WHAT WE'VE BEEN UP TO HERE IN NY

Mostly we have just been hanging around the house visiting with family. For those of you that don't know, Brianna has 4 cousins that live here:Katelynn(who is just 2 months younger than Brianna) and her brother Christopher(9mths), Nicholas(almost 4) and his brother Ryan(3). As you can imagine, it has been a mad house here. Brianna loves it though and its nice to visit with Brian's brothers and their families. We have ventured out a couple of times. Our first trip out was a 3 hour trip to urgent care Wednesday morning. Brianna woke up crying with an ear ache and her doctor recommended we take her to urgent care. And no I am not exaggerating about the 3 hour wait. We got there at 12:35 and left at 3:40. Crazy I know, but we did leave with a prescription for an antibiotic because she did have an ear infection. We have also visited Chucky Cheese. That was alot of fun for her. I have to tell ya that I experienced alot of anxiety there. Especially since she decided to crawl up in those tunnels. Not only was I worried about germs(*Heather), I was scared to death that she was up there having a panic attack because she couldn't find her way out. And then what if there was a fire, I would have to somehow try to find her in there to escape the burning building......I know, I have a VERY active imagination. Like I said, I had a lot of anxiety about it. Yesterday, Nana & I took Brianna and Katelynn to see Alvin and the Chipmunks. We went to the 12:25 showing, only to find out that it was sold out and the next showing would not be till 2:50. So we had about 2 hours to kill. Which we did by going out to lunch at Wendy's then back to the movies where we waited in line for popcorn and drinks. The girls had a lot of fun at the movies. All I can say is that they better for the amount of money that I spent.....$56.00. And that didn't include the $16 that Nana spent at Wendy's on lunch. Today, I am wanting to try to get out to the outlets to see if I might can catch some bargains. If anything it will get me out of the house for awhile. Oh yeah, speaking of bargains, I went to Kohls the other night and got 4 shirts and 1 sweater and only spent $35. So all my employees at work, I would like to say thank you for my gift certificate. It came in handy, and I still have money left over for another trip to the store. I really wanted to go to the city, but I really don't know if we are going to. Brianna has been sick the ENTIRE time we have been here, from her asthma to now an ear infection. I really don't know if she would be up for the trip into the city. If we don't go to the city, maybe we could at the very least take a quick trainride or something. Who knows, its hard to make plans for something like that when you have family coming over to see you. This may be my last post till we get back to South Cakilaki. If it is, I'll just "blog" ya'll later.

BRIANNA GETS A VISIT FROM SANTA

Brianna woke up at 8:00 Christmas morning to see what Santa had left her. She was so excited to see all her presents. Santa had brought her an AQUADOODLE RAINBOW DOODLE, MY LITTLE PONY THINGS, RESCUE PET WAKE ME UP, BARBIE TAWNY HORSE DRESS UP, and a APPALOOSA HORSE. So she had all those toys there, and what did she want to play with.....a dinosaur skeleton that her Uncle Kevin had bought her Christmas Eve. So here goes Brian and I trying to put together a 50 piece dinosaur fossil. What fun!!!!!

PICTURES FROM CHRISTMAS EVE

BRIANNA IS READY TO OPEN UP PRESENTS


KATELYNN AND CHRISTOPHER JR.

NICHOLAS JR.

RYAN

LOOK AT THIS MESS. THESE KIDS WENT THROUGH ALL THOSE PRESENTS IN NO TIME.

CHRISTMAS EVE

Hello Everyone,
We just wanted to wish everybody back home in South Carolina a very Merry Christmas. Ya'll have fun. I will post some pictures tomorrow.

