A little update

Oh wow, where do I start. This last week has been a busy one! A crazy one!
Jeff came home for our anniversary weekend:) It was a nice little break from reality. We hadn't seen him since Christmas!!!!! Olivia had been having a hard time without him and breaking down several times a day because she missed her daddy. So we flew him home for a short weekend trip. Since it was President's Day and Fat Tuesday down south, he had a four day weekend.

Friday we took Deagan into his ENT specialist to get his ears checked. Long story short: he's been having serious issues with ear drainage and goopy ears. Our doctor kept blowing me off (that's a whole nother story!). So I took matters in my own hands and went to the big guys. Anyway, one of his tubes had fallen out of place and slipped down INTO his ear canal, behind a ruptured eardrum. And is now trapped behind it, in it's attempts to heal, and is full of nasty infected fluid. The other tube is still intact, but also has an ear infection. You see, tubes are supposed to HELP ears. But Deagan has been a walking ear infection since he got them last may, like one a month.
So the doctor put him on a combo three week antibiotic, the strongest a kid can get, to murder that infection. Plus ear drops, that he loves. We are riding it out until the infection clears up and stays clear. Then he'll probably go in and remove the trapped one and place a new tube in. Plus they FINALLY ordered an immunity pannel to see if he has some underlying issues that are keeping him sick all of the time.

On a lighter note, Jeff and I found a fabulous house to rent. It's a new construction that they guy can't stand to have empty any longer so is giving us a great deal on to rent. We originally thought we'd be buying to cash in on the terrible market right now in Michigan, but we have no idea where we will be and for how long. So for now, we'll rent. All of the jobs Jeff is working on are in the Livonia, Detrioit, Ann Arbor area, so we are going to stay central in the Brighton/Howell area. It's a great house in between the two on Lake Chemung. I'm sure I'll send out cute "we've moved....again!" cards soon with the new address. I will be gradually moving over small things over the next two weeks until Jeff gets home. Then we'll have a huge moving party and invite ya'll over:)

Olivia is sassy as ever. She's not three, she's thirteen. She's flooded with emotions and has a fire cracker temper to match. She was so excited to have Jeff home, but couldn't stop thinking about him having to leave again and that made her mad, so she took it out on him. Great logic, right?!
On a lighter note, she's doing fantastic in her ice skating lessons. The first week was so-so, she was filled with nerves and overwhelmed by all of the kids. The second week something just "clicked" and she totally got it, without a hitch. This week they moved her to level three of her group. She was heads shorter than them all. She was doing great, then she took a hard spill that scared her and she lost it for a little while. But, like a champ, she went back out and did very well. It's exciting to see her so interested in something that SHE decided. We never pushed her, we never even suggested ice skating, she latched onto it and there she went. It's nice to see her developing into her own little person:)

As for me, I'm doing fantastic. I'll be finished with my photography school in about two months. It's very nerve racking to think that I'll be done and out on my own this summer. It's scary. I just don't know where to start and have a lot of planning to do. I have tons of ideas, it's just building it up that will take the time. I'll still take classes here and there, I'd be silly not to take advantage of the amazing facilities at my school!
Last week, I learned a little something that will change the face of my photography and thrust me into my niche that I've been searching for. Just wait, and I'll show it to you soon.

Sorry for not posting pictures lately. Life's been just a little bit busy....but I'm working on putting together a webpage of my photography adventures thus far in school, it's a work in progress.

Thanks for all the love,
Tricia

Workin' On It...

I ran four miles today. FOUR. If you know me, you know I HATE running with a passion. Desperately hate it. I wish I loved it, but I don't. I find it hard to understand the enjoyment of it. Maybe someday. As for now, I'll do it. Because it works!

Our trip to Chicago with Lindsey

Lindsey came home from Virginia to spend a week in Michigan. We were finally able to go dress shopping for bridesmaid dresses on Saturday with Alexis and Olivia. We had a wonderful time out to lunch and running around town trying on dresses. (We found just the perfect one)!
Sunday morning bright and early, we boarded the Amtrak train in Ann Arbor and headed to Chicago. The kids were completely fascinated by the train. They couldn't believe that they were actually riding on a choo-choo. You could say the obsession started very early in Slidell, where the playground butts right up to the railroad track. We've spend countless times standing on the benches waving to the train. And then moving back to Brighton, our favorite little restarant has a train that goes around the inside of the ceiling....Needless to say they love it!
So riding on the train was a huge treat for them:) We went to Chicago just for a night. We scored a great hotel just a block off the Magnificent mile. And only two away from the American Girl Doll Store. That's where we headed first. It was painfully cold and the kids were bundled up in full body snowsuits while we walked the streets. We had to stop every block or so to go into a store and warm up. It's was silly, but fun. As you'll see, Olivia made a hauling!
That night, it was superbowl night, and we ordered pizza from Gino's East. Usually yummy, but oddly not that night.
Monday, we checked out of our hotel and stored our luggage while we went around town again. We went to the shops at the Water Tower and then to the Navy Pier. The kids really enjoyed the fountains upstairs and had some great laughs!
We said goodbye to Aunt Linny as she headed to the airport to go back to Virginia and we headed to the train station to catch another one home. It was a wonderful little get away, even though it was like twenty below zero in the "windy city!" It's always refreshing to spend time with Lindsey and see how much the kids adore her:)

You wanna mess with my sissy?!?!?!?

You've gotta get through me first!

PASSED OUT ON THE TRAIN AFTER A LONG WEEKEND!

Me and the kids!

Well at least I'm looking at the camera.....
:)

Don't be sad DD...

Don't be sad DD we'll see aunt linny again soon:(

Deagie and Linny

I LOVE YOU AUNT LINNY:)

Brotherly-Sisterly Love!

These kids are so in love with each other, it makes you melt!

They love their Aunt Linny:)

The kids had a great time with Aunt Linny in the hotel room...flying high:)

Deagan's Dolly Obsession

Deagan had just as much fun at the AmericanGirl Doll Store as any girl did. He enjoyed the bity baby nursery where they had the baby dolls and strollers to push around:)

Meet Kit

Olivia was one little lucky girl....not spoiled at all. Lindsey and I took her (maybe moreso for ourselves;) to the American Girl Doll Store in Chicago. It was a little girl's wonderland. There were walls and walls of clothing and accessories. And beautiful dolls everywhere you turned. It was a whole lot of warm fun on a VERY COLD day:)

Inquisitive Olivia on the train.

Olivia loved to look at everything and try to figure it all out!

Deagan on the choo-choo train:)

I think he was just a little excited:) Every single time the train whistle blew he had to say "shoe-shoe" in his oh so cute way!