This busy time of year brings back so many memories for me…it was this time of year two years ago that was the hardest two months of my life so far.
Two years ago in December my boss quit. It was such a crazy time…trying to figure out who would take her work and hiring a replacement for her. I was not ready for her job…I was definitely in training to take it on at some time, but this was not the time. However, we had a 10-K to file and there was no way we could hire someone in time to file it (and a 10-K is our hardest document of all the filings). So my interim boss and I dove in to try to get the work done.
In the middle of January I found out I was pregnant. I was super excited, but right away I could feel how tired and worn out I was going to be trying to take care of the other two kids on top of being pregnant.
It was also during this time that our childcare situation blew up in our face. The kids were rushed first to my parents’ and then to daycare. John and I spent hours agonizing on what we were going to do and who would watch the kids.
The stress in my life was horrendous. I lived each and every day with a gigantic knot in my stomach (which didn’t go away until a couple of days after I filed the 10-K). I was so worried that my stress was going to hurt the baby, and was amazed each time I went to the doctor and he was fine. I worked until 7:00 each night and worked a ton each and every weekend. The process was so new to me…there was so much I didn’t know, but was expected to know (in a good way…I learned so much during this time).
And then I got through that…I filed the 10-K, we found a nanny for the kids, and I entered my second trimester and started feeling better. And after all that, my interim boss decided that it was silly to hire someone to do what I just did, and promoted me to the position.
And even though I got through those two months, I can still feel the pit in my stomach when I think back to that time. I can vividly remember working all those hours and barely being able to have time to breathe. But working through those months has made me a much better person…I’m better at my job, and I’m living proof that stress does not kill a baby.
So last year I went through this time with a new baby. I was so worried that I would be working like crazy again and never be home. But that wasn’t the case…I got through those months with flying colors and worked barely any overtime…just a few hours here and there at home. It was amazing how much I had learned in that year…it made the 10-K such an easier process!
And this year is following the same path. I keep questioning myself because things are going so smoothly. I have been able to go to the gym a few nights a week, and I am seeing and playing with the kids just as much as normal. My work-life balance is amazing!
So I’m keeping my fingers crossed that the month of February works out to be just as “easy” as January has been. We file at the end of February, and after that it’s time for spring to get here and for new projects and adventures. And I’m truly thankful for that “hell” year that I had to go through…the discipline it taught me and knowing that I got through the work by myself has given me the confidence I have needed to do my job over the last two years.
Thursday, January 28, 2010
Tuesday, January 26, 2010
Weekend Recap...
This past weekend was a ton of fun! Friday night started with our house church, but it was a special house church because I was picked to participate in a Digiorno House Party, which meant I got a bunch of free pizzas, beads for everyone to wear, a pot holder, a pizza cutter, and a bunch of great coupons to give out to everyone. The pizza was awesome and I had a lot of fun participating in a House Party.
Saturday started off with some cleaning up, and then I went to the gym for the first time in about 2 months. After that, John and Josh headed down to an OU basketball game, and my dad took Kylie to gymnastics for me so that I didn’t have to worry about trying to entertain Ryan while watching her. It was great because that’s around Ryan’s nap time, so he went to sleep, and I was able to clean up my scrap room and finally get everything put away from my scrap weekend. My sister was coming over to work on wedding invitations, so I knew I wanted it to be all cleaned up.
Around 2:00 my sister came over and we went to work…my parents watched Ryan for me so that I didn’t have to worry about him getting into stuff :) We worked for about 3 hours and finally came up with two gorgeous options, just a little different from each other. Thankfully, my sister had come over with a catalog of professional invitations, so she picked her favorite and we copied it. And I have to say, ours looked almost identical to the professional one! We just added a couple of “extras” to ours. She was going to take both options home and see which one Big Josh liked (we just couldn’t decide which one we liked better).
After that we headed over to the mall to eat dinner and look at some flower girl dresses. We were going to Cantina Laredo, and the wait was about an hour, so we went to look at dresses. Unfortunately, Kylie wore shoes she had never worn before, and by the time we got to the dress store, she had a gigantic blister on her foot. I knew I couldn’t carry her the whole way back, so we bought her some new shoes (ugghhh! $68 I was not planning on spending! But they had a BOGO ½ off deal, so I couldn’t pass it up).
Dinner was absolutely wonderful! The food was so good! After that we were all beat, so we headed home to bed.
