Happy Birthday Papa!

My dad turns 48 today!  I think I told Josh he was turning 45.  See Dad you appear younger than you really are.  That, and I can't remember how old I am.  Happy Birthday.

Addison and her Eczema (warning: skin irritation photos)

Today I had to take Addison to the urgent care doctor because she had an outbreak of some sort on her skin.  Addison has had eczema since she was very little.  It started as red patches on her cheeks when she was around two months old.  I self diagnosed her eczema (thanks to webMD)and even though it never really goes away, we had it under control.  We also found that she has a latex allergy.  These two things coincide.  A few days ago, Savanna got a rash on her chin, and it turned into impetigo.  It cleared up just from cleaning it twice a day and applying a antibiotic ointment to it.  However, Addison's very sensitive skin already afflicted with eczema, picked up the bacteria from Savanna's rash.  Yesterday her skin was severely broken out.  It spread like wildfire and this morning I couldn't believe a baby's skin could look like hers did.  After getting some antibiotics from the doctor today, I have an appointment with a pediatrician on Monday.  Who will hopefully recommend a dermatologist and allergy specialist for my little Addy Mae.  

I feel like the worst mother for letting this happen to her.  I think the reason I am posting this is for awareness purposes.  And for other parents who's children could possibly have eczema.  I thought I had already done a lot of research, but after doing more research today, there were so many more things I should be doing to help control it.  With my previous research I found that most babies outgrow their eczema.  So naturally this would apply to Addison!  But after today, I don't think this is the case for her.  

There are several types of eczema. But most people suffer from the main four types.  Turns out Addison has THREE of the four main types.  She has Atopic eczema, which basically means it's genetic and can come and go whenever it pleases.  The second type is Contact Dermatitis, which means she breaks out when she comes in contact with things she is allergic to.  Like latex.  (Which we found she was allergic to this summer, when she broke out in hives and her lips got swollen after being in her baby floaty in the pool.)  I've always had a suspicion that she was allergic to bananas, and the same proteins that are in latex are in bananas and avocados.  The third type that she has is called hand eczema.  It is a more rare form of eczema and is chronic.  The rashes on her hands, I can never get to go away.  I just assumed it was because she uses her hands to do everything, so it was harder to go away.  My poor baby.  If only I had done more research sooner.  She also has spots behind her knees, on her heels, the front of her feet, her elbows and of course her hands.   She will probably always suffer from eczema and it might get better as she gets older.  

Needless to say, the Staples family will be changing a few things around our house to help prevent Addison's outbreaks and keep her skin condition at bay.  We will be changing our detergent.  I'm gonna start using  a mild soap on her at bath time.  Dove was recommended to me by another mom who's baby has eczema.  I found several pairs of her jammies that have elastic in the feet around the spot that is always irritated on her foot.  And also elastic around the wrists where she also has irritations.  Elastic is made from rubber which is Latex.  All of her socks have elastic in them.  Elastic in the waistband is usually OK, because it's covered by material.  But I do know she has some jeans where the elastic is exposed. 

Here's my Addy Mae still smiling after her long day at the doctors.  And despite her terribly itchy skin.  (Her five year old sister in the background who has a sore throat.  Laney saw me get my camera out and said' "Mom, you cannot take a picture of me when I'm sick!")

     I had to put gauze on her bad spots, so she wouldn't scratch them.

This spot on her foot is really bad, and the bandage looks so sad.

Here's a picture of what one of her wrists looks like.  This isn't what it normally looks like.  This is infected eczema. (Looking at this picture makes me cry and vow that I will not let this happen again.) 

In other News

I woke up to four crying little girls this morning!  Usually at least one is crying, but not all four!  Laney has a fever and a very sore throat, Olivia was crying cause Laney hit her out of her frustration for have a sore throat, Savanna was crying 'cause I wasn't giving her the attention, and Addy was crying because she didn't understand why everyone else was crying.  Josh is having terrible allergies and we all no men are the worst when they don't feel good.  Lord love him.  Don't feel too sorry for me, I know this day will pass.  At least I feel great today!

Nana and Grandpa were here this weekend.  We had a great 

time.  They watched the girls for us on Saturday.  We left at 2:00 p.m. and didn't come home until 9:00!  We saw a movie, went shopping for ourselves, and ate dinner at P.F. Changs!  They were all asleep when we came home!  Thank you Nana and Grandpa.  That was a very needed break for the two of us.  

Tonight we are supposed to have house guests as Brian, Chelsea, Chase and Dawn (Chelsea's mom)  are stopping to spend the night on their way back from Arkansas.  I'll take whatever visitation I can get!

  

Our favorite Restaurant

If you've ever met my husband you would know his love affair with red meat.  He absolutely loves Barbecue.  About once a week we eat at Rudy's.  Our favorite restaurant.  Mostly we pick it up and take it home, but it's the best place to take four kids.  Nobody cares if we are loud and messy.  On Friday we met Brian, Chelsea and Chelsea's brother Chase.  They were on their way to Arkansas and wanted to meet us at Rudy's for lunch.  It's Brian and Chelsea's new favorite place, too.  Too bad they live so far away!  Also with us were Nana and Grandpa from California.  

