Kigginsanity

Tiny Dancer

2012-02-01T11:16:00.000-05:00

Hey everybody!

Ada here!

So things have been a little nutty around these parts as of late.

I'm not going to say I was at the center of it all.

I'm just sayin'.

I had some serious opinions and Mom was so not listening to my words.
So instead of sleeping, I decided to just scream all night.
And I told myself, no matter what they did to try and console me, I was going to stand my ground until my voice was heard.
Finally at 1 am she took me to a place called an "emergency room"
They let me watch cartoons and drink milk and it was awesome until they came in with this thing called a catheter.

Yikes!

This is when they broke my resolve and I decided to change my tactics.

Mom took me home with a very discouraged face and a diagnosis of "teething".

Suckas!

Next day she found a golf ball sized lump in my neck and took me into see my regular awesome doc.

He concluded I had some kind of virus that was making me crabby.

No idea where I would've picked that up.

When we got home, she was so exhausted she let me do whatever I wanted.

It was the best day!

I don't know about this whole virus thing.
Seems like an excuse to me.

I'll get to the bottom of it later.

But for now...

I must dance!

lovies and passies,

ada

Could You Be?

2012-01-26T11:16:00.001-05:00

The Most Beautiful Girl In The World?

This is the most amazing little girl I've ever met!

Everything she touches turns to gold!

She's the greatest little Mommy ever.
No matter what she's doing, If I need her help she comes running, without ever a complaint.

She is constantly thinking of others in everything she does.

She always knows exactly what to do to keep her little sis happy.

I watch her with other little girls her age and she seems like their older sister.

We were at ballet and her teacher told me she was in the wrong class.
That the 6-7 year olds meet the next hour.
I explained that she just turned 5 and has been going to preschool with all of these same little girls since she was 2.
But then I watched her in the class with the other little girls and I could see what Mrs. Bonita was talking about.
Not only was she a head taller than the rest of the girls, but the way she moved.
Like she was floating!
A couple of the Mom's even commented on how graceful she was.

We had a little friend over.
The girls and I made cookies.
My E is a natural in the kitchen.
Breaks eggs better than I do.
Measures things out perfectly.
All I have to do is show her once and she masters it.

She wanted to play the piano.
I showed her a couple little songs.
Within a day she mastered them.
So we talked with Mrs. Millie (Connor's piano teacher) who said that she was a little young but she'd evaluate her anyway.
Of course she was blown away and now Eden is in weekly piano lessons.

She's so coordinated and in control of herself.
So creative and completely selfless.
It's amazing to watch.

Domestic and crafty hings have always come pretty easy to me.
I'm a really fast learner.
I can look at something, figure out how it's made, see how it can be even better, and create it.
This goes for crafts, graphic designs, cooking, baking...etc.

My Mom passed down this amazing gift to me.

She got it from her Mom.

But oh my Eden!

She has far surpassed me...

and I could'nt be more excited!

Love,

The Mrs.

Potty Talk

2012-01-20T13:52:00.001-05:00

Now, I can't reveal my sources, but my informant on the inside has just given word that the source of all of the "bad words and devil things" that seem to plauge my Connor lately are the result of a bad kid at school he has decided to befriend (which we are aware of, and has since been expelled) and tv shows called Tuff Puppy and Kick Buttowski (nice, you should be ashamed Disney XD) which my informant claims that he watches when we aren't looking, and warned that it was a secret.

Little booger head!

This comes after he just got in trouble for looking up "inappropriate words" in the dictionary at school.

It's like anything I told him that was bad and to stay away from, he's decided to thoroughly research and engross in.

Extremely frustrating.

After talking with friends and some good old fashioned research I learned that this is a coming of age thing.

Makes me, for the first time ever, want to countdown the days until his birthday year that will finally get us out of this!

But then I guess the teenage years aren't far behind and I definitely don't want to rush that.

Makes me miss my sweet little boy who would look at me appalled if anyone even said the word "hate".
We have a whole list of bad words that aren't allowed in our house but they are extremely mild compared to the ones the rest of the world uses.

Also makes me want to lash out irrationally at the incompetent parents of Connor's little "friend".

Yeah, your ignorance in parenting is now affecting me, so don't be surprised when I go Mamma bear on you and you suddenly find yourself without the use of your jaw.

Let's see how easily those foul words flow then.

Unfortunatley no matter what school he goes to, this was bound to happen eventually, short of home school.
But then you always have friends along the way to shed the awful light so even then they're not fully protected.

Breaks my heart for my sweet children.

I know I can't protect them from this kind of stuff forever, unfortunately it's the world we live in. All I can do is make sure they make the right decision about who their true friends are, what to say, how to act appropriately, and who to be.

Can't help it, it scares me.

Love,

The Mrs.

Feline Frenzy

2012-01-18T10:06:00.001-05:00

I am telling you.
We've got a couple of extremely mischievousness cats here.

And not too graceful either.

Always knocking stuff over.

They're like in their awkward body teenage phase right now

It's ok though, Ada is on it.

All of the stealthy kitty plotting,

And obscure hiding places,

Can't protect them from Miss Adalyn.

I tried to warn them.

Love,

The Mrs.

The Questionable Character

2012-01-11T15:17:00.000-05:00

Hey Everybody!

Ada here.

So I was hanging with my Papa and Gianna, being awesome as always, when suddenly I felt someone...watching me.

I turn around to see a questionable character lurking behind a house palm.

I immediately brought it to Gianna's attention but she just coo'd and smiled at me.

It's hard to convey urgency when you constantly ooze adorableness.
No one seemed to be listening to me.
It was like Ninja Baby all over again.

Oooh, maybe he's behind this as well...

I needed to take matters into my own hand.

Why was this questionable character here,
and why does he look so... sinister?

So I questioned him.

Let me tell you, he was one tough nut to crack.

I concluded he must have that dark pouty face because he needs a new diaper.

I can handle this!

However I couldn't quite figure out where his diaper would go.

And every time I got close, he'd bear his teeth at me.

Then I noticed he had a little friend, who was also most sinister in appearance.

Maybe that's who needed the diaper...

But when I tried...

he bore his teeth at me too!

Oy Vey!

Someone was getting a DIAPER!!

Unfortunatley, that someone ended up being me.

I never did figure out what that character was all about or why he appeared so grumpy.

but I was all done with his stink eye...

He pulled a slip on me with the diaper, and it was payback time!

So I spent the rest of the day trying to steal his poofy hat.

What??

I have the perfect shoes for it.

lovies and passies,

ada

Maddened

2012-01-06T09:54:00.000-05:00

Sissy isn't quite done writing her blog entry yet about that questionable character she came across at Papa and Gianna's. She's been far too busy trying to plug a keyboard into every outlet she can find, dramatically and rather loudly voicing all of her opinions, re-organinzing everything, and cutting 3 molars.
It's hard to get penciled in.

While we wait for her highness' final draft I'll give a quick update on the highest of the ness'...
Me.

Results from the MRI were a much needed early Christmas miracle!
Everything looks great!
No re-herniated disc, no infection, just one extremely mad, irritated and inflamed nerve.

Which seems odd since The Mrs., by general definition, is neither a mad, irritated or inflamed type of person.

Strange.

So to make my nerve match the rest of my sparkling personality Dr. Spek had me do one more injection with Dr. Van.

This time he was really excited since now they do the injections right in the office, no surgery center and IV this time.

Sounds good.

Right?

NO!

No IV means no anesthesia, which means a whole BUM FREAKING LOAD OF PAIN!!!

Good news is that I can already feel that it's working, so for all things holy I pray that I never have to have one of those again.

That's right!

The pain is lessening everyday and I may even wear my muchly missed high heels soon.

Oh what a happy day that will be!

Love,
The Mrs.

Christmas With The Sr. Kiggs

2011-12-30T17:50:00.000-05:00

In bold contrast to the Christmas with the Grandersons, this one is always calm, quiet, but just as filled with festive love!

Then Ada met this guy:

But I'll let her tell that story...

Love,
The Mrs.

Christmas With the Grandersons

2011-12-29T17:36:00.000-05:00

Which is always filled with festive laughter, delicious food, and lots and lots of loud craziness.

It's tradition.

And we wouldn't have it any other way.

Love,
The Mrs.

Christmas With The Kiggs

2011-12-28T17:22:00.000-05:00

Excitement could hardly be contained!

I wish the same could be said of the aftermath.

We're still recovering.

Love,
The Mrs.

Christmas Card 2011

2011-12-22T09:42:00.002-05:00

With all the Kigginsanity happening around these parts lately we've decided to not stress and experience a virtual kinda Christmas.
It's actually been a little fun without the usual hussle and bussle.

So included in our Merr-"e" festivities is much online shopping, lotsa fedex and ups drop-offs and most importantly, our annual Christmas card, shared via the net instead of the USPS.

Last year was suburban 50's, this year is more like 40's gangster.
What will next year hold??

Look at those darling little serious faces on my babies!

Post surgical update:
I had another MRI and get the results from the doc tomorrow...
Here's wishing for a Christmas miracle that it's good news!
In the meantime Mr. Kiggins and I have completely exhausted Netflix and now entertain ourselves by randomly pausing our favorite shows to catch people making hilarious mid-sentence faces. You know the ones I'm talking about. We all have a picture of ourselves floating somewhere that we wish would float away into oblivion, but no.
It haunts us.

Forever.

Sometimes,
Just for funsies,
I look back trough all of my millions of pictures on my hard drive for a good laugh.
I've needed some good laughs lately.

Just this Christmas card photoshoot (thanks for helping Dad!) had some silly mid-sentence faces.

Now some don't say much, but it's what they're not saying that is the most humorous.

And some just brighten everything by simply being themselves!

What a doll!

Happy Christmas everyone!

Love,

The Mrs.

Flowers and Rings

2011-12-18T22:18:00.000-05:00

Mr. Kiggins and I have had many teenagers in and out of our lives and home.
There are 3 very important ones that we felt a special and extensive personal vested interest in their futures.
One of which I introduced to (and married) my brother.
One we sent out on a mission and is now pursuing his acting career in LA.
The other we sat with through health issues, break-ups, parental misunderstandings, boy drama, girl drama...
She had her own room in our home that she would often frequent,
When her engagement to the wrong guy fell apart, this was the first place she went, and stayed the whole weekend.
And now finally, she has met her very own prince charming,
And no matter what, we weren't going to miss being there when they gave themselves to each other for time and all eternity!

Miranda asked Eden to be her flower girl

And Connor to be her ring bearer.

Eden was excited about all of the pretty flowers, frilly dress, fancy shoes, and the real pearl necklace she got to wear.

Connor was just excited about the pretty girls.

Mr. Kiggins making sure his princess is perfectly put together.

He's awesome like that.

My dashing men looking quite dapper in their suits.

My beautiful little family.
Had to double up on my pain meds and might take a bit to recover but I definitely couldn't miss this!
If only Ada could've been there, then it would've been perfect!

I always feel extra pretty when I'm on Mr. Kiggins arm.

He's always had that effect on me.

It's a gift.

Now our little 'Rander has her very own Mr. to make her feel beautiful every day.

When it came time for the ring ceremony, my little angels were amazing!!

And then it was party time!

Now many of Mr. Kiggins more impressive talents have maintained a deeply cultured web of well kept secrets to the general public.
However, on occassion, if you pay attention, you may catch a glimpse of the intriguing prowess that is my Mr. Kiggins.
And if you were watching at the reception you would have discovered one particular dazzling skill of this amazing man of mine.

Now, lucky for you, I never have my eyes off of Mr. Kiggins and was able to catch him in the act in case you missed it.

That is one fancy footed sexy man!!

And even more impressive is his softer side...

Congratulations Andrew and Miranda!

Love,

The Mrs.

Solidarity

2011-12-09T11:23:00.001-05:00

4 days.

That's how long I went after the surgery without this pain down my leg.

It was awesome.

But then I moved wrong, apparently, while trying to sit up in bed and then it was back.
Lightning.

Dr. Spek thinks it's just the nerve waking up and gave me a giant bottle of pills to calm it down.

It's not working.

He says there is a 10% chance it re-herniated.

!!!

Apparently he doesn't know me that well.
A 10% chance to someone else is like a 95% chance to me.

Maybe I should have him give a call to poor mystified Dr. K.
Then he'll understand the unbelievable dark cloud that seems to plague me.
Well, my health and my body that is.

I've balled my eyes out all week long.

Literally.

Do you have any idea the kind of headache that goes along with that?

It's worse than my leg.

The tiniest little thing triggers the waterworks.

I've been pretty positive through this the past 3 months. I think I get one week to just be frustrated and overwhelmed by the uncontrollable thing that is happening to my family.
Not because of a choice.
It's not happening because of us.
It's happening to us.

All because 11 years ago a guy (Paul!) "couldn't see so (he) just went." through an intersection where we were traveling through at 50 mph.
All impacted on the passenger side of the car.

My side.

broke my hand, dislocated my ribs, broke L-1 vertebra and herniated my disc on L-5

Broken bones heal, herniated discs don't.
It like squeezing toothpaste out,
Once it's out, you can't get it to go back in.

3 years later we settled out of court with a "no longer responsible" clause.
8 years and 3 babies later...

Herniated disc is protruding so far that it starts crushing the nerve.

Like I said,

This is happening TO us.

Not a lot of people seem to get that.

My whole little family has been disrupted.

My amazing family gets it though.

And I am so thankful for them!!

I don't mean to get so down.

I try to keep my blog very up beat.
Because that's how I see my life and how I want my family, and me, to remember it.

But for today, I'm going to sit with my poor little kitties, who just got spayed and won't leave my (bed) side.
And we're going to try to have positive healing thoughts.

Solidarity Sisters!!

Stuck in my bed, in a housecoat that used to belong to my gram, surrounded by cats, and crocheting...

What a Grandma I am!

It's pathetically funny now.

Love,
The Mrs.

Innocence Lost

2011-12-06T10:00:00.000-05:00

It happened.

As much as I told myself that any day this was going to happen at this age, and tried to prepare myself with books, google, sister and sister-in-law preparatory conversations, and discussions with Mr. Kiggins...
I was still shocked and blindsided when it was said.

"What's sex?"

Oh Connor!!

My heart dropped!

Surely this wasn't happening.

So I did what any logical mother would do.

Told him to go and take a long shower while I collected myself and discussed with Mr. Kiggins an attack plan.

After a very intense conversation with Mr. Kiggins, Heavenly Father and me, we concluded that the best approach with our Connor would be a scientific one.
He's so logical, it just made sense.

So I pulled out the anatomy book that came with the 1985 encyclopedia set we inherited, sat him down and had "the talk".

Then there was an intense yet brief question and answer session.

And then it was over.

We did family scripture study and prayer, and he was off to bed.

And then I fell apart in Mr. Kiggins arms.

Everything was sweaty and shaky.

My poor baby.

I felt that I took away a piece of his childhood.
But better Dad and me than someone else.
And better he have all of the correct information, then something second hand.

Ugh!

I still can't believe this happened.

I just hope he's not as traumatized as I am right now.

Love,

The Mrs.

Eden's Tea Party

2011-12-04T11:41:00.001-05:00

We had to reschedule because of my surgery.
Thank you so much to all of the parents and grandparents, Aunts and Uncles who were patient, more than accommodating, and helped in every way to make this possible!
Especially my dashing Mr. Kiggins. Who would do anything for his girl's...
Even throw a tea party.

