Happy New Year!

Another year has come and gone and life keeps changing. I'm not sure what life has in store for us this year, but I hope it's great. I'd like to say that I've made my new year's resolutions and could list them all for you, but I've been to busy eating the junk food I bought (and shouldn't have). Perhaps another day, eh? For now, I just want to say Happy New Year to you all and I hope that it is a blessed one! Now if you'll excuse me, I'm gonna go ring in the new year with Luke Skywalker or Frodo Baggins. I'm still undecided and hope to make my mind up before I reach the movie shelf. I suppose new year's resolutions are going to be tough if I can't even make up my mind on a movie. Oh well. Details, my friends. Details. Here's to the new year. Bring on 2011!

Coming Soon!

My ultimate plans to take over the world are about to commence! Mwah-ha-ha-ha-ha! No. Not really. Actually my plans to take over the world sort of burned out right around the time I became a mom. Okay. You caught me. I never had plans that big. Too much work and the hours are insane. No holiday pay, you know. All joking aside, I don't actually have anything of severe interest to blog about tonight so I just thought I'd mention that the beginnings of a new blog is officially in the make. I'm currently working on a title bar to fit the name and hope to have the first post of many up and running within the next two weeks or so. Don't panic, faithful reader(s). I shall still remain true to The Lemonade Stand. My new blog will be the followings of a crazy failed artist who has yet, after many years, to make a name for herself in the art world. Though several attempts have been made on various levels in the art field, she has still managed to work her way down the art ladder to status of 'waste of art degree and four and a half years of college education.' She's unpublished, unpaid, and uninterested in the graphic design world she was so dedicated to succeeding in so many years ago.

Wait a second...this sounds vaguely familiar. It's almost like I'm talking about myself. Oh! That's right! I am talking about myself. So yes, my plans to draw a creature a day (or a drawing a day) have been reconsidered and slightly modified to fit the schedule of a mom with two busy kids and no room for a drawing desk. I will be be revealing my second blog soon and hope to be publishing one drawing a week - mostly concentrating on my fantasy/sci-fi work. So if you're interested, keep a watchful eye on the blogging horizon. It is coming...

To have the mind of a child

I'm always fascinated by the child's mind. It has endless possibilities. Actually, I believe that anything is possible in a kid's world. For example, Alex has asked me more than once if he can fly like a bird. I tell him no and he immediately comes back by asking, "When I get older, can I grow wings and flap them like a bird to fly in the sky?" Obviously these sort of things, short of being dropped in a vat of nuclear slime capable of mutating human physiology, are impossible. To a child it is not only possible, but highly probable. I figure why destroy their dreams of impossibility? They will eventually figure it out. Not only do they dream of flying with the birds, swimming with the whales and singing with the Wiggles. They also believe that whatever they ask for, no matter how grand or insignificant it might be, will be given to them without any hesitation. Tonight we were eating dinner when the following occurred:

Abby (not wanting milk to drink): Mommy, can I have something to drink?

Me (who has yet to take more than two bites of my cold food): You have something to drink. You have milk right there.

Abby: I want apple juice.

Me: Well, we don't always get what we want.

Abby: But I really want apple juice.

Me: And I want a million dollars.

Abby: (She reaches into her pocket and pretends to pull something out and hand it to me.) Here. Here's a million dollars!

We all laughed and I poured her a pretend glass of apple juice. For a two and a half year old, she's pretty witty.

Post Christmas Void

If your traditions are anything similar to mine then the day after Thanksgiving, you are hauling all of your Christmas decoration boxes down from places too high to reach if you happen to be 5'4". You dust off the year of dirt and cobwebs and spend a couple of hours sorting through the many Christmas memories of past. You smile when you see the handmade ornaments and place them on your brightly shining tree while the kids dance around the room with the excitement of the holiday season bright in their eyes. A few hours later, the warmth of multi-color twinkling lights fill the house and shades of green and red hang in every room. The Christmas glow is complete. You spend your days making holiday crafts and goodies while the pleasant sounds of Christmas music plays quietly in the background. No matter how many curve-balls life might be throwing your way, the natural joy of the season always seems to raise your spirits. I suppose celebrating 25 straight days of our Lord's birth is blessed that way. Christmas has arrived. The smiles and laughter of the children spreads into your heart as they talk of Santa and baby Jesus. It's a wonderful day.

But as all things do with time, Christmas comes and then Christmas goes. The day after seems different somehow. You may leave the tree up for a couple of more days in hopes of squeezing a few more ounces of holiday joy out of it's twinkling lights. But somehow, the glow of those tiny bulbs on the tree don't hold the same magic. You realize that now that it's over, it's time to pack away the holiday until next year. That's what today was for me. Much to the kiddos' dismay, I lugged all the boxes into the living room and packed up another year of Christmas memories. It was a good one, despite the hard times and I look forward to getting those dusty old boxes down again next year to reminisce once more.

So as I look around the house now, it feels...well...empty. I know that the walls were just as bare a month ago as they are today. The Christmas tree is only up for a month and the stockings only litter the wall for such a short time in the year. But I feel the void, nevertheless. Somehow, I don't mind the bitter bite of the winter wind when Christmas is in the air. I suppose that's part of the reason it's so sad to see the house so bare now. The magic of snow on Christmas is a joyful thing to see. After Christmas, the prospect of ice and snow merely annoys me and reminds me that we are stuck inside until spring graces us again. I suppose that if Christmas lasted all year then it wouldn't feel so wonderful when it comes. As much as I dislike the void I feel, I'll always be thankful that each and every year, we get to experience the magic of Christmas all over again.

New Beginnings?

Two months has passed since the most recent lay off with Josh. This might actually become the longest stretch of unemployment to date. I suppose that there really is nothing positive you can say about that. And to find something positive about such an annoying situation is nearly impossible. So I will stretch to my furthest limits and find the near invisible point of joy that seems so improbable to find. Josh has made a decision. Okay. So not really a 100% positive decision. But a possible decision that may or may not put us on a potential path to hopeful recovery. He is as fed up with the union as can be and has decided to start asking about the punishment of quitting the union and breaking contract. Is this a good choice? Who knows anymore. But I'm fairly certain that the incapable union has proved to us to be...well...worthless. For an organization meant 'for the people', it sure is working against us for the moment. So as of the end of this week, we should have made a partial decision on what may or may not be a new beginning to a new year. Wish us luck. This could get a little bumpy.

Twas the night after Christmas and all through the house...

...not a creature was stirring. Not even my two crazy children who are best known for their freakish ability to stay awake against all odds! Yes. It's true. My kids are asleep before 9:30. Actually, they were both asleep before 8:45. Abby zonked out on my lap while watching a movie at 7:30 and Alex passed out almost as quickly once his head hit his pillow. So as I sit here and listen to the dryer as it prepares me for yet another load of laundry, I ask myself: What do I do with my extra free time? Actually, I must admit that it's a bit strange not hearing the unending post-bedtime questions and requests. As I sat down to flip on my laptop, I had to mentally check to see if I was awake or dreaming that it was so quiet in my house. Not that I'm unhappy to have both kids sleeping so peacefully in their beds so early. But when you're used to constant noise, the silence can be deafening. In fact, it's so strangely deafening that I think I might go turn on a movie. And what better way to break the silence than with a good ol' battle sequence of Middle Earth? Nothin' like a few good orc deaths to brighten you up after the holiday season, eh? Besides, Viggo Mortensen alone makes the three hour movie worth watching (wink, wink). So, I'm off to enjoy some Lord of the Rings, folks. It's been far too long and I mustn't keep my hobbits waiting.

