Someone please tell me why I have decided to go back to school?

I have a pretty big paper due the next time I meet for my class on my Personal Philosophy of Education. It is suppose to be a minimum of 10 pages and should reflect some pretty deep thinking regarding my views on teaching as a profession.......YUCK! Can I write how I love the profession because it is the best one to have if your family will always be your first priority and that it gives me holidays and summers off with my kids? My classmates go on and on about how they want to "influence the lives of our future generations"......blah blah blah......I just want to do my job, get a paycheck and come home to my family, and to be perfectly honest, I don't even want to do that at the present moment. How in the world am I suppose to write this paper?
Anyways, I have given myself a deadline of this friday because hopefully Tim will have the three day weekend off and I do NOT want to spend time writing this bogus paper instead of hanging out with him and Addie. Needlesstosay, I have been super busy doing that today and this is the first chance I have gotten to post. This is another picture from our playdate the other day in her cute, cute dress. I will try and snap some photos tomorrow of the little munchkin! Wish me luck, and if anyone has a Personal Philosophy Paper out there they are willing to part with for cheap, let me know..................just kidding...I wouldn't dare!

The Hewitts get some company....

Friday evening on their way down to the Outer Banks some good friends of mine stopped in to visit and to get some rest before finishing the trip down with two tired babies. Yes, I said TWO. My friends, Leslie and David, have a little boy who is about 6 months older than Addie and then they have another little boy who is just 6 months himself......Nathaniel and Mason. We started our first year teaching together, Leslie and I, and have never lost that close bond we formed during the course of that very challenging year. We have been through some of life's greatest, and not so greatest moments together and I just love her to death.......Although, I still can't imagine just what she was thinking when she got pregnant for the second time when Nathaniel was just 4 months old..........was I even showering at that time yet?

Here is Addie and Nathaniel visiting a little in the playroom yesterday morning! It was so good to see the babies and David andLeslie too!

I snapped this picture for Grandma Julie because she was wearing one of the little shirts she sent up for Addie! Isn't she cute? She looks so much like a little girl in this picture and I think a little more like myself here...........

Daddy and Addie had a great day yesterday. They spent some time with Ga Ga and Pop Pop playing and then took great naps to get ready for Mommy to come home. We took her out to dinner with us and she was such a good girl! Today we will tackle the grocery store and Tim mentioned taking her to the park since the smoke outside isnt as bad. I love Sundays with them both!

Addie loves her Grandpa Dave.....

Anyone who knows Dave, knows he is ALWAYS goofing around and acting silly, so of course, we expected Addie to take to him once she started to come out of her shy stage. Well, it started to happen the other night. Grandpa Dave taught Addie to play ball! They actually rolled two little colored balls back and forth to each other for a solid 20 minutes....back and forth....back and forth! It was adorable.....even if her throws didnt go straight to Dave, he would crawl over and fetch the ball and toss it to her. It was so cute to watch her learn how to do this.



Really, it doesnt matter what she is doing, as long as it involves some toys. The girl loves some toys!

My class is horrificly BORING, and today I have to spend the entire day in that classroom wondering what Tim and Addie are doing while I listen to sleepy lectures about ancient educators! YUCK! Wish me luck folks......

Mommy playtime and Papaw kisses......

Finally, Addie was feeling well enough to go to our weekly playgroup with some of our friends. We met at the play area in the mall. Addie is still a little small to really "play" there, but I did manage to let her touch the turtle for this picture before she got run over by the big kids!

Yesterday afternoon we went to my Mom's house for a late Father's Day dinner (we were at a wedding that weekend). Addie loves to sit on Papaw's knee and listen to him sing some of his old songs for her! Now remember, she doesn't really go to anyone but us, so this is a pretty big deal. She will sit on his knee for quite a while, just listening and bouncing! She loves Papaw's (or Grandaddy to her) sweet kisses!
Today I have class, so we have another Addie and Daddy weekend ahead of us...I know Tim is looking forward to it and I am just glad to get another one done. I have some more pictures from yesterday that I will post if Tim doesn't break out the camera!

