Cows on Ice

Yesterday, seeing as it was Monday and all, I got up and gave it my best shot at getting through the work day (with ALL 3 KIDS in my office while I worked...we took Wall-E & toys, but it was barely enough to hold their attention...thank goodness for the play money I had stashed in my office for training!). By 10:30, though, Pastor Mark had given me the boot - he kicked me out - I think he said something to the effect of I looked like I was dying (LOL)...which is about how I felt, so he wasn't too far off. I had grossly overestimated my ability to be upright & functional the day after being completely laid out. Oh well, I tried.

So, I cancelled all of my afternoon plans / appointments / etc, and headed home. The only strenuous activity I did for the rest of the day was playing Star Wars the Clone Wars Monopoly with Lucas & the boys. It ended badly for all of us except Lucas (the greedy property hoarder!). Isaac's attention span failed him about 30 minutes into the game, and from there, Sebastian & I went downhill quickly. The only thing that kept me going was that I owned all 4 ships (equivalent to the railroads in the regular game), so I was getting some pretty good rent payments. Lucas, however, owned the Monopoly on the blue properties (you know, like where Board Walk & Park Place usually are), and he had cities on each one. I landed on one once, and I had to pay him $1500. That was it for me...I was done for! After our game, I was worn out again, and went back and plopped on the couch.

I'm feeling SOOOO much better today! I made up one of my appointments this morning that I had to cancel yesterday. So, the kids & I headed to a friend's house, where they played with a bunch of kids while I helped them with some accounting stuff. On our way home (through the country roads), we passed a farm where their cows were all skating along on the top of the frozen pond in the yard. VERY FUNNY!! Who knew cows could ice skate. Considering it has been fairly warm for the last few days, I was wondering what would happen if one of them were to fall through the ice...??? I can only hope no livestock were injured in their ice-capades! It was a rather funny sight, that's all I can really say about it!

This afternoon, I made up the rest of my work from yesterday. Then we all went to Bob Evan's for dinner (which I ate entirely too much, after eating almost nothing for 2 days.... blah!). Now the kids are watching the Tinkerbell Movie before bedtime...tomorrow Grandma & Grandpa H. are headed this way to celebrate Christmas and New Year with us! Although my house is a bit messier than I would prefer for company, I'm excited to see them! Hopefully they will be too into the kids to mind my messy house. :)

Hush Little Baby

Here's an old picture of Meagan right after she was born. I finished this two days ago, but didn't get a chance to post yesterday (due to the fact that I was 100% laid out with some yucky stomach bug...I'm feeling quite a bit better today, although not completely back to normal).

Credits: {Kasia Designs} - Colorful Dreams, {Delmik Designs} - Dreamer's Stars, {Amber Clegg} - Date It & Date Dots

The Day After

Yesterday was a great day! I woke up around 8:00. I heard Meagan and Sebastian playing downstairs already, but Isaac wasn't up yet. I decided to let him sleep & take advantage of the opportunity to get myself cleaned up & presentable before Christmas pictures ensued! We probably started our gift opening around 8:30 or 9:00. We finished some time around 10:30 (we had gifts from 2 sets of grandparents, plus us...plus we took our time and enjoyed each other).

The kids seemed to thoroughly enjoy themselves. Other than one gift of clothes - boring jeans and long sleeved t-shirts - nothing was quickly tossed aside. After nearly every present they opened, they asked, "Can we open this now?...Can we watch this now?...Can we play with this now?"...you get the idea! Let's see, the basic run-down of what they got: ColorWonders, movies, books, games, Indiana Jones toys (the boys only), make-up (Meg only *LOL*), pj's, an outfit, and ATM machines... one of my personal favorite gifts... plus Meagan got a princess scooter, and the boys got Star Wars the Clone Wars the movie & the wii game.

Lucas and the kids got me i-tunes, 2 books, and P.S. I love you (movie). I am really looking forward to starting the books, but I have about 3 books in progress right now... I should probably try to finish those first? Maybe. And my stocking stuffer was 2 wii games - Tetrus Party & Sudoku... since they were downloaded games instead of store-bought games, I had to go on a bit of a scavenger hunt to find them...that was a very original stocking stuffer! We took turns with Tetrus whenever we got a free chance at the TV (between all of the movie-watching that was going on).

Last night some friends of ours came over, and we made homemade pizzas & just hung out. The kids played & watched MORE movies, and the adults played BoomBlox on wii. It was a really good time - we had lots of laughs to say the least. The only bummer to the evening was that Meagan, once again, threw up. She had been pretty hesitant to eat dinner, so I didn't push the issue much...thankfully (sound familiar?). There was really no indication, though, other than her disinterest in eating, that she wasn't feeling well. So we had to kind of keep her away from the other kids for most of the night. (She seems to be feeling better now, although she has been pretty lethargic for most of the day).

