So Exciting!!!

So Ciara has been working so very hard at gymnastics because she really wants to move up so she can start competing. Last week, she passed off 5 skills and her coach told her that she should watch the Visa Championship that was on Saturday. Well she was out with her Grandma and Aunt Saturday night, so I DVR'd it for her. On a side note, I love DVR :) She watched it and she couldn't take her eyes off of it, even when one of the top 5 people got injured pretty bad. At the end of the meet, she told me that she wants to go the gym all those girls went to, which is in Texas. I told her there was no way I could do that since I would never see her, and not to mention that it's super expensive. Well today she had gymnastics and she passed of 9 more skills. This put her over the top so she can move up to start to train for competitions. She is super excited, and I am so very proud of her. So when one of the coaches was talking to me about it I made the comment that Ciara wanted to train with the people in Texas. The coach then tells me that the level 10 girls actually compete with the girls at that gym and last year they beat the Texas team. So starting September 1st, Ciara will be spending a whole lot more time at the gym then what she is doing now. I know that she can do whatever she puts her mind to, and I know that she will go far as a gymnast! Great job Ciara!!

Happy Birthday Allison!

6 years ago today, Allison was born. She was a quiet baby that never really cried, and had dark brown hair, and bright blue eyes. I wish I could find a pic of her like that, but I can't seem it find it. A few months later, she lost all of her hair :( but she was still a cute baby.



Well days turned into weeks, and weeks turned into months. When she was about 18 months she still wasn't talking like she should and sometimes she acted like she really couldn't hear. I took her to an ENT doctor and he did some tests, and we found out that she was moderately deaf. She has been through 3 ear tube surgeries, another surgery to take out her adenoids, and then a fifth surgery to take out her tonsils to prevent ear infections that was causing her hearing loss. Mind you all of these surgeries took place from when she was 18 months to about when she was 2 1/2. Those were some very trying months for me, and not to mention what was going on with Ciara at the time too. Anyways I am proud to report that Allison has only mild hear loss. She still has trouble hearing sometimes, especially if you're not looking out her while you talk. Sometimes she has to read your lips to see what you are saying. But now she looks like a very pretty girl.



She has always had a mind of her own, and she's not afraid to tell you that either. She is my stubborn, girly girl, piece of perfection. I love it when she makes up her own songs, when she says things in her little accent that just blown me out of the water but I just have to laugh for how she says it. The way she talks sometimes sounds like she is from Boston. I don't know how that happened, but its super cute. I love it how she plays with her hair when she is nervous or bored. I love it how she knows just who needs a friend and then takes care of them. I love it how she eats something, and then about a hour later she's hungrey again. It kinda gets on my nerves sometimes. I would really like to know where she puts all the food that she eats because she's not fat at all. She wants to be a model or an actor when she grows up, and she already has the attitude part down :) I will do anything that I can to help her reach her dreams.I would do anything for her. I just wish that she can stay my little cuddly girl forever.

4th of July Fun

So I took the girls to the Sandy City 4th of July thing by city hall. We go every year since they have tons of free crafts for kids to do. This year they made cute magnets Ciara made a monkey, and Allison made an elephant. Ciara also made a cute 4th of July picture frame, a picture cup, and a foam airplane. Allison made herself a crown, a picture cup, and a foam airplane. On our way out, the girls noticed that in one of the booths they had feather extensions. Right when they saw it they wanted to have them. They've been bugging me to have them done for a while now. Of course I checked out the price first before I agreed to it, and they aren't as expensive as I thought. So both girls got two feather extensions.
Here is Ciara's:


Here is Allison's, she went with the smaller ones:

Mini Recital

So today the girls had a mini recital for gymnastics. They only did their floor routine, nothing else, but they still had fun. Ciara is getting better and better everyday. Her coach says that she will be moving up another level soon, She's only been in level 3 for about 6 months and she's already mastered almost eveything that she needs to. Alli on the other hand, just goes for fun. She's good, but she just likes to mess around and play with her friends. She really doesn't pay that much attention to what she needs to learn. She was kinda lost on what to do for her routine. Anyways, enjoy the pics!

