FIRST day of school!!

Today was Daylon's first day of 2nd grade, and Jace's first day of Kindergarten. Daylon wasn't too thrilled (I think he's over the "excitement" of school, and just dreads the work of it), but Jace was SOOO excited! Here are a few pictures of their first day back (more of Jace than Daylon since it was a little bigger deal to Jace!) ;-)

Eating breakfast (healthy Pop Tarts- whatever, it's what he wanted!) LOL:




Walking up to the school:





Handsome boys!



In Jaces' class:







Leaving:

Updates

Well, the lady came to look at the piano, and wouldn't you know that after YEARS of having it, now all of a sudden I have like 3 or 4 keys that are sticking!?!? I have no idea why they are, or how to fix them, or how much it would cost to fix. Ugg. So, regardless to who I sell it to now, I'm definitly going to have to take off the price for those to get fixed, ya know?? AND most people are going to have to hire a moving company to move it as well, as we just can't move it ourselves. Fun stuff, fun stuff.

So... Otherwise everything is going well. I'm still going to Boot Camp every morning. Well, okay, I took off ALL of last week!! (Well, Monday I went but sat in my mom's car because my eyes were super dry and killing me), then Tuesday I had a migraine, and then Wednesday I was still sleeping off the shot they gave me on Tuesday for the migraine. Thursday Blayden woke up at 3 something with a fever, stuffy nose, and super fussy. And then Friday I had a virus. Seriously, not fun!! (The rest of the family got the same virus on Friday afternoon, Saturday, and Sunday- it's made it's run through my entire family- even my MOM!!)

But, I was able to go to Boot Camp yesterday morning and this morning, even though it was raining this morning (we moved camp to an elementary school under a basketball pavilion.) ;-)

I've also been getting ready for school- mine AND the boys. I've found a nanny (her name is Susie) and I'm hoping that works out okay. I have talked to another girl who will be moving here as soon as her mom has her 6th or 7th younger sibling. ;-) So LOTS of experience with her!! And she just seems super sweet too! So, we're kind of having a trial version with Susie to make sure it'll all work out, and if so, we're good to go! And if not, then at least I do have a back up that seems like it should work. Always good to have a Plan B, right?!?!

I'm getting more and more nervous about going to school for TWELVE hours- almost the full day on Mondays and Wednesdays, and then one class on Tuesdays and Thursdays, and one more class on Fridays. I'm just praying it won't be too much for me- school, the boys sports (more on that), book-keeping and paying bills for Matt, plus just the upkeep of the house, etc?!?! I feel crazy just thinking about it!!

Oh! And the last thing about me and then I'll move on to the rest of the family- my eyes are still doing GREAT! I can tell towards the end of the evening that they are getting dry and tired, but I can still see great and don't have any problems. Well, okay, I don't see great at night (horrible glare- "star-burst effect" is what they call it) but it's not too bad, and I can tell it's gotten better. And they say it should continue to get better over the next 3-4 months. ;-)

Onto the boys!!

I'll start with Daylon. He'll be starting 2nd grade this year and I'm praying they have all of the help set up already for his Dyslexia. I hope it won't be too hard and discouraging for him!!! He's had football practice (we're doing TACKLE this year!!!) almost every night for the last 2 weeks. I'm tired of it, and I've only taken him once! LOL (No, it's not too bad- I just miss Matt being home because he's out there with Daylon!!) I'm ready for the games to start though- that should be fun!!

Jace is doing good too. He's going to start Kindergarten next Monday and he's super excited. I think he'll do really well. Once he's focused on something, he's SUPER smart, so I just hope he actually gets focused on school. I think he'll surprise us all and be more like me- the dreamer, reader, and quiet one. YEAH!! I'm also going to sign him up for tennis pretty soon so he's really excited about that.

Kelton is going to be in Pre-K three days a week (Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays) and is thrilled. His "girlfriend" is going to be in his class again so I think he's really excited about that. I just signed him up for flag football and I think he'll do great in that- he's such an athlete! However, I can't wait until the Spring to get him signed up for T-ball. I think he's got his grand dad's genes in him and will do GREAT at baseball!!!

Blayden is our little stinker!! He's almost 19 months old now (will be on the 27th) and is learning new words daily. Here's a list of what I can think of off the top of my head that he can say:

Daisy (our dog)
Puppy
DaDa
Mama
Bubba
Bye-bye
Night-night
Mine
Stop!
Diaper
No
Come on
Baby
Jace
Bath
Snack
Juice
Hi
Up
NiNi (my mom)
Shewy (like, stinky!)

And I'm sure there are others that I can't think of right now! He wants to do EVERYTHING that his brothers do, and Daddy is still his favorite person. He SCREAMS when Matt goes to work without him every day and as soon as he sees Matt at night he goes right to him and attacks him. It's too cute, but also sad! He'll be going to MDO 2 days a week too (Tuesdays and Thursdays) and I'm hoping that works out good and he does good at it- he's just at that age where new things are NOT okay with him!! I'm fixing to start sitting him on the potty at random times just to see what he does. Hopefully he'll be more like Daylon and potty train early (Daylon was 22 months) than Jace or Kelton (Jace was 3 1/2 and Kelton was 3!!! Lazy boys!)

