Winter Storm 2007: a state of emergency......................

It certainly felt like a state of emergency around here this past week. The weather has been a major source of frustration as it has really pump a strain on life in general which has made a usually busy Christmas season even crazier. School was out for us Monday and Tuesday only which was a blessing considering some schools missed the whole week. Unfortunately in my line of work not only do we not get a day off we get busier than usual. The hospital was packed full which created lots of delays with patients needing rooms which backed things up in recovery which made for long hrs for myself and the other staff, not to mention that we were short-staffed as some people couldn't make it in for whatever reason. I was glad to see the week end and even happier to see the bright golden sunshine this morning as I crawled out of bed for church. Today was absolutely gorgeous with the lingering patches of snow shining in the sun and it felt so warm in the sun with no wind. We had 2 great Christmas programs at church today and it really feels like Christmas which it should as we are a mere 8 days away now. The kids are getting anxious as I should admit I am also. I can't wait to pack things up and head out to the grandparents for a long weekend of friends, family, food, and fun. Today was Garrett's 5th bithday which was a low key event as we have already had his official party. But as you can see from the pics we did get a cookie cake and have a family party. Mark and I saved our gift to him for today. I think our parties and misc activities are about over and the kids will be wrapping up school on Wednesday to start the break on Thursday. I have 99% of my shopping done but only about 50% of my wrapping. It will be a busy week. I have my Christmas cards ready to address and mail but that is still a time-consuming process. I pray you will receive them before the week is out. Well it's time for bedtime ritual so I must be going. Merry Christmas and to all a good night............

Home Improvements..........................

Well Thanksgiving has come and gone and we are well underway into the Christmas season. I am sad to say the reason I haven't posted anything about our Thanksgiving travels is because I forgot my camera and didn't have any pics. I had to get pictures from my sister's camera. We traveled to the southwest corner of OK where we spent the holiday with my extended family. The weather was crummy but the food and fellowship was awesome. We had a family birthday party for the kiddos and the new goodies kept them busy. Logan received a football and related items and we had a rousing game outside despite the elements. It was a great time as the whole extended family on that side was able to be there.

We came home Saturday evening and I had hoped to clean house and put up our Christmas decor after church on Sunday but we ended up cleaning and cooking for a Sunday School fellowship that we volunteered to host at the last minute. So it has been a process getting our decor up but we are finally there or as there as we are going to get this year. It seems Christmas is right around the corner and I haven't taken the time to really enjoy it yet. I am determined to focus on my Christmas spirit this week and try to keep Santa's arrival from sneeking up on me!! We are in full swing with Christmas parties, shopping, wrapping, giving, and teaching our little ones the real reason for Christmas. They are just as busy asking, wanting, undecorating (Addi mainly), and anxiously shaking the few gifts already under the tree. I decided to complicate our schedule this weekend with a little (actually HUGE) home improvement project. I wanteed to paint our master bedroom. We have lived in our home a little over 3 yrs now and while the house was being built we had it painted straight white to save money as they were going to charge us a crazy amt to change colors throughout the house. We managed to paint about 1/2 the house prior to moving in and have yet to get to the rest. Well I bought some new bedding and towels for our bed and bath this past summer with the intent to paint and just haven't taken the time. Well now that we are done I know why I've put it off so long. PAINTING IS HARD WORK!! I started Friday evening moving furniture, taking pics off the wall, taping things off, etc. I cont this process Saturday morning and I think the first swipe of paint went on the wall around 1:00 pm. My dear sister came to help me as Mark had chosen today to do his annual holiday shopping run (Convenient, wasn't it). So KK and I painted, trimmed, painted, and trimmed for about 8-9 long hrs and I am happy to say that as I compose this, the room is basically complete. I am really pleased with the result and it feels good to have accomplished such as major task but boy am I tired. I was fortunate to have had some xtra time today to work on the project as church was cancelled today due to the weather. We however didn't realize that as we watched the tv and checked the internet but our church listing didn't show up prior to time for us to leave so we got ready and proceeded to church only to find the parking lot barren. So we made the loop, came home, and proceeded to carry on with the home improvements. I also decided to clean out the kids playroom and make room for their new birthday and Christmas gifts. So it was our family project to sort through, throw away, and select things to donate to others. It really felt good to get organized even if it only lasts for today! I must be going as it's already 7:00 pm and we promised the kids some quality family time this evening. Hope everyone is surviving the weather. Until later..................................

