Forgetful Jones

Growing up, Sesame Street was the absolute best show on tv. That and Mr. Rogers. One of my favorite characters was Forgetful Jones (which I think they've retired...). He was so much fun to watch! So that name is only fitting for the events that have unfolded this week with Granny!

They left for Florida Christmas morning, and remembering back to all the times we went to FL with them, it's no surprise that she forgot something. I still tease her about the time we only made it 15 miles out of town before we had to stop at a pay phone at Joyce's Cafe to tell my mom that she'd forgotten to give her a Christmas present and that it was hidden in her closet. Back to the story... She calls Sunday and says that she forgot her sleeping pills and asked me to see if I could find them. Pete and Reetha are going down there this week and they'd stop by and get them on their way. No problem. I go to their house and look- no pills. I call Granny and search some more- no pills. She says she'll do OK without them and asks me to grab them some warmer clothes because it's cold down there. I get them and everything's OK.

Today, Granny calls and can't find their passports. They're going on a cruise and can't go without them. I load up the kids and we go up the hill. We look where she told me- no passports. I call her and the kids and I search through all of her drawers, closets, under beds, dressers, etc.- no passports. By this time, I'm really feeling badly because I can't find them and I know they need them. Granny is pretty frazzled as well. We lose the connection and it's several minutes before she calls back. In the meantime, Preston finds her sleeping pills in my mom's old room (Granny says she has NO idea how they got in there- they were packed). She calls back and lo and behold, she has found her passports... under the suitcase. Sigh. She has me grab 2 pair of khaki pants that she also forgot and we head home.

So far, I have heard from them every day since they left. Hopefully she doesn't discover anything else that she's forgotten because Pete and Reetha are leaving tomorrow! It's par for the course, but I enjoy it!

Goodbye 2009

I can hardly believe that 2009 will be over in just over 24 hours. It has flown by so quickly! While starting the new year off in the ER is no way to start the year, the rest has been pretty great. We have a lot to be thankful for!
Preston got his 2nd set of tubes and his adenoids out in June and he's had 6 fabulous months with no ear infections! We're all (especially him) extremely thankful for that! I also got my tube in September and can attest to how wonderful it is to not have constant infections!

We took a wonderful week-long vacation to Gatlinburg, TN in July. It was such a relaxing, fun, and exciting trip. It was a getaway that we all needed.

We survived a tornado going right over our house and leaving our backyard in shambles. While the damage was great, we all made it through the storm unscathed knowing exactly how fortunate we were.

We got out house painted and new windows installed. No more plastic on our drafty old windows!

We were blessed with 2 sweet twin neices, Abbie and Issie. They're doing so well and growing like little weeds.

Here's to an equally fabulous 2010!

Christmas Recap

Christmas is over and it's nice to be back! Today is really the first day I've been on the computer since last Tuesday. Christmas is always a whirlwind of gatherings and this year was no different. We all had a great time, no one got food poisoning this year, and we even got a little snow! We always spend Christmas Eve with my mom's family.
When Seth and I were little, we loved wrapping gifts, so we'd always raid Granny's closets for odd items to give them. We always gave Granny this Venus de Milo statue that she recently gave to me. Pa always got this same roll of Christmas wrapping paper, and it's something that he still expects. So every year, Granny digs out the roll and gives it to me to give him. It's definitely one of our favorite traditions!

This year, Pa got Granny a hoe because she complained so much about the weeds in his garden. He told her there's no excuse for her to complain, now! You can see the sheer pleasure he got from his gift!

My sister-in-law, Diana had her dad dress up as Santa and stop by the house. Kate and Preston saw through the disguise, but little Glen was just thrilled to see Santa. It was such a nice gesture and the kids thought it was fun (even though they knew).

Christmas morning, the kids were up at 5:50 ready to see what Santa had left. Preston had been woken up twice by the 55+ mph winds slamming rain against his window, and each time he asked me to go check and see if Santa had eaten his cookies. How sweet! But by 5:50, they could wait no more. They were beyond excited to see the Playmobil pyramid and everything else he'd left. It was so fun to watch Preston as he saw everything, "I put that on my list!"

After playing and getting ready, we headed out in the freezing rain to Kent and Karen's house. The kids had a lot of fun playing with Sarah and Gracie. It was Issie and Abbie's first Christmas and they slept through the whole event. I remember Preston's first Christmas, when he was the same age, and he screamed through the entire present opening extravaganza!

Kate got Kirsten, the doll she'd been hoping for for months. Thanks Grandma Shirley!

Preston, my little present! We went to Me-Maw's later on that day and the kids had more fun playing with Glen and Ashley.

The day after Christmas we celebrated with Christopher's parents. The kids got even more gifts and had fun playing with them. This is our "attempt" to take a photo with all the grandkids. Trying to get two, 2 month old girls and two other kids to all look at the camera at the same time is no easy task!

On Sunday we gathered again at Keith and Dee's for Christmas with Dee's family. The kids were pretty disappointed that Aaron and his family couldn't make it- they really wanted to play with the girls. They ended up having a good time with Kaylie and Zoe. It was snowing when we woke up and it just kept coming. At one point, it was snowing and blowing so hard that we could hardly see outside! We ended up with about 2 inches, but it was pretty much gone yesterday.

Christopher is headed back to work tomorrow (if the snow coming tonight doesn't keep him home), so it will be nice to get back to normal days- he's been home a week. Lots of playing with toys this week with the kids home. Exactly a week from today they return to school. Christmas break has flown by!

Ready or not, here it comes

Christmas break starts tomorrow at 2:15. Ready or not, I've got 2 straight weeks with my children, who have lately been fighting like cats and dogs. Please pray for my sanity! Hopefully the scads of new toys from what seems like millions of family members will keep them entertained and occupied.

So that means that tomorrow is my last day by myself for 2 weeks. As much as I enjoy my children, I enjoy my time away from them as well. I get stuff done without interruptions. I can eat whenever I get hungry. I can watch adult (not that kind of adult) shows on tv. I can run errands alone and quickly. I can just sit, relax, and enjoy quietness! Ah......

