We are at the halfway point for the week. Is it really Wednesday already?
Last weekend turned out to be a lot of fun for everyone. Us girls had fun on Friday night going out. Makenzie and Kylie stayed with my parents and of course had fun with Nana and Papa. I picked them up on Saturday morning and we went back to Danielle and Tommy's house. Allsion and Aubri (as Makenzie calls her) joined us and we had another girls only night. We watched our favorite Georgia Bulldogs win again, ate pizza, and had a few (maybe more) drinks. Kinda sounds like a bunch of guys! On Sunday me and the girls went to Shane's first birthday and then headed home to see Daddy (Rian). The girls had not seen him since Thursday evening. Rian and the guys seemed to have had a blast. The stories were told as I knew they would be and I have to admit I wish we had been able to go as well. They all survived and everyone was able to stay in the raft even though aparently the guide tried really hard to have at least one go in. The weather was absolutely beautiful and the water wasn't too terribly cold. Rian described the house and the view similar to Arliss' except with the mountains going on as far as the eye could see. The inside was wood similar to theirs as well as the outside "log cabin" look. They had a screened in porch with a fire place and hot tub, a pool table in the basement and 5 bedrooms! Sounds like they had it made! This week we have been cleaning and cleaning and cleaning! I have not done a good cleaning of the house in a long time. Of course we straighten up and wipe things down but I am talking about cleaning windows, window screens (Richard's job), polishing and cleaning the hardwoods, dusting everything, wiping down every picture frame, etc. Ron is coming in next week and we have company coming this weekend as well, besides that though the house just really needed it! We are getting some new (new to us / hand me down) furniture for Kylie's room that will complete everything and everything will now match! She is very excited as am I because now all the bedrooms have matching stuff which is a big deal for us since so much of our stuff in the past has been mis matched what nots that we happen to have or were given! My next project then is to paint her room and then the everything will be completed. We painted Makenzie's room before she was born but I just never got around to repainting Kylie's since she has gotten older. Time to get ready to go home and get some more cleaning done. Will post more after this weekend.

Not Much Happening...

Not too much going on since the last post. Things have been rather calm around the Ferrero house hold. Last weekend we spent Friday evening celebrating at my parents house. My brother's wife Jessica took her last final and is now starting her externship on her way to graduation to be an MA. We are all so proud of her but noone as proud as my brother! Stephen is recovering well now from his knee surgery and has finally been able to get out of the house which I know he is enjoying. Saturday, Rian and Reid kept the two babies while Ally, Kylie, and I went to Danielle's bridal shower. We spent the evening there watching Georgia beat South Carolina. Sunday we had our usual Sunday dinner at my parents. This week seems to be dragging and I am so glad tomorrow is Friday. Mom & Dad will be watching the girls as I have Danielle's Bachelorette party and Rian and the guys are heading off for White Water Rafting! I am sure when they return there will be plenty of stories to tell. 10 guys staying in one cabin makes for an interesting and I am sure trouble making time! I just hope they all can manage to STAY IN THE RAFT! The weather has been cooling off here and they highs have only been in the high 70's. Definite sign that fall is right around the corner. Can't say I am too excited as I HATE the winter! I will leave you with a couple pictures. Still no beach pictures but hopefully I can get them this weekend! These are not new but are new to you guys!

Old Picture of Kylie and Gianna after they decided to draw on each other's face!

One of my favorites!

Princess Kylie!

Look at those big teeth!

Makenzie's First Birthday!!!!

Well Deserved...

I'm back.....lots of happenings since I last posted but the biggest and the best was our trip to the beach!!! We just got back last night and it was a much enjoyed, well deserved trip! (Although not near long enough, but I guess they really never are!) We started planning this vacation many months ago and had all intents and purpose to head to Myrtle Beach, SC this year as a change of pace for us Gulf Coast Lovers! Unfortunately Hannah had the same idea and decided to follow us. So....Friday morning as we are packing up the car to head out I just did not have the greatest feeling about driving into a Hurricane (or Tropical Storm...whatever) as they are asking the residents on the beach to voluntarily evacuate. I phoned the condo where we were to stay to try one last time to get our deposit back (since they don't have to give it back unless there is a mandatory evacuation) and the woman on the other end was very understanding and gave us a full refund!!! Wonderful news but now what? So in a matter of about 30 minutes I had found us a new place and we were off.....to the Gulf Coast! The weather was absolutely beautiful! We did not get a drop of rain. Not even those afternoon pop up things that seem to happen daily on the coast. We had so much fun and the girls absolutely loved it. Makenzie made friends with all of the older ladies on the beach and at the pool. Every morning we would hear "Good morning, Makenzie" and at night leaving the beach "Goodnight, Makenzie!" Kylie (our fish) enjoyed it so much more this year now that she knows how to really swim. She was able to be in the pool without anything on and even got to swim out to the sand bar with Rian. Makenzie also really enjoyed the sand and the ocean! She had no fear! At the pool she also began to "try" to swim on her own. She would jump off the edge go completely under the water and come back up to me to grab her. I hope to have pictures soon to post so that everyone can see. So after a 5 day weekend we are back to the grind of things and starting another week. Stayed tuned as our next month is packed full of happenings....
Preview of what's to come and the happenings of the Ferrero Four:

• Saturday 9/13/08 - Danielle and Tommy's Wedding Shower
• Friday 9/19/08 - Danielle's Bachelorette party and Tommy's Bachelor party (Rian will be white water rafting all weekend)
• Sunday 9/21/08 - Our friend's son Shane's 1st Birthday
• Friday 9/26/08 - 9/27/08 - Camping out and competing in our Annual Chilli Cook-Off
• Wednesday 10/1/08 - Ron Ferrero is coming in town for the week
• Saturday 10/4/08 - Danielle and Tommy's Wedding
• Thursday 10/16/08 - 10/19/08 - Heading to the Gulf Coast again with my parents and brother and sister in law!

It's been a while...

This could turn out to be kind of a long one....
The second week of school sure did turn in to be an interesting one. Monday and Tuesday were quite uneventful with the new "normal" school routine beginning to come in to place. Wednesday however was anything but normal. It all started with a phone call at work from Makenzie's daycare that she had fallen and bumped her eye. She was fine but they just wanted me to be aware. Like I said previously...Makenzie has no fear and since being moved up with the bigger kids she insists on doing everything that they do. When I arrived at the school I realized it was not just a little bump but a beautiful black and blue shiner!!! (It is now in the greenish/yellowish phase) I had to pick her up early that day due to her needing her 15 month shots. These are never fun. 4 shots at one time is not something I think that anyone would enjoy. It was the longest doctor visit ever. We waited for 1 hour in the waiting room which by then Makenzie was quite miserable and I was on my way. It took another hour in the actual room. While waiting I got a phone call from Rian that there had been a fight on the school bus and Kylie got hit. What? Are you kidding me? With Makenzie screaming in the background I told him I would have to deal with it when I got home and went to pick her up. After 2 hours and 4 shots later we finally were able to leave the doctor and I dropped Makenzie off at home to go get Kylie. Apparently Rian had heard wrong because she was not hit she had gotten pinched by a boy and our neighbor at that! Apparently there was an issue with a book bag and all of the boys ganged up on the girls and started pinching them. Of course knowing how dramatic girls can be, they all started crying and caused a huge ruckus! I do have to say though that Kylie ended up with a pretty good bruise herself! So Wednesday ended with both kids black and blue and me just hoping for a better Thursday! I should have known better.
Makenzie slept really well Wednesday night and I thought it was quite weird that she had not woken me up yet before my alarm as she usually does. I got up and went in to her room to find her sitting in her crib smiling at me and laughing! She had to be up to something. As I approached the crib something had happened that had never happened to me before. Makenzie had learned to take her diaper off and had pooped. She was playing with her poop! It was everywhere! On the floor, in her bed, squished between her fingers! Absolutely disgusting! All I could at that point after getting over the initial shock was laugh! It was either that or cry! My Thursday was not starting out any better than my Wednesday had ended. Needless to say Kylie was late for school and I was late for work that morning. I told Kylie to blame it on our newly named poopy monster!
Thursday evening was calmer and Friday was wonderful. Kylie went with my brother and his wife to the softball game and Rian and I stayed home and enjoyed some peace and quiet.
Saturday was dinner at my parents with my dad's mom and Sunday was a repeat with my mom's parents. It is Monday again and we get to do it all over again! Hoping this week is a little less exciting than last week was!

It's Monday again. Ugh... The weekends seem to come so fast lately and yet they end even faster. This weekend was nothing extraordinary and yet it was nice. We spent Friday night having dinner with my parents. After dinner I took Rian and Makenzie home and me and Kylie went and watched my brother's softball team play (he was watching as well)! They won of course...I think they are undefeated. It is a far cry from the team that he played on with Rian and "the guys". We were at home and everyone was in bed by 10:45 which is nice for a Friday evening. Saturday morning had us up and out of the house by 8:15am. We had to go to Jefferson to our friend's Tommy, Tony, and Danielle's house so that Rian and "the guys" could get fitted for our next wedding 10/4/08. We spent the day there and the evening just hanging out. Kylie has a blast when we go because their neighbor has a daughter named AnnMarie that she plays with. I know that I was in bed before the two of them. Sunday was quite relaxing. We came home from Jefferson and went to my parents for dinner. (We do this quite often as you can probably tell!) I will leave you with some random pictures that I have been creating from a new program that I found. Hope you enjoy and I will be back in a couple of days!

Kylie, Jessica, and Sarah

Kylie Ann

Makenzie Michael

Steve & Jessica

Rian & Reid

Full Circle...

