The Ballard Bunch

I couldn't make this stuff up.

If you all will recall, we had an incident last year involving Tatum, jumping on beds, emergency rooms and tooth extractions.

Well, we've got a copy-cat little sister at our house.

Today the girls were on their way out to the backyard to play while I worked on dinner and got the baby fed. This is an everyday occourance. Hayden is a pro at the stairs and has never had a fall while going outside. That is, until today.

As I'm making a bottle, inbetween Layne's screams for food I hear "thud thud thud" down the stairs and then the wail cry all mother's know and dread. I run down to find Hayden at the bottom of the stairs holding her mouth. And lo and behold - the tooth is knocked straight out. Not sure at this point if it's on the ground or if she's swallowed it, but it's bleeding like a beast. Good thing I had my handy sidekick with me - Tatum was on the search and quickly found the tooth on the ground. Hayden's okay, just a little sore. I'm going to call her dentist tomorrow to see if we need any kind of follow-up, but if it's anything like when Tatum knocked hers out, he'll just say it's fine and a baby tooth so nothing to worry about. Poor baby, though.

The irony of this all is that Tatum's injury happened at 22 months old and Hayden is just nearing 21 months. And, it's the same tooth. Go figure, only in our family, right?

Attached or single? ... Attached to hot little number named Beau Ballard
Best friend? ... I have several really close friends so it's hard to narrow down. Karen has been my bestest friend since 7th grade and Shanna is right up there, too. Lots of great friends!
Cake or pie? ... Probably cake. I'm a sucker for CostCo chocolate mousse filled chocolate cake. It's pretty much the bomb.
Day of choice? ... Friday & Saturday - no work and time w/ my sweet little family.
Exciting News? ... Nothing major - and that's exciting news for us - haha.
Favorite color? ... I'm with Megan - pink.
Gummy bears or worms? ... Worms totally - the consistency seems different to me. Plus, I was never a fan of having to eat something w/ distinguishable body parts. Although, I guess a worm IS a body part. Hmmmmmm, food for thought I guess.
Home town? ... Cali girl. Thousand Oaks, to be exact. Although I did spend a significant part of my life in Northern Cali, too.
Indulgence? ... Sweets. Just check out my rear, baby.
January or July? ... July! I'm a summer freak - can't wait for the warm weather!
Kids? ... I've got three and my hands are very full. Ask me again in a year or so, but as it is now I could be done. I feel like we have a good balance right now.
Life isn't complete without... My husband, kids, family and friends - sooooooo important!
Marriage date? ... 04/08/2004
Number of brothers and sisters? ... 2 brothers, 1 sister, 1 step-brother. I'm the oldest.
Oranges or apples? ... Depends on what's in season - I love both
Phobia and fears? ... The dark. I'm a total fraidy-cat
Quote? ... Good question. Not sure that I have one. I'll have to work on that, I guess.
Reason to smile?... My kids - weather it's how sweet they are, something funny they said or just watching them play. They're pretty awesome.
Season of choice? ... Summer!
Tag 3 people... Yvonne, Jami, Lisa
Unknown fact about me... If I had the time and money, I'd totally want to start my own business being crafty. And I'm writing a book. Slowly, but surely.
Vegetable? ... Brocolli
Worst habit? ... Biting my hangnails.
X-ray or ultrasound? ... Ultrasound. I love seeing that baby!
Your favorite food? ... Lately I'm addicted to homemade pizza (Karen's Rhodes Rolls way is the best). And green salad w/ Ranch dressing.
Zodiac sign? ... Leo

Today we had to stop at the post office on the way to a birthday party. While waiting in line (always long, of course), Tatum and Hayden were busy entertaining the crowd w/ their usual singing and dancing. After paying for our shipment, I was attempting to gather the kids together to leave and Tate says to me, "Mom, why is everyone here so quiet?!?!?!?"

She then turns to the crowd still in line, arms raised to the sky and says very bossily (word?), "Come on people, TALK!"

Leaving on a very humorous note - we had the place in tears.

Shanna and I got a wild hair to start crafting something this past week and an idea Karen had run by me sounded like a fun project. Pillowcase dresses! Typically these are made using real pillowcases (thus making the process much shorter), but we used our own fabric and ribbon to make these. I can't tell you how easy they were and how addicted I am to them now. The girls look SO adorable in them. I made two different patterns for my girls and two for Shantell (just as cute in bigger girl sizes). I've already had several requests for dresses to be made for others. If you'd like one (or two or three), let me know!




I've been feeling so extra crafty these days - I think I might just start a blog dedicated just to projects. I'll keep you all posted if I do.

***Karen - call me! I've been trying to call you about these and have perfected the pattern so now we can make tons for the girls!***

My CD was in the mailbox today! I'm soooooooooooo excited to have these pictures - Emilie does such an amazing job, as you can see by the pics below.

The first is my most absolute favorite (watch for it on the baby announcement currently in production).