That being said, I have so much to do tomorrow. I've been delaying going to Coffeen to recycle, and now I have to go tomorrow, like it or not. Making it all the more difficult are 4, 70 pound bags of sand in the back on the Explorer. I'm not sure how I'm going to get the large trash can back there, let alone the other 4 smaller ones and the cardboard. Waiting 2 months to recycle is never a smart idea. I have to dust as well, which behind ironing, is my least favorite chore. I have to seek out clear vanilla to make marshmallows. I have to take the kids to get haircuts. We have to make marshmallows.

And to top it all off, if I don't feel much better tomorrow, I'm going to have to go to the dr. Yes, I caught Kate's cold, and I'm almost certain that's all it is. Christopher is nagging me, though, and with Christmas so soon, I'd rather be safe than sorry. My throat feels like I'm swallowing sand and my nose is plugged, but anytime I go to Dr. D's, they give me an antibiotic. Stub your toe? Take some amoxicillin. Hair's falling out? Here's a Z-Pack. Yeah, a little exaggerated, but they do give out antibiotics like it's candy.

And with that, I doubt I'll be back online soon. Christopher will be home Wednesday through next Monday and he often hogs the computer at night. That, and the kids keep me too busy all day to get online. So I wish you all a merry Christmas!

Boys will be boys?

When it comes to how Preston should stand up for himself, Christopher and I have differing views. I take the logical route and tell him to tell the other kid to stop, that he's not being nice and walk away. If it continues, tell the teacher. Christopher says that whatever the other kid does to him, he should do it right back. This makes a mom shutter. I do NOT want my son turning into a bully, but Christopher says that my way will only make him be bullied. He says it's like some unspoken male thing- you never hit a girl, ever, but with a guy, you have to show them who's boss. Not sure I agree with that, but I digress...

So Preston comes home with a pinkslip today. I was NOT pleased to see that in his folder. Backing up a bit, this boy, Logan, has been a meanie for some time and has been picking on Preston. Some days he comes home from school extremely upset. Well, today, he decided to take care of business and apparently, after trying to find someone to kick Logan at morning recess and being unsuccessful, he kicked Logan himself at lunch recess. He lost a recess and got his first (and hopefully only) pinkslip.

He and I had a discussion before Christopher got home and then he talked to him also. I've already told Preston that I'm walking him in tomorrow so that I can talk with his teacher. I know what he did was completely unacceptable, but she needs to know to be watching this other boy when he's picking on Pres. From what he told me, this kid has had several pinkslips already.

You know, it's so much easier dealing with girls and their petty cat fights than with boys and their physical fights. Then again, I'm a woman- been there, done that, so maybe I have a little more experience with girls.

Mod Cloth

A few weeks ago, Christopher stumbled across this site called Mod Cloth. It's full of vintage inspired clothing, and it's right up my alley! I've yet to make a purchase, but I will be soon!
Isn't this dress just absolutely gorgeous? It's called the Devonshire dress and I think it is fabulous! It would be perfect for a summer wedding! Too bad I don't know anyone getting married!

This dress is my absolute favorite. It is the Soda Fountain dress and I HAVE to have it. No ifs ands or buts. It's sold out right now but I'm on alert for when it is restocked. The 50's decade is my favorite and I love the style, so when I saw this dress, it really screamed at me! LOVE it!!!

And the verdict is...

After calling the ped. twice and them then having to call the hospital, I finally got the results of her ultrasound. Everything was absolutely normal. While it's great that her gallbladder is perfectly fine and won't need to be removed, that also means that we still do not know what has been the official cause of her vomitting. Dr. B. has her on pepcid twice a day for 2 weeks and then we see her again. She also still has to be dairy-free during that time. She does not think that it is reflux because she has diarhea along with the vomitting, so we're not exactly sure why she has her on the pepcid. She says she's almost completely sure that it's food related, especially since the episodes appear after milk exposure. Hopefully she'll refer her to an allergist when she goes back rather than trying to figure this out on our own. On a positive note, she's done exceptionally well being dairy-free and aside from last weekend (which Dr. B. says was viral), she has not thrown up. I pray that I'm not jinxing myself by saying that!

Pray for Kate

UPDATE: Kate's ultrasound went well. She was unimpressed by the whole procedure and most concerned about the gel and how sticky it was. The tech really couldn't tell us anything, and of course, the only thing I could make out on the screen was her liver because it was shaped just like pictures. She said that it would most likely be read today, so we can call Dr. B. tomorrow and see if she's gotten the results, and if not, their office can call the hospital and they'll tell them. Now it's the dreaded waiting game. I didn't sleep well last night, so I bet tonight will be another restless night worrying.

Tomorrow morning is Kate's ultrasound. It should be a simple, quick procedure with the hardest part being that Kate can't eat or drink after midnight tonight. I doubt we know anything at all tomorrow even if radiology has a chance to read it because Dr. B. is out on Thursdays. Please pray that all goes well and we get some answers.

She's doing very well on her antibiotics and isn't complaining about her ears anymore. Yay! I'm hoping that this all is some simple little GI bacterial infection and that the same antibiotics for her ears will clear up her GI tract. Wishful thinking, I know, but it never hurts.

What does YOUR oven do?

This is MY oven. It's a Jenn-Air downdraft electric range with a grill cartridge. Simply THE best oven I've ever had, plain and simple. We all know what ovens typically do, but does your oven multitask?

My oven bakes splendidly and accurately, but, it also has a hidden talent. My oven can hide things. I've gotten pretty good at this function. If I have a pan that's too big for the dishwasher and I'm too lazy to wash it, it goes in the oven until I'm ready. It's also the perfect place to hide things to keep them away from the cat. Unfortunately, the saying, out of sight, out of mind holds true for this function.

