I got it

Don't worry mom... you finish cooking supper and I'll feed brother 

Open Wide

Yum Yum Good 

Here she is...

The infamous Aunt Helen... ... I love this lady to death! 

Choo Choo

We had to stop on the way down b/c she got restless... ... the finger in the nose deal was all her (doesn't it remind you of a certain time in MC's where all the guys would do that!) 

Road Trip

This was taken on our way to Elamville, AL a few weeks ago. We gave her benedryl b/c she gets car sick. It knocked her out! 

FREECYCLE.ORG

I signed up for Freecycle.org several months ago but so far I've only taken one thing. The other day a lady was offering 2 toddler beds... well of course I jumped on it. She told me I could pick them up near beeswaxs (its by the lake). I emailed her back and asked for directions... she never answered. Well this morning she's got them reposted so I emailed her againing stating that I need/want the beds but I did not hear back from her about directions. Geez that really just makes me mad. I sure hope she emails me back with directions... thats just not right!

I LOVE THE HOLIDAYS

We had a great Thanksgiving with the Brock family. We were able to spend some time with Michael and Heather before they move to New Mexico. We spent the rest of the long weekend being lazy... except for the few hours on Saturday that we straighted up before our company arrived. Staci, Chris, Chloe, Crystal and Daniel came for dinner. They stayed for a couple of hours but we met back up around midnight at Walmart... us girls did anyways. I stayed at Walmart until 2:30AM!!!! Staci and Crystal left around 1:30. I love going to walmart at night... I felt like I had the whole store to myself.

Jessica spent most of the weekend with her Nanna and Papa. They went horseback riding on Sunday. She has 12 horses at her grandparents house. She came home telling me about riding and falling off of a DONKEY! LOL She didn't get hurt... she said he was real little. She did manage to jam her thumb at one point and its really bothering her. She made me unbotton her pants last night LOL... she's got a basketball game tonight so I hope it heals quickly.

Darcy's knew thing is HiC juice boxes... she loves them... and loves to pour them out! We bought her one of those little thingys that holds the juice box... she still manages to get it everywhere. She put on a show for our company... she was full speed.

The boys are rolling everywhere they want to go. Sometimes they'll pull their knees up but they don't know what to do next. They looked HUGE compared to Chloe (who's only 9 days younger). She's so dainty (I'm pretty sure I spelled that wrong).

I've gotta take a shower while the little ones are sleeping.

Thanksgiving

In the past my family, which included my parents, my sister and her family and us, have gone to Gatlinburg for Thanksgiving but not this year. We started that tradition after my Granny Ruby died but we haven't been able to go the last 2 years for various reasons. My husband proposed to me during our Thanksgiving trip in 2002.

This year we will be spending Thanksgiving with Matthew's family. My parent's are going to my grandparents and my sister is spending TGD with her husbands family. Matthew's brother and his wife will be here. They're moving to New Mexico the first of December.

I had planned on decorating the house and putting up our christmas tree on friday but Jessica's grandmother has asked her to spend the day with them. ***Jessica's dad hasn't called in months! He did however email her last week for the first time in weeks... it was pretty lame and SHORT!*** I could go shopping but I think I'll avoid the crowd on Blackout Friday (isn't that what its called?).

Saturday Staci and her family along with Crystal and her hubby are coming for dinner. I haven't seen staci since Darcy was first born. She lives in Texas. I can't remember the last time I saw Crystal... its been a year or more... She lives down the road!!!

Well I'd better go. Got things to do and kids to get dressed!

Favorites

I was gonna try and play Mel's game but I wasn't having much success with pictures b/c of our SLOW DIAL UP! I guess I could just tell ya my favorite things...

Candy - TWIX
Food - Pasta and Sushi
Drink - Coke and OJ (but only Tropicana)
Saying - It's not what you know but who you know
Color - Blue
Season - Winter
Holiday - Christmas
Car - I like SUV's
State - Probably somewhere like NC/SC/WV mountians
Game - I like to watch wheel of fortune and I like to play cards
Musician/Group - I really don't have a favorite
Animation/Cartoon - Backyardigans
Hobby - I got a sewing machine last year and I haven't used it much but really want to be able to
Snack - popcorn
Book - um...
Actor - Adam Sandler & Denzel Washington
Movie - Ever After
Actress - Kate Hudson & Drew Barrymore
TV Show - CSI Las Vegas
Childhood show - Punky Brewster

My Favorite Candy

TWIX
(I tried to post a pic but I couldn't get it to load)

The Twix candy bar, first introduced in 1979, was known as a "Raider" bar in France, Germany and several other European countries until 1991 when Mars decided to standardize its name. The change was not well accepted in countries such as Germany where customers mocked the name change as a transparent attempt to sell more candy bars by simply updating the name. The Twix bar consists primarily of a cookie center topped with caramel and coated with milk chocolate.

blah blah blah

We had Darcy's b'day party yesterday. It went really well but afterwards everything fell apart! By 6:30pm Matthew was S I C K... and the rest of them soon followed. Darcy had been sneezing during the day but I didn't think much of it and then the boys started. By bedtime it was official... Matthew, Darcy, Jacob and Jeremiah were all very sick. Jessica had been sick last week but she is just about over it. She went home with my dad after the party.