You are all the BEST!!

Now without further ado,
Back to the fun...

Firstly, you can't have a tea party without fancy friends wearing fancy hats and gloves.
We helped each girl make flowery fascinator hats and bedazzled gloves before we began.

Aren't they gorgeous!!

Now we were ready for The Tea Party...

Lola heard it was a Girl's-Only party so she showed up for the festivites.

Look at my dashing Mr. Kiggins, having a tea party with the girls.
He carted around 3 different tea pots with our little guest's choice of Chocolate Milk, Strawberry Milk, and Apple Juice.
What an amazing father and husband my Mr. is.

A party fit for my little princess.

Happy Birthday my Love!!!

Love,

The Mrs.

Seam Ripper

2011-12-02T07:28:00.000-05:00

It's been 2 weeks.

Finally.

That means...

Stitches are coming out today!!

WhaaaaHoooo!!

Wish me luck!

Love,
The Mrs.

Daddy's Little Helper

2011-12-01T09:03:00.001-05:00

It's laundry day.

And Mr. Kiggins found the cutest little helper.

However she was quite confused when it came time to empty the baskets and actually do the laundry.

Apparently this isn't as fun as "playing" laundry.

Love,
The Mrs.

Thanksgiving 2011

2011-11-28T13:19:00.001-05:00

My family loves me!

Lots.

Everyone schlepped to the Kiggs abode since I am unable to travel.
It's pretty far for many of them.
My family is so awesome!

I even ventured downstairs briefly for a bit of feasting.

Since I am out-of-order it seems, Mr. Kiggins took care of the pictures.
Without me having to ask.

*swoon*

He knows me so well.

Sitting was not fun, but being with the family was worth it.

The kid table obviously was the-place-to-be.

Dallin and Connor couldn't contain their excitement.

The girl's, as always, seemed unimpressed by the boys conversation.

Except for Edy, who is happy anywhere.

Coleman fell in love with his darling floral bib.

Ada seems to be watching her figure and tossed all the food onto the floor and decided that sucking on a spoon would suit her just fine.

As always Grandma, you are amazing, and it was delicious!!

I must've looked extra pathetic because Kendra and Michael offered to take the girl's up to their house until Christmas to help us out while I heal.
How amazing is that?!
Unfortunately Eden's birthday party is this weekend (still not sure how I'm going to pull this one off)so it wouldn't work.
But my Dad is taking time off work to help us while my Mom is in Germany.
My family is the greatest!
They are always there for us, no matter what the sacrifice is.
Family is always first.
And mine is the best!

I really am a lucky girl!

Love,

The Mrs.

Landing

2011-11-23T10:55:00.001-05:00

So falling was the easy part.
The landing?

Not so fun.

Healing is slow.

And painful.

It was really nice not having the stabbing pain shooting down my leg.

But today I woke up and it's back.

Now I'm waiting to hear back from the doctor and trying really hard to keep my mind away from the worst case scenarios that keep invading it.

My kids have entertained/distracted me with a new picture app on my phone.

Ok, so maybe Mom and Dad had a little fun playing with it too.

What can I say, we're just big kids inside!

It's better than being an adult right now.

Cross fingers that the Dr. has good news.

Love,

The Mrs.

The Surgery

2011-11-19T11:30:00.000-05:00

Thursday, November 17, 2011

The day started out like any other, for me at least. I got Connor ready for school and onto the bus. We had to be at the hospital at 8:30 so it was an early day for Cara. We got ourselves out the door and had a pleasant conversation on the way. Even with the horrendous traffic, the trip seemed to take no time at all. At the hospital, we had to sign some papers, and then Cara was whisked back to be prepped. Never mind that the surgery wasn't scheduled until 11:30 that morning.

I got to spend a few minutes in the waiting room until they pulled me back in to the holding area where Cara was ready and waiting for the operation. We got to spend the next two hours enjoying some more conversation and, thanks to the hospital's wi-fi and my laptop, a few episodes of The Office on Netflix. Our good friend Betty popped over for a visit. It was nice to have the support of friends. Finally, the surgeon came in to make some marks on Cara's back. We knew the time was drawing near. Right after, a nurse came in and gave her a shot for the pain, since she had been laying in an uncomfortable bed for the last two and a half hours. I've never seen a medication work so quickly. Here's the proof:

Look at that smile!

They wheeled her down the hall to the OR and dropped me off back in the waiting room. They came out and told me that surgery started at 11:59 a.m. I spent the next hour working, trying to take my mind off of what they were doing to my sweetie. At 1:05 the doctor came out and explained that everything went well and Cara did great. He gave me a list of do's and don'ts for the next two weeks. He said she would be resting for the next hour or so and that they would come out and get me when I could see her again. Back to the waiting room. Two more hours of work and worry, and finally I heard my name.

My previous experience with Cara after that last two procedures was quite entertaining. We all remember the shopping trip I caught on video and the Trader Joe's story. This time was nothing like that. Apparently the good mood wore off before I got back there. My poor sweetie was just tired and uncomfortable.

One consistent theme in all of these hospital visits is the tiny can of soda they give her after the procedure. We got the holiday version this time.

Here at home the recovery is slow. Fortunately, Cara's leg is feeling better, but she is still quite miserable overall. I'm expecting her to back to normal soon, but for now it's Netflix to the rescue.

Mr. Kiggins

Falling

2011-11-17T04:40:00.000-05:00

Every time I think of this surgery today I feel like I'm falling.
Falling isn't the problem,
I'm worried what happens when I hit the ground?

Love,
The Mrs.

Eden's Fifth

2011-11-16T10:22:00.001-05:00

Eden,
You are the most amazing little creature I've ever met!
Every moment with you is magical!
When you are around, every room is brighter,every smile is bigger,every heart is softer,and every moment is sweeter.
Being with you is like living in a fairy tale that I never want to end

Happy 5th Birthday my love!

Love,
Mommy

Date Night In

2011-11-14T04:50:00.001-05:00

Mr. Kiggins said the sweetest thing to me this weekend.
I had to get fabric to recover one of our dining room chairs that broke.
Apparently they weren't meant to have a 6'4" 225 pound linebacker stand on them.
It was hilarious!
I digress...

Anyhoo, so Mr. Kiggins ventured with me to the fabric store. I was standing at the counter waiting for the lady to cut my fabric from the bolt when a man came up to me and asked if I thought the brightly colored fabric he picked would be good to make something for a girly girl.
I told him I did, then he explained that he makes these memory boxes out of wood and yada yada.
Then asked me to check out his business on facebook...

Well, I got my fabric settled, exchanged pleasantry farewells to the stranger and went on my way.
Then Mr. Kiggins paid me the sweetest compliment.
He said...
"It takes a lot of guts for a guy to just walk up and start talking to a girl that looks like you."

*swoon*

Oh, and the chair's look good. I can't take any credit though, Mr. Kiggins did all the work.
And he hung curtains,
and ran all the laundry,
and cleaned the whole house...
He's so amazing.

And me?

Well, I crocheted a lovey for Adalyn.

Turned about pretty darn cute too.

******************************************

The kids were away with their Grandparents all weekend.

Mr. Kiggins and I took full advantage and enjoyed an impromptu date night in.

We had a gourmet romantic dinner, brought in by one of the many amazing church friends I have that have been bringing our family meals every night for the past 2 months to help us out while I've been hurt.
(amaaaaaaazing friends! Thank you so much!!)

Coupled this with a movie, some candles, the fireplace lit, some sparkling cider, and some good old fashioned footsie's.
That's like making out for us right now

So Romantic!

Oh how I love this man!

Love,

The Mrs.

Can't Mend

2011-11-10T14:54:00.001-05:00

Apparently I'm unable to mend on my own.

I met with the surgeon and he said that my best option is surgery.

Originally they were saying that it is arthroscopic.
Apparently this is not the case.

He said they are going to cut me open about 2 inches, cut through the muscle to the vertebrae, make the opening bigger on the vertebrae...

I interrupted him here and asked how they were going to do that.

He said they take a bone saw and shave it down.

At this point I mentally blacked out for a minute, wide-eyed with a slightly hysterical smile on my face that I'm sure made me look like a crazy person.

The surgeon, sensing my panic stricken state, then said, "You want details? I'll give you details."

I replied with
"Next time I ask please say 'We just do.' okay?"

To which he amusingly responded with;
"We just do."
and smiled at me.

Then he went on to explain that once they are in there they will magically shave the bone down, then cut off the part of the disc that is bulging which will immediately release the pressure on my sciatic nerve, which is currently being crushed. Then reattach the muscle, sew me back up, make sure I wake up from the anesthesia and then send me home.

And they will be doing it on November 17th.
One week from today!

I vacillate between extreme happiness that this is almost over, and panicked hysterical hyperventilation with the process that gets me there.

I have been doing a lot of crafts to keep my mind off of it.

Just wait and see the adorable little hats we're making for Eden's Birthday party, which we had to reschedule from November 19th for December 3rd so that Mom can be there.

Doesn't matter, you wait until you see, it's going to be amazing!!

Kids are at my parents for the weekend.

I'm going to enjoy some quality uninterrupted, non-freaking out, laying down time.

Love,
The Mrs.

Twiggy

2011-11-08T10:31:00.000-05:00

Meeting with the surgeon today.

Don't really want to talk about it.

Trying to think of other things to distract me.

Like, oh my heavens, do I have the prettiest twig on the block.

Pretty!

Seriously though, everyone else's twigs look like this;

*snore*

Or worse!

So as far as twiggies go, mine is by far the prettiest.

Wish me luck...

Love,
The Mrs.

Spooktacular

2011-11-01T11:59:00.000-04:00

Howl-oween was extra spooktacular this year!

My babies were as darling as ever and one look at their cute little painted faces (and a double dose of narcotic painkillers) and I was on my feet for some Howl-oween fun.

Ada decided to treat Grandma and Grandpa with her presence for a couple of days, so it was just the older two kids for our Church's annual Trunk-or-Treat.

They looked boo-licious!
(My witty word play is on fire today!)

It was a tad chilly for my little fairy princess.

But nothing could stop Dracula from finding warm blood to prey on.

Mr. Kiggins went as strikingly handsome Prince Charming of course
(on one knee and everything!)

We didn't see Dracula again until the end of the night, but my little fairy stuck right by my side and was completely tuckered out.

Ada decided to spend Howl-oween trick or treating with us and her little costume was absolutely purrr-fect!
(on fire I telll ya!)

Her little tail even wiggled when she toddled!

She brought Grandma along for funsies who, of course, is always Witch-tastic!

Eden looked fairylicious, and Connor was feeling a little magical.

My favorite part though?

Being out of my bed, strolling hand in hand with Mr. Kiggins while we watched our babies run from house to house with giant chocolate stained smiles.

Love,

The Mrs.

11 Years

2011-10-29T11:41:00.002-04:00

I've been married to the love of my life for 11 glorious years.

Each year is even better than the last.

Just when I think he couldn't be any more perfect than he already is, he goes and gets me this as an anniversary present.

An antique vanity from the mid 1890's

I am in LOVE!
... and I'm pretty fond of the dressing table too.

What a lucky girl I am!

Thank you Mr. Kiggins, for the greatest 11 years of my life!

And, I felt so good today I actually made my bed in a good-faith gesture that I will not have to climb back into it today until bedtime.

This is HUGE people!

Perhaps we won't have to have the surgery after all...

Love,

The Mrs.

Out

2011-10-26T16:48:00.002-04:00

This latest shot went much better than last time.

I mean the experience itself, as far as it working...

Jury's still out.

We decided to have it done at a specialist surgery center instead of the hospital like last time.

One of my finest moments in decision making if I do say so myself.
*pat on back*

They called us right back, got me into a gown and started an IV before I could even finish telling them how awful it was last time.
I made up for it by trimming the story down to the basic traumatizing facts, added in a little hyperventilation, one small panic attack, and rehearsed the story for EVERY single person I came into contact with.

I think they gave me extra doses of meds just to get me to shut up because one minute they are wheeling me to the "procedure" room and the next minute I'm with Mr. Kiggins in Trader Joe's and holding a cinnamon broom.

An actual little broom, scented like cinnamon.

Smelled delicious.

Here is where Mr. Kiggins fills in the details...

"Gregory with Cara!", the nurse shouted into the crowded waiting room. As she was leading me back to the recovery room, we rounded a corner to see my lovely wife in a wheelchair, hunched over studying the floor tiles with great interest. The nurse touches her on the arm to let her know that they brought me to see her. She looks up, hair in eyes and smiles. She says she's cold and wants hot chocolate. They tell us we have to wait a few minutes before they will let her leave. She then hands me a mini Coke they had given her after she was finished with the procedure.

Noticing that she is fully dressed, she asks me if I was responsible for that. No, I reply, it wasn't me.

Now, the nurse had told me that she would likely not remember anything after the time they gave her the anesthesia. This is going to be interesting.

After a few minutes, she sees the Coke in my hand. "Why did you steal my Coke?"

"I didn't steal it. You gave it to me."

"I want it back." She takes a sip and proclaims:

"SHASTAAA!"
(She is having a flashback from the last injection which was done at the hospital. They didn't give patients the Real Thing there, just a store brand cola we decided to call Shasta.)

As we are driving home, I ask where she wants to get a hot chocolate. "Starbucks. There's one next to Trader Joe's. OOOOHHH! Let's go to Trader Joe's!" We have never been to a Trader Joe's in our lives, but sure. We don't have the kids with us so we can go anywhere she wants. She asks again if I got her dressed. I explain again that the nurse dressed her. This obviously bothered her.

While making my way to Trader Joe's, I grumble something about the way the "(Metro)teans" drive (endearing nickname for people here in our City, much funnier if I could say the whole thing...but anonymity calls). Cara perks up and asks "what about (Metro) *insert anatomical word that rhymes with 'meanest'.*?" Um...no. That's not what I said. She insists that I did say that word after which we proceed to have an in depth conversation about (them). This is a PG-rated blog, so I will not give any more detail. But let's just say that knowing she would not remember our conversation, I quizzed her on her feelings about (those). Gained some pretty good insight, too. Good information for a husband to have.

Fast forward to the cinnamon broom. After we found a parking place at Trader Joe's (not an easy task, even at 11:00 am on a Friday), we passed a display right outside the entrance. They had all of their fall items out front, including cinnamon-scented brooms. Of course we had to have one. Who was I to say no, so I picked one up and we walked in. After a few minutes of intense shopping, we proceed to the check out with an armful of the delicacies one can only find at Trader Joe's. On display at the register were...you guessed it...mini cinnamon brooms! Now you tell me why we wouldn't need two of those to go with their full-sized cousin. I couldn't think of a reason, either. We leave the store with three cinnamon brooms, a jar of peanut butter, sparkling pomegranate juice, and chocolate-covered potato chips. Of course!

Thank you Cara for an unforgettable day. I wish this injury never happened to you, but I will always be grateful for the memories!

Love,
Greg

***************

And it did bother me!
The nurses dressed me?
They saw me in my unmentionables?
That is for Mr. Kiggins eye's only!
And I'm not saying the off-color conversation didn't happen, I just question how innocently it came about.
This topic is too much for my delicate sensibilities.

