Tuesday, December 30, 2008

Old People Are Sweet with Cool Meds

I went with my parents, Clay, and Mary Claire south on Hwy 71 a couple hours today to visit my great Aunt Pansy and Uncle Denver. We had fun taking the kids, and they mostly enjoyed the scenery, stories, and big yard. Clay (Mom pointing them out) was fascinated with the dead hawks along the road, the trains, mountains, and the big anthills. While Clay was searching for rocks (destroying the black ant home), he was attacked by ants! He came running in-they were biting him! He had to strip down to his undies out on the porch, so we could shake out the avengers. I stomped on a couple and got him calmed down. We shook out all the clothes, and I don't think a single car drove by the entire time. (Otherwise he would've lost it-the kid's eaten up with modesty!) We went inside to report on the situation, and everyone was very polite not to mention the nakedness. We asked my aunt if she had any Benadryl, and she brought us this cool old package-no doubt manufactured in the 60's or 70's-I didn't even know what to do with it! It was a small tube with green liquid inside, and a gauzy tip. It said to puncture it, but I could NOT figure it out (meanwhile his skin is red and angry). Dad took it, snapped it (think skating rink, and glow-in-the-dark sticks) and it started flowing! We got it soaked into the gauze, and it was thickening. It worked immediately (benzocaine), and he was happy. We had so much left, we hated to see it go to waste. We began to daub it on all of our skin to feel it numb.
The other big highlight was on the way home. Mary Claire had been too high at lunch (289!) to have a dessert, but later she was 87, so we stopped at Braum's on the way back to all have single scoops of Cappuccino Chunky Chocolate on a Waffle Cone (my personal fave, and soon to be my kids). It was pretty much our dinner, but it was amazing....mmmm...I had thought it'd be about 60 grams...boy, was I wrong!!! She was 509 when we were getting off on our exit back in town. Ok, that'd make it about 100 grams of carbs-I was a little off. Ok, that's why we don't ever eat treats! : O (If it makes you feel better, she was 117 at bedtime.) What a crazy life her little blood vessels live!
Still lovin the wii fit-I even got up early to work out before my shower this am (well, couldn't sleep due to the fire evacuation plans going down in my head-see last post!) I got in about 30 minutes-am lovin the Super Hula Hoop and the StepAerobics-Advanced. They are great for getting your heart pumping! In other news, as I weigh in each day...I've gained a couple pounds, so I'm shooting down my two week goal to lose a pound. It keeps asking me what I think my problem is-I'm clicking on snacking (I mean, can't it see the date?? I have uneaten desserts! Mustn't let them go to waste!). So today, before working out (ie weighing), I only had water. Um, yeah. I must've added a pound of water! I was thinking calories...I'm learning.
My oj was all gone today-and Ches went to WM again last night (I was there yesterday buying groceries, but forgot to return the red box video from 3 days ago!! It was $4! shoots down the $1 video coolness.) and he didn't get my oj (didn't know we were out). Sadness all around. He did offer to squeeze some clementines for me. So not the same. (but a precious gesture!) Tonight he's back to the movies (Valkyrie), and getting oj for me!!!! Yay! : ) It's my wake up juice. I only use coffee in the 3-4pm time zone when I'm falling asleep and need serious help starting dinner with toddler on hip, and kids starving and grazing like locusts. It keeps my energy up and keeps me from knawing off an arm (anyone's).
Ok, more random DILO holly! (my new vocab word I learned two days ago!! I can even use it correctly in a sentence!)
ps-Day In the Life Of
pps-Cleaned the Seriously Messy Closet Under the Stairs. Will send pix! (after only)

Monday, December 29, 2008

Christmas Tree Lights Not Working?

I was busy complaining about the upper two-thirds of our big Christmas tree lights not working (after we invested in the huge, prelit tree), when Ches decided to let me in on why they pooped out on us. (Go with it, it's just in my vocab lately.) He holds up the cord-see pix to the right-and says that the freakin' fuse has either caught fire or heated up thoroughly enough to BURN a HOLE through the plug!!! (Freakin-my word.) It actually melted the plug end of the extension cord that attached it to the wall. No, I didn't have 18 strands of lights on it, JUST the tree. (So, it's not the same as the front 18 strands that blew my front porch outlet.) This was a fire in action. We turn them on every morning, and turn them off at bedtime. I think maybe it was starting to melt/catch fire when we turned if off two nights ago. And to think, some people leave their lights on all night. Just know, even when they are new, the cords still aren't fireproof. I thought only real trees and old light strands caught fire. Ha! I've been given a lesson.

Does this call for just a letter to the company and a picture of the plug or an attorney to make them recall the trees/lights? I don't want money-apparently I had some amazing angels and saints saying some heavy duty prayers and watching over me, and God spared us-that I believe.
Seriously. He either knew I didn't have the ability to save all the children, and He has more plans for us, or he knew I couldn't handle one more huge thing. Both?