By the way, the cute little dress was a gift from my cousin, Heather, the best dressed girl I know! Thanks Heather...she looked like a little "diva" today!

Anything little and furry please.......

Addie absolutely loves Elmo and puppies or actually any type of furry creature. She smiles and smiles when she actually figures out how to get Elmo to talk to her. It must be his squeaky, cute little voice. She spends half the day trying to get our dog, Sally, to play with her, but all she manages to get are a few wet licks. Sally doesn't really pay much attention to Addie unless she pulls her tail or touches her feet, at which she yelps or lets out a mean sounding growl that of course makes me jump to my feet. All Addie wants is to play, and Sally secretly wishes she was still the baby of the house!

This is Addie playing at her Mamaw's house the other day while I got some school work done. She strings toys all over that clean house by the time she is done!

My Papaw is living with my Mom this summer and of course his baby, Precious, goes everywhere with him. She is very interested in Addie and a little bit jealous of her too....
Again, Addie just wants to play with somebody! Isn't she getting so BIG? I just can't believe she will be a year old in less than 3 weeks.....

Wake up Addie girl!

Tim and I went into Addie's room to wake her up yesterday from her nap because we were worried that she had been sleeping too long and would not want to go to sleep at nighttime. This is what we saw when we walked in.....the normal "bootie in the air" sleep position she has become quite fond of these days.

She was really sleeping hard and it took her a while to start to open her eyes and wake up.....

and boy was she less than thrilled! Check out this evil look she gave me as I tried to snap a picture of her sleepy face......

I'm guessing she get's that from me. Im not a happy camper when I first wake up either. Yikes....I much prefer the cute little grin I get when I see her first thing in the morning. This will be the last time we wake her up from a deep sleep......

I LOVE it!

My wonderful cousin, Erin, the author of the blog that inspired me to start my own, created this adorable blog header for me overnight. Just a minute ago, when I logged on to post, I was totally surprised with this adorable creation of hers. I am still smiling from ear to ear. Her blog is always so adorable, and just the other day she had created a new header for it and I commented on how cute it was. Then, being the generous person that she is, offered to make one for me.

Erin, I love it! It means so much to me that you took the time to do it. I know you are busy, busy, busy these days. So, thank-you so much! I wish you lived closer to me. I miss you......Carrie

Surprise, Carrie! :)

Cousin Erin posting here... and presenting Carrie with her very own "custom" blog header.

I hope you like it, Carrie (and all of the Hewitt family's fans)... I had the cutest-ever subject to work with, of course!

Now I'll log off and leave your blog to YOU, I promise!

XOXO,
E.

Good Morning little girl!

Although we are far, far away from any walking, or even standing up on our little legs, Addie has started to pull up to her knees in her crib! This is what I saw when I walked into her room this morning to get her ready for her breakfast! She is always so happy when she sees me come into her room!

I think she is starting to feel better finally! Her appetite is back and she is in a much happier mood, although the green, snotty nose is still sticking around full force. I am hoping she will nap well for me today since I have SOOOOOO much school work to get done by Friday. I try to not do school work when she is awake, so that we can spend time together, but naptime might not cut it this week if I want to finish everything! Sweet dreams little monkey!

Just my opinion.......

but if I were you, I would stay far, far away from the act of having your own yard sale. Let someone else do the work, and just be particularly careful when shopping and do not buy anything you would not have the need for in the near future and would suddenly have the urge to sell at a yard sale. What a brilliant pain in the you know what! And not only for myself and my wonderful husband, but also our parents, and several other members of our family, like our Aunt Net, Uncle Dink, Ken, Brittany.....and even the pups! They all helped us out because it ends up being quite a bit of work, and we didn't really make any significant amount of money. To tell you the truth, we ended up selling most of Tim's contributions, and the things his parents sent over. The clothes and linens and housewares that Mom and I had for sale ended up going to a donation center. It was crazy. There are some wildfires burning in the Great Dismal Swamp near us and the smoke from that was horrific yesterday morning. I'm sure that decreased the number of yard salers out, but really there was not nearly as many as there are usually. So, I am sad to report that my highly anticipated yard sale was not as successful as I had hoped, but our house is much cleaner, especially the garage, and we did make a little which will be a huge help when preparing for Addie's birthday party!

