The Allen Family

The 1st year and this....

2011-03-02T11:50:00.000-08:00

This past year has been absolutely amazing with the addition of Sydney in our lives! For my girls to be so different they do seem to be about the same in some areas. Sydney's plump figure has now become pretty slim as Shelby's has always been and they both seem to be very afraid of dogs. We do not know where this has come from but none the less interesting. We had Sydney's 1st birthday party several days ago.....although the planning began months ago for her big day it quickly almost feel apart by myself getting sick. On the Tues before her party I plucked a straggler of an eyebrow hair. Within 24 hours majority of the left side of my face had swollen up and was very painful. Over the course of the next days I ended up on home IV antibiotics to fight the infection running crazy in my face. So, things I had big plans for at her party did not get done but it still turned out great! I hope you enjoy the pictures from it!! Her cake was amazing!!!!! Done by a good friend of mine.

Now, back to my little face infection......

This has been a nightmare and for those of you that know me I do not miss work....period, end of discussion. I have now been at home since last Thursday. I have been to the doctor almost daily and have been on the IV antibiotics since last Friday. Today, I just knew I would get the release to get back to work and being myself.....however, that did not happen. I will have to go under general anesthesia at 8:30 am tomorrow to have the remaining infection drained and cleaned. I have never been put to sleep so I am very anxious about this, but I know that for me to heal correctly it is what is needed. Please say a prayer that all goes as planned.

Now, as for tweezers......DONE WITH YOU!! And, I best say thanks to Chris. He has been amazing the past week. He has kept the house clean, cooked supper nightly, and folded and put up all clothes in the house. I know some of you are now thinking that Chris has hacked my blog and is writting this but I promise this is all true and I am so thankful for him!!!

CFNP

2010-06-22T17:35:00.000-07:00

Thought that this title was most appropriate since I have not posted in a month! I am now an official Certified Family Nurse Practitioner!!! Took my test one week ago and all of my dreams from many years ago are now REAL!! I just can't believe that all of this has fallen into place.

I am really loving my new job. Now, don't get me wrong I have a ton of responsibility but it is interesting and challenging daily which I think is perfect for me! Of course I love the "gay" things that come with it such as....getting my lab coats monogrammed, business cards, and eating in the physician's lounge. I hope that this job remains as satisfying as it has been so far.

Shelby is out of school for the summer and she has the best babysitter ever! They swim, play, go out to eat, make a mess, and love every minute of it! I can't believe that soon enough she will be starting "big girl" school! I got a letter in the mail from the school that at the bottom said "Hooray for the class of 2022!" Kinda hard to let that soak in! We got our ear's pierced about 3 weeks ago and she has done great with that and loves her "diamonds"!

Sydney is doing great!!! She is a chunky monkey that loves to sleep and eat! She is sitting up almost alone and rolling over all over the place. She makes my heart smile daily with her little personality developing!

Chris and I are so blessed!

"Jesus Take the Wheel"

2010-05-10T06:37:00.000-07:00

I am sure that you are wondering why the title that I put.....well, this morning after taking my 2 beautiful daughters to school and daycare "Jesus Take the Wheel" was on the radio. I began to listen and then began to cry. For the past 3 years I now know that this is how I made it!! I let Jesus take my wheel and guide me. People ask me lately how have you continued to stay married, have a young child, work, and give birth to a child all why getting your Master's? My typical answer was "I really don't know". But this morning it hit and now I do know.....God had his hands on me and guided me every step of the way. The old saying that "God doesn't give you more than you can handle" became so real to me this morning. Through all of this it has given my courage and confidence. Through financial strain I thought I needed to stop school and begin working full time and through the struggle of finding out I was pregnant I wanted to throw the towel in. I now do know and realize that it wasn't me making those decisions to continue....it was God and his plan was bigger for me and I just had to endure hard times to get to this point and trully appreciate it. I am so thankful!!! I am also so thankful to my family and friends.......I don't know how I could've done this without each of you!!!

This weekend was very exciting!!! It became official......I am now Allyn C. Allen, MSN (Family Nurse Practitioner). I am now waiting on the certified part. Just as school is now over now it is to studying for my national certification!!! One last test in this long journey, but one VERY important one at that! I hope to spend all of my free time over the next few weeks preparing for this.

