The Glass House of Nicolerene

Bubbles, Swings and I love you's...

HI

I had a sweet little afternoon with Miss Ella. 

After Ella's nap she had a snack and we went outback. It was beautiful out. Not to hot and not raining. It has been raining a lot. So we filled up the bubble machine and caught bubbles and then we went to swing on Ella's new swing she got for her birthday. It was absolutely wonderful.

I love peaceful moments.

In BIG news!!! This morning when we called daddy at work I told Ella to say I love you just like I do every day but today she actually said I love you. It was the cutest thing in the world EVER!!! Our hearts just melted. 

 

Also...

Be sure to check out Tea Collection's page and vote for your favorite girl dresses and/or boys tops. Once an item has received 1,000 Facebook Likes, it will go on sale--$15 dresses and $10 boys tops! It's so much fun! Vote for your favorite girls dresses  and boys tops to be sure that your favorites go on sale. Happy Liking! 

 

Have a super day!!!

a happy little tune...

I just can’t help but enjoy a happy little tune. One of those songs that makes you smile and feel like you should have little bluebirds flying around with you. During the day Ella and I keep the music going and I just love this song. This week has been very rough and stressful and as down as I have been I was still able to dance around with Ella today as we listened to this. (we have a lot of big changes coming up and I am just not ready for them.. more to come soon)

With all the music playing Ella is becoming quite the little dancer. It is so so so absolutely adorable. Music is a HUGE part of my life so it really makes me happy when the kids are enjoying some good tunes.  

So enjoy the little tune and I hope you get it stuck in your head for the day. 

 

 

 

Also, one of my favorite stores, Tea Collection has been awarded with the 2012 "Stylish Tot" Cribsie Award!  Visit Tea Collection today and view their new summer collection. I am in love with tons of adorable baby clothes and I hope to be getting a few for Ella soon.  Enjoy! 

 

Have a beautiful Thursday!!!!

A little party in the making...

 

These are things that I have been looking at for inspiration for Ella's first birthday party. Since Ella was born I have been drawn to the color yellow for her and it has become my favorite color right now. So far things are going smooth with the planning. I still need to work out cake details and then start putting everything together and you know get the house and yard perfect. I want it to be simple but pretty. No matter what happens, Ella will be there with her brother and sisters and our family and we will be happy together. 

I hope everyone has a peaceful Sunday evening...

 

_{Sources...One...Two...Three...Four...Five...Six}

E and Me at the beach... with a little update and some exciting news

 

Hi... It has been such a long time since I have been able to sit down and work on anything without falling asleep. We have just been so busy with Easter and Spring Break. Today I was finally able to get MOST of my pics on the computer and organized. I think I still have about 300 to go. HELP PLEASE... I take so many photos that I get overwhelmed if I do not work on them daily. In a weekend we can take around 200 easy. It is more then just transferring them to the computer. I have all photos organized by day / month/ year and I have to go through them and see what I am going to use or not. It just adds up and I get so overwhelmed and then I procrastinate it. So here I am after a month of crazy, trying to catch up. 

Yesterday was kind of my first relax day... even though I was still going none stop. My nephew came down to visit so Ella and I took him to the beach. It was a gorgeous day. I was having so much fun taking pictures. I am hoping to go back one evening this week to get some more. There is great light there in the evening. It was a nice day and Ella enjoyed the water. (Ella has become a water baby in the past month.)

So over the past month we have been super crazy. Getting ready for Easter/ Spring Break was a huge job for me. For some reason the past few years I get really into Easter. I think that it must be something about Spring. I spent a lot of time preparing for it since we had so much planned. I just love it.  We went to the pools every day. We went on boat rides in the evenings. Kyle went golfing (he got a set of clubs for making Honor Roll). Ben and Kyle went spear fishing the night before Easter and caught us some Hog Fish for Easter dinner. That night alone turned into a crazy, everything that can go wrong will and did kind of night, but we all made it through it and laughed afterwords. Easter was beautiful. We ate breakfast and dinner on the porch. We had an egg hunt and Ella enjoyed getting her eggs. Then Ben came with the good news. One of his clients just happens to be Dolphin Cove. So he arranged for the kids to swim with the dolphins. It was absolutely wonderful. The kids were so excited!!! It was a great experience for them and they are looking forward to doing it again.. We also went to the beach so the kids could go hunting for Hermit Crabs. Since we can not keep the ones from the beach we let the kids each buy a land Hermit Crab.  It really turned out to be a great week... even with a few attitude problems. ;)

With everything that we have been doing the last month you can imagine that I have a TON of pictures and since I have not been posting them on here I have so many that I could never put them all in a post. So today I made the March and April photo albums for the blog and started to put up pictures. So to see everything we have been up to go check those out. 

