Hate it when that happens!

Don't you hate it when you get ready for bed and you go in there just to realize that you washed and dried the sheets and haven't put them on yet? Bummer!

A "Pooh-tiful" Day

We celebrated Colton's 1st birthday Saturday. He is obsessed with his Winnie the Pooh and the cartoon, so it was only fitting to have a Pooh Party. When we went to party city to get all the goods, he saw the pooh stuff and nearly came out of the buggy. We just had a small party with the family, and it was a great time. Everyone was greeted by a Pooh bear blowing bubbles and a sign that said " Welcome 2 the 100 akres woods". Brad made "Tigger Tails"(hot dogs and sausage) and I made, or bought, "Rabbit's Garden"(vegetables and fruit), "Pooh's Pasta", and "Piglet's Puffs"(cheese puffs). I had a cupcake cake made and had Colton his own mini cake. No need to ask, you know that Colton LOVED the cake.

After the food and cake we opened presents. Colton refused to wear his bib, so he was shirtless during presents because he was covered in cake. He got lots of wonderful things and loved them all. He couldn't be still long enough to open everything, so his cousins all gave him a helping hand.

Next, we had a slip-n-slide and a kiddie pool out back for the kids. I probably could have won some major money if I would have been taping the whole time. It was hilarious to see three 4yr olds on a slip-n-slide for the first time. By the way, those things sure do look alot small than they did when we were kids! Of course Colton had to put an end to his party by pooping in his swim shorts. The one and only time I didn't put a swim diaper on him....GEEEZ!

So, after the party was over, my little munchkins opened all the toys, played a while then crashed. It was a wonderful day, and thanks to everyone for coming. Thanks mom and dad for helping out with everything before the party. Just taking Raelee for me was HUGE! I can't believe Colton is "1". I love that little squirt so much and I can't wait to see the man he will grow to be.

All pooh-ped out!

Happy Birthday Little One

WOW, I can't believe my little man is already "1". I had no clue what I was going to do with a boy, but all he had to do was look into my eyes and it didn't matter. Just when a mommy thinks she can not love anything more than her first child....that second one comes and it's like you grow two hearts. Brad and I have been so blessed with two wonderful, healthy, beautiful children. We got our girl and boy, so I do believe...or know....that we are done(sorry mom)! This morning when I woke up, I was running through my head what I was doing at this time last year. I knew the exact time I left for the hospital and the minute I went in for my c-section. Only a few of you know exactly what happened that evening, so I decided I would share today on Colton's birthday. The whole morning before my surgery I had uneasy feelings. You hate to think bad thoughts, but I just couldn't get them out of my head. I was extremely nervous, and I assumed it was just because I didn't know what to expect. I had a normal delivery with Raelee, but Colton was breech, so the whole c-section thing was terrifying. Right before my surgery mom kissed me bye, and I felt an uneasy feeling with her. I just thought she was nervous too. The surgery went fine and Colton was doing great. I was only in recovery about 30minutes and they sent me up to my room. A few hours after my surgery I spiked a temp and started getting really sick. I didn't feel like talking to all my visitors, but hey, I chalked it up to just having a baby. I started vomiting then bleeding like a stuffed pig. When I say bleeding, I mean a whole garbage bag full of bed linens and towels. The nurse came and checked me, then all of the sudden I was laying in a pool of blood. She immediately called for help and paged the closest doctor. I was a little disoriented, so really didn't know the extent. I just thought she needed help getting me changed. Brad had just left about an hour earlier to go home and stay with Raelee, and mom was staying with me. I remember the doctor trying to examine me and I glanced over at my mom and I knew it wasn't good. We both made eye contact and she had that "mother's worry" on her face. The nurses were checking my blood pressure and heart rate every two minutes and writing it on the dry erase board right in front of me. Needless to say, this was not helping my blood pressure! Mom called Brad and told him to get back to the hospital as soon as he could. Nurses and doctors were rushing in and out of the room with fresh towels and linens. At one point I remember the doctor literally on top of me pushing from my breast down with his forearm pushing all the blood out. Finally after a couple of hours they had it controlled. They ran some test, and started me on some meds. I was still running a temp and had lost ALOT of blood. They let us know that I was going to have to have a blood transfusion. Now, my firefighter husband freaked out at this point. The doctors assured him that it would be fine and we didn't have time to wait. I receive two units of blood and felt like a new person the next day. I don't even have any pictures of me and Colton from the hospital, because I was so swollen and pale from all of the fluids, and the last thing we were thinking about was pictures. I remember shaking uncontrollably at night so much that I couldn't even breast feed Colton. I think that was the worst part of everything. I felt like a failure as a mother, because I could not care for my own child. It took everything I had to call the nurse to come get him, because I didn't have the strength. Mom and Brad were so wonderful. I know it was hard on them both. One or the other was with me the whole time. I think about that night all of the time and how scary it was. I had a lot of thoughts going through my mind, but I just kept praying. I believe God put a peace over me and that's the only way I remained calm. The nurses were coming in the next day freaking out over how calm I was while they were running around like chickens with their heads cut off. It was total chaos, but I just laid there and stared at the ceiling and prayed. It's sad that it takes something so scary, but so quick to really make you wake up and realize what your life is about. I believe that night changed me, and I tell my kids all day long how much I love them. I never leave Brad or any of my family without kissing them and telling them I love them. I am so thankful for all of my friends and family for all of the prayers, food and everything you did for us the following weeks. My little Colton has been such a blessing and I love him more and more everyday. He is a true mommy's boy. Happy Birthday little one! I love you so much and I am so proud to be your mommy~MUAH~