Love you,
Kristy

IN NY WITH A SICK CHILD

SO, AS I MENTIONED IN MY LAST POSTING, BRIANNA WAS COMPLAINING ABOUT AN EARACHE. I CALLED HER DOCTOR ON SATURDAY. SHE RECOMMENDED A DECONGESTANT AND SAID THAT SHOULD HELP HER EAR. WELL IT'S NOW 3 DAYS LATER, AND SHE IS NOT ANY BETTER BECAUSE THESE FRICKEN PEOPLE UP HERE HAVE NEVER HEARD OF THE MEDICATION THAT THE DOCTOR CALLED IN FOR HER. I HAVE JUST GOTTEN OFF THE PHONE WITH THE ON CALL NURSE, AND SHE TOLD ME TO JUST CONTINUE GIVING HER ALL THE MEDICINES THAT SHE TAKES ON A DAILY BASIS, BUT TO INCREASE THE NEBULIZER TO 4 TIMES A DAY. I ALSO BROUGHT ALONG SOME ORAPRED WITH ME, AND THE DOCTOR SAID TO GO AHEAD AND GIVE THAT TO HER FOR THE NEXT 5 DAYS. I GUESS I SHOULDN'T COMPLAIN TOO BAD, IT COULD DEFINITELY BE WORSE.(AIN'T THAT RIGHT, HEATHER).

BRIANNA FLIES TO NEW YORK

WE FLEW INTO NEW YORK FRIDAY NIGHT. I WAS A LITTLE APPREHENSIVE ABOUT HOW BRIANNA WAS GOING TO DO ON THE FLIGHT, ESPECIALLY SINCE SHE STARTED TO COMPLAIN ABOUT AN EARACHE ON THE WAY TO THE AIRPORT, BUT SHE DID GREAT! WE FLEW OUT FROM CHARLOTTE AND THE WHOLE WAY SHE KEPT ASKING WHEN WERE WE GOING TO BE AT THE AIRPORT. IT WAS EXCITING AND NEW TO HER AND SHE ENJOYED IT. IF SHE WAS SCARED, I CERTAINLY DIDN'T KNOW IT. OH, AND IF YOU'RE WONDERING HOW I DID, I MUST SAY THAT I DID PRETTY GOOD. I GUESS I WAS JUST SO CONCERNED WITH BRIANNA, THAT I DIDN'T HAVE TOO MUCH TIME TO WORRY ABOUT MYSELF BEING SCARED TO DEATH OF FLYING. I SAID A PRAYER BEFORE WE TOOK OFF AND LEFT IT IN THE LORD'S HANDS. I AM POSTING PICTURES OF BRIANNA ON THE PLANE.

BRIANNA VISITS WITH SANTA

Brianna went to see Santa Friday night with Carson & Heather. As soon as we walked in the building, Brianna started saying that she wanted to go home. All her friends from school were there. I tried to tell her that they weren't scared of Santa. I thought maybe that would make her want to stay. It didn't. She was determined to leave. Then I asked her if she would just go and talk to him, she didn't have to sit in his lap if she didn't want to. She said she would only if I went with her and held her hand. She must have had a change of heart because when it was her turn to see him, she hopped right up there in his lap. I was very shocked. I even got a picture of it. After seeing Santa, the kids went to play in the "snow". I don't think I have EVER seen Brianna have as much fun as she did last night running around in the snow. Too bad she's never really gotten to do that with the real stuff. Maybe this winter we will actually get some. The night ended with a cute litte puppet show and a trip to McDonalds. We really had a good time.

BRIANNA'S GINGERBREAD HOUSE

Brianna's class went to Chapman High School today to make gingerbread houses. She has looked forward to this all week. She was just so excited. I didn't even have to fight with her this morning to get ready. She was up and ready in no time! Too bad they can't make gingerbread houses everyday, it sure would make my mornings go a little bit smoother. She was just so proud of the little house that she had made, so I took pictures so that ya'll could see it. She really did do a good job. But I have to tell you, it smells soooo good and lucks so yummy I'm having a really hard time not eating it.

wmode="transparent" align="middle" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" />

NEW TEMPLATE

So, how do ya'll like the new template. I have spent about 2 hours this morning(not to mention about 1 1/2 yesterday) trying to figure out how to change my template for the holidays. All you other bloggers out there don't seem to want to give up the secret to it so I had to figure it out myself. After much work, I finally got it. I am a little disappointed that I lost some things with the new template, especially the Quotes From Brianna. I think I saved it though. I hope. Anyway, for any of you that may be interested in changing your templates just click on the link above my header. It really was easy once I found a site that would allow me to download to my blog. HAVE FUN!

