Thought Buffet. Open all day.

Cowboys are about to play. Holla!

Shifting gears.

I miss my friends.
The ones that have moved, the ones with sick kids, the ones on bedrest, the ones I haven't seen because I haven't been to church, the ones who haven't wanted to see us because we have Bubonic Plague.

Another thought shift.

I need to see resumes.
Lots of resumes.
I am about to embark on full-time something.
My stint as a stay-at-home mom ended when my youngest was 17 months old.
My stint as a part-time stay-at-home mom looks to be ending soon.
I need to see some smooth resumes, ladies...
Any suggestions? Websites? Personal rock-star resumes?

Fruitbasket turnover.

I would like to personally apologize to e. and stickin to J. for not coming to their get-together.
I wanted to come but have been at home with sick kids for what seems like YEARS>>>>

Where is everybody?
I am beginning to think rapture thoughts...

The Elusive Double Daytime Nap

Imagine that you are running your midday errands and you look back into your rear view mirror - not to 'evil eye' a tailgater, or to check for a clear lane, but to investigate what type of nonsense must be going on in the backseat of your superhot minivan - as pure silence breaks your train of thought.

It is not usually an auspicious moment when one hears the absence of noise when children are involved.

It is usually grim. Horrific even. Brace yourself for what you are about to behold... Where have their crayons gone? Who is strangling who?

It is not the chuga-lug-lug of rhythmic bickering that gets me. It's the quiet that stops me dead in my tracks.

So I half-winced as I courageously glanced through my special kiddy mirror only to behold...

Two beautiful sleeping angels?

It has never happened. Not until today.

It was befuddling, to say the least.

Never. Not ever. This storybook moment as a mother has always eluded me. Even when my babies were both babies, they never would fall asleep in the car.

Let alone relinquish their consciousness AT THE SAME TIME...

Glory Hallelujah!

It was perfection!

I drove aimlessly for almost an hour.

Poo on $2.89 a gallon!

They were both asleep, during the day, SIMULTANEOUSLY!

SOOOO worth it!

attn:cg

I lost all of my bookmarks last week.
I have been looking for your blog. I can't link to it through anyone's.
Would you please email me your blog address?
Thank you!

Also, I may be forgetting someone. It seems like I haven't read other people's blogs either...
I can't find them all. There are so many. I even lost my sister's link.
Anyway, if you think there's a chance that I cannot access your blog and you have my email, please send me the link.

Fresh Air.

Today, just like the last three days, was spent indoors. I pulled the blinds up and peered outside - longingly.
The past few days have turned out pretty productive, despite the fact that I have had sick babies to look after.
Yesterday, I managed to steam all the carpet in my house and really deep clean the bathrooms a.k.a. slather the bathroom and myself in bleach while scrubbing till you sweat. Sounds a lot better than it really is... :) Now my house emits the all-too-familiar smell of bleach and disinfectant spray.

In the spirit of staying well, I have decided to cut out the middle man and start using Lysol instead of chewing gum. Maybe I'll become a millionaire like that teacher who invented Airborne, all because I marketed purse-size Lysol/Binaca Spray.

I am now remembering that I did leave my house for a bit yesterday. It was what it was. Grocery shopping. So if that's what leaving the house means, I'd rather stay home.
I seriously HATE grocery shopping. I bumped into another young mother with too many kids at the grocery store. She had "the look" that moms at the grocery store have. That one where every pore in her is oozing, "Let's just get through this." It is a 'whole system pep talk' we give ourselves as we trudge through the candy-laden aisles uttering a dull, monotonous, "No. Nuh-uh. Not a Chance. Nope-see-doodle. NO!"
I saw her and my heart went out to her. Our eyes connected only for moment and I shrugged while I said, "Yeah, between this and starving, I'd rather starve..."
But I wouldn't. Just the sound of that coming out of my mouth sounded so ungrateful. I had money for groceries. For the first time after Christmas since I had gotten married, I had enough money left over for food. And I resented it. It stings. What a spoiled little brat I was!
I bet the next time I go to the grocery store, I'll click my heels down every aisle.
Here's to wishful thinking!

Today, I had this notion that the kids' toys and closets needed to be organized. So I flippantly dumped out EVERY SINGLE TOY they own.
Sidenote: Had I done that before Christmas, I could have saved a lot of money.
It was flagrant. Exorbitant. Copious amounts of toys. Odd shapes. Broken pieces. Hundreds of Happy meal trinkets. (shameful, I know) Oodles of every possible toy imaginable. And to that heap, I was determined to somehow add "Christmas" and then to make sense out of it.
The reason I dumped it all out was so I would be forced to get it done. Today.