Exhibit A. This cake, also fondly referred to as the twice baked cake, was for Preston's 5th birthday last year. I spent quite a while decorating it and wanted it perfect for his party. Since our cat has a sweet tooth for dairy-free "butter cream" frosting, I hid it in the oven overnight. Perfect! The cat never knows it's there! Lunch time comes and I start the oven. A few minutes later I smell hot plastic. Where in the world is that smell coming from? OH NO! Yep, the cake got baked again! Luckily, I caught it in time and only the icing on the sides melted. Yeah, we all consumed more than our daily share of pthalates and BPA from the melting plastic on my cake board, but it was a darn good cake!

Exhibit B. I don't know about you, but I can't stand store-bought noodles. Thanks to a grandma who is a fabulous cook, I've learned to make my own. Monday afternoon, I made a double batch of noodles. I set the extra on this cookie sheet to dry. That night I did some baking. When I was done, everyone was in bed. Putting pans in out vertical cabinet is very noisy, so I figured I'd stick them in the oven until morning and then put them away. My noodles still weren't dry, so I stuck them in there to keep them away from the cat. Fast forward to tonight. I preheat the oven and go to put my biscuits in. Not only did I find 2 very HOT cookie sheets, but also my pan of noodles, now brown, toasty, and hard as a rock. Into the trash they went.

Yeah, my oven may be able to multitask, and that's great! What needs a little work is the cook, who can't remember where she left her pans!

Update on Miss K

Kate is back at school today although she really tried to stay home. I know she feels rotten recovering from her vomitting with a nasty cold and ear infection on top of it. Dr. B. said she could go back today, and she's missed so much school already that really, she had to go. Did I mention yesterday that the school got snippy with me when I called to report her absence? Apparently they think that she's not really sick. Let me tell you, getting growled at by a stranger at 8:30 in the morning is NOT a good way to start your day.

I had to call in this morning and get a script for her ears. They're still hurting her pretty badly and I'm not chancing it. It's been called in and I need to go pick it up before she gets out of school. Poor girl.

I really hope we get to the bottom of this quickly. Poor girl doesn't need to feel like this, especially with Christmas coming. I just pray we can make it through next weekend without any more vomitting so that she can feel well for all of our gatherings.

Not in MY backyard

It's been a while since I've been on my conservative soapbox, but today's news just hit me the wrong way. Looks like the Gitmo detainees will be coming to my state. I can't even tell you how angry this make me. I"m beyond angry. I want to scream expletives, but I won't.

I saw this one coming. Our state is BROKE thanks to our former "governor" Blagojevich and his shady Chicago politics (can't say that Obama is any different- Chicago politics are what they are). So what does our new acting "governor" do? He pushes for the detainees to be put in Thompson so the state can get revenue. WTH? Without concern for our state's safety, without concern for our entire country's safety, he's put the budget of our poor, broken little state first.

We can NOT have those criminals in the United States. They are war criminals, plain and simple. They have not business in the United Sates. They hate us. They hate the US. They belong in Gitmo where they are far away from our soil. Of course, our socialist dictator can't see the consequences of them being in the US. He has his agenda and he's prepared to push it through and accomplish all he "promised" to do during his campaign, wether or not it is good for us. Look at his stimulus (it's done NOTHING). Look at his trillion dollar spending bill. Look at his corrupt health care bill. Everything's being pushed through so fast that no one knows what's in it so they can object to it.

Instead of ranting all day, and yes, I could, I'm going to stop because it's only making me angrier. All I can say for the sake of Illinois, is that I can't wait until the 2010 gubernatorial election. We need to get those shady democrats that have ruined our state OUT OF THERE!

Miss Kate

Our sweet Kate could certainly use your prayers.

I took her in this morning because she was feeling pretty rotten when she woke up, and her ear was still hurting. The reason she felt so nasty was that her blood sugar was completely bottomed out. She had eaten maybe 1/2 cup of Cheerios Sunday and had nothing to run on. After we dropped Preston off at school, we ran through Mc Donalds and got her a Sprite. The sugar definitely perked her up and she started feeling a little better.

To make a long story short (hopefully), we may be looking at gallbladder issues. She definitely thinks that her body is not tolerating something that she's eating. She wants her to continue the dairy-free diet, and on Thursday, she's scheduled for an ultrasound of her gallbladder. We have to be at St. Anthony's bright and early at 8:00, but I guess that's good because she can't have anything by mouth after midnight on Wednesday. I'm not sure what they'll do if it is her gallbladder- I forgot to ask. I don't know if they'll want to take it out, or just further modify her diet to lower her fat intake (which isn't very much in the first place...).

Kate is scared. She's not worried about the ultrasound since I assured her it was not painful, but she's afraid they're not going to be able to find out what's wrong with her. She's been feeling bad for several weeks, and she's had enough. We have, too. Tonight when I went to tuck her in, she was crying. She then just broke down and sobbed her little heart out. I felt so bad for her, and I was in tears, too. I just pray that this is something easily dealt with, and that we find an answer soon.

To top it all off, her ears are both infected. It's not a raging infection as she said, so she wants to wait to start antibiotics to see if it clears up on its own. Not too happy about that, especially considering the history we have with our ears in this family. If it's still bothering her tomorrow, I'm calling in to have them call in a script. The LAST thing we need is an ear infection that gets so bad it won't clear up, and a third person in the house with tubes.

Murphy's Law

It certainly applies to us. In our case, it's "if someone's going to get sick, it will be my children."

First off, Kate is still vomitting. Not a good thing. She tentatively has an appt. for the 21st to find out what's up, but since her ped wasn't in Thursday or Friday, they said they'd leave her a message and she's most likely want to see her sooner (let's pray), but they wanted us to have a scheduled spot or else we'd end up waiting until after Christmas. It's not a constant, every day type of vomitting, but every 3-4 days she'll throw up once and she's fine. But right now, she's also come down with a cold. So not only was she stuck on the couch today, but she also hacked all day long. Now, both of her ears hurt, so if they're hurting in the morning, it looks like we'll be getting in to see Dr. B sooner than next week.