O CHRISTMAS TREE

Brianna and I put our Christmas tree up last night. Ok, so it's the little one. But hey, that's what she wanted to put up. I have to tell you that I was so thankful that I didn't have to spend 3 hours putting a tree up. Heck, it took an hour to put up this little 4 footer here. The only bad thing about it is that we have WAY too many presents and they are all never going to fit under it. I also put some lights up outside on the porch. It looks really cute. Heather and I made it to the Holiday Fair in Greenville yesterday. We got some pretty good gifts. I bought Brianna a horse backpack. I thought that would come in handy when flying to NY in 3 weeks. I also bought her a pair of maryjane Crocs. They are really cute. I couldn't resist giving them to her now though. She was being so good, and after we finished putting up the tree and lights outside Brian and I told her that Santa was just outside and left her a little something for being sooo good. She got a kick out of it. I know what ya'll are thinking......................yes she is spoiled.

GREETINGS

HERE ARE SOME PICTURES OF BRIANNA WHEN WE WERE TRYING TO TAKE ONE FOR OUR CHRISTMAS CARD:

HELLO EVERYBODY

Sorry I haven't kept you bloggers updated in awhile. It just seems like with the holiday season, there just isn't time for anything. Not to mention that I hardly ever get a chance to "play" on the computer because Brian and Brianna are always playing Webkinz. But at least they are playing for something. Brianna now has $3000 in Webkinz money. It won't last long though. She plans on buying another room and fixing it up. I really do think that Brian likes it more than Brianna. Everytime I come home from work, he's in here on this computer playing her games on Webkinz. He says he just does it to help her win money, but hey, those of you that know about Webkinz have to admit that those games are pretty fun. I have been spending some of my time in the evenings working on Christmas presents for the grandparents from Brianna. I can't really tell you all about it because I don't want to ruin the surprise. But it is a really cute idea. Maybe after the holiday, I will post some pics so that you can see them. Brianna stayed down at my mother's last night so that Brian and I could have a date night. It was fun. I beat him in GinRummy and we watched a movie. And I drank 3 beers. And let me tell you.....3 beers is alot for someone that doesn't drink too often. Let's just say I probably should have stopped at 1:) I am planning on cleaning this dirty house up this morning. We haven't put our tree up yet, so I have to pick up around here before I make a new mess with decorating a Christmas tree. It sure seems like alot of trouble to go thru, putting up a tree on Dec 1st just to leave on the 21st and come back home on the 30th. Just in time to take it all back down. But I have a little one here, and there is absolutely nothing that I would not do for her to make this time of year special. So anyway, after cleaning I plan on picking up a few more gifts and then hopefully Heather and I will meet up to go to the Holiday Fair this afternoon. And then later today, all the stuff will come out of the attic so that we may FINALLY put up our Christmas tree.

BRIANNA'S RESULTS FROM HER TEST

Everything came back normal. Thank you all for your cares and concerns.

I KNOW YOU MISSED ME

Sorry I haven't posted in so long. I guess it's just taken me this long to "recover" from the Thanksgiving Holiday. Ya'll know that Heather and I did the midnight shopping excursion Thursday. It was fun. My shopping continued into Friday morning, afternoon, and evening. I was soooo exhausted. I felt like I was hungover. And no, I wasn't drinking. Heather had a great idea for Christmas presents for Carson and Brianna's teachers at school. So we worked on that all day Saturday. Yesterday, I just laid around the house. I had today off work. Brianna's doctor recommended that she be tested for cystic fibrosis. I took her to Greenville Memorial where they conducted a sweat test. I should know the results by Tuesday. I don't really think there is much concern. She is just wanting to rule it out due to her asthma issues. All right, I hope this gives you bloggers your "fix". At least for now anyway.

HAPPY TURKEY DAY EVERYONE

I wonder how many of you are sitting there reading this with your pants unbuttoned. I know that I sure did over eat today. How can you not? We have many things to be thankful for this year. I think I am most thankful to have this precious little girl bless our lives everyday. But I have to tell you that I could have killed her this morning:) While her Daddy and I were looking through all the sales papers, Brianna decided to keep herself occupied by playing with a stamp set. Lets just say that I now have blue and red footprints all through my house. Did I mention that we have carpet? I guess I should be thankful for a steam cleaner. I will make this posting short tonight because I have to get some rest. I baked last night, and cooked this morning. Heather and I will be doing our annual Day after Thanksgiving shopping starting at midnight. The best husband in the world is sending me out with his credit card. He must really love me:) I'm thankful for him too.