This morning, I woke up feeling like I could stand to take it easy today...so I did. Other than getting up to feed children (barely), I hardly moved from my chair. I did some scrapbooking and got a few things taken care of that I needed to finish up. And I lost count of how many more movies we watched today - Tinkerbell, Indiana Jones, Star Wars, Narnia, Kung Fu Panda...am I forgetting any? LOL!

So, here's one page that I got done today. I messed with it for a while. I think if I felt like it, I could stand to mess with it some more, but as it is, I'm just going to leave it for now. Hope everyone had a great Christmas!

'Twas the Night Before Christmas

In keeping with tradition, we had dinner at our 'Christmas Eve Restaurant' again this evening. The bonus was that we had been given Chamber of Commerce gift certificates, so dinner was free! We got there 10 minutes before the kitchen closed (unknowingly, or we would have left MUCH earlier...poor people want to get home to family tonight!). They were very gracious and let us stay and order. We tried to be quick about eating...as quick as you can be with three kids who are distracted by Christmas Eve excitement!


When we got home, the kids had to do a quick clean-up of the living room & their bedrooms. I had told them earlier today that it had to be done before any gifts were opened...I really don't like having a messy house before all of the extra mess of Christmas morning starts! They did a good job - and pretty quickly, too! There was, however, some incentive!

Once everything was picked up, we did our second Christmas Eve tradition, which has carried over from my own childhood. We let them open one gift each. They were WAY excited about the prospect of gift opening! This year's gifts were from Grandma & Grandpa Walker. The boys each got a Nerf gun that shoots 6 bullets. Meagan got a Polly Pockets winter clothes set. They all three LOVED what they got, and they are all still sitting here in the living room with me, playing with their new toys!

In about an hour, we have to get ready for Christmas Eve candlelight service at church...it starts at 9:00. Pastor Mark reads a version of the Christmas story, we sing some Christmas songs, and just take some time to be together for about an hour. That will be the grand finale of our night...the cookies are already set out for Santa...now all that's left is to actually fall asleep!

Sweet dreams! And have a very MERRY CHRISTMAS!

LUKE 2

In those days a decree went out from Caesar Augustus that all the world should be registered. This was the first registration when Quirinius was governor of Syria. And all went to be registered, each to his own town. And Joseph also went up from Galilee, from the town of Nazareth, to Judea, to the city of David, which is called Bethlehem, because he was of the house and lineage of David, to be registered with Mary, his betrothed, who was with child. And while they were there, the time came for her to give birth. And she gave birth to her firstborn son and wrapped him in swaddling cloths and laid him in a manger, because there was no place for them in the inn.

And in the same region there were shepherds out in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. And an angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were filled with fear. And the angel said to them, "Fear not, for behold, I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. And this will be a sign for you: you will find a baby wrapped in swaddling cloths and lying in a manger." And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying, "Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace among those with whom he is pleased!"

When the angels went away from them into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, "Let us go over to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has made known to us." And they went with haste and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby lying in a manger. And when they saw it, they made known the saying that had been told them concerning this child. And all who heard it wondered at what the shepherds told them. But Mary treasured up all these things, pondering them in her heart. And the shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all they had heard and seen, as it had been told them.

It all starts tomorrow

Tomorrow is the 1st of our Christmas events...Mom & Mike are planning on coming up to spend the day with us and open presents with the kids. (Plus, tomorrow evening, Meagan has gymnastics...AND the 23rd is our Christmas camp-out tradition: the kids set up their tents in front of the tree, watch a Christmas movie, and then sleep by the tree with the Christmas lights on all night long.) Wednesday evening we have our traditional dinner at a local restaurant here in town for Christmas Eve, followed by our candlelight service at church. Of course, Christmas morning we're opening our gifts...can't wait!! Then that evening, friends of ours are going to come over and hang out - we're going to do homemade pizzas and movies or games or whatever. Somewhere in all of this, I will try to find time to get a few pictures (or at least a story or two) posted to keep you all informed! MERRY ALMOST-CHRISTMAS!!

Birthday Blitz

Thursday we celebrated Isaac's birthday - SIX years old! I totally missed blogging about it because we had so much going on.

Thursday during the day was Isaac's school Christmas party, so I left work in the early afternoon & headed to school to party with him! When I got there, he had on a Birthday Boy crown...that totally made his day! Their party lasted about an hour - stories, snacks...the usual school party stuff. When it was over, I headed back to finish up the work day before a busy night of birthday celebration!

