Sick Day Snuggles

I shared these pictures right after I took them, but I finally got around to putting them into a layout. I used a bunch of TLP products mixed and matched. You can click here to view full credits. I used this layout that I had pinned on Pinterest as inspiration for this layout.

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Sunday, Snowy Sunday

I think our Christmas celebrations are officially over. This Friday, we drove to Ohio to have Christmas with my parents and brother and sister and their families. It was great to see everyone and spend some chill-out time with them. We even took Dublin with us, and he did a great job! We were pleasantly surprised with how well-behaved he was for being such a puppy!

Today we woke up late, so didn't make it to church. Still, we spent a relaxing day together as a family. One thing Isaac had asked for for his birthday was to go see The Hobbit, so we did that today. Surprisingly, it held everyone's attention - even Meagan's! We were entertained the whole way through, and didn't mind the length of the movie at all. The Hobbit was our dinner conversation, and the kids are excited to read the book together as a family... maybe that will be our evening reading tonight.

After the movie, the kids took the doggy out to play in the snow again. None of our kids seem to be able to get enough of being out in the snow! It's great, although we have no more pristine pretty snow... it's all stomped and squished and demolished... but it's played in, just as snow should be.

Of course, they each had 2 cups of hot chocolate when they came inside, and then plopped down in front of the fire to finish warming up! I'm so glad they have had a winter this winter... especially over their break from school!

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A Little Bit of This and a Little Bit of That

As Christmas inches its way closer, I'm slowly checking things off the list! Tonight we accomplished puppy Christmas shopping, and can I say, this is one spoiled puppy! After his training class (which consisted of loose-leash walking, greeting people and dogs, and 'leave it'), we perused PetSmart and picked out his gifts. He got a giant bed that was $30 off, a few toys, and a few treats.
The classes must be working because he was an absolute angel in the store while we were shopping. Seriously. It made me so happy to see him behaving so nicely!

I've got everything stuffed in his stocking and ready to go.  He will be one happy puppy come Christmas morning!

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While we're on wintery topics, can I just say that it makes my heart happy to finally finally be seeing some snow! I was beginning to wonder if we would ever see it again. And it makes me laugh to watch Dublin out in it. He can't decide whether he loves it or hates it. Funny stuff! Unfortunately for him, he's getting his snip job tomorrow, so he won't be feeling much like romping in the snow when he gets home. Hopefully there will be more of it over Christmas break so we can all go out and play!

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Working backwards...I told you about today's puppy class and shopping trip... yesterday was Meagan's music program at school. It was called Christmas in the West, and -  you guessed it - she had to wear western gear. Prior to this program, she has never ever had anything even remotely "western" in her wardrobe. But, planning ahead for the program, she picked out a pair of boots, and she has worn said pair of boots every day since getting them (see photo above *lol*). For Christmas, Grandma & Grandpa H. got her a new pink pair of boots and a cowboy hat to match! Of course, she went with the fancy pink ones for the program! And she looked super cute!

 

  

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 Tuesday was Isaac's 10th birthday!! Two kids in double-digits! Yikes!
He had a great birthday.  For starters, his teacher sang to him in front of the whole class, which he would like to pretend meant nothing, but he LOVED. Then he got the best. gift. ever (according to him), which was PS3 Battle Royale, which he got to open right after school and play with his friends!

And THEN he got to choose anything he wanted for dinner. He chose Applebee's (which would not be my own personal choice, but it's his birthday, not mine). But really, who doesn't love the appetizer sampler, right?! He and Meagan shared it. She eats the chicken chunks and celery, he eats the quesadillas and mozzerella sticks, and they share the spinach dip. Perfect!

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For some of you, you might have seen this on facebook already, so this will be redundant. But I thought I would share videos of Sebastian's first meet. He had a great day, & did really well. After being sick for the latter part of last week, he made the decision to take out a few of the bonus elements from some of his routines, and he did make a few mistakes... but he wasn't derailed by them. We talk often about moving on past the stuff you can't change, and not letting one mistake carry forward into the next thing you do. I think he did a great job at staying calm & focused. I was really proud of him for that!
The meet results: He won first in all 6 events and all-around! His age group was rather small, so that's not to say that this is indicative of how the whole season will be for him. But I'm one to take the good when you can, so we'll play up the win and let him enjoy it!