And everyday is unforgettable with you Mr. Kiggins.

Love,

The Mrs.

Eye For An Eye...

2011-10-21T08:23:00.000-04:00

Dear Dr. Van
(aka- Guru Guy)

Please don't hurt me today like you did last time.
Oh, and if you could make the injection actually work this time, that would be lovely.

Very Sincerely Serious,

The Mrs.

I Should Be Napping

2011-10-19T16:21:00.000-04:00

Hey everybody,
Ada here!

I'm supposed to be napping, but am so over that for today.

Did I tell you I started walking?
Oh, that's old news, sorry.
I finally got tired of humoring Mom and one day just decided to get up and go.
I'm pretty much awesome at it.

I don't think Mom appreciates it as much as I do.
So I decided to show her that not only can I walk, but I have all kinds of hidden acrobatic talents.

Oh yeah,
This is happening.

I'm quite graceful if I do say so myself.

Poor Mom has really had a hard time with her back this week.
So I decided to entertain her with my awesomeness.

I pretended to play house.
I really tried to get into character and the story by picturing myself in the house.
You know,
for Mom's entertainment.

It didn't work so I decided to just climb inside.

It was much smaller then I anticipated.

But did entertain Mom nicely.

Lola and I tried entertaining Mom by telling her about all of the fun happenings in the outside world.

It was a lot of fun until I got trapped in the curtain.

I'm not going to say I panicked...
But thankfully after much flailing and screaming and a little help from sister, everything was fine again.

It has been a lot of fun getting to do whatever I want lately, but I miss my Mama.
Hopefully she'll be back on the floor playing with me soon.

Feel better Mom!!

lovies and passies,

ada

A Day With Kiggins

2011-10-14T09:13:00.000-04:00

Yesterday I watched re-runs of The Office on Netflix all day long.

All day.

What a waste of time.

I'm flat in bed though and on pain killers so my options are quite limited.

Any other suggestions?

Amazing sitcom re-runs?

That's what I thought.

Poor Mr. Kiggins is so stressed.

He's worried about me.

And his Mom was in the hospital with heart problems so now he's worried about her.

That was kind of the final straw.

He finally broke down the other morning.

I faked being ok and told him to go and see his Mom and called my own Mom the minute he left.

He came home late that night and snuggled right into me, smothered me in kisses and told me over and over how much he loved me and our home and our children.

Then said he had the the most interesting visit at his Mom's.

His sister came down from DC to be with their Mom as well, which is always entertaining.

This time she brought one of her many colorful friends and a hookah.

Now I don't say this in a mean way, the girl was covered in tattoos and Stacey had purple hair...ipso facto, colorful.

Grammy's cousins also were there, not because she was in the hospital, but because they were visiting their daughter and Grammy's house is a nice stopping point.

While my amazing Mr. made dinner for 6 people and tried to get his Mom to stop trying to help and go lie back down, Aunt Stacey and her friend sat on the back porch arguing with the cousin about whether or not they were smoking hash in said hookah.
Then one of the cousin's dogs knocked the hookah over and broke it.
Then upon seeing that it indeed was not hash the uncle went back inside
Maybe a little disappointed? Who knows.
Then the colorful friend started talking about how she takes her kids to this Hookah Bar and how much her kids love it because they get to do grown up stuff.

...

Mr. Kiggins loves his family very much, and is so happy he could be with his mom and that she's ok.
But also was very happy to come home and smooch on all of his babies.

Isn't' he just dashing?!

Now if we could just get Grammy to move a little closer...

On today's agenda??

Friends
season 6 and maybe even some of 7

Love,

The Mrs.

Evolution of Reckoning

2011-10-10T16:26:00.002-04:00

The doctors want to do surgery.

I'm not a fan of this plan.

I asked if we could try the injection one more time.

She said she really didn't think it would work, since it didn't work the first time.

Thankfully they're humoring me and trying it one last time.
If it doesn't work though...
Surgery.

My evolution of reckoning went as such...

Slightly hysterical laughter for a good 5 minutes straight.

Followed by traitor tears

And finished off with some ugly screaming and crying and unreasonable demands.

All directed at my sweet Mr. Kiggins, who just listened, held me, apologized, and lovingly reassured me.
And perhaps thought me slightly bipolar.

I'm tired of being broken.

I'm tired of not being able to care for my children, home, and husband.

I'm tired of constantly feeling guilty about other people having to come and help.

I'm really tired of hearing how inconvenient my injury is to others.

I'm so sorry my injured back is so hard on you.
*angry sarcasm*

Most days I'm pretty patient and stay positive.

Today is not one of those days.

Probably because it seems that somehow in all of this I dislocated my clavicle.

How does one even do that??

Seriously?!?

I don't know how much more I can handle.

I really don't know why my body is rejecting me.

I just want my life back.

Love,

The Mrs.

My Mr.

2011-10-05T07:39:00.003-04:00

I made dinner the other night for the first time in forever.

It was disgusting.

I've only ever made 2 dishes that both Mr. Kiggins and I didn't like.

Curry Chicken, and the other nights Sweet Potato Soup.

Apparently my taste-buds just aren't a fan.

That night Mr. Kiggins and I were cleaning up the Sweet Potato soup mess when he turned to me and said,
"I missed you."

I replied,
"You just missed me cooking amazing dishes like tonight."
(sarcasm)

"No," he said sweetly, "I missed my friend."

Last night, I passed out on him early. I woke up this morning to find that while I was snoozing, he cleaned our entire room.
Then I came downstairs to find him playing with a very happy Ada in a spotless family room.
I turn and see a spotless kitchen.

He works so hard all day, then comes home and takes care of all the things I'm unable to do right now.
I don't have to ask, he just see's that something needs to happen and jumps to do it.

He takes such good care of us.

I really am the luckiest girl in the entire world.

Everyday I wake up next to him is the happiest day of my life.

Thank you so much for being mine!!

Hoping that this day, you have and know how amazing your very own Mr. Kiggins is.

Love,

The Mrs.

Parks and Rec

2011-10-03T10:29:00.001-04:00

So happy to have all of my babies with me again.
I've been feeling a little better, so we enjoyed some good family fun over the weekend.

Ada entertained us with her magical disappearing talents.

Whilst Connor and Eden entertained each other with their general silliness.

Despite what he says, I know he missed his sisters.

I've really missed being apart of the family.

Rock jumping at the park

Ada thought it was a little too cold and just stayed snuggled with Daddy.

I don't blame you Ada, that's where I always want to be too.

Love,

The Mrs.

Anticipation

2011-09-28T13:46:00.002-04:00

The Mr. and I,
on our way to the doc.

Things are moving slow,
Yet steady.
So I guess that's good.
Forward progress is always better than no progress at all.

Last night was like Christmas Eve!
My girl's are coming home today!
I was so excited,
I couldn't sleep!

I've missed them so much!

I wonder if they've left yet...

Love,

The Mrs.

I Bought a Big Bat...Hypothetically

2011-09-27T15:13:00.001-04:00

I'm bored.

I miss my girls.

My mom is finally bringing them home tomorrow and I CAN'T WAIT!

Right before she left, my sweet Ada was just starting to take consecutive steps.
We got this darling video of her playing one night and caught it for the first time.

Isn't' she just the cutest little thing ever?!!

Now my Mom says she is trying to walk all over the place.

*tear*

And my Eden is having way too much fun with her cousins everyday and fun Aunt T, and she's always had a thing for Uncle Jeff.

Is she really going to want to come home to boring old injured Mom?

I can say old, because since she's been gone I had a birthday and am in fact older than when she last saw me.

*grrrrr*

I want my life back!

Having my girl's here will help!
I'm so excited!

In the meantime I'm having regular visits with my chiropractor, and orthopedic surgeon, and plan on seeing a neurosurgeon and doing some physical therapy, and constantly thinking about proper core strength.
I've never felt so uncoordinated then when trying to do some of these core exercises while simultaneously lifting my arm and leg and still remembering to breathe.

Stupid weak core.

I've always been strong!
I blame this on Hyperemesis and the fact that my little girl is just too darn cute to stop playing with and think about actually exercising.

I do want to say thank you though to EVERYONE who has helped us over the past little bit.
All the friends who came by,
All the meals,
All the help with the kids,
All the messages,
Get well cards
Care packages
Treats
visits....

Your love, support and friendship has been endless.
Thank you so much!!

I have the best friends!

I came back from my procedure and found this.

Each one had a little joke or cute saying on it.

This one I especially loved.

One also had this quote that I have now officially made my new motto.
Seriously....officially....I'm waiting on the Notary now
(wink wink)

I have heard there are troubles of more than one kind.
Some come from ahead and some come from behind.
But I've bought a big bat. And I'm ready you see.
Now my troubles are going to have troubles with me!
~Dr. Seuss~

Watch out for my big (hypothetical) bat troubles...

Oh my goodness the kittens are going CRAZY right now!
They're chasing each other and jumping around all over the place.
They've completely strewn a pile of papers across the entire floor.
They keep jumping up onto my side table and knocking everything off.
Walking across my keyboard.
*this one is especially fun*
They're making me laugh!

We got them this little furry mouse thing.
They LOVE it!
I walked into the bathroom and it looks as if they may have murdered it in there.
There's patches of brown fur everywhere.

I love these little crazy kitties.

Who by the way have finally been named.

"Kitty Number Gray" is now "Lola"
And "White Kitty" is now "Pearl"

They're my little snugglers.

Pearl likes a lot of my attention and love.
Especially in the middle of the night.
She get's right in my face and gives me kisses.

Lola more just loves to play and be silly.
She just knocked over my alarm clock.
Mischievousness little thing!

I wonder how they're going to react to my girls coming home and having to share...

Love,

The Mrs.

DIY- Silhouettes

2011-09-23T19:55:00.002-04:00

So easy and so gorgeous!!

Supplies Needed:
Camera
Printer Paper
Printer
Scissors
Photo safe tape
1 Sheet of paper for silhouette itself
1 Sheet of contrasting paper (or fabric) for background
(for papers, you can use cardstock, but not necessary)

Simply get out that digital camera.
Even a cell phone pic will do as long as it's enough megapixels to print in the size you would like without losing detail.

Take a profile picture of the subject then load it onto your computer.
It's best to put them on a blank contrasting background.
ie. if you're pale with light hair like me, stand in front of something dark for your picture.
if you have darker tones, or dark hair, stand in front of something light.
Especially for children, this way all of their adorable individual features will stand out more clearly.
Like as such;

For today though, I'm going to do one of my darling Adalyn

Crop the digital image to the size that you would like.
Remember to leave room around it.
For example, if my frame is 5x7, then I would print my picture as such that the face would fit perfectly in a 4x6 frame.
And flip it however you need to so that the subject in the picture is facing the OPPOSITE way of how you would like the finished product.

Almost any photo editing software will let you print it straight off of your computer.
No need for fancy photo printing paper, regular printer paper is perfect.
And black and white is best so don't worry about a color printer.

Now I like to take a pencil and outline the profile of exactly where I'm going to cut. This helps especially on the hair. Don't forget the cowlick or curls, this is what really makes the silhouette pop. And remember you'll have to cut it with scissors, so sometimes exaggerating it will help. It's easier to take a little off later then have to completely re-do it. This technique is also nice for us old-ies who maybe want to shave down the neck a little to make it a little more long and elegant, I'm not saying that's what I did... I'm just sayin'.

Now line the back of the face only with a few photo safe stickers, steer clear of the edges.
This just makes it so it doesn't move around while you are trying to cut.

Attach the photo to the BACK of the paper you have selected for the Silhouette.

You can use Traditional black, Or choose a fun scrapbook paper
All depends on the look you want.

Now start cutting.
Try and make your cuts as smooth as possible.
Take care around the hair...and eyelashes if you're really good.
Surgical scissors actually work best because they are so precise.
(sadly I don't have access to any)
It can get a little tedious, but the finished product is SO worth it.

Next we'll need to frame up the bottom real nice.
I like to start by outlining the top of the shoulder, then draw a smooth rounded line connecting the shoulder to the front and back of the body like this;

It looks best if the front comes down lower than the back.
Once you have it outlined the way you want, simply cut it out.

Now gently peel off the printed picture, leaving just the scrapbook silhouette cut out.

Add photo tape to the back, taking care to get all the edges.

Now get your contrasting background paper.

Crop it to the size you would like for your finished product.
Then center your silhouette, and stick.

Add to a fun frame and Viola!

Isn't she a doll?!!

There are all kinds of ways to have fun with this.

You can do a traditional silhouette.

You can play with the cutting to create a fun look.

Or embellish your picture with anything you see fit.

Flowers are fun for girl's hair....
Add a cute neck tie, or hat for your boy...
A top hat with an embellished sash...

The possibilities are endless!
Have fun with it!
And please send me a pic or post it on your blog and let me know so I can see your creative talents!

Love,

The Mrs.

Patience

2011-09-22T10:59:00.002-04:00

Well, he did hurt me...
lots actually.

Before we went in Dr. Van asked me;
"Do you have any questions?"

And I said;
"Will it hurt?"

And he said;
"Me? No! Not at all, thank you for your concern! Most patients don't even care how it affects me."

And I said;
"Oh, oh good, because that's what really matters here."

And he smiled at me.

Then walked away.

*huh?*

Then he comes back by just as another lady was leaving that he had just worked on and I hear him tell her sister that they gave her all of the "anesthesia" they could and she never went to sleep.

*HUH?!*

But right then they wheel a lady out of the surgical room and she was OUT.

So I felt a tad more calm.

Then he turned to me and said;
"You're up!"

So then I get in on the table and they start to prep me, and I know that it's my disc between L5 and S1 nerve but didn't really prepare myself for how that would actually work for the injection. So I'm a tad shocked when suddenly I feel air on places that are for Mr. Kiggins eyes only and am trying very hard to advert my attention elsewhere.

So as they push the "anesthesia" into my IV, I ask Dr. Van if it's normal that it doesn't put you to sleep like that other lady, and he said;
"No. Not really. Depends on the procedure and the person. Some don't get anything but local anesthetic. Some get enough to keep them awake but not feel anything. Some go right to sleep."

So I ask again;
"Either way though, it won't hurt?"
And turn my head to look him in the eye.

He had just pulled out the needle.
Looks at me and I'm sure I was white as a ghost (which is quite a feat seeing as how pale I am already), and I'm sure my eyes were the size of saucers, and says;
"You won't want to look over here right now."

So I turn my head the other way toward the monitor that is showing the live x-ray of my vertebrae and try not to hyperventilate.
Then he says;
"Are you sleepy at all?"

And in a probably slightly loud hysterical tone I said;
"NO!"

And he said;
"You're not feeling anything yet?"

Again;
"NO!"

Then he asked the nurse how much she had given me, and she said;
"5"

And he said;
"Go ahead and give her 10"

Yeah! Let's do that!

Then he said he was just going to numb the area.
"Little Bee sting"

Ok.

*ouch*

Then he says that he's going to inject the dye so he can see that everything is going into the right place.

Ok.

*Ouch!*

"Just let that medicince start working"
he says.

Ok.

I see the little squiggly lines now going to my disc in the monitor.

Then I feel a lot of pressure and stinging.

*OUCH!!

Hello?!?

Then he says to me;

"You're all done!"

WHAT??

No sleepyness, no pain dulling, not even a twinge of numbness!!

