Our Second Home

Sandhills Pediatrics get a visits from the Hawkins on a regular basis. And my paycheck is either spent on copays for the visits or copays for medication. Our week was suppose to start out with a 9 month well visit for Karlee. However, as my luck always has it, it turned into sick visit for both Karlee and Brandon. Brandon woke up barking like a seal and gasping for breath and Karlee has the typical symptoms of an ear infection. So off to see Dr. Whitaker. Amazingly Karlee had NO ear infection- just a "cold". She did get 3 shots and the flu shot. Brandon was diagnosed with the begin of Croup. And somehow we managed to sneak a flu shot in for him as well. Not without lots of tears. But he was a good sport and we managed to make the boo-boo better with a sucker and sticker. Karlee's "cold" wasn't exactly a "cold" as we were told. By Thursday we were back to see Dr. Whitaker with a temperature of 103. Again- no infection, but this time it was the viral flu. The one you can't treat. I was home with her all day yesterday. She was so miserable but sweet as always. So here we are heading into another weekend with a house full of sick little kids. But we won't be able to complete next week without more visits to the Dr.- a follow up with the ENT to check on Karlee's tubes, and suppose to be a 3 year "well" check up for Brandon (5 months later). Maybe we can accomplish these appointments as intended, without coming home with another antibiotic. keeping are fingers crossed.
Have another busy weekend planned so I am sure I will be back with more report in no time!

A Morning in the Hawkins Household...

This morning was yet another test of the many challenges we face as parents- patience. Our typical morning usually goes fairly smoothly. I get up at 5, make coffee, prepare bottles and lunches, throw some clothes in the wash, get myself dressed and.. then the chaos begins around 6. John gets Brandon duty and I make sure Jalen and Karlee are dressed. Brandon definitely does not take after his mommy - he is NOT a morning person. Jalen not so bad, but it takes reminding him 3-4 times to stay on task.. he likes to dilly dally and forgets what he is suppose to be doing. So this morning was a different story. John did not get home from work until after we were all snoozing, so I decided I would let him sleep in and I would conquer the morning duties solo. What was I thinking?! Brandon was not having it today.. he refused to get dressed and get up. So I left him in the bed with John with intention of returning after I dropped Jalen at the bus stop. 20 minutes later (yes, the bus was late the day I pick to take him) I find Brandon sobbing his eyes out at the front door. I guess he realized that he missed out on the trip to the bus stop and was NOT happy. I calmly picked him up and proceeded with getting ready to leave. I attempted to give him his Medicine- after forcing it in his mouth while restraining him, he decided that he wasn't partaking no matter how hard I tried.. the entire mouthful of purple medicine came spewing out of his mouth when I turned my back. The calmness changed to anger very rapidly. And he was going to wear the clothes full of purple medicine! We made it out the door, with the meltdown continuing as we drive off. Then I realize that I had no milk for Karlee's bottles and needed to stop by the store. Everyone in Food Lion got a nice wake up call when we arrived-- the meltdown was still going on as I sped through the store and Brandon was a half mile behind me. Get to the milk section- NO MILK! What?! How can a grocery store have no milk- none, the shelves were completely empty. oh boy, I was taking a deep breath by that point. So we proceed out of Food Lion. But not without Brandon stopping by the candy and helping himself to a sucker- I was already out the door as he was nonchalantly trottin behind me yelling "I got candy". It's quite amazing how the meltdown immediately ceased and he was now smiling. But I, again, calmly with my blood boiling, took him by the arm and directed him to return the candy. The meltdown begins again. We make it to daycare.. I discover that one of Karlee's bottles had leaked and soaked the entire diaper bag with her change of clothes. As I was putting them away, Brandon was helping himself to the box of rubber gloves used by the teachers when they change diapers .. like 6 of them. Needless to say, the next step was a trip to the bathroom for Brandon. Not exactly how I wanted to start my day. I was ready to get in my car and go home and start all over. The tears were building but As I drove to work, I asked God why does He allow these small but significant situations to occurs.. and He answered me very clearly..... to teach us patience- one of the most important factors of being a parent. If we didn't face these situation we would never grow and become better parents. I have struggled with this every day and continue to pray that I can learn to overcome these challenging situations.... and look back at them and laugh as I am sure most of you are doing. If you would like to ever experience one of these morning, please feel free to join us anytime- 502 Whitewater Drive. Our door is always open!

