Ouch!

So, excitedly I go to the dermatologist today to finally take care of this insane acne that has decided to take over my face in the last year. It truly is as though I am going through puberty for a second time. Well, I'm not havin' that. So, as I said, excitedly I go to the dermatologist today...

My dermatologist has a huge, nice new office now (instead of the one that used to remind me of some dingy free-health clinic you might see in a movie or something) and I sit in the waiting room looking around and checking the place out. A nice guy named Jose calls my name and leads me back to a room and asks me what I'm there for. I tell him for the hideous acne that he may have noticed invading my face. He laughs and says he didn't notice, so it must not be that hideous. He fills some stuff in on my chart and tells me the doctor will be in in a few. So I wait...

In comes my doctor and we immediately get down to business. I explain the problem that is plaguing me and he examines my face and agrees that something needs to be done and he proceeds to write me some prescriptions and tell me he's going to take some samples from my acne. That sounds yummy. I proceed to make a few jokes about different things and he says "Sarcastic humor, that's my absolute favorite." and I tell him that's good because I'm full of it. He does the sampling and when he gets to a zit that I've been popping repeatedly for days in the crease of my nose, he says "Oh, that was awesome." I'm feeling insanely gorgeous by this time, let me tell ya.

All's well until he asks me if there's anything else he can do for me and I say "Oh yeah, I wanted you to look at the scar from the mole you removed on my back last summer." I turn around and lift up my shirt and he says "Whoa, that's one heck of a keloid." For any of you who don't know what that is, here's the definition: an abnormal proliferation of scar tissue, as on the site of a surgical incision. Well, I'm no stranger to keloids, I've had a few doozies and get my lovely scarring skin from my father. He then proceeds to show me quite the scar on his hand that is flat now, but he says that is was once like the scar on my back and some injections made the dramatic difference. So, he proceeds to get the injections ready...

REWIND: "So, excitedly I go to the dermatologist today to finally take care of this insane acne that has decided to take over my face in the last year." In no way was I expecting any form of shot, injection or the like. So, you can imagine how I felt at that moment as he was getting things ready. I said in a joking manner "Oh, that should feel good." and he looks at me with sympathy and says "It really is going to hurt, I'm sorry." Yay, I feel so much more at ease now. Thanks. He has me lay down on my stomach and says, "I know what this feels like because I've had it done before and I know it hurts, so bear with me." He sticks the needle in and I think "I'm cool, I can handle this." and then the intense burning and feelings of a sharp object being jabbed into my scar take over. I let out a little grunt and proceed to kick my foot ever so slightly on the table and tell him I'm sorry and he says "Hey, do whatever you have to do to get through it, because I know it's miserable." Well, it was and I was still in pain for a few hours after it. Right now though, it feels ok and I'm excited to see how it does. He did say that I may have to have a couple more injections, but I guess that would beat having this big ugly scar that I can sometimes see through my clothes and that I'm super self-concious someone who hugs me or puts their arm around my waist will feel.

All in all though, it was a good visit. I got some things taken care of that I've been needing to do and I'm looking forward to a zit-free face. So, wish me luck that the medications he gave me will clear my face up and that my scar will get better without having to have too many injections!

Tub Time and a haircut!

I've been needing to cut Asher's hair for a while, but he hasn't exactly been cool with that idea. Well, today I thought I'd ask to hear him say no again, but to my surprise, he said "Ok!". So, I didn't waste my opportunity, I took him in and cut his hair. He looks so old to me lately. There's no more of that baby look to him. He's like a little boy now. So sad. Anyway though, he wanted me to take a picture of him "swimming" in the bathtub after his haircut, so I decided I would, since he's getting bigger and bathtub pictures will start to get kinda weird before too long. So, here he is!





Doesn't he look old?

From the mouths of babes...

I seriously heard the most adorable, sweetest conversation between Gavin and Riley today. Gavin had been watching the weather channel (for any of you who don't know, he watches it everyday and can tell ya a whole heck of a lot about storms and all that good stuff) and was commenting on that they were saying there were possibilities of tornadoes for today. He and Riley were getting out the PlayStation and Gavin said, "We better play this because if a tornado comes through, we won't have it anymore." Then, he paused and looked at Riley all serious and said "Actually, I don't care if there is a tornado because then we'll be able to go to Heaven." Riley looked at him and said, "Yeah and Heaven is the best place ever. I don't care if there's a tornado either." I was giggling silently from the kitchen and also swelling with joy that my boys are excited about going to Heaven someday and then it came...the "kids say the darndest things" moment...Riley said "Heaven is awesome and you can do anything you want there. Like, you can see Santa Claus and the Tooth Fairy." LOL Just a little reminder to me that kids are kids and they never cease to surprise ya!

