No Pictures for a While

I hate to have to post this. Our home computer, the one that is the home to all of our pictures, has died. We are not sure if it is the wall charger that has gone bad or the computer itself, but there is no power to the computer. Antonio went to get something that he thought could fix it, but it was $90 and he thinks he can find it cheaper.

So, there will be no picture posts until the computer is fixed. It WILL be fixed. It has ALL of our pictures for the past 2 years!!! I had just uploaded tons of pictures last night and that means they are no longer on my camera. I am nervous(but determined) to get this computer fixed and back up our pictures somewhere, anywhere.

One of my friends and I hosted a baby shower yesterday and it went very well. I will post tons of pictures when I can.

Tatum is now 17 months and I can't believe it. One of her new favorite things is ICE....she LOVES it. I have tried to get a video of her asking for it. She says..."Ice? Ice? Ice? Ice?" Until you give it to her.

Anyway, I will post more later(hopefully with pictures).

On a final note.....GO TIGERS!!!! As Willie Herenton would say...."We are 'shakin the HATERS off'!!"

SURPRISE!!!!

Last Friday night, Jennifer( http://jennifersere.blogspot.com/) and I were put in charge of helping with a surprise party for Jenny (http://jdriley.blogspot.com/). We were put in charge of getting her to Sekisui. So, I told her that Jennifer and I wanted to take her out for a Girl's Night Out.

I decided that the restaurant choice would be a surprise so that she couldn't veto the choice and then we have to figure out how to get her there anyway, so she was a trooper and went along with us. Jennifer, Jenny, and I started at Jenny's house and hung out for a little bit and then left for dinner.

Below is a video of us walking in. As you can see, she was so busy talking that she didn't even see everyone sitting there for a few seconds!

Jenny's husband, Mike, did a great job of getting everyone together and surprising his wife! He even had balloons and a cake at the restaurant too. After we FINALLY got our food to eat(don't order quail at Sekisui or else you will be waiting a LONG time), we went back to Jenny and Mike's house and hung out with friends. It was lots of fun and I am SO GLAD that I didn't blow the secret!

Changes...

I got my haircut this week and I got A LOT cut off. It was like 5-6 inches. My hair had gotten SUPER long, so with it getting warmer it was just too much for me to deal with all summer. It is still below my shoulders, but just lots lighter. When my hair dresser finished cutting, I turned around to see this on the floor....

It may not look like lots of hair in these pictures, but it was!! I like my new haircut and will have to post pictures of it soon.

It's Gone!!

I went to upload some pictures and videos last night so I could post a new blog, but I couldn't find my camera. I am not sure where it is. Grant it, I did not look too hard, but I couldn't find it quickly last night and i didn't want to look hard for it. Anyway, when I find it, I will post a new blog.

Everything Happens for a Reason!!!

I know that I should be posting precious pictures of Tatum from Easter Sunday, but I won't be doing that.

Saturday night Tatum started running a little fever. Sunday morning when she got up, she had a little fever again and had had a cough since Friday night. So, we decided that it would be best to keep her home from church. So, her cute Easter dress along with my little Easter outfit I threw together went unworn. Antonio's cute suit was unworn as well. As the day went on, Tatum was playing fine and we gave her tylenol to keep the fever down. She did well, so we decided to send her to daycare Monday.

Monday she went to school. I gave her some cough medicine along with some tylenol to make sure she made it through the day. Antonio and I heard nothing.....until 4pm. They called and said Tatum was running a fever. 4 P. M.!?!?!?? Are you kidding me?!?!?! Getting sent home from school EQUALS Tatum can't go to school for the next 24 hours. So, once again, Antonio's dad helped us out. He said he would come over Tuesday and keep Tatum so we could both go to work.

I decided to go ahead and take Tatum to "Open Clinic" at her doctor's office Tuesday morning to see what was going on with Tatum this time. We got up and got to the dr's office by 8:15. She has another ear infection, but this time only in the right ear. The dr. said she probably didn't heal up all the way the last time, so this time we are going back in 2 weeks to make sure her ear infection heals completely. SHe also gave us a prescription for her cough.

I headed to Walgreens to go ahead and get her medicine filled. When I dropped them off, the lady said it would take 45 minutes, so I decided it would be fun to take Tatum for donuts while we waited.

I went to a donut shop right around the corner and pulled up. That's when I saw HIM.....I called Antonio and told him that HE was there!! I was SUPER EXCITED!!! Now, who is HE? you ask.....It was Coach JOHN CALIPARI!!!!

