Being Thankful...

Have you given Thanks lately for what you have in your life? I am sure many of you, with myself guilty as well, have griped about what you do not have. With the holidays fast approaching it is very easy to get caught up in the hustle and bustle of the season without stopping to realize the true meaning. I am thankful today, I will be thankful tomorrow, and I will make every attempt each day to wake up thankful and thank God for the blessings he has granted me and not go to him only when I have a problem or need something. I am thankful for waking up every morning with a roof over my head. I am thankful that I can wake up each morning with my best friend right beside me. I am thankful that I can wake up each morning to the sound of little feet running into my bedroom to start the day (although usually earlier than I would like them to). I am thankful for my wonderful family, near and far. I am thankful for the most amazing friends anyone could ask for. I am thankful for a God that forgives. I am thankful for his son who died on the cross that day so that my sins may be forgiven. I am thankful.
Take a look around you. Are you one of the people fortunate enough to have a bed to sleep on, to have food in your refrigerator, a place to call home? We all have our problems, everyone does, but when you are having one of those days when things seem to be going everyway but your way, take a look at the lady in the grocery line behind you, the person you pass on the sidewalk, the man at the post office. What's their story? Is that a mom buying her child's favorite food to try and get them to eat something after their chemo treatment this morning? Is that a person walking home after having a horrible day at work not sure how much longer he can take the stress? Is that a father mailing a letter to his son stationed in Iraq who won't be home for Christmas this year? Everyone has a story. I bet though that mom is thankful for the chemo that her child received this morning giving them a better shot at a longer life than someone 10 years ago. I bet that person passing you is just thankful for a having a job. I bet that father at the post office is thankful that his son is still alive to send the letter to. We all have reasons to be thankful. Take time this holiday season to really reflect on all the reasons you have to be thankful. Share your reasons with others. Let someone know that they give you a reason to be thankful and give someone else a reason to be thankful for you. We all have something to give, whether it be our friendship, a shoulder, a hand to hold, a hug to share, an ear to listen, we all have something. Wake up in the morning and think of one thing to do that day that could possibly put a smile on someone's face even if it is just by putting a smile on your face. They are contagious and don't cost a thing. I know personally that when I go through the drive through sometimes I will tell the cashier that I would like to pay for the car behind me. Sometimes I get crazy looks, sometimes I get questioned but I am sure that when that car pulls up to find out that some complete stranger paid for their breakfast or their lunch that their day gets just a little bit better. My simple act of kindness might inspire them to do the same for someone else. Pay it forward. Check your closets this winter and see how many extra coats you have that you don't wear, see how many outfits you have that you probably will never wear again or that don't fit you, look in your pantry and see how many cans of food that you bought on sale just because. Could you stand to let some go? Again, give someone else a reason to be thankful for you! I hope that everyone has a wonderful safe Thanksgiving and that in this time of giving that you remember to be Thankful.

Sorry for the delay...

