Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas everyone! The Sparks home was full of life this Christmas. I think a bomb of toys exploded in our living room. Elizabeth enjoyed more than the wrapping paper and the boxes.


It was all about castles and being a princess this year. Her gifts included the Little People castle, a collection of princess shoes, books, and a bunch of other goodies. She went nuts over her ladybug remote control car (Thanks Grandad!)and her princess carriage laptop (Thanks Aunt Cheryl!). She was entertained all day long.


Josh picked up on the excitement very quickly.


Wrapping paper and boxes were not enough for him. He loved his alphabet train, and pretty much everything that made noise.



However, even with all of the gifts what matters the most was that we were together as a family. We've been truly blessed this year. I'm so grateful to have happy, healthy children, and a job that helps support the family and allows Randy to go to school. I look forward to what the new year will bring.

Remember Me

Long time no talk! I bet everyone has given up on reading my blog since I haven't posted in ages. Well, I'm still here and busier than ever. For those who don't know, I've switched jobs. I've decided to test things out in quality engineering and I have to say there is never a dull moment! I'm always doing something. My first week things started popping up so fast that now the whole month of November is booked with all sorts of training and traveling. It's going to be insane!!! Here's a little taste of what I'll be doing. Tomorrow I fly to Atlanta until Wednesday. The first week of November I'll be in Training only to fly out the second week to Savanna. After Savanna, I get to go to L.A. Then I get a break for Thanksgiving, only to fly back to California the next week. (I told you it was crazy) I'm going to really miss my family during these next few weeks. Fortunately, most of these trips are only a couple of days at a time.

Speaking of family...we are doing well. Joshua is growing up so fast. The poor little guy got 4 teeth in ONE WEEK!!! He was so miserable! However, he still remains to be one of the easiest babies around. How can you resist this face!!!!





He's adorable!!! Some of his most recent accomplishments include walking the furniture, giving kisses, saying "Dadadada", blowing rasberries, and annoying his big sister. He loves his Mommy and is quite content to be held all the time if you let him.

Elizabeth's vocabulary is exploding!! She knows her colors (vocally and in sign language), various animals and objects, and she's also starting to form small sentences which is amazing for her since getting her to talk in the first place was a miracle. She can dress herself and put on her shoes (on the right feet!) and now lets us do her hair. She loves her nails to be painted and to play dress up.



I'm running out of time so I'll have to update later. I promise I won't neglect our blog for too long.

4 Years Ago

Four years ago I got "the call". The call from Randy's boss. With Randy working the highways I was always scared that something would happen and I would freak out when I couldn't reach him on the phone. I always remember him comforting me saying don't worry unless Bob (his boss) calls. Well, that day came. He was working in Van Horn, Tx(in the middle of nowhere) and was involved in an explosion. They worked with a thermoplastic material that is heated to 400 degrees. Randy was changing the material and had to dump the excess into a barrel which had an aerosol can in it. The can exploded shooting the thermoplastic everywhere. My husband blocked himself with his left arm. Material covered his left arm, right arm, and part of his neck. That was the beginning of a long journey of surgeries, rehabilitation, and recovery. However, even through that difficult time, we were very blessed and had a lot of love and support from those around us. These pictures were taken after Randy had skin grafts on his arm.

Get Your Passport!

This is what my boss told me last week. I was completely shocked when he said it. A company paid trip to Europe!!! How cool is that!!! I know everyone reading this is on the edge of their seat wanting to know where I get to go. (Well, I like to think that) Anyway, in late September I get to go here (hint: Octoberfest) and here

Elizabeth

I know I haven't been posting a lot of pictures of Elizabeth lately. The biggest reason is not being able to get her to sit still long enough to take the pictures. She's always on the go! She's been such a joy to be around. I've been very pleased with her development lately. Randy and I were a little worried because she really wasn't talking much even though she compensated with her athleticism. Well, these days we can't get her to stop talking! Every day she says something new. Lately, she will stand at one side of the room and say "ready, set, GO!" and then sprint to the other side. I have no idea where she learned this. I talked to our friend who watches her and she said that Elizabeth just started doing it one day. Maybe she'll take after her father and run cross country. She's also already developed a love for shoe shopping. Every time we go by shoe department at a store, she'll want to try on all the shoes. It's also something we'll let her do if she's a "good girl" when we shop. When we visit a friend or go over to someone's house, she'll even try on their shoes! I guess we should start making closet space for when she is a teenager.

