{its 12:15 on saturday...}

there have been no cartoons on...
no fighting over toys...
I just finished eating lunch with no one standing at my feet begging for a bite...
I am drinking a glass of ice cold diet coke without anyone running off with it as their own...

My kids are still sleeping!
{yes, they are known for their sleeping habits...but this is a little crazy!}

I can't imagine how they'll sleep when they are teenagers!




{well someone decided to wake up...}

{wordless wednesday}

{daddy's day}

The day started like no other except that I got up a little earlier than normal to make the baked beans I was in charge of bringing to the Daddy Day lunch at my aunt's house. I let the daddy of this house sleep in every Sunday morning, not just Father's Day. (Aren't I sweet??!). I'm certain that it contributes to the fact we are always late to Sunday School, but so does my need to have a cup of coffee in the peace and quiet.

I let the girls wake their daddy up with extra sweet kisses and their card for him. We had to give him an IOU for his gift. I blurted out what we were going to get him a few weeks ago and after the ending of last week, there was no time or energy for shopping!

Who needs a Gator tag (gag!) for their truck to know that they are an awesome Daddy?!

Don't worry, I'll get him that tag regardless of the color or the team... because I'm all about making him happy.

Here are a some photos from our afternoon...






our little swimmer in the making!



God Bless my sweet Daddy.... look at all the GIRLS!


...and our loving sweet Papa Bill. Who is always the life of the party!

{update on d-bug}

We are in a much better place this Monday morning. Friday was one of those moments mentioned in our message yesterday morning at church. I was in one of those places of pure exhaustion - physically, mentally, and emotionally. You know there are just times that you feel like you can't go anymore. I was out of energy, stressed out and tired. Brad leaned over and whispered, "Friday." As I ran my errands before picking Delaney up from school I realized that things were totally out of my control and that I needed God's help. I needed Him to take over. I mean I could have continued to exhaust myself or I could simply ask for his help. So with a lot of prayer from myself (and probably everyone who talked to me that day)... I gave it all to Him. I mean she had obviously made it clear that she was going to take the medicine or she wasn't. And do you know what... she has taken every dose since Friday night. Just as Bro. Lynn mentioned, there is something so encouraging about those moments of sheer desperation that you just run to God. You give him your burdens and he carries them. What an amazing feeling of comfort and peace. (Because let me tell you, as you read, it was only with His help that Delaney has now had 5 doses of that antibiotic that the pharmacy claims is already flavored.)

That is where we are as of today. If you prayed for us after my post on Friday, thank you! This afternoon we go in for a check to make sure the antibiotic is doing its job. I suspect it is as I already see a difference in the way she is acting.

{can i run and hide?}

I'm having one of those mommy moments.
(Chime in here and tell me you have them, too!)

i'm blessed that my children are very rarely sick aside from the common cold or "bug" going around
so when I collapsed into bed last night I really hoped (i prayed!) that this morning would be better than our night
it wasn't
you see, Delaney has landed herself a urinary tract infection.
poor baby
so that explains her irritability, the mysterious fever last week, and the nightly accidents
(i mean i think her sheets may fall apart from washing them so much- thank goodness for plastic mattress covers)

so back to yesterday.
enough was enough. another accident. another load of laundry.
i called the dr. and I wasn't going to let them tell me that we weren't coming in.
i was 99% sure it was a uti.
we've done this once before.
thankfully, they wanted a sample.
so i throw our things together
jump in the shower
load them up and we're off

i didn't have time to find a sitter for avery
and she needs a nap
proves to be a disaster
load delaney up with fluids
and halfway there she declares she needs to "go" and bad
i talk her through it
the better thing about it this time is she's potty trained and she can 'tinkle' (as my grandmother would say) in the cup
she does her thing
we wait for the dr.
in the meantime I'm sure the office thought our room contained a bunch of caged animals.
the girls fought over who was going to sit in my lap
i must have said no no a million times to keep avery off the scales
the diagnosis is just as i thought
a uti and antibiotics for 10 days.

the problem now...
the medicine tastes bad and its not pink
it took 30 minutes last night to give her one dose
this morning even worse
after wrestling with her like a pro wrestler
she spit it back out
exhausted, we were both in tears
she just won't take it
she won't drink it mixed with ANYTHING
she doesn't care that i tell her she'll be getting shots if she doesn't just take the medicine
she doesn't seem to care that she's not out playing with the neighborhood kids right now because she won't simply just take the medicine
she's a strong willed four and a half year old
i'm all out of ideas
i'm tired
and I just want her to feel better!

and for the sake of my sanity, why can't they make grape or bubblegum flavored antibiotics?!