Addie is feeling much better today and is napping up before we head to Elizabeth City for a birthday party this afternoon! I promise to start taking some more pictures and have some recent ones posted of the little monkey! She is changing so much these days!

More vacation memories.....

This will probably be one of my all time favorite pictures of Addie and her Daddy. I know my mom has one of myself and my Dad on the beach that is very similar to this one. I think I may have been on his shoulders and a couple of years older than Addie. I think it is just so precious though.

She didnt really know what to think of the wet sand. Before I even realized it, she had a handful of sand and a small shell and they were headed straight to the mouth!

We didn't really get to enjoy the beach all that much, but we did manage to get a family picture taken while we were there. The pool was much more convenient and warm, so we headed back to our house shortly after this picture was taken.
I will never take for granted her health again, I promise! This was the last time she was actually healthy and happy, and I miss that so much these days. She isn't quite as grumpy as earlier in the week, but we are still fighting that cough and runny nose, and she isn't eating too well yet. As I write this, she is in her crib, fighting sleep, trying to reach for the monitor camera and pull it off the shelf! For some reason, her naps are getting shorter and shorter........geez, I will miss those when they are gone too!

Time just flies by so fast.......and before you know it...

she is turning one! I just can't believe she is almost a year old. What an amazing year! We are having a small family and close friends birthday party for her here at our house next month. I still wanted to do the whole invitation thing for the memories and of course for our scrapbook! Tim helped me pick them out. Do they not remind you of our little monkey girl? Since so many of our friends and family live too far away to celebrate that day, I wanted to share it with my blog readers. What a milestone! She is starting to feel a little better, just hanging on to that bad cough, but squeezing in some smiles and giggles too!

What a ham!!

Isn't this the cutest picture of her? I had this taken for Father's Day. She was in a really good mood that day! I thought I would post again today since I haven't had any happy news to share.....is this happy enough!!! Look at that cheesy smile.....

Still under the weather......

Well, I am sure that you are getting tired of hearing all about our sick little family, but really, this is what we are dealing with here. I wish I had something more exciting to post about. I still haven't had a second to take any new pictures and nothing newsworthy has really happened to write about. My mom's cat went for a sonogram yesterday,but they were unable to do it because of where it is located. He goes in a week for what they call an aspiration where they will biopsy the mass to see what it is. We won't know anything for a good two weeks. Addie is still fighting this horrible cold and two ear infections. The poor baby tugs and tugs on those ears and she just isn't herself. She will have her third dose of antibiotics this morning so I am hoping we will see an improvement today. No throw up incidents yesterday, so that was good! I am busy trying to get ready for a small yard sale I am having this weekend. I would like to make some money to use for Addie's birthday party and something special for her for her very first birthday. Any ideas? Can you believe she will be 1 in less than a month? I am so proud of her already........

Updates on sick furry creatures and babies.....

Well, Casey is home and doing fairly well. He is able to go to the bathroom on his own and Mom has managed to get him to eat some. He goes today for a sonogram to see what the mass is in his little chest. We are trying to stay positive. He is much too young too leave us now! Please say a little prayer for him....

Addie on the other hand, has the worst cough ever and her left ear (not the one that she is currently on antibiotics for because of an infection found last week) is a little "cloudy", whatever that means! The doctor gave me a new antibiotic to try and if I could get her to take it without gagging herself and throwing it up, then we might be healthy in the next week or so! Whew....what a week! I am feeling a bit overwhelmed lately....sick cat, sad Mom, sick baby, loads of school work, dirty house, and we have absolutely NO FOOD in our cabinets! If it weren't for the Hewitt's and the goodies they packed up for us the other night, we might be in even more trouble. The plan is, to have my Mom come sit with Addie for a half hour so that I can run to the grocery store.....but plans aren't really working lately, so we will see if I actually make it there. I will try my hardest to get a new picture of the little monkey for you today.....Wish me luck folks!