Some of our favorites are:

1. The brisket

2. Creamed Corn

3. Turkey

4. Potato Salad

5. Green Chile Stew 

6. My personal fav is the banana pudding




Look at this very satisfied customer.  

Olivia sharing Chelsea's chocolate pudding.  Mmmmm.

Turkey and creamed corn.

Josh likes the original, I like the sissy sauce.  Imagine that.

What a mess we can make.

 

Brian and Chase.

Have you ever heard of Etsy?

You have to go to Etsy.com. It's a website where people sell their handmade goods. It has really great handmade kids stuff and a lot of them are stay at home moms trying to start a business. I bought a really cute camera strap for my new camera made by Shey B. Go check out her blog to see her cute stuff. She also does giveaways from Etsy once a week. Here is a link to her blog shealynnbenner. Go enter her drawing for an adorable handmade hat!

How to keep four kids busy

I got this workout DVD, recommended by my sister-in-law, called Shred by Jillian Micheals. I use it when I don't want to get up early to jog. I really like it. My kids love it, too. All four of them stand around me and exercise. I thought it was so funny that I put in the DVD to show Josh and go this great idea. Use it to keep my kids busy before Lunch. It also wears them out and makes them extra tired for nap and quiet time! My kids are so cute. Notice how Olivia has her Cinderella slippers on.

Valentines' day!

Here is our day in a nutshell. We woke up and the girls opened their Valentine mailboxes they made a few weeks ago. It's funny how excited they get over little notes. Then we watched Little Women. (My favorite book by the way, funny how my life is kinda turning out that way) Oh, I made pink pancakes with pink frosting, pink sugar and pink milk. I was gonna make heart shaped pancakes, but as it turns out I have every shaped cookie cutter under the sun except a heart. The girls and I exercised. I'm gonna do a post on that another day. They work out with me to a DVD, even Addy. The babies napped. We painted a wooden boat for Daddy for V-Day. (I forgot to take a picture of that, it's pretty cute.) I made the most awesomest cupcakes ever. I put the kids to bed at seven! Can I get a shout out! Josh and I had take out after the girls went to bed early. I could actually understand what my husband was saying at the dinner table. Usually I have to ask him to repeat himself several times, and ask the yahoo's to please stop yelling. My husband is sneaking in a few minutes of basketball while I'm posting this. Even though it would be nice to be out on the town with my husband, I sure do like our date nights in at home after the kiddos go to sleep.

In honor of love day. I'd just like to say I love you to all of our friends and family who love us and the girls. Happy Valentine's Day! XOXO



This is Laney's mailbox that she decorated. It says Laney and Luke. As in Luke Skywalker her imaginary friend/boyfriend.


I just realized my girls were wearing their christmas jammies.



Oh see I added some strawberries so it wasn't sooo unhealthy.




This is Addy Mae exercising to the Jillian Micheals Shred DVD.


Work it baby, work it!


Look at these bad boys. I'm so glad I worked out today.



That chocolate sauce on the top is to die for. I put some on a strawberry and almost went to choco heaven. I bet you wish you were here right now.

My new wall art.

I ordered some enlargements of some of the pictures I've taken recently. I'm trying to decide which print lab to use. These pictures are 10x10's. I should of went frame shopping first, cause then I would of realized how hard it is to find frames for 10x10. I ended up with these frames that were 12X12 and the mat actually makes the photo 8x8. I love them. They look awesome on my wall.
I have to thank my husband for his handy work, hanging these pictures. I've never hung a picture in my life. He's awesome and perfect and measures these and levels them.


This arrangement has been on our wall since we've moved here. We had a bunch of mismatched frames and just hung them on the wall. I love these too.

I love you!

Last week I realized Addy was saying "I love you" after she gave me a kiss. That's the best sound in the whole world when your baby first says I love you. I think it's amazing how easy babies and kids understand love. It's hardened adults that forget what true love really feels like. I tried to get Addy to say I love you on video, but she wouldn't say it. She did, however, shower the camera with her sweet baby kisses. Hope this warms you as much as it warms me.

Super easy, Super Yummy monkey bread.

This is what I made for breakfast this morning. I make this , like once a week because it's so easy and everybody likes it. Here's a detailed recipe and pictures.

Ingredients:
2 cans of biscuits
1 cup of brown sugar
1 cup of heavy cream




I use two cans of these rolls.


I cut them into fourths.


I put them in this bundt pan.


Then I mix one cup of brown sugar and one cup of heavy cream. (I've used the Splenda brown sugar before and it was just as yummy.)


It should look like this.


Then I pour the sugar and cream mix, over the biscuits.


I added pecans to the top. (I won't add nuts next time, because my husband and kids picked them off.)

Bake for 30 minutes at 350 degrees.




This is what happens while I'm taking pictures of the food I'm making.

Addison Mae, 18 months old!

Addison is 18 months old today. I know that it's not a real birthday, but it is a milestone. In the next six months she will be entering the 2's. By the time all of my other girls were 18 months old, I already had a newborn. She really is the sweetest little girl, and so happy. She loves shoes, hats and to dress up. Today we had two outfits changes for our photo shoot. And she loved every minute of it.

New Pics from the new Camera