Explore

Josh is getting to that fun stage when he is becoming aware of the things around him and everything is new and exciting. I love watching him and his facial expressions while he explores his surroundings. From the look on his face you know that he is really concentrating and trying to figure things out.

When things go his way he'll giggle and get excited about what he has accomplished. Josh is getting to be more mobile these days. Put him on the floor and he's on the go! His favorite method of transportation is rolling, and he's quite the expert at it. When he's not rolling he practices crawling by getting his knees under his body and lunging forward.

We've started giving him food the past few weeks. I've decided to make my own baby food. So far it really hasn't been that difficult and it is A LOT cheaper, especially since Josh can't seem to get enough of it. I'm really looking forward to the next couple of months. I can't believe he's almost 6 months old!

Sigh...

A picture is worth a thousand words.




P.S. This was the result of an individual failing to yield on a left hand turn while I was going through the light. I guess she thought she could make it but didn't. Fortunately, no one was hurt and my kids were NOT in the car.

Got Sugar?

This past weekend we went on a sugar shopping spree.  It was on sale at Albertsons for $.99 for 4 lbs.  This is a good deal, but what made it great is there was a $.30 coupon on the back of the sugar package.  After tripling, we were paying $.09 for 4lbs of sugar!  The only bad thing was it was a limit one per transaction.  So we had to do a lot of running back and forth.  We weren't able to get all of the sugar we wanted to due to other things, but we did manage to get about 28 lbs. I know some are wondering why we need that much sugar.  Well, the most important reason is for food storage.  The second was to make these glistening beauties.


Can you say cinnimon rolls!  I decided to bite the bullet and make my homemade cinnimon rolls for my husbands father's day gift.  They are so good!!  I could eat them all day.  He really liked them and Elizabeth couldn't keep her hands off of them.  They didn't turn out quite like I wanted them too, but they were still good.  I'm not use to making them in the Texas heat.      

Busy, busy, busy!!

I apologize for not updating lately.  Things have been really crazy in the Sparks household.  Randy officially started school a few weeks ago.  He's taking Intro to Radiology and Patient Care.  It's taking up a lot of his time.  He has two tests every Thursday, so you can imagine what he's doing 24/7.  During this time, Elizabeth and Josh are being watched by a lady in our Ward.  We're so grateful she's able to do it for an affordable price.  The kids love it, and it is able to give Randy more time to study without distractions.Elizabeth is growing up so fast.  She's the most adorable, independent, stubborn, two-year old.  We love her so much!  She's not the most talkative child, but her comprehension is amazing.  She loves helping us around the house and with Josh.  It's so much fun to watch her.  She's very active.  Most of her days are compiled of running, jumping, climbing, and chasing Stubby around outside. 



Her favorite show is Dora the Explorer.  I guess Mickey Mouse Clubhouse and My Friends Tiger and Pooh are to childish for her these days.  Elizabeth will also occasionally dance while watching So You Think You Can Dance (I love that show).  Of course, being a two year old, Elizabeth does like to assert her independence.  She will throw a tantrum at the drop of a hat and screams quite frequently.  I do find it amusing that she'll put herself in timeout and tell herself no after she does something wrong.  What a stinker!  Despite all of her tantrums she still manages to melt my heart when she gives me a kiss and says "I wuv you."  Josh is a stud!  He gets more adorable by the day.  He's a fairly mellow baby, but definitely has his quirks.  He's already wearing 6-9 month clothing, rolling back to front and front to back.  He's already starting to scoot across the floor.  His smile will melt your heart and he loves to giggle.  We think he'll be getting his first tooth soon.  I've never seen so much drool in my life. 

     

FREE!

Randy and I have decided to dive into the world of coupons. In the past we've just dipped our toes in to test out the waters, but with school expenses and childcare to pay for, we're jumping in the pool. This past week I was able to go to a class a friend from church was teaching. She provided a lot of good tips. Some of them I already new from the grocery game, but others I had no clue about. So this weekend I set out to see what I could get for free using sales and coupons. I was amazed! Here's what I got:

2 Aquafresh Extreme Clean Toothpaste (5.6 oz)
2 Aquafresh Advanced Whitening Toothpaste (6 oz)
3 Adidas Action Men's Deodorant
7 Orville Redenbacher Natural Popcorn (3-4 count)
8 Purelle Hand Sanitizer (2 oz)

This will definitely help build up our food storage. If you live in the DFW area, feel free to check out my friend's website www.groceriesdirtcheap.com

He Made It!!!

We got the call today. Randy has been accepted into Radiology school. We're very excited. He'll be starting his classes at the end of May. There's so much to be done now. Wish us luck!

