I HATE SPIDERS!

I HATE spiders. Have hated them for as long as I can remember...probably because of the house we lived in when I was a little girl. I shared the attic bedroom with my sister. It was a really neat place and we were always finding treasures...the previous owner hid pennies all over the place. The down side was the easy access for the spiders to come out of the woodwork at night! Yikes! I remember waking up with those huge, nasty wood spiders crawling all over my bed and me. It was the stuff of little girls nightmares.



In my family, my father, both sisters, and I suffer from arachnophobia. My mother is our hero because she has the ability to kill them without getting the willies and shrieking like a little girl. Many a family get-together has been filled with recounting the stories of various spider encounters...the spider that chased my father around the vestibule at church...the one that died after jumping into the hot tube to get at my older sister...the time I did a back flip during a Drama Class lecture because a spider had crawled on me...or the time my younger sister tried to crawl into the backseat while driving to my wedding because a tiny dust spider dropped down on a single thread right in front of her face...I could go on and on with these stories.



Last night I had a nightmare about a spider. The same dream that I have had since childhood. I was trapped in the dark and damp basement by a huge spider...my skin is crawling and I am covered in sweat just thinking of it. Told my mom about the dream. She remembered the dream...and all the times she had to soothe me because of it.



I am so terrified of spiders that if I see one, I will start to hyperventilate and cannot talk or move. That worked OK when it was just Brad & I. Now that I have two beautiful children to protect, I have to function. Or as my sister says...



I don't want to pass my fears on to them. So, I try my best to not "freak" around them and if there is a spider, I bite my tongue and kill it. It is hard, but you would be amazed at what you can do when you feel like your children are being threatened. I personally turn into a Momma Bear and squish those spiders until they are just a greasy spot on the floor.

Bryleigh & The Bear

I had to post these two photos. Just took them moments ago. Bryleigh is on the floor playing with her Baby Gym. Kyla decided to let her sissy play with her Papa Bear. And it was "Love at First Sight" for Bryleigh. She has been hugging and kissing the bear ever since. Kyla wasn't too sure about it and kept telling us that sissy could only borrow her bear...





I am a lucky Mommy...my girls love each other and that makes my heart sing.

What a great show!

What a great show! We both really enjoyed the show and said that we would see it again and again! Not too many shows that we say that about...Only Phantom Of The Opera, Les Miserables, and Momma Mia.

Might even invest in the Soundtrack. Already downloaded some songs onto my Ipod. It was really nice to actually get the background on the songs that we all know and still sing. Really puts a new feel to them the next time you hear them and start to sing.

It was also so nice for the two of us to have a "real" date night. Just the two of us. To reconnect and be Brad & Kara, not mommy & daddy. We even made the goal to have a date night at least once a month...just the two of us.

And you will all be happy to hear that both Kyla and Bryleigh "survived" their evenings. Kyla had a great time with Mom Mom & Papa. The three of them watched Underdog...but only Kyla was still awake by the end of the movie. Bryleigh also had a good time with Aunt Mick. The two of them played for a long time...but she wasn't too sure about the bottle. Guess that is why she presented Micki with a huge "blow-out"...all over her clothes, the blanket, and who knows what else. That was her third for the day...and she had another one this morning during Sunday School. All over her new dress as well as the clothes that her Sunday School teacher was wearing! Hope she isn't getting sick...

I'm So Excited!

I'm so excited! Cannot wait until this evening. Brad is taking me to see Jersey Boys! His Valentine's Day gift to me...dinner and a show. The man really knows the way to my heart.



Kyla is a bit upset. She wants to go to. Every time she see the commercial for Jersey Boys, she spends the next hour sing "Sherry Baby". When I said she was spending the night at Mom Mom & Papa's while Bryleigh was staying with Aunt Mick because Mommy & Daddy were going to see the show...well lets just say...she had a meltdown! Only my high-maintenance little girl would throw a fit because she doesn't get to go to see a Broadway Show!

Pictures Of Sleeping Kyla

About a month ago, I had written about an article in a magazine about getting your children to sleep in their own beds. It worked wonderfully with Kyla. She was going to sleep without any problems.

Well last night we had a bit of trouble again. She didn't want to sleep in her room and kept coming out. First there was a strange noise...then a monster under her bed...followed by a pirate in the closet...and finally her "tum-tum" was hurting. Then it was wonderfully silent...she must have fallen asleep. Thank goodness.

A short time later, after feeding Bryleigh, the two of us headed off to bed...waking a snoring Brad on the love seat. We passed through the kitchen and stopped dead in our tracks...