Wedding Weekend........

Whew.......we are home finally! Not that our trip was bad, but it was exhausting. Traveling with Addie is NOT a day in the park. Even though Mom had her the first night, the second night wore us plum out! The wedding was beautiful, one of the prettiest weddings I have been to in some time. We were all a bit worried about the approaching storm during the ceremony, but it held back until after the pictures and after the guests had time to make it to thier cars to head to the reception. The Groom was handsome as ever, and his bride was very pretty too. I was sad I didn't get to talk to them much but remember just how busy you are on that special day. It was great to see my family, even for such a short time. I wish we all lived closer together. I miss them so much.

Little Casey roo is home with my Mom finally. He is still pretty sick, but is able to pee on his own now and is starting to eat now that he is home and with her. I visited him last night and he was all over Mom. He loved on her for hours last night and was just so glad to be out of that hospital. His fever is still elevated, so the vet has recommended that we do the sonogram on his chest to see what the mass is that we found. Pray that its just that...a mass.....not cancer, but just a solid, boring, harmless mass!

Happy Fathers Day to everyone! I thought about all the Dad's in my life yesterday and how blessed I am to know them all......and of course, Addie and I loved Tim a little extra yesterday...He is the BEST Daddy I know!

Casey Roo.......

Still no changes for little Casey. He is still at the hospital and his fever is still elevated. He is catherized right now, trying to flush the bladder and see if they can stop the blockage. He suddenly got really lethargic and wouldnt play with Mom and then started acting like he was in pain. Turns out he couldn't pee pee and his bladder was really swollen. Apparently it is extremely painful. My mom has had him at 3 different vets in the last week, trying desperately to get this under control. The plan now is to keep him catherized until tonight and then remove it to monitor him. They will watch him for two days to see if he can urinate on his own without getting blocked again. Unfortunately, while receiving X-rays for his bladder, vets found some sort of strange mass in his caudal region near the heart. Of course, we think the worse, but are trying to focus now on the blockage. The vet suggested that we not even worry about the mass until that is under control. Whatever, it is, good or bad, it hasnt bothered him up to this point. So......I guess we will wait some more to see if he is able to pee on his own again. To top it all off, this weekend my cousin is getting married in a small town about 3 1/2 hours from here, so my poor Mom has to deal with all this when she should be able to spend a nice weekend with her family. Luckily, Casey will be at the hospital being monitored and taken well care of until we get back on Sunday. Then, we will see where to go from there, depending on how he is doing. How hard it is to deal with something like this.........keep praying! I will post again on Sunday, hopefully with some happy wedding pictures!

Today we will worry....and pray....for our little furry friend...

I am sad today. My mom and I were out very late with her cat, Casey, better known as "Crazy", at an emergency vet last night. He has been pretty sick here the past few days, and yesterday he got worse. We still aren't sure if he will get better or not, but are now playing the waiting game as he gets some help at the hospital. Anyone who has never been close to an animal, doesn't know how helpless you feel when your loyal friend gets sick or hurt. We are smart enough to know that they are only here for a short time, and that if you allow your heart to get to close to them, you will feel the pain of them leaving you someday. Although I know the difference between losing a person in your life and losing a furry friend, it still breaks your heart when that day comes. I pet my cat this morning and had to remind myself that I have only borrowed him for a little while and that I too, will be saddened one day when he leaves for heaven. I am truly hurting for my Mom, and I know she is scared for her little friend. I have been praying all night that God will let us know how to handle things, and I pray that however things turn out, my mom will realize how lucky she is to have had him in her life as long as she has. Please put him on your prayer list! Love to all........

A few more Vacation pictures......

I apologize if the vacation pictures are getting old, but to tell you the truth, since she hasn't been feeling well, I haven't taken any new pictures and we really havent done anything too exciting since we have been home. After this weekend, I will have plenty of photos to share from my cousin's wedding!


