Quotes That Inspire Me

  These are the quotes that inspire me. Some make me smile. Some make me try when I want to give up. Some make me remember why I work so hard. Some make me think. Some remind me to have fun. Some remind me I am blessed. Some pick me up when I am down. Some give me the desire to push further. Some remind me to make time for the little things. All of them speak to me deeply.

 Outings are so much more fun when we can savor them through the children's eyes. -Lawana Blackwell

~Live as if you were to die tomorrow. Learn as if you were to live forever –Gandhi

Life Offers you a Thousand Chances, All you have to do is take one!

Believe in yourself! Have faith in your abilities! Without a humble but reasonable confidence in your own powers you cannot be successful or happy

Norman Vincent Peale


~A positive attitude may not solve all your problems, but it will annoy enough people to make it worth the effort. -Herm Albright

~Live Well, Laugh Often, Love Much!~

~A Journey of a thousand miles must begin with a single step.~

Lao Tzu

Dignity consists not in possessing honors, but in the consciousness that we deserve them.


“Well-behaved women rarely make history” Laurel Thatcher Ulrich

The future is something which everyone reaches at the rate of 60 minutes an hour, whatever he does, whoever he is. -CS Lewis

Just keep swimming! - Dori on Nemo
 
How many cares one loses when one decides not to be something but to be someone -Gabrielle "Coco" Chanel
 

Every morning I awake torn between a desire to save the world and an inclination to savor it. This makes it hard to plan the day. -EB White

 
People who give a shit are sexy. -Scott Hahn & Rogan Gregory
 

He who rejects change is the architect of decay. The only human institution which rejects progress is the cemetery. -Harold Wilson

 
 

Often we don't even realize who we're meant to be because we're so busy trying to live out someone else's ideas. But other people and their opinions hold no power in defining our destiny.

Oprah Winfrey

 
It's not that some people have willpower and some don't. It's that some people are ready to change and others are not. -James Gordon




We did not change as we grew older; we just became more clearly ourselves. -Lynn Hall

It seems to me that people have vast potential.

Most people can do extraordinary things if they have the

confidence or take the risks. Yet most people don't.

They sit in front of the telly and treat life as if it goes on forever.

Philip Adams

There is nothing like returning to a place that remains unchanged to find the ways in which you yourself have altered. -Nelson Mandela

If you can give your son or daughter only one gift,

let it be enthusiasm. -Bruce Barton

A strong positive mental attitude will create more miracles than any wonder drug. -Patricia Neal

Nobody cleared a path for themselves by giving up.

Alacia Bessette

 

Act as if it were impossible to fail.

Dorothea Brande

It is impossible to live without failing at something, unless you live so cautiously that you might as well not lived at all. In which case, you've failed by default.

J. K. Rowling

Nothing has a stronger influence psychologically on their environment and especially on their children than the unlived life of the parent.

By: Carl Jung

Better to write for yourself and have no public,
than to write for the public and have no self. 
Cyril Connolly

Getting ahead in a difficult profession requires avid faith in yourself.

That is why some people with mediocre talent, but with great inner drive,

 go much further than people with vastly superior talent.

Sophia Loren

Beneath the rule of men entirely great,

The pen is mightier than the sword.
Edward Bulwer-Lytton

There are few nudities so objectionable as the naked truth.

Agnes Repplier

Concentration comes out of a combination of confidence and hunger.



Arnold Palmer

Turns out if you never lie, there's always someone mad at you.

Scott Westerfeld

The man who has confidence in himself gains the confidence of others.

Hasidic Saying

You will find something more in woods than in books. Trees and stones will teach you that which you can never learn from masters. By: Saint Bernard

The only way not to think about money is to have a great deal of it.

Edith Wharton

Failure is not the only punishment for laziness; there is also the success of others.

Jules Renard

Determine never to be idle...It is wonderful how much may be done if we are always doing.

Thomas Jefferson

If we value the pursuit of knowledge, we must be free to follow wherever that search may lead us. The free mind is not a barking dog, to be tethered on a ten-foot chain.

Adlai E. Stevenson Jr

 
There is much pleasure to be gained from useless knowledge.

Bertrand Russell

Mankind have a great aversion to intellectual labor;

but even supposing knowledge to be easily attainable,

 more people would be content to be ignorant than

would take even a little trouble to acquire it.