A RECIPE FOR YOUR THANKSGIVING TABLE

PUMPKIN BREAD


SIFT THE FOLLOWING TOGETHER:
3 CUPS FLOUR
1 tsp. BAKING SODA
1 1/2 tsp. SALT
1 1/2 tsp. NUTMEG
1 1/2 tsp. CINNAMON


MIX TOGETHER IN A LARGE BOWL:
3 CUPS SUGAR
4 LARGE EGGS
1 CUP OIL
3/4 CUP WATER
1 CAN PUMPKIN (15OZ.)

PREHEAT OVEN TO 350. MIX DRY INGREDIENTS A LITTLE AT A TIME WITH THE PUMPKIN MIXTURE, STIRRING WELL. GREASE AND FLOUR TWO BREAD TINS AND DIVIDE BATTER INTO PANS. BAKE 60 MINUTES OUR UNTIL TOOTHPICK COMES OUT CLEAN. *IF THE TOPS BROWN TOO FAST, COVER WITH FOIL UNTIL DONE.*

13 Toys Brianna Wants For Christmas:



PINKIE PIE SING AND DANCE ***GOT***

MY LITTLE PONY MOVIES

BARBIE GROOM AND GLAM TAWNY HORSE

MY GENERATION HORSE ***SANTA WILL BRING***

PLAY N CARRY SKY WISHES ***GOT***

PRINCESS THRONE

"TOTALLY ME" GIRLY STAMPS

RESCUE PETS PUPPY WAKE ME UP

SHAREBEAR CAREBEAR SINGALONG ***GOT***

LITTLE MOMMY BATH BABY DOLL

OTHER MENTIONABLES WOULD BE A SLEEPING BEAUTY DRESS UP DRESS, DREAM DAZZLES GLAMOUR DRESS UP KIT,DOODLE PONY AND AQUADOODLE RAINBOW DOODLE.

Tuesday

My day off was spent with Brianna. I kept her out of school. I know...........but it didn't seem fair to make her go if I was off. We went to the park and had a picnic lunch. It was alot of fun. I managed to even get some cute pictures. And in case you're wondering about that scrapbook I was suppose to finish, the answer is no. Not yet, anyway. I am trying really hard to get it caught up though.

RELAXING WEEKEND

This is a 3 day weekend for me, and I am trying to enjoy it. I haven't done too much at all really. Yesterday, we stayed around the house except for a visit to Granny's. I scrapbooked a page last night. Yes, just a page. Hey, it took long enough let me tell ya. I cleaned up the house this morning and went grocery shopping this afternoon. Then as promised, I took Brianna to ToysRUs. I always take her every year to pick out the toys that she would like to have for Christmas. And of course we couldn't walk out without anything. Her Daddy had bought her a baseball and bat set. (Heather, tell Carson he had better watch out. Brianna is going to be practicing.) Brian has work tomorrow and Brianna has school. So I plan on spending my day off getting some rest and finishing up Brianna's scrapbook from 2006. I am exactly one year behind. Maybe one day it'll be caught up:)

BRIANNA MODELS A NEW OUTFIT

I can't believe she actually let me take these pictures. However, you can see in one picture that she is giving me a little bit of "attitude". Not to mention I had to bribe her with a trip to the toy store.

13 THINGS I HATE ABOUT BEING SICK:

1. Not feeling like doing anything, least of all blogging.:)
2. Sleeping on the couch so that I wouldn't make my husband sick.
3. Making my husband sick anyway.
4. Spraying so much Lysol in the house that you could choke on it.
5. Taking medicine that should help you "rest" better, only it doesn't. It keeps you up ALL night.

6. Listening to everyone at work say, "What are you doing here? Go home!"
7. Not being able to smell or taste anything.
8. Blowing my nose so much that I look like Rudolph.
9. Having a whole layer of skin peel off my nose from blowing it so much.
10. Coughing so hard that my rib cage hurts.
11. Coughing up all that mucus-----yuck.
12. I've coughed so much that I can now hardly talk.
13. Looking like I've been hit by a MACK truck---forwards and backwards, a couple of times.