Preston seemed to be doing just fine, but this afternoon he curled up on my lap and I noticed he felt warm. 100.3. Nice... I gave him some Motrin and he cooled right off. His throat is hurting, so who knows what's up there. Ever since Kate's bout with chronic strep a few years ago, resulting in a tolsilectomy, I've been terrified of Preston heading down the same path. I was hoping Dr. S. would want to take his tonsils out back in June when he did his adenoidectomy and tubes, but that was a no-go. So I might be taking two kids to the dr. tomorrow.

As bad as this is, I guess it's kind of nice that it's happening now instead of next week with Christmas being so close. It stinks, though, royally.

Decorations

Christmas is my absolute favorite time of year, and we definitely have more boxes of decorations than for any other holiday! Most of them are scattered here and there, but I've taken pictures of some of my favorites around the house.

This is our live tree in the living room. It is decorated entirely of antique glass balls and strung cranberries. The kids love stringing them each year.

This is Kate and Preston's tree downstairs, and it's also where Santa pays his visit since it's right by the fireplace. The stockings are hung by the chimney with care! I made both of the kids' stockings- Kate's is the snowman one in the back, and Preston's is the snowman one in the front. Mine is directly behind Preston's, and my Me-Maw made it for me when I was born, way back then. She retired the stockings at her house 2 years ago, so it now proudly hangs from our mantle. Christopher's is behind mine.

This little table was my $3 garage sale find this year. The jar with sticks is always there, but I added the cone trees and some silver balls to the milk glass dish to make it more festive. I love it! I think the kids love it too, because that's where we always put the "freaky bear" that the kids are terrified of, and they are SO glad we didn't bring it in this year!

This is a shot of our dining room. Christopher got festive this year and hung greenery from the chandelier.

This giant jar sits on our dining room table and is filled with our extra glass balls. Yeah, the greenery under it looks pretty puny right now, but it's been on that platter for three weeks now, so it's par for the course. If it's nice this week, I'll go out front and trim some off the tree out front to replace it.

So those are my favorite decorations. If you'd like to check out even more Christmas decor, head on over the The Nesting Place and check out their holiday tour!

Christmas Baking

Friends and family, be prepared to be hit hard by the goodie girl this Christmas! I've got big plans, and hopefully this will get you all antsy before the holidays! Kelly over at Kelly's Korner is featuring Christmas goodies today, so I thought I'd share mine as well.
These little guys are way too good. I made some Wednesday and they were gone yesterday. Sooooo, I made another batch today. Seriously, they are the easiest things to make, and if I didn't have 2 kids with dairy allergies, I'd have them make them. Don't worry, these will be going to teachers and not sticking around the house.

Chocolate Pretzels

1 bag of Hershey Hugs (chocolate kisses don't melt as well)

1 bag small pretzels

1 bag M&M's

Unroll all of the hugs. Line a baking sheet with foil and lay pretzels in a flat layer. Place one hug on each pretzel and bake at 350 for 2 minutes. Immediately press in one M&M. Let cool, and once chocolate is set and hard, enjoy! YUM!

So far, this is all I've made. I have to get on the ball this weekend and get most of it done because Kate has Girl Scouts Tuesday and I need to have tins full of goodies for her leaders. I also plan to make toffee fudge, toffee, cake balls, and gooey butter cookies (recipe below). And I can't forget the safe treats for the kiddos (check out my allergy blog for some safe recipes once I get some time)- shaped sugar cookies, holiday wreaths (made with Corn Flakes), homemade marshmallows and graham cracker houses. Preston is super excited about the marshmallows!

And one last recipe to clog your arteries and expand your waistline this season...

Gooey Butter Cookies

1 box yellow cake mix, 1 package cream cheese, 1 stick of butter (not margarine) melted, 1/4 t. vanilla, powdered sugar

Beat together the cake mix, cream cheese, butter and vanilla with mixer. Refrigerate 2 hours. Roll mix into 1" balls and roll in powdered sugar. Bake at 350 for 12 minutes. Once cool, roll in powdered sugar again. To die for!

Check THIS out!

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So imagine my surprise when I went to check in on Suz over at Steece's Pieces, only to find out that she's having a $200 Loft gift card! That is right up my alley!!!!

If you'd like to get in on this awesome giveaway, check out her reviews page and leave her a comment!

As the wind howls

The big "winter storm" hit us today. We got all the rain yesterday while it was warm, so there was not much in the form of precipitation today, but we got the cold. BRRRRRRRR! Kate woke me up during the night and I immediately thought, "Oh, great! She's puking again!" Thankfully she was just scared because she thought there was a tornado. Yes, the wind was blowing so hard that it sounded like a freight train was going through our yard- and that's with our new sound reducing windows... So with 55 mph winds all day (yes, ALL day), it has sounded like that train hasn't stopped. I'm sitting downstairs now listeing to the wind howl down through the chimney.

Around mid-morning, Christopher went to look out back and saw this
This bush is right outside our dining room window. On almost every branch sat a little bird, all of the same breed, hunkering down from the cold. The wind was blowing and the branches swaying, but those little birds held on for dear life! Luckily, they were safe from the majority of the wind that was blocked by the house. You can't see all the birds, but there were probably 20 or so. It was so neat, and of course, I had to run to grab the camera! Look closely and you can see part of the ice from our flooded backyard beside the walkway.

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Something to be thankful for

My grandpa's church group has fundraisers throughout the year to raise money in order to buy shoes and coats for kids in our county that are in need. The schools select children that they see are in need, contact the church, and the Methodist Men buy the shoes and coats. On black Friday, my grandma, grandpa and mom were at Wal-Mart at 4:00 to buy every coat that they had, and my grandma still had to go to Effingham to buy what they had.

In each individual Wal-Mart sack is a coat. Those black trash bags are filled with sacks of coats. What you see here is only a fraction of the coats that are needed this year. In about a week, the Methodist Men will go to each school in our county and distribute over 300 coats and shoes. It's really sobering to see how many children in our school system don't have adequate shoes or coats for winter.

