New Baby....

The anticipated wait is finally over! My new baby boy is here. His name is Vance Ryverz Butler. He was born on October 12, 2010 by emergency c-section because he was breech. Everything went well though. He weighed 8 lbs 15.2 oz and was very healthy. It was very emotional though having to have an emergency c-section. I have had all natural births, so he is kind of special to me. Here are some pictures :)

Our Vacation!!!

Went to Mrytle Beach with Haley and Brevon and it was great!!! I am putting up some pics. We went to the Ripley's Believe It or Not Aquarium and the fireworks were awesome. You could see down the whole beach front of everyone shooting off fireworks and then the peer shot off fireworks and we had to look straight up they were so close! Check it out!

To The Beach!!!!

We are finally taking a vacation! It is well deserved on my part :) We have a couple others planned for the summer but for this one I am only taking Haley and Brevon. We are going to my sisters in Mrytle Beach! We are extremely excited! None of us have had a vacation in a long time. Well, I had one with Brevon 2 years ago and it was almost like a nightmare. My sister and I, including Brevon drove down to Florida to see our Dad. He lives in the panhandle of Florida...I live in NC and is was a hellacious ride. Me and Brevon enjoyed ourselves for the most part. We went to Pensicola Beach (where all that oil is now) and it was absolutely gorgeous. We went to the Naval Airbase Museam which also recognizes the Blue Angels! They are awesome. We didn't get to see an airshow but Brevon did a stimulation ride like he was really in a jet. He thought it was awesome until it scared him a little bit. I think b/c of the ride and everything like that me and my sister were fustrated but there are totally different circumstances now and hey, we are sisters! How can you not make up with family?! I am super extatic! I'll try to keep everyone updated!

Happy 4th of July! Stay Safe and Have a Great Weekend!!!!!

*Jessica*

The End of the Term!!!

So we have made it to the end. Well, not quite...there is still the final's week but hey WE MADE IT!!!! This week has been pretty big for me and the kids! We bought a pool and have swam the past couple of days, we plan to plan a trip :) lol and working toward next term. Vance never stops moving...he is going to be an active baby!!! I hope everyone is starting out to a great week. KIT!

Father's Day!!

Well, first I want to start by saying HAPPY FATHER'S DAY to all the father's out there!

For a mother that goes to school full time and is a stay at home mom, which implies that the hubby has all the money...one has to get creative. I bought him a $5 t-shirt that says best dad ever and I am planning on letting the kids put a hand print on the back and me writing their names over their handprint. I think that would be sentimental! I got him a little card as well.

Like I said, with no money you have to get creative! For valentine's day one year, I folded up a notebook sheet of paper and on the front of the "card" I wrote, "Happy V-Day". I then opened it up and drew a no present sign and on the other side drew a no money sign. Then when you opened up the paper fully it had a huge heart and said but with lots of love :) There are other things that I have done for him that I needed to be creative with but this was one of my favs! Remember, even if you don't have money, you can still show your love for someone. Sometimes it comes more deep when you come up with it all on your own and don't have to spend a dime!

I hope everyone has a blessed and wonderful day.

*Jessica*

Outline

"Unit 6: Initial Response

I found that with narrowing my thesis to Rheumatoid Arthritis and doing this outline that I needed to do a little more research. So here it goes...

1. Introduction
2. The causes of RA
a. What are the causes of RA and what symptoms are relative to this disease.
3. The symptoms of RA have caused a loss in every day productivity.
a. How does RA affect every day living?
4. The cost of having this disease.
a. doctors visits
b. medications
c. Therapy for depression
d. Does insurance help with a lot of this? (incorporate into paragraph since older adults are affected by this disease)
5. Conclusion

Before I typed this in I looked it over to make sure I didn't repeat myself and I reviewed all the body paragraphs to make sure they were related to the thesis.

Revised Thesis:

Rheumatoid Arthritis affects many aspects of life with all the symptoms and characteristics of this disease, the loss of productivity in every day living and the cost of living with this disease.

Please give me comments!"

*Jessica*

Our Unit 6 project...

