Little surprises make him the happiest

AJ is 6 years old. He has been asking me for a while about getting his ear pierced, but when we suggest that we actually go do it, he changes his mind. Since we had to go back to the mall to get Sofia's ear repierced, he decided that he really wanted it done. I asked him over and over if he REALLY wanted it done. He insisted that he really did. I text Anthony and asked if it was okay. He said fine, so I filled out the paperwork for him to get it done. He decided that he wanted both ears pierced. Since only getting one wouldn't really be much of a savings, I agreed to it. He chose these little skull earrings. I'm not a fan of skulls, but these were really cute.

AJ was so brave, he didn't even shed a single tear. He didn't whine, or even make a noise. The whole day, he was so happy with them. He showed EVERYONE who we came across. It really was a great day for him.

Did you pierce your little boys' ear(s)? If not, would you? Both ears, or one? I'm usually not a fan of both ears pierced for little boys, but it looks so cute on my son! I am happy with this decision, and glad that it was something that he wanted to do.

Home Safety

I never really babyproofed my house for any of my kids. Until I had Gianna. That child is Evel Knievel reincarnated, I swear. She seems to have NO fear whatsoever. One of her favorite activities is to sneak in the bathroom and play with the water. Water from the toilet, sink, even the tub. So, I decided to go ahead and purchase a Safety 1st toilet lock from Amazon. It came in a few days later, hubby installed it, and we were good to go. No more worrying about Gianna putting things in the toilet (including her hands). For extra protection, we bought those handle covers so that she couldn't open the bathroom door. Fast forward about 5 months later, and this is what our toilet lock looks like now.

A lot of good that does us, right? Oh well, at least we still have the handle covered. Though, it doesn't help when people forget to close the bathroom door. Grrrr

My friends son spent the night Friday night while his parents were busy moving. He wanted Mac and Cheese for dinner, so I made it. I had Sofia wash the dishes before I made dinner while I picked up after the boys and Gianna. When she finished, she put the plastic spoon holder thing on the stove so that I could use it. Without me looking, I put the pot of water on the burner right next to the spoon holder. I didn't realize that it was touching the burner when I turned it on. While waiting for the water to boil, I went out into the living room to see what the kids were up to. Within in a few minutes, there was a terrible smell. I ran into the kitchen to see the spoon holder on fire. I turned the burner off and carefully picked it up and put it in the sink. 

Looks like I need to add a new spoon holder to my list of items to buy. Or just stop cooking. Either way ;)

On the bright side, I gave Gianna a bath last night, and gave her a huge Alfalfa style with her shampoo. It was just too cute to not take a pic.

I've been approved for a review of something I've never ever heard of before. Not sure when it will come in, but be on the lookout for it ;)

Poor sick baby

Gianna's temperature has been  ranging between 100.5° and 101.8° since running an errand yesterday. Originally, I thought it was just because it was so hot in my van (no AC) that she was just warm from that. But after giving her some time to cool down in front of the air conditioner in the house, it didn't make a difference in her temp. I gave her some Tylenol, and it only dropped slightly. I ended up going to Walmart to buy some Motrin. That worked a little better than Tylenol, but didn't last too long. This morning, she still had the fever, so I made an appt with her doctor. I'm hoping it's nothing serious.

We have upped AJ's Ritalin to 20mg (2 pills in the AM) because the one wasn't doing anything. So far, I'm not seeing a change with 20mg either. I really hate that this is such a guessing game. I don't like putting pill after pill after pill into his little system. Not to mention, some of the pills just make him worse. I wish it was easier to find something that works for him.

While we're off to G's doc appointment, enjoy this cute pic of her from the other day. My baby just LOVES her Dora cereal!

Beads and braids

I absolutely love when my SIL braids Gianna's hair. It just looks so so cute on her! She doesn't like to sit still, and often falls asleep when she's getting it done. She doesn't sleep for long, though. Check out her newest hair style.

I need to get more beads in different colors. We only have red, white, blue, and black right now. Isn't she so cute?!?!?!

Happy Fourth of July!

It's been a while since I've written. Our internet got shut off for a while. I've been busy helping my sister in law with her new baby. The kids have been acting up. It's just been one hell of a few weeks.

AJ's therapist put him on Vyvanse recently. Unfortunately, it didn't help. If anything, it made him worse. He's been more upset, agitated, whiny, etc. She decided to take him off that, and put him on Ritalin LA. We planned to start him the day after the script was written. Unfortunately, none of the pharmacies around us had it in stock. So, I dropped it off after the appointment (Thursday) with the promise that it would be ready today. The goal was to have him on it Friday, Saturday, and Sunday and see if there was any improvement in his mood and behavior. If not, then I was to start giving him 2 pills on Monday. So, since we didn't start it last week, we will start tomorrow and give him until next Monday. I'm hoping for some serious change, because I just can't take it any more.

Gianna's hair has been ALL over the place lately. Just crazy. It's the heat and humidity. Well, you'll see for yourself. I love this picture. She really does love her kitty.

My sister in law just had a baby a little over a month ago, and has been trying very hard to breastfeed. I've been helping her out and encouraging her as much as I can. She really is doing a fantastic job, but she's not so sure of herself. I really wish she would just have the confidence she needs. She's grown so much in the last year or so, and I am so very proud of her. Despite her struggles, she still finds time to help me out with Gianna's crazy hair. I absolutely love what she did recently with her hair.