When we were at my mom's last week, I took the opportunity for this to be a teachable moment for the kids. We went downstairs, showed them the coats, and explained that they were all going to be given to children that needed them. I also explained exactly how thankful they should be that we have clothes, shoes and coats, a warm house, food on our plates, family, and everything else we need. Kate seemed to grasp the realm of need in our area when she saw the amount of coats. Preston... well, not so much. "Danielle is in my class, and she needs a coat! She lost hers at recess."

And it's outta here!

Construction, that is! After two long years of construction, I-64 is open in both directions! They have been a long two years of detours and longer commutes for Christopher, but I-64 re-opened to traffic and Chritopher can take it all the way to the hospital with NO DETOURS! I didn't ask him how the new road was, but he was home by 4:30, so it's really shaved some time off of his drive! I know he's been excited about this!

It's that time again...

It's the Boden Winter Sale!!!!!!

I love Boden! They have the cutest clothes around for kids, flat-out. Their sale catalog came today and I instantly knew it was time to place another order! If you play your cards right, you can really score some amazing deals!
I got this walrus top for Preston. He found several shirts in the catalog that he liked, and this was one of them. I didn't think about it until after if was ordered, but this is perfect for my "little George" (I Am the Walrus). By the way, he still requests his hair to be fixed like George's!

I got this for myself, but in the silver spot instead of purple stripes. I have enough purple already!

I ordered this for Kate. She's growing like a weed and in need of new tops. Problem is, she's a little too old for Mini Boden's girl styles, so this was the only one that really didn't look too babyish. Plus, it's purple and lime green, her two favorite colors!

This polo is another that Preston picked out. He has good taste!

And my grand total for today... $17.00! And that's with shipping!

Alfred the cab driver

I HATE calls in the middle of the night. H-A-T-E them. I'm always afraid someone is calling to say that someone has died. I was up at 4:22 this morning with a puking Kate, who is having some major dairy issues (See my allergy blog) when the phone rang. My heart stopped, I couldn't breathe. I saw the caller id had an unfamiliar cell number, so I was relieved somewhat...

me: Hello?
Al: Hey! It's me!
me: Who's me?
Al: It's Alfred the cab driver. I'm just calling to let you know that I'll be there at 9:00 in the morning to take you to your car.
me: I think you have the wrong number.
Al: No I don't. You just got out of my cab.
me: No, I didn't.
Al: Yes, you did. You just walked in your front door.
me: No, you just got me out of bed.
Al: Oh. I'm sorry, baby!

That's where I hung up. Calls at 4:22 in the morning don't require the same amount of phone ettiquette as calls that come within normal calling hours. Christopher and I had a good laugh over the "I'm sorry, baby," line when I told him this morning!

Our busy weekend

Saturday morning, bright and early, I had to have Kate in town by 8:00 to leave for a Girl Scout event. She wasn't too thrilled about going because it was an all-day event, but she went and had a really great time! While she was gone, I was able to enjoy some one-on-one time with Preston, something I sorely miss since he started school. It was fun! We played games, drew pictures, played Playmobil and made Chex mix. I tried to lie down on the couch with him and watch a kid show so we could cuddle (and I could take a quick nap), but I ended up getting wollered and talked to non-stop, so needless to say, I didn't get a nap!

Right after Kate got back, we had to be at Gracie's birthday party. The kids had a good time playing with all the other kids and it was nice for us to visit with everyone! Christopher had promised the Friday night, that if they were good at the party, we'd drive over to Greenville afterward to the Christmas display.
We've been going to this display for several years now, back when it was in Woburn at this one family's home. Back then, you could get out and walk around, but now it's just a drive-through deal, but it's still really neat, and the kids really like it!

This was a new display this year, one of many new ones. The kids had to comment on each one as to wether or not it was new or old.

The Rudolph displays are always my favorite. I was getting worried that they had replaced this one, but there it was, the next to the last display case! Phew!

Friday night, Preston found his View Master projector and the kids made a movie "studio" out of couch cushions so they could watch all of the reels. I put a bug in their ears and had them ask Christopher to borrow his mom and dad's slide projector. We went out and got it Saturday afternoon, and after we got back from watching the lights, we set it up and watched slides. We set it up again this morning and watched the rest of them. They were all from when Christopher was little and the kids loved them! The above photo shows Christopher getting ready to board the bus on his first day of school! This was the first time Preston had ever seen the slides. The last time we borrowed them, he was just a baby. He was more interested in the "big screen" than anything else, and even said he wants Santa to bring him one for Christmas!

Christmas trees

It's Christmas tree sharing day over at Kelly's Korner so I thought I'd share mine. Yes, I showed a quick preview the other day, but now they're both finished and have presents under them. I am almost done sopping...
This is Kate and Preston's tree down in the basement. They decorate it entirely by themselves with all of their keepsake ornaments and ones that they've made in school. This is the tree that the cat toppled already, and he's broken through half of the gifts as well. Thankfully, since then, we haven't had any more issues, and haven't found any ornaments on the floor!

This is our upstairs tree that is decorated entirely of antique glass balls and strung cranberries. It is by far my favorite because it is so classic. Christopher and I both love antiques.

This is also our real tree, a Fraser Fir. Christopher hates real trees with a passion, and I feel the same way about fakes, but we compromise. I get the nice real tree and the kids get the fake one. That hardly seems fair to the kids, but they love their little tree and the cat can't down the tree with the breakable ornaments! Oh, and all the glass balls on our tree are family heirlooms, so it's sentimental as well. We won't get into what happened to our gorgeous antique topper last year and the grief it caused...

Merry Christmas to everyone! We had our first snow this morning, and even though it isn't sticking, it really makes it feel like Chritmas around here! You know, as opposed to running around in 60 degree weather last weekend.

How can it be possible?

Tomorrow is December already. Yikes! That means there are just 25 more days until Christmas. Twenty-five. Holy cow! As much as I really do not want to, I'm going to have to go to Fairview tomorrow. I want to wrap up the rest of my shopping so I can relax and focus on the fun stuff. I still need to buy Kate's dress for her band concert that's in 2 weeks, and I'm hoping I can find one at the last minute. Finding holiday dresses that are cute and not babyish this time of year can be tricky.