Since yesterday was mother's day, I read a friends blog this morning. I encourage each of you mothers to check it out! The Broadus Bunch, crazy living at its best
toddnsarahnmadysonnaubrie.blogspot.com.......Sarah's words are so true and very inspiring.

I hope that each of you have a wonderful week and I hope that you enjoy my graduation pictures!

REALITY

2010-05-04T18:42:00.000-07:00

So these past few weeks have been very busy and exciting!

Sydney had her 8 week check up and she was 12 pounds!!! She is in the 90% percentile....I expected nothing less after having a little runt.....and yes Shelby is a runt, she was still in the 20% percentile for weight at her 5 year old check up. Sydney has started staying with a girl here in Clinton and things are going very well with that so far! I hope it keeps going as well!

I have accepted a job as the Neurology Nurse Practitioner for St. Dominic here in Jackson!!!! I am very excited about this opportunity! They thus far have taken great care of me and are keeping me very informed about every step of my transition. I am going to be working with some great doctors and I am very excited and grateful! (My favorite part is that I got my very own office today!!!!) My hours are going to be great and flexible with 2 kids and I am just so excited! I start there May 24th! However, I am sad about leaving the ER at UMC......I know nothing else but this and it really did hurt my heart to turn in my 2 weeks notice. I know that they understand that I am moving on to bigger and better things but they are the reason that I am the nurse I am today and I will forever be grateful to my great friends there!

SO....Saturday is my big day!!! I am so excited and hope to post pictures soon! I leave for the Delta in 2 days and just really can't stand it at this point. I am so blessed and grateful for how things are working out for me and my family right now. More to come after Saturday!!!

Shelby's birthday, Sydney, and FINALS!!

2010-04-19T07:48:00.000-07:00

These past few weeks have been VERY busy around our house! Shelby's turned 5......I just can't believe my baby is 5 and fixing to start "big girl school". She went on a field trip to tour Clinton Park and loved it!!! We have pre-registration tomorrow night! I hope I make it through this!!!!

Sydney is growing so fast!!! WAY faster than Shelby but she is getting her own little personality and I love it. I think I am falling more in love with my girls every day!! Sydney will be 8 weeks old this week.......at 6 weeks old she began sleeping about 6 hours straight at night so we are so lucky! (I think she knew mommy had alot going on!)

I AM ALMOST DONE WITH SCHOOL!!!!! I took my comps last Monday and Tuesday. For those of you that don't know that's basically 8 hours worth of sitting in front of a computer typing everything you have learned in the past 2 years. It was very intense and I should know the results this week hopefully! Last Thursday and Friday I had 2 big job interviews and I am praying that one of these really works out for me!! I should know about them this week also. So....all I am waiting for now is MAY 8TH!!!! That's graduation day and I become emotional thinking about it. I typically don't give the best advice or make the best decisions but this is something that I put my mind to many years ago. Through hard times, having a 5 year old, having a new baby, and just the motions of life....I DID IT! If any of you have dreams or goals that you desire, set your mind to it and go get it! I hope that this will be the most rewarding thing I have ever done for myself! My children will never be able to tell me that they can't do something because I will be able to remind them that they can!

I hope that you all will go get your dreams and know that no matter what is handed to you, you can finish it!

Life with 2

2010-03-22T13:01:00.000-07:00

Things have been going good for us! Shelby has adjusted well and Sydney is growing fast. Hopefully she will be sleeping through the night soon. Tonight we are putting Sydney in her crib for the first time to sleep....she has been sleeping in the pack-n-play in our room. I started back to clinical last week.....only 6 weeks of school left til graduation!!! I am so excited and proud of this accomplishment. With job layoffs and a new baby we still did it and I say we because it has taken the help of Chris to get here!! I couldn't have done it without his help, encouragement, and support. I am so blessed to have his love and support.

Welcome Baby Sydney!!