{wordless wednesday}

{summer splash days begin...}

It is only June and the Florida summer heat is kicking it up a notch. I honestly don't want to know what the middle of August is going to feel like! It's already close to miserable to be outside in the middle of the day without a water activity being involved.

That being said, I went for a run Wednesday night at 7:00 p.m. and it was still 90 degrees. Call me crazy?!?!?! I'm not even sure how to describe how I felt when I was done. Instead of chugging a water, I think I may have felt better if I would have just dumped it on my head.

Back to splash days... our park playgroup decided it was way too miserable for playground time so we headed over to the local YMCA's pool and splash pad. What a fun day we had.

I got there and quickly sent my girls on their way. Avery was frozen in her tracks for the first 10 minutes. I know that she liked it... she loves water... but I think she was just trying to figure out what she was supposed to be doing. A little help from big sister and she was well on her way.





Just look at this sweet bunch of girls!










They We all had such a good time. I think us mom's could have lasted another few hours but the kiddo's were exhausted. We are ready for next week already! My girls liked it so much that I had to bribe Delaney out of the pool and Avery ran through the splash park in her dry clothes.

A few more of my favorite photo's of the day...

{wordless wednesday}

and

{A to Z}

I got this from Carrie! :)

A -Age: 27
B- Bed Size: King... I don't know how we ever survived without it.
C- Chore you hate: Since my husband folds the laundry... I pick the shower. I hate scrubbing that thing!
D- Dog's Name: No dog here... Grandma decided to keep her. We got stuck with have a rabbit.
E- Essential starts to your day: Coffee, Coffee, Diet Coke
F- Favorite Color: Pink and Brown
G- Gold, Silver, or Platinum: My two most cherished rings are Gold.
H- Height: 5.9
I- Instruments you play: None! Unless, a camera counts.
J- Job Title: First, I'm wife and mommy. Second, Photographer.
K- Kids: 2 girls. Delaney Grace and Avery Kate
L-Living Arrangements: With the most awesome hubby and our two gorgeous girls.
M- Moms name: Pamela (Pam)
N- Nicknames: Kare Bear, Karibeari are two that have stayed with me all my life. "Sweets or Babe" from my husband. Oh, and my Grandmother calls me "very first"...
O- Overnight stay in the hospital other then Birth: Why do I have a feeling this is going to be the longest answer of all... Croup as a toddler, recovery from an ectopic pregnancy in December of 2004 - (worst thing ever!), gallbladder removal in February of 2005 with my brand new baby at home - (second worst thing ever!)
P- Pet Peeve: When I go to throw something away, usually a handful of trash, and there is no trash bag.
Q- Quote from a movie: Do you know the human head weighs eight pounds.
R- Right or Left handed: Right
S- Siblings: Sisters, Shelly - Holly - Britt
T- Time you wake up: That depends on the day. If its a go no where day.. 9:00
U- Underwear: Always!
V- Vegetable you dislike: Greens. (I'm sorry, I just can't make myself like them).
W- Ways you run late: Having to go back in the house for something we forgot, or looking for the match to a pair of the girls shoes
X- X-rays you've had: Wrist, Nose, Dental
Y- Yummy food you make: Chicken casserole
Z- Zoo Favorite: Giraffes

Okay- your turn.. you know you want to!

{“A good snapshot stops a moment from running away.”}

{wordless wednesday}

{its a family fun day}

Picnic style-
Every year the union holds a picnic for their employees. They have a huge lunch, desserts, cotton candy, ice cream, bounce houses, pony rides, rock walls, face painting... you name it. It's very kid oriented and its always a fun time. We always enjoy going, the kids have a blast and Daddy gets to show off his sweet girls to a lot of his friends from work. I've actually lost how many years we've gone, but I know for a fact we've been there every year since having Delaney and I think even a few years before that!

After lunch, we started with a pony ride as we do every year.



D has always loved those ponies! Much to my surprise her baby sister did not... I do believe its because she was still feeling a little under the weather, though. My baby girl is typically scared of nothing!

It wasn't long before baby sissy found something she wanted to do...






I'm really starting to realize how fast Delaney is starting to "grow up." I keep finding myself shocked at the little girl she has become. This was the first year she actually wanted something to do with the clowns and have her face painted.







I also realized that we didn't spend 99% of our day watching her ride the ponies over and over. Instead she wanted to do things like climb the rock wall, and do the bungee activities. Not something I was really expecting, but I guess sometimes we forget how fearless children are! That and her mama keeps ignoring the fact that she's growing up.





When baby sissy gets tired of waiting on her sister to finish playing...







I mean when did she become big enough to do this?






{and just because they are sweet and looking at the camera!}