Samuel Johnson

Only the curious will learn and only the resolute
overcome the obstacles to learning.
The quest quotient has always
excited me more than the
intelligence quotient.

Eugene S. Wilson

Only the curious will learn and only the resolute overcome the obstacles to learning.

The quest quotient has always excited me more than the intelligence quotient.

Eugene S. Wilson

Life is what happens to you while you're busy making other plans. ~John Lennon

Own only what you can carry with you; know language, know countries, know people. Let your memory be your travel bag.

Alexander Solzhenitsyn

You have to keep plugging away.
We are all growing.
There is no shortcut.
You have to put time into it to build an audience.  
John Gruber
 

Victory belongs to the most persevering.

Napoleon Bonaparte

Having once decided to achieve a certain task, achieve it at all costs of tedium and distaste. The gain in self-confidence of having accomplished a tiresome labor is immense.

Arnold Bennett

He who would travel happily must travel light.

Antoine de Saint-Exupery

Certainly, travel is more than the seeing of sights;
it is a change that goes on, deep and permanent,
in the ideas of living.



Miriam Beard

Mountains inspire awe in any human person who has a soul. They remind us of our frailty, our unimportance, of the briefness of our span upon this earth. They touch the heavens, and sail serenely at an altitude beyond even the imaginings of a mere mortal.

Elizabeth Aston

It's amazing
how quickly
nature consumes
human places
after we turn
our backs on
them. Life is a
hungry thing.

Scott Westerfeld

Few things are impossible to diligence and skill.

Great works are performed not by strength, but perseverance.

Samuel Johnson

I was always looking outside myself for strength and confidence, but it comes from within. It is there all the time.

Anna Freud

In all things of nature there is something of the marvelous. Aristotle

 

I would feel more optimistic

about a bright future for man

if he spent less time proving

that he can outwit Nature

and more time tasting her

sweetness and respecting her

seniority.

E. B. White



Who Are The People Stopping By?

Many people are stopping by to read this blog everyday. They do not "Follow" me and that is fine but it does leave me wondering. Who are you? Many anonymous eyes read my ramblings. Whoever you are thanks for your interest. Feel free to leave a comment, anonymously, of course, lol. Hope you get a giggle or take some information with you as you read through. I also write another blog named Crystal's Travel Journal. If you come here to read about our outings and travel it is now being written about on that one. This has become my personal journal.

Whoever you are reading this I hope all is well for you! I also hope you continue stopping by! Have a great day or night!

OMG! Kate Gosselin Tweeted me!

I signed up for Twitter yesterday. I tweeted Kate Gosselin today and she tweeted ME back!!!! I was so shocked! I love her! I'm sad the show is almost over!

Freebies of the Month!

This month I got a few freebies! I wanted to share with you. I got most of these because of signing up for customer appreciation memberships.

I got:

• Victoria's Secret purple cotton hip hugger underwear (Normally $7.50)
• Victoria's Secret purple leopard print miracle hip hugger underwear (Normally $8.50)
• $10 gift card to Kohl's (I used this to buy a dress that was on sale for $15.99 that was originally $39.99. That means I got a $40 dress for $6!)
• $10 gift card for JcPenney's (Hubby got an Adidas shirt that was on sale for $12.99. It was originally $24.99. We paid $3!)
• 2 single scoop ice cream's in a dish at Culver's (The girls enjoyed these!)
• Pack of regular Oreo's
• 2 containers of Yoplay yogurt
• large bag of Ruffles Cheddar and Sour Cream Chips
• 1 dozen large eggs
• 1 bottle of Kroger brand Ranch dressing

These are all coupons and gift cards that came in my mailbox because of signing up for things. I am on the customer appreciation list for Victoria's Secret, Kohl's and JcPenny. I have a Kroger discount card. If you sign up for one of these you receive coupons about once a month as long your card has been used. The Culver's coupons were given to my kids on one of our other outings. They were handing them out to drum up some business. The yogurt coupons were from YoPlay because we had gotten a cup of yogurt we were unhappy with. They sent us coupons for two as an apology. All is forgiven.

I would like to point out that we used many other coupons for items that were not completely free but still inexpensive, such as pickles for 88 cents a jar. I posted this because people seem shocked when I tell them we get things free or when we go places people ask how we afford it. We do many free or very cheap outings! It does not cost a fortune to have fun with your kids. There are ways to get most things cheap or even free if you are willing to try a little. Trust me I only try a little, lol.