I was looking at the calendar today and realized that one year ago tomorrow, Christopher had his wreck. He was extremely lucky to have walked away from that accident without and injuries. We never did see any insurance money from that other guy. Pretty sad. Now that it's getting cold, and winter weather is quickly approaching, I start to worry about his commute. An hour each way is a long drive in icy conditions. I was just re-reading that post and the comment about Blagojevich blowing the State's budget. Man, it's even worse this year. Let's just pray they set aside some money to treat the roads.

Swiffer anyone?

A dry Swiffer is a must for hardwood floors! We simply could not live without ours. The one thing I don't like about Swiffers, is that the cloths can be expensive, and when you use them as much as we do, you tend to go through a lot! I've tried the generic brand and they aren't good. It feels like I'm running paper across my wood floors- not good. A few weeks ago, though, I saw some cheap microfiber cloths at the Dollar Tree, 2 for $1.00. I thought I'd try them in place of the Swiffer cloths, and figured if they didn't work, I was only out a dollar. Lo and behold, they work! They work very well, in fact, and just as well as the Swiffer brand cloths! Plus, they are washable, so I just toss them into the wash and can use them again. Just think of the savings, not having to buy another $7.00 box of Swiffer cloths again!

Backing it up again

It seems like forever since I've been on here. In fact, I haven't even been online since Wednesday afternoon. Wednesday afternoon I drug out all of the Christmas decorations from the attic, all by myself. Yes, I survived, and so did all of the ornaments. I'm quite proud of that accomplishment, although I'd rather not try it again! The kids started decorating as soon as they got out of school. I figured if we at least had all of the decorations up early, then we wouldn't have to decorate 2 trees and the entire house Friday. It worked out well, and got the kids all excited!

Thursday was busy with 2 dinners. We went to Granny and Pa's for lunch and had a great time. They always invite their neighbors over since their families live in Minnesota, and they're always a riot! Larry's Momma didn't make it this year, but with as much wine as he drank, he kept the party as lively as if she were there! Ha! Then it was on to Keith and Dees for dinner. I hadn't seen my nieces in 3 weeks and they have gotten so much bigger! Issie is 9 pounds and Abbie is right behind her! They are just too sweet for words! By the end of the day, we were all stuffed!

Friday was our annual trip to the tree farm. We borrowed Keith's truck, drove to Greenville, got the tree, and set it up. The kids had a great time! Both trees look beautiful and the house is all decked out in full Christmas regalia. Of course, when it's 60 degrees outside and you're walking around in short-sleeves, it doesn't feel too much like Christmas yet! WE could get some snow flurries tonight, so maybe that will help a bit.

Saturday we went to Grandma Lou and Grandpa Ed's house for lunch. The kids LOVE going there. They ran around trying to find Missy, the cat, who had climbed up into the attic and refused to come out. They also got to play with Molly, the dog. It was nice enough that they got to go outside and walk her around the yard on a leash, which they thought was great! Christopher and I left the kids there while we made a quick trip to Effingham to look for a generator Menards had in their flyer. Unfortunately, they were out, so we didn't accomplish much, but the kids enjoyed their extra time with Grandma and Grandpa.

Today we spent the afternoon helping Granny decorate her tree and set up the village in the front window. I think they had had their fill of tree trimming because they were too preoccupied with everything else to do much with the tree. We went over to mom's after that, and they didn't even help with her tree. I guess once you've decorated 3 trees, you can't do any more. But it was a fun day, anyway. I passed up a trip to Fairview with Dee, Jess, and Grandma Lou, and I really needed to go, but we enjoyed our not-so-quiet, kids-going-crazy, Christmas-filled day!

Traditions

I'm all about traditions this time of year. I still remember everything we did each year growing up, and some of those things we still do today. My favorite of which, if putting up the Christmas trees the day after Thanksgiving. What better way to make the holidays last as long as possible, than to put the tree up as soon as we can?
Here the kids are decorating our real tree after a rather pleasant trip to the tree farm. The trip to buy our tree doesn't always go so smoothly. Christopher just doesn't seem to find the point in coughing up $70 for a gorgeous Fraser Fir that will be deader than a doornail by Christmas. This year we made sure to measure the tree first, so we had no ceiling-scratching mishaps this time! The kids were disappointed, though because they had all the Frasers cut and in the barn, so we didn't get to go on a hayride out to the trees.

This is the kids' tree downstairs, and I admit, it is fake. I digress... But it does look pretty, and it has all of their keepsake ornaments, and all that they've ever made themselves, so it truly is their tree. Nonni, the cat, has also claimed this as his tree. You can see him sitting on the fireplace, looking so innocent. Just a few hours later, though, that sweet, innocent cat had toppled the tree. And from what Christopher said when he went downstairs, he was sitting next to it looking just as innocent as if to say, "I have NO idea how this happened."

This is our upstairs tree- the real one. All of the bulbs on it are antique glass balls and nothing else. Unfortunately, the antique glass topper broke last year during a too-tall tree mishap. Another tradition of ours is stringing cranberries- and if you ask me, it's the only thing cranberries are good for! We always hang them on our real tree, and if you look closely, you can see them. By Christmas, they will resemble craisins on a string, and we always put them outside for the birds, but they never eat them.

Some of our other traditions include playing Christmas music while we decorate, advent calendars (I still have the one we used when I was young), letters to Santa, leaving Santa cookies, making Chex mix and cookies, and many more! I want to start Elf on a Shelf this year, something I've been meaning to do for a few years now. Preston is still young enough to believe it, although Kate is way past it. I hope our traditions hold strong in my children and that they want to keep some of them when they have families. It's so fun to have something familiar to look forward to each year!