Grrrr!

One minute later I'm wheeled out into a recovery place and they are unhooking my IV and I'm thinking;
"Can you leave that on for a minute more because I'm pretty sure there was something meant for me in there that I didn't get!"

Then they bring Mr. Kiggins in and he says;
"How'd it go?"

And I shoot him a frown/smile.
And he looks at the nurse who just smiles.
Then back at me.
And I say;
"I felt the whole thing."
And he shoots her a glare.
Then grabs my hand.
And I say;
"Whatever, it's over now."

Fast forward 10 minutes and I'm feeling GREAT!

I remember where we went and what we did, but not the dialog that insued.
Mr. Kiggins said I was very hilarious and quite profound.
He took me to Outback to grab some dinner and said I was very excited about everything on the menu.

I wasn't allowed to eat anything for 6 hours before.
I was hungry!

Then he said I simply HAD to go to the little boutique store next to the restaurant.
This is where he had the genius idea to video me.
I remember he kept saying he was sending a text, but I figured him out at the end.

Mr. Kiggins declares my dialog was much more hilarious inside the restaurant which prompted him deciding to start a video.
Probably because you could hear it better and I wasn't so distracted by the shoes.
Though, It would have been a little obvious if he was in front of me walking backwards with his phone in my face just to send a text.

I'm pretty sure the dialog ensues as such on the video...

outside the store
"Will you hold this, while I go browse? Thank you."

Just inside the door, really excited
"They have a whole section just for boots!"

Pointing at those black, teal?, and pink? ones
"These are really ugly"

1st pair of shoes
*gasp*
"These are Fancy! You know, sometimes I bet you wish you were a girl so you could wear fancy shoes too."

2nd pair of shoes
*gasp*
"Look at these!"
then disappointment when I see the platform
"oh."
"I'm not gonna buy these because they're a little hookerish. Look."

Recognition;
"You are video...."

ps- someone should have told me that shirt makes me look pregnant.
"We thought you knew."
Yeah...I didn't!

The end.

Then we got home.

Played with the babies.
I started getting really sleepy.
Mr. Kiggins and my Mom put the babies to bed.
I woke up a little after that.
The medicine had worn off.
And I was in PAIN!

Serious pain!

For the love of all things holy I was in some PAIN!

Hurt like a swear word.

The more pain I'm in, the quieter I get.

Let's just say I wasn't making a sound.

My entire right leg and foot felt like it had the worst migraine EVER!

Mr. Kiggins tried to rub it, but any movement made it worse.

He was ready to take me to the ER.

But I was NOT going back there if I could help it.
I couldn't sit in a waiting room, let alone move at all at that moment.
So he just looked it up online to see if these were normal side effects.
Everything he found was pretty generic, but he did find some forums where people said it got a little worse, then after 3 days it was better.
I told him I thought it was just the extra pressure from the injection and that we just needed to wait for it to absorb and then it will subside.
Then he cleaned our room until he felt I was comfortable enough to finally go to sleep.

(Did I mention he had just flew home on the redeye from a business trip and hadn't slept in 36 hours before taking me to my appointment?)
Poor sweet man!
He takes such good care of me!

I had a blessing before going in for the procedure, and in it Heavenly Father expressed 2 separate times that we needed to have patience through this process.

I think this is the patience part.

Love,

The Mrs.

Guru

2011-09-21T05:30:00.000-04:00

Dear Dr. Guru Guy,

Please have a steady hand today when you inject that stuff into my spine.
I know you've done thousands, and are highly regarded as one of the best.
However, I am very fond of the use of my legs.
Just sayin'.

Sincerely,

The Mrs.

ps- please don't hurt me.

Sweetness

2011-09-20T10:05:00.000-04:00

We are still undergoing intense deliberation over the names of our kitties.

Until the verdict is in however, the children have resorted to calling them
"White Kitty" and "Kitty Number Gray".

They adore the kitties.

Ada especially loves to chitty chat at them.
She never grabs at them.
Which surprised me.
She mostly just points and with all seriousness says;

"Uh. Uh. UH. UH!"

Which so obviously means;

"Look at those beautiful Felis silvestris catus that have been placed before me as an offering of entertainment from my loyal worshipers ."

*duh*

*****************

Oh and did I tell you about my sweet potatoes?

Holy Moly Sweet Potatoes!!

This was the first day, off of only 3 plants...

I have 9.

This was the second day, off of 4 more plants

That was when I injured my back, so I still have 2 more plants that need to be de-rooted.

I'm sure picking the sweet pototoes had no influence at all on aggravating my herniated disc.

Not these tiny little things.
(insert sarcasm here)

Seeing as how non-fond of dirt I am,
Gardening comes as a rather shocking talent of mine.
Especially when I, in all honesty, have absolutely no idea what I'm doing.

Love,

The Mrs.

Charmed

2011-09-16T16:56:00.000-04:00

It's been a lonely week.

My girl's have been at Grandma's while I've been bedridden and I have missed them oh-so-much!
Connor is at school all day and comes in to give me a kiss but then is off doing his homework then playing with his friends.
Mr. Kiggins has been back at work and although he calls me regularly throughout the day, I miss just being near him.

I can't get around too easily so mostly I just hang out in bed.

Today we visited the orthopedic surgeon.

Unfortunately since I'm already an active person and currently taking pain medicine (without relief), they really don't feel that only doing physical therapy and continued pain meds are a solution.

So they gave me 2 options.

First is a shot, right into the worst of the herniated discs, where it is compressing on the nerve. The shot is a epidural block which should reduce the pain, and also a steroid which will reduce the inflammation and expedite my body naturally absorbing back in the part of the disc that is bulging.

Sounds lovely right?

The second option is spinal surgery where they cut off the part of the disc that is buldging out.

Ooo, even more lovely.

Can I opt for neither?

Apparently no.

So the shots it is.

Hopefully they can get me in next week so I can function again.
I'm obviously nervous.
It's a shot,
a needle,
right into my spine,
next to a nerve.

But I'm trying to stay positive.

Anywhoo, on the way back from the Dr. I mention to Mr. Kiggins that our house has just been too quiet without my babies.
And how I've missed them.
And how I thought yesterday about just getting a kitten or something to surprise my girls with when they get home.

Mr. Kiggins chuckled at me.

Then we started talking about how fun kitties are.
And how we both miss having one around the house.
And how many times the kids have begged for a cat.
Especially after Mittens, a local orange tabby, adopted us and wouldn't leave the house until we discovered who his owners were and had to physically take him home.
He still comes to visit us from time to time.
And then I told Mr. Kiggins that I was going to look on Craigslist to see if there were any kitty's that needed a home.
And he laughed.
And I laughed.
But looked anyway.
And then I found one of the cutest little gray kittys I had ever seen.
And I showed it to Mr. Kiggins who immediately swooned over her.
Then we mused again about how excited the kids would be if ever we got a kitty.

And then I don't know if it was the lure of the natural joy a pet brings to a home,
or the gorgeousness of her sweet blue eyes,
or the euphoricness (is that a word?) of the narcotic I'm currently on...

But next thing I knew we are at a sweet woman's home holding this darling little kitten.

And I'm in love.

And I knew all Mr. Kiggins had to do was hold her and I wouldn't even have to ask if she could be ours.

But then we notice she has a sister.

A gorgeous, sweet, intoxicating sister.

I couldn't take my eyes off of her.

One glance at Mr. Kiggins and I knew we were thinking the exact same thing.

So I discussed it with their sweet owner.
I could tell she really did want to keep the sister, but somehow I charmed her and before I knew it, she was mine too.

These little sisters are so fun and so very different.

We haven't had them long enough to have the perfect names yet, Eden will probably give us more insight in that department.
It's a gift.

The gray one is so much fun!
She is curious and playful and fearless.
We got them these little toy mice and she has clearly declared this to be the greatest toy EVER!

Though I've found she's content playing with pretty much anything she can get her cute little paws on.
She jumps and pounces and stalks.
Connor has made it his job to keep her entertained.
She's a natural born wild woman!

Now the white one is much more mild.
She's cautious, yet confident.
She has a regal stature about her and will definitely be named as such.
She's very content just to lie with me and let me stroke her beautiful fur.
We're thick as thieves so far, me and this girl.
Perhaps she knows right now I just need a little gentle snuggle buddy and is more than happy to oblige.

Grandma and Grandpa are bringing my girl's home tonight.
I'm so excited I can barely stand it.
I've missed them immensely.

And oh boy howdy, do I have a surprise for them when they walk in the door...

Love,

The Mrs.

DIY: Custom Size Blog Pictures

2011-09-13T16:35:00.002-04:00

I know I promised to do a DIY tutorial for the silhouettes.
But as I find myself currently bedridden with 2 herniated discs and a compressed nerve (which feels just as lovely as it sounds), I find I am unable to move about to prepare the tools I need for such a tutorial. And since my blog muses (ie. my children), are currently being cared for by others, who I am deeply indepted to, I feel the need arise to attend to another tutorial that I have been asked by other's to address
(aka my loving sister abroad).
This should be interesting seeing as how I am currently under the control of a fairly concentrated list of prescriptions that make my just being bearable and my conversations, according to Mr. Kiggins, quite entertaining.

So without further ado...

I'm a picture person (obviously).
Love em'!
Cant get enough of em'!

It frustrates me when an otherwise awesome picture is done the injustice of being compressed to fit whatever size a certain or specific program deems appropriate.

For example:

Through Blogger, you can post your pictures in 3 different sizes.

Small

Medium

Large

Hardly does this picture justice.
(This is one of my amazing Young Women from church. Isn't she a doll?!!)
For anonymity's sake we will call her Lola.

So the question:
How do I make my pictures bigger in blogger?

So easy to fix and we don't even have to get into all of the intimate details of HTML or CSS coding.
Which I totally impressed Mr. Kiggins with my knowledge of.
*pat on back*
He's a tad of a genuis, so it pleases me when I shock him with anything I say.
Please, you can learn anything on the internet.
All you need is Google and a little spare time for reading.

But for today we will show the easy-anyone-can-do-it way.

All you have to do is simply choose an online image hosting website.
I like Photobucket. It's free, it's unlimited, and it's super user-friendly.
Simply sign up for an account if you don't already have one.
After you have done that,
click on the Upload button located on the top toolbar

This will bring you to the upload page.

On the bottom of the upload dialog box, it will say "Customize your upload options"
This is where you can tell photobucket exactly what size to upload your pictures.
So click on that.

(I know you're impressed with my shaky red circles...pretty impressive actually since my vision is a tad blurry, and my eyes keep not wanting to come back open after blinking)

This will pop up a size chart.
Now, 640x480 is a fabulously perfect size for blogger and I have used just this from time to time. They will show up perfectly for almost any computer format whether it be full screen, widescreen or another screening I'm unaware of at this time ;)
The pics you will see on the graces of Kigginsanity however are 800x600 because, well, frankly I've always had an inkling for the grandiose.
And when it comes to pictures, as far as I'm concerned, the bigger the better. But again, that is a personal preference and doesn't always show up as perfectly on others computers. FYI.

After you are done selecting the size, and save your new custom options,
Photobucket will redirect you back to the upload page.
Click on the the green "Select Photos and Videos" button in the center

Then follow the prompts (ie. choose photo, open)

After your picture download is complete, Click on the picture itself or the "Save and contintinue to my Album".

This will bring you to a page with your new uploaded picture and a lot of coding down the right side

What photobucket has now done for you is generate an HTML code for your picture.
In the code box on the right hand side you will see the label "HTML code" and next to it a dialog box with the coding inside.

Simply right click and copy the text inside the "HTML code" box

Now you are ready to go back to blogger (I'm going to show you from the old interface since that's probably what most of you are familiar with, but I do suggest switching to the new interface if you have a chance because it's pretty much basically awesome).

Anywhooo, create a new post, as usual
Now you need to be sure you are in "Edit HTML" mode instead of "Compose"

All you need to do now is type in your witty worded blog. Then when you are ready for the picture, simply right click and paste the html code from photobucket.
(pasted html code is highlighted)

If you click back on "Compose" you will see your blog entry + picture
(well, as much as they will let you see of it on the old blogger interface)

Add as many pictures as you would like this way, in any sizes you would like.
The nice thing about photobucket is that it will also let you resize your photo, decorate it, add text...
So play and do with it what you like.
Oh and if you would like to make it smaller, no worries, just resize it in photobucket, no need to re-upload it.
I'm telling ya', it rocks.

And for me, the end product is just like the subject...

Absolutely breathtaking!

Feel free to contact me with any questions!
And happy blogging!!

Love,

The Mrs.

Mind Control

2011-09-12T06:12:00.002-04:00

Hi.

My name is The Mrs.

And I'm addicted

to Chapstick.

I've strategically hidden over 15 tubes of my "stash" all over the house.
1 in my bedside table.
1 in the Mr.'s bedside table.
1 in the desk.
2 in my diaper bag.
3 in the Kitchen.
4 unopened ones in my dressing table.
other's, that I will not divulge the secrets of at this time
and 5 in my makeup bag.

Eden was taste-testing the ones in my makeup bag.

She lathered her little lips in a Tutti-Frutti flavored one and made a strange face, then looked at me with her sweet blue eyes startlingly worried.

Me: "You don't like that one?"

Eden: (in a completely disgusted tone)"No."

Me: "Why?"

Eden: "My brain just thinks it smells horrible."

Love,

The Mrs.

Party in Pictures

2011-09-09T09:09:00.001-04:00

Irene has long since passed and we were finally able to throw Adalyn's First Birthday Party.
Mr. Kiggins and I took around 400 pictures that day.
*yikes*

Ok, so maybe we were a little excited, and maybe my adorable Adalyn was just too darn cute.
Either way, I can't express in words how precious this party was.
Visuals will work best and thankfully I have large plethora to choose from.

So sit back, relax and enjoy some visual yumminess.

Isn't it funny how little girls just naturally know exactly what to do with a baby doll?

She patted her back

And checked her diaper.

Then fussed over her outfit for a bit.

Happy Birthday my sweet Adalyn May!

Love,

The Mrs.

A Day of Firsts...

2011-09-06T16:28:00.003-04:00

Today marked the first day of my sweet Eden's preschool.
She was beyond excited and picked out the most darling little outfit, complete with coordinating boots and a jeweled necklace with a giant 10 karat (play) pendant.
After some lengthy coaxing, I finally convinced her that maybe the necklace would be safer at home, and it would be easier to run in her own shoes and not my 4 inch stilletto boots even though they did go perfectly with the ensemble.

What a doll.She loves her new teachers.Mrs. Beth and Mrs. Kitty.
Who have been adored by this family ever since Connor had them right after we moved here.

My E is a timid little thing and for the past 2 years, the first/every day of preschool involved tears, cowering behind Mom and a whole lot of vice clenched death grips.
Not with Mrs. Beth and Mrs. Kitty though.
They ran right up to her, yelled "There's my girl", gave her hugs, discussed her beautiful outfit...And without a second glance to me, she was off and playing in her new classroom.

They pretty much, basically, are the greatest teachers E-V-E-R!
My E is one lucky girl!

Now this is where my day get's really...uh...let's just call it exciting.
So hang with me...