_{I was able to get about 60% of the pics up today but over the next few days I plan to have it finished. Make sure to check back for new ones.} 

_{I am hoping to do a post with the swimming with dolphins pics so those will not be going up on the album yet. Dolphin Cove was so kind to do photos for us and I think the disk has about 160 on there so I still have to go through and pick my favorites to post and that will not be easy.} 

 

So now the exciting news of the day... After weeks of waiting, Ella's first tooth finally broke through today!!!! We are so excited. Most babies get bottoms first but Ella is pushing out the tops and they have been so swollen for weeks. In a few pictures it looks like she has teeth because the gum was so white and swollen. Today was the big day and we have made a huge fuss over it. 

 

I am hoping that as busy as I will be the next few weeks getting ready for a little someones first birthday, that I will be back to regular posting. As for this little girl turning one, well I am NOT ready for that. I do not want the year to be over yet. I am enjoying this so much and I really think this was the quickest first year out of all of them. I feel like I was pregnant for 3 years and now the first year is over in just a few months. So I am trying to enjoy every last minute of the first year and I am working on a small but sweet little party for the sweetest little baby girl...

Goodnight everyone...

XOXOXOXOXO

Nicole

 

Flashback... (then and now)...

 

October 2002

 

This is Kyle and Kelsey. 

A long long time ago in a land far far away I left my home in FL to move to GA. Shortly after moving there I made a friend named Jennifer. She was a mom of 3 young children, Denver, Cole and Kelsey. Jennifer and I became close friends and she was the first and one of the few good friends I made there. I have a lot of silly memories of her and I trying to figure out this life while our husbands were always gone. We had fun trying to shove a TV that did not fit through the door opening into the back seat of her car and she rescued Kyle and me when I forgot a pot of baby bottles boiling on my stove until the water was gone and all of the plastic and rubber melted and filled my house with horrible smoke. It seems like a million years ago in my other life. I had my Kyle and I adored Kelsey. She was such a happy baby and her and Kyle would baby play together. They were very very cute and they became baby friends. I loved how Kelsey would hold her bottles with her feet. I thought that was just the coolest thing ever!!! Many years have gone by... Jen and her family moved away because that is what happens in the Army and we lost touch for a while. Now years later I am back in FL and she is in MO but we are still friends and we get to share pictures and story's about our kids with each other. We were so much younger then and we had little babies. Now they are so grown up and it is crazy. I am still in contact with some of the other friends I made during that time and I am really glad that I have been able to keep these friendships. 

They are special to me...

Now Kyle and Kelsey were baby friends and have not seen each other since they were under the age of 2. They do not remember any of this. But any time I see a picture of Kelsey I can not help but to think back on these kids as babies. Wasn't it just yesterday they were sitting in that chair being babies??? It gets me every time.

Above is a picture of Kyle and Kelsey then...

Below is Kyle and Kelsey now...

CRAZY!!!!!!

Look at these kids... our little babies growing up so fast. 

...Time flies so enjoy every moment and cherish every memory...

Have a great weekend!!!

Nicole

~ Thanks so much Jen ~

Day by Day...

Hi Hi Hi

Another busy week moving right along. Okay, when is it not busy around here. I always have 5 million things going on at once, but I guess I would get bored if I didn't. I DID IT!!! Yep I had my yard sale on Sat morning. I did not want to. I am not a people person at all so I rather scrub toilets at a bar then go out and deal with people at a yard sale. ( ok ok yes that is to some degree an exaggeration but it makes my point... I DO NOT LIKE TO DEAL WITH PEOPLE ) So when the alarm went off Sat morning I wanted to pull the covers over my head and say NO NO NO I AM NOT DOING IT but I got up like a big girl and went and did it. My sister came to help me and my mom came to help me with Ella. ( Ben had a mid-term for school so he was in study land ) In the end... I did it, and if the weather allows I will do it again next weekend. We did not get rich but it was not the worst sale I have had and I got some stuff moved out of my garage and into someone else's. 

Then Sunday came... and I spent the entire day in Lowe's and I am never ever going back... no that was not me at Home Depot last night... that was just someone pretending to be me... I swear. We bought almost everything we needed to do the bathroom and it was long and I had to think a lot about matching tile to this and stain to this and light fixtures and hardware and how will this look and this and that. UGHH, it starts out fun but by the end of the day its like LETS GO NOW!!!