No "Coltons" Allowed!

I come home from doing an Open House Sunday and sweet, big sister has a new sign on her door.

She has a picture of Colton with an "x" through it taped to her door. I asked her what that meant and she said, "NO COLTONS ALLOWED". OK, I knew this day was coming, but already? Later that evening, Colton goes running down the hallway, right into Raelee's room.....I hear Raelee say, " Uh, excuse me Colton, did you not see the sign?" She sounded like a teenager and it was all I could do not to laugh my head off. Needless to say the sign was down in about an hour because she was bored without Colton interrupting her. I know me and my brother drove my mom bonkers, I guess my day is coming. At least they love each other's company for now, or today that is!

P.S. Thanks Mimi and Margie for babysitting the munchkins for me!

Raelee-isms

I could write a book on all the hilarious things Raelee says each day, but here are just a few lately. You have to picture each scenario in Raelee's dramatic crisis mode~

1) She ran fever yesterday, but it broke in the middle of the night. I had to take her to mom's today while I closed on a house. I told her to tell grandmother if she started feeling warm. Mom feels her head and says, "you're as cool as a cucumber". Raelee in the most serious voice says, " I haven't eaten any cucumbers grandmother!"

2) Colton sneezed close to Raelee. She freaks out and is yelling, "Colton god blessed you'd on me!"

3) Brad brought her home a puzzle the other day with barbies in dresses. As she's putting it together she starts getting real concerned and starts panicking. I asked her what was wrong, and her reply was..."I can't find this barbie's boobies.....we've lost her boobies!" She had lost her top, and I guess with barbies, you identify that with "boobies".

4) Raelee loves Mimi's dog Pearl....aka Pearly Girl. Mimi was telling Raelee she needed to come spend the night and she could sleep with her and Pearl. Raelee asked Mimi, "don't you have a daddy at your house?" Mimi told her that her daddy went to heaven and it was just her and Pearl. Raelee was very concerned for Mimi, and told her that she would come over and spend the night and she would pretend to be the daddy.

5) I had on a dress the other day and Raelee said, "mommy, I love your dress, but it's not very fashion." I asked her why it was not "fashion", she says"because you're wearing your flip flops, and it would look more fashion with your pink high heels". Oh brother, what have I created!