I'll sure be a little less light-y next year.
Take care of your family. : )

My Parents Think They're Funny

I left my camera at my parents on Christmas Eve, and they thought they'd have a little fun. Well, I'm publishin' MoSt of your fun! See below....
Along with the kids at Christmas Mass and Ethan's birthday. Catch ya tomorrow! : )

Can I listen to my music please?

Wii has turned out to be great! You don't even need furniture! I am LoViNg the Fit and Balance Board. I skiied, ski jumped, did aerobics, yoga, and tons of balance games. In aerobics, I hula hooped-how cool is that? It's great for your hips and feels a bit like the hula (The word hula became associated with the toy in the early 1800s when British sailors visited the Hawaiian Islands and noted the similarity between "hooping" and hula dancing. In 1957, an Australian company began making wood rings for sale in retail stores.) Think I can't google?
Anyway, the balance board talking guy says I need to work on balance, so I've been doing more balance games-he wants to know if I want my body to do things, but can't control it! Yeah, I say, like for 30 years or so!
Updates:
Ethan seems to be better. No throw up, a little moody though, and he has a hoarse voice-from the weird cold that he's had for about 5 weeks now? or from the exertion of the gak coming up the throat...
He's thrilled with his birthday presents, he'd just like to get to play with them. The big kids also find them fascinating. I'll try to load some bday pix down below. I really must take off the messy bedroom picture, I just thought it was hilarious-you know, clean on the outside, crazy on the inside-you know, me. Like uncontrolled balance. : )
Clay loves Lexi (the dog, people!) and she's precious. He doesn't adore her and play with her constantly like he did at first (which is why I insisted we get a dog I thought was adodrable!), cause now she's quite a bit my dog. We cleaned his room from top to bottom, inside-out, and cleared out trash, clutter, and Salvation Army wannabe's. Ches is going this week, and we had to give him stuff to take! His room is amazing...now, if can stay that way for a couple days...
Mary Claire is WoRKiNg on her room... We got started yesterday, but it'll take until Wednesday to clean under that bed. Her closet, well, another week. She just enjoys life, and doesn't worry about the mess it makes. She doesn't even stress about the mess, and I do admire that about her, and don't think I don't see the irony. She says she'll clean her room, and can she please listen to music? I go up there and she's playing Barbies, or making note cards, or having a tea party, or writing in her journal.. Then she says, I was cleaning this up! heehee Gotta love my girl, messy thing. : )
Lexi-is a very good girl! She's only peeing on paper now, and pooping (nice firm ones!), and back to crunchy food. We give her a tiny handful of Diamond, tiny handful of Iams, and spritz it with water two times with a water bottle. She gobbles it up. Did I mention she has lost THREE teeth now? Apparently it is normal, and I can see the new ones coming in, but weird-o! Make you think you got a lemon! We love our blond lemon-she's a sweetie! She comes out of the laundry room all proud of herself-she knows she's made us happy!! Ok, maybe no more talk of the pee/poop/papers situation....I'll think about it. I must run off the weaker people! My one reader has a strong stomach for all things dog! : o )
Ches is great-rode again yesterday-when I opened the computer, his Garmin software was on the screen-it tracks all his rides, the path/roads, and his time. He's so dedicated. There aren't many dates missing on there! And the ones that are, were when he was in the garage on the trainer-not sure you need to watch yourself stay in the same location for a couple hours! Anyway, way to go, Ches!
Ok, must tend to the yelling, thumping children I hear above the dining room. They Must be Having a Good Time. Hope the pup is up out of the way!


Saturday, December 27, 2008

Next Post-Peace be with you!