Ok, now I will backtrack a few days....
Hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving and is in full Christmas Spirit. We had a safe trip to Grandma's and enjoyed seeing the family.
I did brave the black friday crowds with my friend Lisa. That was definitely interesting. When we arrived at Toys R Us at 6:15 am and saw 3 mounted patrol trotting through the parking lot, I knew this was serious stuff. I have never seen so many people in one store at one time. The lines to check out weaved throughout the entire store. I think we made it out in an hour and a half. But well worth it- got great deals!

We began the Christmas decorating Saturday but will complete that this weekend with a trip to the tree farm. Saturday evening was not so good... after a nail biting game, USC managed to lose again to Clemson. Jalen sobbed himself to sleep. Guess Gamecock football is a serious issue in our house now. Watch out!

After church on Sunday we enjoyed another Turkey dinner at Paulie's. I left there not wanting to see food again for days.. It was wonderful as always! And we are still eating leftovers.

I think that wraps up the events over the last week. Looking forward to another eventful weekend.

More to come..

Happy Thanksgiving!

How in the world can it be Thanksgiving already? It seems like I just took down my Christmas tree from last year- But here we are again, after another amazingly fast year, preparing for the Holidays. Crazy! Through all the excitement of turkey dinner, black Friday shopping, tree trimming, and holiday cheer, we need to take a moment and sit back and reflect on what the true meaning of this season is- The birth of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.

I will backtrack a few days since I have not been faithful in keeping you posted everyday...

We had a very eventful weekend and managed to accomplish a few long overdue goals-
First, I decided it was time to paint the kitchen. I was tired of looking at the color swatch on the wall. So, to be the good wife I suggested that John and I paint together-- that's quality time, right?! He was in agreement with my idea. Being the handy man John is, he was assigned the wall behind the refrigerator-- non visible! John's speciality is NOT with the paint brush. So off to Lowe's I went at 8 pm- had to wait to until the kiddies were asleep. About 5 minutes into taping the walls, I heard zzzz's from the couch. John was sawing logs! I pondered whether to wake him or not.. I chose to continue my project alone and enjoy the peace. I had the kitchen completely painted and put back together by midnight! And guess who woke up right as I was cleaning.. yeah- he said "My sensor went off.. I knew you were done"! Thanks for all your help Johnny!!

On Saturday we headed to Little Mountain country to play with Jacob. The boys were in heaven! Toys galore and all the room in the world to play! And I decided that my next house WILL be in the country. I would never have to worry about Brandon wondering the neighborhood and making some unexpected appearances.. and I know my neighbors will love me even more!!

John decided to be brave and took the boys to a USC Basketball game Saturday night- he had plenty of help thanks to Brian! Amazingly they behaved.... hmmm..... I think the bribery of popcorn and candy helped a little.

Sunday was a big day for our family! Jalen, Brandon and Karlee were dedicated to the Lord at church. This was long overdue but another goal completed! Please pray for their little hearts as they grow and get to know our wonderful Lord.

And here we are coming upon the final hours before Turkey Day. We are traveling to St. Stephen to spend the day with John's family. I am planning to brave the early morning rush of shoppers on Friday- yes, I am crazy! But can't hurt to see what good deals I might find.

I wish you all a very Happy Thanksgiving and safe travels. Eat plenty and enjoy special family time!

Another Week Zooms By!

