Austin's 4yr old Christmas Program

Today was Austin's last Christmas program at his school. I'm sad that he starts Kindergarten next year but he's surely not. He sang his little heart out and got to see a lot of his friends from last year so he was really excited! He had to wear this shirt(which he wore yesterday) because it says "All I want for Christmas is everything."

Another Dr. Appointment

For once, it was Austin. He's been sick since the 13Th but I haven't taken him to the doctor yet. I had several refills so I used them up before I paid the $30.00. Needless to say, they didn't work. He has sinusitis and bronchitis so hopefully we will get some relief soon. I'm so tired of having sick kids!!! I don't think I've ever had both of them well at the same time. AHHH!

Thank you God!

I'm so thankful for everything he has given me. I have amazing people that support me in every aspect of my life and couldn't make it a day without any of them. Its not just my husband and children but every fine detail God has added in. Don't get me wrong, my husband and children are amazing. They have a huge impact, but without everyone else, I couldn't have become the person I am today. My family is absolutely the best and I'm so thankful for them.

I talk to my Mom everyday. I hope my boys will be as close to me when they grow up as I am to her. I still call my Dad "Daddy" (which Brian makes fun of) because I will always be Daddy's little girl. I have to admit, I call Dad when I need help instead of Brian. Brian used to get aggravated about it but he's finally figured out that he's so busy with work and doesn't have time to deal with the small stuff around the house. It's easier to call Dad, get it done, and not worry about it anymore.

Growing up, my sister and I never got along. Now, she's my best friend. I can tell her anything and am so proud of her. She's beautiful inside and out and I'm truly blessed to have her in my life. J.R. and Shawn are amazing together. They love each other so much and I'm happy they made it through the good times and bad. I'm extremely thankful for both of them and my handsome Nephew Evan. I love them all so much.

I strive to be like my Mother-in-law but that will never happen. She's taught me that having a clean house can be done but I still haven't figured it out. Brian's lost hope that he can live in a clean house like he did when he was growing up. I try! I clean all day and our house is still dirty. He thinks I'm making it up that I clean all day, but I swear I do. Our kids are just REALLY nasty!

I'm glad my children have a relationship with both their Grandparents like I did. I couldn't have made it without my Great Grandparents and Grandparents. They meant the world to me and I would do anything to have them back. That's why I want my children to have a close relationship with theirs. Nothing beats that bond and the lifelong memories the boys will have.

I am a loving wife, mother, daughter, sister, and friend. I'm thankful today that God let me wake up this morning with a smile on my face. I lived another day to watch my children play and be with my family. I'm truly thankful for that!

We made cars

While at Downtown Disney(our last day) the boys made cars. Including Brian.

Hong Kong Bound

I'm not exactly sure what it is about me but every time I get close to someone, they move away. Maybe I should take the hint and not make any new friends. Although, God keeps putting in my path a lot of amazing people. I'm blessed that their making me a better person on the inside and out, literally. My running partner leaves the United States on November 22 for Hong Kong. I am so honored to be able to say she's the only person I'll get up out of bed on my own free will to hangout with at 5AM. I've conquered every running milestone with her. Granted, I'm not a runner, just a jogger. My first 5 miles, 6.2 miles, 10 miles, and soon half marathon(13.1) will be with her. I owe my sanity, drive, perseverance, love, respect, laughs, and everything in between to her. You have no idea how much you will be missed. Your Collierville family awaits your return. All of us can't wait for you to come back and you haven't even left. We love the Dubinsky's!

I can smell

I took Kaleb to the ENT today for the first of his four followup visits after surgery. Needless to say, he was amazing! He's faithfully putting saline in his nose every hour so he doesn't have to do surgery again. Apparently, he's squeezing harder on the left side than the right because the left side is completely dissolved. The right, not so much. Since he's right handed, it's very common for this to happen so now were really gonna focus on flushing the right side out. Kaleb let Dr. Naidu(which I love) stick a long rod up his nose and the thing that sucks spit out of your mouth from the dentist but this one sucked snot from your nose which was so cool! He sat there better than I could have done. He seriously didn't move an inch. About 15 minutes into it Kaleb said ummmmmmm. Dr. Naidu asked if he was hurting him and Kaleb started laughing and told him no but I would like for you to be done. All three of us laughed but Dr. Naidu and I couldn't believe how amazing Kaleb was.

Dr. Naidu cleaned all the biodegradable gauze out of his nasal passages then pulled some of the dried blood out. He didn't want to pull too much of it out because Kaleb's nose would start bleeding if he did. The dried blood is keeping the nosebleeds from happening so we need as much as possible. The saline has been reduce to 4 times a day instead of every hour which will gradually wash all the dried blood away.

After Dr. Naidu finished with Kaleb I had several questions that needed to be answered. During the middle of my trampoline question, Kaleb looked at Dr. Naidu with the biggest grin on his face and surprise in his eyes. He started yelling Dr. Naidu, Dr. Naidu....I can smell. It brought tears to my eyes. My poor baby has missed so much.

After we left the office we headed to McDonald's for lunch. The first thing Kaleb did was open and smell his chicken mcnuggets and let out an ahhhhh. He's missed out on so much and he's only 6. I can't imagine never being able to smell. Can you? I've truly learned from him to NEVER take anything for granted. Everything's one day at a time.

Viral Meningitis

So far today has been the biggest rush to sit and do NOTHING!

I went to Chicago with six friends from my Bunco group for my first "girls" weekend. Needless to say, I ended up buying an emergency ticket home because Brian decided to come down with viral meningitis.

I knew he had a headache Thursday night but I didn't realize how bad it was. I thought it would be gone on Friday so I packed my bags and was gone by 5:30 am Friday morning. Brian called me around 6:30 Friday night telling me he was headed to the hospital. I figured they would give him pain medicine then send him home, which they did. The pain didn't ease so he went back Saturday morning. I was out shopping at stores like Saks, Nordstrom, Neiman Marcus in which I can't even afford to breathe the air in any of those stores. Poor Brian was getting a spinal tap. His parents called me around 4:30 letting me know he did have meningitis but didn't know what kind. They went ahead and started treating it as bacterial just to make sure.

I tried to get a flight out Saturday night but I couldn't get one in time. My amazing friends booked me on a 6:44 AM departure arriving in Memphis at 8:30 AM. It was perfect! Except for having to get up at 4:30 and hailing a cab while all the crazy drunk people were out. You would have thought I was a New Yorker though! It seriously took me 5 seconds and I had two cabs fighting over me. It was a tough decision on which one to chose but I went with the guy listening to christian music:) Chicago at 4:30 AM is a crazy sight!

I made it back to Memphis and have sat in the hospital all day. I'm not exactly sure why they think you can get rest in a hospital. It's always crazy busy with crap beeping all the time. Plus, the pain medicine Brian's on makes him jump really bad while he's asleep. It scares the crap out of us every time.

When I got here this morning his pain level on a scale from 1 to 10 was constantly an 8. They doubled his pain medicine and it's down to 5. The doctor came in a little bit ago and said he should stay around a 5 all day tomorrow then it should start going down. I'll keep you posted on what's going on. Hey, at least I have time to blog:)

By now I've been up since 4:30. I'm pretty sure nothing I've typed makes since so if you read this tonight, give me time and I'll fix it tomorrow.