6) She wants this VERY expensive horse for Christmas....yes, she starts talking about Christmas as soon as it's over.....called Butterscotch. She has started doing chores around the house to get quarters, so that maybe she can buy Butterscotch before Christmas, since that's a long time away. (hey, whatever works) So every time she puts another quarter in the piggy, she counts and adds up to see how many dollars it is. I only wish it was that simple sweetheart......mommy would be driving a brand new car, with a brand new wardrobe while the nanny was at home cooking and cleaning!

You gotta love the way their little minds work!

My baby is now a "big boy"!

Brad has been going to the same lady since he was little for his haircuts. He had an appointment today, so we decided to take Colton along for his first cut. That's right....my child will be "1" next week, and is already needing a trim. We didn't even think about cutting Raelee's hair until she was "3". For those of you who didn't know Brad long ago, he was the only kid in middle school with a beard. My poor, poor Colton! So we get there, and Colton loves the place. He is loving all the mirrors and all the women "oooh and aahhhing" over him. I'm terrified....his birthday is next week, and I'm hoping he doesn't bail out and get a chunk taken out of his hair. Here is his hair right before we started. I tried to pull it over his ears to see how long it was, but you really can't tell in the picture.It's not so much that it was too long, but it was getting really scraggly. The back of his hair was touching his collar, and the sides were covering his ears. To my surprise, he loved it. He laughed at Ms.Melanie the whole time and took a new comb and was combing his own hair. He kept dancing, which means he was having fun. He had all the ladies in there watching him.

Finally, she got the clippers out...oh well, I thought, it was good while it lasted. He thought it was funny! He kept wanting to hold them. I'm so glad it wasn't traumatizing. I think it was way worse for me than it was for him.

So now my baby looks like a little man. Just in time for his birthday next week!

Fabulous Father's Day Weekend

Well as most of you know I can talk forever on the subject of fathers,( I happen to have the best one EVER!), so I'll try to keep this short and sweet. I love my dad with every ounce in me and he is the most incredible man I know. Not only is he an amazing dad to me, but he has been there for many of my friends as well. Everyone knows if they need ANYTHING, just call "Mr. Larry"!

Mom, Dad, Kevin, Alisha and I and the 4 grandkids all headed down to the Boardwalk saturday evening for a Father's Day dinner. Brad had to work, so he missed out on all the fun. I dressed the kiddos in their matching luau outfits, in which Uncle Kevin made fun of. We ate at Saltgrass, which was fantastic, then enjoyed the rest of the evening. Me and Alisha rode the carousel with the kiddos. They absolutely LOVED it. I think Raelee owns one of the horses there, we have rode it so much.

Then it was off to Build-A-Bear workshop. Grandmother and Pawpaw took the babies in to get their first birthday bear, and the older ones got to pick out a new outfit for the bear they already have. That is some major decision making for Raelee, but we finally settled on a princess t-shirt. Colton and Alyssa just had so much fun running around. Colton picked out a puppy, and Alyssa picked a monkey.

Then we went down to Bass Pro Shop so I could get Brad some cinnamon covered almonds. That was a last minute little father's day treat. The kids love looking at the alligators and the fish too. Kevin was not happy that we spent more time in build-a-bear than we did in bass pro. I think he has a secret job there on the side that we don't know about. Everyone was ready for dessert by this time, so it was into the Chocolate Crocodile for some sweets. Raelee, of course, had to get PINK white chocolate.

Last, we let the kids do the Eurobungy. It's like a little trampoline, but they wear a harness and it lets them do flips and stuff. Dylan and Raelee did it, but neither one would try a flip. They just had fun jumping like the little monkeys they are!

The kids, and adults, were exhausted, but we had a great time. It was perfect weather for a perfect night. I love spending time with my family and creating as many memories as I can for the kids. That's something my parents always did for us, and for that I am extremely grateful.

The next day, actual father's day, we all went over mom and dad's and let the kids swim. Brad got off around 3pm, so we went home to see Daddy and give him all his goodies. Raelee was so excited to give him the singing card she picked out. She's a music lover like her daddy. Then, we went to Brad's parent's house to watch the LSU game.

I am so lucky to have such a wonderful husband and father to my children. There is nothing like seeing the look on their faces when Brad comes home from the fire station. Raelee is a true "daddy's girl"! He misses out on a lot, but I know it's because he is busy being a HERO!