Other then that its just been daily life around here. I looked around after the yard sale and discovered that my house was a wreck, so I have been cleaning and doing a little of this and a little of that. I am trying to start some basic planning for Easter and Ella's first birthday. I do not want to plan for her birthday yet but if I do not start now I will become overwhelmed at the last min and nothing will work right. We are going to have Easter in the Keys since it is part of the kids spring break. I do not know why but I love making a big deal for Easter. Last year we had a scavenger hunt for the kids that my sister in law put together and it was AWESOME!!! The kids loved it and everyone got a good laugh when I hid in a closet and got stuck because of my huge pregnant belly. It's going to be Ella's first Easter and I think she is at a great age to enjoy it. I still have Chesney's dress from her first Easter and I think Ella is going to wear it. I went to a thrift store yesterday that I had never been to and it ended up being a good one. I found some super cute things and my wallet and I both left happy. 

 1) Miss Serious... 2) Sleeping Beauty... 3) A thrifty pot... 4) Little baby finds... 5) A candle I made for my Mama...  6) Drain work... 7) A fixed drain... 8) Just a hole in the ceiling

 

So for now its just life day by day. There are a million things going on but everything is running smooth at the moment. 

Hope everyone is doing well...

Nicole

What I have been doing...

HI

I can't believe it is already Wednesday. The days are flying by. The weekend came and went so fast. I could not believe it when I sat there Sunday night asking myself if it was really over. Everyday has just been so busy. 

 

So our weekend... well it started great. My cousin and her friend arrived Friday night and we had chinese food and hung out and everything was great. Then I woke up in the morning and discovered that my cousin was SICK. Oh was she sick. Poor Cara was laid out on the couch as the weekend sped by. Ben and I went to get the new piano.. finally. I LOVE IT!!! Its home and even though it needs me to fix the paint on it (eventually I would love to strip the paint that some moron in the past 80 years painted it with, it was once orange and then painted black, it has beautiful wood underneath that, so one day it will happen, like when my kids are grown up and I have that kind of time on my hands) it looks amazing. And Ella loves it!!! She would play the other one with Ben but she LOVES this one. She crawls over to it and stands there waiting for you to come pick her up and sit her on the bench to play. She can just reach the edge of a few keys so she will try to play herself. And if you play it, she will stand there and dance. She gave her grandma's a great laugh the other night as she showed off her new moves. By Sunday afternoon Cara and Sam had to get ready to leave but we headed over to the beach for some pizza. Then the girls hit the road and the weekend was... sadly over. 

 

Monday______________________________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________________________________

_____________________ Oh Monday how I hated you!!!!! You chewed me up and spit me out this week. There is no other way to put it... Monday sucked this week. It hit my like a truck. I had a very hard time letting Ben leave this week. I just could not do it. I cried... I acted like a baby and felt like I was going to die when he walked out the door. I know... grow up Nicole... but every once in a while I get a week like that. Hell, I am only human and I just want my husband home... Is that really so much to ask?? In my past life I was an Army wife. I have done my time with deployments and all the other separation time that comes with that life. I did it, I got the t-shirt and then I burned that baby!!! I guess its just not in my cards to have a husband at home with me. Maybe one day... a girl can dream... right? 

So lets move on... Good bye Monday, Hello Tuesday... 

 

Well when I went to bed Monday I had my head set that I was going to go to sleep and wake up Tuesday and all the horrible would be gone and it would be all rainbows and sunshine for me... Ya well I was wrong... I woke up feeling like death. Now it was not related to my love being away... it was this stupid cold that I have been fighting for a month. Seriously... a month. I got sick on Jan 30th... and I can not get rid of it. (do not ask how I remember that date but I do) Ella was the best baby ever though and she played in her crib next to my bed while I got a little extra nap and then I woke up feeling much better. Things were looking up... so I forced my butt out of the house and into the thrift store! That helped a lot. I found a few things and my bill was $8.80. GO ME!!! That's the kind of shopping I like. I had my favorite pasta for dinner and tried to help my Mr. with his speech homework but I do not think I was much help last night. I hope I cheered him up a bit when I suggested to turn it into a rap. Hey I tried to make him smile... So the day turned out to be pretty good. 

 

 

Those are a few of my favorite Ella moments from the weekend. I am just hanging out this Wednesday doing chores and planning for this weekend. Its my weekend with the older munchkins so lets see what kind of fun we can get into. No matter how bad the day can be at least I have my munchkins and my husband (well a long distance husband :) ). I love my family through all the GOOD and the BAD. We can only work hard and the GOOD things will happen. 

I hope everyone else is having a great week!!!

Thanks for reading...

Nicole

As I write this... I got up to change the laundry, cause well, that's my job around here, and I walked into WATER... yep water... and it was well, you know leaking from my WASHER!!! Really??? This is not the day, the week or the year for this. So of course I called the Mr. down in the Keys and broke the wonderful news. I dried up all the water, moved everything into the hallway and put another load in. So my house is now a wreck... again. As soon as I am done with this post I get to go and check the status of my swimming pool... uh, I mean laundry room. Whoever is dealing the cards, can you please reshuffle before the next hand? 

