Livin' the Life...

Sundays on Brown

Bunk Beds

Valentine's Day

This week was Valentine's Day and the boys got lots of fun stuff!  Fisher got Monster Truck Tickets which we will be using on the 28th!  I cannot wait!  Sunday we put together the Bunk Bed and moved Nolan into Fisher's room for the time being until he wants to get out of the crib.  He loves the crib.  Fisher at this point was already in a big boy bed!  Sunday we had fun with the neighbors and ate crawfish!  Love where we live!!!

Balls, Birthdays & Beautiful Weather...

Ball Time

Happy Birthday in Heaven

Today is Doug's Birthday and I'm sure he is celebrating like it is 5 o'clock somewhere!  Miss that man!!!

This past weekend we had Eddie's ball and it was so much fun!  Theme was Party Down South and the band was Bag of Donuts!  They were awesome!  I danced so much I did not have time to drink that much!  What a fun ball with great friends!  Hoping to get more in next year!

Sunday we were able to hang outside and get some things cleaned up and the weather was beautiful!  I had to take pictures that night so no crawfish and beer but maybe next Sunday!!!  It's just that time of year!

We bought Fisher and Nolan bunk beds this weekend.  It was a deal we could not pass up!  Nolan is still not 100% ready to sleep in a regular bed but we are slowly breaking him in!  Here is the bed below and I cannot wait to get it up and get the playroom fully done!  Mom and I switched a lot of the things from one room to the other but once the bunk bed is up it will free up some room!  Just have to make sure that Nolan is ready! I know Fisher is ready!!!

It's Party Gras Ya'll...

We had our first parade of the Mardi Gras season and the boys LOVED it!  Nolan actually did not even take a nap until after the parade!  The weather was wonderful and the parade was great!  Sunday was Superbowl and we could really care less who wins if the Saints are not in it so we decided to have some people over and have a BBQ shrimp night!  It's my great grandmothers recipe and it is awesome!  We had some left over to make shrimp scampi last night!  Fisher has been down and out the past couple of days with the crud going around.  Some viral thing that we cannot do anything about except treat the symptoms.  Hoping he will be better by this weekend!  Eddie's ball is this Saturday so I'm excited about that!  Should be a good time!

Life is short...

We lost our friend to liver failure Saturday morning at 4:47am!  She passed away peacefully surrounded by friends and family! Please keep this family and friends in your prayers this week as we lay a good friend to rest!  It has been so surreal this past week to show that life is short!  We will miss that wonderful and contagious smile and laugh!  

(My Post from Facebook) I don't even know where to begin...Thanks for all the memories, laughs and cries throughout the years! As I watched all of us come together as a "family" last night I am reminded just how truly blessed my life is with such wonderful friends and family by my side! This is not goodbye Michele but a see you when I get there! Until then I have another beautiful angel watching over me! Please keep this family in your thoughts and prayers...they mean the world to me! Hug your loved ones tight because you just never know...

"He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away.” - Revelation 21;4

Prayers Needed!!!

We have a friend who's sister is not doing well and is at Oschner's!  Please pray for this family!  We love this family and they are so dear to my heart!!!

Crawfish, Cuts & Checkups...

Nolan's First Haircut

Doctor Checkups can be fun!

My Obsession!!!

This weekend was great with great weather to be outside thank goodness!  It's been a rainy cold week so it was nice to be able to get out!  Saturday I got the boys haircut.  I hated to cut Nolan's hair but he was looking like a girl so we had to do it!  He looks like a little man now!  Sunday we were able to hang out and clean out the shed!  Mom & Dad shared Fisher on Sunday so that helped!  We got Crawfish which was soooo good!  A little more pricey than what I wanted to pay but it was so worth it!  We took Fisher for a checkup to the doctor for his accidents and they are trying a new medication.  In the meantime I am looking for a psychologist to be able to get him to talk to!  Nothing new other than that!  I will also like to ask for some prayers for a sweet friend of mine that is going through a tough time right now!  Any prayers will be appreciated!  Another laid back weekend coming up then starts Mardi Gras season!  January 31st is the first parade in Ocean Springs!  Cannot wait!!!

Catching up!!! January 15, 2015

Bonne Vivantes 2015

Christmas Morning

Christmas

Engagement Party

So I have been behind.  Now that ball is over I will have some time to catch up and relax after the holidays and beginning a new year!  It has been a wonderful year filled with so many memories!  Cannot wait to see what 2015 brings!  So far so good!  Eddie is out of town this week for his class and to take his Master Tech class.  Hoping that he passes!  Nothing really big coming up except Mardi Gras!  First parade is January 31st!  Cannot wait!!!

Playing catchup - December 10th!!!

Thanksgiving

Egg Bowl

Christmas Minis

Lego Day

Loves Legos!!!