Look what we saw...

I still cannot believe that this has happened...

Recently Bryleigh and I were relaxing at home when I noticed the sound of a helicopter hovering above the house. I stepped out onto the back patio and saw a news helicopter going in circles above my house. A bit freaked out, I turned on the news as well as checked the local news internet sites. Could not find anything. So, I called my father. He was not aware of anything going on either. His advice was to stay inside with the doors locked and the phone beside me.

Bry and I ended up falling asleep and woke up a couple of hours later...just in time to see our house on the local news channel...Pretty freaky, huh! I about passed out. Good thing the focus was not on my house, but my neighbor's. Apparently Mr. Neighbor was in the process of being arrested for having an inappropriate relationship with a minor and his house was being searched! Looking out my front window, the street was lined with police cars, news vehicles, and reporters!

When I left a short time later to pick up Kyla from school, a couple of the reporters started to walk over to me...probably hoping for a comment. I hurried to put Bryleigh into the vehicle, scramble into my seat, lock the doors, and back out of the driveway.

My heart breaks for his wife and family. She is such a sweet lady and the kids seem so well-behaved. I had only seen him a few times, but he was the person that Brad talked with about the neighborhood when we were first looked at the house. I cannot even begin to fathom how he could do such a thing to destroy his family...

Not sure what is going on now in their household and I don't think I want to know. My prayers have been for her and the kids. I have tried to pray for him...but I cannot. He is a grown, married man and should know better than to take advantage of an under aged minor! He has bonded out of jail and is currently awaiting his trial...and back to living in the house across from me.

While he is not my idea of the perfect neighbor, at least I know the situation. I can be on the alert now. But what about all the other "predators" that could be in the area.

My father recently sent me the following link. He said that it will help in identifying the creeps that are living and working in the surrounding area. I could not believe how many are close by...it is frightening.

I have listed the link below for you all to check the areas surrounding your homes.
When you visit this site, enter your address and a map will pop up with your residence denoted as a small icon of a house. There will be red, blue and green dots surrounding your entire neighborhood. When you click on these dots a picture of a criminal will appear with his or her home address and the description of the crime he or she has committed.

The best thing is that you can show your children the see pictures and see how close these people live to your home or school.

http://www.familywatchdog.us/




Side Note - Just last night, I was coming home after having dinner with my parents. As I rounded the corner by my house, my headlights revealed a body laying half in the road and half on the grass directly across from my driveway. I slammed on my brakes and could not breathe. The body sat up, looked at me...it was the neighbor, talking on his cell phone. It was just creepy.

Photos From Kyla's Valentine's Day Party

Here are some photos from the Valentine's Day Party for Kyla's Class. All of the children were so cute.

A nice photo of all of the children and their wonderful teacher, Ms. Wanda.



Saying their blessings before digging into all the yummy snacks. How sweet are they?



Waiting patiently in line...



And sitting nicely at the table...



These snacks are so yummy!



Especially the chocolate hearts!



Can I have some more, please?



Sitting so nice and quiet...



And eating everything on my plate.



Are you going to eat all of your fruit?



I love these muffins!



And let's not forget Miss Bryleigh. She was having so much fun sitting in her carseat watching all of the kids...

A Valentine's Day like no other...

Well I had a Valentine's Day like no other person should have...cause you know me...the strangest things happen!

The day started out good. Woke up to the sweet sound of Kyla and Brad wished me a Happy Valentine's Day. That was a really nice thing to hear first thing in the morning.

Got Kyla ready for pre-school, then Bryleigh & I headed to the Salon so that Mommy could get her hair cut and colored. Enjoyed some wonderful chocolate covered strawberries and wine while we were there. Bry was upset that I didn't share the chocolate with her...cause she can smell that stuff a mile away!

Then we went to Kyla's pre-school to enjoy their Valentine's Day Party. Had a great time with all the other children in her class. They all love to see Bryleigh and swarm her whenever we show up. Bry loves all of the attention and Kyla proudly watches and tells all her classmates what they are allowed to do, such as the "one finger" touch.

After leaving the school, we headed to the store to pick up some last minute items for dinner that evening, as well as some sugar cookie hearts to decorate for dessert. Kyla was really excited about the cookies and could not wait to get back home and start decorating them.

So far, the day was going as planned...but things were getting ready to start falling apart.