What a difference a year makes...........

Today was Addi's actual birthday and we just took it easy. KK and I decided to cut our hair and boy did we ever, each cutting off many inches. Addi went along for the girl day as did Garrett since school was out for pre-k for parent-teacher conferences. This afternoon we made her cake that you see pictured and she absolutely loved it. We spent about 30 minutes lighting, blowing out her candles, relighting and blowing out her candles over and over. She loved it! It's so hard to believe that she is already 2 yrs old. Where did the time go? I added a pic from her 1st birthday a yr ago and my how she has grown. She is really becoming an independent person with a strong personality and she really believes that she is a princess. Of course we treat her like a princess so why wouldn't she think that way. She loves to shop and do all things girly. Pink is by far her favorite color and she has a great appreciation for bows and pretties. The birthday celebration will continue next week during our family Thanksgiving when we have the extended family party while we are all together for the holiday. And then just when it seems as if the birthday drama is coming to an end it will suddenly be Garrett's actual birthday which is Dec 16 and Mark's which is Dec 28. So I think we'll just leave the banner and streamers up till then.....

Birthday replay...........

So the party was a success and I for one am glad it's over and that everything went well. As many of you know, Addi and I had been very sick the week leading up to the party and I was worried that we wouldn't be well in time or that Mark and the boys would come down with it. Addi did still have fever the weekend of the party but you wouldn't have known it to look at her. She was right in the big middle of the action although she was scared of the inflatables.

This week has brought Logan and Addi's actual birthdays on Wednesday and Thursday. I hunted all over town for the requested birthday present of Optimus Prime for Logan. Much to my relief I found it in the nick of time, just hours before he opened it. I went into work late on Wednesday, which was his actual birthday, so we could deliver the football cupcakes I had stayed up late Tues evening making for his class. I think he had a great day. He is still going to the mailbox each afternoon, looking for a belated bd card.

Haapppyyyy Biirrrtttthhhhhddddddaaaaaaayyyyyyyy!!!!!!!!!

Around here, we like to stretch birthdays out as long as possible. So we got an early start last weekend as we celebrated Logan and Garrett's birthdays in a joint friend party at a place called Pump it Up. For those of you without children or not in the OKC area, this is a gigantic warehouse full of rooms of inflatable toys such as the moon bounce that many are familiar with. The boys each got to invite 12 friends and we had about 18 kids that were able to come so all in all a good turnout. It was a blast and I loved it as well because there was no cleanup for me. We arrived, we played, we ate, we opened presents, we paid, and we left! I've attached several pics of our fun.

The many faces of a princess...

I couldn't resist adding a little special photo shoot of my precious princess. She is after all my only girl and this was her 1st Halloween to really care about the event. As I said she recovered just in time for me to feel ok about taking her out to trick-or-treat. She was all about her costume, hair, and makeup. She didn't want to take it off when it was time for bed. She did look sweet if I do say so myself. A special thanks to my sweet friends Denise and Maddie who gave us the costume. Addi even had her picure taken at our church fall festival by the local newspaper so we'll let you know if we make the Piedmont Gazette tomorrow. The paper is weekly and sometimes a little behind the action. I'm not sure if Halloween will make the paper this week as it comes out tomorrow or if it will be next week. Addi made the entire route of trick-or-treating and while she hasn't mastered saying trick-or-treat, she learned quickly to walk up to the door, give her cutest princess pose, hold up her bucket, and say more peeaas!! These are some great days in the life of our parenting journey. We are so blessed!!