Amazing. I found myself dickering with a four year old over why we need to throw a broken Lincoln Log away.
His argument, 'What if we lost one of the (400) other pieces? We would need THAT one...'
Aren't little ones funny?

Anyway, It IS DONE!

All the toys have a home. No article of clothing in their closets is ill-fitting or too badly stained.
Each little shoe has a mate and is residing next to its partner. I just kept looking in their rooms and sighing smugly. Mission accomplished.

I forgot to mention the Amazing roast. For 20 hours the succulent beef simmered in my crock pot. I love the crock pot. Crocks rock. Any small appliance that can turn something I cook into something delectable gets "rock" status. Thank you Crock Pot! My husband's belly is happy tonight!

Also, we took the kids to Cold Stone Creamery tonight (GiftCard from teacher party) and then to the Christmas Light display downtown. We forgot that the kids hadn't gone yet this year.
They were so cute!
They Oooo-ed and Aaahhhhh-ed! They said the light tunnels reminded them of a car wash.
I don't know. Just go with it... hehehe

But we tuned into the radio station that they have with Christmas music playing.
We listened to it for a while real softly. Then J. said, "Would you turn up that Nutcracker Suite Song?"
I turned it up. And it was Tchaikovsky's Nutcracker Suite!!!
Talk about being proud!! I just know he's a prodigy. Even when he was a baby, he could reproduce tri-tones. That's not easy ladies and gents...

Most of you quit readin this ridiculously long post 15 paragraphs ago...
I guess that's what you get when you don't blog every day, huh?

Daddy got out of the hospital today. Things are going much, much better.
Thanks for praying.

Ditching Debbie Downer.

Reading through my last few blogs was distressing at best, so I have decided in the spirit of hope at Christmastime to ponder positive things.

1. My dad has been having 'firestorms' in his foot and leg. This could indicate that the nerve that the surgeon thought he accidentally severed was not really damaged but only crimped by swelling. That is a praise the Lord for sure.


2. My kids, although not completely well, are far better than yesterday. I anticipate a full night's sleep. That is something to shout about.


3. I have the most beautiful Christmas tree ever - but that is just one opinion. Since I am writing this blog, it is the only opinion that matters. :)


4. Even though my sister could not be home for Christmas, she had a wonderful family to spend her day with. If you can't be with your own family, that is the family to hang out with for sure.


5. My brother has a girlfriend. A great girlfriend with a great family. He spent today with them. I am so proud of him and the way things are going for him.


6. For the first time since we have been married, there is enough money in our bank account after Christmas for groceries. That either means I am getting better at managing money or that God has met our every need and then some. I'd like to think it's a little of the former mixed with a hefty dose of the latter.

This is me trying.

Tomorrow will hold many more positives.

Alex, I'll take 'Miracles' for $1200, please...

Tomorrow is Christmas.
My Dad is in the hospital... still. He has gotten various less-than-good reports.
We are going to need some intervention of the Divine variety.
I am glad I know Who to go to.

We knew our holiday plans would be limited based on Chris's work schedule, my Dad's surgery, and Shannon's location issues.
We had planned on having a get-together for those of us who, for whatever reason, end up looking like red-headed step-children with no place to go on Christmas.
We were planning the Guitar Heroes Rock-Out session to end all rock-out sessions.
We will not be doing any of the aforementioned activities tomorrow.

We spent most of today at the Emergency room with J.
He had a fever above 102 all day yesterday. Along with that fever came the dry cough. The one where he has such a coughing fit that he nearly vomits... Poor baby.
And, true to form, today he tried to one-up yesterday's fever.
At around 3pm today, his fever crested 104 degrees and held steady for over an hour after all the Ibuprofen I could give him, I began to have thoughts about taking him into the ER on Christmas Eve.

After an hour of over 104, he began to quiver and shake and his eyes were swollen. The right eye got huge. It became so inflamed so quickly, I contacted the Doctor on call and she said to get him to the ER immediately - stating he could be having an allergic reaction or a febrile seizure.

When we got there, he still looked awful with his eyes pooched out all crazy, and his fever was holding steady at just below 104.
They ran a bunch of tests. They did X-rays. They took blood, snot, whatever they could test...
My little man was so brave.
His fever finally got down to below 102 around 6pm.

They gave him antibiotic through an IV and decided not to keep him overnight. He'll finish with an oral Antibiotic for the next few days.

We were released around 8pm? I think.
I have to keep a close eye on him through the night and hopefully Christmas Day will be uneventful.