Merry Christmas!

Though the day of our Lord's birth has come so fast this year, I hope that everyone out there has had a wonderful Christmas and continues to have a spectacular finish to the year. May all your days be bright and beautiful during this wonderful time of year. And if you're like me, you're about to curl up on the couch with a delicious cup of hot cocoa and a toasty warm Transformer blanket and watch one last Christmas movie to finish off the day right. So from my family to yours, wherever you may be, Merry Christmas and God bless.

Merry Christmas Eve, Everyone!

Tradition in our family has always been to spend Christmas Eve with my dad's side of the family. Over the years, that tradition has started to slip away. I miss seeing all of my cousins, aunts, uncle (because I only have one on that side), Granny and everyone in between. I was excited because this year we were going to hold to that tradition. But because my Granny has been in the hospital recently and with a ton of kids going to be there, it was decided that it be best if we didn't come if there was a chance at all of being still contagious from the big bad stomach bug. I hope they all had a fun (and ate all the cookies and pretzels I sent with my folks). I miss them all and am hoping to try again next year. But you know what? It's okay. We had a great time today preparing for the big Eve of Christmas. We didn't have a fancy dinner, (mmm...hot dogs and chili. Hello heartburn.) but we had fun. Alex and Abby exchanged Christmas presents to each other (just one). We exchanged presents with Wesley and Greta and got the cookies and milk ready for Santa Claus and carrots and water for the reindeer. Because reindeer need a snack too, ya know? The kiddos were so excited when they went to bed that I have a bad feeling my morning will start before the sun comes up. As for me? I have my work cut out for me to make sure Santa has everything he needs for the big night. I am, after all, one of his helpers from time to time. So come on over Santa. The cookies are waiting. From all of us here at the Lemonade Stand, Merry Christmas and God bless you all!

Merry Christmas from the five cats at the Lemonade Stand!

Alex and Abby are a little excited. Can you tell?

Smile for the camera and show me your presents!

The live nativity scene at the church across the street. Tis the reason for the season.

The Magic of Santa Claus

First up, let me just start by saying...WOO HOO! I actually did it. I successfully fulfilled a short-term goal. I blogged for thirty straight days. Are you as shocked as I am? Are you as excited as I am by such a trivial accomplishment? Hello? Any readers out there? Well, anyhow. I'm not entirely certain whether or not I will keep writing daily. It's actually become quite the obsession. I sit down and tap away at the keys about trivial moments of my life. Oh, occasionally I throw in a rather significant bit of information, but all in all, it's just words on a screen, right?

Today I will share Alex and Abby's very first visit with the jolly old elf himself - Santa Claus. We got there right as he was arriving on a firetruck of all things. (Alex was so excited when he saw this that he was bouncing.) I must admit that it was a fair bit more exciting for me than it probably should have been. I was down right giddy for the sake of my children. Heck, I got so into the holiday spirit that I about jumped up on Santa's lap myself. There are a few things I wouldn't mind Santa whippin' out of his bag for me this Christmas. Alright, I'm just kidding. I know there are a few children out there that might be walking a fine line of acceptable weight limits for Santa's lap. But I'm quite certain that I'd bust that scale twice over. And as exciting as it was to see him arrive in a firetruck, I'm not certain I'd want to be responsible for seeing him leave in an ambulance.

Alex was by far the most excited about Santa. Without any reservations, he jumped right up onto Santa's lap and chatted it up with him. They got their pictures taken for free and Alex was first to show Santa how cool they looked together. Four years old is definitely the age when the magic of Christmas sets in.

Now Abby, on the other hand, was (note obvious past tense here) excited about Santa. Until she was asked to go sit on his lap. And that was it for her. Meltdown, screamfest, no way, uh-uh, not a chance was she gonna go sit on the big man in red's lap. So I said I'd sit with her. No. Not with her on Santa's lap, but next to her. She got her candy cane and picture taken and this was the best shot we got. After it was all said and done and they handed her a copy of her picture, she showed it to Santa and smiled at him, deciding that maybe he wasn't as terrifying as she thought.

I'd like to take a moment to thank Santa for giving the kids a great memory. They flaunt their photos now to anyone who will look at them. We also got to go around town and see all sorts of things. There were free carriage rides, but the line was too long. Oh. And just in case you need any last minute ideas on what to get me for Christmas, I wouldn't mind a pair of these.

So with Christmas day nearly here and the year coming to an end, I want to say to everyone:

Feeding Frenzy

At one point this morning, I actually had to do a mental check of my body to see if had any open wounds. Yes. I know. What an odd thing to say. Shall I explain? You see, after the big bad stomach bug from H-E-double hockey stick, Alex and Abby rejected their food for well over a week. Every meal began with the words, "I'm not hungry," and ended with them pushing their plates away. Alex lost almost five pounds in the process and I began to worry that I was dealing with something a little more serious. Okay, so Alex losing a few pounds wouldn't be the worst thing as he is well into the 95th percentile still for his age. But still, it was a bit strange as both my kids are generally hungry all of the time. I told myself that if they didn't eat by Tuesday I'd give the doc a call. I woke up this morning to a chorus of, "Mommy! I'm sooooo hungry!" At first I was just relieved to hear those words. By the third hour of my morning, I wanted to find a pair of ear plugs to drown out the constant begging for food. Some freakish sort of switch flipped in their little heads. It was apparent that they had a week of catching up to do. I'm not kidding or exaggerating when I say that they were hungry all day. I actually had to set a timer for them so they knew when it would be okay to have food again. The last thing I needed was for them to eat so much that it would end in another round of unneeded puking. At one point, Alex walked past me after eating a good chunk of food and I heard his stomach growling. Growling! He said, "But mama! I'm still hungry! My tummy really really needs food!" That's when I mentally checked myself for open wounds, afraid that they would give up on the food timer and choose to devour my arm at the first smell of blood. Ugh. This morning, there was food in my refrigerator. Tonight as I opened the fridge door for a well-deserved snack, I stared at the empty shelves and wondered how two small children could completely clean me out of food in the span of 12 hours. I was so busy feeding them all day that I forgot to make food for myself. Whoops. Needless to say, I'm starving right now and the best I could come up with was a pile of dry crackers. Yum. Looks like I'll be making an early grocery run this week. *sigh*

Temptation

If you could define temptation to a toddler it would be easy.

Temptation: The feeling you get when you see a pile of presents under the Christmas tree but know you aren't allowed to touch them...even when mama's not looking.

Right now, I think I have to 'remind' the kids not to touch the presents at least four or five times a day. It wasn't so bad when it was just the couple of gifts I've gotten around to wrapping under there. But then Josh's folks brought down their gifts to the kids and now we have quite a nice little stash of brightly wrapped boxes of temptation that make their faces light up with anticipation. I'm glad to see them so excited. But I am not glad that I have to pry their little fingers away from the shiny paper repetitively. Every morning they ask me the same thing, "Is it Christmas morning yet?" My favorite question by far is much more entertaining though. I've been explaining to the kiddos what the meaning of Christmas is. I tell them that on Christmas God's son baby Jesus was born and that we celebrate his birthday that morning. I tell them that we sing happy birthday to him on Christmas morning and then we open presents to celebrate. I've also been explaining Santa Claus. Alex is quite capable of separating the two individuals. Abby? Not so much. So my favorite question comes from Abby right after they ask if it's Christmas morning yet. Here is the conversation, because it's just cuter that way.