This was our beautiful home we stayed in for the week. It was about 300 yards from a beach access, but we never even used it. The pool was so warm and convienient with the babies that we pretty much stayed in it the whole week! There were five bedrooms which included 2 masters for the two couples and then both Lily and Addie got their own rooms to sleep in! It was also right down the road from all of she shops and the beautiful Corolla Lighthouse.



This was taken on our second day at a bridge beside the lighthouse. Addie really got attached to her Daddy that week. She didnt want him out of her sight. She is still having some separation anxiety with him. She cried hysterically this morning when he left for work.
We were getting ready to attempt the beach this particular morning. Unfortunately the wind was really bad and there were huge biting horseflies everywhere, so.....we never even got settled, but just drove down the shore a couple of miles. This was also the morning we saw the momma horse and her pony!
What a nice time we had! I am still missing it and wish we had just a few more days there.....Addie woke up this morning about an hour earlier than usual, so....no shower for mommy yet, and we still have to babysit at Jazzercise this morning. Right now there is a 5 week old baby that I watch, and Addie does not like that very much. So, I am sure I will have my hands full with her this morning! She is starting to act like herself again, so I am thankful for that. Thanks for all your prayers!

Our sick little munchkin......so sad!

Well, we thought we were just about over this "stomach virus" she supposedly had, but when I got home last night, Tim said he had discovered this weird "rash" on her belly while he was giving her a bath. When I looked, I couldn't believe I missed it . The poor baby had these strange red patchy things all over her belly! Then I remembered that Kristy had mentioned these symptoms when Lily was sick with a fever, so I called her and got the scoop. Kristy said there is a virus going around called Roseola, and it is accompanied by a high fever, which is followed by a rash on the torso. I looked it up on the computer, and yes, it sounded just like what she has. So.....I decided to put her to bed and call the doctor in the morning. Luckily, little Lily did not have Roseola. Addie probably got it from one of the other kids we were around while out to eat or shopping at the stores. When I got her up this morning, she was plain miserable, and that rash isn't really suppose to be bothersome, so I took her into the doctor. She does indeed have Roseola...(great job Kristy....maybe you should become a pediatrician!), and she also has her very first ear infection! That explains the fussiness! Poor little baby! We are so sad for her and know she must feel so crummy. Her Mamaw met me at the doctor's and helped entertain her at the drugstore while I filled her prescription.......Mom seems to be pretty good at making the grumpy little girl smile! She has since had a bottle and her first dose of medicine and is now sweetly sleeping in her crib with her bootie straight up in the air! We just want her to start feeling better.......we have a big wedding to attend this weekend for my cousin, Bobby!

SURPRISE for the Mommies!

On our third day at the beach, Brian and Tim insisted that they needed to make a trip to the grocery store that morning, even though we had just gone the day before and there was really nothing in particular that we needed. Kristy and I both thought that was strange, but didn't think too much of it. When they returned, they told us to close our eyes and brought us downstairs to the little living room that was beside the pool. There on the table was a nice spread of fruit and chocolate and champagne. They told us that they would be taking the babies for the morning and that we would have a few hours "off"! They also told us that a lady would be showing up shortly to give us both a one hour massage! YIPPPEEEE!!!!!! I LOVE massages! It was wonderful. I went first and then got to relax by the pool afterwards with a gossipy magazine they had brought us from thier grocery store trip. It was so relaxing, and really so sweet of our guys to treat us to this most relaxing morning of the whole trip. Babies were fed and well taken care of when our pampering sessions were over!
Here we are waiting for our massage.......we were giddy and excited, and so happy to have a moment to ourselves!

Thanks Brian and Tim! You guys are keepers! Love you babe!

Monkey girl finds a new favorite food.....

While on vacation, we discovered that Addie loves ice cream, just like some body else I know!


And Tim doesn't mind sharing his ice cream with her at all! What a pair!

Later, after her snack, she settled into her Daddy's arms for a bottle and a little relaxation......


Here's to the end of a long day with lots of yummy snacks!

Dad, do you like her new hat? It reminded us of you guys down there........

Something very interesting......