A Day Alone With Too Much Time To Think

Normally I put my oldest on the bus at 8am and she gets home at 4pm. My husband leaves for work by 4:30pm. He is home during the day and Ivy is home during the evening. Today my husband went boating and fishing with my uncle. It has been just Bella and me all day. I did not have a lot that I had to get done today so I ended up with too much time to think. This does not happen often. I live a busy life but I enjoy it. However my brain is constantly going through things. There is always way too much pinging around in there. Today just put the spotlight on it.


Not until I had a little additional time, did I realize how much not only my life has changed but how much I have changed in the last few years. A few years ago I had an Aha! Moment. A true Epiphany. That was when I first realized that somewhere along the way my life had gone off track. I was becoming the thing I hated. I looked in the mirror and saw a sheep. I was the stereotypical boring and bored housewife. I no longer liked my life, let alone loved it. After being at home for a few years I began to lose myself. I did not drive for the first 5 years I was an at-home mom. I did not get out nearly as much as I would have liked to. Making friends became increasingly difficult when we moved from an apartment complex when Ivy was two to a country setting. At this point my self-esteem started to nose dive. When she was 3 1/2 we moved into the downtown area of a small town. I was happy because I could walk to someplace. My husband changed jobs to a place where he would only be home four days a month. I had to learn to drive. If something happened to Ivy I could not risk not being able to get her to the doctor. I had a lot of anxiety about driving. I recognized the fact that it had to be done so I stepped up. It was the first fear I confronted. It went well within a month I was driving fairly well. This was a bigger change then I could have ever foreseen. This was the first time in years that I was proud of myself, not my children, myself. I cannot explain this to someone who has not been there.

My daughter started school. I had met a few people in town but I had made no real friends. A few weeks into school her teacher asked if I would be interested in being a reading aid. They were looking for somebody willing to come in twice a week. I agreed and was thrilled by the thought of helping children. I loved the hours I spent there. After a couple months the school librarian asked if I would be willing to help out in the library once a week. She told me she really needed my help. She was a nice lady so I agreed. I started spending two days a week as a reading aid and one in the library. Within a month another mother approached me and invited me to my first PTO meeting. I went and somehow ended up being the PTO hospitality chair. I am not sure how that happened but the ladies were friendly so I went with it. Once I got back into a social situation I started to notice that I did not fit in well. I was socially a little rough around the edges from years of being at home. I was often oversensitive. I did not come from this small town although I loved it. The women acted as if they were excited to get to know me. They asked me tons of questions and told me loads about themselves. It did not take me long to notice that they all talked about each other behind their backs. However they were the first friends I had made in years so I kept the relationships going.

Over the summer my daughter's Girl Scout troop leader quit. She was so upset! The troop leader called and asked me to take over the troop. I reluctantly agreed. I made another small turning point at about this time as well. I sat down and wrote out a list of the things that I wanted to change about myself. I must point out that I am a list person but this was something completely different. This was not a list of things for dinner, places to visit, or errands. It was not even a wish list of things I wanted in life. You know the silent list in your head that says things like buy a home or retire at 65. This was a list of the things that were wrong in my life that I had control of. I wrote out the things I was unhappy about. Then I wrote what I could do about it. Anything that you are unhappy about in your life you have the ability to change. I had read this but did not honestly believe it at that time. I said to myself, “Yeah, I can just do anything I want. Sure, and pigs fly too.” I had no idea what was ahead of me. I figured if I was going to try this life changing stuff I had to start somewhere. I decided to quit smoking. I tried the cold turkey method and failed. I tried the patch and I failed. I tried to gum and…yeah, that’s right, I failed. I tried the lozenge and once again failed. That’s when I quit trying to quit.

The following school year they talked me into taking on two additional projects for the PTO while keeping the chair of hospitality. This brought me up to six volunteer positions. I am an organized and hardworking individual. I kept up with it nicely. At this point I made my first few real friendships in that small town. These were people who were nice to me and did not pressure me to do anything. I had my yearly check-up and talked to my doctor about quitting smoking. She said I think I’ve got an idea. I will openly admit it, I used Chantix. It worked wonders! I had tried to quit many times but this time was different. I was getting really stressed out. I called the doctor and she suggested exercise. I had a YMCA membership that we used for children’s programs and swimming. I began going to the gym whenever I felt too stressed out. After a couple months of being on Chantix I was doing really well until I had one very bad day. I snapped. I had not smoked a cigarette in a while but I did that day. I smoked one and immediately lit another. I felt sick and my eyes were watering from the smoke. I was so upset with myself. I threw down the cigarette and stomped on it. I threw the rest of the pack in the outdoor trash can. I knew right then that I was done smoking. It was at that point that I remembered the list. I went in the house, dug the list out of the back of my planner, and crossed out quit smoking. I sat there in stunned silence that I had done one of the things on this list! I knew right then that I could do anything on it. It was going to take a lot of work but I could do everything on that list. I could be happy. I did not know how but I knew it was possible. I made a promise to myself at that point to finish the list, to do the things that make me happy, and turn the corner in my life.