Well, I had to continue on another day since we went on till after MIDNIGHT!! My laptop shut down (not even a warning, darn it!) and I was busy till today... Ethan was back up at 12:30am, and we gave him medicine (more Acephen-sounds bad-in the heinie). He just wanted to lounge in front of tv, so I chose a nice tv show I could tolerate at that hour. He even watched-and there were no brightly colored dancing characters! : )
Lexi pooped on Clay's quilt-aGAIn! at about 8:30pm, so I took her down to my bathroom to stay the night. Yeah, right. The wimpering had to sTOP! I put her in bed with Clay (no pooping on my bed!) when we were up with Ethan. I checked Mary Claire for the 14th time yesterday, she was still high-ugh. 297, I think. I gave her a correction on her pump, and took a turn with Ethan.
When Ethan woke us at 6am, I quickly moved Lexi to the laundry room (she was noisy, but it confined poop potential!) She actually made it with no deposits on Clay's bed! Hooray, girl! : ) THen she peed like a good girl, and we moved on to Sick Boy. What a sucky second birthday. Good thing he got to play tractor yesterday! : ) ANd it's rainy awfully. And a chance of tornado, even better.
I worked on laundry again...DeJaVu! Got my bedding changed, cleaned the kitchen, washed the remainder of the dining room stuff, and almost have it back to rights (reset, you know!) I'm still washing the napkins.
I fit in a Wii workout when Ethan first went down. Had to fight off Clay who was kicking some butt in Tennis. I was pretty proud of him. But not when I found out he'd fingerprinted my Fit dvd with dirty lunch fingers, AND broken my Fit case, and generally messed all up. I sent him to his room to nap with Lexi (so I could fit in a workout to destress! ie, since no sleep or nap!!!) Good workout! : )
Only fit in about 15 minutes of the Women movie while making bed in the am. Will work on that. If I go over one day, Red Box adds $1 each day. It's just cool to think you can rent a dvd for one day for only one dollar. So to make it work, you must WATCH it in one day-they know us well, don't they?
Ok, sorry so slow on the posts. I'm the b-word, and with sick child, potty-training pup, kids home from school, and self-infliction of necessary things to do, plus OC disorder mounting up (top lights of xmas tree not working, and driving me NUTS!) I can either fit it in at 1am, or sleep a little before waking at 6am to poop and crying. Yes, I choose sleep over typing any day. And when I decide to type, my laptop goes bleep.
Well, we cancelled the small bday party for the cutie, but now he's slightly better. If crying and being needy after nap are better. We'll still have his cake (I almost cut some last night-mmmm...chocolate and buttercream...), sing, and he's opened all his presents. Maybe we'll get another cake (maybe an ice cream cake-woohoo!) next week to celebrate with family. I truly love having childen who are small who I get to choose cakes for-it's joyous. and delish. Then they get big and pick Dinosaurs with red and green icing that turns your mouth colors and they can tell when you've dipped into it the next day. I'm just sayin', you know, it's fun to get to pick the cake.
Alrighty, we are splitting up for church again today. Obviously, our pew has germs. Ches is taking MC today, and I'll take Clay tomorrow. I'm sure our pew-area family thanks God silently. They are sweet, but sometimes I imagine what they are saying... "Geez, why do they flop all over the place? Why do they bring books and notebooks? They aren't very reverent. Their mom should whip them into shape! Why can't they kneel with their rear off the seat? I feel sorry for them." THe last one I'm pretty sure of since they grab my hand with both of theirs, look into my harried eyes, and say, "PEACE be with you," nodding with all the meaning and emphasis and heart and sympathy they can squish into those tiny "required" words. They try not to sound sorry for me, but more that they send me peace thru their arms straight to my heart, to try and help will me thru till the next week when they'll either thank God for no children who arch their backs and yell, or they'll pray for the mom who brings him!
Peace be with you!

Friday, December 26, 2008

Busy, Much?