That was our weekend. The kids are pooped and so am I. Hope you all had a wonderful father's day. I said a special prayer for all of my friends who do not have their fathers this year. I love you and am thinking about you.

Sick Day

I got really sick last night and woke up feeling crummy. So Brad gets up with the kiddos this morning while I stay in bed. He had to go to the fire station this afternoon, so he told me to stay in bed and rest and hopefully I would feel better by the time he left. As mommies I think it's hard for us to just "stay in bed". You hear everything going on, and know that it's not going the way you do it. Well, today I think I was too sick to care. But no matter how sick you are, you are still laying in bed thinking "dear god, what is he in there letting them do?" It made me think of this cute pic I had last week from when I came home from work and Brad had been with the kids. Colton was tired and fussy, so what does daddy do.... give them suckers. Yeah, that always works, until you go to take it away or it's gone. Just thought I would share it.
By the way, I'm feeling much better, thanks to some meds and rest!

Double Trouble

So Alisha and I(that is my brother's wife for those of you who do not know), had this bright idea to get some pictures made of the babies together for their 1st birthday. Colton and Alyssa were born 9 days apart, so we thought it would be really fun. We just thought we would "just run up to Target" and have some cheap little pics made, no biggie right? WRONG! We schedule the perfect appointment for when the babies had taken a nap and had just had lunch. They were in FANTASTIC moods. The clock kept ticking and before you know it, we had been waiting 1hr. I was about to go pull the lady out of the room taking pictures of her baby with every color onsie in the rainbow. Is this really necessary? Alisha and I just fed the kiddos snacks and let them show off their walking skills to everyone in the store. By the time the lady finally called us back, the kids looked ragged and Alisha and I were dripping sweat. So she brings us in the 8x10 room and tells us to put the babies up on a 4ft pedastool, as if they are going to sit there still and take the pictures. I'm thinking to myself at this point....this lady obviously does not have kids! We try it anyway, and of course they both just want to climb down. The lady hands Colton a wooden number "1" to hold and he bops himself in the eye. So we now have a huge red mark above our eyebrow. That's it....I'm done. We tell the lady we're sorry, but this may have worked an hour ago. After doing my therapy shopping in Target, I call this place across the street called Picture Innovations. I had seen the advertisement, but did not no anything about them. The girl sold me as soon as I talked to her on the phone. They were extremely nice. We went the next day, and wow, what a difference. The place is kid friendly, spacious, and clean. They were ready for us when we got there, we didn't even put our bags down. They took us in a large studio and let the kids just sit, stand, play whatever while she took the pics. The babies acutally had fun! Then she took us to a HUGE flat screen monitor on the wall and showed us the 85 pictures we had just took....yes I said 85. We got to narrow them down and choose from there. We went a little crazy because we were so excited, so all of you Aunts and Grandmothers should be getting some pics real soon. They printed them while we wait....AWESOME! This was the greatest experience for just a cheap little studio, but they did fantastic work. So I hope you all enjoy just a sample of our pics.