About a mile from the house, we were stuck in evening traffic and Kyla started screaming that she "really had to use the potty" right then or she was going to go in her car seat. I started telling her that she was a big girl and could hold it while I hurried to the house...and that is when every slow moving vehicle decided to be in front of us. Poor Kyla was practically crying and I was on the verge of pulling over to the side of the road so that she could go...Thankfully traffic started moving faster and Kyla didn't have an accident...but Bryleigh did!

While my sister was changing her outfit, I decided to get some clean clothes for her from the dryer that had almost completed the cycle. As I was bending down to sort through the warm clothes, I started to lose my balance and fall into the front-loading machine. To catch myself, I put my right arm out and it came into contact with the back of the dryer. Not sure if anyone is aware of this, but the back of those dryers get "red hot" during the drying process...and my entire hand was burned so fast and hot that it stuck! I screamed and pulled back so fast that I left the top layer of skin! OUCH!!

I spent the rest of the night with my hand covered in burn cream and an ice pack wrapped around it. That made it really hard to cook dinner, much less decorate the cookies that Kyla was so excited about. (We have postponed the cookies until I can bend my fingers enough to help) And when I was nursing Bryleigh, I couldn't figure out why she was so fidgety and always pulling away...then I looked down and saw that my ice pack wrapped hand was cradling her sweet head! No wonder she was so wiggly...her mommy was freezing her tiny head!

I couldn't even cut my own food. Brad had to do it for me! Any other time, it would have been a romantic gesture...but this time it was just plain pitiful!

Anyways, hope you all had a wonderful Valentine's Day! Without all of the complications that mine had!

And enjoy the photo of Bryleigh. She was just exhausted by the end of the day! Either that or trying to sleep off her brain-freeze!

Life Is Too Beautiful To Throw It Away...

As I am looking at my youngest daughter while she eats, I cannot help but think about how beautiful life is. I am happily married to my best friend...the person that I can enjoy doing anything with...and cannot imagine growing old without. Together, we have created two beautiful lives and will do our best to raise them as we were both brought up by our parents. We live in a wonderful house, surrounded by good neighbors. I am so very fortunate to have such a good and beautiful life.

It hurts my heart so much when I hear about other people who cannot appreciate all the beauty that surrounds them...and just throws life away. The young father that killed his 3 month old son and left him by the side of the road. Another enraged father that killed his estranged wife in front of their two children. The mother who drowned her newborn twins. The young mother who was so messed up on drugs and alcohol that she passed out on top of her child and killed him. Or a person who thinks that something is so bad that they cannot go on and their loved ones would be better off without them...

Death is final...there is no way to change your mind and ask for a second chance. If you take another life, that is something that you have to live with for the rest of yours...and face the Lord about. If you take your own life, you are depriving your loved ones of all the pleasure and joy that they get from knowing and being around you...and sentencing them to a life time of wondering what they could have done differently.

The best thing you can do for yourself and those that love you is to live…and appreciate this wonderful world that surrounds you. Honor God and your parents by cherishing the life that the three of them created.

Vicks VapoRub on the feet to stop coughing...Does it work?

I received this information in e-mail at the most perfect time for my family since everyone is battling bronchitis. We had a great time coating each others feet with the goo and then trying to sleep all night with socks on. Not sure about the rest of you, but I feel like I am sufficating when I sleep with socks on!

Well, all of the claustraphobic anxity was worth it because the Atchison Household had a quiet night last night. There was no coughing, not even a wheeze! We were all sleeping like babies. Plus when you wake up and take off the socks...those rough, dried, and cracked looking feet are all nice and moisturized too!

So, take it from me and try this if you are having a problem with a cough! It really does work.

---

AMAZING WHAT WE LEARN!

VICKS VAPORUB...TRY IT, IT WORKS

I wish I'd known this when my family was young during winter colds and coughs. I am going to try it myself. Share with young parents. Isn't life strange. When we had a lecture on Essential Oils, they told us how the foot soles can absorb oils. Their example: Put garlic on your feet and within 20 minutes you can 'taste' it. Some of us have used Vicks Vaporub for years for everything from chapped lips to sore toes and many body parts in between. But I've never heard of this. And don't laugh, it works 100% of the time although the scientists at the Canada Research council (who discovered it) aren't sure why.