Alex: Is it Christmas morning yet mom?
Me: No. Not yet. It's on day number 25.
Alex: Oh, and then it will be Christmas morning?
Me: Yup.
Abby: And then baby Jesus will come and we can open presents?
Me: (smiling) Well, something like that.

I think Abby is mixing baby Jesus and Santa Claus up a bit. Either way, it's cute.

Aaaaahhhhh!!!!

I realize that screaming on a blog title is probably way out of line and could be handled a lot differently. But it's my bloggy and I'll scream if I want to. (In case you missed it, that was a play on the old song 'It's my party and I'll cry if I want to'.) Some people scream into a pillow. I scream into my blog title. And seeing as how I am not actually physically screaming at the moment then it's really just the same thing only a different way of muffling the sound. Anyhow, let's put the joking aside shall we? Why would I be screaming right about now? The correct answer is: Bedtime. To some people, bedtime for their kids is a time to kick back, relax, and take some quiet stree-free time to yourself. For me, it's a time to scream inside my head. If my brain had ears, it would be deaf. Alex and Abby are not great at the whole 'go to bed' thing. It doesn't matter how long you keep them awake or how hard you run them throughout the day. Nothing works. I read a nice quiet book, tell them a story in their beds, tuck them in and kiss them goodnight all in the hopes of having two very relaxed kiddos yawning and eager for much needed sleep. My kids? Yeah. That doesn't seem to work. Bedtime is at 8:30. The time that they finally fall asleep is on average of 9:30 but can near the 11:00 mark a good many nights. I'd like to blame this on sugar, but they didn't have any today. I'd love to blame this on over-stimulation but it's winter and that definitely isn't the problem. So I guess I'll just assume that my kids don't need the required amount of sleep necessary for two kids their age. I'm fairly certain that I lose my sanity somewhere between the jumping out of bed and running a amok through their rooms and the choruses of 'Mama, I'm not tired!' and 'Mama, I'm need a drink of water!' I try to ignore it by taking a shower, but 97.6% of the time, my shower is interrupted by one of them opening the door to ask me the inevitable question, 'Mama, are you taking a shower?' Which, this of course is answered by me screaming, 'Yes! Now get back in bed or you're gonna be in trouble!" Naturally, this threat is taken quite lightly as they are fully aware that chances are slim that I will instantly jump out of my shower and fulfill said threat. Alex's bed is one inch (literally) away from the bathroom door so you can see my dilemma here. The genius that designed the Hollywood bathroom obviously didn't have children. *sigh* I suppose that this is the way my evenings will continue for now. I think I'm gonna have to buy a pillow specifically designated for screaming into. It might be a tad more effective than a virtual scream.

Done

Day number 18 was a hit. I'm so happy that Alex and Abby got to go to my folks' house today. They had a blast and I think so did my parents. It was nice to get out with Josh without the kids for awhile. It was so...well...quiet. Honestly, a little too quiet. I think now that we are nearing the two month marker for unemployment, spending time alone together didn't have the same effect it normally would have. Normally when we go out together we chat it up. Or at the very least, I chat it up while Josh smiles and nods. But today, we just sort of sat there and soaked in the silence. But while soaking up some silence, we accomplished the Christmas shopping. I'm happy to say that we found plenty of things to make for a merry Christmas morning for the kiddos. I'd like to take a moment to thank the Dollar General, for without which, we wouldn't have found some of the most awesome toys for next to nothing price tags. Yay for cheap stores! Anyhow, I'm just glad that I never caught the big bad bug this week so that we could have a super awesome day number 18. Now I just can't wait to see the kids' faces when they wake up on Christmas morning. It's one of those things about having children that makes you love being a parent. It makes me realize now why my parents never cared what they got for Christmas or if they got anything at all. It just made them happy to see us happy. Thanks mom and dad. Now I get it. The happiness of your children really is the greatest gift you receive.

Day Number 18

Finally. Tomorrow is the big day. After one brutal week of the big bad bug, Alex and Abby are getting what their hearts desire - a day at Grandma and Grandpa's house. They are so excited to get a change of scenery. I'll be perfectly honest with you. I'll be glad to let them get that change of scenery. Those little tykes need out of this house desperately and what better a way than to go visit two of the people they love so much? I ask myself, are they still contagious? Am I dooming my parents to 12-24 hours of feeling under the weather? Will my parents regret the four hours of grandparent bonding? In answer to those questions I say: probably, hopefully not, and absolutely not! Though contagious they may be, the chances are good that my folks won't catch anything providing they don't pick my kids' noses. I'll be sending a jug of hand sanitizer as a backup as well. But there is not even a shred of doubt that my parents, should they get said nasty bug, would regret it. They adore all of their grandchildren and I'm blessed to have them so close to us. I believe grandparents would do anything for their grandchildren and that no price is too high. Alex is beside himself with joy and Abby is bursting with happiness at the idea of setting up another Christmas tree. After Josh and I get back from Christmas shopping we are taking them to see Santa Claus and do some fun Christmas arts and crafts in town. It's their first time to visit Santa and I'm surprised at just how excited they are. I hope to instill in them a love for him. The spirit of giving is a wonderful thing and I hope to pass that love on to them. Which reminds me...I better go charge my camera battery. I can't wait to post pictures. "Day number 18" as Alex calls it (the 18th of December) is going to be great!

Reason 1,138 why to keep your kids busy

If they stand around looking out the window from boredom for too many days...

...they will inevitably come up with their own ways to entertain themselves.

I'm not sure how they got the DVDs stacked so high, but you gotta give em credit for creativity. This could also be filed under '101 reasons you should never leave your kids alone for more than 1 minute'. Happy holidays everyone!

9 Years

I was sitting here attempting to think of something interesting to blog about because, let's be honest, with 30 straight days of blogging, you're bound to get a bum day every now and then. I had a blog ready to post when I thought to myself, 'Oh yeah! Today's our ninth wedding anniversary.' Oops. What can I say? Oh come one people. Don't look at me like that. It's not like I forgot. I remembered first thing this morning. However, it's not like we got to celebrate or anything. What with the big bad bug from H-E-double hockey stick and unemployment, it's not like we were going to run out and eat a fancy dinner and drink a bottle of wine. We don't drink anyways. But that's beside the point.

So nine years ago, Josh and I said 'I do'. When they said for better or for worse, for richer or for poorer, I never thought that nine years from that date we would be in the latter of the two options. We have most certainly had our moments, but are still truckin'. I'm blessed to have a good husband who is also a great dad. We've had two wonderfully huge surprises which we named Alex and Abby and plenty of smaller surprises inbetween. We've laughed. We've cried. We've laughed so hard we cried. It's been a wild ride and I'm fully prepared and excited to see what the next nine years is going to be like. So to my husband I say this: Love you more today than yesterday and will love you more tomorrow than today. Happy anniversary, honey! Here's to the next nine.