I come out of preschool, cell-phone in one hand, keys in the other, diaper bag on the shoulder and baby on the hip.I've got to get to a visiting teaching appointment and my mind is on the message I've prepared.
I get Ada buckled in without setting anything down.
Because I'm awesome that way.
Shut her door.
Walk around to the back of the car.
Hear a "click".
Pause for a second to process.
Look down at my hand... cell phone.
Look down at my other hand... empty.
Empty??

Noooooo!

I run back over to Ada's door.
Locked.
Look in the window and see Ada, smiling away, playing with my keys.

*panic*

Run around and check all of the doors.
All locked.
Get back to her window.
She's still happily playing with the keys.
I call Mr. Kiggins.
He's on his way before I can even finish the story.
But he's 45 minutes away.
I see Ada watching me, so I put on a big smiley face and just let the tears roll right down my cheeks.
I call 911.
Trying not to lose it, I tell the operator what happened.
He's sending the call out to the fire department.
Ada has her finger on the unlock button on the key fob.
I try and coax her into pushing it.
She sticks her hand out toward the window and tries handing the keys to me.
I tell her "No. You push it."
She laughs and then with perfect comedic timing, drops the keys onto the floor.

*sigh*

A little more tears start to fall.

The parking lot is empty.

I feel helpless.

The 911 operator then asks me for my information.
I give it.
Then he says...
"Cara, do you know who this is? This is Gary, from church. It's going to be ok."
Knowing I have a friend helping me gives me just enough comfort to feel ok with letting myself fall apart just a little.
I finally pull myself together.
He reassures me that everything will be ok.
(I know this, but it's nice to hear)
I tell him thank you.
He hangs up and I wait for the Fire Department.
Two little old ladies come out of the Preschool to see if I'm ok.
I smile and say, no not really, but someone is coming.
One of them looks in the window and says
"Oh look what you have here. Oh isn't this an exciting day out."
I laugh, Ada squeals and laughs from inside the car.
The little old ladies swoon over her and in response Ada shows off her adorable one toothed and swollen gummed grin and blows raspberries.
The fire department shows up.

Within 2 minutes, they jimmy the door ajar, pop the lock and I'm in Ada's face smooching her.
I thank them profusely.
One of the Fire Fighters gets the rest of my info while the other plays with and coo's and goo's over my Ada.
Then tells her to take it easy on her poor Mama.
She finds this exceptionally hilarious.
They leave.

I'm back in the car.
Thankfully.

And now on with my day...
Love,

The Mrs.

My Happiness

2011-08-31T15:56:00.003-04:00

There are things that hit a little too close to home.

They make you hug your kids (and any kids within my arm's reach for that matter)
a little closer, a little longer, and a little tighter.

Go hug your babies!
Their trust and innocence is a precious thing that this world is trying very hard to take away.

Love,

The Mrs.

It's My Party

2011-08-29T08:25:00.005-04:00

Hey everyone,
Ada here!

I know, it's been sooooo long.
But I've been super busy lately!

Turning One (finally) was AWESOME!

Mom and dad gave me all kinds of stuff I never get to have.

Like this fluffy sugary yumminess stuff.
(that's what I call it)

I made quick work of it lest they realize what it was and take it away.

It was good stuff!

Before they would let me touch it though, they put this glowy thing on it.

Wierd.

Thankfully my sister took care of it so I didn't have to and could just get to the good stuff.

The rents also let me have "real people" food.

FINALLY they've realized I'm so over that mooshy baby stuff.
Took them long enough.

They also gave me this heavenly thing called a "pikel"
We were instant friends!

Except Mom kept taking it away to "get the skin off" but we all knew she just wanted to steal bites of my delicious "pikel".

She's sneaky like that.

So I called her out right there in the middle of Jimmy Johns.

It's ok, it's my birthday.

The rents said that they had to "re ske chool' my party because of a "hurry cane"
But my Grammy still came to see me!
And she brought Presents!!!

My Grammy is so awesome!

Then I decided to entertain everyone and put on a little show.

Getting into character.

I sang a little song

Did a little dance

Pretty much, got down tonight.

We even got to have more fluffy yumminess with Grammy.

Chocolate + Me = Besties forever!

I just had the best time and wanted to properly thank Mommy and Daddy.

So I had some yummy kisses with Mom.

And some yummy kisses with Dad...

Where... I... SNEAK ATTACKED A FOOD FIGHT!!

It was all in good fun, and I gave him a kiss afterward for being such a good sport!

Then I was "All Done"

It was the Best-est First Birthday I've ever had!

Thanks for an awesome first year of life everyone.
I can't wait to see what's to come!!

lovies and passies,

ada

To My Dearest Miss Adalyn May,

2011-08-26T03:30:00.003-04:00

From the first moment I saw you, I fell instantly in love with you.

We all did.

How could we not?

You had us all wrapped around your little finger.

From your very first moments, you've always had the love and support of your entire family.

At one month, you amazed me how you could be so tiny, but hold so much of my happiness.

At 2 months you mesmerized us all with your coo's, goo's and breathtaking smiles.

At 3 months you filled our hearts with your giggles and endless chubby rolls.

At 4 months we watched you discover the amazing world around you.

At 5 months you ventured to fascinating new places and milestones

At 6 months we watched you grow and discover new "tasty" things.

At 7 months you held my every breath in each expression you made.

At 8 months I watched you explore and find complete joy in everything you touched.

At 9 months you became more independent each day, and broke a little of my heart.
But in a good "it had to happen eventually" kind of way.

At 10 months you showed the world that there is no stopping your determination!

At 11 months, I was mesmerized by your every move.
Your laugh is contagious and no one is immune to your charm!

At 1 year, without ever thinking it possible, I love you more each day.
You are more than I could've ever wished for.
My very own dream come true.
Thank you for choosing me to be your Mom.
And thank you for giving me the most amazing year!!

Happy Birthday My Angel!
I love you a million billion zillion!

Love,

Mom

3rd Grader

2011-08-25T07:54:00.001-04:00

I'm not gonna lie.

I was dreading the start of school.

School= A break for Mom
Me= I don't want a "break", I want my kids at home all the time

I never understood Mom's who complain about having a "break" all of the time.
Why have kids if you're always wishing your time away with them?
Doesn't make sense to me.

My kids like it at home, I like it at home.
What can I say, we're home-bodies.
I can't even bribe them with fast food if there's an errand I have to run, they'd rather stay at home with me. And I'd rather be at home too, so there are a lot of errands that we make Mr. Kiggins take care of during his lunch break.
But he's amazing like that.

I was snuggling with Connor last night before bed and asked him if he was excited about the first day of school.
He said,
"yep, but I'm really going to miss you! Who will be your big helper? Or protect you from a spider? Or keep Ada happy? Or play with Eden?"
*tear*

What an amazing little guy I have.

He get's it from his Dad.

Happy First Day of 3rd Grade my boy!

Love,

The Mrs.

Evil Plotting

2011-08-22T06:50:00.000-04:00

Most days these two are the best of friends.

But every now and then a little evil possesses them and you'd think they were sworn enemies.

I hate to say it, but Connor would have to be the villain in that scenario. Only because he's such a brilliant little mastermind. And my E only reacts to him. Never the instigator.
But in true girl fashion, a complete sensitive over-reactor.

It's hereditary.

And we all know super villains usually have some kind of doctorate and my future plans for Connor include just that.

Oooh,
he could be Dr. Percivus Paradigm.

I like it...

(begin evil plot laugh now)
Mwah-ah-ah-ah
(oooh, that sounded scary)

Thankfully it's rare that he comes up with these little evil schemes.
I think there's hope for my sweet little boy yet.

As far as the girly over-reacting...
I'm afraid it's terminal.

Love,

The Mrs.

Eden-Logic

2011-08-16T05:03:00.002-04:00

"I wish I had a jet-pack and super-arms. Then I wouldn't have to ride a long time in cars and I could just fly places. And I wouldn't have get up all the time to do stuff."

"52, 72, 45 cents incorporated."

Dramatically pretending alone in her room,

"Take this! Take it into your heart! Never forget your family. Your family tree."

My E,
4,
going on 17.

Here she is right after we got home from the pool.

Mr. Kiggins: " No, no, no! How old are you?? Doesn't matter. You can't wear that. EVER!"

Eden: "What Daddy? You don't like these shoes? They're Mommy's."

He was probably just worried because they seemed a little big on her.

Love,

The Mrs.

These Feet Were Made For Walkin'

2011-08-13T09:14:00.001-04:00

And apparently, that's just what they'll do!

That's right people.

My Adalyn took her first steps this weekend!

And magically my Connor was able to catch it all on Camera!

I was excited for her for like half a second...

Now I just want to cry.

Love,

The Mrs.

Peaches n' Cream

2011-08-13T08:14:00.002-04:00

Up to my eyeballs in peaches.

Preparing to Freeze them for the winter for a summery delicious treat on those brutally barren cold days.

Tastes more fresh then canning and is so super easy.

And yes, they're even more juicy and delicious then they look!

I'm not gonna lie though,

At one point in this process I actually believed I/my kitchen would never be not sticky again.

However it feels so good having my freezer full...
and OH-My-YUM!!!

ps- I am going to post a how-to for the Silhouettes. So stay tuned for that...

Love,

The Mrs.

The Ties That Bind...And Gag

2011-08-11T10:36:00.008-04:00

We were able to visit Rustic Ridge for Preslee's blessing and a whirlwind almost-complete family reunion
(darn you Germany)

It's always fascinating to see what will happen when my family get's together.

There is, of course, me and my Mr.
Looking picture perfect, and stealing a smooch.

Then me and my Ada,
Who also wanted a smooch

Uncle Jeff, really excited about a smooch

Uncle Kevan, wanting nothing to do with the smooch

Grandpa, swooning over the smooch

Baby Preslee, wanting to add a little french to her smooch

Uncle Michael and Aunt Kendra, appalled by all of the public smooching

Then you have Eden and Brody, our smooching cousins.

Some just preferred the hugs.

Like my Connor and Cooper.

We are, apparently, a very affectionate family.

With this many people in the house, you've got to be creative when you want a moments peace.

We enjoyed a friendly Nertz tournament
where Grandma was ruthlessly competitive
Aunt T shamelessly cheated
and Aunt Cheri hustled us all.

It was a good time.

The boys in my family think it's just a shame that Mr. Kiggins didn't grow up with brothers. It's saddens them that he didn't get those character building experiences only brothers can bring.
So as his brothers-in-law, they feel it's their job to make up for all of that lost time.
They're thoughtful like that.

"Help! Help!"

"Did you hear something?"
"Um...no. So which of these dish patterns did you pick?"

"My poor Daddy! I'd come to his rescue but my hot-pants are too slippy to crawl on this wood floor."

"You kids are driving me crazy!"

*************

Sweet Preslee was breathtaking on her big day.
Thank you for bringing us all together!
(except the Flanagans...darn you Germany!)

*************************

Memorable Moments:

Eden and Brody playing doctor.

Eden and Brody jumping on the bed topless.

Eden and Brody playing dress up in all of Grandma and Grandpa's clothes.

Finding not one, not two, but 3 pennies in Ada's mouth throughout the weekend
(what is with that girl?)

Kevan in the dog house.
Brooke inching up the car every time he tried to climb in.
Then driving off...
Kevan running after the car.
Uncle Michael thinking this would be a good time to jump out of the woods and scare them
All of us watching through the window and laughing our hineys off.

Me: "I'm cold! Can I put my hands down your pants..."
Mr. Kiggins: "Heck yes!"
Me:(EVERYONE laughing, no one hearing me, me mortified trying to explain)"I meant down your shirt! Down your shirt!!!"
Mr. Kiggins:(cooly)"I get that a lot."

Always exciting at the Ridge.

Love,

The Mrs.

Heaven Sent

2011-08-09T10:04:00.000-04:00

This is my friend Candace.

This is baby Miles, the little angel they were finally able to adopt after 7 years.

And this is the shower we threw for her that needed to be fitting of this little prince.
(I think we pulled it off)

The invitations
(mounted on silver cardstock with silver envelopes)

The decorations

The favors

The Yummies

The Activity
(they did this at my sister in laws shower and I loved it! Each guest filled one out)

The Pressies

The Guests

Thank you so much to my dream team of fabulous ladies who helped make this shower amazing for Candace and baby Miles

It really was amazing!
And so much fun!!

Unfortunately Mr. Kiggins has declared that I am no longer allowed to throw baby showers.
Something about obsession to detail and perfection, consuming my daily thoughts/time, and champagne taste...
I don't know what he's talking about.

It'll just have to sit next to "photography" on my ever growing list of
"Things I'll Resume As Soon As All Of My Children Are In School".

Love,

The Mrs.

Neglected

2011-08-05T07:03:00.001-04:00

Boy howdy,
I've been one busy Mama.

I've been trying to get some last things together for an event I'm hosting tomorrow. It'd be a whole lot easier if I wasn't having computer issues all week long, and if my amazing Mr. wasn't out of the country all week, taking his lovin' and moral support with him.

Let's be honest, long distance moral support just isn't the same.

Add the jubilant excitement that my little ones bring to life each day, especially in the quiet moments I need to gather my thoughts, and you get a couple things that get overlooked.

Ok, so maybe I've been a tad neglectful.

I have not been a very good mom this past week to my children.
A great Aunt or family bestie, but not a great mother to them.

What's it going to hurt to let them watch a couple movies?
Or a Phineas and Ferb marathon for 2 days straight?
Or stay in jammies all day...fine, week?
Or let them eat popcorn and cheese slices for lunch?
Or dry cereal for dinner.
And instead of normal reading and writing time with mom, a game of 3 way war, and whole house hide and go seek.

I'm not saying these things happened,
I'm just saying, what would it hurt?

Just sayin'

Well, I'll tell you what it'll do, it'll make your kids think you're the greatest "Mom" in the world!

But to be honest, these are the kind of things I'd let my nieces and nephews get away with, not my own kids.
(that's what made me "favorite Aunt Boo"!)

true story

Connor and Eden both declared this
"The best week of summer E-V-E-R!"

I, on the other hand, feel guilty about this week.

To make up for it, next week we'll do reading time for 2 hours instead of 1, and writers workshop twice a day.

The kids are really going to appreciate this.

Or at least their teachers this year will.

Love,

The Mrs.

Check List

2011-08-01T16:12:00.001-04:00

In the back of every mom's mind is a list of all the traumatizing things that could go wrong throughout the course of raising little ones.

Around the same age, each of my adorable little ones have oh-so-lovingly provided me the opportunity to check off 3 separate yet equally traumatizing events from my list.

Connor, at 9 months, fell down an entire flight of stairs, where it took the EMT's almost a full 30 minutes to get me to calm down enough to try and tell them what happened while Connor, laughed and played with the Firemen that came.

Eden, at 10 months, decided to eat a potted plant, where I frantically sat on the phone with poison control trying to figure out what horrible side effects to look for.
You can read that eventful story HERE.

And now my sweet sweet Ada (not to be outdone or left out) today, at 11 months, choked on a penny.
And I mean FULL ON CHOKING, on a penny that magically appeared, apparently, since the older siblings had no idea how it got in the middle of the freshly vacuumed carpet.
Somehow, I honestly have no idea how, I knew exactly what to do.
I checked the airway, tried a finger sweep, then put her straight into position for baby Heimlich, that I honestly have no idea how I remembered from the 2.5 minutes they went over it in 8th grade health class (Thank you Coach Baker).
Five big smacks on the back and out popped that shiny bronze beast.