I got Tatum out of the car and we go in. Coach Cal is sitting with an older gentleman in the donut shop and they are the only people in there eating. Tatum is walking in and the older man notices Tatum and says hello. I ordered our donuts and headed for a booth. I was having a bit of trouble juggling Tatum, donuts, milk, diaper bag, and purse, so I guess that drew a little attention to me. The older man talked to Tatum again and proceeded to ask Tatum and I to join them at their table for 10(it was only the 2 of them). I shrugged and said okay.

SO, here I am with Tatum eating donuts with COACH CAL!!! Grant it, HE did not invite me to sit down, but still.... So now I am trying to decide....do I grab my phone to take a picture of HIM or what. I decided to "play it cool" and I just sat there talking to Tatum while they talked basketball. I wanted to chime in a few times so that Coach Cal would know that I KNOW basketball, but I decided I might come off like a crazy fan, so I didn't. Then Tatum decides to not sit still and eat her donut "like a good girl" so I am struggling with her. That's when IT happened....I WISH I had a video....HE (Coach Cal) offered to hold Tatum so I could finish my donut. I said okay and Tatum went over to HIM. She sat in HIS lap and was SO GOOD! She just smiled at HIM, then the old man, then me. I SHOULD HAVE taken a picture with my camera phone, but didn't want to seem like a stalker, so I just enjoyed my moment.

I ate quickly, as not to burden Coach Cal, and Tatum came back to me. Coach Cal then got up and walked out and that was it. I said...."Good Luck Coach Cal!" and he was gone. HE made my day and didn't even know it. Maybe he could tell by the HUGE SMILE on my face, but HE might have just thought I was a little crazy.

As soon as HE left, about 20 people showed up decked out in their Memphis Tigers clothes. I guess they got tipped off that HE was there. They seemed a little upset that HE was gone. Oh well, Tatum and I got to enjoy HIM!!!

So, if Tatum had not been sick, we would have never seen HIM.....COACH CAL!! So, I owe Tatum a HUGE THANK YOU for being sick!!(Okay so I am half kidding. I don't wish she was sick, but we DID catch this ear infection early, so she isn't too bad.)

I will be posting some pictures and videos sometime this week.

Sunday Swim

Antonio and I joined the YMCA at the beginning of the year and while I haven't been the best about working out, Antonio has been VERY good about it. He goes at least 5-6 times a week! I was good and went to the gym Saturday AND Sunday, so I am making progress. Anyway, they have childcare at the YMCA for up to 2 hours, so I have no excuses. Except on Sundays. There is no childcare on Sundays, so we have decided to try to go to the YMCA and take Tatum swimming on as many Sundays as we can. It is good family time and she LOVES it!

Before I got in the water yesterday, I took a few pictures. Here are a few pics of Tatum with her Daddy in the pool.



The pool has a cover on it to make it an indoor pool, but they will be taking it off for the summer. So, we get the best of both worlds! Below is a video of Tatum with her Daddy in the pool. She is getting good at kicking and she REALLY wants us to let go, but that wouldn't be good. Looks like we need to break out the swimmies for her. (When you are watching, it gets a little foggy as it goes along, so I wiped the lense off a little bit into the video).

After I put my camera down and got in, we threw Tatum back and forth and she LOVED it and giggled and giggled. I wish I had a video of that too(maybe I will have to get the lifeguard to take it next time). We are also working with Tatum on blowing bubbles in the water and going under. The going under is getting better, but I can't get her to hold her breath(I have tried blowing in her face, but that doesn't work too well). Anyone have any ideas?

The "Count Dracula" Laugh

I was finishing up Tatum's laundry that I started last night and Tatum was wanting to help, so that's why there are so many of her clothes in the floor. This video is from this morning before we were leaving for church.

Antonio taught Tatum a new trick....

Tatum's little personality is coming out SO MUCH these days. She LOVES to imitate everything we do(as you just saw) and she loves to make us laugh. Even when she is getting in trouble, she flashes us a HUGE smile(but don't worry, she still gets disciplined).

Ahhhhh, I love her!

Tatum WALKS!!!!

Tatum has been in the process of beginning to walk since the beginnning of Feb. However, I have failed to make a video of it, so here it is....

There it is....she walks!

Visitor from Colombia

My mother-in-law's sister came into town for a long visit Thursday night. She and my mother-in-law look a lot alike, so Tatum took to "Tia" very quickly. Here are some pictures from the airport...



After we got done at the airport, we headed to Antonio's mom's church for a little welcome party and dinner. All the kids made posters to for "Tia Rubila"(I am not even sure if that is how you spell her name...oops).

Tatum got some attention and love from her Aunt E. E.(Eliana).