At the end of the school year I was nominated for PTO vice-president. I was so flattered that I accepted without ever stopping to consider the outcome. I had fallen into the trap. I got so caught up in trying to be nice that I had way too much on my plate. I was now doing seven volunteer positions. I sold things part time on E-Bay, mainly vintage books and clothing. I did not have an actual paid hourly job but I was putting in just as many hours if not more a week. I had weeks that I was doing 70+ hours! I was losing it. I was still going to the gym to deal with the stress of life. But this was too much stress even for me. My husband and I had begun talking about having another baby. We were living in a two bedroom townhome at the time. We talked about moving into a three bedroom house. When Ivy was about half way through second grade we found a big place in the country. It was not in the same school district. My husband, Michael, asked if I thought it was alright to move Ivy. I told him I wasn’t sure but I thought we should try it. I knew it was what was best for me.

I know it sounds funny but I both loved and hated our country house. I loved it because when we moved I quit all the volunteer positions. I knew that I could not do them any longer. I was tired of feeling used. The ladies who had got me into most of this were pretend friends. They needed something from me. Once I moved I did not hear from most of them again. I felt like I was on a prolonged vacation when we first moved to that house. I quit selling things on E-bay as well. I was just Ivy’s mommy and a housewife. My husband switched to a new job that allowed him to be home on weekends. It was nice to see him more often. Within a few months of moving in I found out I was pregnant. We were so excited. The pregnancy came with a few ups and downs. One of the biggest ups was that I rediscovered church. Ivy and I began going to family night every Wednesday. The biggest down was a fall when I was 26 weeks pregnant and the following night in the hospital. The country became boring quickly. I realized before the first year in our new home was over that I was not meant to live in the country long term. I was bored once the novelty wore off. I began to hate the place. I only had a couple of friends at church. Michael got a new job in Kentucky where he could be home every day. After him being gone so much for more than four years it was amazing! The only problem was we lived in Indiana. He was spending over 3 hours on the road daily.

In December of 2009, Bella was born. Ivy turned 9 in January. We moved to Kentucky to be closer to Michael’s work in February. Our lives were once again in upheaval. This time the pieces fell into place much faster. It did not take us long to feel at home. I had always wanted more kids so having Bella meant the world to me. I still had my list in my thoughts. The next one was personal confidence. I know this is something that woman struggle with after children. I had just had a baby a few months before that. I honestly felt more confident in myself after having her. I made out a short list of the things that bothered me the most about myself physically and then took action. I had a ton of dental work done. I had already begun working out when I quit smoking. I got back in the swing and picked up the pace. I chopped off my hair and donated it to locks of love. I promised myself that I would start taking more of an interest in myself. For the very first time since I had kids I cared about how I looked. I always tried to look acceptable but I knew that in the end it did not matter. I was certain that I wasn’t pretty so why try too hard. I decided that I should wear whatever made me happy. I started to notice that I was the issue. I was being too hard on myself. There was nothing truly wrong with me that wasn’t easily fixable. I started to take the time to do my hair and make-up every day. I began to feel a little more like the girl I once was.

The next one on my list was to be able to provide for the future of my family. I started thinking about returning to work. I knew my job options were slim since I never attended college. After a lot of thought and research I made a choice to go back to school. I knew going in that it would not be easy but at the end I would be able to financially care for my children for the first time. I kept this goal in the front of my mind as I nervously attended my first classes. I honestly could never have dreamed how much I would learn in college that had nothing to do with the classes. It changed me in unexpected ways. I am more confident, adventurous, social, and cultured. I have learned about art, people, science, writing, history, math, public speaking, and picked up many other skills. It has inspired me to take other chances in my non-educational life. It has affected me so deeply.

