lots of stuff!

Ok, so I have lots of pics and several different things to tell y'all about. I guess this is kind of a catch up post.

The first thing is sad, but I would like to ask everyone to continue to pray for Tuesday's family. She passed away yesterday. I have cried over this, and I so feel for this family. The pain must be unimaginable. So, please, just pray for peace for them. Fortunately, they are believers, so they know where sweet Tuesday is.

Now, on to happier things. Remember that pic Tyrone took of me and Domino sleeping on the couch? Yeah, I thought I'd return the favor :) cute, huh?




And, poor Gabe. We ended up in the doctor's office with him yesterday, and he was started on some different meds. Poor thing, his asthma really doesn't give him a break and it's the pits for a boy like Gabe, who just wants to go, go, go! But, this was our first appt. with the kids' new pediatrician, and I have to say that Tyrone and I were both thoroughly impressed. This guy was awesome, he played with Gabe, he sat down and talked with us. He got to know us, he asked what church we went to. He detailed why he was giving Gabe the medicine he was. AND...he told us that if Gabe were to get worse over the weekend, we were to CALL HIM AT HOME! I have never been told that by a dr., ever! And, here's a pic of the ever happy Gabe, playing while doing a nebulizer treatment.



And, the boys went out to play in all of our snow today, and guess what K did? He went and got himself good and stuck in our little tree. We did free him....but not before we took a pic :)



Ok, so, today I was totally spoiled, in my opinion. I have to start by saying that a few weeks ago, our rat Oswald died. I know, I know. Not all of you are crazy about the rat thing. But he was ours. We loved him. We got him at Ft. Leonard Wood in Missouri, before I was even pregnant with Shiloh. He moved to NY with us, down to GA, and then back up to NY. It was a loss, and it made me sad.

So, today we decided to head down to Watertown and acquire new rats. And, we did! They have not been named yet, but I am head over heels about these two little guys. They are so sweet, brothers, and they love each other, love being petted, and are very calm. I LIKE them.

Then, among other things, he took me to Borders and told me to go in and get the newest Patricia Cornwell book, Scarpetta, that I have wanting VERY badly. I am sooo excited to start it. I will dig in and no one may hear from me for a day or two until I finish it!!

I also was able to get a Bully Breed magazine that I had wanted, and some treats from the Rawhide Bar for Domino. Yeah, I know, I'm easy to please, lol. But, it was a good day! Oh, and Tyrone bought me red beans and rice from Popeyes....YUM!!

And, here are my new babies :) Oh, and I would like to point out that people may grow up, but that doesn't change who they are. Grandma and Grandpa Bailey, Aunt Cherri, Jeanie....are any of y'all surprised that I grew into an adult that would have pet rats?? :)


And, here's our silly "bully breed" watching the boys play outside



Here's Shiloh's outfit today....is it just me or is she suddenly looking very grown up??

Peek-a-boo with Mommy on the couch


And, Shiloh yesterday. Again with the looking so grown up! I did NOT okay this!!


Alright, now y'all are pretty much up to speed!

new day

Yesterday was a BAD day. Yes, with all capital letters. Bad things kept happening, I felt bad, we had to consider taking Gabe to the ER not once, but twice, and I got bad news. It was just that kind of day. But do you know what God used that to show me? That I really am surrounded (okay, not always physically) by people who love me and want to be there for me, and for whom I would gladly return the favor.

My absolutely wonderful husband, my Melissa, Salina, Dawn, sweet Sheena, and Kristy were all there in their own unique and awesome ways to prop me up yesterday when, to be honest, I was pretty much a teary snuffling mess (ask Sheena, lol).

So, everything is not as I would have it (Gabe is still kinda a wheezy mess, my jaw still feels like it's being ripped in two...) but I am choosing to have a better day. It's going to be a good one, because, well, I want it to be! There is much to be happy about, and to look forward to. Like, a three day weekend starts tomorrow! And, NEXT weekend is a four day weekend!! Time with my beloved husband! Oh, and, tomorrow night, I'm cooking Chicken Cacciatore! Not to mention, of course, said wonderful friends. See? Bring on the good days!

Pray for Tuesday

Please pray for little Tuesday. She has an extremely aggressive, chemo resistant cancer that has doubled in size in a week. I do not know this family, except through their blog, but they have been so strong, so good, and this is so scary.

So, if you have time, go read their blog (the button above will take you there). But, either way, could you keep Tuesday, her mom, dad, brothers, and twin sister in your prayers?

the big snow

Ok, so they are no longer calling for 10 inches of snow....it's moved up to a foot or so! I'm going to do a snow watch, so all you ga people (and everyone else) can live vicariously through me and see a real snow storm! The snow has been falling steadily since 4 am or so, and I started taking pics at 7am. I plan to put up new pics every 2 hours or so, so you can keep up with it if you so desire!

Out front, 7am

Out back, 7am

Out front, 9am

Out back, 9am

Out front, 11am

Out back, 11am

Out front, 1pm

Out back, 1pm

Out front, 3:15pm

Out back, 3:15pm

Out front, 5:15pm

Out back, 5:15 pm

Tyrone is now on his way home. He has promised me that he is driving carefully, but i am still quite anxious. The snow is as heavy as ever.

a mother's doting...

Buddies, watching cartoons before Gabe's bus came this afternoon....