I'm not gonna lie, some tears were shed...
by me.

Adalyn is, of course, unfazed.

And I'm, of course, completely traumatized and will now have nightmares.

Thank you my lovelies.

However it is crossed off the list now, so we won't be doing that again.

Right?!?

Love,

The Mrs.

Potential

2011-07-30T10:23:00.003-04:00

The big kids gone...

And Ada is left to her own creative devices.

She got to do all kinds of things she never gets to...

Like play in Eden's room and get out ALL of her stuffed animals.
And completely disassemble every resemblance of order that Connor's book shelf had.

But most importantly,

She got to pass out on the couch next to Mom.

Very rare.

I think she's ready for her ~~entertainment~~ brother and sister to come home now.

Love,

The Mrs.

Silhouettes

2011-07-27T05:36:00.012-04:00

I thought up this idea for my family room when I was pregnant with Ada and all I could do was lay in bed and think of all kinds of creative things I wish I was doing instead of dying there.

After over a year, I finally finished them!

Unfortunately there was no good angle to take this pic that didn't have a glare on at least one of the pictures...
short of taking the glass out, which I was not going to do after finally finishing them.

The Mr. and Mrs.

My beautiful babies.

I love how they turned out!

*pat on the back*

What's next...

Love,

The Mrs.

Bitter Sweet

2011-07-26T08:23:00.005-04:00

Connor, off to Disney for a week with my parents.

Eden off to the mountains for a week with our newly retired Grammy.

It was nice for about the first hour.

Now my house just feels weird.

Love,

The Mrs.

Ada's New Trick

2011-07-22T06:14:00.003-04:00

She knows what to do before eating time can begin.

Her favorite is our nightly family prayer where we all kneel down in a circle on the floor.
We sing a little Primary song first to let the kids know it's time to come kneel down and get ready for prayer.

It goes...

Let us gather in a circle
And kneel in family prayer
To thank our Heavenly Father
For the blessings we all share

Ada thinks we sing this song just for her

She claps and dances and we all inevitably end up kneeling with her in the middle.

The older kids have now changed the song to

"Let us gather around Ada..."

I think she thinks we're praying to her.

Huh...

I do worship you my love,
Just not quite in the same way.

Love you!!

She also discovered the joy that is clicking her tongue this week,
Standing, without any support, for about 5 second intervals,
Rubbing her hands together whenever it's lotion time,
Understands and has fully mastered her "all done" sign language.
And is practicing the art of blowing kisses.

What a doll baby!

Love,

The Mrs.

A Day With A Cowgirl

2011-07-20T05:00:00.002-04:00

Cowgirl Aunt Stacey that is!

We got her just for a day.

She was entertained by Connor's adorable pranks

Eden's complete beautifulness

And the Magic Musings of Miss Adalyn

Hopefully we'll get to see her again before we know it
*cross fingers*

Love,

The Mrs.

Finally

2011-07-18T07:53:00.004-04:00

Our first baby tooth!

And only 19 more to go...

Love,

The Mrs.

Nostalgic

2011-07-15T08:51:00.003-04:00

For simpler days when my sweet little Baby didn't constantly yell at me.

I would seriously,
do ANYTHING
to fix this for you my love.

Love,

The Mrs.

Holy Moly

2011-07-12T12:56:00.008-04:00

***Warning***

*The following image contains graphic content that may disturb some viewers.*

*Viewer Discretion is Advised*

Isn't that the saddest little thing you ever did see?

I'm welling up all over again.

After 2 months (not an exaggeration)of teething,
and one full week of CONSTANT pain and yelling.
We finally had a tooth.

No, you heard me right...
"had"

her little gums swelled up and healed back over where that little tooth finally broke through.

Now we have to start all over again.

My poor baby!

It's breaking my heart!

I can still manage to get smiles out of her though,

however brief and tear filled.

And she only wants me to hold her, so typing on the computer or doing,
well...
anything,
is out of the question.

Just in trying to type a blog, she stole my h.

I mean literally, stole my h

She's trying to tell me something...

perhaps
"hi"
or
"help"
or
"hurt"
or
"hydrangea"...

Hmmmm....
It's a thinker.

Love,

The Mrs.

Independence Day 2011

2011-07-07T11:26:00.004-04:00

And what would a Kiggins celebration be without festivity inspired delicousness

Ah, God Bless America and it's oh-so-yummy jello surprise.

Love,

The Mrs.

Let Freedom Ring

2011-07-05T09:00:00.005-04:00

And ring it did!

But we still have guests and I don't want to be a rude hostess and steal away too long so I will leave you with a frolickingly festive preview of the funness.

More to come...

Love,

The Mrs.

The Day Ada Discovered Velcro

2011-06-30T09:31:00.002-04:00

We're having some watery fun in the backyard and the masses have concurred that it is lunchtime.

I bring Ada in, take her bathing suit and swim diaper off and stick a dry diaper on her so as not to find a "puddle" on my carpet later.

Eden and Connor both are whining at the back door and protest, loudly, how long it is taking me to procure a meal for them.

I'm making lunch and my Ada is playing in a circle of toys she created.

I finally get lunch together.
Get the older 2 dried off and eating.
Make Ada's lunch.
Go to get her and find that she has abandoned her toy nest.
I turn to the dining room and find this.

Not only did she carelessly discard her diaper to the side,

but she stole my iPhone!

Realizing she's been caught.
Trying to think of a quick explination...

And when I tried to put her diaper back on her,

She yelled at me.

They are quite constricting.

But wouldn't this be a darling Apple Ad?

Downloading some Apps.

Baby Apple Genuis.

There was another incident later this same day with mastering velcro and a diaper of the "code brown" kind.
Still too soon.
Not ready to talk about it.
Don't know if I ever will be...
*dry heave*

Love,

The Mrs.

A Pinch of Sunshine

2011-06-27T11:47:00.003-04:00

Connorism

Connor comes downstairs without a shirt on...

Me: "Why are you naked?"

Connor: "I was shaving."

Me: "Shaving?"

Connor: "Yeah, with Dad."

Me: "Oh ok. How did it go?"

Connor: "Good. I shaved my pinch."

Me: "Your pinch??"

Connor: as he's pinching his chin "Yeah, you know, my pinch of hair. See. On my chin. It's just going to get longer and fuller. That's what puberty is right? Then I'll have to shave everyday. But my pinch I only have to shave once a year. So I'm good until next year now."

**********

Edenism

After telling Eden to stop running in the store...

Eden: "I just can't stop Mom."

Me: "Why not?"

Eden: *sigh* "I'm just walking on sunshine."

**********

And Ada???

Well...

She discovered Velcro

But that's a whole other story
(with fantastic pictures)

For next time...

Love,

The Mrs.

Bulldog

2011-06-27T03:02:00.002-04:00

Ada has so much personality.

I mean BURSTING!

I could just watch her all day.

Oh wait...
I do.

Seriously get nothing done.

She almost always is carrying around something in her mouth,
usually one of my hair bands or a bracelet,
and crawling around with it.

It's quite an amusing sight.

She looks like such a little bulldog when she's crawling around with her little hands pointed inward.

Sometimes she'll go find a bracelet or hairband, not to play with, but just to have in her mouth, you know, for crawling purposes.

She's hilarious!

She'll pull funny faces, snort and try and blow raspberries while trying to keep the bracelet in her mouth and crawl.

She's a multitasker.

Get's that from her Mom.

My little brown eyed girl!
(She's blowing raspberries in this one...can't you hear it?)

She love, Love LOVES to blow raspberries.
Especially on peoples bellies.
All you have to do is lie on the floor with your shirt pulled up and she's all over it.
Though given the chance, she doesn't prejudice, any bare skin will suffice.

She waves at people and cars whenever they pass by.
And not just a little wave of the wrist.
This girl puts her whole hand, wrist, elbow, shoulder and soul into every wave.
Very enthusiastic about her hello's.
Sometimes (most of the time) if she's really excited, she waves with both hands.

That's how you know she threw in some extra love for ya.

She makes all kinds of adorable noise-ies. The ones I can make out are Mama, Dada, Hi, and her favorite...
"Eeeeeaaak"
which she repeats over and over and by the decibel she emits, I can only assume these communications are intended for the neighborhood dogs.

Ada is pulling herself up onto EVERYTHING.
Shows off by one-handing it.
And now started cruising.
I, of course, loving discouraged her milestone by immediately picking her up and not putting her back down.

Connor walked at 10 months so I adapted this technique with Eden and she didn't walk until a week after her first birthday.
It seems more loving then knocking them over.
Hopefully it'll work on Ada too.
*fingers crossed*

Not ready to let go just yet.

Ada is very easily amused these days.
You just make eye contact and smile and she'll just roll in laughter.
She thinks her brother and sister and all odd noises were clearly placed on this earth for her sole entertainment and are without a doubt, the-most-hilarious-ever.
She has the best little belly laugh and when you really get her rolling she'll screech and squeal and wave her arms and legs all over the place.

It's the best sound.

And ALWAYS happens at night right after her bath.

Best part of my day!

Ada knows everyone in her little family.
If you ask her "Where's Connor?" She'll look right at him or crawl to him.
Genius!

She's learning some of her basic sign language motions too, but thinks it's more fun to watch me do them and laugh.

She gives kisses, hugs and high fives all on demand and claps whenever you say "Yaay"

and sometimes when you don't.

She's obviously just applauding how awesome her Mom is.

True Story.

I can't believe how fast she's growing.

Speaking of...

How are we coming on that time slowing device??

Anybody?

Anybody?

Love,

The Mrs.

The Fruits (and veggies) Of My Labor

2011-06-24T07:53:00.010-04:00

Oh the Mrs. quite contrary,
How does your garden grow?

Surprisingly well actually.

I finally found the perfect spot for that farm house door I stole.
I think it gives my garden some good ju-ju.

Well, my blackberries are loving it!

My Sweet Potatoes are extremely happy and TAKING OVER!

I keep having to cut them back from choking out my carrots.

And my squash and zuchini plants are just going nuts

I've seriously given away more then we've eaten.
I'm slicing the rest and freezing them.

My tomato plants are extremely happy as well.

These I don't forsee having to donate.
My Eden is eating them faster then they can turn red.
They're like candy to her.

Same with the peas.

Connor and Eden actually fight over who gets to pick and eat the ones that are ready.
None of the peas ever make it into the house.
This is why I planted 50 plants this year.
Apparently it's still not enough.

I'm not complaining though.

Eat all the veggies you want my sweets!

You could share one with Mom every now and then though.
Just sayin'

My strawberry plant has decided that it's done for the year.
Except for one rouge berry that we found and it just so happened to be SWEETEST strawberry EVER!
Left my babies (and me) salivating for more.

We already started planning out our fall crops.

There's just something about your own garden...
Everything just tastes sweeter!

Love,

The Mrs.

Dog Days of Summer

2011-06-23T11:05:00.004-04:00

My little Bulldog,

(because that's what she looks like when she crawls)

Abandoned her sippy cup to protest her displeasure in being left out of all the fun.

Sorry baby, it's hotter than Justin Bieber's new haircut out there.

Seriously.

Never fear though.

Older siblings to the rescue to entertain the masses with their fabulous antics and googly eyed goggles.

Mission accomplished my lovelies.

Perhaps we'll attempt the pool...

One day...

Love,

The Mrs.

Behind Every Great Dad...

2011-06-20T08:26:00.004-04:00

Is a great family.

The kids gave Mr. Kiggins a button for Father's day that said just that.
Well, actually it said
"Behind every great Dad is a great kid."
But Connor suggested we cross it out and put "family" instead.
What a smartie!

Mr. Kiggins wore that button all day long.
Yes, he even tacked it onto his suit and sported it proudly through all 3 hours of church.
That's how you can tell the hardcore Dad's.
The ones that wear the cheezy tie/giant button to work/church, drink their hot chocolate from the #1 Dad mug, proudly display the macaroni frame on their desk at work and watch cartoons with their kids on the one day of the year he's "allowed" to watch sports all day long.

His office is plastered with pictures of his Family and handmade cards and projects they've created for him.
And you want to know why?
Because my kids are awesome!
Why are they so awesome?
Because they have an even awesome-er Dad to mold themselves from.

When he's home, they follow him around like little puppy dogs.
Everything he does, they want to do too.

Who wouldn't?

Mr. Kiggins is AMAZING!

Even on Saturday mornings.
Watch cartoons?
No way!

Mr. Kiggins is working out in the yard?
Then that's where we all want to be too!

What?
You don't work out in a skirt?
Weird.

Watching Mr. Kiggins is always fun...

For the whole family.

We love you Mr. Kiggins!

Thank you so much for being so amazing for us!

Happy Father's Day!!

Love,

The Mrs.

Daddy Play Time

2011-06-17T06:17:00.002-04:00

You know what else I love?

When Mr. Kiggins comes home.

And you know what else?

I'm not the only one.

This moment was exceptionally frightening for me/a good time for the boys.

Dinner outside?

Oooh,

Yes please!

Love,

The Mrs.

Seasonal Cycling

2011-06-15T05:21:00.001-04:00

You know what I love?

Warm weather.

You know what I love more than warm weather?

Being with my family outside enjoying the warm weather.

Mr. Kiggins dusting off and fixing up my cruiser for the season.

Oh how I've missed you!

This was Ada's first bike ride.
(well, on the outside that is if you recall this)

She seems to be questioning her parents and current predicament.

Until...

Eden said she'd ride with her the whole time to keep her safe.
Awwe!

Connor was stoked to finally, after a long winter, have people to ride bikes with him.

He's crazy fast on his bike and a little hard to keep up with.

Is this just a sign of things to come with him?

Probably.

I don't want to talk about it anymore.

More warm weather fun, with my still little and need their Mama babies, to come...

Love,

The Mrs.

Miss Preslee

2011-06-12T23:34:00.004-04:00

Finally got to see my sweet little newest niece.

After the scare she gave us all coming into the world, I couldn't wait to hold her and feel her breathe and count all her little fingers and toes.
And of course, take a few pics.

Just a few
*wink wink*

And my favorite...

You can view the entire shoot HERE

Love,

The Mrs.

The End

2011-06-10T07:54:00.008-04:00

This day brings the end of so many things.

The end of the school year.

The end of having to get up at 5:45 to catch the bus.

The end of waiting to see my new little niece.

The end to the craziest week, filled with 4 separate stressful events.

2 of which you read about here
The other 2 happened yesterday where Ada ate her sisters spoonful of crunchy peanut butter,

that she LOVED,

and screamed at me when I took away and continued to yell and flail at me while I scrubbed it out of her mouth,

face,

fingernails

and hair.

All while frantically calling the doctor and looking for any sign of an allergic reaction.
(for those keeping track, that's twice now that my little baby has had peanuts)
siblings can be so helpful...at times.

While I'm on the phone with the Dr. I see water dripping outside from a pipe in our attic.
I think to myself
"Huh, that's strange."
Then I remember the walk through with Travis in our Durham house...
"If you ever see water dripping from this pipe, call me immediately."

Oh no!

I run up to the attic.

Water EVERYWHERE.

Go to call the home warranty guy.