So I'm playing a little catch up here.  Sorry its been a crazy couple of months and busy at that!  I have been taking pictures each weekend and also doing mini sessions to earn some extra cash for Christmas!  Even though the boys don't need much... being off for 5 days is going to hurt!  Seems like we spend more money when we are off!  Thanksgiving was wonderful and so was Black Friday shopping with mom!  We were able to get all kinds of things that we needed and wanted!  The big gifts will wait until the week of Christmas before I buy that!  The Egg Bowl was a huge disappointment for MSU!  We did not play good at all but we had a great season and one more game!  We took Fisher to Lego Tour 2014 this past weekend and we had such a good time!  There was so much to do and I am glad that we took just him!  He does not get to enjoy a lot of things by himself anymore!  I promise to keep up with this a lot better.  Just crazy with 2 kids, 2 jobs and life in general!

Pictures, Projects & Parties...

Family Pictures

My New Door Hanger!!!

2nd Place in Reading Fair

Not a whole lot going on this past weekend except me trying to get ready for Mini-Session next weekend!  Love to do them and just hoping they turn out the way I want them to!  Lots of prep to get ready for them!  Fisher got 2nd place on his Reading Project.  He did good!  We had Jaycee's birthday party on Saturday night and Family pictures on Sunday!  Cannot wait till this weekend... State vs Alabama... It's gonna be a game down in history!!!

Halloween Weekend & Peter Anderson!!!

Sunday Night...

Go Ninja, Go Ninja Go!!!

Love our Group of Friends!

Peter Anderson

Trunk or Treat

Weekend filled with fun!  Friday I took off and went to Fisher's Trunk or Treat at the High School!  Cute Idea and wish we did that in High School!  Friday Night we went Trick or Treating.  Dad stayed with Nolan so Fisher could enjoy himself with his friends and boy did they have fun going door to door! Saturday we stayed inside most of the day because it was so cold!  State played and won, I had a photo shoot and made it to watch the final 5 min of the game!  Sunday we went to Peter Anderson and had a very nice day!  Nolan was so tired he slept 3 hours when we got back which allowed me to work on my project for my mini sessions!  We are working on Fisher's Reading Fair project that is due Thursday this week so pray for us...

Parties, Parties Everywhere!

Norah's Birthday Party

Kid's Halloween Party

We had a fun-filled weekend with parties everywhere!  Saturday we went to Norah's Party around lunchtime!  Then home to watch the State game... Still #1 just sayin'!  Then we went to the Halloween party on the beach.  The kids had a good time but were super tired from the day so it was early bedtime for all!  Sunday we had costume kid's ministry at church then I had practice that afternoon!  This week is "Spirit Week" at school for both kids just different themes:

Monday: Fisher (PJ Day) & Nolan (Orange Day)

Tuesday: Fisher (College Day) & Nolan (Cowboy Day)

Wednesday: Fisher (50's Dress Up) & Nolan (School Pic Day)

Thursday: Fisher (Red Day) & Nolan (Silly Sock & Hair Day)

Friday: Fisher(Halloween Colors) & Nolan (Costume)

So needless to say we are busy!  We will also be working on our school project this weekend for Fisher's book fair!  Hopefully we can fit all of this in with a long photo shoot for me on Saturday night, Halloween & Peter Anderson!  LONG weekend but lots to do!  Updated pics to come later!

Brothers, Brushing & Ball...

These 4...

Brother's Playing

Brusha, Brusha, Brusha

We FINALLY have a walker in the house!!!  Nolan is finally walking.  Not that fast but he is working on it!  Nothing new from this past weekend.  Pretty quiet around the Morgan household.  No State game this past weekend so we were not as hyped as we normally are!  But Kentucky tomorrow!  Bring it! We traveled to Pascagoula this week for Football and Caleb went with us!  The boys had a good time playing and spending time together.  With our busy schedules I'm glad they get to see each other at least 1 day a week!  Now for the weekend to spend time with Pyper!!!

We met with Fisher's doctor about his medicines and problems and he is sending us to a urologist for Fisher's bladder problems and switching his ADHD meds to help with sleep and weight loss.  So wish us luck the next 3 weeks as we try to transition.  Hoping that it will work for him because it is a 24 hour medicine that would help at home too!  Oh Fisher also broke his glasses again on Friday and we had to buy another pair... I'm sure we are $500 in already on glasses in 5 months!  We should  have the new ones soon and then we can look at repairing the ninja turtle ones at a cost of $130!  That will be next month though!  All of these doctor visits, medicine and glasses are adding up quick!

Fisher's Update

Sorry... Forgot to post about Fisher!  Eddie and I went to the doctor yesterday and talked with her about his behaviors.  He was diagnosed with ADHD and ODD.  She suggested some things to do over the summer to keep him learning and such!  He has done so well on his medication and he is so proud of himself for being able to control himself and learn!  So we will meet with his pediatrician next week to make sure he is on the right dose of medication and go from there!  I will keep everyone updated if there are any changes!

