Our growing family!

(not mine though)
Last sunday night Justin was given the news that his mother had a baby boy back around 1970's and then gave him up for adoption. Justin and I were absolutely shocked. He had told me that he thought his mom had lost a baby but not by adoption. I can't imagine my life without mine and have often told him that he needed to have siblings. All I knew was his name given at birth and that it was in San Diego. After a lot of research this week and a very helpful "angel" we were able to track him down in West Virgina. He is 40, married, and has 3 kids, one of which goes to University of West Georgia which is where my sister Julie graduated from. What a small world! He has a lot of similar traits to Justin. Justin seems to be pretty excited about it. I dont think its really sunk in though. Most people search months and years to find adopted siblings or birth family, but we found him in 5 days so its all still pretty new. I just thought I would share the news that Justin has a big brother named Jonathan, like I do, and we hope to be able to meet him in person. He has a lot of things in common so it is just so cool to see how DNA really works!

Broken Arm, take 2!

Well, it was the first week of school and we were enjoying our nightly walk around the pond with the family. Gage had his bike, I had the two little ones in the wagon, and Justin had Meeko. After playing on the playground, we continued walking and I saw Ethan being a monkey and hangin from a bar and told him to keep walking, then I look up and see Gage on top of the bar on the right, and tell him to get down. Well, he hopped down and landed on his right arm, same one he broke before, and grabbed it and then gave me the look. If your a mom and you've gotten "the look" its terrifying! I knew he hurt himself but I thought he rebroke the same spot. When we both looked at his arm we saw his arm bent like a "U" and I started yelling for Justin. We paniced and called 911. We had no vehicle, the dog, and the kids. It didnt end up costing my $1000 like I was told so Im happy I called. They were able to help with the pain almost instantly. Once again GG was there to the rescue to take Ethan and Sadie so Justin and I could be with Gage. We were in the exact same room that we were in the previos month with Ethan. Heres a picture from my phone of his arm at the hospital. You can see where it bends inward. Almost like he put his wrist out and it just snapped his arm when it hit.
I have never paced before in my life but when I was watching Gage get x-rayed, and the pain that he was in with the different positions, it was terrible! Here's Gage getting upset talking about breaking his arm again,
He was put in a splint and then the following morning I took him to an orthopedic surgeon and he was put under so they could set his bones back in place. He ended up breaking the radius and ulna bone. Everything went well and he chose a red cast, (I can't find a picture of it at the moment but I know I have one somewhere)(FOUND ONE)
and then made a comment about next time it will be a blue cast. I told him there better not be a next time! At least it was his right because he is a lefty and it wasnt the same spot as before. He was casted for about 7 weeks and is now start to do some physical therapy with it. He has trouble twisting it. Doctor said everything is healing and he should be as good as new soon.

Funny Moving Story

So heres a funny story that I told Justin he would appreciate later when I blogged about it. We borrowed a moving truck from Justins Boss and the boys loved it. So much in fact, that Ethan thought that it would be so much fun to ride it home just like this, .
When it was time to go and Justin broke the reality to him that it just wasnt going to happen, this happened... Justin was looking at me so funny for taking a picture but I knew that I would want to remember and share this moment! And the poor pitiful face...

My Big 1st Grader

August 10th was a special day. Not only was it my 7 year wedding anniversary, it was also Gages first day of first grade at a new school. He was scared because he didnt know anyone but I wasnt worried. He had already made a few friends in the neighborhood so I knew he would have no problems at school. We have a lot of kids in elementary school in our neighborhood so Im sure he'll be mr. popular in no time...
We got him a school shirt to help him get some school spirit, He's officially a huddleston hound. He joins the club along with Aunt Jessie and his cousin Tyler. He even has the same teacher that Tyler had last year, Mrs. Bernard.

One last horrah!

We had such a crazy summer and with Gages broken arm for part of it, we didnt do really anything fun. We had a free ticket to six flags for Gage from a reading program and were able to purchase one from ebay for Eman for like 10 bucks. Justin and I got a BOGO deal so we headed to six flags! When we first got there I tried getting a picture of all the kids together by the water but all I could round up was Sadie...
After the boys and I rode the mini big rigs, we found Sadie playing in the water fountain...
Me and the kids riding the new Thomas the Train ride...