And last but not least is Matt. He's been super busy with work and taking care of me and the boys. (He had to take off early last Tuesday to take me to the Express care place so I could get a shot for my migraine and then take care of the boys while I slept it off.) He's not been feeling well the last few days either, so it's not been too fun around our house. Other than him being busy and building lots of swimming pools and going to the boat whenever he can, that's about it for him!! (We're going to try to take the boys down this weekend to the boat to go fishing, etc.)

So... that's just a recent update for everyone on what's been going on in the Ratliff household. If I can just survive this next week.....

Oh, and Kelton's birthday party was this last weekend- pictures to come soon!! :-)

I like the rain and all...

But man, it's making me SOOO sleepy!! And getting up early to go to Boot Camp hasn't helped it much either!!!

I'm just hoping that the lady that is coming to look at the piano we have for sell gets here on time so I can take a nap while the boys are still laying down!!! ;-) (Ans wish us luck on selling it!!) ;-)

Kelton and Blayden's Alien room

Now, this is one of my favorites!! I think it's just too cute!! I have the bedding for Blayden when he gets to a "big boy bed" but for right now, he's still using the frog stuff. Oh well, it's still cute! :-)

On the wall as soon as you walk in:


Blayden's bed and dresser and UFO:


TV stand, books, etc. and rocket ship above Kelton's bed:


Kelton's bed: (I love his bedding too- I LOVE Pottery Barn Kids! LOL)


Above Kelton's bed: (Also Pottery Barn Kids) ;-)


My alien above their toy box: (I need to fix his eyes! LOL)


A planet and stars: (there are a few "planets" and stars around the room too!)

Jace's Pirate themed room

Well, I finished Jace's room and while it's cute, it's not my favorite. I just could not BARE to cover up the frogs and stuff (from Blaydens' room) with paint, so I just put big stickers over it all. And these sticker things just aren't sticking very well!! I'm going to have to figure something else out pretty soon to get them to stay.

Anyway, he loves it and it really is okay. Here are some pictures, what do you think??

Above his bed:




His bed (I LOVE his bedding!!):


His desk: (Just ignore the ladder- I'm going to put glow in the dark stars on his ceiling so I have it in there to motivate me to do it! LOL)


Above his dresser:


On the wall as soon as you walk in (kind of behind his door, actually):

My 3rd baby boy is FIVE today!!!

Kelton is 5 today!!! I can't believe it either!!! He was born on Thursday, August 14, 2003 at 4:42 in the afternoon. He was 6 pounds even (and that's big for 6 weeks early!) and 19" long.

They had to induce me that morning (after 2 weeks on bed rest) because I had low amniotic fluid and he wasn't doing well (low heart rate, and wasn't moving much.) He was put on the ventilator (tubes down his throat, LOTS of wires and IV's hooked up to him) and was on it for 4 days. I got to hold him for the first time on August 18, and he got to finally come home on August 23 (9 days old). I had never been so scared in my life- he was VERY sick from the beginning, and had to have 3 shots of Serfactant (sp??) which is just about the max a baby can have (to develop his lungs). He had to have his lungs "beat" and cleared out of fluids several times a day for the first 5 or 6 days (which he hated), and had a heart murmur that we worried about for awhile. Like I said, it was VERY scary!!

But he's healthy now, and has grown SOO much!! He's always been very tall (always at 90-95% for height) but he's my skinny boy (weighs 41 pounds right now!!!) He's our sweet boy who LOVES to cuddle with anyone, and gives tons of hugs and kisses (he's also the whiny child that you just want to SHUT UP sometimes!!!)

Here's some pictures of him growing up:

One of the first days at home:


About 3 months old:


1st birthday!


Halloween- 15 months old


At Lake Buchannan- around 18 months old:


Kelton at park- 2 years old:


Christmas 2005:


Finally a BIG brother!


Christmas 2007 (silly face!)


School program in May:


For Father's Day:


This morning (taken from my camera)- him seeing his new "big boy bike!"

Matt's fishing trip

So Matt took "the guys" down to Kemah to take the boat out "deep sea" fishing yesterday. They've been gone out all day today, and one of Matt's friends that went with him took this picture on his phone of the "fish" that Matt caught and sent it to me. What do you think???