Last night was a very long night. We were up for hours with the little ones. They took turns. They were having a really hard time breathing. Darcy really scared us. She'd wake up screaming her head off and wouldn't let us touch her... she would just keep screaming like she was throwing a fit... finally she'd settle down but this repeated several times during the night. I wasn't sure if it were night terrors (they'd disappeared for weeks now) or if she was in pain. We prayed and prayed. I felt so helpless with all of them... and my poor husband was just as sick but he was helping me tend to all of them. I thought we'd never make it through the night.

Today they all slept a lot. I've been giving them over the counter meds... and a few left over prescriptions. I'm hoping to see a difference tomorrow... if not then we'll be visiting the doctor.

Thanks to all of you that sent cards to Rocky.... it made his day. Tara couldn't remember the names but she knew they were "my doings" as she put it b/c they were from around here.

Pigs or Dogs

That is the question...

Matthew wants to get the children a dog so they can grow up together. The other night somehow a pot bellied pig was mentioned. I did some research but I'm not sold on the idea. I found some conflicting info about PBP's... like some say their mini PBP's but other's say there's no such thing. Some say they only get anywhere from 60lbs to 150lbs and others say they are 150lbs to 175lbs. If I were to get one I'd one a very small one. The good thing about PBP's is they don't shed and bark! Do you or someone you know have (or had) a PBP? If so, please give me your advice... and this includes you MIKEY! I know you had one or 10 at one time ;)

Say a prayer for matthew's truck...

He called me today on his way home from work and said his brakes were grinding. He said he didn't feel comfortable driving it any more and could I please pick him up from the mechanic's. So I loaded up all the little ones and met him there. We're hoping its something very simply and cheap... why do things always happen at birthday's and Christmas!?! This weekend is Darcy's party and there are still things I need to pick up for it. And Christmas is just around the corner!!!!!

Picking on each other already

I've been putting the boys on the floor a lot lately b/c they're trying to crawl. Well it seems like everytime I put them both on the floor, no matter how much space is between them, they end up on top of each other. Yesterday I had to seperate them several times. One of the times they had rolled up next to each other upside down and they both had the foot of the other brother... knawing on it! Sometimes one of them will get sideways and will be kicking the other one in the face! Oh and if Darcy gets down there with them it never fails they pull her hair and she ends up screaming b/c they WILL NOT let go!

Wish List

I'm asking for your opinion. The other day while in the car with my nephew I asked him what he wanted for his b'day and christmas. He said to check out his wish list at Walmart.com and Toysrus.com... now immediately I thought it was... whats the word... maybe tacky? But my sister said that her husbands family has loved the idea (he comes from a huge italian family). So yesterday I went to walmart.com and started a christmas wish list for the boys but I'm thinking about deleting it. There's just something that doesn't sit right with me about it. What are your thoughts?

Terrible Tuesday???

Its only 10 am but I'm ready for this day to be over with!!!! Its yucky outside! I was feeding one of the boys and Darcy disappeared on me. I knew she'd gone down the hall but I also remembered shutting all the doors. The only room she could get into was the laundry room... she likes to lay on the piles of clothes. I called for her several times and finally she came. After feeding the baby I noticed a trail of formula. Darcy, for what ever reason, likes to get the cans of formula and eat the powder!! Apparently when I made Jacob's bottle I didn't push the formula back on the counter far enough. She had poured out the rest of the can (about half full) all down the hall. That stuff is like powdered Gold! The boys go through a can of that a day... at $13 a can! Guess I'll learn to keep it out of her reach!

On Sunday Matthew, Jessica and myself went to the Christmas village at the BJCC with my sister and nephew. I wanted to buy a christmas ornament with all of our names on it... I get a new one every year. I was able to find a really cute one with 6 little snowmen. I also bought something to put in the yard. Its a pole with 3 little signs that say "From our house to your house, Merry Christmas!" I thought it was super cute. I love Christmas decorations. I love the old timey looking ones and I love snowmen! I've always wanted Christmas dishes but haven't gotten any yet.

Jessica has her 2nd round of basketball tryouts today after school. I'm not sure if she's going to make it or not. Its for the Junior Varisty team which is made up of 6th through 9th graders... most of whom have been playing a long time. This is Jessica's first attempt at BB.

The boys are starting to be more mobile... they're not crawling yet but I expect them to any day now. They're rolling everywhere they want to go... its precious. They also grab Darcy's hair if its reachable. They've started to sit up but not for long. I guess thats my fault b/c I seldom have time to sit in the floor with them... but i've been trying to make more time to do so. They're doing much better with baby food. They eat cereal in the mornings and at supper they have baby food.