Oh how I love the rain.

I love rainy days like this. It's just so calm and quiet around the house and it makes everything feel more cozy. I can't wait to curl up on the couch with some coffee and watch some t.v. with Brian. The kids are even more calm on rainy days. And really, what could be better than a rainy Friday? Knowing that we can laze about and sleep in in the morning is just awesome! Dinner is cooking in the crockpot and making the house smell all yummy. Yay, it's just an awesome rainy day. I seriously love a thunderstorm though, so it'd be cool if one of them rolled through.

God Loves Me!

In my bible study I went to this morning, we were told when we left to take the week and look in God's Word and see that He loves us. We were given several parts of scripture to look at and I left feeling very excited about really getting into the Word and getting closer to God and thinking about how much He loves me. On the way home, the song that I have below came on and it's a song I've heard many times, but today it was different to me. Today I really thought about what it was saying and it touched me in a new way. The most amazing part was when I was searching for it with the lyrics on YouTube and found it. Not only did it have the lyrics, but at the end is a verse that we read and talked about in the study today and it just pulled it all together. Coincidence? I think not. God really telling me He loves me and letting me know that He was there with us at the study this morning? Definitely.

Thank you, Lord!

Riley the Toothless Wonder

Oh the fun we've had with Riley's teeth over the past couple weeks. Both of his front teeth started getting loose a few weeks ago and we've had a lot of fun and laughs with the different looks he's ended up with. Fortunately he thinks it's funny too!


It's barely hanging there, just pull it!



Down to one. Kinda scary, isn't it? (the look on his face, I mean)



Look ma, I'm a hillbilly!



Ewwww, it's sideways!



Yay, it's gone!



Like my gummy grin?



I'm still a crazy little thing though. (My sister, Delyn, said he looks like the squirrely little creepy hillbilly on the movie Wrong Turn.) Gee, thanks for that, Delyn. LOL

Asher Photo Shoot

So, I'm seriously loving the alone time that Asher and I have while the other boys are at school. I really feel like he and I are bonding in a way we never have before and his behavior is greatly improving. He isn't telling me no constantly and he's just being more cooperative and pleasant. I think this alone time is just what we needed. I'm really trying to work on the whole "going on the potty" thing, but he still doesn't seem all that interested. Hopefully if I keep at it though, he'll get the hang of it soon. We love sitting and having breakfast together everyday after we drop the boys off at school and he gives me hugs and kisses constantly throughout the day. He hasn't even been fighting me about naps! Yesterday he walked right in when I said it was naptime and he crawled in his bed and said "I'm taking a nap and when I get up, we're gonna go get the boys." I said, "That's right!" and he just laid down and smiled at me and said "Goodnight". I couldn't believe that actually happened! Anyway, it's just been blissful having the house all quiet during the day. No arguing and whining, no excessively loud t.v., no running through the house...just blissful.

Today, while I was taking some pictures of stuff to list on ebay, Asher asked me to take his picture and then proceeded to do a little photo shoot. Man, I love this kid. He's so stinkin' cute and just cracks me up. So, here it is, his photo shoot. Can you handle the cuteness?



Oh, I'm so cute!


Hey, are you getting this, Mom?


Here's my tongue.


I'm gonna close my eyes now.


Isn't it funny that I have my eyes closed?


Here's my scary eyes! (This one made him giggle when I showed the pictures to him.)

School's In!

Wow, what a crazy couple days we've had. The boys started school yesterday, but only had a half day. We went shopping yesterday evening and bought the rest of the school supplies they needed and got them some more new shirts. We ended up not getting home until 8:30 (bedtime is 8:00, so we messed that up) and then I had a ton of paperwork to fill out for the school. That was fun (insert rolling eyes and a sigh here). I was up until after 11:00 and 6:15 came way too fast for me this morning. I'm good now though, so no complaints. Anyway, today is the boys' first full day, so I'm interested in seeing how Riley likes it. He's all excited about getting to eat lunch in the cafeteria. Gavin's big excitement for this year is that he has a locker. It's cute how they both have things that make them feel all cool. We'll see how long that lasts. I'm guessing that excitement will wear off as soon as the homework starts rolling in. LOL

Well, here are some pictures I took of the boys on their first day of school. Such cuties, if I do say so myself...and I do.



Gavin on his first day of fourth grade.



Riley on his first day of first grade.



Gavin and Riley ready to go to their first day of school.