Do I even need to say it? Busy-yep, that's the word.
Pup update: She's now going on papers when we put them down in the laundry room, gate her in, and tell her to go. She whimpers and whines after she's done, and is pretty proud of herself! She has lost 3 teeth-weird. I was super worried at first, but she's got two more double-teeth, so she may lose more. (Clay once had double teeth when he refused to pull the baby tooth, and the new one came right on in. We said we'd pull it and he'd get money, or we'd pay the dentist to do it-guess what he chose?) She also hasn't eaten much today. : ( I just worry, she has NO weight to lose.
EThan update: Now has fever (102.9 on IBU), and has thrown up. The OnLy place he's been is to Children's Mass on Christmas Eve. So, he's gathered germs somewhere... and the low immunity after pneumonia and using the orapred must have opened the door for a disgusting virus. The saga continues...
We gave him his birthday present early today (a motorized John Deere tractor and trailer), and he was so excited! I'm really glad we did, because tomorrow may be horrible if he's still sick. Poor kid.
Mary Claire update: She had glorious desserts on Christmas Eve and Christmas (and I had to change her pump site). Even today she's been down to 67, and up to 336. Ugh. She had a sugar cookie when she was low, and I only allowed the frosting for the low (gave insulin for the cookie part after 15 minutes), and she still hit 336. Powerful frosting.
She's been licking her upper lip (up to her nose-who can do that?) and now has a chapped upper lip/Kool-aid look going on. She and Clay both have colds or allergies to the aforementioned pup. They are on Zyrtec, but I don't know if it's enough.
She got a Barbie cruise ship,and loves it-it's renewed her love for all things Barbie. My dad put all the stickers on it on Christmas, and Ethan pulled one off today, and she cried. I gave her the ok to lock her doors when she's not in there. I do understand. I had a little brother. I don't remember him peeling stickers, but I never had any fancy Barbie accoutrements. I made a cool Barbie house out of a cardboard box, and made the furniture with more cardboard-I was creative. Can you say early home decorating?
She created her Mii on the Wii, and it was so cute. She also went thru the fitness tests on the Wii Fit, and it said she needed to work on balance. It's so cool-it explains the things we need to stay healthy, and I'd never thought of balance. I also didn't do so well on balance!
Clay update: Little less adoring of the pup, Lexi for now, who has pooped on his quilt (yesterday-washed by bedtime), on his sheets and mattress pad-6am this morning (only remade the bed at bedtime again-think BuSy!), then just now slimy poop on the quilt again. Ugh. Now she's in my bathrooom with a baby gate up, WHIMPERING!! I figured she'd wake Ethan if I locked her in Clay's bathroom or in her crate in his room, so we won the lottery tonight. He's very excited about his two new Lego kits (dinosaurs and Indiana Jones), and his circuits kit, and the Wii. Sometimes his sportsmanship is not so good. We'll work on that.
Me update (or should I say Mii??!) ok, love the Wii! I didn't get a chance to use it till Christmas afternoon. I did my fitness test on the wii fit, and I did well, except for balance!! WHo knew?? Then I did these skills tests for balance-very cool-I was a ball and I had to lean around on the balance board to get my ball to go into the floating (think golf course) surface's hole. It got progressively harder-first one ball, then two... I made it only up to five balls, but that was almost impossible. You are trying to get one ball in, and meanwhile all the others are moving around, and some just fall off. I can say it's hard. Not strenuous, but frustrating! Later, Ches and I played tennis (I won twice) and baseball (I totally suck at hitting!), boxed (won one, lost one), and bowled (I totally rocked!). It was fun! I was hot and thirsty. I actually felt like I'd had a workout! That's what I wanted. : ) I could've done so much better had I not had on my cute jeans and all my jewelry (shiny new Brighton brown crystal crosses with silver-uber cute gift from Ethan. Yes, he picked them out last time we were there in October!). Anyway, hard to box the crap out of your husband in shiny adorable jewelry.
I have done seven loads of laundry today (still not done-two more to go)-bedding, clothes, more bedding, and throw up clothes and towels. Thank you, God, for my laundry room and my washer and dryer. I love my working machines. : ) I reorganized Mary Claire's meters, supplies, and pump supplies, wiped a puppy butt and feet a few times, cuddled and rewarded Lexi for making pee and poop on the papers-Yay, Lexi!! : ) Umm..cleaned up more Christmas dishes and silverware (unused ones still on table!), held my precious sick baby for not enough time and rubbed his head and ran my fingers thru his hair till he drifted off twice. Just perfect. I made it to Wal-Mart to buy non-Christmas dinner food as I can't eat any more, rented The Women from Red Box (it's been playing for 46 minutes, but I forgot to turn on the tv, so I've not seen any yet...), saw Marley and Me last night-awesome!! The dog was hilarious, the family was sweet and realistic, and the writer, John Grogan, is obviously very good.
Ches update: Currently he's out for a bike ride. We have unbelievably (Seriously, HaRd to believe!) weather here. It's 65 degrees. He didn't get in his two hours of bike riding the past two days, so he's catching up. It does concern me, but he has his new reflective jersey on (New, so it hasn't been overwashed by me so as to fade the reflective properties as I don't lay them flat to dry-who has time?) He also stomped me in boxing and baseball, but my BMI was fairly close to his, so we're even. He was actually surprised I think! It says if you are under 22, you are healthy and have less chance of being sick. (woo-hoo! Something going for me!) Anyway, he was holding Ethan during the Throw Up, so he's my hero. He tried to give him a bath, but he was too weak, so he got in the shower with him, then held Ethan in the closet floor till Ethan fell asleep. I found them in there when I got home from Wal-Mart. Did I mention I go there most every day?-of course I'm serious. I don't joke about Wal-Mart and life-threatening illnesses. Back to the throw up-so, I washed all of Ches' clothes, Ethan's clothes, the towels, etc., cleaned the bathroom, then held Ethan for a while. He finally wanted to get dressed. He watched tv, then bed for a while... See next post!

Tuesday, December 23, 2008

Can't wait for Christmas! (neither can a couple other short people!)