For dinner, we went to Chuck E. Cheeze. Nice on a Thursday evening...not nearly as many people, although definitely busier than I had expected. We stayed until a little after seven-thirty then headed home. By the time we got home, the kids were TIRED and MELTING! So, we skipped ice cream cake and just went to bed. About 8:30 or 9:00, I was sitting in the recliner in the living room working on my laptop, when I heard little feet scurrying across the floor, then SPLAT SPLAT SPLAT! (*Oh, crap*) I took off running up the stairs, and found my poor birthday boy in the bathroom...let's just say, clearly he wasn't feeling the best. Thankfully, there was only one incident this time, unlike last week's get-sick 18-hour marathon that Meagan pulled. I got him cleaned up, new PJ's on, and he went back to bed...slept all night & was fine the next day. Just one little glitch in an otherwise GREAT birthday day!

(Just as a side note... Friday there was no school due to CRAZY weather, so Meagan and Sebastian both missed their school Christmas parties, and Christmas break started a day early for the boys. They've got a count-down going...how many more days until Christmas?!)

In the mood for a change

As you have probably already figured out, I was in the mood for change. I decided to take some R&R time tonight, as I was too tired to do anything of any significance. So I decided to revamp my blog. I was kinda getting tired of the darkness...and all the dots! LOL!

I know everyone's computer configurations are different, so please let me know if you're having trouble seeing it. I can resize it to a smaller size (mostly the banner at the top...everything else is set by the layout template). But it looks like the right size on my laptop... anyway, let me know.

Off to bed now, so I can get up to get the kids ready for school tomorrow.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!

I haven't had time to make a fancy birthday card for you, but I wish I had...hopefully this will do:

Happy Birthday to you!
Happy Birthday to you!

Happy Birthday dear Mom....and Kelli!
Happy Birthday to you!

Love you both! Hope you have had a very happy birthday!

Wednesday through Friday

Since I didn't get to tell you about my week last week, I'll give a quick run-down now. It can pretty much be summed up in one statement: Meagan was sick.

Wednesday night, Meagan refused to eat her dinner. At first I thought she just didn't want to eat what we were having, but I didn't really force the issue (thankfully). I simply said, "That's fine. You may choose not to eat, but you will not get a brownie for desert when the boys get theirs." She said okay, and got up and left the table. I knew something wasn't right.

Not two minutes later, she came back into the kitchen and told me she was really cold and she needed some blankets. Bad sign. So, I snuggled her up in some blankets, and called the church to let them know I would NOT be doing bus that evening...the thought of "sick" on a dirty bus full of kids just wasn't appealing.

I stuck her in the tub after dinner and then got some PJ's on her. About five minutes after her tub, it started....and it kept going and going and going until well into the night. It stopped around midnight, and I had about a three hour reprieve. But, from 3:30 or so until morning, she was okay. She tried a small breakfast, and it started all over again.

So, I spent Wednesday night & all day Thursday doing mountains and mountains of laundry - clothes, blankets, towels, rugs...you get the idea. I cleaned all the hard surfaces in the house, and sprayed everything - EVERYTHING - with Lysol. And then did it AGAIN after she continued to get sick on the freshly-cleaned floor! Poor baby girl. But, by about 1:00 on Thursday, the activity had started winding down, and she went the rest of the day without incident.

Friday morning, I assumed (you know what they say about that) she was better, since it had been nearly 20 hours since she had been sick. I was wrong. About 9:00 in the morning she got to coughing and made herself sick again. So, I decided it was time for a trip to the doctor. I had a suspicion she had some sinus issues in addition to the stomach bug, and I thought it best not to let it go all weekend...especially with Isaac's birthday party planned for Saturday.

Our doctor confirmed my suspicions - #1 stomach virus, #2 sinus infection mumbo jumbo. He put her on an antibiotic for the infection and encouraged me that I should be seeing the end of the viral issue shortly (as long as no one else in the house caught it, that is). We started the medicine right away, and saw a great deal of improvement even by Saturday morning. I did one last spray-down with the Lysol, and my mom (who was up for the birthday party) helped me out by touching up the bathrooms and such again before the party. I felt comfortable that our house was as disinfected as it was ever going to get until we can open up the windows in the spring and let some fresh air in.

So far, she has been the only one who has really gotten anything. The boys are also on antibiotic, because they had all the same symptoms as her as far as the congestion junk goes. Lucas, Sebastian and I have all had moments where we've not felt the greatest, but nothing ever really comes of it - THANKFULLY!! I am definitely praying that we stay healthy - I'm not a big fan of being sick.

I don't know which is worse...

Okay, so the story I wanted to tell you last Monday that I couldn't because of our technical difficulties:

Monday after work, I headed home to get the boys off of the bus before picking Meagan up from preschool. I often do this on days that I leave work later than intended...that way I make sure I'm home by the time the bus gets to our house...I just have to get Meagan before 6:00, so there's definitely some leeway there.

We picked Meagan up, and headed home to get dinner going and hang out for the evening. As I was driving, Meagan was telling me about her day at school and so on. Then she asked me if she could watch TV when we got home. I told her I would turn TV on for her while I cooked dinner. She seemed pleased with that, and she sat quietly for a few minutes....