2010-03-10T14:12:00.000-08:00

It has taken me a little while to get pictures up and the blog updated....but here she is!!! She is doing great! She was 7lbs 6oz and 19 3/4 inches long when she was born on Feb 25th. Today we had her 2 week check up and she is just perfect.....8lbs 2oz. Shelby is loving getting to love on her and help me feed her. Things are great around the house as Sydney is such as sweet baby. I hope to keep this updated and pictures coming!

20 Days and Counting.....

2010-02-05T12:39:00.000-08:00

I have 20 days left until my c-section is scheduled for baby Sydney. I an becoming pretty miserable at this point.....I don't remember feeling this way with Shelby. I am staying very tired and not sleeping......and I have another urinary tract infection. I would not mind one bit if Sydney decided to join us any day now! Shelby is getting ready for Sydney's arrival.....I hope she takes this as well as I hope! The nursery is done and our bags our packed so all we need is Sydney now!

I will keep everyone posted!

36 Weeks Pregnant and feeling every bit of it!!!!

2010-01-28T10:38:00.000-08:00

Today, I am 36 weeks pregnant and had my doctor's appointment. Since I got preeclamptic with Shelby and had delivered her by this point, my doctor wants to do weekly ultrasounds to check on baby Sydney. Today she is 6lbs 7oz......I am in shock! She is going to be my chunkey monkey I am afraid. She has chubby cheeks and a head full of hair. These are 2 of the pictures from today. They are blurry but she has a hand in front of her face. I am sure that she is saying "Enough with the pictures.....get me out of here!". My bedding is now complete and Sydney's room is finally done!! We are also fortunate that I have found someone to keep Sydney once she turns 6 weeks old.....this has really had me stressed out. It is someone that keeps a friend of ours child and has been very happy with her. Shelby got to go to my doctors's appointment today since she has strep and had to stay at home today. She loves going to the doctor with me and getting to see Sydney on the ultrasound. I will keep you all updated as Sydney's arrival is fastly approaching!

Wizard of Oz

2010-01-22T18:05:00.000-08:00

Last week we took Shelby to see the Wizard of Oz here in Jackson. She loved it!!! So glad that we got to do this! Now that school has started back things are crazy around our house. We are 4 weeks away from Sydney's arrival and can't wait!!

Baby Shower and Sickness

2010-01-09T12:22:00.001-08:00

This was the cake from my baby shower. It was SOOOO nice and I got some really great stuff!!! Now I feel like its about time to get ready! Prior to the baby shower we had a nice little scare. Saturday night I got really sick throwing up.....after a while of doing this, I started have abdominal pain and some low back pain that kept getting worse so I ended up at St. Dominic's in labor and delivery until about 2 hours before the baby shower. So......I am not including pictures from the shower as I looked and felt horrible!! Since then, Shelby and Chris have both been sick with the same thing. Shelby has taken it the worse and had to get IV fluids on 2 seperate days. Hopefully today is her turn around day and she is getting better! Chris is painting the last piece of furniture for Sydney's room today and hopefully the bedding will be ready soon. I am 33 weeks now and getting very excited for Sydney to join us!

Time to get ready for baby Sydney!

2009-12-30T14:03:00.000-08:00

Now that Christmas has come and gone, the next step is to get everything ready for Sydney's arrival! I am having a baby shower this Sunday thanks to some really great friends and my sister in law.....I am so thankful for them wanting to do this for me!

As for the nursery, it is coming together slowly.......we have the crib up and the changing table in the room. My bedding is being made by my friend Betsy. We moved a piece of furniture from Shelby's room to the baby's room and now Chris has to touch up paint it........Shelby had to put her mark on it with a few crayons and some stickers so we need to freshen it up. Hopefully within a week or so it will all be complete! It will have to be as I only have about 6 and a half weeks left......and I did have Shelby a little over a month early......so that doesn't leave much time!

I go to the doctor tomorrow for my check up and this will be the first appointment that I am taking Shelby with me. Going to try and see if they will take a peek with the ultrasound so that Shelby can see her baby sister! We have been talking about her going to the "baby doctor" with me for the past few days and she is very excited.

I will be starting mt LAST semester of NP school in a few weeks.......I can't wait to be done!!!!! This has been a long journey and I am so ready to practice out there and put school behind me. Please pray that I am able to find the right job for me as I begin my search this week. I have several of prospects but really want to see what all is out there!