Yep, I've been blessed twice with an up-chuck-a-rama baby. Poor little Layne has been straight-up vomiting the last few days. We've tried a combination of everything I can think of - switching to less irritating formulas, thickening w/ cereal (as directed by the doctor - dang those bottles are thick!), etc.

He's gained weight since leaving the NICU (holding strong at just under 11 lbs), but he has kind of plateaued since the barfing began a couple of weeks ago.

He finally was put on some anti-acid reflux medication starting last night, so hopefully that'll do the trick. Since being on that he hasn't really barfed much with the exception of 20 minutes ago. I have a sneaking suspicion, though, that one of the girls was force feeding him the binkie and it might have gagged him a bit.

Suggestions? I'm sick of doing laundry. But, dang, he's cute.

The girls looked really cute today - finally (this hasn't happened in quite some time), Tatum let me pick out her outfit AND her hair. So, I took the liberty of dressing them alike. They liked it so much they even posed together. I love my girls!

Last post for the night, promise. Really, this one is just lots of pictures of the kids. Oh, and some pictures of projects I've been working on this week (mainly for my mom to give as a gift to a co-worker). Speaking of projects, I really need to get to the post office - I've got several to mail out to you oh-so-patient girlfriends out there! Three kids + post office = nightmare. Procrastinate much?

Also, Emilie came and took pictures of Layne (and a few of the girls) last week that I'll be posting soon. Just need to decide which to use for the baby announcement first. :)

Tatum trying on ALL of her hair bows. Just because.


Tatum posing w/ Layne. She kept asking me to take more pictures and she'd pose different.





Little Layners


My Silly Girls (notice Hayden's "say cheese!" face)


Rag Quilt and Burp Rag Projects

Just a cute picture of Tatum in the Hannah Montana wig that Shantell got for her birthday. She's three and already developing an obsession. Heaven help me.

"Summer, Summer, Summertime."

I'm craving salads lately - bring on the warmer weather!

This is my latest favorite (made as my contribution at Shantell's birthday party last week) - seven layer salad. I'm sure you all have your own variation of this that you love, but I'll share mine just in case. Thanks, Shanna, for the recipe!

* Lettuce (I chop up iceberg and romaine)
* Peas (a frozen bag, thawed0
* Olives (I dump them in whole - they somehow taste better that way to me)
* Red Onion (sliced thick or thin depending on your preference)
* Cucumbers (peeled and sliced)
* Dressing (a deadly combo of a Hidden Valley Ranch packet, a 16 oz container of sour cream and a brick of cream cheese)
* Cheese (I use swiss for one layer and mozarella for another - variation!)
* Bacon Pieces (I'm not a fan of "Bacos" or whatever they are called - I get the real bacon pieces that are in the condiment section of the grocery store)

Really, there are eight layers and they get doubled up as you build the salad, but you get the idea.

I start w/ a layer of lettuce, 1/2 the peas, 1/2 the olives, 1/2 the onions, 1/2 the cucumbers, 1/2 the dressing spread over the entire salad top, swiss cheese and then start again (skip the bacon until the very top - it'll get soggy and gross otherwise). Complete a second layer using the rest of your supplies and enjoy!

My newest, most favorite thing that Tatum does is ask for her hair to be round brushed every day. For a long while there she didn't want me to do her hair at all - but times have changed! And what Tatum wants, Hayden is not far behind requesting. How cute are my girls? :)

Lots of Happenings in a Short Amount of Time
In a very particular order...

Married
Honeymoon
Pregnant
Vacation
Living at the Haunted House
Holidays
Tatum
Back to Work
Done with Work
Knee Surgery
Job Change
Pregnant Again
Holidays
Another Knee Surgery
Swimming, Swimming, Swimming
Hayden
Home Purchase
Holidays
Dislocated Shoulder
Tooth Knocked Out (we're all very accident prone)
Tubes in Both Ears
Surprise! Pregnant Again
Back to Work
More Swimming
Holidays (the one constant it seems, huh?)
Layne
Four Years Married to the Most Awesome Guy Around
Couldn't be Happier

Happy Anniversary, Beau!

Yesterday, during a typical "conversation" with my oldest bundle of joy, Tatum came up with a pretty unique comeback.

Mom - "Clean up your Polly Pockets or I will take them away."
Tatum - "No!" (this is typical - please tell me it ends someday!)
Mom - "If you want to keep up with the sass, I'll take your Littlest Pet Shops, too"
Tatum - "Fine!" (this means she'll do what I asked, but she's not happy about it.)
...and then after a few moments of Polly Pocket clean up...
Tatum - "I have a bottom, mom!" (screamed at me from the other room in protest)
...and then after coming into the living room...
Tatum - "See?" (and she thrusts her hip in total teenager mode in my direction.)

Not quite sure what sparked the comment, but it sure made me giggle a little. Man, though, I'm in for a long few years with this one. :)