Vault: score - 9.5

Parallel Bars: score - 10.8

High Bar: Score - 10.6

Floor: Score - 9.2

Pommel Horse: Score - 10.7

Rings: Score - 10.1

My First Christmas

I have a backlog of layouts I've done but have not shared. I have a backlog of  lot of things I've done but not shared, now that I come to think of it. One thing at a time. I'll start simple and work my way back into things.

 

I was lucky enough to be in the right place at the right time to snag this picture of Dublin in front of the Christmas tree. If I were on top of things enough to actually do Christmas cards this year, maybe this would have been our card photo. As it is, though, I can't seem to even accomplish simple daily tasks on a regular basis, so I'm certainly not interested in complicating matters with extras like cards. It's just not going to happen.

 

click to view larger image

Anyway, I used a bunch of TLP goodies from the December BYOC and the December 'Document Your December (DYD)' collection. You can click here to view full credits.

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Sebastian's First Meet

This Saturday is Sebastian's first meet. For those who are interested, I've updated the meet schedule page with the address and competition time. From what he says, I think he's mostly ready, but has a few trouble spots. He's worried about his high bar dismount - a fly-away this year. And on floor, his handstand pirouette is giving him troubles. And maybe a handstand on parallel bars? Although I think he said that was getting better. Either way, we'll go and cheer him on, no matter what. I'm excited for him to get back into competition... he's been missing it! Plus, I think he wants to add to his medal collection on his bedroom wall. Uncle Shane made him such a cool medal display rack, that he wants to get it filled up. Love it.

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On another note altogether, Meagan is home AGAIN today. *sigh*  I got home from a meeting last night at about 8:15, and she was already sound asleep (and had been for some time, according to the boys). I went in to kiss her goodnight... she was burning up, so I checked her with the ear thermometer. She was almost 102. Eeep. Not going to school again. So she slept in until about 8:30 this morning. Still won't eat breakfast, and she's coughing like a maniac. But she seems to be in good spirits. We'll see how the day goes. Keeping my fingers and toes crossed that she is better by tomorrow.

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had to add...

I just had to add a few more pictures. They're so snuggly... and just about asleep.

 




Notice she flipped out the recliner so there was room for both of them. This is what happens when your hippo-sized dog thinks he's a lap dog. She doesn't seem to mind, though.

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It's a Snuggle Day

It's day 2 of having Meagan home from school with a fever and cough. While I hate that she's sick, and I feel bad calling off of work, I have to admit it was nice to be able to get some stuff done around the house yesterday. Today I'm thinking I'll focus on laundry. Other than that, I might just play a bit.

So, this is how sick days are spent around here, now that Dublin is part of the family.

 He's getting so big that he barely fits in the recliner, let alone both of them. But they still find a way.

 It's shaping up to be a day much like yesterday... lay on the couch and watch cartoons. She discovered that a new season of My Little Pony has started, so she's patiently waiting for a new episode to come on.

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Over the weekend (while everyone was still healthy-ish), we got the tree and most of the Christmas decorations up. I really wasn't in the mood to do it, but I made it through. Meagan was so excited to get the tree up...I couldn't disappoint her just because I was feeling Grinchy.

 I admit, the colorful lights do have a soothing effect. Something about them just makes me feel happy.

 This year Meagan wanted to help me put the lights on... not an easy task. I'm pretty particular about the lights. I don't like to see all the wires everywhere, so I wrap the strands around each branch so that they lay along the branches. I showed her how, and she did a few branches. The tree is pretty scratchy, though, so she didn't last long. She said, "I'm done now. That looked more fun that it really was." Don't I agree!! *lol*

 So this is what our living room looks like with all the Christmas explosion of stuff.  See, we got it all painted!! I love not seeing white walls anymore! The fireplace wall & the back wall are both a dark brown, although with the light coming in from 3 windows, it lightens up quite a bit in the daytime.

And we moved Dublin's crate from the eat-in dining area to the corner of the living room. Now, not only is he more in the center of family activity, but his giant bulky cage isn't the first thing you see when you walk in. Win, win.

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Updates:

We didn't win the lottery. Life continues as usual.

I'm on round 2 of antibiotics from the bug I mentioned in my previous post. I can't wait to feel better. This is just no fun.

Our house is a mess. Seriously. Not only have I neglected things like the laundry (which has exploded all over the upstairs, apparently), but we then added to it by taking everything off of the walls so we could paint.