Dum-diddy-dum! a Puppy has struck again! We've been enjoying puppy (Lexi, for now) for almost two days! She's sweet, and is starting to perk up. She mostly wants to be with Clay, but likes to be held if she's not prancing around. She stays very close-not even venturing to another room. She's eaten, peed (on paper! once on carpet..), and pooped (once on paper, once a few inches away..).
We had to go out yesterday to get Mary Claire more strips for her meter and insulin (using pen needles to fill her pump reservoir now, so new insulin for her every 3 days-very potent!), and to bank, post office.... So, we took Lexi! She's an angel in the car. : ) She rides on Clay's lap, just so very content to be held. Since we had to go out... we went ahead and took her to the vet yesterday. She got a rabies shot, some Nutri-cal to give her energy since she's not eating as much as she should, and some Heartguard chunks to avoid worms. He said she had a slight underbite (only bad if we're showing her-heehee, only to friends!), and a something patella (kneecap that could go out of place, but she'll raise her leg if it does). Other than that, she's great! No fleas, earmites, poopy problems-worms? Funny, the whole world that exists out there that you are oblivious to if you don't have a pet! : )
It's definitely something else to take care of-watching her like a hawk after she eats to wait for her pee and poop! Making sure she's eating, resting, warm, has fresh water, etc.
Well, I got the dressing made for Christmas Day, and made some sugar cookies for the kids to decorate tomorrow. I did three loads of laundry, vacuumed the house, and mopped the floors. Whew, I remember looking up at the clock-and it was only 9:30! That means the kids got up WaYyyyy too early if I had time to get all that done!
Ches and the kids have gone up north (teehee-to Missouri) to see his mom and stepdad and exchange presents. Ethan is still not going anywhere, so I'm staying behind. He's sound asleep (as is Lexi on my lap..).
Well, we've survived the crazy break-in period, so I think Lexi (current name still..) will be fine. Welcome to the Family, Baby Girl! : )
We may be on to the next thing. A-hem. Ches has been looking at house plans for the last few days. Since the rate dropped, and should stay down for the next 3 to 6 months, he'd like to sell and build. We'd have to sell our house first, live in a rental house or something (Big Something), and then build. We've been on both sides: caught straddling two houses for months, and living in a hotel because our house sold too fast. Let me just say, the hotel was much preferable! We'll see where this goes... I will say I lurve the plans he's finding-huge laundry rooms (my request-my second bedroom, you know!) bathrooms to the backyard for pool guests (to avoid the drippy bathroom runs-mostly Mary Claire though) (Thank you, God, that she pees in a toilet and not my swimming water!) Let's see... fewer two-story rooms (totally wasteful use of space and energy (and energy bills!), and space used more efficiently. Mary Claire's room could have been two rooms. Need I go on? If we don't move, we'll be just fine here, if we do, fine too. We're a family no matter where we live. : ) A family of 6 now-Clay says! : )
Happy thoughts: It's warmed above freezing for a while : ), I don't have to go out today, warm puppy, sugar cookies to decorate, mostly clean house, no need to plug outside Christmas lights in anymore (oh yeah, blew the outlet, btw), two fewer gifts to open Christmas morn (I caved to requests this am), excited to use my new iPod alarm clock with hidden subwoofer (whatever) (Christmas present from Ches), and CaN'T wAiT for my Wii!!!! and wii Fit!!!!! X I X I X (me doing excited jumping jacks)!

Sunday, December 21, 2008

Eating My Words

Munch, munch, munch... I'm eating my words. I got another eating, pooping thing. (Well, we've yet to see it eat or poop.) I'm actually worried about the non-eating, pooping thing. I've talked with the breeder, Colene, four times this evening already. She's called me twice, sweet woman. The puppy didn't want her food, her water, the new food or meaty treats I bought... Then Colene suggested a can of tuna (to no avail). Ches is currently running out to Wal-Mart to get a can of Lil' Cesar to try. Say a prayer for the precious thing!
She's 2.5 pounds and almost 6 months old. She's a Maltipoo-Maltese and Poodle mix. She's forecast to be about 4 lbs. full grown. I think she's full size, but she might fill out more. She'd make me feel better if she would! She's all white, but down near her feet, she has a tiny bit of apricot and black on her toes and nails. I mean a teensy bit! : )
The first trip to Wal-Mart yielded a big crate thing, two beds (brown waterproof one with cover for inside the crate and a fancy pink one for outside the crate), food, puppy pads, treats, clothing (red & green striped sweater, bone-printed blue fleece shirt-ish thing, and a black/pink shirt/halter combo), a collar, harness, retractable leash, brush, shampoo, pink purse toy, dish, need I go on? I just adopted a new member of the family!
Her name was Lacey, and we were going to rename her, but Clay has taken to the name. He can't find it in him to change it now. His serious considerations: Lexi, Lizzy, and Izzy.
Ok, said puppy is now in my bed while I type... She's precious.
I do so love eat-y, poop-y things! I could love them in a box, I could love them on the rocks. I could pet them in my house, I could pet them by a mouse. I could love eat-y,poop-y things here or there, I could love eat-y, poop-y things most anywhere!
On another note (or is there one now?) We made it to church this am, my mom watched Ethan (steering clear of germs still), and we made it on time (or most nearly). Fr. John gave a great homily (and I got to hear it, minus noisy kids!). There was a man who'd quit going to church, and his pastor came to visit him. Knowing why he was there, he asked him in and to have a seat by the fire. The pastor did, and didn't say anything, just stared into the flames. After a while, he took the tongs, and pulled a small glowing ember away from the fire and over to one side. Slowly, it turned cold and black. He never said anything. Eventually the pastor had to go. He picked up the cold ember and moved it back into the fire. It quickly began to glow red again. The pastor got up to leave, and the man said with a tear in his eye that'd he'd be back at church on Sunday. Amazing how when we hear a story we can recall it so much better than we do a lecture. I thought it was perfect for this time near Christmas. He also talked about how we can never outdo God in generosity. (True!)
And...i don't have to make costumes! Woo-hoo! The kids are to be at the church an hour in advance to dress and "practice" and then BE the shepherd and angel in the live nativity before Christmas Eve Mass. I'll take lots of pictures, imagine that!
Tomorrow is Ches' bday, so we'll have to make it special! We had cake last night, but he'll get his gifts and cards, and go to the movies-his fave! He wants to see Yes Man with me and Despereaux with the kids, so we'll see if he fits in both. We'll have to get a baby/kid sitter for tomorrow evening on fairly short notice. I'll do what I can to make his reasonable dreams come true! : )
Happy things: cold noses (on mine), warm things asleep on me, the calming effect they have, adorable little things to buy them (they have entire clothing collections including spaghetti-strap dresses, biker jackets, swimsuits, bling-y shirts!), and my son telling my mom on the phone that he was MoRe than happy--priceless, as mastercard would say.