To stop night time coughing in a child (or adult as we found out personally), put Vicks Vaporub generously on the bottom of the feet at bedtime, then cover with socks. Even persistent, heavy, deep coughing will stop in about 5 minutes and stay stopped for many, many hours of relief. Works 100% of the time and is more
effective in children than even very strong prescription cough medicines. In addition it is extremely soothing and comforting and they will sleep soundly. I heard the head of the Canada Research Council describe these findings on the part of their scientists when they were investigating the effectiveness and usage of prescription cough medicines in children as compared to alternative therapies like acupressure. Just happened to tune in A.M.Radio and picked up this guy talking
about why cough medicines in kids often do more harm than good due to the chemical makeup of these strong drugs so,I listened. It was a surprise finding and found to be more effective than prescribed medicines for children at bedtime, in addition to have a soothing and calming effect on sick children who then went on to sleep
soundly. Polly tried it on herself when she had a very deep constant and persistent cough a few weeks ago and it worked 100%! She said that it felt like a warm
blanket had enveloped her, coughing stopped in a few minutes and believe me, this was a deep, (incredibly annoying!) every few seconds uncontrollable cough, and she slept cough-free for hours every night that she used it.

If you have grandchildren, pass it on. If you end up sick, try it yourself and you will be absolutely amazed by the effect.

What A Great Super Bowl!

What a great Super Bowl! I think this is the first Super Bowl in years that I actually spent more time watching the game than eating and analyzing the commercials! As a matter of fact, the only commercial that I really remember is the one about the clydesdale doing the "Rocky" like work out in order to make the hitch team.

Going into the game, I really was not a fan of either team, but especially not the Patriots. There is something about the smug attitude of the entire team that really rubs me the wrong way. Then you read all the stories about the "cheating" going on by the team...video taping the other teams at practice or reading the lips of a coach...come on. Win games on your abilities!

And then there is the Patriots quarterback...Tom Brady. Just seeing him makes my skin crawl. He is a "dead beat dad" that is being glorfied by the media and fans! This sperm donor...cannot even call him a father...has a beautiful baby boy with a former girlfriend. You never see him with his child or even hear him talking about the baby. How selfish and self-centered!?!?! You may not love the mother any more, but your child is innocent. I am so glad that the baby's mother had the common sense to use her last name and not his.

But that is enough of my rant on the Patriots...

I wanted the Giants to win simply because I wanted to see the Patriots lose! And boy did they lose! I was on the edge of my seat watching those last few minutes fly off the clock!



Kyla was so excited to see the Giants win. For some time, she has been talking almost nonstop about Eli Manning and telling us that he is her boyfriend. It really is cute to watch her as she is watching his games. When his face is shown on TV, she sighs and talks about how cute he is.

I had to attach some photos of him so that she could look at him...





And this last photo says it all...

And We Let These People Vote?

Today was the Florida Primaries and I had the following event happen to me. Could not believe that people like this can actually vote for our laws and government leaders!

Before Bryleigh and I picked up Kyla from school, we stopped by the local library to return some items. It just so happened that the library was also a polling place. As we were leaving, I heard someone call out to me..."Excuse me..."

I walked over to the car to see what I could help the young woman with.

She proceeds to ask me if I went into the library to return / check out a book or to vote. I told her that I was returning some items, but that they were still voting inside. She then asked me a question that I am still having a hard time believing..."Can I go inside and vote here even if the person that I plan to vote for is not listed on any of the signs outside?"

I had to quickly suppress my shock before replying that as long as you are a registered voter and that the library is your appointed polling place, then you can vote for the person of your choice listed on the ballot...even if their name is not on any of the political signs outside.

She breathed a sigh of relief, parked her car, and went inside to vote...possibly for the person who could be the next leader of our country...Scary thought, isn't it?

They Really Do Remember Everything!

So I was going through more photos from Christmas and I came across a couple that made me remember something really special that happened...and you know me. I had to share.

Brad is a wonderfully thoughtful husband and father. He likes to take his time to find the perfect gift and he really outdid himself this year. He wanted to combine my "big" gift with special "Daddy" gifts for each of the girls. So he went to a local jewelry store and had three custom necklaces made. Each of the necklaces is white gold with a diamond encrusted infinity circle. Kyla's circle has a Peridot, which is her birthstone. Bryleigh's has a Yellow Topaz and mine had not only a Pearl for my birthstone, but also a Peridot and a Yellow Topaz...basically making mine a Mother's Necklace...something I had been wanting since Kyla was born.

Kyla was the first to open her special gift. She chose to sit on Daddy's lap while opening it. As soon as the wrapping paper was off and she saw the red leather jewelry box, she quietly exclaimed...and I quote, "He Went To Jared's!" Then she threw her arms around his neck without even opening up the box and gave him a huge kiss!