Today I had a chance to look back. It was startling to remember who I was just a few years ago. I have changed in so many ways. I am now a mother of two and a non-smoker. I am in good shape. I can run and not just around the block. I am proud of who I am. I have many real friends who want nothing but my company. My marriage is better than it has ever been. I got my adventurous spirit back. I am social, friendly, and open. I am more educated. I now know that I can do anything I want to do. I feel like I am the person I was always meant to be. I wish I would not have wasted so many years worrying about failure or what people would think. I wish I could go back and tell myself that not ever trying is the real failure. Hard work and perseverance has paid off. In the end it does not matter what anyone else thinks. It only matters that you do the things that make you happy. If you are proud of who you are you can stand up to the masses and say “If you have an issue with me, please feel free to kiss my ass!”

Life offers you a Thousand Chances; all you have to do is take one!

The future is something which everyone reaches at the rate of 60 minutes an hour, whatever he does, whoever he is. – CS Lewis

Potty Time!

Bella, my 20 month old, was standing in our living room this afternoon. She started pulling at her shorts and yelling. I thought maybe they were bothering her so I pulled them up and straightened them out. She flipped out, threw herself on the floor & began screaming. I took her shorts off thinking they might be hurting her or something. She immediately jumped up and ran down the hall to the bathroom yelling "MA!!!!!MA!!!!MA!!!!" all the way. I ran after her. She started knocking on the bathroom door. I opened it for her. She ran in, took off her diaper, and proceeded to urinate all over the floor! I was standing there in shock by the series of events that had just occurred when she began to cry. I told her it was OK. I said "It's no big deal. We can clean it up. It's fine. You did a really good job!" I started cleaning up the floor. Bella just stood there. I looked over at her and she was staring longingly at the toilet. I asked her if she wanted to sit on the big girl potty. She just looked at me. I picked her up and sat her on the toilet. She was so happy, grinning at me while sitting on the big girl potty. I guess the time has come to begin potty training. Here I was worrying about when we should start training her. I guess she had other plans.

Bella's Art Work

This is all the way down my hall!! She was coloring earlier. We put the crayons up and moved on to evening activities. Well Obviously we missed the red, lol.

Read Bella A Cute New Book Today

Today we read "Peek-a-Zoo!" Written by Marie Torres Cimarusti. Illustrated by Stephanie Peterson. This is the cutest book! Bella loved flipping down all the flaps to reveal the animal behind them. I highly suggest this one.

First Day of 5th Grade

Ivy has officially started the fifth grade! I cannot believe she is that old!

Talked to the Nurse

OK, I think I got the stuff figured out with the school nurse. I walked them through how to put it on. It is the easiest thing in the world. I am sure I came across as very condescending but I was really mad. I was glad I kept myself together and did not get loud. They said it was not a problem and they would take care of it. That sounds fine and dandy but that is what they told me to begin with. I obviously cannot totally trust their word.

Now I have to make a couple calls to see if there is anything she should not be doing in gym. I tried to tell them that she is cleared to do whatever she feels comfortable doing but they have to hear that from a doctor. It always amazes me how many hoops you have to jump through with schools. I let you know how the gym stuff works out.

Issues with the school

I am currently having issues with my daughters' school about her brace. She is supposed to take it off to eat and have time to disgest some. She gets heartburn if she eats in it. This was the doctor's idea. I sent her to school the day before yesterday. I call and they say they did not get the paper work to take it off yet. The nurse says that she cannot take it off without the paper. I say OK I will re-call and see what I can do. I spend my lunch break on the phone dealing with this. Brace doctor's office says they will send it right out. I call at 2pm after i get out of class. The medical records lady says they have it. She says everything is ok for tomorrow. I have her read me what they wrote. It is from the right place and says the right thing. I say alright sounds like that is taken care of. Do you need anything else from me? She says no, it will be taken off for lunch tomorrow.

I call the school this afternoon a little after lunch to make sure they didn't have any trouble getting it back on. Only I get to hear that they never took it off. They have a form from the doctor stating what needs to be done but just didn't do it. The excuse was that the nurse at another school called in so their nurse had to go there and her assistant did not feel comfortable taking it off. The lady did not bother to even call me. I was off today and would of gladly came in and took it off myself. I am so angry! I told them I will personally be there at 8am tomorrow. I told her to make sure her assistant is there. I will teach her how to do her job myself. I also told her that if they did not properly take care of the situation I would be going to the school board with my complant. I told her that if a school nurse does not do a basic medical thing for a child that is part of their job I consider that neglect. I am in school to be a nurse. If I failed to do my job I know I could be hurting someone.

