc's of pedialyte and when I tell you that she was MAD at me for doing it, I mean she was thoroughly PISSED! And then, she vomited it all up.

So I called my friend, Karyn, and asked if she could keep Gabe for me for a few hours or maybe all night, and she was more than happy to help...which was a huge relief.

I then brought Sarah to the E.R. as per the advice of the nurse at the pediatric clinic at KDH.
(if they wanted her to wet a diaper by the morning, then force feeding her might not be the way to go about it)

At the hospital, they determined that she was not YET dehydrated (again) and didn't want to keep her there for fear that she may catch something worse in the hospital environment. To make a long and exhausting story short, they gave her some medicine to keep her nausea at bay. And like a good girl (and to make it seem like Mommy was just over-reacting), she wet a diaper and took about 4 ounces of formula in the observation room!

Gabe ended up spending the night at Karyn's house. I got some rest; but my body still hurts from the week of stress. And Sarah has been eating and wetting diapers.

All seems to be going well. Keep your fingers crossed.

Phillip's parents are just a few hours outside of the area and on their way. I'm so thankful that they will be here for a second and third brain, and if anything, a shoulder to cry or sleep on.

And now, I am going to maybe find someone to steam clean my carpet.....

J.Lo

Sick! Part Two...

The doctor just called.

Her blood work came back okay, but with low numbers. If I don't see urine by this afternoon or tomorrow morning, then I am to bring her back in. Meanwhile, I need to try to syringe feed her about every hour so that she gets some fluids.

Pray that I don't have to torture her or myself with the syringe. I hope she takes a bottle on her own.

~J. Lo

Our sweet little lump of sugar is SICK!

Just a little post to let you know what's going on.

I brought Sarah back to the doctor's office on Wednesday because I was afraid that she was dehydrating from all of the vomiting and pooping. The doctor said she was fine and to wait it out.

I brought her back to the doctor today with a dirty diaper safely tucked in a ziploc bag so they could take stool samples. They are testing for rotavirus, along with other nasty parasites. Blood work was also drawn to determine if her electrolytes, etc. are okay. I'm waiting for the results now. Looks like we may have to bring her back to the hospital this afternoon so that they can put her on an I.V. to pump her up with fluids, since she has not wet a diaper since Wednesday (which worries the crap out of ME!). They may keep her overnight.

She will not eat or drink very much, at all. I managed to get an ounce of formula in her about twenty minutes ago. And trying to get her to drink Pedialyte is like medicating a cat!

She's laughing and playing and having a grande olde time; like her brother, you can't tell that she's sick when she is, just by looking at her. Every now and then though, she'll put her cheek to the floor like she's just flat worn out.

This week has been a roller coaster with her doing very good at times, then going back downhill.

Phillip's parents are on alert and will be here tomorrow, if not sooner.
Say a prayer for our little Sarah-Belle, please.

~J. Lo

Watch Out! It may be coming your way....AGAIN!

Just an FYI for my local girls:
Sarah has not kept anything down or up (poops) since yesterday. She started out on Friday with not wanting to eat very much, vomited on Saturday, had a terribly fussy day on Sunday and it got worse yesterday afternoon (after she smiled and cooed at her pediatrician).

I took her to the doc yesterday to rule out an ear infection and he said that all day, he'd seen children with Sarah's symptoms. So watch out, that nasty bug is back and this time it seems like he's pissed!

Hope it doesn't get any worse; I hope Gabe doesn't get it.
And I hope that everyone else stays healthy as well.

J~

I need...

Just two days off. That's all I ask. Just two fricken' days to not have to think, or run around anticipating the needs of this household, myself, and two young kids.

I'm tired of the constant struggle. I want to be able to sit down and enjoy a book, or take a bath without having to worry about how long I have to actually enjoy it before another thing has to be done. My poor son has been so understanding about my having to meet the needs of his sister; I want to be able to play a wii game with him, or build a haunted cookie house with him without having to drop him like a hot potato to run over to do something else.

Both kids deserve a mother who has more patience.

And I seriously want to pop the shit out of the next person I hear with a complaint about anything, if I know that they might have just one opportunity in a 24 hour period to take a crap in peace, without hearing the little voice in their head saying "okay, this is what needs to be done next to remedy this problem" .

Oh, and just to remind some people about the second honeymoon that my husband and I took before deployment: yes, we got the chance to rest and spend time together before he left...
it was very well deserved for busting our asses for only God knows how long, and another one of those vacations will be needed very soon.

Yes, I know that tomorrow, I'll probably post some positive aspect of life around here, but for now, I'm TIRED!

Our Photo Collection

It is a work in progress. I have been working on photos to develop; right now, I have about 525 images to develop and I haven't even finished with 2007. Our 2008 photos are up there in number as well.

If you follow the photo collection link to your left, you will see what I've done so far. I'm a snap happy fool when it comes to documenting our life, and so many of the photos that you are going to see are unedited. I have lots more to add on, but for now, I hope you enjoy.

(friends and family: feel free to develop what you want, because you are a huge part of our life, and the story of it, captured in these images)

Sweet Berry Farm!

We went to the Sweet Berry Farm near Marble Falls, TX yesterday to celebrate our little friend's birthday. All in all, we had a great time. Here's some pics for you to enjoy.

Oh, and the delicious looking cake above was made by our friend, Heather. That woman can bake a cake and make it all prettied up too!!!

Our gift to Zane.

Gabe painted his pumpkin to look like Sarah!

I like that we are getting well into the fall season around here; it gives me hope and proof that time does go by. I've been in a good mood lately, but at times, I still want to scream that this deployment truly does suck!

Hope everyone had a great weekend! J~

He can spell!

I discovered this in his school work last night. He can spell "shit"! He makes a mother proud.

Maybe it's Time to Babyproof

It's probably time to think about babyproofing. I was getting the kids ready for baths last night and Sarah got quiet. And you know what that means! I went to look for her and caught her digging into my sock drawer. I have a video of it down below.

On September 2nd, she turned a whopping 8 months old. Phillip was able to see her pull herself into a sitting position (which she'd only done once on the day before) and take a few crawling steps (she usually just scoots; hence the nickname, Scooter). By scooting, the girl can really get around! Now, I'm sure she'll be a bonafide crawler in just a few short days. As for Phillip witnessing these events, I'm so glad that he was able to see via webcam some of her "firsts".

And this picture (below) was taken this morning.




I will try to get some exclusive video of Gabe for you. But really, all he likes to do is play Flight Sim or Wii...not very interesting, I know. I'll maybe "interview" him on his likes and dislikes. That should be some pure entertainment.

PS. I just realized, while I was on the phone with Phil's mom, that I made a mistake above. We're in October now! So Sarah just made 8 months on OCTOBER 2nd. Hmmmm! Silly me.

Congratulations, Phillip!!!

Today, my husband gets pinned as a CW3! (Chief Warrant Officer III)
Yeah! Yipppppeeeeeeee!!! WaaaaaaaHooooooooooo!!!!!!

Things are starting to look up for him. He recently made PC (Pilot in Command), and is working on more of what happens next along the lines of his career. Hopefully, we will get news soon on that matter. Finally, we see the light at the end of a long tunnel.

Phillip, I love you so much. I'm so very proud of you and happy for you. And I speak for the rest of our family and friends, when I say that they love you and are proud of you too.

I just wish that I was there, or that you were here, so that I or Gabe could do the pinning for you. But, I guess we'll have to leave that job to Mordicah.

CONGRATULATIONS, again, and HAVE A GREAT DAY!