Ok, so, yes, Shiloh and I enjoyed being thoroughly girly after Gabe left for school. We did her hair, and she TOTALLY rocked the 3 pony tail look, complete with barrettes. Please bear with me for a few pics of this....I could look at these all day :)

And, a deceptively quiet looking moment this evening. My kids, the dog, and Jay, who I babysit while his mom is in school. I literally captured the ONLY SECOND that they were still the entire evening until bedtime.

And, now it is off to bed for us! We are quite something these days....I was tortured by the oral surgeon yesterday in an attempt to get impressions of my teeth....it ended in tears and pain medicine and I am still not totally recovered. And, poor Tyrone didn't even get to see the kids today. He left for work at 5:00 this morning and did not get home until 8:00 tonight.

OH! and, we are supposed to get up to 10 inches of snow tomorrow! I'll let all of you know how that goes......

happy birthday!

I'd like to wish a happy birthday to a special friend! We've made it through many things now, she was the first friend to visit Shiloh on the day she was born, she was the one who knew just what I was talking about when I felt like I couldn't stand deployment one more day, she was the one that drove all the way to GA from PA just to visit yours truly.

Happy, happy birthday, Dawn Dawn Dawn! (although that I know your real present will be here in a few days!) We've made it, and now we get to just be happy!

nice when there's more love then rivalry

oh, shiloh

You are definately your own person, sweet girl. We love every second of it!

healthy eating

Tyrone and I recently decided that we really need to commit to eating healthy. Not that we were eating things that were dripping with grease or skipping our veggies, but we just wanted to really step it up. So, I went in search of recipes that were good for us, but would also fill up a hungry man's stomach.

Actually, this was interesting for me, b/c I really rarely follow a recipe. My recipes are in my head, or I make them up as I go, lol. So, I searched (gotta love google) and came up with what I hoped were winners. I made my shopping list, enlisted the intrepid Sheena to go with me to the commissary, and us three girls were off (Shiloh too).

So far, so good. On Wednesday night, I made this whole wheat, four cheese penne, and boy was it good!



Last night was turkey and green olive burgers. The kids weren't crazy about them, but I had a back up dinner for them. Tyrone and I liked them alot! It was kind of funny, b/c Tyrone was a good sport about trying them, but after his first bite he looked genuinely surprised and said "Hey, this isn't bad AT ALL!" lol


Tonight I think we are going to try out the recipe for the teriyaki pork tenderloin! I hope it's as good as everything else has been!

best as we can tell...

...he thinks he's a cross between a cat and a person. I think we better let him keep his delusions...

so me!

Do you see these adorable little toes picking up the stop sign from our train set?








Those toes belong to this very silly girl!

She soooo got this from me! I get grief from people all the time about using my toes as a second set of fingers :) Apparently, my daughter sees the value in this skill as well!

I haven't been doing monthly updates on Shiloh since she turned a year old, but she is changing so much every day! She has a well developed sense of humor (read: comedian!) and will do just about anything for a laugh.

She is learning the different parts of her body and will proudly pat her tummy and point out her nose when asked. She also understands the difference between her nose and someone elses...if I ask her where's mommy's nose, she will point out mine. She brings me books, and sits down to listen, and is really blossoming with pretend play. This is helped alot by that fabulous kitchen Santa brought.

She has learned the value of communication and now has lots of signs. She can reliably sign: more, all done, book, milk, water, cheese, eat, sit, hat, mom, dad, baby, and play. She is working on a few more. The only one that I may regret teaching her is cheese. Cheese is her favorite food and, whether we are at home or at someone else's house, she will chase after you frantically signing cheese until you give her some. She managed to con some out of Dawn yesterday, and Sheena was so moved by the plea for cheese this evening while she was visiting us that she ran next door to her house and came back with cheese for the baby. :D

Shiloh has also started being really helpful. She will go get a diaper when I tell her we need to change her, and then lay down for me. She will also lay down to get dressed and lifts her feet/hands/head to assist. She even tries to comfort the boys when they are upset.

OH! and she blows kisses. see?! I love this girl!

maybe i should change my blogs name to "playing in the snow"...

So, I know there's been alot of snow play posts up...but it's the only outside of the house thing we've been able to do! Anyway, Tyrone has 24 hour staff duty today (from 9 this morning until 9 tomorrow morning.) The kids were out of school, so we decided to go to post and hang out with Dawn.

If you think that we have alot of snow at our house....Ft. Drum has SO MUCH MORE!! It all has to do with how close to Lake Ontario Ft. Drum is. We are 25 miles further out, but it makes all the difference. There can be as much as a 15 degree difference in temps, and they have had white out conditions several times since we've been up here where we haven't seen a single flake here.



Thanks for having us, Dawn!!

This is Shiloh's not amused face. She is sick of the snow, I think. I had to hold her pretty much the whole time we were out there. You can see how not thrilled she is that I put her down to help K.

K, making a snow angel

the snow angel!

Dawn....doesn't she look like an ice princess with all the snow in her hair?!

poor chilly girl :)

winter wonderland....or something like that

Yes, more snow....inches more in the next couple of days. There's nothing else to do but roll with it, so we bundled up and headed out until we couldn't stand it anymore and then sat in front of the heater for like 45 min.....hot chocolate anyone?