I am at a loss on why they would have an employee who could not perform their job. The icing on the cake however came from Ivy after she got home. She told me that when she went to the office that the nurse assistant told her that she was not taking the brace off today but it was ok because she talked to her mom already! Ivy came home upset with me. Nobody ever called me. I was beyond upset! I hoping this does not become a normal situation. I am not good at holding my temper when it comes to my daughter's health. I will end up screaming at someone.

Hoping and praying tomorrow goes ok.

New Blog For Just Travel and Outings!

I started a new blog for just our outings and travel. I am going to continue to use this blog as a personal journal for everything else that goes on in our lives, such as medical updates for Ivy, fun kid things I want to share, recipes we liked, art, and crafts.

The new blog is named Crystal's Travels. I know it's super original, lol.
Here is the link to it if you are interested. http://crystalstravels.wordpress.com/

The Brace is Working!! YAY!

We found out that the back brace is in fact working! It was very exciting news! The spinal specialist has cleared here until January 24th!!! She has to continue wearing the back brace for 18 hours a day. It is such a relief to know she is at least going to make it to eleven!

A little back story for anyone who does not know. My oldest daughter, Ivy, has Juvenile Idiopathic Scoliosis. She is 10 years old and has a curve of 50. When she hits a 65 we will have to operate. Once they begin operating they have to reopen for adjustments approximately every six months until she stops growing. She is estimated to finish growing around 13 and 1/2 to 14 years of age. She was diagnosed a year ago. They explained to me that if they started surgery then she would receive approximately 10 or 11 surgeries before it was all through. This appointment has brought us down to 8 at most! With any luck the brace will continue to work! Perhaps for a year or even two!

Cross your fingers and pray for her! Today was a good day!

Is The Brace Working?

Today we find out if the brace is working. I am hoping and praying it is! The last brace was not holding the proper points. They made her a slightly different type. The new one is the one pictured on here. She has had an easier time wearing this one. Her brace specialist made sure to mention at the last appointment that we should not expect too much. They said that it may be working, it may not be working, or the curve could have actually gotten worse in the last month. She has recently started another growth spurt which is adding fuel to the fire. It is a weird thing to dread your child growing.

If this brace is not holding the right point but her curve has not changed much we will likely get the third brace. If it has changed a lot than we will have to start planning her surgery. We are hoping to get moved before her surgery. We were planning on moving in October or November to a first floor step free appartment. Right now we are living in a third floor walk-up. It is not going to be easy for her to get around for the first few weeks post-op. Being on the third floor will make it hugely difficult to get her in and out of the house for check-ups and physical therapy. We are praying that surgery can be pushed off to her 11th birthday at least. We are only 5 months away. I am obveously hopeful that it will hold until she stops growing around 14 but I know that logically it is not likely to happen. We have halfway decent odds that we could make the new year.

I am shocked by the mounting pile of bills but her deductible is almost up. The insurance will have to start kicking in their portion soon for her braces. Her doctors are very good about letting us make payments at least. We are in for over $2300 to the brace specialist alone at this point! Our co-pays alone run at least a couple hundred a month as well. We cannot change our insurance plan until next year. My husband's job offers insurance which we gladly accepted. We pay a weekly premium. We chose a mid-line plan. Now we really not to upgrade to the next plan. It is more expensive weekly but over the course of her treatment it will save us money.

To any of you that read this that are religious, please say a little prayer for us today! If you are not, Wish us luck!

I will post back with the outcome soon!

College Road Trip with my Sister

At the first stop in the morning

I took my sister to look at two colleges yesterday. We went to UK in Lexington, KY and University of Cumberlands in Kentucky. We took both my daughters with us, Ivy-10yrs and Bella-19mths. I must have been crazy when I decided that was a good idea, lol. It was a long, exhausting but fun day. We got up at 5am, ate breakfast, showered and got dressed. We left the house at 7:30am. We drove to UK first. It is right by downtown Lexington. It was a very nice campus. Cassie, my sister, really liked it! It was here that I realised that I had forgotten the stroller in the other car! I was kicking myself all day long for that one but we made it work. We had packed a lunch. We ate on the UK grounds surrounded by trees. It was nice.