Saturday, December 20, 2008

Nativity Costumes to be HomeMade?

Note to self: Do not go to Wal-Mart or other shopping-type stores on the Saturday before Christmas! I was clearly NOT thinking today. I ran in to get a few things-for Christmas Day dinner, and it was so packed! And with the heavy turkey, diapers-huge box, wipes-huge box, Diet Dr. Pepper case, etc. my cart kept pulling severely to the right! I was having quite the workout, which is great since I wore my new Nikes and cute workout clothes I bought in Atlanta last month (which have yet to be officially worked out in-I'm waiting on the wii). So I was quite exhausted and need of a snack-but geez! It took me 14 minutes to get out of the parking lot-I am not exaggerating. I had downed half a box of Raisin Bran Crunch before I got to turn onto a real street. Do not do this next year.
Since Ethan woke us all up at 6:40am (you know, from the climbing out of bed and visiting everyone...), (and I'd only gone to bed at 2:20am-partying and blogging are taking its toll!), I was so tired! We didn't make our usual 4pm Mass today. The kids went to Mom's-yay! and I caught a nap before we grabbed a pizza and the kids. We'll have to make the 10:30 Mass tomorrow, since we have Girl Scouts tomorrow evening! : ) We are visiting the Shiloh Health and Rehab to hand out Christmas cards...which reminds me-I still have to make 15 more cards! Anyone want to come help?? We'll work on those after church?
The kids are supposed to be in the live nativity next Wednesday evening, but I've yet to hear if there is a practice (yes, for a shepherd and an angel-well, they can always use practice being silent and angelic!) or when to go to get on costumes. We may be the late, inappropriately dressed angel and shepherd. I'm thinking I'll make Mary Claire a sweet, long and flowy white tulle angel gown (with pink sparkley Barbie shoes!) and Clay can wear a burlap robe thingie (is there a pattern for that?) My kids will stand out. (not necessarily in a good way). But we love Jesus, and he'll see us making an effort. : )
Ches is off to Best Buy again. (Did I mention I went there again today to get my brother a gift card?) And I thought I'd not be back for four more years. We've already racked up $10 in rewards on that nifty rewards card! I hope we don't rack up another $10 tonight....
Is there a good plan for how to get the kids to not wake up at 5am on Christmas morning? Seriously? After a long night of installation and assembly, 5 comes way too soon! Is there a good politically correct bribing system?
Well, I think shopping for gifts at our household is finished. Woo-hoo! : ) Let the wrapping begin! : ) and the rewrapping! (thanks to our intelligent 23.9-month-old!)
Happy things today: playing Bendaroos with my kids (I made a magenta dog/razorback animal!), scrumptious chocolate bday cake with fudge frosting, heated van seats, online bill pay, seeing friends at Wal-Mart-land-of-chaos, reading hilarious Junie B. Jones with the kids, comfy clothes
and springy shoes that make me feel excercise-y, and a husband who likes to shop.

