Swim Little Fishy

Bailey got to go swimming at Nana and Pop's' (which is Kylie's Mom and Dad) three times this weekend.  Sid took her Friday evening while I was still almost dead, then I took her Sunday and we all got to go today.  When Sid got home with her Friday he said we were going to have to do something because she did not want to be held in the pool.  She loves her some Mason Whitehead and she wanted to be right with him.  So Saturday, while we were in Jackson, we picked her up this float swimsuit thing, that now has the tag back on it, waiting to be returned, better in theory than in reality, but anyway, when I took her Sunday she cracked me up kicked and bucking and wanting to stay right up next to Mason.  She also swam some back and forth to me and Nana and does not mind going under at all.  She can kick her arms and legs but I guess is still a little young to learn to put it altogether.  (I have no idea why this thing is typing in underline!)  The swimsuit floaty thingy still requires she keep her balance or she rolls over in it and ends  up face down and can't get back over.  So we've retired it already for the summer.  And FYI arm floaties are too big still for her.  I guess technically, to the swimming world, she is still a baby!

Here she is when we got there today, all greased up, including her hair and scalp!

I have a few other swim suits for her that have those sleevs that are suppose to be good for not getting too much sun, but yesterday I notcied they make her have a farmer's looking tan and we can't have that with all the cute summer dresses lined up!

Here she is doing some swim moves with Nene.  Don't ask me why her hair looks so red, I think maybe just the way I adjusted the color.

How cool is she in her shades!  We have much better luck getting her to keep them on than a hat!

And I forgot about the BALL until I just put this picture on.  When we pulled up to their house today, she was yelling for Bop (Kylie's dad who is really called Pop) and BALL.  The girl loves her some ball.  Her daddy finally bought her her first ball the other day, a pink one nonetheless, and I have ruined him because he informed me he cleaned in off with wipes before he brought it in the house.  haha!  How funny!

Finally, just some pictures of her Mae.  We went to Jackson Saturday and did some shopping and spent some time with Sid's grandmother.  My child woke up early Sunday morning yelling for Mae.  She loves him and is just beside herself to be with him, no matter what they are doing.  Hopefully, we will get in lots of swim time this summer!

I think she could have fallen asleep if it was quiet enough!  She didn't get much of a nap, but alas, she is still awake here beside me, lauging at the pictures I'm putting up and watching Bachelor with me! 

Sid's grandmother is really sick, she has a bad head and chest cold.  But we still went to visit with her Saturday.  Naturally, she is a having a tough time.  We had eaten a big lunch prior to getting to her house but it was supper time when we got ready to go and we knew we were just going to eat something fast.  Thankfully, she wanted to go with us so we went Chick Fil A down the road.  While we were eating a huge storm, with hail and all, blew up.  And so did the beautiful rainbow.  I didn't say it because I didn't know how appropriate it would be and sometimes I say the wrong things at the wrong time, so I didn't say, but I thought it might be Pappaw smiling at the good time we were having!  Kylie snapped this with her iphone!

It's the first rainbow I've seen in a long, long time!

SheShe Made

I have stumbled accross a cute blog called SheShe Made a few times and always looked around.  The lady has some cute stuff and I wish I had half her talent, just ask my Mom, I've seriously talked about this for a while now.  Apparently, from what I've read, she got tired of paying for high priced bows and clothes, quit her job, and went to work making affordable bows and clothes for the rest of us.  And we are all in luck, because right now she has a giveaway going on!

Visit her here to read about the give away and sign up!!!

Good luck! 

Remember A Few Days Ago

When I said things have to take a turn for the better?

Yeah, well, that won't be today.  I finally had to breakdown and go to the doctor today after I couldn't even keep crackers or plain bread down for the 5th day in a row.  And after 3 vials of blood, it was determined that I have food poisening.  I've never had that before and I hope I never have it again.