Ciara going into a backwards roll:


Ciara doing a little pose:


Ciara getting read to do a round off:


Alli doing her routine:

New Hair

So a couple days ago both girls came to me and told me that they wanted to get their hair done. No big deal I thought. I asked them what exactly they wanted to do to their hair. That's when they informed me that they wanted to dye their hair, I have no problem with them doing this since its only hair. Ciara told me that she wanted pink in her hair since that's her favorite color, and what do you think Alli said? Alli wanted her favorite color in her hair also, which is purple. So I let them get it done. I think they look rather cute :)

Here is Ciara with her hair:



Here is Alli:



Alli has a total of 2 streaks in her hair, and Ciara has 5. Ciara has more since she has more hair, and thicker hair. Now they think that they are super cool hahaha! I don't mind, whatever makes them feel happy :)

Really?!?

Well, this week I got to check something off my list of things that I never thought was going to happen to me. It wall started on Tuesday. Tuesday I was having surgery on my other foot, the one that I thought was my good foot, to fix a problem I had. Tuesday morning went by just fine. I got a call right before 9 in the morning saying that they moved my surgery time up. I show up when I was told to, but do you think I got into surgery before my original time? If you thought that, then you are wrong just like I was. My original time was 1:30 in the afternoon, but they told me to come in at 12:30. I didn't roll into the O.R. until after 2:30 what took so long you might ask? Well first off I thought they put me into the wrong waiting room because I was right next to a way old guy getting an endoscopy. That's right, they just me in the same waiting room to get an endoscopy. I was there for a foot surgery, not having something put up my backside! Anyways, they knew I was there so that wasn't the problem. The problem was that they called my doctor saying that they were running a little late and not to come in for a while. But here's the thing, the hospital never told me that they got behind again. Oh well, what can you do. Well my time came to go to the O.R. and I was way nervous, but the nurses were very nice and helped me a lot. So I'm in the O.R. and what do you think happened?!? I woke up twice! Not just once, but TWICE! How does that even happen? Lets just say that when I woke up and told them that I feel everything, the look on their faces were priceless. I've always heard of people waking up during surgery, but not twice. I thought that that would never happen to me. Well what can I say, I was wrong :(
Oh well, that's life right?

Ciara

How did this happen?? How did she go from this:

A cute little Cindy Lou Who to this:

In just a blink of an eye? Ciara turned 9 today, and I just can't believe it!! I doesn't seem like that long ago. I really don't feel like I'm 9 years older myself. Does anyone out there know who to stop this from happening? I don't think I'm ready for all of this.
Ciara is one of the best things that have ever happened to me. I am so grateful that I have her. I love her so much that there are no words to express this. Every day she makes me smile, laugh, and most of the time I'm in awe of how well she has handled her short little life so far.She has been through so much, and she's had to grow up so fast, looking back I don't think I could have been through everything that has happened and still have a good outlook on life like she does. Sure she has bad days, but who doesn't? She helps me out everyday, and even though she fights a lot with her sister, she is a big help and I know she loves her very much. I guess that's what sisters do, I wouldn't know because I don't have any :)
Anyways like I've said before, I love Ciara with all my heart and I can't imagine a life without her in it.

Gymnastics

So tonight is Tuesday, and what does that mean? Gymnastics night!! I have to say that I'm glad that this is the last week that Ciara has to sit out due to her injury. This is a good thing because all she does is bug me about how she just wants to do one thing on the bars, or just one thing on the floor. As for Allison, I have a BIG announcement to make!


Allison moved up to level 2!! She is SUPER excited about this. She has worked so hard at this. It hasn't even taken her a year to move up like it usually does. Either she is having too much fun with her little friends to pay attention, or she's off doing her own thing. She has really focused on doing what she is supposed to do and I can't be more happy for her. With this move, there's only 1 level between her and Ciara. I don't think Ciara is to thrilled about this because Alli will have her old coach, and heaven forbid that that happens. Also with level 2, Alli will now have gymnastics on Thursday afternoons instead of Tuesday nights, hooray for me :)

Before Ciara got injured, she did move up a level, kinda....instead of just being in level 3, she's in level 3 competition. She is excited that she will start to compete for trophies, medals, etc. So that means that she got a new coach. She's bummed about that part because she has had the same coach ever since she started and I have to say, that she is a GREAT coach. But she still gets to see her old (favorite) coach since she is still at the same time, and all the kids warm up together.