 

 

 

Flashback...

 

May 30, 2002

 

 

The day my son...my first child was born.

Kyle Allen

May 30th, 2002

7 pounds 8 ounces

My dearest Kyle... this was one of the 4 most amazing days of my life. I was young... just 20 years old and my life was changed forever. I have a million better pictures from the day my boy came into this world but this picture is a special one. Kyle was born with a skull fracture and had to go to the NICU at another hospital in Savannah. Kyle left just hours after he was born in a neonatal ambulance and I had to stay behind until I was released the following morning so that I could go be with him. Hardest night ever!!! When I was discharged the next morning I left the hospital with this picture. No baby.. Just this polaroid that the nurse took for me before Kyle had left. An experience that no mother should have to go through. 

In the end, Kyles head healed up just fine and he has never had another issue with it. He has grown up to be my amazing son. When I got pregnant with Kyle I wanted all boys and now he is a big brother to 3 little sisters and I would not change it for anything. He is my boy. My one and only and I love it.

I love my baby boy. 

I love you forever Kyle!!!!

 

XOXOXOXOXOXOXO

Mama

 

_{* I am late with my Flashback post. I know, but I warned you that my commitment to Friday's would only set me up for failure. There was good reason though. I spent the day doing chores and getting ready for my bestest cousin in the world and her friend to come home for the weekend from college. Once they got here we had to hang out and spend some time together. Better late then never!!! Have a great weekend!!!}

A little update on Ella...

 

It was less then a month ago that I sat here typing a post, excited about how well Ella's doctors appointment had gone and how things were looking up for this pretty baby girl of mine. Well here I am again to give a little update as my little baby sleeps next to me. 

Let me go back to her last appointment first. Everything had gone well but I did notice that her weight seemed low compared to her 7 month check up. So I scheduled a weight check at her pediatricians office so we could get her weighed on her normal scale and well that scale said she had not gained much either. So I spoke with her doctor and he said to just make sure she was eating lots of baby food and to keep a food log the week before her 9 month check up that was coming up. Well here we are a few weeks later and Ella went in for her check up on Monday. She had not gained anymore weight. Since December 12th, Ella has only gained 9 ounces and has reached a plateau. I was so anxious for this appointment because I was pretty sure she had gained something. She eats very well and nurses plenty, but no, nothing.  So now there is reason to be concerned. The doctor does not seem to think this is in relation to Ella's liver issues because those levels are improving. Now this may be nothing. It could just be that I am not making enough milk but I do not think that is it. I nursed Chesney for 8 months and I do not feel as though something is wrong with that. I have something to compare to so I feel like I would be able to tell a difference of something was wrong. And I am not going to lie... hearing that I may not be able to give my child what she needs is not cool at all. It is a horrible, no good feeling. I am in for the long haul with nursing this little girl. ( I was cut short on nursing Chesney at 8 months because of my medical problems and I have been set that this time nothing was stopping me. ) So if it is me then as much as I do not like it, the problem should be easy to fix. But while it might just be no big deal we need to rule out other possibilities. Ella went today to have a TON of blood work and a X-ray of her wrist so they can look at the bone age. I felt so bad today making this precious girl go through being stuck again. She did so well but its so sad that she is getting used to this. The doctor is trying to rule out any issues including Thyroid problems and some Autoimmune diseases. All of my girls are at higher risk for Thyroid problems because I have them, but I also have Hashimoto's. This puts Ella at higher risk for other Autoimmune diseases. 

I know that this is probally nothing and probally just me not making enough milk... but... I can not help but freak out. I do not want her to have any health issues. No mother wants their children to have anything wrong, but to know that she could and that its because of me that she is even at risk for this stuff, SUCKS!!!! I have been so worried about this since my diagnosis during my pregnancy. 

All the tests are done and now we wait for the results. We have an appointment scheduled for a weight check the week after next. I am nursing more and filling this baby up with lots and lots of food. And in the meantime we wait... and I do my best not to freak out. I am a person who plans for the worst and hopes for the best so there is nothing I can do over the upcoming days to stop from freaking out. This baby does not deserve anything bad, no baby does...

Here are some pictures of Ella playing today. I love that even though she had an afternoon of tests, that she is still such a happy baby. Keep smiling my baby Ella. We love you. 

 

I hope everyone is having a good week. I am going to do my best to keep my chin up. Everyone else around here is doing great. Happy kids... Happy Mama...

For now its time to get some sleep. 

Thanks for reading...

Nicole

Ella's first love day...

My pretty little baby on her first Valentines day. 

(mostly her opening her little love day gift)

 

 

I hope every one had a sweetheart of a day!!!

xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxo

Nicole