WHAT a Day!

Man oh man. Sunday afternoons after church are always our lazy days, but yesterday was the exact opposite.

So, some of you may know that Macey has complained of her tummy hurting off and on since September. In October, her pediatrician thought she had gastritis around her bellybutton area and prescribed Zantac for a month, which really seemed to help. Well, last week the complaints started again. Then Saturday, the complaints were frequent, and she started holding her right side. I immediately thought it could be her appendix and starting Googling (bad idea). I read on multiple sites that the telltale sign of appendicitis for young kids is pain that moves from the bellybutton to the right side, and that 80% of cases in children younger than 4 end in a ruptured appendix because their symptoms are so hard to miss. I told Greg, "Well, thankfully she's not running fever or throwing up, so hopefully we're OK." I spoke too soon...

About an hour later, she felt hot (we have no reliable fevers anymore!) and then while I was downstairs feeding Easton, I heard Macey calling for me, and it wasn't the normal "mommy, mommy." I ran upstairs, and she looked strange, then started throwing up. It was pitiful. I called the doctor's office, spoke with a nurse and headed to urgent care. We got there, and after 45 minutes hadn't even been able to check in yet it was so crowded! After we heard that the wait would be more than 3 hours, we just decided to wait it out at home and if things worsened we'd go go LeBonheur. Macey slept in our bed that night because we both wanted to be RIGHT THERE in case anything happened.

In the middle of the night, I woke up sick as a dog. I was up all night with the stomach bug, which Easton and Greg also had a touch of. It was awful and obvious that we weren't going to church that morning. Macey slept really, really late the next morning, and about 45 minutes after she woke up she complained about her tummy hurting again, so we got right in the car and went to LeBonheur.

They were wonderful, and we were in a room immediately. Then we went off to do x-rays. As I was sitting in the x-ray room, I started to feel really hot and queasy. Before the x-ray started, they x-ray techs asked me to stand behind a partition. As I stood up, I knew something was wrong, but I couldn't really form the right words to tell them I was about to be sick. The next thing I know, I'm on the floor, and the x-ray techs were shaking me awake. Apparently, I had passed out and hit my head on some equipment and the floor on the way down. I can't even explain how weird I felt, but that's an entirely different story. They got me in a wheelchair, and BAM...passed out again. They wheeled me to a children's trauma room...keep in mind, now I am a patient at a children's hospital! It took a while, but they finally got fluids in me, and after I was stabilized they had to transfer me to Baptist. I don't want to be mean, but I'll just say it was TERRIBLE there. AWFUL. And I was a big fan of that hospital after having Easton there...I guess I still am, but just had a bad experience.

After 5 1/2 hours and a ridiculous amount of tests (most of which were already done at LeBonheur), I was able to go home. During this time, Macey was released from LeBonheur because (thankfully) she was perfectly fine, just the really bad stomach bug, too. They're still not sure what's been hurting for so long, but they were able to get a good look at everything, and she's great. Greg brought her to my new hospital, and traded with my mom, who took Macey to their house. Then Greg stayed with me. By the time we got home, we were beyond exhausted and very thankful for wonderful parents who had both of our children for the night. I slept GREAT and feel better this morning. Lesson for the day...if you get sick, drink lots of fluids!

Emily's Custom Art

It's official! I have created a Facebook page to sell paintings. Check it out and hopefully you'll "like" my page!

Click here to visit Emily's Custom Art on Facebook.

I'm constantly thinking of new ideas! I'm hoping to try out some new Christmas-themed paintings, as well as a sweet little Memphis Tiger soon.

Someone's 9 Months Old Today!

Happy 9-month birthday to our precious boy! I probably say at least twice a day, "He's just so sweet."

As you can tell, these are getting more difficult!

New Business Venture? Maybe.