Definitions for those that don't know:
ADHD:
Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is one of the most common childhood disorders and can continue through adolescence and adulthood. Symptoms include difficulty staying focused and paying attention, difficulty controlling behavior, and hyperactivity (over-activity). 
Combined hyperactive-impulsive and inattentive is what he has: Six or more symptoms of inattention and six or more symptoms of hyperactivity-impulsivity are present. Most children have the combined type of ADHD.

ODD:
Oppositional defiant disorder (ODD) is defined by the DSM-5 as a pattern of angry/irritable behavior, or vindictiveness lasting at least 6 months, and is exhibited during interaction with at least one individual that is not a sibling. Individuals must display four symptoms from one of the following categories: angry/irritable mood, argumentative/defiant behavior, or vindictiveness. Unlike children with conduct disorder (CD), children with oppositional defiant disorder are not aggressive towards people or animals (even though this directly contradicts the "signs and symptoms"), do not destroy property, and do not show a pattern of theft or deceit.

"Cruisin'" to #1...

Flag Football

Crusin' the Coast

#hailstate

So this weekend was magical to say the least!  We had Crusin' the Coast with all of the wonderful cars but the best part was State beating Auburn!  So we are now #1 in the Nation!  Can you believe that?  I can't either but it is finally true!

We walked downtown and looked around with Grammy for a couple of hours then came home for Nolan to lay down and for the game to start!  We enjoyed the win!  Ole Miss won too so a great win for both!!!  Now the real game is going to be the Egg Bowl!  I bet you that everyone will be watching that one!

Yes the last picture I do have Nolan in a bow.  He was so cute though it was hard to resist!  He would make a cute girl...he is so pretty!

It is Homecoming week in OS so Fisher is doing spirit week.  Pictures to come next week on that and more weekend fun!

Football, Fall & Four-Wheelin'...

Enjoying Sundays

State Boys

We had such a wonderful change of weather here.  It was in the 50's at night and 70-80's during the day!  We were able to open all the doors for Saturday's football games and what a day it was... Mississippi State beat Texas A&M and Ole Miss beat Alabama!  Proud of our MS teams!  Sunday we played outside all day after church and it was such a beautiful day!  I started Mardi Gras practice Sunday so that will be my thing to do every Sunday night.
I went to the allergiest on Thursday and they tested me for everything under the sun... well I am not allergic to ANYTHING!  So that means that either I have to have sinus surgery or try to cope with the symptoms with nose spray.  It seems to be working for now so cross your fingers I won't have to go through the surgeries and such!
We go back to the doctor to talk about the diagnosis for Fisher next Tuesday at 3 so I will keep everyone updated on that once we get confirmation!
Crusin' the Coast is this weekend... Woo Hoo!  Nice weather and cool cars.  I will be taking the boys downtown this weekend to look at them and to enjoy the nice weather!

Fun Weekend Time!!!

Beach Day Sunday

Tuesday Game... Rainy!

Driving Mr.Daisy

Fisher had a football game on Tuesday night and it was raining which made for a wet night but it was not too rainy.  It was almost a drizzle so it was not too bad to stand out there and watch them!  Nolan had a good time as well!

This weekend was nice… We did not have much to do!  Fisher stayed at Papa & BeBe’s house on Friday so Eddie and I cooked out and sat outside for a while catching up from the week!  When you are working all the time, come home to cook, bathe the kids and get them to bed not to mention homework it takes a toll!!!  We get to catch up though on the weekends!  And since it is so nice outside now it will be good to sit outside and talk and let the kids play when we get home.  It has just been so hot that we have not been able to do anything when we get home!

Mom and I went shopping on Saturday with the boys.  We got Fisher some more winter clothes.  I need to go through and see what he has because I don’t think he has that much!  We got away for so long with hand-me-downs that when we have to buy I’m not even sure what to think about it!  While we were on our way out of mom’s neighborhood we saw this “Gator” ride on that is normally a $350 buy.  We stole it for $25!  Eddie charged it and it works just fine for the both of them! 

Another win for this weekend was that State beat LSU!  Can you believe it?  It was a great game!  And an upset by many at work! 

Sunday we decided to take Lola to the beach with the kiddos!  They had a good time but I forgot the sunscreen so we had to cut the fun short… Yeah I forgot it!!!

We go back to the doctor on Thursday so I will update with how the visit went. I think once the testing is done then they sit down and meet with the parents to give them the information that they have so it might still be another week or so before we get the results!  We have a football game tonight but I will not be there due to having a sinus infection and it being at 7pm which is way past Nolan’s bedtime!  We also have an Ice Cream social on Thursday at his school.  Cannot wait to see all the fun things he has been doing!  I will update with all of that next week as well!