FOR HEATHER:)

Excuse me!!!!!!!! So I haven't blogged all week. Uh hello....its just been 3 DAYS. I have been sick, sick, sick. I thought that ya'll might have to come visit me at the mortuary:) But, I am FINALLY starting to feel a little bit better. A girl at work has told me everyday that I look like I have been hit by a Mack Truck. She didn't tell me that today, so I must look a little better anyway. Heather is giving me a hard time about my not blogging this week. So I pose this question: How many times have you visited Heather's blog, only to be disappointed that it wasn't updated? So here's poor, sick, snotty(literally) Kristy. I haven't blogged in 3 days because I couldn't get my hands free from Kleenex long enough to do anything. I have been working, spreading God knows what kind of germs at work....which I must add is stupid. Because I am sure that by Friday, someone will be calling in sick because I made them that way. When I've gotten home from work, I have gone straight to bed. I haven't gotten to spend any time with my child and now my husband is sick. So....Can anyone blame me for not blogging?


Really Heather, I have missed you this week. I am having withdrawals. As soon as I can finally have a conversation without coughing my head off, I will call you. I'm glad that you at least, are keeping up with your blog this week.

BRIANNA GIVES A MATH LESSON

Brianna has been learning math.

You will need to cut the sound off of the "Our Daughter is Growing Up" Slide with music so that you can hear this video.

A NIGHT WITH THE DOODLEBOPS

Friday night I took Brianna and Carson to see the Doodlebops. We went with Beth, a friend from work, and her two boys Brandon and Ethan. The kids loved watching DeeDee, Roonie, and Moe dance and sing on stage. I think Beth liked it just as much as her kids:) I had fun just watching Brianna and Carson. They REALLY enjoyed themselves.

13 COSTUMES WE SAW LAST NIGHT WHILE TRICK-OR-TREATING:

1. PRINCESS--EVERY KIND OF DISNEY PRINCESS THERE ARE.

2. TOOTH FAIRY

3. MIGHTY MORPHIN POWER RANGERS

4. LADY BUGS

5. SPIDERMAN--WE SAW ALOT OF THOSE

6. BATMAN

7. DOROTHY--FROM THE WIZARD OF OZ

8. FIREFIGHTERS

9. TEENAGE GIRLS DRESSED UP AS GOD KNOWS WHAT--I KNOW THEIR PARENTS DIDN'T LET THEM OUT OF THE HOUSE LIKE THAT.

10. GROWN BOYS THAT WERE WAY TO OLD TO BE TRICK-OR-TREATING.

11. SCARY COSTUMES--WE TRIED TO STAY CLEAR OF THOSE FOR FEAR OF NIGHTMARES.

12. FUNNY HILLBILLY MASKS

13. ANGELS--I MUST SAY MACY WAS THE CUTEST ONE OF THOSE.

HALLOWEEN HOOPLA AT DOWNTOWN GREER

We've been trick or treating 3 times already and it's still not Halloween yet. It's giving her practice for the big night. And the way I look at it, I'm at least getting my money's worth out of Brianna's costume. If you don't know yet, Brianna has decided to be a pixie this year. She's really cute in it. But boy does she get mad if someone calls her a butterfly! She says "I'm not a BUTTERFLY!!" Last year she was a spider for Halloween. She would get so upset if someone called her cute. She would say, "Spiders are not cute. They're scary!" I'm surprised she got any treats at all:) I'm really enjoying myself on all these little adventures. Momma is really liking all the good treats she has been getting. If it's chocolate, I want it. Anyway, wanting to just give you a quick update on what we've been up to this weekend. Not too much really. I took Brianna downtown yesterday for Halloween Hoopla. It was alot of fun. We rushed from there because we needed to go to her school festival, only to ride all the way out there to see that it was postponed. Instead I took Brianna to the Enchanted Forest at the Pavilion in Taylors. It was ok. There was a train ride that you could take, but after waiting in line for about an hour, we called it a night. I know what you all are thinking, why leave if I had already waited an hour? Well, to answer your question, there was still about another 45 minutes of wait time ahead of us. So if anything, you can just call me crazy for standing in line that first hour. But it's hard when you have a 4 year old and you know that it's something she would have enjoyed doing. Maybe next year, I guess. Hope you all had a good weekend. May God give us ALL the strength we need to get through another week at work. (Especially you Heather)