Trip to the ER

This past week has been a struggle. Elizabeth got sick Monday morning with what we thought was the flu. She still wasn't doing well on Tuesday and she was becoming dehydrated so we took her to the ER. Randy and Elizabeth stayed there for the next two days. She was on a IV to get fluids into her since everything she drank or ate came back up. After various tests we found out she has the rotavirus. Poor thing. She's been absolutely miserable. She's home now but she's still not eating or drinking much. Fortunately it's not coming back up. They say it will be another two to three days before it is completely out of her system. Hopefully Joshua won't get it. We're doing everything we can to segregate her from Josh to minimize the chance of him getting it. He did get the first round of three vaccines for the rotavirus last Friday which might help.

Back to Work!

This week is my first week back to work. I'm feeling like a chicken with its head cut off. 10 weeks is a long time to be gone. These past couple of days, I've been filtering through the 800 emails I received while on leave. I've been reading so many emails my eyes are going cross. I'm hoping to finish them sometime today. It's hard to be away from home. I really miss being able to spend all day with my family. Randy is adjusting well to staying home with both Elizabeth and Joshua. Yesterday wasn't too bad for him, but he said it could have gone better. It will just take some time.

Elizabeth is doing well. She's still very active and likes to get into everything. Last night while I was nursing, she got the garlic powder off the counter and dumped it all over the floor and proceeded to play in it. It was everywhere! After cleaning it up, our pantry had the wonderful stench of garlic.

Joshua is hanging in there. He's been extremely congested and is having a hard time breathing. Today the pediatrician wanted us to come in to see if he has RSV. Thankfully, he doesn't but we have him on a decongestant and treating him with a nebulizer. I'm hoping it will clear up soon. The poor guy is just miserable.

Our Big Girl Is 2!

Last weekend Elizabeth turned 2! She is getting to be such a big girl. This year we decided to go with a Mickey Mouse Clubhouse theme since it is one of her favorite shows. I had a blast making and decorating the cake. It was definitely a learning experience. We made the clubhouse out of rice crispy treats and then covered it in fondant. If I had to do it over again, I would rather have used foam.

This Birthday was extra special because my Dad, Aunt, and Grandmother came in from California to celebrate with us. It was great having them here. It definitely makes up for not having a Birthday party when Elizabeth turned 1. She was so sick, we had to cancel it. This year she made out like a bandit. She really enjoyed herself.


She got clothes, dolls, books, puzzles, all sorts of cool stuff.




Elizabeth's best friend Emily had a great time too. She took Elizabeth's gifts out for a test drive to get ready for her birthday party the next day. She was so cute!!!


Joshua was also a big hit. Everyone wanted to hold him. He pretty much slept the whole time. He's such a good baby.

First Bath

Joshua had his firt full bath yesterday. Overall, he was pretty mellow and content with the experience except when it came time to rinse off all of the soap.

I'm Still Here!

Things are going well. Randy and I are still trying to get into a routine. Going from one to two kids is definitely a transition. Josh is cute as can be. He's a very mellow baby and rarely cries. He's still in the eat, sleep, poop phase and is awake only a few hours a day. We are so blessed to have him and Elizabeth in our lives.

Elizabeth loves her new baby brother. She does everything she can to help out with him. She's become our little helper by getting him a diaper when he needs changed or patting him on the back to help burp him. It's so cute!

Joshua is Here!

He's here!!! Joshua Ward Sparks arrived via c-section on Saturday Feb. 16th at 10:24 a.m. He weighed 8 lbs 14 oz and is 21.5" long. We are all doing very well and he's just as cute as a button!

Eviction Notice Has Been Sent

Yes...I'm still here. I had my last doctor's appointment today. My body is still not doing too much, so I have been scheduled for a c-section on Saturday. I'm hoping and praying I will go into labor before then, but if I don't a c-section is my only option. It's very depressing. We didn't even know I was scheduled for Saturday until today. Randy had a basketball game set for that morning. I wish they would have at least included us when deciding the date and time.

38 Weeks

I'm still here waiting for something, anything, to happen. I had my 38 week appointment today. It was very uneventful, and not very encouraging. I'm pretty much the same this week. I was hoping for more, but since I had the flu over the weekend maybe my body needed a break. I'm still holding out for going into labor on my own, even though everything points otherwise. We'll see.

Uuuuuggghhh!