When you need your mama

My poor kids. They've been hit so bad with this blasted stomach bug and it's just taken a toll on them. They still don't want to eat much and poor Abby chucked again today after playing too hard. I called the doctor and it turns out that it's quite normal to have once a day puking for up to a week. It just breaks my heart when they don't understand why this is happening to them. They can't go anywhere. Play-dates are out of course. We have an invisible bio-hazard sign on our door. Heck. Even my mom is avoiding us like the plague. She dropped off two dozen of farm eggs the other day and dropped them at the door and ran away holding her breath. I can't blame anyone. No one needs this yuck in their systems. So with zero outside time and never leaving the home, Alex and Abby are constantly on the verge of brutally beating one another. Alright. They are two and four so that might be a bit exaggerated. But here's the deal, the whiner they get, the more they seem to need one thing. Me. Let me start by saying that at moments, I feel like I won't even get the chance to pull my hair out because it will have given up on me and fallen out all on its own. Cleaning up vomit daily seems to wear thin on a person. I've been chucked on three times now. Three! That's three more times than I prefer. So when they both are crying at my ankles, I have a difficult time not disappearing into solitude while laughing hysterically and twitching uncontrollably.

Let me paint you a picture. Abby in full melt down mode after feeling a bit queasy is dripping tears and snot down her chapped cheeks and sucking on her calloused thumb while screaming for mommy and only mommy. Josh has generously given Alex a bath while I try to calm Abby down. But then poor Alex falls down in the tub and busts his knee after quite possibly inhaling soapy water on a day where he wants nothing more than to go visit Grandma and Grandpa but can't understand why we can't at the moment. He, too, is now working his tear ducts to the full limit and snot is dripping out of his nose at an uncontrollable rate. Oh, and did I mention he refused to get dressed after the bath so is obviously butt-naked? Guess who he wants? Mama. As I sit there holding my two crying children on my lap (one still naked), I realized something. The reason they are crying isn't because of the craziness of cabin fever. It's because they've felt my stress and are now mirroring it. I finally convinced Alex to get dressed. I took them both into my bedroom, pulled them up onto my lap with their blankets, sang to them like I always used to so long ago, and rocked them. As they quietly sat in my lap with their warm little heads on my chest and their sweet little faces grinning up at me, I couldn't help but smile. Alex whispered to me in a tired voice how he remembered when I always used to rock him to sleep and sing him songs. Abby grinned through the thumb in her mouth and asked for the same exact songs I used to hum on a nightly basis while rocking them. As annoyed with them and as frustrated I get with motherhood, I tell you this. I didn't want to get up when they fell asleep there on that creaky, old rocking chair. For the first time in a while, I felt good.

Tomorrow is a new day. No impatience. No rubbing my temples. No screaming in my head. Tomorrow is going to be a better day. Because I think my kids are trying to tell me something. Sometimes...you just need your mama.

And then there was one

Precisely 48 hours after Abby got the big bad bug, it hit Josh. I knew something was a bit off when he went to bed before me when there are perfectly good dungeons to raid on World of Warcraft. He played the game most of the morning after waking up and then by 2:00 he laid down on the couch with the 'oh woe as me' look on his face. (Sheesh. Men. Right ladies?) Though he claimed that he was only going to 'rest his eyes' for a minute, I quickly shooed him off to bed and told him to sleep it off. What I didn't realize was how literally he took my orders. He slept. And slept. And then slept some more. He took a seven hour nap. That's not a nap. That's a night of sleep. And to me, that can be almost two nights of sleep. He woke up at 6:30 saying he wasn't tired anymore. Then the kids starting screaming and fighting over a toy. After promptly explaining to my two and four year old that there are children in this world with no toys to fight over, (one of my finest speeches to them to date, I might add) I looked up with mom-victory in my eyes to Josh. Only Josh wasn't there. He had escaped back to the bedroom and shut the door. He didn't reappear until the kids were brushing their teeth for bed. He logged on to World of Warcraft moments later. So, miraculously, he's made a full recovery. Hmmm...though slightly suspicious, I'm glad he's on the mend. Does this mean that if I get it then I get to sleep in my bed for seven hours while he does all the work? Somehow, I don't think motherhood works that way. Oh well. That's my job.

Out of the woods?

In all my life, I never thought I'd be this impatient about getting sick. I've been walking around on pins and needles the last two days waiting for this nasty stomach bug to make a cozy little home in my gut. I expected to wake up last night and spend quality time getting reacquainted with my bathroom floor. But alas, I slept the night through. Well, mostly anyways. I still jumped out of bed every time I heard the kids squeak. Now that Abby and Alex are on the mends (vomit-free for well over 24 hours) I am starting to settle back into routine. One of those routines being making dinner. Here's the problem with making dinner at this time. Whatever I cook, I don't exactly want to be rejecting shortly after. So tonight I had to weed out my dinner list to figure out which meal would least likely be torture to...um...shall I say, taste again? Please don't mistake my ramblings. I am quite thankful that I have seemingly skipped the big bad bug. But the odds of not getting sick are quite a bit larger than not. And the odds are considerably more after being vomited on. This is where I am losing my patience. I prefer, like all bad things, to just get it out of the way. Done and over with. Put in the past. However you want to word it. I better not feel great all week and them WHAM! The day I'm meant to go Christmas shopping on Saturday end up stuck in my bed feeling awful. If that happens, I might do something drastic. If I have to walk through the stores, doubled over with a bucket in my hands (and possibly wearing a diaper depending on how the bug goes :-), then so be it. Because I will not, I repeat, will not go shopping on Christmas Eve. I'd rather bang my head on a wall than fight that crowd for the one damaged toy on the shelf that is left the eve before Christmas. So let's just pray that I have lucked out and the big bad bug hitched a one way ride to anywhere but here. I am so done eating the B.R.A.T diet.

Predictive Blogging

I normally do my blogging at night when the house is peaceful and quiet because the kiddos are tucked away sweetly in their beds. But if I'm going to meet my blogging goal of thirty days then I better get it done early today. I guess you could call this predictive blogging. I predict that by tonight, I will be making good friends with my old pal Mr. Toilet. Today, *sigh* Alex caught Abby's stomach virus. He seemed okay for the morning, but when he refused to eat chips with his single piece of toast for lunch, I knew that something wasn't right. We were all sitting on the couch watching Snow Dogs on TV (a rare moment. Commercials and all.) when Alex started crying. I asked him if his tummy hurt. He lied and said no leaving me with zero chance to get him to the bathroom or go and get a bucket. I saw 'the look' on his face. You know the one. Panic with a side of nausea. I screamed to Josh to get a bucket. Josh practically supermans over the couch into the kitchen for my trusty plastic mixing bowl. No worries, I sanitize before baking with it. ;-) Before I could blink, Alex went all Linda Blair on me. Literally. On me. On my hair, my face, down my shirt, on my shirt, on my pants...you get the idea. As I sat there holding my sick child, I felt the vomit dripping down my face and thought to myself, "Wow. Motherhood is awesome." Abby got scared and ran into her bedroom and put herself down for a nap and Alex shortly followed her after bathing. That was two hours ago and they are both still sleeping. So as I stood in the shower washing the gross off of me, I tried to calculate how long it would be before I am sharing their same fate. Yuck. Anyone want to trade places with me? I am not in the mood for a night of passionate porcelain bonding. I say passionate because I don't even hug my husband as close as I hug a toilet when I am sick. Oh well. One good thing about this is that I don't have to worry about getting this little stomach bug again for awhile. And perhaps this means we get the pleasure of being well for Christmas. Predictive blogging complete. Wish me luck.

Canceled

Well this just sucks. Yup. That's about how I could sum up my day. Josh and I had plans tomorrow to go Christmas shopping. My ultimate goal was to get all of the shopping done for our kids and nieces and nephews. Alex and Abby have been so excited because the plan was to drop them off with Grandma and Grandpa so they could help set up their Christmas tree while we go buy them presents. Alex has been practicing days with our Christmas countdown calendars that I've accumulated over the years. All week I told him that on day number 11, he was going to Grandma and Grandpa's house to put up the tree. Each morning, he wakes up and runs to me to ask, "Is today day number 7?" (or whatever day it is) This morning he said "Yay! Tomorrow is day number 11!"