Another quiet weekend for us which means lots of fun family time!  You know it is never a dull weekend on Brown!!!

It's Football Season Ya'll...

Football has begun... Let's go Saints, Bulldogs & Gamecocks!  We love the homemade jerseys that Coco & Bub got them for their birthday!!!  As football is gearing up so is flag football... That's right!  Fisher is playing flag football.  His first game is Saturday so you know I will have some pictures to come soon!  We will see how he does.  As of now all he is doing is tackling Caleb and Grayson!  But them 3 together is trouble anyways!  Fisher has been doing good on his meds and produced all greens and stickers this week (Stickers mean that he did not move his car all day!!!)  If it is helping him then I am all for it.  We go back to the doctor on the 25th for evaluation so we will know a lot more then!  He says he loves school now and is doing good at drawing lately... Grandma Bertha is going to love that!  Another football filled weekend so until next week!!!

Adventures of Fisher...

I started this blog to be able to share with family and close friends the adventures with the boys! Well, we have started an adventure all right and I will be the first one to admit that it was well needed!

When Fisher was young he would throw temper tantrums to the point of no return.  He could not calm himself down from them and it was a horrible time for a mother and father to be able to control this.  We tried everything from spanking, time out, walking out of the room, taking everything away to just down right yelling!  We as parents were exhausted!  We knew he was spoiled at his old school so we figured when he did not get his way or do what he wanted to do he would throw a fit, well….

We started Kindergarten on August 9^th.  It’s supposed to be a great time in every parent’s eyes to be able to cry (because they are growing up) and to get excited when they get excited about school.  Well for the first 2 weeks we got nothing but reds.  It is very embarrassing as a parent to be known as “Fisher’s Mom” the BAD kid!  I would cry and cry to my mom and my husband and just ask “what have we done wrong”?  The teacher and I had a talk and she just said Amanda, I just don’t think he is able to control himself.  I think that he is not doing this stuff on purpose or to hurt anyone.  So all of this time that I was yelling at him and scolding him was for something he could not control!  That makes you feel like crap!!! 

Once talking with his doctor it was decided that he needed medication.  Also as a mother I’m thinking “he’s just too young and what are other people going to think”!  WELL, I am done caring what others think.  I know what is best for my son and he has done a 180 since he has started medicine almost a week ago!  No he is not the same hyper kid but he still has his personality at times and he can actually “think” about what he is doing!  He LOVES school and talks about it when he gets home now!  And to see his face just light up when he says he got a “Green” was the best in the world!  It has been a long road of reds before we got all of these greens!  I had to step back and think about what is best for my child and what I was doing to him if I was not able to help him excel!  He is a very brilliant child but just needed the attention span to keep up with studies and to sit long enough to enjoy what he was learning! 

I love my children to the moon and back and would do anything for them!  ADHD can be over diagnosed at times but when you truly need medicine for it then it makes a world of difference! My husband and I are able to talk when we get home instead of fight because we are exhausted from the day that we have had with him! We are able to talk with Fisher about how his day went and he is able to talk with us and gets excited about learning! I don’t feel like I am constantly asking him to do things over and over again because he cannot understand what I am talking about!   

We will be seeing a psychologist to get 100% diagnosis tomorrow and he will see a counselor each week to cope with it so he is not dependent on it for the rest of his life!

Some still might talk behind my back about what they think is best, that he is too young or that he really doesn’t need it!  But take a walk in my shoes over the past 3 years and you tell me what is right and wrong!  

Hand. Foot & Mouth...

We are battling the virus right now!!!  I will have pictures to update later!  Say a prayer that the boys get better soon!  Fisher hardly has it but Nolan has a pretty bad case of it and his poor legs are blistered everywhere!  Updates to come soon!

Catching up... August 2014

Gulf Shores Weekend

Greyhounds...

Nolan's 1st Day

Drew's Wedding Weekend

Fisher's First Day of Kindergarten

Many things have come and gone since I have last posted!  Sorry we have new owners of our casino and I have been super busy working late hours and my brain does not even want to think about getting on a computer when I get home!  We went to Gulf Shores for a last little vacation before we started school and such!  Nolan is loving Lil' Inspirations!  He is starting to pull  up on his feet so hoping for the walking stage after that!  Fisher started Kindergarten on Monday and he loves it... He was a little shy the first day that we dropped him off but he is warming up and before you know it will be running the school!  Nothing like sitting out your first day of recess because you pitched a fit because I did not pack him the right gummies for lunchtime!  He will learn!  Last we went to Drew's wedding this past weekend and it was awesome!  A little trip for us before the kids started school and we got to visit with wonderful friends!  Once the internet gets up at home I will post Fisher's graduation pictures and some other first day of school pictures!  And yes... I cried at both!  My big man is growing up too fast!