During those few minutes, she obviously observed that Isaac had his thumb in his mouth. Being the little sister that she is, she says, "Isaac, no thumb. Your mouth has germs. Now you have to wash it. You're gonna get germs everywhere and make us all sick. Thumbs are for babies. That's gross."

To which he promptly replies, "Oh yeah, well you're gonna get fat because you like to watch too much TV."

Vicious aren't they? They fight like a bitter married couple! Sheesh! Anyway, I'm not sure which is worse...the raking he took for sucking his thumb, or his retaliation to her about getting fat because she wanted to watch Dora.

Needless to say, we then had a discussion about RESPECT. The joys of mothering are never-ending.

The Torture has Ended!!!

Last week Lucas had to go out of town for work. He left Sunday afternoon, and wasn't scheduled to get back until Friday afternoon. Monday evening, after I snuggled the kids in bed, I sat down to do my usual Internet stuff - I even had a good story to blog! However......I COULD NOT GET ONLINE! Our router wasn't working, and I even tried bypassing the router and plugging straight into the DSL modem...no luck. I did everything that had been suggested to me - no luck! I was BUMMED! Do you understand the torture of not being able to get on line for a week? That's like taking away my Mountain Dew! :) I had a few brief moments on online time at the library during story hour on Tuesday morning, but that was about it. When he got home on Friday evening, he set to work and, of course, got the problem fixed. He's such a techie geek, but I am definitely thankful he is! I had a glimpse of my life without Internet, and it wasn't pretty! (*LOL*)

So, sorry for the lack of postings, but it just hasn't even been possible for me lately. I'll try to get back in the swing of things soon. We have a bit of a busy week this week, though - tomorrow is gymnastics & Sebastian's school music program. Wednesday is bus & church. Thursday is Isaac's BIRTHDAY!!!! and his school Christmas party. And Friday is Meagan's Christmas party in the morning, Sebastian's in the afternoon, and the last day of school until 2009. YIKES! I will do my best to post as I go, but there's a good chance of one big catch-up post sometime this weekend...just a forewarning!

Reports from the Homefront

I know I have been a total slacker lately. My posts have been spaced out, and it's been at least a week since I've given any real sort of update. So here goes...

We have our Christmas decorations up (and I'm quite pleased with them, all in all) and the boxes put away. We accomplished that last weekend. My only complaint is that the tree is doing a lean...it started out very subtle at first, but is definitely growing more noticeable by the day...hoping it doesn't topple completely before Christmas! Meagan randomly walks into it, which I'm sure doesn't help matters. The kids did most of the ornament hanging this year, and, although there are several that aren't well spaced, and even more that are facing in instead of out, they did a great job!

Today after church, it quickly became obvious that everyone was rather tired. So, all three were required to lay down for nap time...and ALL THREE fell asleep and slept for at least 2 1/2 hours! SA-WEET! So I spent the bulk of the afternoon chillin' and reading a new book I just got a few days ago - Drawing Near by John Bevere.

We totally cheated for dinner (no big shocker, as Lucas wasn't eating with us). The kids had breakfast food of some sort - cereal, toast, pop tarts, fruite, etc - and I had a hot pocket. We ate in the living room on tv trays and watched a movie that was on tv until it was time to leave for church. We got home a little while ago, and already everyone is quietly in bed. I was a little worried about bedtime after the extensive naps, but I think they're all just worn out! Hopefully they get rested. I'm feeling a little tired, too, and may just head to bed early tonight.

This week I need to get things ready for Isaac's birthday party, which is this weekend. I have a bit of straightening up to do. I also have to dig his birthday presents out of the monsterous bag of Christmas gifts that is tucked away not-so-very-well in the back of our closet. I also have to plan a menu of some sort for lunch...I may end up doing pizza hut for the sake of simplicity...we'll see what I come up with.

Besides that, this week I need to try to get Christmas gifts wrapped for the kids, Christmas gifts purchased and wrapped for Lucas, and Christmas gifts that I'm making completed and wrapped for everyone who will be receiving a homemade gift this year. Hmmm...not sure how I'm going to pull all this off...one thing at a time, I suppose. Wish me luck!

So that's about it...I know, for an absense of posting for so long, it's not much. Not much out of the ordinary has been going on lately. But life is good. Even uneventful life is good.

She Dreams of Christmas

Meagan's first Christmas I took a few pictures of her asleep in front of the Christmas tree. This was really the only one that turned out very well. I finished this layout this morning (instead of doing other, much more responsible things around the house!)

I mostly used the Elemental Scraps December Mega Collab Kit - Funky Wonderland, along with a few other things here & there.

Quick Page Link

Here's a link to the Quick Page freebie I posted the other day: Elemental Scraps Blog

Grab it to download for free if you'd like!