Fast forward to 3:00 this afternoon. I got back from grocery shopping to find Abby wide awake on the couch when she should have been peacefully napping in her bed. Come to find out that she had just recently vomited...everywhere. I dropped my groceries on the floor and went to comfort my baby. My first thought of course was, "My poor sweet thing...I hope she gets better fast." My second though was, "Nooooooo!!!!! My day out is gone!" She spent all evening heaving up...well...nothing much because it all came up the first go around. She is now three hours into holding down her Pedialyte. Here's hoping it's just a 24 hour bug and not the devil virus that my friend Mandy brought home with her from her vacation. If it's that one, I'd better plan on spending a few days cleaning the carpet and a few more hovering the toilet myself. Not cool. So our big shopping day (you know, with all our extra income-sarcasm folks) is canceled and I am really bumming about it. I guess that's the breaks when you have kiddos though. Alex is starting to get snotty too so I'm assuming that he's on the brink of a nasty cold. Greeeaaat. Double the sickness, double the fun.

Dear Blog, it is now day 18...

...and I so do not feel like whipping up a crafty blog entry that will amuse the two faithful readers that actually stop by from time to time. I actually don't even have a plethora of amusing photos to share as I have been most useless in the camera department. After just burning 11 cds filled to capacity with photos from just the last year, I think I may be a tad burnt out (pun intended). I attempted to upload them to Wal-mart.com for some free storage and realized that I didn't want to wait out the uploading time. So as I can not come up with something more creative...no wait. That's not right. Rewind. So as I refuse to come up with something more creative due to the fact that I'd much prefer to be sitting in front of my TV watching the latest episode of Vampire Diaries, I will leave you with a final thought for the day: Sometimes watching hot vampires...er...I mean, uh...fascinating teen dramas revolving around well-toned male vampires, totally trumps blogging.

Now if you will excuse me, I have to go watch some vampire smut...cuz yeah...I'm that kind of wierdo.

God Bless Hobby Lobby

If it weren't for Hobby Lobby (and occasionally other stores), I would be spending my winter cooped up in a house with two extremely bored children. Correction. I would be cooped up in my house with two extremely bored children and one bored husband who is tired of hearing about how bored the children are. And more often than not, when the wee ones are bored, I will have at least one of them attached to my leg crying. And as I am unwilling to spend three months with 70+ pounds hanging off of my legs, I took a well-needed trip to Hobby Lobby. Except for the basics (construction paper, glue, etc.) we were very short on supplies. We all know that Christmas time is one of the best times to get creative. Because even if you have a surplus of sloppily painted reindeer and Santa's with crooked eyes and half-done beards, you always have a perfect way to pawn them off...er...I mean...give them as gifts to unsuspecting family members. Should I have mentioned that this blog should contain a spoiler alert to grandparents? Eh. They know they're gettin' stuff like that. It's inevitable. So here are Alex and Abby painting on the first of many days worth of arts and crafts. Abby is totally in her element and could do this all day if I let her. Alex painted his very own Big Red Car (Wiggles, of course) and was very excited about getting it to dry faster so he could play with it.



Right now I have a big shoe box to store all the arts and drawings the kids make. So now for the question of the day. What size of box would one need to contain the mass supply of arts and crafts of two children over the span of 20 years? Hmmm...I'm gonna need a bigger box.

**********

I would like to take a moment to wish yet another birthday wish. Happy Birthday to my sister-in-law, Dianne. (My brother Jeremy's wife.) Happy Birthday Dianne! I know that things are crazy with having one little boy and a husband across the seas for so long, but I truly hope that your day was special and that you had a wonderful birthday.

[Insert welcome mat image here]

I'm just too lazy to actually whip up a welcome mat image to place here instead of a title. Actually, if I'm being more accurate to the digital age, I'm too lazy tonight to actually Google an image of a welcome mat as well. So there you go. Now you know the reason for the title. Blah, blah, blah. On we go with the actual subject matter.

So keeping busy is key here, folks. When you are desperately attempting to keep a decent distance from your ever present husband in your matchbox-one-story-open-floor-planned house (seriously, I really do love him.), you need only one word. Busy. You keep busy. Keeping your mind busy won't work of course. Idle hands won't cut it in this scenario. So I've been keeping as busy as I can over the last weeks...or has it been months? I've lost count. Today I decided that I needed to clean out the laundry room and give it a new purpose. Over the years it has many uses. Heck. It's even had many potential uses. An exercise room was the last potential use it had. Never happened of course due to unforseen complications (this could also partially fit somewhere under my 'lazy' category). So now, the ol' laundry room has a new purpose. Guest room! And before you jump to my antisocial-like conclusions. Yes. I have had guests sleep in my house in the past. Often? No. Not at all. But the point is, it has happened. Where do these poor individuals end up sleeping? On my couch and on the living room floor. What is that lacking? Privacy. And who doesn't despise the ever-present host? So I cleaned it up, shifted around the objects and now I have just enough room to squeeze an air mattress. Okay, okay. A small air mattress. Fine! A small and possibly uncomfortable air mattress. Sheesh. But nevertheless! It is not in the open of the living room and can be blocked off if need be for said guest(s). I took a picture. See?

Ain't it purty? The kids are pretty cute too. So if you're family or friends and need a place to stay, I'm sure you'll try another local family member or friend first. But when they say no then you're welcome in my newly quasi-remodeled guest room. Any takers?

Recipe for a Happy Unemployed Husband

The following is a recipe I discovered today for making a down in the dumps husband on unemployment turn into a happy husband on unemployment.

One Happy Hubby
*recipe may vary from husband to husband*

1 Husband on unemployment
1 Car with no flat tire and a tank of gas
1 NFL Patriots game playing on ESPN in someone's house other than your own
1 Midnight release party of World of Warcraft expansion pack
2 Sleeping children
1 Sleeping wife

Take husbands car and fix flat tire if needed and fill with gas. Send currently unhappy husband to your parents' house* to watch the Patriots game on ESPN. Explain to husband before hand that he should go directly from the game to the nearest midnight release party at his favorite gaming store to pick up his World of Warcraft (a.k.a. 'other wife') expansion pack. Make sure that there are two sleeping children* when he returns. Turn porch light on. Go to bed. Expect to not see your husband's smiling face until well after noon the following day. If you have done all of this correctly then wa-lah! You have one happy unemployed husband. Congratulations and enjoy!

*If your husband is not a Patriots fan, any game of his choosing will also work. But generally anything involving grown men prancing around on a field while beating one another up over a brown pig-skin ball will do just fine. If your parents don't have ESPN or are otherwise not willing to give up said TV, any other house will do providing the house is kid-free and football-friendly.
**If you have more than two children, note that all children must be sleeping.

Please note: If your husband is not currently on unemployment then this recipe may not work as this would mean that he may not be 'down in the dumps' and therefore this recipe is uncalled for.