Dog Bite

***WARNING, THIS POST CONTAINS PICTURES THAT MIGHT DISTURB SOME PEOPLE***
As many of you know, on March 31, Ciara got bitten in the face by a dog. This was very hard on me when I got that phone call saying that Ciara was hurt. I tried my best to keep it together on the phone, but when I heard her screaming in the background, I almost lost it a few times in that brief phone call. Right when I hung up the phone, I completely lost it. I tried calling my Mom, even though I knew she couldn't answer because she was at work. Next I called my Dad, in hysterics I might add, and I could hardly talk. I managed to get out that I really needed him to meet me outside his house so that he could go with me to the E.R. On that very short ride to the hospital, yes I live fairly close to one, my Dad managed to calm me down. He told me that I can't let Ciara see me cry because then she will get more scared herself since I'm breaking down. I have heard that speech before several times in my life. Anyway I dug very deep and pulled myself together because I knew what he was saying was true.
Ciara knows that I can't handle blood that well, so she tried her best to keep her nose and mouth covered. I have to admit I kept it together in the E.R. Until that is, it came to the part where she had to get all stitched up. I had a plastic surgeon come in to fix her up because since it was he face, I really don't want her to have a scar. Anyways, the plastic surgeon noticed that I wasn't going to be able to be in the room while it was going on, so he asked me very nicely to just wait right outside the door in the hall. I knew that I had to otherwise I would be needing to be stitched up myself. While I was in the hall I started to cry. First because I could hear Ciara crying from them trying to numb her up, and second, I couldn't believe what was happening. She was in that room for a good 30 minutes while the surgeon stitched her up. These are the pictures he took before he fixed her. I have not had the strength to see these pictures until today. So here they are:

This is her nose. As you can see, the dog bit right through and that part of her nose could flip up. On the edge of her nostril, where it tore, this is the piece of her nose that he couldn't save


At this angle, you can see her lip and nose,and how swollen they are.







This is what the inside of her upper lip looked like. I'm pretty sure that one of the teeth went all the way through her lip.




I have to say that Dr. Clayton is a very nice, sweet man. He has helped Ciara and I through this horrible situation. He has put up with so many of my questions, and he has put me at ease.
Ciara is dealing with this better and better everyday. She is such a little trooper! I can't believe how much strength she has! She has had nightmares almost every single night, sometimes several times during the night. It was either Thursday or Friday of last week that she actually slept the whole night through! I have to admit that I missed A LOT of sleep along with her, but that one night of sleeping the whole night through was such a blessing! I didn't know how much longer I could go without sleep :)
Anyways a big thank you to everyone for their well wishes! Ciara really appreciated every single one!

Pillows

So last Sunday I took the girls to the doctor because they had a really bad cough, runny nose and they just seemed off. Well that doctor said that they just had colds. I didn't agree, but I don't have a medical degree. Anyways that doctor said that they should sleep with extra pillows so that they can breathe better while they are asleep. Ciara was all for that, Allison not so much. Whenever I went to wake her up, she was about a foot away from the pillows. This is very common since Allison hates pillows, I don't know why but she has never really liked/used them. Thursday came and Allison was still sick and thing were getting worse. I took her to her doctor and she came to the conclusion that she has walking pneumonia. I knew that she just didn't have a stupid cold. We finally got her medicine (the z pack, which is awesome) and her doctor said that she still has to sleep with two pillows until her cough goes away. Lets just say that she still refuses to sleep on two pillows, much less one pillow. Allison was texting my mom (because she thinks that texting is so much 'funner' than just plain old talking) and she told my mom that she hates to sleep on pillows. My mom told her that she would feel better if she listened to what the doctor said and just sleep on two pillows. So she told my mom that she would sleep on two pillows. Now do you think for one second that Allison did that? Heck no she didn't! Once again she was a foot away from the pillows and she actually threw one of them off the bed. I asked her how it was sleeping on her pillows and she goes "I slept very well thank you" What?!? That's right, she's a little liar! I asked her if she was lying, and she said no with the BIGGEST, CHEESIEST, smile ever, and then starts to laugh after. So I just realized that I've been spending money on stupid pillows for her that never gets used. I don't know where she gets it from, but she just hates pillows.

