Christmas 2008

We had a very busy Christmas!!! It all started Tuesday night at GiGi's house, My mom, Rick, Emily and Scott. Lani and Dax got a small trampoline. Christmas Eve, we spent time with Jarod's family. Lani got a Dora horse and Dax got a box thing with all these different puzzles and stuff on it. They also got a sit-n-spin. Santa Claus made an appearance out our house and left way too many toys. Lani got a Dora House, moon sand, socker boppers, Sleeping Beauty Doll and Movies and some other things. Dax got a basketball goal, a Little people garage, Socker boppers, cars, and other things as well. Christmas day we went to my Grandma Brown's house, and Christmas Night we headed to Aunt Betty's.

Dax and his Socker Bopoper's....These were his favorite toy...He loved hitting everyone in the head.
Moon Sand....Yeah I think Santa got a little carried away....Really not sure why Santa thought Lani needed this...I'm really going to hate cleaning this up!

He's a natural!

Lani's toys from Santa

Dax's toys from Santa!

J and D with their matching Boston Hats.

Happy!

Tired!!!

Playing with Rick

Eating at Grandma Brown's House

Lani is wondering what is going on now...

Lovin the Sit-n-Spin

Putting together one of many toys..

Lani helping Dax with his new toy

The Trampoline from GiGi's

Merry Christmas!!!

Merry Christmas from the Allen crew!!! Ansley~Jarod~Lani~Dax

One More Annoyance...

I need to pray...I have been so annoyed with Rude Shoppers this year...I get angry everytime I think about it. So - here's what happened today. I was checking out a Wal-Mart...I only had a few items, not a buggy full or anything, and there was this lady behind me who was invading my personal space. I usually don't mind people in my space and I'm not very territorial, but today...Uhhh...I could have screamed at this lady. Her buggy was so close to me that when I would bend over to get my items out of the buggy, I would bump into her buggy. Did she back up? No she would scoot closer everytime I put something on the register. Did she really need to be that close to me. She didn't seem to be in a hurry and she only had like 3 things in her buggy. Anytime I would move a half an inch, she pushed that buggy closer. So annoying!!!

Please Open the Door...

Last Christmas, as I was doing some shopping...something happened that I have not been able to get over. I was pushing Lani in a stroller and had Dax in one of those pouch things on my chest and had a few shopping bags in my hands, and people refused to hold the door open for me. They would walk out of the door - the door would quickly close, and I was left to either push the door open with the stroller or turn around back wards and push it that way. Since then, I have been extra cautious about mother's with small children leaving a store, i try to do my part and hold the door open as they push the stroller through. Everyone seems very grateful when I help out, so I imagine they have had the door slammed on them in the past too. The other day as me and j were walking into the Haywood Mall...He was pushing one stroller and I was pushing another..a pregnant girl entered the store and didn't even bother to hold the door....I wanted to say...yeah you just wait until you are pushing the stroller...However, the other day i was leaving Chick-Fil-A...Lani was holding my hand, Dax was on my hip and a little guy, probably 10 years old, turned around-on his own-and went out of his way to hold the door...I was really impressed....Maybe he needs to give these old people a lesson!! Maybe I'm sounding petty, or a little spoiled, but I feel that it is common courtesy...What do you think?

Yes-This all really hapened today!!

So, I had just finished brushing Lani's teeth this morning when I realized the bathroom door wouldn't close, and I heard Dax screaming. Dax had put his little fingers in the crack in the door and I closed the door on them. No major damage, he cried for a few seconds, then he was over it. Jarod then took Lani and Dax down stairs, and I finished getting ready. All of a sudden I hear Dax screaming and crying! I go down stairs and Dax had fallen, hit the bottom step and his lip was bleeding. We were not sure if his teeth went through the gum, or if he cut his chin when he fell. It actually wasn't too bloody. Jarod panicked...which was very strange, he's usually very calm in these types of situations. Well, we didn't feel it was bad enough for the ER, but his doctor's office didn't open until 12:30. What were we going to do? Well, we decided to go to church, and get the opinion of a nurse who previously worked at our doctor's office. Dax let her look all in his mouth and even check to see if any of his teeth were loose. Well, she said that the teeth did go completely through his lip, but the outside was not bad enough to require any stitches. She recommended that I call the doctor's office on Monday to see if they would call in an antibiotic, since the wound was so deep. One more thing about the morning....We were getting out of the car at church and realized we didn't have a diaper bag. I couldn't imagine how the rest of the day was going to be, since the first hour of it was so bad. Well, this afternoon we went to the Pendleton Christmas Parade. Lani and Dax loves parades and had a lot of fun. The pic below is in front of the tree - we take a pic here every year. Last year, it was very hot...Jarod had on a short sleeve shirt, none of us had on a coat; however, this year it was FREEZING!!!

HOME!!!

Ok ~ So I did need a vacation....But I missed Jarod, Lani and Dax terribly!!! I learned so much in Myrtle Beach - Gangs, Meth Labs, Suicide, More Meth, More Gangs, Internet Safety, Domestic Violence - It really was interesting. I was so scared Dax was going to forget me...Yeah, I know...A little crazy, but this was the first time I have been away from him for longer than 24 hours. I knew Lani wouldn't forget me, I only talked to her on the phone like 4 times per day. Jarod did a great job while I was gone and I even came home to a very clean house. The floor had been vacuumed, dishes were clean, no toys scattered about....I was really impressed. However, as I was arriving at DSS this evening about 5:45, my phone rang and it was J...He sounded a little stressed and asked where I was. I told him I was pulling into DSS and asked Why. I then heard him telling Lani that "mommy will be home in a few minutes." J-then says hurry home, Lani has locked me out of the house. WHAT?!?! I began to panic, but my friend Kristie (Who is an Investigator in Child Protective Services) calms me down and tells me they will be fine. She helps me get my luggage and shopping bags out of the state car and into my car and I speed down the road. I called J back for a little more clarification. I then learn that she locked the screen door and he can see them and they can see him. When J unloaded the car, he went back to the mail box (this is how we do it every day), and Lani decides to lock the door while he is outside. When he tries opening the door he realizes it is locked. He then tries talking Lani through unlocking the door. J says, she touched the lock, told him she couldn't do it and went and found a pack on M-n-M's. When J asked Lani why she locked the door, she told him, because she wanted too. However, she quickly changed her story and told him that Dax locked the door. So when I pull up in the driveway, there's J with the mail looking at L and D through the glass, and they were standing there looking at him. I couldn't help but laugh.