Now just in case you are not familiar with Jared's...it is the name of a popular jewelry store and all of their commercials use that same catch phrase..."He Went To Jared's"...and in Kyla's young mind, she was just repeating what all of the beautiful women on the commercials said after receiving a lovely piece of jewelry from the man they love.

Brad has to tell her to open the box and look at the necklace. She wasn't quite sure what to make of the necklace, but after he explained that it was her first diamond necklace She couldn't wait to put it on.




The girls and I plan on having our photos taken together wearing our beautiful gifts of love and having it framed for Daddy to keep in his office at work.

Right after Brad asked permission to marry me, my father told him something. He raised my sisters and I to feel like princesses so that we would expect only the best from the men we marry. And it looks like Brad is planning to do the same with Kyla and Bryleigh.

Lord help those boys who decide to love the Atchison Girls!

I Just Want A Good Night's Sleep!

Although Kyla started sleeping through the night when she was around 3 months old, she was never what you would consider the easiest kid to put to bed. She would not go to sleep until she was good and ready, no matter how hard we tried. When she was young, we would let her play on the floor until she crawled under one of the couch end tables, held onto the leg for security, and fell asleep. After she was in a deep sleep, we could pick her up and put her in her crib...and she would stay soundly asleep until the next morning.

As she grew older, it became harder and harder to get her to sleep and many nights, she would still be going strong at 10:30 or later at night. Putting her in her bed didn't help. She would just get up or scream at her closed bedroom door until you were seeing cross-eyed! Watching a movie or listening to bedtime music didn't work either. She forced herself to stay away until it ended and then ask for it to start over.

The one thing that really seemed to work was someone crawling into bed with her until she fell asleep, which meant that you usually fell asleep too. If we were lucky enough to wake up during the middle of the night and stagger into our bed...Kyla usually followed shortly behind. After growing tired of her sleeping in bed between us, we finally broke down and purchased one of those little unfolding sofas that are in the toy department...and that is where she slept until a week ago.

When the February 2008 issue of Parenting magazine arrived in our mail box, I immediately noticed the following words in the upper left hand corner of the front cover..."Turn Any Kid Into A Good Sleeper"...a reference to an article titled "How To Get Your Child TO Sleep (Really)" by Holly Robinson.




How to Get Your Child to Sleep Really! - Parenting.com
http://www.parenting.com/parenting/healthypregnancy/article/0,19840,mGpqoadmrQ==,00.html

So at my first opportunity, I turned to page 106 and read the article to see if it was anything that might work with Kyla. After using the techniques listed, she was sleeping through the night in bed by herself in only a couple of days!



I just wish the the process also worked on Bryleigh. She is still insistent on sleeping on Mommy's chest, between Mom & Dad, or on rare occasions...the sofa in the family room!



Some times, I finally decide that enough is enough. I rock her to sleep, waiting until she is in a really deep sleep. Then as I slowly and quietly go to lay her down by herself...those big blue eyes pop over and she is wide awake again! She must thing that it is hysterical to see Mom & Dad looking like characters from "Night Of The Living Dead!"

New Happenings With The Atchison Girls...

Kyla has been asking her Aunt Micki and me if she can go to Yoga class with us. Unfortunately the class that we attend has a beginning age requirement of 13. Last week, I learned that the Yoga Studio just started to offer a Children's Class. She had her first class today and loved it! Here are a couple of photos from after the class. She was showing me some of the things that she learned...the Tree pose and Downward Facing Dog. She also asked if she could buy a gift for her new teacher...because she loves her so much! I am also thinking about asking her teacher is she would consider starting a Mommy & Me Yoga Class so that I can get Bryleigh involved too!




Bryleigh is 9 weeks and 2 days! Can you believe it? I can't. She is also starting to teeth! She is constantly drooling, as well as putting everything into her mouth and gum-ing it to death! Not such a great thing for her to do with she is nursing, but at least she doesn't have teeth yet!



She is also growing so fast and changing is so many ways. She has had several nights were she has slept through the night...and that makes Mommy very happy! But most of the time, she is still waking up every 2 - 4 hours to eat...and that makes Mommy very tired the next morning. So the two of us nap on the couch alot. Excuse the bags under my eyes when you see me. That is one of the "Merit Badges" that new Mommies earn and wear proudly.



I also have to say that I am a really lucky mommy. Not only do I have two beautiful girls that I love with all of my heart, but the two of them also love each other. Kyla is always singing to her sister as well as wanting to hold her. Bryleigh just loves listening to Kyla's songs and laughs at all of her jokes. I just hope that their mutual love for each other continues as they get older.