Canon at UK

Statue near one of the student buildings with an eatery

Bella was happy to get to UK & out of the car!

UK Campus

UK Grounds

Memorial Hall at UK

UK - outdoor theater

Ivy checking out the grounds at UK

Sundial

Dorm building at UK

Grounds at UK

We ate lunch here at UK. Bella was dancing for the few students that were there.

She was happy to be loose and have a little freedom.

After UK we headed to University of Cumberlands. It is in southern Kentucky off the last exit before you hit Tennessee. It is a nice campus as well. It is the complete opposite of UK in many ways. It is in a small town. The college looks much newer. The grounds are smaller and much more compact. UK's grounds almost run in a long line. Cumberlands are in a circular formation. Cumberlands has a religious affiliation and UK does not. Cumberlands does have a great aid package though! She was very impressed with what they could offer her financially. The day gave her two very different colleges to compare and contrast.

Fountain in the center of the grounds at University of Cumberlands

Checking out the fountain

University of Cumberlands

The view from the campus at University of Cumberlands

University of Cumberlands

I loved this beautiful ceiling at University of Cumberlands.

View from one of the dorms at University of Cumberlands.

University of Cumberlands

We decided it would be wrong not to at least drive into Tennessee when we were already so close, lol. We drove to the first exit in Tennessee which is Jelico. We stopped there for a little break. After that we began heading back north. We stopped off at Corbin, KY for dinner and a break. We visited the KFC museum first. It was really neat. We walked back to the car and Ivy said "Mom, I am getting hungry." We all agreed that we could not make it home without eating. We stopped at a pizza place and got a large pizza to share. We did not want to sit in a restaurant. The kids were dying to get out and run around. We found this adorable little walking bridge and gazebo to eat at. It was so cute! Best of all there was grassy areas for Bella to run around in when we finished eating. There was a large stream or small river that ran under the bridge. It was full of ducks! The kids had a blast feeding them pizza crust. What a fun stop off! We had to stop near Williamsburg for gas on the way back home. Bella was getting antsy again so we decided to hang out at the McDonalds and have dessert. This was a super rare occurrence so the kids were over-the-moon!  They each got a vanilla ice cream cone. My sister and I each got a apple pie. The whole stop came to $2.10, lol.

Waiting for her ice cream

After that we got back on the road and did not stop until we got home. We were so exhausted!! Bella did not make it here. She fell asleep in the car. I cannot blame her. I was so tired! I barely got my pajama's on before crashing.

PS. The photographs for the Corbin part of our trip is in a different page because there were so many pictures of the colleges.

Clay Penguins

Ivy made these super cute clay penguins I wanted to share!

She made a pilgrim and an indian!

The Importance of Charity

I wanted to stress upon my children the importance of charity! After watching a show about giving to charity my daughter, Ivy, said she wanted to do something to help people that were not as lucky as us. I said we could donate some things we no longer needed. She loved this idea! So we grabbed a couple bags and set to work. Before we knew it the bags were full. We kept going and before we knew it we had a huge pile!

Our pile!

We had toys, clothing, household items, and more! We dropped it all off at St. Vincent DePaul's. I was so proud of us! Ivy really stepped up and she was so proud. Charity is like a little candle in your heart. It warms you from the inside! I am so proud that I have passed on this joy to my daughter!

Hives!

This morning Bella, my toddler, got up with a slightly red butt and a small reddened area near her belly button. I figured her stomach was red because she had slept on her tummy and it was a mark from her clothing. I changed her diaper, put on a little diaper rash cream and started the day. She ate a scant breakfast, just a banana and a cup of milk. That is odd for her but not unheard of. I changed her diaper about an hour after breakfast and she was still red. I was playing with her. I lifted up her shirt to kiss her belly and stopped in shock. She was covered in HIVES! I called the doctor's office and let them know what I found. They asked if she was having any trouble breathing. I said no. (I mean seriously, if she was having trouble breathing I would have took her to the hospital not called the doctor's office, lol.) They said to take photographs of the rash and give her benedryl. They said to take her to the emergency room if it got worse or she had trouble breathing. They made her a sick appointment for this afternoon to see how she was doing.

The doctor said they are not going to label it as an allergic reaction yet. If it happens again in the future we will re-evaluate at that time. He said it could be a viral infection. She is on anti-histamines for the next week just to be on the safe side. I will let you know if we get any updates but as of right now that is all I know.