Remember I said that we went out to eat with Kylie, Ben and Mason last Satruday?  Well, I have been sick ever since, but really didn't know what was going on since me and Mason bascially ate the same thing.  But while I was waiting on the bloodwork results to come back, I remembered that I ate slaw and a baked potato, which he did not eat.  And I also remembered that food safety class I took awhile back and remembered that baked potatoes are one of the most common foods for carrying a bacteria that would cause a food born illness.  This is because most resturants pre-cook baked potatoes, wrap them up, and keep them in a warmer.  Well, foods like this have to be kept at a certain temperature, or they cool off just enough to create an enviornment perfect for fostering the growth of bacteria that we then eat.  Also, I remembered that even though we both ate shrimp that was more than likely cooked together, it, too probably also sat on a warmer since it was a buffet, and I could have just had one or two pieces that were contaminated, whereas he had none.  Also, the doctor said you can not really base who ate what and who did or did not get sick on anything, as everyone's system takes to things differently.

So, food poisening it is and an antibiotic to fight it.  YUCK YUCK YUCK!!!!!

Stay well, loved ones!!!!

You Think?

She might have missed her own bed the past two nights? 

Bailey has stayed with Nene the past two nights since I have been so sick.  And tonight I am back to the land of the living and Bailey appears to be glad that she is back in her own bed with all her own pillows. 

Don't get me wrong, I am so thankful for Nene and that she could step in.  And let's not forget my wonderful husband who took care of both of us for a whole day before sending her off to his Mother's house.  He is one of a kind and I am so thankful and blessed. 

This picture is not very good since it was taken in almost darkness with the phone camera, but I couldn't resist.

Love to all!

PS:  I just took a peek back to this time last year to see where we were on the surgeries front.  And I was shocked to see that we were 3 days past the emergency surgery and home by this very day last year and well on our way to having a "normal" airway.  I still love to kiss that knotted skin on her neck and say a silent thank you, but am I ever glad to have that year (this year) behind us.  Time surely marches on and we are marching on to new and better and stable things.  Praise God!

At Some Point

Things have to take a turn for the better here at the Whitehead household.  Acutally, now that I type this, I guess things could be a lot, lot worse.  But basically to make a long story short, the funeral was very nice, I thought, on Friday.  Nene's sister, Charlotte, Sid's aunt, brought Bailey home for some lunch and rest between the funeral home and cemetary Friday.  Sid and I came home to get her about 1:30 pm and go back out to Nene's since that's where the family was.  I deciced to stay behind for a few hours and work on some paperwork that's due this week and was going to meet up with them after a few hours.  Soon after they left, Kylie texted and asked if she could give Bailey some Zyrtec, that her eye was swelling.  Of course I said ok, but thought it odd that her eye was swelling, as it looked perfectly normal an hour before when Sid left with her.  During the course of the texting, I learned that Kylie was bringing Brady to town, so she stopped by and picked me up.  I was a little concerned to see Bailey's eye, but didn't get too concerned until we got out in the sunlight as we were leaving later that night.  Luckily, Urgent Care was still open, so I took her on.  The doctor there thought it was just a stye coming up and said her actually eye looked fine and it might get better before it got worse, but didn't feel too overly concerned. 

By Saturday morning, poor thing looked like this:

Which caused her Daddy to freak.  The peditrician we use is open on Saturday from 8-10 and is in Meridian.  I knew I didn't have time to get a shower and get her there, so Sid just took her.  Well, the peditrician sent her right on to the eye doctor that was on call.  Collectively, they both felt it was a bacterial infection and she was given some eye ointment and an antibiotic and Sid was told to bring her back to the eye doctor on Sunday to have it looked at again.

We started the antibiotic and drops right away and went out to eat that night with Kylie, Ben and Mason.  It looked much, much better by Saturday night.  But after we got home, I noticed that Bailey was spitting up alot and just thought it was the antibiotic and running around and playing with Mason.  I myself didn't feel so wonderful, but just thought that was over-eating some yummy shrimp.  (Funny how even after I've thrown it up for 2 days, I am still calling it yummy.)