Creature of the Day

This weekend, what with having a husband home all the time, I spent some quality time with my storage spaces. Basically, I decided to get rid of all the crap in the house I don't need or want anymore. You won't believe how much of this 'crap' went into my recycling bin. I expect a whole lotta points this week on my recycling account. Anyhow, I'm once more straying from my point. As I was going through all of my stuff (mostly from college), I found a massive stack of my old sketch books. So during a break, I looked through some of them only to discover just how much time I spent drawing over the years. Oh...by the way...in case you didn't know this already, I'm an artist. And I have the B.F.A. to prove it! (somewhere...)As I flipped through the pages with a silent grin on my face, I came across countless creatures that I had illustrated just for the fun of it. And though I rarely say anything positive about myself when it comes to certain things, I will use one of these rare moments now. I realized as I saw some of these creatures, that hey...I had skills! I say 'had' because I'm not certain I still retain these skills. Several years of drawing...um...let's just call them generously portioned women...cartoons at my job in the T-shirt industry, left me lagging in my artistic freedom. Oh sure, I drew other things - armchairs playing football, super-hero condoms, even the occasional duck smoking a cigar. But it made me realize that I have let my skills, trained and talent, slip slowly away. My friend, Mandy, sculpts dogs for a living. It's a trade that sort of fell into her lap quite the many years ago. Her skills in sculpture were always amazing, but she's just gotten better as the years go by. So sometime soon, not sure when of course, I plan on starting something to help my art skills resurface. I got the idea from a friend of Josh's who is also an artist. I want to draw one creature ever day. Not necessarily more than just a sketch, but something to help me rediscover my abilities to draw. I also would like to post these on the blog, but that would eat up a whole ton of space so perhaps I will just post one a week. If not, then I want to start a second blog that I will devote purely to the realm of art. I'm not sure my family and other random readers want to see a bunch of art on a blog about my family life, right? Of course, I have to be able to have time to do said drawings so I might have to give up a short amount of Farmville time daily. And that in itself will be a task. (I'm not as addicted as I sound...really. *twitch, twitch*) The question is...will I begin drawing and realize that my skills are still fully intact, or will I find that they've gone the way of the dodo?

Happy Birthday Mina & Noah!

Two-years ago, my brother Jacob and my sister-in-law Stephanie had two wee little babes after many complications with trying to have a baby. But they pushed through all the ups and downs and managed to give birth to two healthy, happy babies (twins...just in case I didn't specify that before). I can't believe that it's been two years since they had Mina and Noah. Wow...how times flies! As I mentioned previously, I have a whole lot of birthdays this month to acknowledge. So today, I would like to say this: Happy Birthday Noah and Mina! I hope you had a wonderful birthday. I bet you are getting so big and doing so many new wonderful things. I hope that your adventures into the third year are just as exciting and wonderful.

What day is it?

Seriously. I have no idea what day of my 30 day blog goal I'm actually on. I'd count, but I'm fearful that it would only be day nine. I never realized how dedicated some people are to their blogs. Okay. So I don't actually read many blogs, unless you count the Twilight blogs and other random movie blogs. But some of those places are notorious for putting up new posts several times a day. I hope they get paid for it. Sheesh. I guess it's a good thing that there are a lot of birthdays this month, otherwise I'd have a few days where I'd be scraping the bottom of the barrel for ideas. Oh wait. I'm already doing that. Well, then...I guess I'll just go with the flow. On to my birthday greeting of the day: Happy birthday to my brother from another mother, Josh! I'm fairly certain that you don't read my blog. Actually I'm even more fairly certain that none of my brothers read it. So sibling (blood or married-in) birthday wishes are probably just for my own benefit to remind myself that I do care enough to share. But just in case on the rare chance that you might happen upon this one day, I did in fact wish you a happy birthday. And I hope it was an awesome one! Happy Birthday Josh!

Operation Lollipop

Yesterday Alex had his first official dentist appointment yesterday. They say that it is more likely that a child will do better at the first dentist appointment if they go back alone and don't have the constant worried looks of the parents holding them back. Turns out that this advice is completely true and works like a charm. I pumped up the appointment as much as I could with him, playing dentist day in and day out. When the hygienist called his name, he looked once at me hesitantly and then took her hand. He walked through the door without another look back and was on his way. I sat in the waiting room with Abby and waited for them to take me back when the appointment was done. As I walked back, I saw a strange look on the dentist's face and he said, "We need to talk about Alex's teeth." Ugh. That can never be good. So as my four-year old sat so proud in the chair watching cartoons on the TV while showing me all of the fun new things that he got for being such a great patient, I listened as the dentist explained all the problems. Turns out that he has six...yes six...cavities. I was floored. How on Earth could my four-year old have six spots of rot on his teeth? At first, I thought it was me. I'd failed him in our dental care. Brushing his teeth every night wasn't enough. Then the dentist told me, after evaluating his medical history, that the reason for his early tooth decay was his medication. Yup. Turns out that having asthma and needing a nebulizer every day with steroids has created a problem with his saliva flow. And with lack of saliva comes vulnerable teeth. [!$%@the following words have been removed due to self-censoring !$%@] Great. So as if having asthma wasn't enough, now he has to deal with issues of his teeth as a result. I did some research and it turns out that children with asthma are notorious for having dental issues as a result of their medication. Now Alex, my proud little boy who hasn't stopped talking about how big he is and how great he did at the dentist, has to go back in January to have his first cavity filled. I'm not sure he will be as happy after this appointment as they told me that no anesthetic is generally used for baby teeth and there will be drilling happening. And to make matters even worse, they have to do this six times. If he doesn't do well, then he has to go to a pediadontist and be put under while they fill all cavities at once. So if anyone out there is reading this, pray for my little guy. I don't want him to be fearful of dentists as well as doctors. It just wouldn't be fair. Not after such a great first experience. Our new preventative dental care just got kicked up about ten notches. Now we must brush after every meal, floss and use a flouride kid's mouthwash for one minute before bed. Abby will be doing this as well, as I want her to follow his example and start as early as we can. And to explain the title of this entry, he has one more rule to follow straight from the dentist's mouth. He needs to increase his saliva flow somehow. To do this, he has been ordered to suck on sugar-free lollipops, candy, and mints as often as he can during the day. He also is told to start learning how to chew sugar-free gum. Sadly, he still swallows gum. So we're working on it. Now I'm on the hunt for sugar-free lollipops. Let Operation Lollipop begin.

Reeaallly Thirsty

What can I say? She was really, really thirsty. And then really wanted her picture taken so she could then see what she looked like whilst using two straws in two cups.

P.S. Pigtails - how cute is she?

It's one of those days...

...oh, you know the kind. Just sittin' around in your Spiderman suit, watchin' some TV. Yeah. One of those kind of days.

Oh. And in case you are wondering - I found the suit in a mad, crazy cleaning frenzy today. Apparently it was shoved in a bag full of random things I found at a garage sale two years ago. He didn't take it off until he had to eat dinner. The mouth slit wasn't big enough to fit his fork.

On the Eighth Day of blogging...

...my readers gave to me...well...nothing really. Comments don't really swamp my inbox you know. But nevertheless, here I sit. A faithful blogger on a mission to blog for thirty days. Honestly, I never thought I'd make it to day eight. I figured that by now I would have shrugged my shoulders and admitted ultimate defeat of my inability to commit to a goal. It's a short-term goal, but still. And heck, if I make it to day thirty, maybe I'll try extending it to sixty. The suspense is killing me already.