These next pictures of my hubby might seem a little strange, but I HAD to post them because my dear Antonio has told me since we started dating that he WILL NOT eat corn on the cob, yet here he is....Things that make you go hmmmm......

Then I was giving him such a hard time about it, he started hiding from me so I couldn't take pictures of him.

Then, Tatum got to playing and found a friend. It looks like they are kissing, but they were just standing there looking at each other.



That's all I have for now. My conference call for work just ended and I need to get out of the house. Enjoy the updates that are posted and I need to take some better pictures of Tatum to post.

Until next time....

Tatum's a little Under the Weather...

Tatum got sick on us over the weekend. She ate fine, played fine, acted fine, but looked pretty bad. Her eyes were so crusty with goo. Antonio told me she had pink eye, but I wasn't as convinced because it was in both eyes and she wasn't rubbing them. So, Monday morning I took her BACK to the dr(we were there 2 weeks ago and we left finding out she had double ear infections). This time the dr. said she has a cold in her eyes, so we left with eye drops that must be given 3 times a day. I asked the dr. how in the world was I supposed to get Tatum to let me give her these eye drops and he said it would be easier with Mommy AND Daddy giving them. She has been doing pretty well with the drops. She fights us on them, but we do get them in and they are helping. Anyway, here are some pictures from Sunday night that I took before she got her drops. (She has the wash cloth because I had just cleaned her eyes off a little bit and then she wanted to play with it.)

Snow in Memphis

Here are a few pictures of the snow on Friday here in Memphis. This was at about 4:30, so Tatum was still at school.

We did not play in the snow at all. Tatum was a little under the weather and so was here Daddy. I managed to sleep alot on Saturday as well because I have been having some troubles with my migranes lately, so we bummed it out this weekend. I wish we had gotten Tatum out for a few minutes to at least get some pictures of her in the snow, but I don't think any of us felt like getting dressed to get out in the snow.

Officially Private

Well, my blog page is now officially set to private. Hopefully I got everyone on the "okay" list that wanted to be able to read my blog. If you are here and you don't think I got you on the list, just let me know....haha....I kid, I kid.

Anyway, I know I haven't posted a blog with pictures of Tatum in a while. I was waiting until I set my blog to private, so I promise I will put up lots of new pics and maybe some videos very soon.

One quick update on me, I went in for more bloodwork yesterday and got the results today. My hcg level was 4. The nurse said anything under 5 was considered not pregnant, so I don't have to go back again.....YAY. I was getting tired of giving blood every week!

That's it for now, but I will update with pictures of Tatum and the family soon, I promise.

Exciting News!!!

I am going to Miami at the end of April!!! It will be my birthday trip...

...well, not exactly, but I will call it that. It is actually for training with work, but I will have my own room, so I am working on finding Antonio a flight down and back. It will be like an almost FREE vacation. We will only have to pay for his plane ticket!

I have been looking forward to this phase of training. They send us down to Miami to "live like a patient with diabetes" for a week. I don't know EXACTLY what goes on 'cause it is supposed to be a bit of a surprise, but I know we have to check our sugars 3-4 times a day, take insulin shots with every meal, etc. I know that one night they will also contact us somehow and tell us we are hypo and we have to find something to bring our sugar level up(We are supposed to try to find 4 ounces of orange juice). Sounds crazy, but this will give me a perfect insight as to what patients with diabetes have to do EVERYDAY! I know this saying is said WAY too much, but I plan to go all out and get into it because "I will only get out of it, what I put into it." I know, I know....I am so corny!

What's Going On!?!?!?

Okay, it's 2:01 AM and I am still awake! I can't sleep! eeerrrrr! So hear I am, trying to wear myself out so that I will go to sleep, but it's not working. I have done the dishes, a load of clothes, straightened the living room a bit, and still not sleepy. I must admit that I have had a problem sleeping for about 4 weeks now and have been using Tylenol PM pretty much every night so that I can sleep. Guess what, I didn't take it tonight. errr... I have decided that I need to stop taking it because I am sure it is not good to have to depend on something like that in order to sleep every night, but if I don't take it, my nights end up like tonight and I still have to work tomorrow too! What to do, what to do....any advice anyone???

Also, I am going private on Saturday or Sunday, so if you read my blog and have not officially emailed me (Mom, Dad, Jenny, Jennifer, Tim, etc.) then you will not be able to read my blog after this weekend. Also, I have gotten several emails from people I do not know, but they read my blog. I have no problem if I don't know you and you want to continue to be able to keep track of my family. I read several people's blogs that I do not know, so I know how that is. Just send me an email (aprilcsimpson@hotmail.com) or just leave a comment and I will add you.

That's it, I am awake and I want to be sleeping!