Day 3 post op

Well day 3 post Tonsillectomy & Adenoidectomy, Grace seems to be doing fine. She is still sleeping a lot. I think that has to do with her medicine but she is back to normal for the most part. The hardest part these next few days I feel is going to be keeping her from doing too much physical activities. She is so active that it'll be hard for her to stay still.

I am glad to see she is getting back to her normal self. I am excited about being able to get back into doing some school work with her this summer. Yes I do school work in the summer with my child. I would perfer her to be ahead than behind. I have had amazing luck with Your Baby Can Read. I have heard people who haven't but its more than just videos you have to work on the cards and read the books and do everything it says to do. If you don't than whats the point? I am just asking.

I have to go and give Grace her bath. She is doing wonderfully and I just wanted everyone to have an update on what is going on this week. I am planning to do pictures with her again soon. Probablly some around the 4th of July (Patriotic theme)just to have some. I love taking pictures of her and trust me they will be posted.

Love
~Samantha

Tonsils and Adenoids

So today my wonderful 4 year old Big Girl, had her tonsils & adenoids out. She is in a lot of pain, and I believe it. She is sleeping off and on all day long. I cannot believe how wonderful she did. She does not seem like she has had the best response to the morphine though, sleeping so much but I guess that is normal. I will update Tomorrow(Tuesday) with some more information on how she is doing. I got some articles I want to read and share my thoughts about it being a mommy.

Peace,
Samantha

Writing, Parties, and Tonsils

So this week/weekend has been non stop going going going. I feel like between house work, a pre-schooler, school, and everything else that sometimes there is no me time. My me time usually consists of me writing a blog to keep everyone informed on whats going on in my life. Not that I don't enjoy it I always have. Writing for me is something I enjoy doing and helps me to relax you should see my journals and how full they are. I have journal upon journal with looking back seems like trival things but those things helped me to grow.

We had a busy weekend with a birthday party for an awesome friend. We drove to Rutherfordton, NC to go to this awesome place called Kidsenses Grace cannot wait to go back. We didn't get to stay too long, I had another party to get to but we are definitaly going back. Next time we are getting Pizza at The Brick Pizzeria we promised her that. She cannot wait. I am glad we went. I got to talk to her a bit more about how some of the things that were there were Green. I am making a little Green pre-schooler, but with parents who are trying to live more Green I guess that's a good thing. Her and I out were out the other day and there was some trash on the road, she proceeded to say "Mommy, trash on the road is not nice" I explained she was right and then said "God only gave us one Earth, we have to keep it clean and protect it." She thought that was the best idea she had ever heard. That made me happy.

Pictures of the party:

Grace Getting a bubble put around her, she thought it was so cool.

She was in a Kayak.

Tomorrow my sweet Princess has her Tonsils and Adenoids out. I think Mommy is more worried than her, and I know Mommy is more worried than Daddy. Don't get me wrong Clifton (Daddy) is worried he just isn't showing it nearly as much as mommy. He is being strong for his princess I am sure. She isn't too sure of whats going on, I've tried to explain it to her, how much does my 4 year old really understand about this situation though. She has already picked out which stuffed animal she is taking tomorrow, we are letting her stay up and watch TV, snuggle and snack. She isn't allowed to eat anything after Midnight. Its going to be really hard for me since I want to make her happy and take care of her needs. So its always hard for mommy. Well I am going to go and spend a little bit of time with her and the hubby before we put Grace in Bed. She is a wonderful child and I thank God everyday for her. Pray for my sanity and for her fast healing.

Peace and Love,
~Samantha

6 years and baseball.....

Today as I was sitting in my room, working on lesson plans and getting ready to clip coupons and work on my education portfolio, I started thinking. Hey it's June. 6 years ago this month is when Clifton and I starting "hanging out, talking, dating" whatever you want to call it. I was so surprised the first time he agreed to hang out with me. I didn't think he thought of me that way. I had, had a crush on him for a few months. I was brave and asked him to hang out. I remember the first time we hung out. We met up at the Haywood Mall in Greenville. He was wearing a yellow shirt that said Baseball. We went to a ball game, and to raffertys to eat we drove around Greenville, it was nice. I just cannot believe I still remember that, I don't remember many first dates I guess there is a reason I remember this one so vividly.