It's a Good Life

Great day : ) Was a little more tired-the adrenaline was a little less flow-y today. I think I'm coming down off the high I had during the week making all the sweet little presents for all the teachers: church, school, nurse, Bunko group, etc. I made it, and crashed today. Had a little nap, recharged enough to straighten up the house, work on laundry (do they have to keep wearing all those clothes??), and go OUT! Somehow, I revived. heehee : )
We went to our fantastic party! Wine was great, people all were beautiful and so very sweet. Then we left, went to speed-shop. Sam's for Clay gift (and Ches' vital gum (flare)-almost freaked out when I offered him a Juicy Fruit!), then to Target for Wii toys, Wii Music, and Noodleboro game and beads for a special little girl, and then to Best Buy for more Wii paraphernalia!!!! (Fit board rubbery pad/cover, mat to go under balance board, extra wheel/remote/nunchuck) They signed us up for some rewards program. I guess they thought we'd be back. What gave them that idea? I haven't been in there for about 4 years. It's not my kinda place. I like the bead-y, sequin-y, silk-y, leather-y, or crafty kind of places. Tech is not me. As long as my computer can do the searching/shopping, I'm happy with my computer. : )
What do you think about the fake pets? My dear son will just die again this Christmas when Santa fails him again. He didn't write a letter due to last year's sadness. He wants a "real, alive" dog. I just can't have another eating, pooping thing right now. My plate is full. He thinks Santa knows I don't want one. I've searched online, locally, and can't find the perfect pet. (Is there one?) I found Beauty (see previous post), and she's big now. Not so I-can't-bear-to-live-without-her-cute anymore. Soo...anyway, I found these Fur-Real pets that I thought they'd dig, but Ches said no. He wanted to get a video game that simulates them. Yeah, right. Like there's anything to hug there. So we got neither. I did find that the Littlest Pet Shop game has 11 reviews-all 5 stars! (on amazon.com) So, maybe I'll get the little purple animals with massive eyes and tiny bodies. So real.
Oh, and we saw Seven Pounds. I thought it was awesome. Some rating person gave it a 29%, but I'm not a pro. It was deep, beautiful (once you figured it out), and just perfect at Christmas for the ultimate gifts. Won't say too much and ruin it for you. Go see it.
See? I have so much more to say after the kids go to bed. Sweet little things.
And I'm working on getting Ethan twin sheets and bedding for a twin bed. We've reached the day-sadly. Last night at midnight he was in a ball on the floor under his blankie. It's time, sniff, sniff.
I 'm thankful for: moms who babysit, fun friends, an outlet that goes out permanently instead of burning up my house, my washer and dryer, gas stations close together (when the light's been on toooo long), bling-y rhinestone belts, my electric blanket pre-warming (waited till 2008 to get one-too long!), the sight of precious angels sleeping, and a husband who'll keep checking the middle one till her blood sugar comes back down....

Thursday, December 18, 2008

Survived Noisy Parties, More Crafts. . .

I finally got a shower-Yay, me! Cleaned the messy bedroom, see before photo... The parties were hectic as usual, and so very LOuD! They are just So excited! : ) Mary Claire didn't want any of the Chick-Fil-A nuggets we'd gotten or the cheese and crackers. She was only interested in the beautifully colored sugar cookies, emphasis on sugar! She shared a small bite, and it was wonderful! Way to go, Shelby Lynn's!
So, now on to the next thing...I'm waiting for my sweet friend, Jenifer, to come by..she's bringing something by, and I'd bought a towel for her party Friday night (I've got a date!), so I decided to go ahead and monogram it now, and so she'll have it before the party. I tell ya, I live my life by the seat of my pants, moment by moment! And what fun I have! : ) I got the bedroom vacuumed, go me!! And both boys have had their baths (Water Works Wonders) while I worked away. It's awesome when I can multitask. Ok, I had some help-Ches was half watching them too. We definitely have a tag-team approach. They did start to get cold, so I heated that water right up, yes-siree! Then they could just about swim, and I had another 15 minutes or so to write another blog, and get ready for the next project: teachers' notebooks. I'm making little tabs (with my nifty tab puncher from Stampin' Up! my absolute fav toy!) and then stapling them into premade notebooks-so cute! I'll have to add some pics of my favorite projects! : )
Ok, hard to type with toddler on lap, talking on mouse (phone) to imaginary friends, swatting at air with metal pica ruler. Ok, down now, striking at a/c intake vent with metal ruler. Must go. Sure frees up the lap and hands though!

Kid can climb out of bed!