Section 3: More Local News

We've managed to almost complete another eventful but quiet week. And a record breaking one.. no trips to the doctor with my kids! But, I managed to make 2 trips with my mother. Paulie has had a rough week. It started with a visit to the Urgent Care on Sunday with an abscess on the back of her head. She has been to the doctor every day to nurse her wound. And it has definitely been hard on her. Not only has she missed work everyday, she has had numerous needles stuck in her and been on lots of pain meds. The strange abscess did not want to go away, instead it continued growing and filling up with infection. I think she is finally on the mend. She will be returning to the surgeon in 2 weeks for a followup. Whew!

Karlee seems to be on the mend as well. I think.... I I better not speak to soon. She doesn't seem to be showing any signs of her ear infection. We will be going for a followup in 2 weeks. I pray we make it that long.

Jalen has been preparing for a field trip today- Heritage Day Celebration. His class has been studying different cultures and Heritages. We have known about this field trip for several weeks and have been required to send in numerous items weekly. On Monday I received a note stating that Jalen is required to dress up for this event-- ummm, thanks for the 4 day notice! He had a choice of a Japanese Samaria, a Native American or a Farmer-- dah, guess which one we picked!! A Farmer it was! And of course we had nothing to complete that costume at home. So off to 4 stores to find overalls, a straw hat and a flannel shirt- $40 later. I must say, he did look like a true farmer this morning.

Brandon continues to amaze me each day. Last night as soon as we walked in the door, he was asking for a snack. and out of his mouth came "Mommy, can I have some candy.. it's good for me!" What! If I recall, my response to him when he asks me for candy is the complete opposite! I can't win with that kid.

We have another busy weekend planned.. maybe a trip to the zoo with Lisa and Jacob, John will be working and taking Jalen to the USC basketball game, and I am going to attempt to paint the kitchen. On Sunday our kids are being dedicated at church- 9:00 service at the Harvest!

Our Visit from Poppa and Marilyn

Section 2: Local News

We just completed a week long visit from my grandparents- Len and his wife Marilyn. Each year, they travel to Brownsville Texas for the winter in their RV- aka "Palace on Wheels". Minnesota is just too cold for them. They begin their journey in New Jersey visiting other family, and then made their way down to SC before heading for the border. They park the Palace at a campground that is located a few hundred feet from our neighborhood. Way to plan that! Not only did we eat ALL week- we ate Italian and more Italian! Imagine that! Poppa and Marilyn slaved all day Friday preparing a feast of 101 meatballs, sauce and pasta. OMG I have never seen so much food in my life! My kitchen was not prepared for that! The best part was fighting over the leftovers. We each got 18 meatballs- and Paulie made sure I counted right!
The visit wouldn't have been complete without a trip to the flea market. Wow, what an adventure. My three kids, my mother who stops and looks at every table and the flea market pro's- not a good mix! If it wasn't Brandon lost, it was Poppa- but we knew we could find him wherever there were books. I left there never wanting to return! I will stick with Wallie World!

We ended the week without any drama- and that's pretty impossible with 4 very stubborn Italians. They continued on their journey to Texas Sunday morning, stopping in Atlanta to visit a cousin. We wish them great travels and hope to see them again next year.

On to another week...

My New Adventure

OK, for those of you that know me, I can always manage to figure out a way to add more activities to my daily life and still function. And I will say that I am pretty Internet savvy-- target.com definitely gets it's fair share of browsing from me. However, I never imagined that I would be sitting here "blogging". After reading my friend Rachel's blog, it dawned on me that this was a pretty cool way of keeping all of you informed on a regular basis of our crazy life. So here goes- The Hawkins Herald. Hopefully I will be able to keep up with this regularly and I hope you will all check it out regularly as our family continues to add excitement to this world each day. You wouldn't want to miss out on the daily "Brandon stories".....

Since I am just beginning this new adventure, I will bring you up to date briefly. I would love to backtrack but we would be here forever.