Well, Sunday morning brought no relief for me.  So Sid took Bailey on to see the eye doctor.  He gave her a thumbs up and called yesterday morning to check in on her.  I think I like him!  Anyway, I have been sick as a dog since Sunday morning, but hopefully am on the downhill slide as we speak.  Bailey hasn't been back to daycare since Thursday.  The eye doctor said it would be best to let her get over it.  And Nene has been keeping her at night since she sleeps right up next to me otherwise.  After being able to talk to Nene this morning, I feel that Bailey and I both had a stomach virus.  But Nene said Bailey was wanting to eat this morning and rested well, as opposed to the 5:30 am wakeup call of throw up she had the morning before.

So, that's our story.  That's where we are!  And hopefully we will we all be back to 100%  by tomorrow.

The Other Side of Heaven

Sid's grandfather, Benni Whitehead, went to meet his Creator this morning a little after midnight.  Sid, being the steadfast loving man that he is, went to pick his grandfather up and bring him back to Philadelphia in the middle of the night along with someone else from the funeral home and his brother, Ben.  For the record, I've asked before and somehow Ben got the name Ben without it coming from his grandfather.  Odd don't ya think?  Anyway, my Sid, he's such an old soul! 

Visitation is tomorrow night (Thursday) and the funeral is Friday at 11:00 am. 

Makes me want to run home and hug my Pappaw a million times over right this very second. 

It will be a tough next two days for Sid and the rest of the family.  I prayed for Mercy over Pappaw Monday night and now I'm praying for Mercy for the rest of the family.  I heard Mammaw earlier on the phone with Sid say "it's just so hard."  And I can't even begin to think about how her world has changed. 

Just keep them all in your prayers.  We had plans to go to Jackson Saturday and I'm sure we will still go and spend some time with Mammaw.  Maybe we can get her out to go get something good to eat and a little shopping.  She so needs it and deserves. 

I'm in a club here in Philadelphia called Pilot International, or PIF.  But they have them everywhere, even in Alabama.  I had never heard of it til I moved her, but it's a service organization that deals with anything brain related.  Alztimer's (I know I still don't know how to spell it.) is one thing we focus on, along with brain cancer, autism, Shaken Baby Syndrome, you name it, anything brain related we focus on.  Through this organiztion, I have learned of the Alztimer's Relay, which is  sort of like Relay for Life.  I encourage you to look it up and get involved.  There's so much out there and people who benefit from those of us who can support it appreciate it so much.  I'll have to admit, I haven't been as involved over the past few months, but plan to jump back in it soon.  I just encourage you to be aware of these things and spend some time doing things that benefit others instead of just ourselves. 

Please Pray

Sid's grandfather, who lives in Jackson, as I've written before, has Alztimer's (I know I didn't spell that right.).  He got put in a hospice nursing home type facility a few weeks ago and has been rapidly going down hill since.  Yesterday, the call came.  Kylie's mom, Nana, kept Mason, Brady and Bailey and the rest of us went to Jackson last night.  It was a sad sight to see and my heart ached for all of them seeing Pappaw suffer like that, but I've seen it before.  Old age is cruel.  I just want to say I'm not scared of dying and I'm certainly not scared of Heaven but I am so so so very scared of suffering or seeing my Sid suffer.  I can't imagine what Mammaw is going through.  This morning there is no change.  Some part of him is hanging on.  I stroked his head last night and asked God to have mercy.  But there or so many people on this side of Heaven who don't, who will never understand this human suffering.  I certainly don't.  I felt bad for Sid.  I remember that first time I walked in and realized my grandmother was not coming back to us.  That hollow look in her eyes and cheek.  And of course tears filled my eyes for my grandmother and our loss, but also for the loss in the Whitehead household.  Pappaw never knew me or Bailey.  But Sid was his hunting buddy.  I know this is hard and I would just ask that you pray for our family at this time. 

On another note, it was this time last year that Mom and I rushed Bailey back to Jackson and then Sid and his Mom soon followed.  She had her emergency surgery to remove those pieces of tissue.  She is getting so big.  The last few nights, she has not let us rock her to sleep.  She has just gotten up in the bed with us and watched TV until she has fallen asleep.  But right before she drifts off, I pick her up and snuggle her and kiss that sweet head.  Oh, she is our joy right now. I can't wait to have a few weeks to spend just me and her. 