Gymnastics

Well it's Tuesday night, and what does that mean? It's gymnastics night!! The girls are getting ready for their recitals, and they are doing great! Ciara was scared of doing the beam, which I understand because she got hurt the other time. She was on one of the higher beams and she wasn't doing that well. She was scared to do a full handstand, her jumps, and her dismount. She changed beams for one that's closer to the ground and she did so much better! I guess she just has to take baby steps until she feels comfortable again. Ciara just got put into a competition level, and she is way excited that she gets to start to compete to earn medals and trophies. Ciara was doing her bar routine tonight and she did awesome, it was a perfect routine! She had it down pat for a while, but then something happened, I don't know what, but she got sloppy, but not anymore :)

Allison did great tonight also! She was working on the vault and the bars tonight. Usually when she does the vault, she either only jumps with one leg, or she completely jumps over the spring board onto the mat. Well not tonight! Every time she was up she did it perfectly! Then on the bars she did a back hip circle without any help! She was on a roll tonight! Her coach was so impressed and so was I! She is so close to moving up a level.

I am so proud of my girls! They are so awesome!

Friendship

This is awesome! Now that's what I call a true friend! :)

Spring Has Sprung

Spring has sprung.....in Ciara's mouth that is! Hahaha no not really. The other day she had to go back to the orthodontist to get her braces changed/fixed. They gave her a different wire that hold her braces together, and she got to change her band colors. This time she went with a pastel purple and a pastel yellow for Easter. Her teeth are coming along quite well. They're not angled anymore which is awesome! This new wire will help pull them together so she won't have huge gaps in between her teeth. You can compare this pic with the one where she just got them put on, I see a BIG difference :)


As for the real Spring, I wish it would hurry up and get here already. I'm tired of the snow and cold. I can handle rain, but I really don't like when it snows, especially when it snows after the first day of Spring. I'm looking forward to warmer weather, flowers, and of course more photo shoots with my girls. I'm so lookign forward to all those nice things :)

Foot Update

I know y'all have been dying to get an update on the progress of my foot, so here it is :) I have officially been wearing regular shoes to work, and and the weekends...yay for me!!! It's not as bad as it used to be, but it's still not 100%. The thing that hurts me the most is my pinky toe. The scar really isn't healed all the way like my other scares. I got a total of 4 incisions, one on the side of my foot, one on my 4th toe, one on my pinky toe, and one under my pinky toe (that one is to fix my tendon) I still wear tape on my toes because first it pulls my pinky toe straight, since it wasn't before (it was kinda curled under), and when I wear regular shoes, the tape acts as a barrier from my shoe to my scar, so it's not as painful. Granted there are time at work when I'm sitting at my desk and I have one shoe off, but hey, at least its not that stupid ugly surgical shoe thingy :) So here are some pics. This first one is a side view so you can see where they did everything.


This next one is just of the incision on the side of my foot, hasn't it healed nicely? And how about that tape job?!? I did it all by myself :)


This last one is of just my toes. You can't even tell that I had been cut open on my 4th toe...at least I think so :) I have to admit that my pinky has a long way to go, but hopefully it will get there soon.


The only scar that I don't have a pic of is the one under my pinky. First, I just can't get a pic of it, and second, if I did take a pic of it, you couldn't even tell that I was cut open there. Which is a very good thing by me :)

I have to say that I really, really miss wearing high heel shoes. I just love how they look, they make me look taller, and I also love the noise that they make on tile or concrete. So right now I'm stuck wearing flat shoes, but at least I got a cute pair at Target, and they were on sale. Because why would I ever pay full price for a pair of shoes that I will only be wearing for a short period of time :)