Newsflash! Bad day-Ethan can climb out of bed-how to shower now!? Did another load of laundry, uploaded more pictures of funny house-clean, ready for Christmas in some places...and my bed isn't made, and wrapping paraphernalia is strewn thru my room! I'm not done, so it seems pointless to clean and then mess up again. Don't have time for pointless. Off to shower, child has quieted. No more door slamming after harsh, "NO!" for coming out. (of bed AND room!) What's to be done? My other kids stayed in their baby beds till almost 3. It's so safe, at the top of the stairs! You know, to be in a cage.
Cleaned up megablocks, car track, potatohead adornments/body parts, chocolate milk cup (boo!-sitting on loveseat-yay! upright), cleaned one bathroom, took out bathroom trash (floss hanging off, tissues on floor). I'm mighty talented-I'm the only one who can do it! : ) Add Coke to calories consumed.
and I heard the door again! AHHHHHhhhhhhhhhhhh!

Possible new followers!

Woohoo! My mom is looking to help me get followers! and commenters, ole'!
...Have changed a diaper (poopy of course-eww! he says), held child off computer screen (Mama, Da-ee, Cway, sisi, mine), wrestled away a pot from him, fed two popsicles (in high chair) (therefore getting laundry sorted, and first load going), commented a little more, ate three pecan turtles (homemade!), got him off Clay's top bunk, secretly took away Clay's Eye-Clops (must have for young kids!) and hid it in a top drawer, found a cryo-pak (ice pack) in Clay's bathroom (?)...still no shower as dh (darling husband for new readers-oops-reader) came home from drop off and said he was going to work-what? on break? and then to lunch with big kids-saint he is. Will try for shower during Ethan's nap.

Party Day!

Ok, Ches is taking the kids to school-at 7:51-hope they make it! I was making last minute teacher gifts (precious chocolate zebra with lime green monogrammed tumbler and chocolate with white dot, red monogram for other teacher, ahhhh..) since Clay decided he wanted to give Mrs. Gawf her gift this morning instead of at the party...Last minute mayhem! : O Then I shut the door on my babies as I yelled, "Don't mess up the bow!" I meant "I love you!" Now I have five minutes-could be shower time, but I feel the need to update my one reader on my excitement-filled life!
Oh, and Ethan is sick again...Pneumonia last week, the kid's been on home arrest since last Tuesday, and he woke us all up (Climbed out of bed) and needed a breathing treatment and a diaper change, and bygolly he wanted it now! Then he just continued generally whiny-ness. He got some chewables (thank God for chewables) and settled down to watch Little Einsteins. for 3 minutes. then snacks (fruit snacks), doos (juice), and up (hold my body while you work feverishly!)
Ok, to the shower for real!

Wednesday, December 17, 2008

Well, I'm just so stinkin excited to be starting a blog! I have so much to say! heehee
: ) I always think every day is the craziest day-and I don't have time to share it with my precious friends! This is just so easy. I hope to make it better....
Today I helped my good friend, Jenifer, embellish her beautiful home for her Christmas party Friday night-which is where I'll be in the Fri pm! : ) I used spray adhesive and glitter to glam up her fruit and nuts, and now i have a permanent glittered thumb and index finger-highly desirable. My sweet six-year-old, Mary Claire, wanted her fingers glittered! I ran to two stores to get last minute gifts for Clay's (8) little friends. I got airplanes you shoot off a slingshot thingie and tiny video games-read cheap. They also had to have books for a book/gift exchange on Thursday. So, I got the kids each a book, then got a few extras for the kids who won't bring one. Last year, I had to have 10 extra for Clay's class! I don't know if it's busy parents or they don't have money in this economy....? Anyway, then home to speed-wrap them, back to the school to drop them off, check out the teachers' way-c0ol handpainted sweatshirts and stylin' 80's hairdos! BAck home to check out a puppy online (as SAnta let down Clay last year in his quest for pup ownership), and he's given up on the man in the red suit. He won't even write a letter, although this evening he told me about Ansley-who-doesn't-believe. He said she was wrong, and he still believes. Then asked probing questions about whether I put stuff in his stocking...Whew. I said I put in stuff before I went to bed, then maybe SAnta puts stuff on top of it. Could I be MORE vague? Anyway, then I contacted said-puppy-seller, and Mary Claire overheard me talking and wanted to know about Beauty (morkie's current name..) and what pet department and 650, etc. and what was I talking about.... Ahhh! abort, abort!!
Conferenced with hubby about said dog... made PRE (think Sunday School) teacher gifts-7! and made quick dinner, ran them to church, put 2-year-old (EThan) to bed, ran back to get them, started a blog... did I miss anything? ; )
Maybe I just needed an online journal to catalog thoughts and accomplishments. When you are a mom, there are no contests or kudos to the winners. We have to list our yay! moments so we'll know we had some.
Today's cool moments: Great prayers and excitement at the beginning of the day on the way to drop kids at school, at Jenifer's creating magic, Creating awesome rhyme-y poem for kid's gifts to teachers (using nifty Rhyming Dictionary-gotta have one!), must list creating blog-easy, peasey, lemon-squeezy!