We had a rough week last week. I will start with last weekend and bring you up to date. Last Saturday we had my grandfather's 80th birthday dinner which was a lot of fun. Makenzie had a hard time due to the fact that we got there at 6:00 and did not eat until 7:30 (way past her dinner time) and then did not get done until around 9:00 or so (which is past her bedtime). Kylie of course was fine and enjoyed all the attention from family members from out of state that she does not get to see too often. Sunday we had a nice lunch with "Grandma and Grandpa from Florida" (as Kylie calls them) and watched the Falcons at Reid and Ally's. Monday was a normal day with no issues! Monday night / Tuesday morning Rian got a stomach virus and spent 6 hours throwing up at least 3 times an hour all night! He was home from work on Tuesday and I did my best to keep the girls away and Rian quarantined. I washed all the bedding and tried to sanitize as much as I could to keep anyone else from getting it. Thank goodness it was only about a 12 hour bug and he was feeling much better by Tuesday night. Wednesday morning Kylie woke up with a sore throat and complained of not feeling well. I kept her home from school (also thinking that she just needed some one on one time with mommy also!) and was feeling much better after some Thanksgiving craft projects and a good movie. We went to my parents for dinner that evening and everyone seemed to be doing just fine. Thursday morning Makenzie woke up with the worst diarreah (sp? and TMI) and I was worried that she was coming down with the stomach bug. I sent her to school with an FYI to them and headed off to work. I did not get a call so I though that maybe she may have just eaten something. My dad went and had Thanksgiving lunch with Kylie at school on Thursday and called and said that everything went well! Yeah...maybe I did do a good job of keeping them germ free and getting that bug out of our house! I could only be so lucky. Thursday afternoon at about 3:45 I get a call from Kylie's daycare saying that she had thrown up all over the bus on the way from school and then all over the cafeteria at daycare! I head home and pick both girls up and take them home. Rian had to work late that evening so I had Kylie throwing up everywhere, Makenzie screaming, both girls needing a bath due to gross bodily fluids and all the while trying to keep everyone seperated so no one else got the bug. My hands were almost cracking they were so dry from all of the hand washing. Kylie continued for the next 5 hours every 30 minutes like clock work although she got really good at her aim and the mess was kept to a minimum. I had to run to my parents to grab some diapers since we had gone through so many and to get some plastic grocery bags to line Kylie's barf bucket as I was not in any mood or shape to be going to the grocery store. While there I was kidding everyone that I was the carrier and they were all going to get sick to. Take foot insert mouth! The next morning...we are now at Friday...my sister in law calls to tell me that she spent the entire night throwing up as well! Another bites the dust! I really should be careful of what I say. Rian was home with Kylie on Friday to make sure she was over it and to get some rest. That evening my brother and sister in law came over for dinner since my parents were heading to my grandmother's for her Thanksgiving dinner at the retirement home. I called my dad to check on painting time for Saturday and he mentioned that my mom did not go with him because she was not feeling too well! An hour later...I get the call...she is throwing up! AHHHHHHHHHHHH! I feel though at this point it has left my house so I was in the clear! The next morning Kylie and I head to my parents house to help paing their kitchen and dining room as everyone seems to be feeling better. We got both rooms painted and I have to say it looks amazing. Saturday evening they came back to our house and had dinner and made Smores with Kylie in the fireplace. Sunday morning we got up and got some much needed cleaning done. While I was in the kitchen doing dishes Makenzie had apparently gotten a hold of the phone in the living room like she does so often but this time I did not notice. After an undetermined amount of time Rian notices and puts it back on the base. Not 45 seconds later the phone rings (I bet you can guess where I am going with this...), I answer it and I hear on the other end..."Yes ma'am this is Gwinnett County 911. We just received a hang up call from this number and when we first attempted to call back, the phone was answered and all we could hear was someone pushing buttons and then hang up again." Me: "Oh my gosh...I am so sorry. I have an 18 month old at home and she apparently got a hold of the phone. We will try to make sure this never happens again." 911 Operator: "So would you like me to cancel the police?" Me: In my head "Well, duh!" speaking "Yes, please do!"
Needless to say that phone has been removed from the living room so that she can no longer reach any of the phones in the house!
Sunday evening we went to my parent's for our Sunday night dinner and then had a quiet evening at home. Rian is off this week so he has the girls at home this week with him. We will see how survives being a stay at home dad. Fortunately for him he only has Kylie in the afternoons after school and it is a short week for me with the holidays! Hope everyone has an amazing Thanksgiving! (FYI - I usually do not have time to proof read so...sorry for any mistakes!)

"As we express our gratitude, we must never forget that the highest appreciation is not to utter words, but to live by them." - John F. Kennedy