Sooooo much easier to manage! Just wake up and go. She loves shaking her head to hear the beads hitting each other. I do hope she continues to do her hair. I just think it looks so cute on her!


Have you heard of Extreme Couponing? Of course you have. Everyone has, haven't they? Anyways, I would LOVE to learn to do that, as our grocery budget is EXTREMELY limited. I took a few days to carefully match prices and plan out my shopping trip(s). One of my previous trips, I did very well, so I had confidence that I'd be able to save quite a bit for this one as well. Here is what I got last time:

I spent $1.29 out of pocket after the coupons and checks. Mainly it was because of the Enfagrow. I had 5 checks for $7, one for $5. I also had 3 coupons, $5/2. Each pack was $5.28. So, with checks and coupons, I saved $55 right there. The price of all 6 packs was $31.68, so that left me with a $23.32 overage. Waters were each $1, diapers (in emergencies or babysitters who can't use cloth) were $4, soda $7.48 (plus $1 off coupon), bread $1.28 (I think). Also, there were two 20 oz sodas not pictured. Not bad at all!!

In any event, this blog post was all over the place, I realize that. Today is July 4th- Independence Day. Also, it is my twin sisters in law's birthday. So, Happy Birthday Natasha and Nicole!!

If you chose to set off fireworks, please exercise caution. Especially with children. I know they're fun. I loved them as a kid, and my kids enjoy playing with them. I found this on Pinterest last year, and it worked great. No more worrying about sparks flying.
http://media-cache-ec2.pinimg.com/originals/8f/85/5e/8f855e9f726ebeb679ab5a16ce45da6b.jpg

What a photographer!

Gianna is in love with the camera. She's also in love with taking selfies. She usually wakes up earlier than I do, and is super quiet so as not to wake me. While I sleep, she snaps pictures of herself. I never find the pics until the next day, or even a week later. It instantly brightens my day when I look through my pictures and see her gorgeous face.
So, enjoy the pictures from my favorite photographer!

Also, you may have noticed that you cannot comment anonymously any note. That is due to someone who wants to harass me while being cloaked behind the anonymous option. Also, spam comments have increased tenfold, and I'm tired of my phone notifications blowing up over it. I apologize for the inconvenience and hope to change it in the near future.

3AM ramblings

It's almost 3 on the East Coast. Gianna is playing around in her crib. As soon as I stand up to walk out of the room, she immediately stands up and starts to cry for me. Not only does she cry, but the kitten is crying for me on the other side of the door! He's lonely, I get it. Why is he lonely? Well, Abbey is gone. As sad as that makes me, it was for the best.

Gianna was not very nice to Abbey. Many times, she would poke her in the rear for whatever reason. Abbey has bitten her and scratched her, but she kept doing it. She also would kick her whenever she was near her. Abbey could be walking by to get to her food, and G would kick her. If Abbey was laying on the floor, G would walk up to her and stomp on her. She would pull her tail, her ears, and her legs. It got to the point that Abbey would hide out in the basement until Gianna was gone. It wasn't fair to Abbey.

I posted in one of the local yard sale groups that I was seeking a new home for her, and had quite a bit of interest. Fortunately, we found a home quickly for her, and she left today. Well, technically yesterday I guess. I really struggled with the decision. I would think it was best for her, then I would get sad because she's a great cat. But, I couldn't think of only myself. She needed to be somewhere where she was happy and could walk around freely. So, since Abbey is gone, poor kitten is sad and missing his mommy.

I'd love to bring him in my room for the night, but I need to get G back to sleep first. Since the food and litter box is downstairs, I need to keep my door open. Since I need to keep my door open, Gianna needs to stay in her bed. Or else she will end up staying up and getting into things she shouldn't. So, here I sit, on the end of Sofia's bed, telling Gianna to lay down and go to sleep. Every time she falls asleep and snores, I get up. As soon as I touch the door, she's standing up and crying. This is going to make for a long night.

So, since I'm up, I figured I might as well ramble a bit. Get some thoughts out and give an update on AJs treatment plan. At his last appointment, we decided to try another medication along with the one he is on now. The one he currently takes is to help his moods due to the ODD. As soon as the insurance authorizes this new medicine, we will start him on Vyvanse for his ADHD. He isn't as violent as he's been, and that's because we upped his Risperidone to 1mg in the morning, and 1mg at night. There is definitely a HUGE change in his moods if he misses even one dose. I am looking forward to getting his ADHD under control now that his ODD is managed. Wish us luck!

School is out on the 17th. I am definitely not going to miss the 6:45 am wake ups, but I will miss being able to run and do errands without everyone being there with me. It's just so much quicker if it's just Gianna and I. I now also need to start planning things for them to do during Summer. We will likely spend a lot of time at various parks. Hoping to get some play dates in as well.

Life certainly has been hectic. I can't wait to just relax. Tomorrow, I am turning my phone off, and doing nothing at all. Besides going to Walmart for some Vinegar. Other than that, absolutely nothing. So, if you need to get a hold of me, please seek out a carrier pigeon. Or even a fox messenger. Or you could leave a voicemail or text. I'll answer eventually. Now that Gianna is asleep, it is time for me to sneak out again, so I may curl up next to my husband, and finally go to sleep. G'night!!