I cannot believe I have been with him for 6 years now. I love him so much and he has given me the gift of love. We have only been married for 4 1/2 years now. I am just so amazed its been 6 years since he and I started and looking at how far we have come in such a short amount of time makes me happy. In a stressful and hard day it was great to look back and it helped me to be less stressed. He is an amazing person and I am so lucky to have him in my life. I just cannot believe how fast 6 years has gone by.

This was 2006: We'd been together like 9 months, it was my birthday dinner.

Birthday Bash

Today was Grace's 4th birthday and her party. I cannot believe how big she is getting and how much she is becoming less and less of a baby everyday and more and more of a little kid and her personality comes out so much more now. It is amazing to see it develop and see what its going to be. I cannot wait to meet the young woman she will become 20 years from now.

She was so excited today and she really knew the party was for her. She was excited to see all of her friends and family. She didn't stop until I put her in bed at 8:30 tonight. Shes been going, going all day long. She had cake and juice and cupcakes all day long. It was a great party and I think everyone had fun.

Family stayed longer and it was nice, we got some wonderfully awesome presents from everyone and thank you all. She had a blast and so we did. Pictures will be added later. Thanks everyone for making my daughters birthday bash wonderful.

She always knows just what to do

So tonight when I was stressing over some things in the Kitchen while making dinner. Grace came to the doorway and said "Mommy, look at me." Still stressing I looked up and there was my daughter in her Cinderella Princess crown, and my shoes. She looked at me and said, "Mommy am I a beautiful princess or what?" I told her she was. How is it that every time I am stressing or worrying about something my daughter always can do something to cheer me up?

Peace, Love, and Happiness,
-Sam

Grilled cheese and shindigs.

So I went to the Farmer's Market on Saturday morning before our trek to NC to see everyone on Cliff's side of the family. I love visiting family. They are my family too. I bought some amazing bread at the Farmer's Market. I bought spinach feta, rosemary garlic, and rustic sourdough. Last night I was too tired to cook so for dinner we had Gourmet Grilled cheese. Let me share this recipe with you. Trust me if your child(ren) like grilled cheese, most children do, then this may be something you want to make so they are getting more than just bread and american cheese. I used 2 kinds of bread and 2 kinds of cheese. Grace and I had Rosemary Garlic bread with Muenster cheese and Sharp Cheddar......delicious. Clifton had Rustic Sourdough with Muenster and Sharp Cheddar cheeses. It made a delicious grilled cheese. It is a spin on the regular plain Grilled cheese and it is very healthy with different breads and cheeses. Trust me the bread is delicious. I am hoping to use the bread to also make a turkey and cheese grilled sandwich. If you or your kids are tired of regular grilled cheese check this out.

So that is the awesome Grilled cheese sandwich I made. Just so you all can see it.

I am also writing today because not only did I want to share that awesome recipe with you. I wanted to share about my amazing trip to visit family on Saturday.
We went to NC to visit some amazing people. They are crazy, I thought my family was crazy but let me tell you when you have a bunch of Conner's in a room together it is crazier than a gathering of Cooper's and I thought that was IMPOSSIBLE, apparently its not. I also love hearing the crazy stories from his family and the crazy things that happen, like fingers getting hurt(But trust me they are ok). I cannot believe I have been a part of this family for 4 1/2 almost 5 years(in November). It is amazing, his family is amazing and has always welcomed me with open arms. My family treats my husband the same way and let me tell you it is amazing to not have to deal with the "horror" stories that I hear other people talk with in-laws and what not. I feel like I have been a part of his family for a long time and I hope he feels the same way. I always feel rejuvenated and full of spirit when I leave Conner family gatherings. Just writing because it has been a blessing.

Have a wonderful day
-Samantha

What my Pre-schooler taught me today.

When you have a preschooler you never know what is going to come out of their mouth. You may get asked "Momma, why do trees have leaves?" or "Hey, why do bugs like to bite me when I play outside?" or my favorite one is "Mommy, why do we have to wear clothes?" I always seem to be asked these questions when I cannot stop and find the real answer for her on the computer, we are usually in the car, at the store, or playing outside. Sometimes the questions are so crazy I don't think even Google would know the answer.
Today's inquisitive question went like this "Mommy, why are my eyes blue and Makayla's brown?" So I proceeded to say "Grace thats just how they are" She looked up, I could see her in the rear view mirror and she said "No mommy, how did hers get brown and mine get blue?" Trying again I said "Grace it is how God made them, and it is how genetics works." She then asked "Mommy whats genafics(genetics)?" I said "Its what makes different people have different color hair and eyes." Looking at me with this astonished look on her face, she said "oh, ok mommy." Like that was all she needed, that was it. I was so shocked I was trying to figure out how to explain the complexities of genetics to a preschooler and that is all she needed? I was amazed.

