Welcome Lilly Ann

Congratulations Allan & Sarah!

I would like to congratulate Allan and Sarah for the birth of their new baby girl, Lilly Ann. I know Sandy and Wade are very proud grandparents for the fourth time. I just can't believe, I'm a great aunt for the fourth time. I wish them all the very best!

Doug and I stayed home today and it's a good thing because I think I caught a stomach virus from the hospital. I woke up with a headache this morning with a little nausea. It got worse as the day progressed. I'm really weak and my stomach still hurts. On top of that, Katie had some diarrhea in her diaper this afternoon. She hasn't had another bowel movement since. I hope she doesn't have it. I spoke to Sue tonight and she said she felt the exact same way last night on the way home and she still had it a little this morning, but she feels fine now. Maybe this will be a 24 hour thing and leave soon.

I have been checking on Mom throughout the day. Maryann called me around lunch time and let me know what she knew. I called the nurse tonight, around 8:30 - 9:00, to see if she was still doing well. According to the nurse, Mom has been able to talk and breathe much better without loosing her breath. She's done so well with it that they have cut back on her oxygen intake. They have to give her a little oxygen because it is standard procedure for heart patients. She underwent a little physical therapy and did real well with it. The nurses got her sitting up in bed this afternoon and she isn't having any pain in her chest or much in her back. I was so thrilled to hear this news. I asked about the infection and they took more blood out of Mom today. They took blood from two different parts of Mom's body to compare and see if maybe the original test, which detected the infection, might have been a fluke. She went on to say, Mom did have slight temperatures off and on while staying there, so there is an infection some where. The big question is where because all the tests they have run thus far is coming back negative. The nurse did detect a cloudiness to her urine, so she may have a bladder infection. She said she would note it for the doctor to look into it. Who knows? If all continues to go well with her, we are looking at her being released from the hospital by Monday. She won't be coming home, instead she will return to the rehab clinic. Thank you for the continuous prayers!

You'll need to check out J. Jill's sales. I've seen a few shirts and pants, I wouldn't mind having at a very reasonable price, up to 75% off the original price. If you like J. Jill's clothing, you'll have to check it out.

When all is well with Mom and I know I won't have to up and run to the hospital every other day, I think we're going to try the potty training thing once more. I gave it a rest when I felt like I was going to loose my mind, around Halloween. Katiebug will be 2 1/2 years old next month, so maybe this will be a good age to try again. I've got bookmarked a travel potty that's easy to store away in your vehicle and a folding potty seat for when we go shopping from One Step Ahead. They both had very good ratings and I believe will help me out a lot during this whole potty training thing. I've already got the cloth training pants & pull ups for nighttime. Now all I need is lots of patience and a glass of wine every night. tehe! Hopefully, I won't need the wine every night.

I asked Doug tonight if he's noticed Katie's favorite sentence while pretending to read a book or playing? I've noticed it for a while. She'll say, "Snow White, said today, said today." What this means, I have absolutely no idea. I even catch her trying to spell her name. I don't know if she knows what she's saying, but I'll hear her say "atie" or "tie" and rarely "katie." If I spell it out for her, she'll tell me that's Katie's name. We've really spoiled Katie on the cookies and chocolates during the holidays. I've strayed away from veggies and fruit, so I'm trying to reintroduce those food products to her. She loves the fruit, it's the veggies I'm having a little bit of difficulty. She'll say she's not hungry, but as soon as I put up her meal she'll want a cookie or a piece of chocolate. She's all the time asking for gum. I've had to really be strict with the gum because as soon as it's time to eat, she'll say, "no I chew gum." It's gotten to where she'll chew all of the sweet out of the gum and then hand it back to me or throw it away and ask for more gum. She gets so mad at me, to where she'll throw a fit, when I tell her she can't have any cookies or candy. I have a feeling I'm going to have to resort back to the naughty chair because right now the switch isn't working. Maybe I can go back to the chair until that doesn't work anymore.

The other day, it was so beautiful outside that we spent a little time out in the yard, before we got the word Mom had a heart attack. I coated Katie up and out we went. Katie had to play in the back of the truck for a little bit, I don't know what's so exciting about the back of a truck. Then, I caught her sneaking the top to the sand box off. I told her it would be alright with me to play in the sand box. Oh, she was so excited! She had sand all in her hair, all over her clothes and I found some in her mittens. Montana acted so lonesome, so I decided to get him out with us. He had a blast, smelling of everything and everyone. He did real good around Katie. The only concern I had was that he might accidentally knock her down either by leaning on her or with his tail wagging. He was pretty good about staying in the yard with us the whole time. It was funny, Katie wanted in the back yard and Montana wanted in the front yard. Do you know how hard that was when it was time to go eat lunch? I was trying to get Montana fixed up in the back yard and every time I let him go, he would go right back to the front yard. Katie has never really played in the back yard before, so it was cool and adventurous for her. Of course, she threw a fit when I had to pass her off to her Dad at the back door. She was so mad at me because she wanted to play.