So I've realized that what used to be a way to keep family connected as to what my two children do with their days, has morphed into a place where I talk about...well...whatever I want. I'm honing my writing skills in hopes of one day becoming a distinguished author. Maybe 'distinguished' is a bit of a stretch. I'll just take the 'author' part for now. I figure I've tried the illustration area of art. Photography would have been fun, but honestly digital cameras and the power of Photoshop have taken all of the work/fun out of it. The digital wave has made it so all you have to do is point, click and upload. Photoshop and other programs out there have been mastered by children half my age so that they can create pretty nifty things. They've ultimately wiped out the photography industry. Okay, so maybe I'm exaggerating a bit. I tend to do that. But seriously, taking a good photo isn't nearly as hard as it used to be with an old 35mm camera. Perhaps honing my writing skills via a blog isn't exactly the quickest way into a publishing deal. But I'm bored and my husband is unemployed. So I'll blog. I also hope to print out my blog into books so that as the years go by, when I'm old and gray, my children and grandchildren can read what it was like 'back in the day' when cars didn't fly and microchip cell phones weren't instantly implanted into your brain when you were born. Hmmm...perhaps I should write sci-fi...

Don't ask. Just Laugh.

Sometimes, kids do the strangest things. How many times have you heard that phrase? I know that I think these words at least once a week, if not more often. Right now, with the colder weather creeping its way into our days, we've spent more hours inside than out. This has provoked Alex and Abby to find random things to entertain themselves. As I wander through the house looking for odd jobs to keep myself busy, I will see them both playing interesting games or doing random things in which I will inevitably say to myself, "Huh. Kids do the strangest things sometimes." Right now, my little attention hog (Abby) is finding it very fulfilling to be videoed or photographed. She loves, loves, loves to watch home videos and pictures. And what better subject matter than herself? So lately she will do something funny or odd. I naturally laugh. She then asks me to take her picture so she can see it too. Here, you will see one of Abby's moments of 'um...okey dokey then.' So don't ask. Just laugh.

Defeating the Digital Demon

The curse of the TV is finally over. *knock on wood* Sitting on our beautiful new entertainment center (courtesy of Josh's folks) is a brand new TV (also courtesy of Josh's folks-awesome Christmas present don't ya think?). And to make things even better, it actually works. Yes. It's true. This TV isn't faded to gray. It doesn't need me to merrily beat it to death before the picture pops on. It doesn't have a massive white stripe down the middle of the screen. And all of the screen is fully intact - no cracks or damage noted. That had to be the hardest Christmas present that my father-in-law has ever bought for someone. Honestly, I feel bad about how much he had to do to get us this TV. Phone calls, returns, trips to our house and praying...lots of praying. So I'd like to take a moment to thank my in-laws. Thanks Paul and Cindy for the wonderful gift. It's already much appreciated. I fully plan on having a few movie marathons on it to break it in. Star Wars, Lord of the Rings, Harry Potter, Pirates of the Caribbean...wow...I have my work cut out for me. Good thing I have no life, eh? Though I must admit that I feel odd accepting such a big gift. I've always found it difficult to accept gifts though, no matter the size or price. I'm a giver, not a receiver. I find it more fulfilling to give gifts to people, especially nieces and nephews. Kids are a blast to buy for, wouldn't you agree? But as for the new television, I bet you can't guess what the first image was that graced it's shiny new screen. Did you guess The Wiggles?? How did you guess that? Huh...you must read my blog...cool.

Who needs 50 Zhu Zhu Pets?

Well, apparently the crazy lady with a shopping cart filled to the top with them. That's who. I got the joy-joy pleasure of seeing the insanity of Black Friday up close and personal this year. And I will tell you this: I shall never again experience the madness of this horrid day. Well, it's only a horrid day if you actually go the stores on Black Friday. Josh's family got to put up with us for Thanksgiving this year and as we sat there on the couch watching Avatar (which was better the second time around by the way), we decided to go into Wal-Mart to buy a couple of toys that were on sale for the kiddos' Christmas. We walked in the doors and headed to the toy and electronics section. As soon as the clock struck 12:01 a.m., the employees sliced the tape and plastic from the pallets of merchandise. Within mere moments, there were empty pallets and crazy people running amok with their carts brim-top full of toys and miscellaneous junk. It was actually quite nauseating. Some people, including crazy Zhu Zhu Pet lady, were filling their carts with so much of the same product that their only purpose could be to resale these hot items on Ebay so as to profit from the misfortune of others. It's sad, really. But I suppose that's the reason Black Friday is what it is. Oh well. We lasted a whopping 15 minutes before we high-tailed it outta there with our tails tucked firmly between our legs as we shook our heads in disgust for certain human behavior. I was glad to go back home. The crowds were a bit scary. There was one point where I was certain that if I got knocked over accidentally, that I'd become fodder for the mad zombie crowd that had taken over the better part of Wal-Mart. So in conclusion: When it comes to my options of Black Friday or bust, I'll gladly take the bust. I'm perfectly happy with holiday shopping procrastination.

Gobble Gobble!

As I am spending my Thanksgiving out of town this year, I don't really feel a deep desire to be sitting at my computer to tap out a long-winded story on my keyboard. So I will leave you with a generic greeting fit for anyone to read. I hope that you all have a spectacular Thanksgiving with friends and family this year. I'm blessed to have good family to spend the holiday with. I'd say enjoy the turkey, but if you're anything like me then the sole purpose for the great 'turkey day' is the dessert part. And as I spent the better part of my night yesterday concocting multiple sugary goodies, I know that I will be enjoying my dessert tonight...and tomorrow...and probably the day after tomorrow. So whether it's pumpkin, pecan or caramel apple, I hope you all enjoy your pie (and the extra padding on your...um...hips...from said pie.) I know I will.

The Exorcism of RCA

For a few months now, all our movie or TV watching experiences have been viewed on a wee little 19" television. I know what you're thinking. At least it's not a 12" black and white TV, right? So true. The Wiggles just wouldn't look right in black and white. Anyhow, it all started back when our 32" TV finally decided to fade to gray. Josh's more than generous parents let us borrow a TV so we could go back to seeing movies in color again. Within weeks, I had to beat the poor thing in it's 'sweet spot' repetitively until the picture would finally grace us with it's presence. Apparently there was a loose wire or something. Finally, after one final good whack, it passed into the realm of TVs of the past. So once more, Josh's folks surprised us. They had gotten us a TV for Christmas and chose to give it to us early. After hunting for an entertainment center that wouldn't collapse after blowing on it (Wal-mart furniture...go figure), we finally found one that would work. Three hours of building later and multiple cussings from dropped boards on toes, we had a beautiful entertainment center and a new TV to go on it. Or so we thought. After flipping it on, there was an annoying six inch wide white stripe that ran vertical through the screen. Our brand new TV was broken. Broken! Things began to seem hopeless on the television front. I jokingly said that we were cursed and that we weren't meant to have a TV. So Josh's dad came down to return it (as we had no receipt) and found a holiday deal online for an even bigger and better brand of TV. When all was said and done, it was delivered to us (free shipping via FedEx) today. We were so excited. We'd never had a new plasma screen TV before and the kids were literally bouncing up and down with excitement at the giant box that was delivered. Once again, I joked with Josh about it being broken. So you can imagine the sheer frustration we had when we opened the box to find that the screen of the TV was, for the most part, shattered in all four corners. It was so disheartening and we all just stared at the busted TV (round four). It turns out that we might actually have a curse on TVs in this house. Maybe that's not possible, maybe it is. But it sure feels like it. We're giving it one more go. If it goes wrong this time, I'm hiring an old priest and a young priest because we're gonna need an exorcism on our TV. Honestly, this is just getting ridiculous. But sometimes you just gotta laugh...because it does seem a bit funny. Right?