Darcy is my little daredevil. She's a jumper. If she can jump from it she will. She jumps from the coffee table to the couch and back. She jumps from the 3rd bottom step. She jumps on her daddy... mommy doesn't let her. She has a plastic kitchen at the Brock's house that she turns upside down and jumps from it. She eats better when I feed her. I'm hoping she'll grow out of all these copycat things when the boys do. She'll scream for a bottle when i give the boys one. She'll climb up in my lap and lay like a baby. She's a MESS!

Well i don't know I already mentioned this or not but I finally got my computer/craft room picked up. Its not painted yet. And I haven't gotten the doors mounted to the walls yet (they're gonna be my work table) but i'm hoping that will be my christmas present from Matthew.

Sam and Tiffany... along with their little ones... are coming to stay with us the first weekend in December. I'm trying to get things looking decent for when they arrive. But sooner than that I have Darcy's b'day party THIS weekend. The worse part is...I basically have to wait till the last minute to get ready for it or else it will be trashed before the party. I'll just keep the house picked up as best as I can and then on Friday I'll do the GOOD cleaning. I think I'll visit the dollar store for some candles... believe it or not they have some good smellin candles!

A friend in need

Matthew and I have a very dear friend who has Cystic Fibrosis. His name is Rocky and he's 32 years old. If you know anything about this disease than you probably know you rarely reach adulthood. Rocky spends weeks out of the year in the hospital for various reasons. His condition is getting worse. He's at UAB right now and He thinks this is the end. He has a wife and a step son who are fighting this battle with him. He needs our prayers right now. I talked with his wife today and she asked me if we could send some letters and pictures to him for encouragement. I thought it would be really neat if I could get others to do the same. She wants to fill the walls in his hospital room with encouragment. So if you would like to contribute please send it to:



Attn: Rocky Gillespie

Jefferson Towers Rm 302

619 19th Street S

Birmingham, AL 35249

And the light bulb went off...

A few weeks back I posted my secret of getting a job. One of the reason for getting a job was to have some extra money to do things with my family. Here's the awesome part where God stepped in....

My husband and I said if we could just have an extra $100 a week it would help. I filled out the application on a Friday. That same Friday Matthew received his first paycheck with the new company... The paycheck was exactly $100 more!!!!! When he switched to the new company he had to fill out all the tax withholding forms... turns out he hadn't changed the dependant part since we got married!!!!! Immediately I thought "wow God, thanks!" But instead of saying... okay God you provided the $100 I don't need to work... I said... wow now we can have $200 extra dollars a week!!!!!! GREED.

The Wednesday after I turned in the application I called them. They said to call back in an hour, I did.... only to be told to call back the next day. I called back the next day and was told they'd call me back in a couple of weeks. All I was asking each time I called was if they'd received my application that I filled out online!!! So I let a week pass and then I called back... this time I was told they'd call me back in an hour... that was last Friday. Ya think God's trying to tell me "Hey Nicole! I provided you're extra $100 you needed so you don't have to leave you're family at night!!!!" Sometimes I think we just need a good ole smack over the head before we realize what God's trying to tell us.

The REAL idiot!

John Kerry is an ASS!!!!!

I think its funny that the democratic party uses the donkey as their symbol.



This morning I was up bright and early watching the news. I caught the speech where John Kerry was going on and on about (and i'm paraphrasing here) how if you study hard and work hard than you'll be smart and IF NOT then you'll end up in Iraq. Now of course to me thats a direct insult to our military NOT to our President. In another press conference he said "lets make this crystal clear, I will NOT apoligize to our President for the remarks I said about his failure in Iraq"... Maybe somebody needs to make it "crystal clear" to him that what he said about our troops being STUPID doesn't have anything to do with our President's failures in Iraq!!!!!!!!!!!

Its your American duty to our TROOPS and our nation to vote!!!!! Don't be lazy!!!! If you don't vote then you have no right to complain about politics.

Lazy Days

Sorry I haven't posted on here in a while. Everytime I try I get a error message saying i've timed out... i hate dial up! I have been posting a lot on xanga... its easier for me... although I can't post pics b/c it takes tooooooo long.

I'm getting pretty frustrated with the whole job thing. I filled out an application online 2 weeks ago this past friday. I've called them and called them back like requested but so far I get the "call us back ______." You'd think I was trying to get a job with the president... this is retail not rocket science! (not that the president and rocket science have anything to do with each other - LOL)

Last night we took the kids to a friends house for a bonfire/hayride. We had a blast. I'm really glad we decided to go. Lately its just been easier for us to stay home!

Christmas will be here soon and we're trying to set aside some money for the kids. We would really like to buy/build one of those wooden playground type things. They can get really expensive. Matthew and his Dad are weighting out the cost of building it rather than buying a kit. I really would like to have something like this for our children now so it can get MANY years of playing out of it.

Darcy's birthday is just around the corner also... November 16th. We bought her a tricycle and we're going to the doodlebops on the 18th. We're having her birthday party on the 11th. I'm not sure what theme we're going with... she has sooo many favorites. We may combine them all... Dora, Barney, Blues Clues and the Doodlebops... wouldn't that be crazy fun... hahaha.

Well I'd better go start supper. Just wanted to let you all know what was going on in our lives.