Sometimes I think it would be great if we could just go with the easy explanation. Why do we always have to make everything much more complex that it really is? But you know sometimes things are that easily explained and we take it and twist it and make it much more complex than it really is. Take Math for example, you can take the simplest problem 1+1=2 and you can add letters, and such and make it much more complex. But in the end it really was a simple problem. I think sometimes we that with our own lives. We take a problem we are having and we twist it and turn it and mesh it into other situations until it is so big and so complex that we cannot work our way back out of it again. If we all just looked at everything in a simple way, the way young children do maybe this world would be a much better place. Twisting and turning problems in your life does not get you anywhere, it just makes you more stressed and more confused. I also use this example with the bible. I take the bible and read it, I believe what it says. I do not try to mold my beliefs or my bible around my life, I try to mold my life around the bible and my beliefs. Sometimes that is hard to do, because we have our own agendas and our own wants and desires but if I stop trying to make every passage I read in the bible more complex than it and stop trying to mold it to fit my life, instead mold my life to fit God's will, I think I will be a better person in the end.

If everyone just kept everything simple and less complex what kind of world would we live in? I think complexities make this world a stressful place to be in. Trust me if we all could live by the simple answers like those that a preschooler accepts than I think we would be doing pretty good.

~Samantha

P.S. Thank you Grace for teaching me a lesson today.

Our Family Dynamic.....a Dynamic like no other

My three (almost 4) year old has been testing me a lot lately. She is also very funny. From what I understand her imagine and her testing me at this age is so Normal! Thank goodness, well trust me our daughter is not going to be that normal. I mean I am a person who tries to reuse just about everything, whether its a milk jug into a flower planter, a coke bottle into a tornado, or a milk carton into a bird feeder there is nothing I truly do not like to waste (except trash that cannot be reused.) I would even have compost but my husband is not to keen on the idea. So she is probably going to be a child who thinks its "normal" to reuse. I do not reuse as much as I would like right now, however I am getting there. Also with a daddy who is kind of obsessed with sports and 2 artistic parents we are going to have a unique child. Trust me our household dynamic is pretty interesting.

Needless to say We are a family who likes the ARTS we like music, photography, and for goodness sakes Clifton has a Fine Arts degree need I say more. Grace is loving ballet so trust me we are in for a family dynamic like no other and it has already started. Listening to the "little family" my daughter has made up she is passing on our dynamics to her "Pretend children and cats" it is pretty funny. She is an amazing child though. She makes me laugh every time I listen to her and her talking about her little family. I cannot believe she is as big as she is. It just blows my mind that my baby is almost 4.

So when I sat down and looked at our family from the outside its kinda interesting to see how different each person in the family is but then how similar we all are too. It was just what was on my mind today. I may have another blog entry later today I heard part of an interesting sermon on Focus on the Family radio today so a post may be coming soon about the entire sermon once I actually have time to sit down and listen to it.

Great day full of Surprises =)

So my day yesterday started out like most days. Grace and I were eating breakfast and then we had plans to have lunch with Daddy later that day. Well so we went to lunch with him. On the way to lunch one of Best Friends from Washington, PA called. She was in GAFFNEY! I was like what? So the rest of the day I spent hanging out with her and her awesome friend;). It wouldn't have been such a big deal except I have not seen this friend for like 2 1/2- 3 years I cannot even remember the last time I went to Washington. It was crazy. I was so excited that everything I had planned to do went out the window and literally nothing got done. Trust me seeing one of my best friends was so worth it. She was visiting Charlotte and ended up in Gaffney they were supposed to go to a strawberry farm. I hope she had more fun hanging out with me for like 7 hours. Next time she comes she will have to stay with us. Trust me it was totally worth not getting anything done.

Grace is doing much better with leaving her glasses on and she even asked me to put them back on her when watching TV. I think she realized she can see better with them. I hope thats the case.

I am off to do my quiet time and to call the church. I am still distraught about loosing my bible =( It will show up I am sure. I have chores galore to do today.