As I mentioned in an earlier post, I had so much fun at a paint party recently that this week I've been going to town trying different ideas. I really seem to gravitate toward ideas that could be used in kids' rooms or baby nurseries. I've got some other animal ideas to try this week, but here's what I've got so far. Greg and I are looking into the possibly of opening an Etsy shop, but I'd like to have a few more samples ready first. On this week's agenda...a pink elephant (because pink elephants are the best), a silly frog, an adorable giraffe and maybe (maybe) a puppy.

A few I've done so far:

Just for Fun...

Take a side-by-side look at Macey and Easton's monthly birthday pictures! I can't believe that next week we'll be doing pictures for Easton's 9-month birthday...

A few things to note:

• I was a bad mom when Macey turned 4 months old because there's no picture documenting it! Instead I used a cute picture of her and her cousin Lizzie that was taken around the four-month mark.
• Look how much Easton changes between months 5 and 6!
• Two things have remained the same...the babies get bigger and the green chair gets dirtier.

God Definitely Has a Sense of Humor

This morning as I was driving to work, I was proud of that fact that I had gotten up, gotten everyone ready and out the door and made a quick grocery run. As I said, "Thank you God for this productive morning," the Dr. Pepper I was opening exploded all over me.

Pretty sure God was laughing saying, "Yeah, the day's not over yet. You still need me."

Creative Weekend

Yesterday, I went to a paint party with my mom, sister-in-law and some friends. Basically, the instructor walked us through painting this adorable snowman! I can't wait to hang it up with our other Christmas decorations in a few weeks.

 
As we were working on this project, I started to think about how much I enjoyed art classes in high school, even though I would hardly call myself creative or crafty. Regardless, I do really enjoy getting out the paints and seeing what happens!

This morning, I painted these for the kids' rooms! I'm itching to do some more...

Christmas Gift for a Cause

As someone who works in nonprofit, it's probably not surprising that I love giving gifts that also help an important cause! Here's a great idea that you might like as you're thinking about shopping for the holidays.

Have you heard of the International Princess Project? This organization advocates for women enslaved in prostitution, helping them restore their lives and empowering them to live free. In 2005, Shannon Keith, the IPP founder, took a life-changing to trip to India during which she saw the faces of young women and girls trapped against their will. Upon returning home to America, she was determined to make a difference.

Here's how YOU can help (and shop!):

Check out the IPP website and consider buying a pair of gorgeous and comfortable Punjammies, which are pajamas made by women who were formerly enslaved in prostitution. By creating these pajamas, the women are learning a marketable skill so they can safely support themselves and provide for their families.

I have these!

Look at the cute bag they come in!

I really want these...and so many others!

Dinner's Always Interesting

Dinner is always interesting around here! Watch Macey acting silly, and (as always) E-man is just sitting back and relaxing.

Great Deal on Christmas Cards!

Every year, I love (love, love, love) creating and sending out our Christmas cards. But if you're not careful, it can get expensive, so I'm always on the lookout for cheap ways to have great cards. Yesterday, I bought this deal on Groupon.com for $75 worth of Christmas cards through Picaboo for only $25. Sold!

If you're interested, hurry up and buy because the deal ends tomorrow!

Brinkley!

Tonight, my parents' sissy manly dog, Brinkley, is spending the night!

He's fitting in nicely with our color scheme, wouldn't you say?

Brinkley

"I want to hold it, momma!"

Goofy girl...

Halloween FUN

This year's Halloween was awesome! Even though this was technically her third Halloween, this year Macey REALLY got it, which made it so much fun! Easton was just cool, calm and collected the whole time, even though poor little guy didn't get to have any candy. Next year, Easton, next year!

I would love to say that I made their costumes DIY-style, but who are we kidding...I'm not the craftiest mom out there. Maybe one day. BUT I did get both of them for $11 a piece, so in my opinion, spending $22 total on Halloween costumes was a steal.

On Halloween, Macey's babysitter painted her face like a kitty cat! 

My Easton man!

When we got to Zoo Boo, his stroller wouldn't buckle with the suit on, haha!

Let's go!

Macey and her buddy, Paxton.

Sweet girl wanted to "write about the animals" when we got home!