I have a post started about being a Mom that was left over from Mother's day.  I'll try to find some time to get to it.  And I have a few cute pics of her and Mason at Mason K-4 graduation that I'll try to get up.

Life Is Just Busy

Or, something like that anyway.  Really I don't know if busy is the right word for me, but with a 16 month old in the house, my household is certainly busy.  And it goes a little something like this....

Monday night Sid went to lodge and me and baby girl hung out at home and ate chicken pot pie, which is her fav.  After bath, I got out her writing pad and pen, because she thinks there is nothing better than writing with a pen, unless of course you count riding in the wagon.  But she soon figured the pen would write better on my legs than it did on the paper, so I battled that, all the while sitting in the floor with the laptop, trying to google something I thought was very very important.  Bailey, on the other hand, felt the laptop should be closed and moved off my lap so there would be more room for her.  So away the laptop did go.  And that's about how it goes every night until she gives it up and falls asleep.  So when I finally have a few minutes of me time, I'm really just too tired to recap my day on here.  So forgive me for the lack of blogging.  I promise that sometimes, you might not really want to know my thoughts of the day, either!  So be spared....

In other news, we did make it to Alabama this past weekend for Erin's 6 year old birthday party.  We went with Mom, Dad and Pap-paw to eat at a place out in the county and Sid was driving me and Bailey and Mom, and trying to get his bearings about where we were.   And then it happened......Mom says, "Have I ever showed ya'll the zebras?"  I was like, oh my gosh, no she did not just tell Sid, who is the most curious man I know, that there are Zebras in the vicinity of where we are.  But oh, yes she did!  And so we were off on a tour of Blount County Alabama with Mom as the tour guide.  I quickly texted Chris, who was waiting for us to come by for a visit, that I didn't feel a visit was in the cards.  And about ten minutes later we approached this...

And then we saw this....

Yes, ladies and gentlemen, you are seeing what we saw....Zebras in Blount County, Alabama, and I never knew they existed.  I still don't know how that's legal, but indeed they are there.  Mom says there are buffalo and some other strange things on the farm, but we didn't see those. 

And unfortunately, Bailey missed the whole showing because she thought we were at the dentist.  You see, Mom has this thing for toothpicks.  Always has.  You will NEVER catch the lady without a toothpick within arms reach.  So it stands to reason that she had one after supper on our joy ride Saturday night.  When we got ready to pull off, I turned to the back of the truck and this is what I saw....

Who needs the dentist when you can go to Mimi's house?  Except we really do need a dentist because Mom informed me Bailey has a chipped tooth that is starting to get discolored.  She'd eat toothpaste all day long if we'd let her, so I know we are doing the best we can to take care of her teeth, but still.  She is at a higher risk of having teeth problems considering all the antibiotics she had at birth and then at 4 and 5 months.  That reminds me, I need to make her an appointment.

We didn't make it to church on Sunday to hear Erin sing because I woke up feeling like I might have had a touch of the yucky good bug and Sid ended up taking Mom and Dad to the air port at like 4 Sunday morning since their plans changed last minute.  So we just hung out at home and visited with Maggie and Bo until time for the party.  Bailey wasn't much for the pool, but she did look cute in her swimsuit.  She didn't have to get wet and Sid didn't either so were thankful for that since we had to hit the long road home afterwards, but she didn't enjoy the big ice chests full of ice and the balloons....

She looked like she wanted to get her fingers on this cake, but in truth, all she really wanted was the chips and cheese curls on either side of the cake.  Doesn't she look pitiful????

The birthday girl with Daddy and Brother.

The birthday girl with her other cousins, who are twins (in the blue shirts on either side of Erin in case you couldn't tell.)

It was a fast fast weekend, but an enjoyed one indeed. 

Now I'm off to call the dentist since I just remembered!