Trick-or-treat, smell my feet.....

Well another Halloween has now come and gone and I must say it was a great success. Despite some drama last week awaiting the late arrival of Logan's costume, everything went smoothly and what a blast! The kids all looked awesome as you can see and Addi made a terrific comeback from her illness just in time to trick-or-treat with her bubbas. Logan was Zorro, Garrett was a knight, and Addi was Snow White just in case you couldn't make it out from the pics. The only disappointment was that due to Addi's stomach bug yesterday I didn't feel good about taking her to the boys' fall parties today which I had taken off work to attend. It was just as well that I already had the day off as I would have had to have called in sick to stay home with her. It was evident early this morning that she was making a rapid recovery but I didn't want to chance a relapse during a school party. I would forever be remembered as THAT MOM who brought her sick child to the party and exposed the entire class. So we stayed home and took it easy. After we picked the boys up from school we got everybody dressed, had a little photo shoot, and headed for the church to attend the fall festival. It was the usual hotdogs and burgers, followed by games, candy, and inflatables. We headed out for the real deal trick-or-treating with some friends of ours around 7:00. Our friends live out in the country without neighbors so they came to our neighborhood where we made the rounds. The kids cleaned up and now we have more candy than we know what to do with. The night was a great success and everyone had a ball. And as Logan said as I tucked him in tonight, "Well mom, I guess now it's time for Thanksgiving and turkey stuff...." and so I guess it is!

A Good Old-fashioned Halloween Party...

Well there were hotdogs & hamburgers, a pumpkin pinata, apple bobbing, smores, scooter rides, friends and family galore, all the key ingredients for one awesome old-fashioned family Halloween weekend celebration. Mark's brother was in for the weekend from Detroit so the extended family jumped in and made it a regular holiday. We don't need much excuse to get together to eat and play but it is special these days to have Uncle Gary in town since he lives so far away. This was our first visit since we traveled to Michigan this past summer to see his new place. I think the pics tell it all, that we had FUN, FUN, FUN. The weather was a picture-perfect fall day which made the outdoor festivities even better. The kids had fun just playing around, not to mention getting to bob for apples ( I think this is a dying game due to sanitation concerns in the general population party), bust the pumpkin pinata, and eat, eat, eat. The food was great and I want to say thanks to all those who provided. This was a great weekend for me because other than getting my family there and helping out, I wasn't responsible for providing one thing. We wrapped up the weekend with our own recent family tradition of pumpkin-carving. It was great to visit with Mark's extended family and friends especially since we won't get to do Thanksgiving with them. We have the dilemma every year of which family to spend the holidays with so we long ago started a routine of trading holidays between Mark and I's respective families as we simply cannot be 2 places at once. Getting everyone together has only proved to be more challenging as the years have gone by and the families continue to grow. This year we will be in western OK with my family for Thanksgiving and in eastern OK with Mark's family for Christmas.

Well without being too graphic let me just say that I had to take a little break just now to clean up after my sweet baby girl. Addi came home "sick" from the daycare yesterday afternoon after one episode of vomiting. It was our consensus that she had a bunch of mucous on her tummy from her cold drainage and just had a little upset stomach as she proved fine the minute she rolled through the door at home. Well that is not the case today. The vomiting started around 5:00 am and hasn't let up as yet. She also seems to have diarrhea so we are having a not so great day around here. As Garrett says, I sure hope I don't get as stinky as Addi. I pray we don't pass it around whatever IT is. And most importantly I hope she gets well before Halloween. The long-awaited costumes ordered online have finally arrived and the boys are so excited to dress up tomorrow. Both selections of Zorro and a Knight have been a hit. Addi is supposed to be Snow White so we'll see how it goes. Tune in Thursday for the Halloween recap....