I am glad I know a God Who is bigger than all this drama.
I am beginning to tire beyond my own strength.
I need You.
Divine Healer, Father, Friend- be with my family.
Work miracles on my daddy's leg and foot.
I ask that You would reconnect what has been severed and mend what man cannot.
I pray that You will breathe through my sweet son tonight. Sweep through his body and make it whole.
We are so reliant on You for our salvation, healing, our life.
I thank You for Your ever-present interest in our lives.
I praise You for being all-powerful - so far above our capacity to comprehend.
You are the answer for all that ails us. Not only in our mortal bodies, but also in our spirits and minds.
So whatever our state, whether broken or whole - I choose to praise the One who gives us breath.
I am grateful for the miracle of Your birth. That moment when all of Heaven came to earth to inhabit the very world that could not understand Your worth. You are worthy of all the adoration we can give. Thank you for the gift of You.

Backseat Blogger.

So much is going on.

Sooooo. sooooo much.

Wednesday was our family Christmas. It worked out better that way for everyone.
So Shan was here for a whirlwind and is already gone.

Thursday was black Thursday at my brother's workplace. I was so worried for him. He was so stressed out and sad to see all the people that were losing their jobs. He made the cut though, so his job is secure for now.

Today, my dad is getting his knee replaced. Right now, more than likely, he is being worked on.
That is stressing me out more than I expected. Yesterday, he called me and we had the "If anything were to happen to me" talk. I understand why he felt like it needed to happen - but gracious me! I am a wreck!

Heavenly Father, you are the master architect. I pray that the puzzle pieces fit together perfectly and that my Daddy is ready to get up and walk in no time. I love him so - he's my hero.

Little A. is still sick-ish. We are sleeping at night. That is a major step in the right direction. I thought I would cry if I lost one more night of sleep. You poor, poor mommas of brand new babies - As my good friend kdp would say, been there, done that, bought the T-shirt. I don't need to be staying up all night, that phase of my life is over, right?

Somehow my entire profile on our computer got deleted. I never knew how attached I am to this silly thing - but I nearly cried at the thought of losing all the computer stuff I have acquired. Useful websites, all my favorites, my work for school, EVERYTHING.
I nearly cried.
But hunny, was able to retrieve it somehow and thank heavens for that!
He was unable to retrieve all of it so I am still missing my personal settings and my favorites. I am working to reset them. So if I don't comment on your blog for a while, you may be in the abyss. Don't worry - I'll find you!!

Today is the last day of school before Winter Break. We will most likely party all day!
Whew! What fun!

Somebody call and remind me that I am taking dinner to Crys and Jerry tonight.

Tomorrow is rehearsal for the Church Christmas Program.
Kim, Did you get the manger? If not, I can probably get one - just let me know.
Then Sunday is the big day. It is going to be, well, over on Sunday afternoon. hehehe
It'll be fine.

Please pray for my daddy.

So now you all know why blogging has taken a backseat.

Update.

We were up for 4 solid hours with little girl last night. She would just tug on her ear and whimper and cry. Her fever never got too high, just mild with a lot of pain.
Why is it that some kids can have an ear infection and it never seems to bother them - while others can inflict horrible consequences on their entire family over an ear infection?

I would not make light of the intense amount of pain she was in - but my goodness - no one was allowed to rest while her ear hurt. Even her big brother came out around 4:30am to see what all the hubbub was about.

Chris took her in to Shamrock Clinic while I was at work today. Poor thing! He sat up there with A. for at least 3 hours before he saw a Dr.
And, mystery of all mysteries, I wasn't there to hear what the Dr. said, so I cannot be entirely certain of the diagnosis. Chris said he couldn't remember what exactly the Dr. said, but that after he looked in her ear, he prescribed antibiotics. So I'm guessin.... ear infection!

Anyway, tonight must be a better night. I can't imagine it being any worse!
I don't think it matters how much you love your kid, after 4 hours of wailing, (as sorry as I felt for her) I didn't think I could listen to it anymore. Thank the good Lord for Benadryl!

And uninterrupted rest.
My fingers are crossed.

my little girl

Little doll is so sick.
Momma is hanging in there.
Please Jesus, Let us both get some rest tonight.
I guess Chris is going to keep her tomorrow because she can't go to school.
My parents just hung out with us tonight, I hope they don't get sick.
Daddy's got to be well for his surgery and my momma so she can take care of him...
This exhausted Momma and her baby girl need a touch from the Father tonight.


Sorry for the sentence fragments and the whiny tone - that's just where I am right now.
Tomorrow will be better.

tony knew...

i am so sorry for the huge let-down today.
the cowboys didn't win.
i was so busy, i couldn't even sit down to watch one down of the game.
tony knew.
he called me at half-time and asked where i was...
i was just waaaaaaaaay too busy today.
and they lost.
to a loser team.
my. my. my.
i still cannot absorb the tragedy in all its multi-faceted-ness. (isn't that a great word?)
next time, i'll get my popcorn and watch.
alas, i am needed.