Number is disconnected.
I remember that he changed it.
Can't find the new number anywhere.
Am expecting company any minute.
Put a sign on the door saying I'll be back in 2.
Drive to the front of the neighborhood where they have a huge sign with a list of important phone number's.
It's no longer there.
When the fluff did they take that down?
Drive back home.
Ada is starving and tired.
Call Mr. Kiggins.
He abandons work to come rescue me.
(my hero!)
My friend is late.
I decide to just go ahead and nurse Ada and put her to bed.
30 seconds after starting my friend shows up to drop her son off to go to the pool with us as planned.
Thankfully my milk hadn't let down yet.
I stop nursing Ada to get the door.
She does NOT like that idea.
Ada is screaming.
I play it super cool.
You know,
like I do.
My friend leaves.
I tell the kids to play.
I nurse Ada and put her to bed.
As I'm laying her down I hear the little boy say to my sweet Eden
"I hate you. I'm never playing with you again. You're ugly."
Seriously reconsider my anti-corporal-punishment stance on parenting.
Kindly and sweetly I explain to the little boy that those are mean words. And if we are mean and use mean words, then we can't play at my house. And put his little hiney on time out to think about how he can use sweet words.
I finally find a number to call the warranty department.
They are sending someone out.
Mr. Kiggins get's here.
Now I can breathe.
Sneak into the nursery, still watching for that allergic reaction from Ada.
She's snoozing away.
Kids are very upset we're NOT going to the pool now.
Set up the slip-n-slide in the back yard and give them all a popsicle.
2 hours later...
The guys come out.
Fix everything.
No allergic reaction from Ada.
After 3 more times on time out, the friend picks up her son...an hour late.
Send the kids to the garden to collect produce for dinner.
I throw together a meal as fast as I can.
Toss the kids in the bath.
Put them to bed.
Eat a bowl of icecream.

The End.

Love,

The Mrs.

Preslee Brynn

2011-06-10T07:39:00.002-04:00

Kevan finally sent pics!
And of course by "sent" I mean I went on his Facebook page and stole them.

My new niece!

Preslee Brynn
7 lbs 8 oz. 20 3/4 inches
born at 9:54 PM on 6/6/11

Isn't she amazing?!!

Looks just like her Daddy.

Mom and baby are doing fantastic!

Thankfully.

Welcome to the world sweet Preslee!

What an entrance!

Love,

The Mrs.

Bobcat

2011-06-09T06:50:00.004-04:00

Isn't he so handsome?!!

He's even more delicious when he wears the neckerchief too, but I took this picture before a regular Scout night, not a pack meeting, and apparently wearing a neckerchief on a normal day would be "embarrassing" since none of the other boys would have one on.

Politics.

A friend of mine was able to catch this picture for me since I was laid up in bed with a ridiculous back.
They turn the Scout upside down when they get their Bobcat badge to remind them to
"Do a good turn daily"

You can get the gist of the little neckerchief in this pic.
It's the yellow thing smacking him in the face.

We didn't realize getting his Bobcat would be so ceremonious.

We thought they were just going to hand him a badge.

Had we known...

Mr. Kiggins wouldn't be in his basketball playing clothes, and I, no matter how much my back hurt,

would've been there.

Regardless, we are super proud of our little boy scout!

Love,

The Mrs.

24

2011-06-06T20:52:00.005-04:00

The past 24 hours here have been insane.

My extremely painful back has decided to add on a headache.
Comes and goes.
VERY obnoxious.

Makes me irritable.

I've been checking my phone every minute for about 2 weeks now waiting for 3 different babies to be born.

Last night I got a text saying that the first of these babies was finally here.

I'm standing in my room texting my congrats to Mama and baby Miles, when all of the sudden,
Mr. Kiggins is right in my face

Screaming at me

My head is pounding

Everything hurts

I feel like I got hit by a truck

Apparently I'm laying on the floor

And he's asking me silly questions like

"What's my name?"
and

"What day is it?"

Seems I blacked out.
Fell straight backwards.
You know, like they do in cartoons.

Seriously freaked Mr. Kiggins out.

He said my eyes were open the whole time but it was like no one was home.

*cringe*

Very Strange.

Apparently I didn't pick the safest of places to have this little episode.
Woke up today, covered in bruises and scrapes.
Hitting the side table with the back of my head during my decent did nothing to ease the already annoying headache I seem to be plagued with.
And obviously only added new pains to my already spasming back.

Hurts like a swear word.

Getting old stinks.

To be honest this freaked me out a little too.
I've never blacked out before.
I didn't pass out.
I wasn't lightheaded, or experiencing tunnel vision or fuzziness of any kind.
One minute the lights were on, next minute they were off.
Scary.

I decided to go see the doc.

He didn't see anything apparent.

Wanted an MRI scan of my brain.

Sounds lovely.

As I'm heading to the Hospital for that, I talk to my brother, Brooke is in labor.

Eeeek!
So excited!

Now I'm mad I'm not closer.
And even more mad that I'm headed to a hospital, but not for a fun reason like seeing my newborn niece.

Finish the MRI.
Which was sooooooooooo loud and bangy and made my head pound even more then it already was.

Call a friend to arrange decorating the new mama's house for baby Miles homecoming.
Call my brother.
Brooke has her epidural and everything is going smooth.

Dr. beeps in.

Brain looks fine (of course).

Seems I have 2 different bouts of sinusitis (strange, I don't feel sick. at. all.)

Is going to treat it with antibiotics and see if the symptoms go away.

Whatever.

Just glad it's not something serious.

A sinus infection I can handle.

Teri beeps in.

Arrange with fabulous sister to pick up flowers to take to Brooke in the hospital for me.
My dad beeps in.
Baby is coming out face first instead of crown first.
Very rare.
Have to do an emergency C-section.

*panic*

I'm pacing back and forth in front of my house, holding Ada, waiting for answers, a phone call, a text, some peace of mind, for Mr. Kiggins to come home...

Call the third friend and ask her to please wait until after midnight to have her baby because today just seems to have some fishy ju-ju.

Now Ada and I are trying to wait patiently in Daddy's recliner.

Watching an episode of Friends of DVD.
Trying to be patient.

Saying lots of prayers.

Waiting to hear if Brooke and her baby are ok....

Thankfully this day comes to an end the way it began.
With news from a happy Mama of her perfect little healthy baby entering the world.

*sigh*

I'm going to go put myself, Ada and Mr. Kiggins to bed and sleep off this crazy day.

(hopefully stats and maybe even a pic to come soon)

Love,

The Mrs.

We Need To Talk

2011-06-03T07:55:00.001-04:00

Dearest little Adalyn,

I thought we had an agreement.

An understanding if you will.

I promised to hold you and feed you and love on you and smooch you whenever your little heart desired, and in return you promised to stay my little tiny baby forever.

Yes, I'm aware of the unreasonableness of this agreement.
But you have to admit it was going pretty good there for a while.
We were both so happy.

A Mom can dream.

I understand that you'll have to grow up.
Eventually.

But is this really necessary right now??

Pulling up on everything?
Really?
(she's so proud of herself)
Is nothing sacred anymore?

You can't slow things down just a little?
I'm still trying to wrap my head around the fact that you're crawling now.

Then you go and do something like this?

Do you have to be so anxious to grow up?

Don't you love me at all?

Just sayin'

Love,

The Mrs.

It's Not Me, It's You

2011-06-02T09:00:00.007-04:00

I'm thinking this is what Ada has been trying to tell us!

More specifically, ME!

I'm so confused right now.

But apparently...

It's ME!

Have I lost you?

Sorry.
Let me start at the beginning.

Ada has severe stranger anxiety.
And it seems you don't really have to be that much of a stranger either. Pretty much as long as you're not Mom or Dad or a sibling, you're going to get screamed at.
A very high pitched blood curdling scream that will make you think twice about
ever.
approaching.
a baby.
again.

Not pleasant.

Skip forward to yesterday.
I hurt my back (old chronic injury) and had to cancel going to Mutual last night. Thankfully my Counselors are awesome and handled it perfectly even without their fearless leader.
That's me.
So Mr. Kiggins had to take Connor to Scouts all by his lonesome.
(our boy-scouting program is run through and at our church)
No, we couldn't play hookie, because Connor was getting his very first badge.
More on that later...

My brave Mr. also took both girls with him so that I could rest.
What an amazing guy!

So they're there at Scouts and waiting for Connor's turn when Ada started getting a little fussy.
Mr. Kiggins picks her up.
She poo'd.
A Spanish lady says, with her arms out "I hold bebe?"
Eden comes up and says "I have to go poo-poos"
(apparently both girl's bowels are on the same poo schedule)
Mr. Kiggins wearily says yes to the Spanish lady then with a brief disclaimer says "She'll probably cry."
Mr. Kiggins hands a smelly Ada over.
Who doesn't make a sound.
Takes care of the larger of the little girl's hineys.
Comes back just in time to do the ritual badge ceremony for Connor (more later).
Takes care of the still not crying smaller of the girl's hineys.
Ends the ceremony.
Let's the kids play with their friends for a minute while he shoots free throws in the gym, holding Ada.
Brandon Larsen comes in and offers to hold the baby while he shoots.
Mr. Kiggins says yes because apparently she goes to strangers now.
Hands her over.
She plays and makes googly eyes at Brandon.
Time to go.
Mr. Kiggins puts his arms out for Ada.
She looks at him then back to Brandon, and indifferently decides to stay put.
Mr. Kiggins finally gets home.
Tells me this story while I'm holding my Ada.
Then takes her from me to give her a bath.
She screams her blood curdling scream.
He gives her back.
She stops.

Oh my.

Apparently it's not strangers.

It's ME!

She's not afraid of strangers, or relatives she doesn't see everyday.

She's afraid of anyone who may potentially take her away from me.
Because I'm always the one holding her when people approach her.

*gasp*

I'm the reason you screamed at your Grammy on Sunday when she wanted to snuggle you!

Little booger!

Please be sweeter to your relatives who love you dearly.

No one can ever take you from me!

Love,

The Mrs.

Lessons Learned

2011-05-31T08:11:00.008-04:00

We had a fantastic Memorial weekend with friends, family, sun and fun!

I learned a lot of things...

Like that Eden and Connor LOVE roller coasters.

Of all kinds!
If they're tall enough for the ride, they're on it, with hands up in the air, giant toothy grins and screaming.

And even braver if cousins are involved.

Little daredevils!

I however, am kinda a scaredy cat.

Oh I'll go on them, but as Eden say's "It scares the pants, shirt, socks off [me]".

**********
My Eden is a bit of a wanderer

Scared me to death!
But that's a story for another day...

**********
We are all amazingly talented "dancers"!

at least that's what we're calling it.

**********
My Mother-In-Law is pretty fond of me

This I already knew but look at this gorgeous heirloom she gave me to pass down to my daughters.
Thank you again Grammy!

**********
Eden has a very artistic photographers eye

That's my girl!

*********
This is what my Connor...

...will look like as an old man.

**********
It's going to be one blazing summer.

That's 6:39 PM
It's only May!

**********
And Ada is one water loving baby.

Can't say I'm surprised. Other than strangers talking/touching/looking at her, there's not much this little girl doesn't love.
Love,

The Mrs.

Perfection

2011-05-27T07:50:00.005-04:00

Complete and utter perfection.

Just looking at that sweet little face brightens my entire day.

And when she flashes that breathtaking toothless gummy grin?
Forget about it.

Anything she wants is hers!

We tell her she's perfect so much I'm afraid she's going to think it's her new name.

I just revel in every moment I get with her.
When she sleeps, I actually miss her.
Most parents may view nap-time as a "break".
And maybe that will come eventually for me.
But for now I just treasure every single moment I get to have with my very own little piece of heaven on earth.

Lately she's been really trying to tell us stuff.
She grunts and hums and puts her hands up, get's real serious, then slams her hands down hard and squeals and laughs. Then she'll put one hand up in the air, palm up, and look at me waiting for my witty,

and obvious,

reply.

Yeah, I got nuthin'.

I don't know what she's saying yet, but it's obviously very important.
I'll figure it out.

We just had her 9 month check up
*tear*

She weighs 17 lbs. 7 oz.
And is 27.5 inches tall.

50th percentile for both.
I mean, exactly 50th percentile.

Not too big, not to small...
Perfect.
Absolutely PERFECT!

*sigh*
I'm a tad fond of this little girl.

She's getting this crawling thing down.
And is discovering all kinds of things that the rest of us don't see.
Like teeny tiny pieces of string and fuzz.
My vacuum cleaner has never worked so hard.

I'll leave you for the holiday weekend with a picture of the fantastic view I get to have
every.
single.
day.

You're jealous.
I know.
Love,

The Mrs.

The "Incident"

2011-05-24T07:24:00.004-04:00

There was a...

Let's just call it an "incident".

Involving a beautiful Chandelier,

And a darling pair of Sunshine Jammies.

More specifically, a lightbulb on said beautiful Chandelier.

No Edens or Chandeliers were harmed in the making of this post.

Just the lightbulb and a sad pair of darling sunshine jammies, and some tender little 4 year old feelings.

Love,

The Mrs.

Who Authorized This?

2011-05-20T08:05:00.006-04:00

I know it wasn't me!

What happened?

Mr. Kiggins went away on business for a week and Ada decided that would be good time to fast-track her milestones and inevitably make her Mommy cry.

She's been trying to figure out the whole crawling thing for a while now.
Mostly just succeeding in flattening herself on her tummy and scooting backwards while trying to get her knees back under her and yelling at me the whole time because she couldn't figure it out.
I was in no rush and thought these little intrigues to be quite amusing and excellent conversational time with my baby.
Ada apparently disagreed and decided to figure it out on her own since I was obviously going to be no help at all.

She's got the hand part down, but is still working out the kinks on the mechanics and timing of those little chubalicious legs.

Last night, we had definite forward progress.

*tear*

She can also sit herself up from any position she's in.
And she started dancing (rocking) whenever she hears music.
AND she started clapping.

All just this week.

The clapping is exceptionally adorable.
Unfortunately she does not clap on demand.
She has her own opinions of what is amusing and they obviously differ from mine.
Either that, or her claps are camera shy.
Regardless, it makes for a difficult time in trying to photo-document her life and milestones.

Challenge accepted.

Love,

The Mrs.

Mama Bear

2011-05-17T06:01:00.007-04:00

We've been having a bit of a rough school year.

Kindergarten and First Grade were fine.
Connor was off the charts in everything.
His teachers loved him and couldn't stop praising how brilliant and amazing he was.

This year however, Connor's teacher has expressed multiple times how worried she is about his inability to pay attention and sit still. How next year will be even harder and she thinks he might not make it. How other kids will start to notice how behind he is and make fun of him.
She implied, in not so many subtle words, that she thinks he has ADD and how I need to get him in to see a doctor.
When I voiced my concern to Connor's teacher about how he's always done such a good job in school and how I didn't understand why this year was so different, she told me that he was probably having a hard time adjusting to the new baby and all the changes at home. But at home I really didn't see any big changes. Connor was acting the same. He seemed excited around Ada. We tried giving him extra one on one time with Dad and Mom. We went to his school numerous times and had lunch with him to help give him more attention, but all of our efforts didn't seem to make a difference at school.
I thought he just needed time and then he would adjust and his teacher would finally be reporting to me that he's off the charts brilliant as usual.

