Ellie Walks!

El-lie Walks! from Jennifer Skinner on Vimeo.

Please ignore the always annoying voice in the background :)

Pumpkin Show

Of course, we had a wonderful weekend at Pumpkin Show in Versailles! We ate lots of good food at Grandma's house AND of course fair food at the festival... Ellie had her first funnel cake, cheese fries, cotton candy & even a blue sucker :)



Bob (my sister's husband)'s band, The Secrets, played Saturday afternoon on the main stage. It was so much fun watching them. They had a special guest lead singer, Aimee (my sister's step-daughter) and she is AWESOME.



Here's Ellie passed out on the way home:



Here's a random picture from a couple of weeks ago--Ellie was eating PICKLED OKRA! She loved it. Let's just say that Emily said we are not allowed to give it to her anymore after her diaper changes the next morning :)


And here's a random one Emily sent me last week of Boo sleeping in her high chair!

Scentsy

So, Craig's mom Scherry gave me a Scentsy burner for Christmas last year. I did not know anything about these, but they are AWESOME! Scentsy are wickless candle burners... You put these small squares of wax in the top of the burner, which is heated w/ a low watt light bulb and it smells for DAYS! These are such a great alternative to candles... You never have to turn them off (or worry about burning your house down), they are way more cost effective AND they are super cute and stylish for your home! Here's what they look like:


Then you buy these little "bricks" of wax (only $5 and there are like 8-10 in a pack and ONE square lasts several days...some of the stronger fragrances up to a week).


I honestly thought about selling these--they are sold by Independent Consultants (like Avon) because I think it is such a great product. I just don't have the time to dedicate to it, so I'm just having a "party"... and it's your lucky day because I'm not even going to make you come to an actual get together--you can just purchase them through this website if you are interested.

https://mlaux.scentsy.us/Buy?partyId=3145979

I'm not doing this for any sort of personal gain... I just seriously think this is a product that a lot of my friends and family would love! Working full time with three dogs, up to 3 adults and a baby living in our house at any time things can get a little stinky now and then. Putting a new little square in my burner seriously makes me not go crazy in my house.

Megan Laux is the consultant I'm working with. She is Scherry's best friend (who happens to be her step-mom's niece)'s daughter. HA HA how's that for 6 degrees of Kevin Bacon?

The orders have to be in by the end of September.

Let me know if you have questions!

HUGS

MOLD!

So, Ellie has had a runny nose for over three weeks now. Off and on she has also had a cough, been cranky and her eating is hit or miss. After the first week of a REALLY runny nose, and finally a fever, she went to the Dr. and was diagnosed w/ a sinus infection. 10 days of antibiotics--about half way through those, started to seem better. After 2 days off the antibiotics, started w/ a runny nose again AND a cough. Started another round of STRONGER antibiotics (as most of you know antibiotics are great, but do have some ill side-effects, like diahreahh). She's about half way through those now and although she seems better STILL has a runny nose and cough!!!!

So, throughout this process, we are thinking she has allergies and that was contributing to it. Her Dr. agreed and we are supposed to give her daily infant claritin (or zyrtec) once she is done w/ medication. I agree that she probaby does have some wicked Indiana allergies.

HOWEVER.... GET A LOAD OF THIS!

Craig and I were getting Ellie ready for bed Tuesday night and I was looking up to the top of her bookshelf where her humidifier is. Since she has been sick off and on we have been running it like crazy. There is a stuffed duck up there, so the thought popped in my head that the duck was probably moist (OMG I HATE THAT WORD DID I REALLY JUST TYPE IT????), so I asked Craig to take it down and throw it away.

What happened next should have been an episode on the Discovery Channel.

MOLD. MOLD, MORE MOLD. AND SOME MOLD!!!!!

The top of her bookshelf was untreated particle board--meaning there was no paint and no sealant on it... and it looked like a black, white & green mold science experiment! SO GROSS!!

So, now we think that is maybe why she has been sick!!!!!!!! GROSS!!!!! We are the worst parents ever!

Anyway, we threw the entire bookshelf away immediately!

Any thoughts or advice on what to do now???? I'm definitely going to mention it to her doctor at our next appointment.

UPDATE TO THIS POST: I have been trying to go "Green" and "Organic" in our lives. I am very proud of my efforts thus far in the realm of food but I am no where near where I need to be in terms of household products. Please also provide recommendations here if you have any ideas/suggestions!!!!!

Happy Birthday Grammy!

Yesterday was mom's birthday! We had fun hanging out at home & we grilled out steaks for her last night. I wish I had a picture of her and Ellie to post here but, alas, I do not. We wish she was feeling better these days! Her hip and knee are just hurting her so bad... I know it takes ALL of her effort & energy to spend the day with Ellie on Mondays and Fridays. Ellie just ADORES Grammy, so I'm sure that's what gets mom through those days! She is scheduled to have her hip surgery in only 3 weeks! I can't believe it's so soon. We are going to miss having her around! She is planning on spending several weeks at my Grandma's right after the surgery.

Ellie is still not feeling too good either! She came down w/ a cold about 3 weeks ago, which turned into a sinus infection. She got done w/ her antibiotics last Tuesday and by Thurs or Fri she was a hot mess again! Snot, coughing, etc. So, the Dr. called in another round of antibiotics which we started on Friday. It's a different kind, and we have to give it to her 2 x a day. Poor girl has been taking SO much medicine she is getting so tired of it. Between all the antibiotics, benadryl, claritin, tylenol, etc she is OVER IT!!! Please pray for us that this round of antibiotics finally kicks this bug out of her system and she can be healthy for a while! She has been really good about letting us wipe her nose 1000 times a day but it's sad when you are 13 months old and your favorite thing to do right now is play with kleenax!

We went to the zoo on Saturday w/ my company (family picnic thing). We had fun but she doesn't get TOO excited about the animals yet. I think she just likes anything where we go to people watch and walk around in her stroller :)

Here is a picture of her on the train. Not a very good picture but I love her cute little head.

We are getting excited about fall... there are so many things to do! Pumpkin patch, apple orchard, festivals, halloween parties, bonfires, etc! YAY!

The best kick off to fall is in less than 2 weeks... the Pumpkin Show!!!! This is the annual town festival in Versailles, IN where my mom grew up and my grandmas still lives. Seriously, I can't even begin to put into words how excited we used to get. Probably equal to Christmas morning. Friday after school we would speed down to Versailles, fly into my Grandparent's front door, eat chili & head "up town" (a couple blocks walk!) to ride rides, play games and eat elephant ears! If you are over 21, after you are done riding rides, you can stop by the American Legion for a $1 beer (or two!). Saturday morning, there is a small town parade that is seriously a HUGE event for everyone in the whole county & surrounding. After the parade, you get to go back around the square and eat more fun fair food and play some more games! I am so excited to take Craig and Ellie for the first time this year!