So I was having difficulty narrowing down what I wanted to focus on in my paper and I finally come down to Rheumatoid Arthritis....which is oddly what I started out with! :) There is so much information that I then ran into the problem of what are my 3 main points going to be. Well, I believe I got them and can't wait to get comments on what y'all think!

Other than the paper, I have had a pretty good week! I am not taking the break from school. Honestly I think that it isn't even a holiday. If you want to make it a holiday you have to cram in everything before the holiday starts so you don't have to do anything when the holiday arrives. For someone like me, it is a hard thing to do. I have 2 children that stay at home and one that goes to school. I get about an hour of quiet time a day (if that) and if I really want to get something done I have to wait until they are in bed. By the time I get them in the bed and get the kitchen clean and everything picked up I am so tired that when I start to do my homework, I fall asleep. I can only drink one cup of coffee a day (being pregnant and all) so I am stuck with a dilemma. While I am getting better at working out my study/homework schedule I still have some minor adjustments. Anybody have any ideas?!?!

Hope everyone has a great holiday!!! We are just going to eat some good food and the kids are going to swim in the kiddy pool and maybe a sprinkler if I can get to Walmart sometime tomorrow. :)

*Jessica*

Other than the little ones....

I usually don't have much going on other than the little ones running around. I am trying to teach them about respect to each other and their things. For them, right now, it is a hard one. They think that toys can be played with in any fashion and I don't think that is wrong. It is just to the point of them breaking those toys that becomes a problem. They also have a hard time respecting each other and getting the whole sharing thing down. I figured I would let them choose one toy each that NO ONE else can play with and then everything else would have to be shared. My son is actually taking another baby coming into the picture pretty hard because he has always had his room to himself. He comes up to me and hugs me and tells my belly (the baby) that he loves him but ever since he found out that we were going to have another little baby running around he has been acting out. I am trying to let him in on the whole process and I talk to him about how they are six years apart and everything he has, his little brother will not be able to play with.

Other than that :) I rearranged the rest of my house this week. I promise that I did not do this by myself this time:) I had some help by my aunt-in-law and mother-in-law. We actually took the counter that seperated my kitchen and living room and moved that somewhere else. (we had to "unhook" it from the floor, that took some work.) We are selling my living room furniture to get a sectional couch and everything looks so much better. We got a new kitchen table that seats six and now the kids dad can eat with us at dinner. (I am a traditionalist and believe a family should eat together at the dinner table.) I have had a pretty great week and hope everyone else has! "See you in class!"

New Haircut!!!

Well. I got a new haircut!!! I was so nervous and excited all at the same time. I went yesterday to get it cut. The thing that eased my mind about cutting this long hair that I haven't done anything to in my whole lifetime was that I was donating 12" to the Locks of Love foundation. I kept thinking that I would hate to be one of those mother's that couldn't put their daughter's hair in a pretty up-do with their pretty dress. I love the new haircut and I will attach pictures of what the new do looks like from the old. If you respond to this, please give me your honest opinion of what you think. I have never done anything like this. The only thing I have done to my hair is get a couple of inches off here and there and cut my own bangs. :) Hope everyone likes it, although it doesn't matter :)

Doctor's Appt Today!!!

Hello everyone. I hope everyone is doing well!!! I sure am. I went to the hospital Friday for the anatomy of the baby and they couldn't tell what I was having. I am 15 weeks and 4 days and extremely excited!

When I went to the doctor today (5/3/10) I found out that I am having a BOY!!! My fam is going to be even...lol! I also had my youngest daughter's birthday today and Daddy's! Alyssa turned 3 and Brian turned 38 today. It was an over all....Fantastic day!

Good luck to everyone on their research!

Wonderful!!!

I really enjoy the college experience. The time I spend with school really gets me calmed down from the kids running around and fighting all the time. Granted they are no where near the kind of misbehavior that I see on Supper Nanny but it is still fustrating. I think that is why I watch that show....it reminds me that I don't have it as bad as other mothers out there.

I am glad I got a chance to do a blog. If it wasn't for this class, I probably would have never created one! I think this will be a great experience in the long run and one that I will keep using!

This is it!

My first actual blog. I am sure I will get used to it, but I assume it will take time to do something that I know people are going to read. I am glad I get to learn how to do this for my career and I know it will be a lot of fun!