Christmas 2009

2009-12-27T14:07:00.001-08:00

We have had a great Christmas. Shelby loved everything that Santa brought her. We got to spend time with all of our family this Christmas which was great. Shelby got a bike, a Fancy Nancy Doll, and a new flatscreen TV with a built in DVD player from Santa.....of course lots of movies and other little things. Now, it is time to get ready for baby Sydney as she will be arriving before we know it!

It's Beginning to Look Alot Like Christmas

2009-12-22T09:37:00.000-08:00

So, I have found out how to change the background on my blog....still a work in progress! Shelby is SSSOOOO ready for Christmas. I can't wait to see her face Christmas morning! I have a baby shower tonight for my good friend, Mandy. I have not seen her in a while and can't wait to see her and catch up. I really am going to try and figure out more about this blog.....wish me luck!

Christmas Spirit

2009-12-17T13:30:00.000-08:00

I just got home from my doctor's appointment and I am 30 weeks pregnant today!! Getting close for baby Sydney to join us! We are getting ready for Christmas and last night we started doing Elf on a Shelf with Shelby. Now, she can be a little chicken little about stuff so that is why we put it off but she did very good with it! When the elf moved from the mantle to the Christmas tree this morning she asked alot of questions. On the way to take her to school she told me that she loved her elf, who she named Sebastain and that she was not afraid of it. I hope that this is really something that Chris and I can continue to do yearly with the girls!

Winter

2009-12-03T11:36:00.000-08:00

As winter now approaches, I really hope to keep up with this blog.....I know that I have said that many of times. I finished my last day of 3rd semester NP school yesterday!!! I am so excited that in a few months I will be done. We are getting everything ready for the arrival of baby Sydney in Feb. I will get pictures of the nursery up as soon as we have it ready! Shelby is getting so big and is such a joy to be with!

Summer

2009-05-29T08:17:00.000-07:00

Sorry that I have not been keeping this updated! Now that I am out of school for the summer I plan to really learn how to get my pictures on here and keep it updated. Shelby has been a busy little girl lately....she just got home from a week in Disney World with Chris' parents! She had a great time but Chris and I sure did miss her! This summer I hope to visit some friends that I haven't seen in awhile and spend alot of time at the pool with Shelby!

Maddie's 2nd birthday

2009-02-23T17:42:00.000-08:00

This past weekend we had my niece, Maddie's 2nd birthday party! She and Shelby love each other so much! I am going to try and attach a photo with this.....I hope it works!

The party was great and Angela made homemade red velvet cupcakes with fondant icing,.......they were so good! Shelby is going to have a busy week. She had dancing today, school for the next few days, and her St. Jude Tric-A-Thon at school on Thurs. She is going to love it! I hope that everyone is doing well!

Shelby's Tric-A-Thon

2009-02-20T20:19:00.001-08:00

Shelby is participating in a tric-a-thon next Thurs at her preschool for St. Jude. Let me know if you are interested in sponsoring her for this event. Sorry that I have not posted lately. Still trying to figure all of this out!

Confused

2009-02-10T15:08:00.000-08:00

Today has been a long say since I have been in clinical all day....I am trying to figure out how to add friends blog to mine? If anyone is interested in helping me, please let me know. I have looked at a few of yall's blogs and they are too cute! Need to do some work on mine. Hope everyone has had a good day!

The Allen's

2009-02-09T17:24:00.001-08:00

Photobucket Album

2009-02-09T16:47:00.000-08:00

Shelby loves to perform...this was a secret she has recently begun to share! To the far left is Shelby and her new best friend, Rebel

Blogging

2009-02-09T16:30:00.000-08:00

I am very new at this, but many others have it and therefore I wanted to give it a try. Figured this is a good way for those of you who love off to keep in touch with us! We are doing well. I am still in Nurse Practitioner school at Delta State University and cannot wait until May 2010!!! Chris is working at Total Transportation as a National Account Manager, but is wanting to advance his career. Shelby is three and a half and is the best blessing I could have ever asked for! She is such a joy to be around and is growing everyday! I hope to keep everyone up to date of important events we have coming up and lots of pictures!