First Injury

Well I knew it would come sometime or another, Ciara got her first 'real' injury from gymnastics...she hyper extended her knee and twisted her foot. Her little foot is swollen, and she really can't straighten her knee. She was on the beam and when she was dismounting, something went wrong and her leg got stuck on the beam while she came down and that's when it happened. She tried her best to finish the rest of her practice, but she just couldn't. After the beam she went to practice the vault, but she couldn't run that fast. I feel so bad for her. She was already scared a little of the beam because one time when she was doing a handstand on the beam, she lost her grip and fell face first onto the beam. Ever since then she has rushed through her routine, and because of that, she's been sloppy on it. I really hope that this doesn't make her more scared. She has a recital coming up at the end of April and another one in June. Sure she has gotten bumps and bruises before, but nothing that would make her coach, or herself, sit out the rest of practice. She has it wrapped up and she ices it when it really starts to bother her.
I guess one thing good happened from this, when we went to Walgreen's to get an ace bandage, Alli saw a new candy that she just had to have. That new candy is coconut M&M's. Let me tell you this, they are SO good! If you like chocolate and coconuts, you really need to try them! I just can't get enough of them :)

Parent/Teacher Conference

Well, once again it's that dreaded time of the year. It's Parent/Teacher Conference time. Every single time I hear the same thing over and over for Ciara. Ciara needs to work on not talking so much, Ciara is a social butterfly and doesn't know when to stop talking. Granted that's like the only thing that is a very big problem. So once again as I was walking to her classroom, I was for sure that I was going to hear those exact same words, but boy was I wrong! Ciara got the highest scores she can get, and she has learned to stop talking and focus better! At least at school anyways :) Ciara has always been a good reader. I had her reading when she was 4 years old. So I really wasn't surprised when her teacher told me that she's above reading level, I was surprised at what reading speed and level is is on though! She's at a 6th grade speed and level! That's a ginormous leap! See for yourselves:

She is also on a 5th grade level for math:

Ciara also had the privilege of taking the IOWA test this year. I remember those days. Here are her overall scores:

The grey in the middle (if you can see it) is the Nation's average score. Granted she is average in some parts, but she is above average too!
I am so super proud of my little Ciara!

Allison's conference usually goes something like this: Allison has a mind of her own. If she doesn't want to do something, there's no way of making her do it. Yeah tell me about it! That's been the story of my life for the past 5 years. Allison now does what her teacher asks her to do, and she has become a good little friend. Her teacher told me that there was a new little girl, and she was having the hardest time adjusting to her new class. Allison would go over to her, hold her hand and told her that everything was going to be OK, and that she would be her friend. How cute is that?!? I have to admit that I kinda slacked with Allison. I didn't have her reading until she was 5. So going into kindergarten she was only ready a little bit. Now she is at a 1st grade reading level! The school really doesn't do that many tests in kindergarten, so I don't have a lot of pics on how well she's improving. But here is her reading improvement:


I forgot to mention that the solid bold black line is where the school would like the kids to be at. For both Ciara and Alli.
I am so very proud of both my girls, they are so very smart! I hope that this is the start of a new parent teacher conference trend. :)

It's Been Awhile

Wow, I can't believe that it's already been over a month since I blogged! Time sure flies by fast! So I'm going to give you guys a little update :)

Since my foot surgery, my foot really hasn't stopped hurting, but it is getting better. I had my stitches removed 2 weeks after surgery, which is kinda weird since usually they only leave them in for a week. I have to say that I didn't like getting my stitches out one bit! It hurt super bad and I tried my hardest not to cry....my eyes got super watery, but not one tear dropped out. That is until I got to the safety of my car. The top part of my foot is still super tender and it still swells up, and only my pinky toe hurts, other than that things are going good. I tried to wear 'regular' shoes last week, but that didn't work in my favor. I went home on my lunch break to get my 'special' shoe. I tried again on Sunday, but once again I couldn't handle it.....oh well at least I'm trying right?!?

Nothing really hasn't been going on with the girls besides the usual. They are both doing super well in gymnastics, in fact they have a recital thing at the end of April, so pics will soon follow. Ciara rushes through her beam routine because a couple weeks ago she fell so now shes scared. Shes been doing better, she just needs to get over the fear of falling. Ciara is in the top of her class for her spelling and reading! I am so very super proud of her! She still is quite a talker and will talk your ear off if you let her :)

Allison has been sick off and on for awhile now. Today I stayed home from work because she wasn't feeling that well. Her fever is down and she's not complaining that much anymore that her tummy hurts. So I guess that's a good thing. She just moved up a reading level at school and she is super proud of herself, as she should be. She has a SAG movie casting to go to later this month. If she gets the part, she will die in the movie, and believe it or not, she is super excited for it.