Section 1: Family Briefing

John - The carpet man. John continues his duties to provide by installing carpet for Lake Murray Floor Covering. Our "lifeline"-- the famous blue van, "The Blue Bird"-- parted ways with our family on Tuesday. It was a sweet but sad parting. The blue bird passed away the day before Halloween. Graciously, we were able to find another van within 2 days. And low and behold, we now have a new "Blue Bird". Yep, same kind of van and same blue color! We can't hear this one coming all the way from the beginning of our neighborhood so unfortunately I don't get the warning and Brandon running at full speed out the front door to meet Blue Bird when it arrives. But this one has a few upgrades that has John smiling- front doors that open, heat, air, and tinted windows! We are back in business now! And business continues to stay steady. We manage to sometimes see Daddy before bed time, but we are very thankful for his hard work.

Nina- As most of my friends call me- Superwoman. I sometimes don't feel like such a superwoman by the end of the day though. I feel like a super worn-out woman. I am still working full time at Saluda Hill Landscaping in Payroll and Human Resources. My day begins at 5 am every morning, coffee first of course. Get the kids ready and off to school and daycare and then on to work, with more coffee preceding. Thank goodness for a wonderful job that involves very little stress. Once I leave work, the second half of the day begins with picking kids up from after school and daycare. On those less eventful evenings, I can manage to get home, make dinner, do homework, few loads of laundry, baths, spot cleaning, and bedtime before I completely collapse by 10 pm. Of course this goes without saying that it is NEVER that easy. We always manage to have a few meltdowns in between all that- either over being hungry and not patient enough to wait for dinner or fighting over the bouncy ball that came out of the stinkin machine at the store. And by the way- we only have 5 zillion of those around the house but why would we waste any time looking for another one.
With that being said, each day is challenging yet interesting. Sometimes I can only just smile and hope that tomorrow comes fast!

Jalen- AKA "Billy Ray". Jalen's recent obsession with his guitar and Billy Ray Cyrus definitely keeps us all on our toes. I occasionally get serenaded with his music as I am cooking dinner. -yikes!! Anyone interested in giving guitar lessons? We are lacking in that field!
Jalen is sailing through second grade now and has become a accelerated reader! Right now we are working on the chattiness (wonder where he gets that from?!) and learning to sit still. I think he sometimes forgets that he is in class, not outside running football plays.
We will be starting basketball season in a few weeks.

Brandon- The Little Devil! Yep, God definitely decided to spice up parenting when he gave us Brandon. Not sure what we will get out of him each day, but he definitely know how to keep me on my toes. Despite his very adamant ways, he is sweet little guy. I can always count on him for a hug and "I love you mommy" every day. He is back in daycare now and making lots of progress. According to his teachers, he's an ANGEL- No problems at all! YEAH RIGHT! He saves it all for home. While I was making dinner the other night, I turned around and he was dumping his shoe full of sand on Karlee's head, and then took off running as fast as he could. And he knows I can't catch him-- little turd!

Karlee- My Princess. And what a Princess she has been. After 3 months of continuous ear infections and numerous rounds of antibiotics, she is still smiling! She did get tubes in her ears last week, and we were hoping that was going to end this frustrating illness BUT we were back at the doctor yesterday and the infection is still there with a possibility that one tube has come out already- that lasted 6 days. Back to square one- another prescription, another copay, more Tylenol to ease the pain, more fevers and on the another doctor. Whew! You would never know that she is miserable. No matter how hard my day has been or what kind of mood I am in, Karlee can always make me smile!
enough bragging....

Iggy- The Neglected Lizard. Iggy continues to keep watch on Jalen's room every day. I think the last time I checked, he was alive but that status may not be as such today. Just put it this way- Iggy and I don't mesh too well. And his owner's-- (Daddy and Jalen) don't seem to worry about him too much. So, it is what it is. Brandon throws a toys in his cage every now and then, so hopefully he's getting the proper nutrition from those. - Oh wait, I think he may even have one of those bouncy balls to entertain him!



OK, I guess I better end this blog for today (or short book). But hopefully that catches you up. Lots more to come..