(And yes, they let it go and it wasn't hurt!!) They also caught a LOT of King fish, trout, a small shark, a few other sting rays, and ALMOST caught a sail fish!!! It came after their bait, and jumped out of the water, but they didn't catch it. Too bad!!! I'm going to have to go with Matt next time and REALLY take the boat out far like they did.... they actually had clear BLUE water, and not the dirty stuff you normally see in Galveston Bay and the Gulf! LOL

LASIK uptdate

Well, I got there yesterday at noon (Matt drove me), and they got me right in. I had to pay for it all, then they took my blood pressure and pulse (a little high- I was getting nervous!), and then explained (again) all of the eye drops, etc. They then gave me 20 mg of Valium to help calm me down. After that they took me to the back room and sat me in a really comfy recliner and told me to listen to my iPod (they had told us to bring one if we had it), and read or whatever to help me relax. They then put 2 rounds of eye drops (numbing stuff, etc) in my eyes, and then after about 20 minutes they took me back into the surgery area.

I got in there and it was FREEZING. They gave me a blanket, got me situated under the Laser machine, and then covered my left eye and taped up my lashes on my right eye. Then they put this thing to make it even more open. After that they put this "sucker" kind of thing on my eye, and I felt a lot of pressure (no pain) and then it went completely BLACK for a few seconds (that was when they were cutting the cornea.) I could then see them pull the cornea flap back (weird!) and then a few seconds later they started the laser. I could hear it, and see little blue flashes, and you can SMELL that laser smell (kind of burning, ya know??) After about 40 seconds of that, they put my cornea back over my eye, smoothed it down, put some drops in my eye, and then that was that. They did the other eye, checked both eyes to make sure the corneas were still down and then they walked me out to get my beautiful googles (had to wear them until this morning, and have to continue to wear them at night for the next 5 nights), and Matt took me home.

I slept all afternoon yesterday which was REALLY nice- didn't have any pain, just some itchiness and dryness, but that's it. I went back in for a check up this morning and they said it all looked great and I already have 20/25 vision in both eyes (that will get better over the next 2-4 weeks.)

I'm SOOOOO thrilled with the whole thing and so glad I was able to get it done! I just can't believe that I don't have to wear glasses at ALL anymore!!! Woo-hoo!!!!!!!

Kelton and Blayden well check ups (& Jace dentist)

Kelton and Blayden both had their well check ups on Monday afternoon. (Kelton for 5 years, and Blayden for 18 months.)

They're both doing really well and are very healthy, of course. ;-)

I don't remember the exact measurements for Kelton, but he is at 90% for height (always has been!) and is at 50% for weight. He's my tall, SKINNY boy!!!

Blayden weighs 25 pounds, and is 34" tall. So he's at 50% for weight, and 90% for height as well. I'm just glad Blayden is finally catching up on the height thing- for a long time he was like 75% for height and I was really afraid that he was going to be shorter than his brothers (they've all been at 90% I think.)

Anyway, again, they're both doing really well.


I took Jace to the dentist this morning because he has a "grown up tooth" coming in BEHIND one of his baby teeth on the bottom, and that baby tooth isn't loose at all. He has no cavities and did really well at the dentist, but he has to go back on the 26th (of course that's the 2nd day of school!!!) to get THREE of his bottom teeth pulled out (the one that is in front of the permanant tooth coming in, and then the teeth on either side of that one so his teeth won't go to one side or the other.) And then they want to do an X-ray to make sure all of his other permanant teeth are coming in good. Going to me an expensive visit!!! It looks like he's got a pretty good chance of having braces in the long run though. Fun stuff!!! ;-) (Neither me nor Matt had braces, but having 4 kids we figured that we would have at least ONE that would have to get them!!!)

That's about it for the updates on the kids right now though... just growing, being boys, and all that fun stuff! ;-)

Breaking Dawn

Well... it came a day early!!!

Now I just have to finish up with the book I've been reading and I can start on Book 4 over here. I can't wait!

LASIK

So, I went to the eye Dr. this morning and was told that I'm a great canidate for LASIK eye surgery!!! Woo-Hoo!!!!

I have HORRIBLE eye site (so bad that they told me that I do have a greater chance of having to come back in 3-4 months to get the LASIK redone (but still only like a 5-10% chance of that happening)). I can hardly see at all without my contacts, and I've had to wear my glasses the last few days so they could do all of the tests to check if I could even get it done. (For those of you that know what it means, I have -6.0 vision in my right eye, and -6.5 in my left.) ;-)

Anyway, I'm already scheduled to have the LASIK done on THIS THURSDAY!!! I am so super excited, I can't even explain it!! I'm hoping that it'll be an easy thing, and I won't freak out having something come to cut my cornea open! LOL My mom is going to be around all day on Thursday to take care of me and the boys (I'm supposed to come home and just sleep it all off- they even give me sleeping pills to help with that!) and Matt will drive me too and from the surgery.

I just can't wait!!!! Wish me luck, please! :-)

Thought I was doing good....

I figured I would get "Breaking Dawn" faster if I pre-ordered it on B&N before the release, right?? So, I ordered it (and got a great deal) but now I won't get it until Wednesday!!! I almost went ahead and bought it last night at Kroger, but figured that I would just go ahead and wait a few more days....

But man, the suspense is killing me!!! (Maybe I'll spend the next few days re-reading the other three books....) :-)