Breakin' Out the Holiday Cheer

When strolling through the increasingly swamped aisles of Wal-Mart, you can hear the soft, comforting sounds of Christmas songs reminding you that the joyful holiday is right around the corner. I know I say this all the time, but is it really Christmas already? Where the time has gone, I shall never know. The kiddos heard Christmas music playing on the radio and they didn't skip a beat when asking, "Mommy, can we put the Christmas tree up?" The innocent enthusiasm in their young voices was impossible to resist. So today we dusted off the old tree (and I do mean old) and littered the house with holiday cheer. Josh was hesitant (I'm being kind and refraining from the word 'hum-bug') and preferred to wait until at least Thanksgiving is done and gone. But after hearing the excited pleas from his two wee ones, I believe his grinch heart grew three sizes today and he caved. Really, Josh isn't a grinch. He just doesn't enjoy getting all of the boxes down from storage. I, on the other hand, have been listening to the tunes of Christmas for well over a week now and am in full Christmas mode. Alex and Abby are at such a fun age now. They are great little helpers (when they want to be) and were little pros at the whole decoration thing. Despite the woes of unemployment, it's actually quite refreshing to have the twinkling glow of Christmas lights in the house. It brings a sense of peace to me even when times seem tough. Perhaps it's the rainbow of colors blinking through the branches of our well-loved tree. Or perhaps it's the fact that this holiday is all about the Lord who is in control of everything. Or perhaps...it's both. Either way, I sure do love Christmas time. It makes the chill in the air all worth it.

Random photos that I never posted

Dear blog,

Today I have nothing to blog about that I really want to take the time to detail. As I have promised not to neglect you for thirty straight days, I find myself realizing how difficult this task may be. To be honest, you're not the most important virtual thing in my life anymore. Farmville just treats me so much better. Do you offer me cute little robot cows as rewards for my time and dedication? No. But I will remain true to my promise and this is but day two. So today is a random photo blog of photos that have been sitting on my desktop waiting to be uploaded to the blog. I know that this is not the kind of attention you wanted, dear blog. But as my mom always used to say when I really didn't want to eat yet another year of dinners made from dad's annual slaughter of Bambi's mom - beggars can't be choosers. As I draw my 'dear diary' spoof to a close, I will leave you with my final thought: After seeing the photos on my desktop, I realize how much I will miss the warmer weather and just how much the bitter cold sucks. Until tomorrow dear blog.

Air show: Summer 2010

Summer "fishing": 2010

And let the football season begin!

Blogger, blogger...where for art thou?

Wow. Has it really been almost a month since I last updated this thing? I've become one of those bloggers that I hate to read because they never update their blasted blogs. *sigh* Oh well. I have a good excuse. Kind of. Okay...well maybe not. But I'll run with it. We had an unexpected turn in our recent plans for a nice five day trip to visit Josh's brother and his family. Let me begin with this: I've been searching for the best chiropractor I can find (within financial reason of course). Who would have thought that I'd find one in the family? That's right. Josh's bro, Ben, is going to school to become a chiropractor. So he's not a doctor yet, but he is an intern and working in a clinic so in my eyes, he's pretty much a doctor. He just started working in his out patient clinic for school and needs some new patients to work out the kinks on. So guess who became his faithful patient? That would be yours truly. Yup. It's true. My new doc is actually my brother-in-law. Now if you would have asked me ten years ago that I'd be getting a physical and lots of spinal adjustments from my husbands brother, I'd have laughed hysterically in your face. But the truth is...he's just that good. After two-weeks of treatments, my severe anxiety issues are waning and my headaches are significantly decreased. How cool is that? Move over Dr. Awesome! There's a new doc in town and I call him brother. I was hesitant at first, but it's no longer an issue. I hope he's ready for the most annoying patient ever. Because as it stands, I'm fairly certain that my general practitioner sees my name on the appointment board, rolls his eyes, and says, 'Ugh...not again.' Anyhow, the ultimate plan was to take a five day trip so that I could get some much needed chiropractic care and some hopeful help for my ever-failing shoulder. What started as a quick trip ended up in a twelve day vacation with the family. (Apparently I needed more work done on my shoulder than I expected.) So right about now, you are wondering, 'Huh. Well that's wierd Jessica. How can you take a two-week trip with Josh working full-time?' Oh. Well that's easy. Josh got laid off again. Now this is the part where you gasp in shock and say, 'Oh Jessica, I'm so sorry to hear that. That really sucks!' to which I would reply, 'Eh. Whatcha gonna do?' I'd tell you what number we're on for the lay offs but I've honestly lost count. Just in time for Christmas too. Woo-hoo! (Please note that any and all enthusiasm for unemployment is, in fact, intended to be pure sarcasm and not any sign of my secret life goal to live in a cardboard box with my family of four and five cats...and two bunnies.)

So there you have it. The reason for this blogger's absence is now explained in full. Hopefully I will be able to follow my self-imposed 30 day blog challenge where I will find something to blog about for 30 straight days. Will it happen or will I fall short? Only day 30 will tell.

Lauren's 7th Birthday

I remember the day when Heather and Ben first told me that I was going to be an aunt. I couldn't believe that I was about to watch as my sister-in-law grew a little baby in her belly. I was so excited that I couldn't stop smiling. A new baby. That was pretty major. When little Lauren was born, I was as nervous as could be when I first held her. A sweet little bundle of cuteness. As I remember this day, I find it most difficult to believe that this moment was actually seven years ago. Seven! Quite a few children later, it's as if the life before children never really existed. But for the first time in a while, I actually got to go celebrate my niece's birthday at her home this year. They decided to celebrate it with pizza (homemade pizza pockets for my allergy boy), birthday cake, and a pumpkin carving contest. It was really fun for everyone, adults included. So after countless cakes that I've decorated, I told miss Lauren that if she wanted me to, I'd be glad to decorate her a horse cake. Because, as most young girls do, she is completely in love with the equine world. I'm fairly certain that her mom was okay with this as she did give me the green light to bring my decorating stuff to whip up a cake for the party. I think that it didn't turn out half bad. Lauren was hopeful for a bright red halter, but hey...I'm not perfect and it turned out dark pink instead. I'm sure she won't hold it against me forever. :-)

The strangest part of the weekend was my daughters new found independence. She usually spends the majority of the time suction-cupped to my leg or in my lap whilst twirling my hair nervously. Not this time though. She surprised us all by being quite the little social butterfly. She was right in the middle of the present opening action. She even socialized with the adults. She still tells me that she misses Aunt Heather and Uncle Ben and wants to go back and see them again. Wierd. My little baby's growin' up! (Where are my kleenexes...*sniff*)

We then went out to carve our pumpkins. It was supposed to be a contest, but in the end, we were all winners. (I swear I didn't mean that to sound as sappy as it came off.) I carved a horse pumpkin. Naturally. No pattern either. I suppose my art degree is worth something from time to time. It's not the best view, but you get the idea.

The cake was a hit with everyone. But I'm sure it was most appreciated by the kids (and me...as I can't seem to live without massive doses of sugar on a daily basis). Here are my kids and their cousins enjoying their pre-bedtime sugar.

So by the end of the weekend, I had two more orders for future birthday cakes from my other two nieces. I believe a purple unicorn and a monkey cake if I'm not mistaken. I guess I'd better reserve those dates on the calendar because I'm about to change status from 'cool aunt that can draw', to 'cool aunt that can make pretty birthday cakes'. (I added the 'cool' part myself. Hey...I'm hopeful.)

Here is the video of our pumpkin parade. That's a whole lotta pumpkins!