Then his teacher called over the weekend to inform me that Connor failed his DRA (reading comprehension test) for a level 30. Then she said on Monday they would re-test him for a level 28 (the minimum for passing 2nd grade).

I was shocked.
Are we talking about the same child who read all of the Diary of a Wimpy Kid books in just 3 weeks?
I felt like one of those Moms who thinks their kid is genius when he's really just average, and brags to everyone about it, but no one wants to say anything and burst her make-believe bubble.

Blinded by love I guess.

Made me mad.
I try to be very realistic when looking at my children.
Then I thought:
I don't tell people Connor is smart.
Other people tell me Connor is smart.

That's how you know you're not one of those blinded parents.

Then I remembered that at the end of 1st grade he was a level 28.

I may be a sweet sunny positive happy person most of the time, but you mess with my babies and I become a growling mean mama bear fast!

So I called his teacher.
She didn't answer, but I left a very colorful message that basically said that he came into the year at a level 28 and hasn't progressed at all? How could he read fine last year, but all of the sudden this year he can't. And how I was confused how a child who has read Harry Potter, and Chronicles of Narnia, and all of the Diary of a Wimpy kid books, and retold them to me in great detail, could only be a level 28. And how she see's these attention problems, but neither I nor his doctor see them. Then I told her that I know my child, but it clearly seems that even after having him for an entire school year, she didn't.

Then I called the school and asked to speak with an administrator.
What I ended up getting was the Curriculum Advisor, who also happened to be Connor's Kindergarten teacher.
I explained the situation.
She told me that it didn't sound like Connor at all.
Obviously.
Then she said she would personally give him his DRA test that day.

She called me an hour later and told me she tested him at a level 30 and he passed just fine.
Then told me that the next day she wanted to test him at a level 34. Then if he passes that, she'll keep going to see what level he actually is.

She also told me that she didn't see any sign of an attention problem.
She said that Connor does fidget (always has) but it seems more like an anxious movement when he's thinking or trying to figure something out. She then said that she thinks his teacher is mistaking this for a concentration problem.

So we got a bad teacher this year who blames her inability on an imaginary disorder that my child doesn't have.
Thankfully, this year is almost over.
I know now to be a little more aggressive and not just go along with what the teacher says.
Because, when it comes down to it, I have to remember that I know my kids better than anyone else.
I know their strengths.
I know their weaknesses.
I'm their only advocate.
I'm their cheerleader.
I'm their Mom.

And I think he's an amazingly brilliant little boy!

Cross your fingers for a better teacher next year bud.

Love,

The Mrs.

Sign of the Times

2011-05-13T14:15:00.002-04:00

Connor walks in from school.

Me: "How was your day bud?"

Connor: *sigh* "I'm exhausted."

Me: "Why?"

Connor: "I was running all day long."

Me: "Why were you running all day?"

Connor: "Because the girls were chasing me."

Me: "What girls?!?"

Connor: "All of them."

Me: "Where?"

Connor: "On the playground."

Me: "Why were they chasing you?"

Connor: "I dunno."

Me: "Were they playing a game?"

Connor: "No."

Me: "Did they say anything to you? Or did they just start chasing you?"

Connor: "No, they just kept screaming my name."

Oh my

Me: "How many girls were chasing you and screaming?"

Connor: "All of them."

Me: "All of them?!?"

Connor: "Yep."

Me: "Were they chasing and screaming at any of the other boys?"

Connor: "No. Just me."
"I think maybe they were trying to play cops and robbers and they were the cops and they wanted me to be the robber.

Yes, yes, that's probably exactly what was happening.

I blame this entirely on your father.

Love,

The Mrs.

Rare Delicacy

2011-05-11T06:18:00.002-04:00

Look what Mr. Kiggins made me for my Mother's Day dinner.

YUMM!

Italian barbecued chicken, sweet baby peas, beer batter bread (that he made from scratch *or beater batter bread as Connor calls it*), and fresh strawberries.

And it tasted even better then it looks if you can imagine that.

I have one amazing guy!

And those strawberries?

Picked right from our garden he planted!

Oh Mr. Kiggins, you take such good care of me.
Is it really possible to love anyone as much as I love you?

Thank you for giving me my beautiful babies and the greatest Mother's Day ever!

You truly are my very own rare delicacy.

Love,

The Mrs.

Yo' Mama

2011-05-09T10:02:00.005-04:00

You want the perfect Mother's Day present?

Get your older kids to let you snuggle with them and rock them to sleep.

BEST.
FEELING.
E-V-E-R!

Just like when they were babies.

*sigh*

Happy Mother's Day to all you awesome Mama's, Mama's to be, and Mama's at heart!

Love,

The Mrs.

The Unveiling...

2011-05-05T14:05:00.005-04:00

Been working my hiney off on my colorful makeover of my downstairs.

Amazing, feast for your eyeballs, Kitchen curtains!

Don't they look just fabulous with that high-chair!

I pretty much, basically, drool over them every day.

They make me smile.

Lots.

Then my amazing Mr. Kiggins bought me this vintage hutch that I've been lusting over at my favorite antique shop for months.
*eek*

So.

In.

Love.

I made some new fabulous retro print curtains for the Family Room.

Colorful, yet oddly neutral.

Then we got rid of the boring plain vanilla beige couch and chair from the living room and replaced it with a new, old desk.

It was completely hideous when we got it.
But it's darling painted white and frosted with these gorgeous glass knobs I found.

I'm still on the lookout for an old wooden swivel desk chair.

I refuse to pay over $20.00 for one, so the hunt is a tad tedious.

For now we're using our old regular modern desk chair.

It's not cool enough to be deemed worthy for the picture.

For now I have 2 of my dining room chairs and an old table where the couch used to be in the living room.

But for Mother's day Mr. Kiggins bought me this beautiful disaster and it's matching twin that will shortly take their place once my slipcovers arrive.

Oh, I'm so excited!!

Maybe once the kids are older we can discuss recovering them.

Total cost of my decorating reformation?

Less than $500.00

All paid for with moneys earned from our yard sale.

*pat on back*

and one for you too Mr. Kiggins.

You're amazing!
Love,

The Mrs.

And Justice for All

2011-05-02T09:36:00.005-04:00

And Justice was served.

This may or may not be the actual headlines.
It may or may not have been digitally altered by a certain someone before being deemed appropriate for this PG rated blog.
However, I can neither confirm nor deny these accusations at the present time.

All I do know is that we are one step closer to making this a better world for my gorgeous babies.

Love,

The Mrs.

Royal 'Window' Treatment

2011-04-29T08:51:00.011-04:00

I'm almost finished with my downstairs makeover.

With the help of my amazing Mr. I predict that by the end of the weekend it will be complete.
(the sewing at least)

And I will be
so. happy.

I took a little extra break from my usual runnings around and have been up to my eyeballs in fabric, thread and straight pins for the past 2 days.
Not exactly by choice.
My sweet Connor has a little fever so we've been hanging out at home.
Seeing as how I can't leave my house to do the numerous errands I had planned, I decided to make good use of my indoor-bound state and sew like a mad woman.

I'm impressed with my progress.

Thankfully with all the down-time, my Connor is doing much better.

**********

I've been following the Royal wedding on and off today.
(mostly just when I sit for a minute to nurse Ada)
Sadly I was way too busy with my sewing and all to attend, but I know William and Kate will understand.

However, I am enjoying the visual amazingness we're receiving here.

Makes me wish I had everyone wear fancy hats for my wedding.

I'm so jealous of this fashion.
I love hats.
More people should don extraordinary headpieces stateside.
Maybe I'll be the first to start this custom here.

My hat I'd wear for the royal wedding?

Gorgeous!!

The first hat I would want for my new (virtual) collection though would be...

I would rock that ravishing red masterpiece!

This is another one I would have to have.

It's a little bit nutty, and a lot bit genius.

And I've been madly in love with this 40's inspired chapeau for awhile now.

*sigh*

Oh, how I love being a girl!

Love,

The Mrs.

The Snickers Story

2011-04-27T09:32:00.005-04:00

I am the greatest Mom ever!

Inventive.
Ingenious.
Incredible.

I always know what's happening in my house.
And I always know how to best entertain my children.

It's a gift.

We were 1 hour away from home from our road trip to Raleigh and my Ada was all done.
I had exhausted every toy and baby safe non-choking hazard item in the car to entertain her.
Connor picked up one of his fun-sized individually wrapped snickers from his Easter basket and Ada was instantly riveted.
Shiny crackling wrapper.
Hard stuff that squishes inside when you gum it.
What's not to love?
I was a little worried at first and watched her very intently while she played and discovered every fascinating detail of this new toy.
After about 10 minutes of a non-event I gave in to the older siblings demands to watch them play on their DS or listen to some riveting Knock Knock jokes.

After another 10 minutes of divided Mom attentiveness, I turn to Ada who is just grinning away and crackling her little wrapper.
Then Eden says "She loves that Mommy."
I know right!
I'm a genius!
Who knew a little fun-size snickers would provide so much entertainment for my little angel.
I turn to Ada again, "Do you love that snickers baby?"
She stops chewing on her now flattened snickers for a minute to flash the biggest toothless grin.
That's when I notice there's something white in her mouth.
I fish it out and look at it.
Oh No!
Nougat!!
That wrapper wasn't flattened by gums, it was empty!
That's when I see that she has chocolate smeared all over her face.

Little Houdini!

I have no idea how she got that thing opened.

And oh my, the screaming that occurred when I took it away and used a wipey to clean out what was left in her mouth.
My current panic filled fretfulness was a tad futile seeing as how she had already sucked and gummed the entire candy except for the tiny bit of nougat I fished out.

Mr. Kiggins response to my panic?
"She's fine. If not then we'll find out what Anson County hospitals are like."

I spent the next couple of hours staring at her, watching for any sign of an allergic reaction.

There was none.

Though we will not be repeating the joy of this event any time soon.

Sorry Ada.

She was extremely proud of herself!

Love,

The Mrs.

Hippity Hoppity

2011-04-25T07:20:00.004-04:00

Our Easter plans went a little awry this year.
We had planned to go up to Aunt Stacey's Farm in Maryland.
But this cough and congestion from whatever critter it is that all of us girls caught (2 weeks ago) is just hanging on with all it's might.
The thought of driving over 7 hours with a baby who, after only 2 hours, doesn't love the car so much, and has a ear infection, did not sound like so much fun for the Mama (who also is still coughing).
We were all disappointed.
Me the most.
I dream of having a horse farm and was going to live vicariously for one long weekend through my darling sister in law.
And we were going to get to see some of Mr. Kiggins' Aunt and Uncles who sadly have never met my gorgeous children.
*tear*
We will have to plan a visit for over summer break.

Anywhoo, Grandma called Saturday afternoon and convinced us to just come to their house. We didn't feel well, but since I was already stressing about trying to pull together a perfect (I can't settle for any less, I've tried) Easter dinner, we decided to brave it.
Ada did great in the car...
for the first hour 1/2, then, not so much.
But we made it.
The hardest part was trying to pull together Easter outfits for everyone.
I had planned on being on a horse farm, then making the long trip home on Sunday, not going to church with perfectly coiffed children.
I was very unprepared.
Thankfully my girl's have closets full of dresses.
I picked the most Easter-y ones, put them both in little white sweaters and sandals and called it a day.
Poor little Connor wore a green sweater vest a bought him 3 Easter's ago.
Yes, it's a size 5.
He's just a little guy.
It bodes well for me that I've been able to use most of his clothes for more than a season.

They all looked darling.

Would you like to see a picture?

Yeah,
me too.

But it seems in our last minute haste to throw everything together, my camera was forgotten.

No cute dresses and handsome suits.

No sleepy chocolate stained faces.

No Easter egg hunting in Grandpa's back yard.

But I did get this cute pic of Ada this morning with her basket.

The older kids tore into their baskets before we even got up for the day, so there's no hope of even attempting to stage a picture there.

Oh well.

But Ada loved her first Easter.

Remind me to tell you the story about the snickers bar...

I'm not witty enough right now to do it justice.

Love,

The Mrs.

Not Yet

2011-04-20T20:37:00.004-04:00

What happened?

My little Ada loves to sit and play with her toys.
She meticulously empties her toy basket.
Laughs as she works.
Taste tests all of her favorites.
She'll sit there happy for a good hour if I let her.

But tonight...

Surely this is not already happening!

I put her down here,

in between the toy basket and the big green turtle.
She scooted herself across the room,
bringing her little piano toy along just in case where she ended up wasn't as exciting as she thought.
But boy howdy, once she figured out she could open that drawer there, a whole new world had been discovered.

We're about to enter a whole new world!

Love,

The Mrs.

The Cannibalistic Rituals of Assorted Fowl

2011-04-18T06:17:00.001-04:00

My kids LOVE jokes.
Especially ones of the "knock knock" kind.

Eden doesn't quite "get" these, but LOVES to make them up.

I told her the one where you say "apple" a couple times.

You know...

knock knock

who's there?

apple

apple who?

knock knock

who's there?

apple

apple who?

knock knock

who's there?

orange

orange who

orange'ya glad I didn't say apple.

My E thinks all knock knock jokes should end this way.

For instance, she made up this gem...

Eden: "Knock knock"

Me: "Who's there?"

Eden: "Chair"

Me: "Chair who?"

Eden: (verbatim) "Glad you said I didn't say shoe couch"

Which she follows up with a good hearty over-exaggerated belly laugh.

Now the "Why did the chicken.." jokes have become a new crowd favorite.

My Eden seems to have caught onto these a little better.

She made up this beauty the other day...

Eden:
"Momma, why did the chicken cross the road?"

Me:
"Why?"

Eden:
"To see the duck."
"Why did the duck cross the road?"

Me:
"Why?"

Eden:
"To eat the chicken."

Hmmm...

A little morbid.
Yet still funny.

Oh if I could live in her world!

Love,

The Mrs.

Dining in Class

2011-04-15T09:01:00.005-04:00

My downstairs is getting a colorful makeover.

My vision is DIVINE.

It's a work in progress.

I did however finish this piece of sunshine.

My mom got this high chair for me from a friend who was moving.

It had a honey oak finish on it.
I thought it would be much more darling painted Tiffany blue (every girl's favorite color) with a red polka-dot cushion for comfyness, non-slippidge and extra adorableness.

Mission Accomplished!

Finding red polka-dot oilcloth is apparently quite the feat!
It took me almost 4 weeks.

Yowza!

Unlike locating the fabric, making these cushions was a breeze!

And so worth it!

Look how adorable!!

Ada just loves her new throne.

Now onto the next project!

Eeek!!

Love,

The Mrs.

Re-purposed Vintage

2011-04-14T08:43:00.007-04:00

I have a gorgeous, hand embroidered, 1930's vintage tablecloth that I got from my favorite antique store.

I love it!

It just speaks to me.

It speaks to my kids as well.

They're conversations are appearing to be a bit questionable though.

Apparently my gorgeous almost 80 year old cloth says to them;
"Do beautiful crafts on me, no need to color in the lines or wipe off the excess glue, I'll catch that! It'll be super fun!"

Rascals!

After some heavy duty spot treatment (and a bit of panicking), I was able to save my delicate textile.

It did look quite adorable hanging from a make shift clothesline Mr. Kiggins created for me.

Love,

The Mrs.