So it's finally Friday and I could not be more happy. This week has seemed to take a million years to go by. Our family has had a pretty bad run of luck in the last week as far as our bodies go. Last Friday in a very early (4:30am) half asleep / half awake attempt to use the restroom my mom chose the wrong path and fell down an entire flight of stairs. She's ok but bruised several ribs, broke off some piece of bone in her elbow and sprained her wrist. Later that evening during my brother's co-ed softball game while trying to be a gentleman and not run into a girl running to first base he tore his OTHER ACL and his Meniscus (sp?). You see... he did the same thing in a softball game almost exactly a year ago on the other leg! Everyone said he should hang up his cleats....I say why? He will have two new knees now....he should be fine! =) The girls had puny tummies last weekend but I thought it was a mixture of teething (yes, my 6 year old and my 15 month old are both teething...more on that later) and Kylie's jitters about first grade. They must have had some sort of stomach virus that was brewing but not at full force. Well the hurricane hit me Sunday night. I was praying to the porcelain gods every two hours all night long and by Monday morning my entire body was aching. You never realize how many muscles you have to use to throw up (I know, TMI). I spent Monday in bed trying to recover. Thank God it was only one of those 24 hour bugs. That is something I would not ever wish on anyone. Tuesday was my Dad's birthday and we went and had dinner with them at my parents house. Unfortunately I was still a little nervous about what food I put in my stomach so I was not able to fully enjoy the steaks or the grilled shrimp and scallop cabobs. I ate what I could but I was told by everyone that it was amazing! Makenzie has had a rough week but yet lately every week has seemed to be rough on her. She currently has 12 teeth and is cutting her 4 canine teeth...that is 16 teeth total! It feels as those she has been teething forever. We never seemed to have any issues with Kylie and teething (she is now getting her last 2 six year old molars) but Makenzie is a different story. She is miserable with them. The weekends are better but she is also able to take 2 naps on the weekends when she is home with us where is at daycare she only gets 1 and sometimes that's not even a very good one. Imagine trying to get 10 one year olds to sleep at the same time. Not happening and Makenzie likes or should I say needs to be in a room by herself to go to sleep. If there are people around she is awake. She has to be laid down in another room and she puts herself to sleep. Rian left Wednesday morning and went to North Carolina for work. He came home last night (Thursday), so it was only one night being gone but with still not feeling quite up to par myself, it makes for a rough evening with only one parent. We were definitely glad to see him last night when he got home. So that brings us back to the beginning...full circle....So it's finally Friday and I could not be more happy!

Hope Everyone has a wonderful weekend. I will try to post Sunday on the happenings of the weekend!

-The Ferrero Four

Recap....

Thought I would give this a try. So, the summer is dwindling down and for Kylie, summer break has come to an end. She has now been an official 1st grader for almost a full week. As the first week of school usually goes she has had it pretty easy. Next week she has been promised though....the homework will start. Homework? Yes....nightly! Kylie was very fortunate last year not to have homework. My personal opinion (and that of her Kindergarden teacher) is that at the age of 6 after sitting for 6.5 hours in a school building the last thing that a kid needs to come home and do is MORE work. She goes to daycare after school and gets home around 5:30 and then homework, dinner, baths, bed. Where is the time to unwind? Time to play? Hopefully it won't be too much but I know she will do just fine! It is hard to believe that it is the middle of August already. This summer flew by and yet sometimes seemed to just drag. We have spent a lot of appreciated time at my parents pool. Kylie has become quite the swimmer and can now make it the entire length of the pool. Makenzie would like to think she could swim, she is quite the water baby! She is definitely our dare devil child. She is not afraid of anything. If there is a place to climb, she climbs it, if there is an escape route, she takes it, if there is something she is not supposed to do, SHE DOES IT! She is her father's child! =) So our summer has been spent at the pool and spending wonderful time with family and friends. Kylie was able to spend a wonderful week with her Grandma and Grandpa (Rian's side) in the mountains. She went to the lake, shopping, and even climbed Brass Town Bald. She spent many weekends with her Mema & Papa (my grandparents) and was able to go boating and fishing on their lake. She spent a couple weeks home with her Daddy doing "their thing" together and stayed with Nana and Papa (my parents) several times! She has definitely had and deserved the break! My brother and Jessica got married July 26th and Kylie was one of the flower girls. Of course she was absolutely beautiful and loved getting all dressed up! She is quite the princess! We enjoyed seeing so many family and friends that we do not get to see very often! Even Grandma and Grandpa made the trip down from the mountains. Fun times had by all!

So the point of this blog is to keep those of you who we do not talk to regularly update on the Ferrero Four! (which is almost everyone....I am horrible about making calls and writing, but hey I work full time, I am a wife, and a mother to a 6 year old and a 15 month old...who can blaim me?) Please check back regularly as I will try to update every couple days and maybe even add some pictures here and there as I have time!!!!

This is only the beginning....