One little cat in a little dollhouse

All you Sesame Street fans may remember this video. Well, we had a similar instance at our house last night, but instead of 2 little cats, it was one big cat in the dollhouse. We always decorate Kate's dollhouse for Christmas. They have a tree, candles in all the windows, wreaths, garland, the works. Well, Nonnie watched us put everything in and was a little too curious about the pipe cleaners. When I went downstairs after the kids were in bed, this is what I found...
He had gotten in the dollhouse and knocked over the tree and the entertainment center. He tore off the ornaments and garland from above the living room windows and had knocked over several candles. He did spare one wreath, although the other is still missing. We're praying he did not eat it. So this morning, the dollhouse was un-decorated and they'll spend Christmas in their regular old dollhouse. Not that they'll care too much anyway.

Speaking of the police...

Christopher calls on his way home from work to say that he'd gotten pulled over and was given a ticket... again. To say that my husband has a lead foot is a vast understatement. Saying that his is the heaviest in Southern Illinois is more accurate.

He just got a ticket in May. I thought it was last year, but I dug out the old ticket and it was only 6 months ago. Sigh. Supposedly he was going 72 in a 50, right before the I-70/I-64 interchange when he was pulled over. When he was pulled over in May, the trooper told him to keep it under 75 mph, so he kept telling me, "The officer told me to keep it under 75, and I was, and still got a ticket." Yeah... That's because you're driving in a 50 mph zone!

I gave him a little piece of driving advice that has served me well for many years- drive the speed limit! If you aren't speeding, you won't get a ticket! Now he needs to get his butt in gear and keep his foot off the pedal until May when the first ticket goes off his record. Three tickets in one year and he'll be hoofing it to St. Louis and back everyday!

The day the police came...

I've never told this story here, but I think of it every single time I pump gas and the lesson it taught us!

One night, the police came to our house.

Back a few years ago, quite a few actually because Preston hadn't been born yet, Christopher and I were having a child-free night and decided to go to Greenville. We stopped at FS, filled up, and realized we needed to go home quickly to get something we'd forgotten. Someone knocked on the door, and as I open it, I see Smiley (Emerick) on the porch. Since he's such a friendly officer, I opened the door cheerfully, but didn't recieve his usual smile in return. "Did you just get gas at FS?" I replied that we had, wondering what was going on. "Do you mind telling me why you didn't pay?" OH. BOY. By this time, Christopher had joined me at the door. We calmly explained that we had paid at the pump using our FS card, and that something must be wrong. He insisted that we did not pay, and was clearly very upset. It took quite a while with the officer on the phone with the attendant at FS before everything was straightened out. We did in fact pay for our gas. The attendant was new, there alone, and apparently, thought we had driven off without paying.

Luckily, we had went back to the house before leaving town, or else there might have been an APB out for us. We learned our lesson right then and there. ALWAYS, ALWAYS get a reciept when you pay at the pump. It will save you a lot of hassle if the cops show up at your house!

Check out this deal!

Ann Taylot Loft is by far my favorite store. I love that everything fits, which is something that's hard to find when you're small. I got an email today and check out this sweater...
This gorgeous sweater is on sale for just $20! I got one in grey and I imagine it will definitely be a favorite this winter!

They also had this top on sale for $19.50, so of course, I had to get it as well. I just love their flowery accents! I have a short-sleeved shirt almost identical to this that I really love.

Hurry! I don't think those $20 sweaters will last very long!

Christmas candy

Christmas is quickly approaching, and although I wish I had all my shopping finished, I couldn't be more excited! It is by far my favorite time of year, and I look forward to it as soon as it's over with. One of my favorite things about Christmas is the food. I could go to 50 holiday dinners and still want more. The food is just fantastic. And although I typically choose to fill up on actual food instead of sweets, I can't resist Christmas goodies. Annette always makes a huge platter of goodies- sugar cookie, no-bake cookies, pretzel melts, gooey butter cookies... you get the idea. They are absolutely AMAZING! I always have good intentions of making them, and this year, with both kids in school and full days by myself, I intend to put that notion into action! I'm starting my list, and since my new Taste of Home came today, my list has grown tremendously! I just need to find some more dairy/peanut/tree nut free recipes so that Preston can enjoy them as well!

Let's back things up a bit

I rarely ever get a chance to get online during the weekends anymore. They're just too busy.

I posted Thursday night that I was losing my voice. When I woke up Friday morning, it was pretty much completely gone. I could manage a squeak, but I really had to force words to come out, and if you were lucky, you could understand me. Luckily I had my appt. with Dr. S. for my ear, otherwise I wouldn't have sought attention for it (I still didn't, but he addressed it). Luckily, my ear looked great. He gave me several option of what could be causing the sharp stabbing pains, and it looks like teeth grinding is the cause. I don't grind during my sleep (a positive) but I grind them to the tune of songs on the radio or stuck in my head. I've made a conscious effort to stop that and have noticed a difference! But most likely, the tube was obstructed a little over a week ago because of the amount of pressure I had and when I used the drops, they just ran out. I kept using them, though, and each day a little more went through the tube, so I think that solved the initial problem. He gave me some steroids for my laryngitis and said it would help to speed up my voice returning, but as I sit here 2 days later, my voice is only minimally better. I now have a nasty, hoarse cough that isn't helping matters either.

Saturday, Christopher and I went Christmas shopping. I knew before we even left that it wasn't a good idea. I felt fine. I don't have that "hit by a bus" feeling you usually get with a cold, but I just felt a little run down despite going to be at 9:00, something I NEVER do. The day went horribly. I'll spare you the details. I would have been better off going myself, and when he said we'd have to go back another day to get the rest of the stuff (we didn't know what to get everyone), I said, "I will be going back. Not we." Shopping's not his thing, and it's best to leave him behind! By the end of the day, I just gave up and went to bed at 9:30.