So my Aunt Pat called here a little while ago. I am very close with her daughter, Heather, my cousin, and usually I catch up on my Aunt Pat, Uncle Bob and Cousin Eric through her. So, I was pleasantly surprised to have received a phone call from her. She sounded very cheerful and asked me how we were doing, and then told me that she had dreamed about us last night and how cute Addie was and how much she had grown in her dream. I told her how I thought it was ironic that she dreamed about us last night since we had been having a tough night with Addie getting sick and having to rush home and all. This caught her totally off gaurd. She then confessed to me that she had dreamed something more the night before and was actually quite shaken up afterwards. She said that in her dream, Tim and Addie and I were in a strange house and that something was wrong with Tim and Addie, but she couldn't tell what. She knew in the dream that there was something wrong, but couldnt visibly tell. She said that she prayed in her dream to "heal" them and then woke up and was very upset about it. She and my uncle Bob talked about the dream and then both prayed for our little family because it seemed so real. It really shook her up, and she didn't know what to think of it. So, she wanted to call me to make sure things were ok here, but didnt want to scare me. She said that if she had called here and I had said that Tim and Addie were away somewhere together, she would have lost it! But, when she called and I mentioned that Addie was very sick, she was even more emotional about the dream. How ironic is that?
We think that God knew Addie needed some prayers and He made sure she got them. Its strange how He works sometimes.......thanks Aunt Pat and Uncle Bob for the prayers last night. Ironically enough, we needed them very much and we are all home safely and starting to feel better.

Welcome Home.....ready or not!

Well, the Hewitts are finally home and one day ahead of schedule too! What a wonderful week we had and we were so sad to see it coming to an end on Friday. For most of the morning Kristy and I tried not to remind each other that our wonderful week was almost over. We wanted our last day to be lots of fun! Then, it happened. Remember how I said I have this wierd panicky thing going on when it comes to throw up? Well, just as we were finished preparing a nice italian feast for our last night in the beach cottage, Addie got sick. When I say got sick, I mean, got violently ill all over herself, her high chair and her Daddy! She looked plain miserable. She also had a fever of 102.4 at that point, and that really stressed us out. We ended up packing up our things very quickly and heading home a little early. Both Tim and I just felt like we needed to be home near a hospital or atleast near a doctor, just in case she got worse. Plus, it always makes you feel better to be at home when you are not feeling well. With Kristy and Brian's help, we managed to pack up all of our things and load up the truck in less than 2 hours. We were headed this way by 9:00pm and in our own beds by 11:30. Addie is still not feeling herself, and her fever is still up and down, but she is holding down some liquid now. I hate it when she is sick like this. I hurt for her! Hopefully she will be her old self again real soon. I have lots of pictures to share and plenty of fun stories, so I will try and do that over the next week or so. The pictures above are of Addie and Lily on our last day......just a few hours before she got sick......She really had such a good morning and then all of a sudden, it just hit her. Keep her in your prayers. We missed talking/emailing/reading everyone's blogs this week!

Do you miss us yet?

I am on Kristy and Brian's computer and this is the only picture from our trip I could find. Im not suppose to be blogging this week and everyone gives me a hard time when they see me on the computer, so I am sneaking this little message while they are all down by the pool! Can you believe how close to these horses we were able to get? They were so beautiful! Still having loads of fun.....but anyone who says vacationing with two babies under a year old is relaxing, is CRAZY! We are all still exhausted! I have some more great pictures to share and promise to get on that as soon as we get home! We are headed out for Mexican here in a few minutes!

Ok....so I found a picture for you! Enjoy.......

Aren't they precious

Happy Vacation days......

No pictures yet, and I have to be quick, but I just wanted to say hello and let our readers know that the Hewitt's LOVE vacation days! What a beautiful house! Addie loves the pool and her little float! She could stay in it for hours! I love the sunshine and even have a little color! We are eating well and enjoying our company. The girls are so funny together and Kristy always makes me laugh! Yesterday we saw a wild horse on the beach with her little pony...we drove right up to them and took some great pictures. I can't wait to share those with you next week! Hope everyone is have a great week...... I will update again when we get back home.....love, Carrie