Heres Ethan with Justin, he was getting so worn out his feet were hurting!
Here are some from the hot air balloons, pirate ship, and carisail. Sadie and I only did the Carisail. I dont think shes old enough for that, plus it gives me an excuse not to have to! I dont know if you can tell but the boys faces are great! They are all smiles! This will definitely be an annual tradition.






We had fun on the monster plantation boat. There were a few thinkgs that jumped out and scared the kids! (and me=) The best part was Skull Island which is like a mini water park. No pictures because we were busy chasing around Sadie and keeping our eye on the boys. It was a blast though!

I finally reupholstered!

I finally reupholstered my nasty dining room chairs. Ive had the set for about 3 yrs and the kids have definitely done their "thing" to it. Now I finally realized how smart my parents were to cover our dining room chairs with plastic wrap.(although I think I remember that we were young tweens at the time???) So I took some new fabric and plastic wrap and went from this,
to this...


I didnt realize the plastic wrap came in different thicknesses so the kids have already started to rip the thin kind that I used. I guess thats ok though. I needed to change the fabric to match my current decor in my new place. Its really easy though. A lot of fun with a staple gun!

Happy Birthday to Sadie!

Since this blog is like a journal for me I have to go back and continue trying to catch up on what Ive missed. Its been crazy for the past few months and I am finally getting organized! Not 100% but Ill get there soon. Sadie turned 2 on July 24th and started off the day with a rockin guitar!
We got Sadie a Little Mermaid music player with microphone with the giftcard from Papa and Nina....
Heres Sadie with GG clapping after blowing out her candles on her Minnie Mouse Cake. The cake toppers were from my 15th or 16th b-day cake...
Sadie got a new princess purse. I thought it was the cutest thing, It came with keys and a coin purse, a phone, and Sadies favorite was the lipstick, .
Had I realized that Sadie would use it as a weapon and wack Ethan in the head with it multiple times, I would have went with the soft material one! She also got pots and pans, you think she liked them?=) After opening them, apparently she had a pretty funny phone call! Papa Anthony and GG both made the party!

No running in the house!

My mom said it, your mom said it, I say it all the time and Im sure most of you say it...And yet they never listen! We were in Peachtree City starting the process of cleaning the house and getting it move in ready when Gage and Ethan just had to chase eachother around the house. Gage was chasing Ethan and Ethan slipped and fell and hit his head on what I believe was a sharp edge of a baseboard. I saw Gages face when he saw Ethans head and I ran to see what had happened only to find my little Ethan's head gushing blood from his forehead! It was terrifying! You hear all these stories about people hitting their head the wrong way and dying. I just didnt know what to think. I grabbed him and my mom got me compresses for his head and Justin and I hauled you know what to the hospital. Luckily mom was there to watch Sadie and Gage. When we got there they checked his vitals and wrapped up his head...
He was pretty entertained by the balloon hand that Justin made him, it works everytime=)



Once the nurse came in and cleaned the cut up to prep for stitches, this is what it looked like.


pretty gross! I dont know exactly how many stitches were inside but I am told that its typically more inside than it is outside and he has 6 stitches on the outside. He did so well while he was stitched up. He didnt cry or move or complain, I was shocked! No papoose board for him! Big Man...

An unpredictable summer

I have so much to blog about but I can't even wrap my brain around where to begin...We have had a whirlwind of a summer that started off with a broken arm and ending in a new home...with another broken...June was the kickoff to summer for Gage because he got his cast cut off around the 20th and was able to swim at Peytons 1st birthday party. He had a blast and could have swam all day!(my pictures are in my other computer that is dead so Ill have to post them at a later date)Ethan had fun too but Sadie was demanding to swim on her own. She did not want to be held reguardless of how deep the water was. She really is a hard headed girl. June was a pretty tame month but then we entered July...July is when my mom made me an offer I just couldnt refuse. She has been trying to get out of Georgia for years now and recently started thinking about selling her house. I have been trying to figure out a way to make mine bigger. The kids need their own rooms and space. Not to mention our neighbors from hell and the school system to match. The offer my mom made me was to move into her house, she would live in the apartment in the basement for approx 2 years, fix up my house in McDonough to sell and then buy her house from her...Hello Peachtree City! I have been so worried about if I was ever going to get out of McDonough and if my kids were going to get a great education and now those worries are gone. In the middle of all of this, my mom took a job in Texas so everything seems to be falling into place so I am hoping that the sale of my home "falls into place" as well. We are so much happier in Peachtree City! I might actually get my social life back now that I am closer to 3 of my best friends from high school. I am excited about Gage being in a better school system and being back in my home ward.