This week hasn't been the greatest for the Sparks family. Elizabeth started getting a high fever over the weekend. We kept it under control and took her to the doctor on Monday. She has Scarlet Fever (basically strep with a rash) and is on antibiotics right now. That evening Randy started to get sick also. He spent most of his time in the bathroom until the next morning. Poor guy. We didn't know if it was the flu or food poisoning, so I stayed home so he could see the doctor. It was food poisoning. Since Elizabeth and I didn't have any symptoms of it we tried to see what he ate that was different. Well, last night Elizabeth came down with it too. She was up all night. If all this wasn't bad enough, this pregnancy is taking its toll. I'm still getting dizzy throughout the day and yesterday, my heartbeat was very high. I have my regular doctor's appointment today and will be discussing all this with her. I think it is time to take things easy and start my maternity leave at work. We'll see what she says.

Getting Ready!

This weekend has been filled with all sorts of "getting ready for baby" activities. Our bags are packed and ready for the hospital. The car seat and pack n' play are set up. Clothes are being washed and put away. It's all finally coming together. During all this fun and excitement, Elizabeth and the cats took the opportunity to check out everything and make sure it was working correctly. Needless to say the cats think the pack n' play is their new spot for relaxation and rest.

36 Week Appointment

Everything went well despite not feeling too good. I got tested for Group B strep and should know by next week if I have to have antibiotics before delivery. My doctor also decided to check the position of our little guy and to see about his size. She started to palpitate my stomach and got the strangest look on her face. After she was done she went straight to the computer and I could see after that she had an "Ah ha" moment. She asked "Elizabeth was 9 lbs 11 oz at birth, right?" I agreed and she then said "For 36 weeks he's a decent sized baby. If you go to term expect him to be about the same size or a little bigger." Alrighty! It looks like our "little" guy might not be so little. She also is pretty sure he's in the head down position, which makes me really happy. Now I just need to get labor going.

P.S. I also got my first internal...Nothing really happening. Weekly appointments from now on!





36 weeks - Is it another big baby?!?!

One Month to Go!

I can't believe I only have 30 days until my due date. Not that the due date really means anything since it is an "estimate", but knowing my doctor won't let me go much longer after that I definitely can hear the clock ticking. However, there's always the possibility that I will go early too. If I had my preference, I would definitely choose to go earlier rather than later. I'm not feeling too well these days and it's taking its toll. Going to work gets harder and harder each day. I usually end up going home early most days, because I ache, am overheated, and nauseous. Blah!!! Ok...I'm done complaining.

Braxton Hicks

You got to love these "practice" contractions. I never really had them with Elizabeth, but this time around I get them at least every day. Yesterday was interesting. I started getting them regularly every hour from 2 p.m. until I went to bed. A couple of times they happened more than once in the hour. I know every pregnancy is different, so this gives me hope that my labor and delivery will be different too. I'll keep you posted.

34 Week Appointment

Everything went very well. I only gain a 1lb in the last two weeks which was surprising, but I'm definitely not complaining. My bp was 120/70 and hb was in the 130's. I started getting these dizzy spells along with being faint at work. I work in the basement where the air circulation blows goats, so depending on where you sit, you either freeze to death or cook. Well, my group just happens to sit where you'll roast. The temp is around 80-85 in my cubical. This past week I've been overheating and getting dizzy. I talked to my doc about it, and it looks like if it keeps persisting, I might have to go out on leave early. She's going to wait and see and wants me to go and get my blood pressure checked at work when I start getting these symptoms as a precaution.

Getting Bigger!

28 weeks


34 Weeks

All Day Pajama Party

Yesterday Elizabeth decided to spend all day in her pajamas. She would throw a fit if we tried to dress her. I think it was because she wasn't feeling too good. She wasn't eating or drinking most of the day and in the evening she had a hard time keeping fluids down. Poor thing! She didn't have a fever or anything so I just think it was an upset tummy. Fortunately, it looks like today she is feeling much better.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

We really enjoyed the Holidays this year. It was nice to be able to stay home and relax. Elizabeth had an exciting Christmas. Actually, I think Randy and I were more excited for her than she was but that is beside the point. Her favorite toy was the Radio Flyer Trike. We couldn't keep her off of it!




She also got a play kitchen with a bunch of accessories.



With all of the fun going on, Stubby, found a new best friend to snuggle with. He just adored Megan while she was here.


It was an awesome day! We even had a non-traditional Christmas dinner by eating steak instead of turkey or ham. It was yummy!!!

3D Ultrasound

This past weekend we had a 3D/4D ultrasound done of our little guy. He wasn't as cooperative as we would have liked, but we were able to get some good shots. He looks a lot like Elizabeth did, chubby cheeks and all.