Things have been good in the Ferrero household. Richard got back from Chicago on Wednesday and my dad got back from Italy on Friday. Saturday we had everyone over to watch Georgia beat Kentucky (everyone except Reid since he was in Vegas). That evening Rian and everyone went to a local dance hall / club to see some Ultimate Fighting. I stayed home and had a nice quiet evening with my girls! Sunday was dinner at my parents and Kylie went with my brother and his wife to her grandmother's 91st birthday! This Saturday we will be celebrating my papa's 80th birthday. Sunday we will be having lunch with Arliss and Don or as Kylie calls them "Grandma and Grandpa in Florida". Makenzie's leg is looking so much better you can barely even tell there was anything there!
Yesterday I had my parent / teacher conference with Kylie's teacher and I have to say that girl makes me so proud to be her mommy! In reading her teacher explained to me that most kids come in from Kindergarten at a level 3 and at this time of the year should be at a 7 (going up 4 levels). When Kylie started she tested in at a level 7 and is now at 14!!!! She has doubled her reading level and her teacher said that she is in the highest reading group and because there are only a few 1st graders at the school in that level she goes to another class for reading.
Her computer classes that she is taking are on two different subjects, Math and Language Arts. In Math she should be at a 1.9 right now and she is at a 2.4! In Language Arts she should be at a 1.7 and she is at a 1.99! Her Benchmark Testing level should be at a 70% and she is at 82% I believe. Also, on her CoGat Testing she is abover average in the three areas they tested! She certainly is my smarty pants! She takes after her momma! =)
Now to brag on my other smarty pants. Every day we have a new word added to her vocabulary. Her new facination is the moon. She is also learning her colors. She can now say them all although she still gets confused when asked what color something is. She knows yeyo, why (white), back (black), wed (red), geen, bue, and bwown (brown). She can almost always identify yellow and purple which are obviously her favorites.
I will leave you with a classic Kylie and Makenzie story. I am in the kitchen doing the dishes and I hear them in Makenzie's room laughing away (I know that Rian has moved Makenzie's play school desk away from her dresser since she figured out that she could climb on the desk to climb on the 5 drawer dresser, so I know at this point she is not up there) and I think it is wonderful that they are having fun and not fighting over something. After a few minutes and not paying much attention to the laughing that is still continuing it starts to get closer to me as Makenzie is coming towards the kitchen. As soon as I turn around I see a white haired little old lady looking at me and laughing. Kylie and Makenzie had dumped 1/2 a bottle of baby powder on Makenzie's head. I would expect this from an 18 month old but Kylie should know better. Unfortunately I was laughing too hard to yell at either of them. Afterwards though I did explain to them that it was wrong and I threatened Kylie with her life if Makenzie ever got a pair of scissors to cut her hair that she better stop her.

Have a Great Weekend Everyone!

"You can learn many things from children. How much patience you have, for instance."
-Franklin P. Jones

It's Not Ring Worm...

After taking Makenzie to the doctor on Monday or whatever day it was last week things were not getting any better. In fact her leg was looking worse. Then by Thursday evening she had started to run a fever and had a horrible cough. By Friday night the fever had gotten to 103 and we fought it all weekend with Tylenol every 3-4 hours. Sunday night Rian decided he was going to take Monday off and take her back to the doctor again. This time she had an ear infection and a sinus infection. The doctor also looked at her leg again and said that she did not like the way it was looking either and referred us to a dermatologist. I was able to get an appointment for yesterday (Tuesday) and after taking a scraping of it and testing it the doctor has determined that she has something called Nummular Eczema. It is very commonly misdiagnosed as ringworm due to the similarity in appearance! So we have a new cream, new soap, new lotion, etc. for her sensitive skin. The doctor made it quite clear that if it smells good, don't use it! Unfortunately she will probably have to deal with this for the rest of her life but there is a small chance she could grow out of it by the time she is 5 or 6. Only time will tell. At least now we know what it is.

Now on to our weekend! Friday evening we took the girls up to Reid and Allison's house for trick or treating. I ended up keeping Makenzie at home (due to fever) so Rian, Reid, and Tony took Kylie out. She did not last very long though after a "scary dead bride" came to life as Kylie was walking away and scared the pants off of her! Saturday we went to Tommy and Danielle's to watch our precious Dawgs get stomped to death by the Gators! I am sure Arliss and Don were just thrilled after the beating we gave them last year! Since Makenzie was still not feeling well we decided not to do anything special for my birthday and just hung out with everyone at the house. I did my fare share of celebrating though and wollowing in my sorrowers from the earlier game and paid for it Sunday morning! Vodka, OJ, and RedBull were going down way to easy! Sunday we headed home got some cleaning done and headed to my parents for dinner with my Grandmother. My dad left for Italy on Sunday as well so we did not get to see him before he left. Monday everyone at work took me out to lunch for my birthday and my mom cooked me Filet Mignon and Crab legs for dinner! It was wonderful!

We are looking forward to a quiet weekend at home this weekend! Hope everyone is having a great week! God Bless!

Quote for the day: (I am not going to say who I voted for but you should know I was not a happy camper when I woke up this morning! We all need to start praying!)

"We hang the petty thieves and appoint the great ones to public office." - Aesop