Moving

We are moving on Saturday! I am feeling extremely overwhelmed right now, not sure if everything is going to be done in time. I have been feeling good about the move for the last 2 weeks up until about Monday of this week. Dave has been sick for the last week and has not been able to do much. He has helped out with a few things, but the brunt of the packing has been left up to me. I thought trying to move with just Emily was hard, but having Emily and Ally makes it even tougher. I have spread out my cleaning so that I don't have to do everything right before we walk out the door but I feel like I am going backwards. The girls run around and undo everything I am trying to get done. Dave is taking the day off tomorrow and my mom is coming to help out with the girls. I am praying for the strength to finish all of the packing and cleaning before the movers get here on Saturday. Dave has started to feel better but he is still not up to full speed.
We will not have internet set up at our new place until Wednesday of next week. I will not have time this weekend to post how the move is going but I will let ya'll know as soon as I can!

Dave's Project

I have an incredibly talented husband. Since we are moving into a smaller house, we have been trying to figure out ways to save room. Emily and Ally's room is really crowded with a bed, a crib, 2 dressers, and a bookshelf. I grew up sharing rooms with my sisters and we usually shared a dresser, so Dave and I set out to find a dresser big enough for them to share. We couldn't afford to buy them a brand new dresser so we starting searching craigslist and consignment stores. After a couple of weeks searching and finding nothing we liked in our price rang, we started coming up with other ideas. Dave suggested getting an armoire and we found this blank canvas at the next place we looked.

When we opened the doors, there was beautiful cedar wood. We can't believe someone would ever paint over the wood! Dave thought about sanding down the entire thing, but it would have taken him forever, and we are moving in less than a week. The final decision was to paint it, add shelving and a secret drawer at the bottom and get new knobs.

Here is the before. Well, sort of the before. Dave had already taken the doors off and sanded it down to make it smooth.

Dave sanding the doors.

More sanding.

Dave using the air compressor to smooth out the blemishes.

Emily and Ally were playing inside and we didn't notice Emily had chalk in her hands. She decided to do some work of her own.

Dave putting in the shelves.

Shelves going in.

More shelves.

It's starting to look like a dresser.

Shelves are in!

Finished product!

Dave added a bonus secret compartment at the bottom. The armoire was completely empty inside, all the way to the very bottom. We can put shoes or out of season clothes on the bottom, or babies who are disobedient! ;)

Bottom compartment.

Finished inside.

Finished outside.

Dave is a truly talented man. We could have bought a generic dresser for the girls, but Dave was willing to put in the extra work to get something we both loved and that meant something.

Update

I wanted to let ya'll know I got the call on my cyst and it was benign! I am really thankful that it wasn't anything serious or that would need further treatment. All that is left is to get these darn stitches out next week! They itch so bad! I am not sure if it is the prescription antibiotic that I have to put on it twice a day, the actual stitches, or if it is because of the tape that I have to rip off my back to apply the ointment twice a day. Today at school I had to sit on the floor and put my back against the wall to apply pressure because the itching was driving me crazy. It is only one more week, so hopefully I can last!
Ally started her antibiotic last Wednesday for her ear infection but over the weekend she got much worse. Her nose was running a mile a minute and she had a bad cough. I was worried it was a result of the shots she got but she didn't have a fever so I knew that was a good sign. I called the doctor on Monday and she said I was doing everything right and that if she got a fever I should bring her in. I have been having a horrible time trying to take Ally's temperature because the battery on our ear thermometer died and Dave and I cannot get the case open to replace it. I have no idea why the case won't open but we have both tried really hard. We started using our rectal thermometer under Ally's armpit, but we couldn't get her to sit still for as long as it takes to read her temperature. We finally gave in and bought a forehead thermometer and I love it! It is super quick and easy and painless! Emily and Ally think it is fun to get their temperature taken now. Ally has been doing much better today and we were able to go to school.
Emily has been doing great since she started her antibiotic. Her cough went away and her nose stopped running. Hopefully she will stay healthy for a while.

HAPPY VALENTINES DAY!

It has been such a crazy week around here! I had finally called and scheduled Ally's 15 month check-up even though she is now 17 months old. I have been trying to switch locations for the girls doctor and it is such a hassle to try and get medical records transferred! Well, Emily has been coughing up a storm since last week, so I thought I would go ahead and schedule her in at the same time as Ally. Also, I have had a bump on my back that has been growing and making me nervous, so I decided I wanted to get that checked out as well. So all three appointments ended up being on Wednesday because we have school on Tuesdays and Thursdays. The first appointment was mine. I went to the dermatologist to get checked out and the doctor took one look at my back and told me I had a cyst that needed to come out. He asked if I was prepared to have surgery right then and I didn't want to have to come back so I went ahead with it. Fortunately I was able to have my friend watch Emily that morning, but Ally got to watch the surgery. The doctor cut out the cyst and stitched me up in under a half hour. Ally did awesome the whole time! She just stood and watched me. They said they would know in two weeks what the cyst was but I asked the doctor if he thought it was cancer and he said he was 90% sure it wasn't. I have only had a little pain with the stitches, but nothing Tylenol doesn't cure. Wednesday afternoon I took Emily and Ally to their doctor. The nurse took Emily's temperature and she had a fever. Then she took Ally's and told me Ally had a fever too. I couldn't believe it! Ally was supposed to be there for her well check-up. The doctor came in and looked at Emily and we found out she had an ear infection. She looked at Ally's ears and found the beginnings of an ear infection in her too. The doctor also said Ally's weight was just under the 25% and that we needed to come back in a month to have it checked again. So now Emily and Ally are on antibiotics again. The doctor told me not to take Emily to school on Thursday, so we didn't get to participate in the Valentine's party. I did have to drop some stuff off at school and I picked up all of the candy my students had brought me. I was totally surprised by the kids gifts. It was really touching that they thought of me. My friend Karla picked up the girls gifts at the end of the day and so now we have way too much candy and chocolates.
Dave has never been the type to do what everyone else is doing. I have never gotten a traditional type gift on a holiday from him. Dave's Valentines day gifts to me today were a gallon of ice tea from Chik-fil-a and a pair of pajama pants. His reasoning was that he knows how much I love tea and he also knows that I love to wear pajama pants around the house and I only have 2 pairs. Very thoughtful! He also got Emily and Ally matching nighgowns which they look so cute in. We didn't really have anything planned today except trying to get the house packed up a bit. We went to dinner along with everyone else in Houston, but it was nice to be with the people I love the most.

Saturday + beautiful weather = zoo

We have been having some great weather over the last couple of days and so Saturday we took the opportunity to get the girls out of the house. Here are a few of the things we did.

Emily playing in the fountain. On the way out, she was walking on the little platform area and fell. Fortunately she fell towards the pavement and not the water.

Ally enjoying the cattle.

The zookeeper was feeding the lion so we got to see her up close. It is by far the closest I have ever been to a lion.

The lion staring down Emily.

Ally on the Texas block.

Ally looks a little lost.

Emily kept running around and telling me to take her picture.

Ally loved watching the flamingos.

Emily pretending to be a bird.

Enjoying the different birds at the zoo.

Corn on the cob

Promised Pictures

Pretty girl!

She was jumping up and down telling me to take her picture.

Emily went through a phase were she refused to take pictures for me. Now all she wants is to be in front of the camera.

I think Emily is trying to get some pudding from Ally.

When Ally was sick, she didn't want to eat anything. I finally gave her some pudding and she loved it!

More reading.

Watching Dora.

They are so funny and they don't even know it!

Were do they get all that energy?