With the exception of the tiny hallway by the garage door, and the little half bath in the same hallway, we have painted everything on the first floor. It feels SO nice to finally have color on the walls!! Now to get everything put back together... sigh.

We are on a break between gymnastics meets. For those of you who are interested, Sebastian's first meet is coming up 9 days from now. He will compete bright and early Saturday the 8th in Champaign, IL. 

I haven't taken many pictures lately, so I don't have much to share with you that is visually stimulating. I'll see what I can come up with for another post soon.  I've been working on my Document Your December album for 2011 December, so maybe I can snap a few pics of that and share. I'll do my best.

Gotta run...breakfast time is over, and I have to make sure Thing 2 and Thing 3 don't miss the bus. Have a great day!

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Happy girl, happy puppy

The last few weeks have gone by in a blur. Between 2 gymnastics meets, plus trying to overcome a bug of some sort that had me down for several days, and still having to keep up with life as usual... it's been hard to keep up.

I know I keep saying it, but I really do want to get back into the habit of blogging regularly. So let's pretend I'm not a week late on sharing these pictures with you.

The other day (Sunday I think) I took Meagan with me to walk Dublin, and we went down to the woods. Simply put, she had a ball! She is definitely an outdoorsy type of girl - always has been - and she was definitely in her element. Plus, she had a playing buddy, which just made it all that much better.

On the walk to the woods, we pass by a semi-open area of lower-lying brush and ground cover and so on. There is lots of evidence that it's good bedding ground for deer, and there are always a few other smaller creatures to be found there. The county has made a walking path through there... but apparently Meagan doesn't need no stinking path. She went off-roading through all the small trees and high brush. At one point she almost got tangled in some brambles, but she managed to pick her way through it.

Not to be outdone, Dublin followed.

Seriously?

Of course, we made a straight line for the river, where Dublin wasted no time sticking is face right in and getting a drink.

Dribble face

I love this picture. It captures perfectly the simple fact that these 2 are inseparable. Wherever she goes, he follows. He just will not let her out of his sight.

Meagan has a wild imagination and a flair for adventure. She found some large pieces of bark, lots of large branches and twigs, and began building a shelter. And a raft. And then she told me that when she is older, she will live in the woods and build her own log cabin. And her husband will stay home and take care of the kids while she goes to work. And her work will be building their house, and of course, the kids will help (good luck with that one babe).

Like I said, he never leaves her side. In all the pictures where it's just her, it's simply because he is just barely out of the shot.

This adventure made for one happy girl. And one even happier puppy. On the way home, Meagan asked if we can go to the woods every Tuesday and Thursday (her 2 days she doesn't have gymnastics). While we may not be able to go 2 times a week every week, I promised her we will definitely go again soon.

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30 Days of Thanks: Day 7

Memory.
Without it, I would have no evidence of some of the most impacting people, events, and moments in my life. I know I take a lot of photos. Mostly because photography is an outlet for me. But also because I love the way a photo can bring to life a memory that's been stored away. I'm amazed at the power of a memory. At the way a song or a sound or a smell can bring to life a moment that's been lying dormant for so long. I spend a lot of quite thought time with my memories, reflecting, enjoying them for what they were and appreciating how they've played a part in shaping who I am right now.

My Happy Place

This is my happy place. It has been since we first moved here and I took my first bike ride through these trails. It's beautiful. It's quiet. It's natural. It's everything I love most about existence.

This place speaks to me like no other that I encounter in my daily life. I love that this relatively untouched space can be found practically right in the middle of sculptured lawns and technology-driven society. I can draw so many parallels to life standing in the middle of these woods. It makes me happy sigh.

So lately, this has been our walking destination. I get home from work, grab something random for lunch, and grab Dublin for a walk. He doesn't so much love the part of the walk where he has to behave on his leash while we're getting there, but I think he loves this place as much as I do. Once we get there, and I can let him off leash, he is a happy puppy.

At first he was unsure of the bridge, but he got over his insecurities pretty quickly. Now he just runs across it like nothing.

Chasing leaves = happiest puppy in the world.

Down by the river... again, he was unsure at first, and is still a bit hesitant to get too far out into the water (I bet it's cold). But he loves to stick his nose where it doesn't belong (ha!) and investigate. Plus, it's an endless supply of rocks! Good stuff!

Nature's camouflage...

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