I officially moved to my new position in the collections department at work, Monday was my first day all by myself. I really like working up there, but its kinda weird having my own office, and being on the 'professional' level. I shared an office with someone for the past 3-4 years....I really can't remember, it's been that long, but it was fun :)
Its going to take me awhile to get used to being by myself, but I work with a lot of great people up there, and I can always still talk to my people in my old department.

Surgery

Well on Tuesday, I had surgery on my foot so it wouldn't hurt anymore. I didn't think that it would hurt as bad as it does. I thought that I would at least be able to walk a little bit by day 3, but I am oh so very wrong! My foot feels like its been split open and everything is exposed on the outside of my foot. I can't put any weight on it at all and I don't have crutches so I've been crawling around my house if I need something, but most of my time is spent on the couch watching TV and taking my meds. Yesterday was the worst day ever! By the middle of the day I was in so much pain and my meds weren't working I was in tears. I tried calling my doctor but all I got was voicemail, I called my dad crying like a baby and he made some calls and got my doctor to call back. My doctor called in different meds and as of right now they are working :)
So I have some pics of my new little friends, but I have to say that I HATE them and they HURT :( So this one is of the top of my hand were they tried to put the IV in, and I guess that my veins didn't want anything in them so they hid and they blew my vein.


When they couldn't put the IV in the top of my hand, they tried it on the inside of my wrist. I didn't know that they could put one in there, but they did and this is what happened:


So now my left hand hurts super bad because of these bruises. And just to let you know, they are worse in person :(

Here is what my left foot looks like now:


The left side of my body is in horrible pain :( I just hope that it gets better soon. So I thought that I would just be out of work until this coming Monday, but I was wrong. I can't go back to work until I get the stitches out which is Thursday afternoon. I am getting so bored just staying at home, I feel completely useless. But in a way its kinda good because I can't walk at all. Anyways wish me luck that I can start to walk again very soon :)

Braces

So yesterday was a very big and exciting day for Ciara because she finally got her expander taken out and got her temporary braces!! Just look at her new beautiful smile!



If you can't tell, her braces are pink and turquoise :)
She was so happy that she had to show everybody! But all that excitement was short lived, by the end of the night she was crying because her teeth hurt :(
I felt so bad for her, but there is nothing much I could do. She really didn't eat at all yesterday, and last night she only got a few hours of sleep. I've been telling her that it might hurt right now, but in the long run she will be glad that she had it done fairly early. I really hope she starts feeling better soon, and eating too. I don't think she can last that long without eating since she is already so small :)

Differences

So I have been thinking a lot lately about how my girls are so different from each other. Even though they share the same bedroom and family, they are WAY different. So I'm going to share with you guys.
Differences:
Ciara:Likes T-Swift and Top 40 music. HATES Justin Beaver (see previous post to get this if you don't already)
Allison: LOVES Justin Beaver, and alternative/punk music. Tolerates T-Swift because Ciara always has her playing on her ipod

Ciara: Loves to sing and write her own songs
Allison: Really doesn't like to sing

Ciara: Wants to be a Pop Star when she grows up
Allison: Wants to be a movie star when she grows up (already has 1 movie under her belt)

Ciara: Only wants/gives affection when she wants it
Allison: Always wants affection. She likes to be touchy feely (kinda gets on my nerves sometimes)

Ciara: Drama Queen
Allison: Will put up with anything until she gets mad at you, then watch out

Ciara: Goes with the flow
Allison: It's her way or the highway

Ciara: Follower
Allison: Bossy

Ciara: A natural at gymnastics
Allison: Goes to gymnastics just to play

Ciara: Small for her age (there is only a 4 pound difference between Ciara and Allison)
Allison: Average for her age

Ciara: Loves to go to church
Allison: Hates to go to church

Ciara: Loves to go on photo shoots with me :)
Allison: Only will do photo shoots if she gets paid :(

Similarities:
They both love the colors pink and purple

They both love to color

They both have blonde hair (I'm stretching on this one)

They both love to have their hair done

They are both girly girls

Love the same movies

Always has the other's back :)

Act like they are older than what they really are

They LOVE shoes

Even though my girls are completely different, I love them both oh so much!