Clipping coupons

For those of you that don't know I have become addicted to clipping coupons. I started getting into it probably a year ago and have since done my research and have become really good. I tell people all the time how much you can really save but it just isnt catching on. So today I did my thursday publix run and smashed my savings record. I have been saving around 75% off my bill but today I got all of this....


which at publix without coupons would cost $169.23. But with all my coupons I paid....drumroll please... $22.66!! I love it! Its all stuff that we will use and my kitchen pantry is always stocked. I have even been able to start my food storage this way and I am not breaking the bank while doing it.

2 down...12 to go!

Gage had an award ceremony at school on tuesday to celebrate successfully completing kindergarten. Justin had to work so I struggled to handle Sadie and Ethan and take pictures AND videotape Gage...Phew! The pictures are terribly blurring because I was holding sadie in my lap and a camera in each hand so I just couldnt get the focus just right. The fact that Ethan got syrup on my camera so now the focus is very tricky to get right didnt help either. I sat and watched kids get awards for art and music and PE and wondered how good of an idea it was to single kids out in kindergarten and make them feel unspecial because they did not get an award...I was getting really anoid and then each class had a special award for math, reading, science, and something else(hard to pay attention. Gage didnt get any special awards and I was feeling bad for him. Then came medals for each kid who knew all 100 sight words and how to count to 100 and I was anoid again. Gage knows most of his but always seems to slip up on a few words. Then guess what...
His name was called to receive a medal!! Only 6 kids in his class got one too so I was a proud mama to say the least! Heres the best shot I got of him on stage with his medal and certificate...

Watermelon with Papa Anthony

Charles came over to check on his crippled grandson and brought a watermelon which made for a great mess on the back porch. The kids loved it but I think they enjoyed seeing their papa more...





Heres a shot of Justin with his dadio

May Day May Day

This month has been chalk full of injury and sickness. The two highlights were curtousy of Sadie and Gage. Sadie just couldnt help herself and touched Justins motorcycle when it was still hot and gave herself second degree burns. The boys have been burned before but not to where it blistered. We thought for sure that we were in for a long night but Jolene gave us an idea to use apple cider vinegar. As weird as it sounds it worked! Plus it has a lot of other uses. Google it!


We had to wrap her hand up once the blister popped so it wouldnt get infected. She was cute as a little cripple...a loli-pop made it all better=)

Gage took the cake with his episode. He jumped off the swing at school on tuesday and landed wrong on his elbow. He got up, dusted off and went on playing. The teacher watching the swings didnt feel the need or see it necessary to send him to the school nurse nor did she feel it was necessary to send me home a note telling me what happened. Much like the black eye incident (which by the way I have his school picture which shows his eye that I will upload later), Gage came home talking about getting hurt at school but there was no explanation from the teacher as to what had happened. I didnt see anything wrong with his elbow and he complained a little bit but I decided to send him to school the next day with a note explaining what had happened and that if he was hurting to call me and I would come pick him up. The nurse called me at 8:30 saying that he was hurting and that his elbow was clearly swollen. When I got to the school, the teacher was filling out an accident report and the principal was there as well. It seems like this school has already dropped the ball too many times with Gage. If this continues I will try to switch schools. Poor Gage, we went to the specialist today and he fractured his arm so they put him in a full arm cast. He was really wanting a cast but by the time tubby time and bedtime rolled around he was so sick of it! Only 3 weeks 6 days to go til he gets to take it off! I told him to look pitiful in the picture...How'd he do?