Ballet Debut

Well, as most of you know, Raelee is...shall we say....very imaginative. She has several different voices that accompany her many pretend friends. That's another whole blog in itself. Anyway, she loves to dress up and was driving me crazy about wanting to be a ballerina. I figured, why not, let's see if this is really something she might want to do. Well, we started in February and she LOVED IT! She knew every Monday was "Ballet Day". Now, before I go any further, you should all know that I know diddly squat about ballet. I don't understand it, it bores me to death, but those girls have some amazing talent. I find out that Raelee is going to be in Beauty and the Beast at "The Strand". What? Are you kidding? I just thought she was going to go to class every week and learn tap,jazz, and ballet. Well, I mind as well suck it up, because she's been fitted for a costume. The time comes and Raelee's class, the youngest, end up being Rosebuds. There are 4 different colors: red, purple, yellow, and PINK. There are 4 girls of each color. Now, the genius that thought that it would be a good idea to throw pink in the mix evidently does not have a 4yr old daughter. Talk about some drama on that "ballet day". Every other rosebud was in tears over the PINK costume. Raelee insisted that she was not going to be the most beautifulest of all in purple. I convinced her that purple was daddys' favorite color because it was for LSU, so it eased the pain a bit. By the time dress rehearsal came around, most of the girls were just excited to wear the costume and didn't fuss too much. They were the hit of the show. Grandmother and Pawpaw gave here flowers for her debut, so she thought she was big stuff. My baby girl performed on the stage at the strand in her beautiful purple costume and made us so proud. It was a total wear out, but it was so worth it. I couldn't have done it without all of you grandmothers taking turns with Colton and Brook helping me with my dramatic ballerina. I don't think she even got her tights off all the way before she was telling me that she now wants to be a "Balancer" (take gymnastics). Mommy was a cheerleader, so maybe we're heading a little more in a familiar direction. So, I guess gymnastics is next on our list, we'll see. For now, we are just dressing up in our princess costumes and enjoying grandmother and pawpaw's pool for the summer. I hope you enjoy the slide show. I will try to post the video from the recital later this week. Love you all....Good Night!

What a Difference a Day Makes

OK, so here I am...finally. I have been promising people that I was going to start blogging ever since I was pregnant with Colton. Well, I'm now planning his 1st birthday, so I guess now is as good of time as any. Where on earth do I start? This past year has been a total blur. I guess that's why I finally admitted to myself I need to do this in order to keep everyone up to date on all the new things in the Johnson Household. Alot of my friends make fun of me and tell me that Brad and I are hermits. I use to love hanging out with the girls, and still do on occasions, but I think I've become a different person. Something changed me when I had Colton. Whether it was the complications after surgery, going from one to two children, turning "30", or just starting all over again with a new baby....something changed. We spend our Friday and Saturday nights at home with the kids instead of out with friends. We take the kids places during the day instead of shopping with the girls. Don't get me wrong, I cherish my "grown-up" conversations with my girlfriends, but my babies are my world right now. I feel like I want to squeeze every memory out that I can. I closed my eyes and my precious baby Raelee is now a Big Sis. My next blink and Colton will be playing T-ball. There is one thing I regret. I have been so busy BEING busy, that I have not ENJOYED all of those memories. I was laying in bed last night after an exhausting weekend and it hit me......make it simple,enjoy the little things. So this morning I woke up, and that's excatly what we did. Brad was at the fire station so it was just me and the kiddos. After we ate lunch I told Raelee to pack some snacks and we were going to go outside and have a picnic (her favorite). We got snacks, juice, toys, bubbles and a blanket and headed out in the hot Louisiana heat. Good thing we have a big tree outside with shade or this would have been a really crummy idea.
She was so excited to get to show Colton how to blow bubbles, and he loved it. Now usually this is where I start freaking out and worrying about spilling it everywhere and getting sticky and dirty. NOT TODAY! I let the kids eat the gummies and blow bubbles like normal kids. Heck, I think Colton may have even have ate a couple pieces of grass, but I learned that he would live.My little red faced babies had so much fun just being outside and doing something simple. I don't always have to take them to the park, zoo, swimming, sci-port, or all the other crazy place we've already been this summer. They just enjoy being kids. Give Raelee a flower patch and she's good to go. Give Colton some snacks, and he's your friend for life.

They have taught me so much, but most of all, to enjoy every minute. I don't have to be in mommy mode ALL of the time. I have to learn to relax and take it all in. I love to just sit on the couch with both of them in my arms watching their favorite show. Nothing is greater that "cuddle time". I love watching them interact with each other and Raelee singing Colton a lullaby when she KNOWS he needs a nap. There is so much that I want to share with all of you and some really precious pics of by babies. I promise every night will not be this long. This was just the beginning of a new chapter. So tonight, I will leave you with this....Tonight as I tucked Raelee in, she hugged me and said"Thanks mom! I had sooooo much fun today!" As I kissed her goodnight I thought to myself.......I have done my job today, and I did it well!