Today we just kind of hung around here. I was hoping to get the Christmas decorations down and up so that Friday when we get the tree, we're not trying to do that and decorate the entire house. That didn't happen, and as crazy as it sounds, I'm almost thinking of trying to get it all down myself tomorrow. That of course, may be dangerous, so I probably should wait just so that I know I'll still be around come Christmas. Granny called this afternoon and asked if we wanted to go to the park and take the kids' bikes so they could ride on the trail, so we all headed into town and had a nice visit to the park- probably the last for a a while. It was a tad chilly, and it didn't help my cough or voice any, but we had fun anyway. Then Preston started to get a case of diarhea at Granny's, and I'm thinking, "Well, it's been a week since Kate had her bug, looks like he's next." So far, so throwing up, but when I put him to bed, he said he didn't feel well (he also has another nasty cold that showed up Friday), so I'm thinking I might save myself some time and just take the bucket up to his room so I don't have to come down to the basement when he wakes me up in the middle of the night. Maybe I should be a little bit more positive... if he wakes me up!

Laryngitis

Yep, you read that title correctly. I have laryngitis (self diagnosed, of course). No other symptoms really other than an irritated couch, but even that is minor. It came on really quickly, too. I was fine all day, but noticed I was sounding hoarse after I picked the kids up from school. It's all gone downhill from there. On the bright side, I see dr. S tomorrow for my ears, and I suppose an ENT is the perfect dr. to see when you have laryngitis.

Kate is doing much better today. What a blessing! I was really starting to worry, but since she's made a marked improvement overnight, I feel much better. Preston has a new cough, though. He's had the soupy cough from 2 weeks ago, and this morning I hear a dry, irritated cough. He too has no other symptoms, so I'm thinking that he and I both have the same thing. Isn't fall such a fun time?

Tomorrow night is the Olde Tyme Christmas downtown that we usually go to because they light up the big tree in the street, but I"m not sure if we'll make it. Last year it was freezing, and Preston had a nasty ear infection (go figure), so we watched the tree lighting from the car. We might do that again this year.

Will we ever get better?

I am SO ready for cold/flu season to be over already. Seriously. Kate is doing better. She still has the pain in her side that does concern me, but considering it now hurts on the other side, too, I'm thinking more that she pulled a muscle, possibly from the vomitting. She went back to school today, although she was none too happy about it, but she really couldn't miss any more school. That 6 days a semester rule they have isn't going too far, especially since she's already at 4 days (it was 5 1/2 but I was able to call and get some dr. notes).

I get Kate to stop throwing up, and now the cat is throwing up! Zipper has been puking everywhere the past 3 days. Not what you want to see when you wake up in the morning. We have some Reglan leftover from last November when she was a really sick kitty and the vet thought she might have kidney disease, and we gave her some tonight. Hopefully we can get this under control. We also gave her some hairball goo in hopes that it will also help.

The saga of my ear continues, and I finally got to talk to Dr. S. today. Apparently he was given the wrong number Monday because he said he called and called and no one answered. That was the day Kate was home sick and we didn't leave the house, so I know he didn't call here. He thinks that either the tube is already out or is obstructed. I had Dee bring her otoscope over tonight and she verifies that the tube is IN, which is good. Had it already fallen out (it's only been 2 months), he'd have to put a bigger one in. He switched me over to Floxin drops and asked me to call and make an appt. within the next week. By some miracle, they were able to get me in this Friday, in Effingham! I figured I'd have to drive to Mattoon, but she checked Effingham's schedule and said she could get me right in. WOW! That has never happened before! Now tonight, my throat is scratchy. Great. That's all I need is a cold.

Who says cats don't like water?

Cats typically don't like water. Zipper won't go near it. When we absolutley have to give her a bath, we do it as quickly as possible because we're afraid one day she'll have a heart attack. It's pretty bad! Nonni on the other hand, likes the water! If he hears us turn on the tub, he runs up and perches on the side, watching the water.

When he thinks no one is watching, he starts pawing at it, splashing it everywhere! After we take a shower, he hops in and licks the tub. If we don't shut the door well, he'll push it open, and stand on the side of the tub between the shower curtains. And my sweet children (OK, maybe it's just one of them) likes to "forget" to turn the bathroom tap off all the way and Nonni will have water all over the bathroom! CRAZY! Now, when it's his bath time, he doesn't particularly like it, but he tolerates it, and at least we don't have to worry about him dropping dead in the tub!

Poor Kate

It's morning and Kate is feeling better. She still has the pain in her side, and we've discussed it with her ped. and she isn't concerned at the moment. She said that if it persists, or she develops a temp, then she wants to see her, but right now just said to give her Motrin and rest.

Kate could really use some prayers right now. She's not feeling well, and we're not 100% positive what's going on. She woke up at 1:30 this morning thinking she was going to vomit. This was not what I wanted to hear at all since we've been through this 3 times now in the past 2 weeks... She did throw up around 8:00, but not since. She's pretty much over the nausea, but has a significant pain in her right side. I immediately think appendicitis because for the past year, she's been showing the same signs my brother had before his appendicitis- frequent episodes of minor stomach pain and vomitting and nothing else. Seth did this every night for years before his appendix flared up, and never once did it again afterward.

Fast forward to this evening and she's ready for bed by 6, so I run her a bath. While she's in the tub, she's just sobbing because it hurts so badly. I mention my concern to Christopher and he has me call his mom. She insisted on coming over and checking her out. Her bowel sounds are good, her abdomen isn't tight, there's no rebound pain, and she has no temp. All are good signs that at least right now, it is not appendicitis. She thinks it's viral and that she'll be better by morning. I hope so! Of course, if she gets worse overnight, we'll take her to the ER, but right now, exposing her to whatever's floating around the ER isn't worth it since this isn't an emergency. If she's still feeling bad in the morning, I'm taking her to Dr. B. to see what she says (and to get a dr. note so this doesn't count against her 6 days- she's already missed 4).

Please pray for her if you can. I feel so badly for her. She looks pitiful and it's very clear that she feels pretty yucky. I pray that this is viral and nothing more. I also pray that if it is viral, that no one else gets it. I've been spraying Lysol like crazy! And thank goodness for the sani-rinse cycle on the dishwasher! So far, this has not been a good fall for illnesses.