Sunday, after church, we just stayed home and played. It was rainy and yucky outside (which stunk because it was supposed to be 55 degrees, which of course feels like summer to us). Kylie’s best friend came over, and we all just hung out. That night, after the kids were ready for bed, we all played the new Super Mario Brothers game on the Wii. I’m not a video game person – I never had a system growing up, but I definitely have fun with this game because we all play together, and if one dies (usually me), the others can bring you back to life. The funny thing is that Ryan is obsessed with the Wii. He walks around with a remote every time he is in the playroom, and he will walk over to the TV, point at it, and say “iiiii” emphatically (he just doesn’t have the “w” down yet :) ). He turns on the TV if you’re not paying attention to him, because he wants to watch someone play Wii. And don’t even try to take his remote away from him! He knows which remote he likes (some of them are rechargeable, and he doesn’t like the backing on those, and he remembers if the one he is holding has the string or not). He will scream and cry if you take his remote away – scream like he is hurt.
And then last night was a packed night as I took the kids to the mall and got Ryan new shoes. Last evening was a perfect example of one of the many reasons I love having a nanny. The mall is on my way home from work, so I would have had to go home, load the kids up, and head back out. But instead, I just asked Jen to meet me at the mall with the kids (it’s also on her way home). So I saved myself a good 45 minutes, and was able to run in and get Ryan’s shoes, and then John met us at the gym and we got to work out, and then he took the kids home for baths while I ran to the grocery store really quickly. We ate a quick dinner when I got home, and then Kylie and I started reading a really great book…The Magic School Bus and the Senses, I think it’s called. Anyway, it’s a really good book about senses and how our eyes work. In 20 minutes we only got about 1/3 of the way through it (and I was the one reading!). We were trying all of the “eye” experiments and having a lot of fun.
Then Kylie went up to bed, and Josh and Ryan and I went downstairs to play some Wii. First Super Mario Brothers, and then some tennis. Then Josh and John watched the basketball game and Ryan went to bed.
It really was a wonderfully Monday night, even though it was so busy!
Saturday started off with some cleaning up, and then I went to the gym for the first time in about 2 months. After that, John and Josh headed down to an OU basketball game, and my dad took Kylie to gymnastics for me so that I didn’t have to worry about trying to entertain Ryan while watching her. It was great because that’s around Ryan’s nap time, so he went to sleep, and I was able to clean up my scrap room and finally get everything put away from my scrap weekend. My sister was coming over to work on wedding invitations, so I knew I wanted it to be all cleaned up.
Around 2:00 my sister came over and we went to work…my parents watched Ryan for me so that I didn’t have to worry about him getting into stuff :) We worked for about 3 hours and finally came up with two gorgeous options, just a little different from each other. Thankfully, my sister had come over with a catalog of professional invitations, so she picked her favorite and we copied it. And I have to say, ours looked almost identical to the professional one! We just added a couple of “extras” to ours. She was going to take both options home and see which one Big Josh liked (we just couldn’t decide which one we liked better).
After that we headed over to the mall to eat dinner and look at some flower girl dresses. We were going to Cantina Laredo, and the wait was about an hour, so we went to look at dresses. Unfortunately, Kylie wore shoes she had never worn before, and by the time we got to the dress store, she had a gigantic blister on her foot. I knew I couldn’t carry her the whole way back, so we bought her some new shoes (ugghhh! $68 I was not planning on spending! But they had a BOGO ½ off deal, so I couldn’t pass it up).
Dinner was absolutely wonderful! The food was so good! After that we were all beat, so we headed home to bed.
Sunday, after church, we just stayed home and played. It was rainy and yucky outside (which stunk because it was supposed to be 55 degrees, which of course feels like summer to us). Kylie’s best friend came over, and we all just hung out. That night, after the kids were ready for bed, we all played the new Super Mario Brothers game on the Wii. I’m not a video game person – I never had a system growing up, but I definitely have fun with this game because we all play together, and if one dies (usually me), the others can bring you back to life. The funny thing is that Ryan is obsessed with the Wii. He walks around with a remote every time he is in the playroom, and he will walk over to the TV, point at it, and say “iiiii” emphatically (he just doesn’t have the “w” down yet :) ). He turns on the TV if you’re not paying attention to him, because he wants to watch someone play Wii. And don’t even try to take his remote away from him! He knows which remote he likes (some of them are rechargeable, and he doesn’t like the backing on those, and he remembers if the one he is holding has the string or not). He will scream and cry if you take his remote away – scream like he is hurt.
And then last night was a packed night as I took the kids to the mall and got Ryan new shoes. Last evening was a perfect example of one of the many reasons I love having a nanny. The mall is on my way home from work, so I would have had to go home, load the kids up, and head back out. But instead, I just asked Jen to meet me at the mall with the kids (it’s also on her way home). So I saved myself a good 45 minutes, and was able to run in and get Ryan’s shoes, and then John met us at the gym and we got to work out, and then he took the kids home for baths while I ran to the grocery store really quickly. We ate a quick dinner when I got home, and then Kylie and I started reading a really great book…The Magic School Bus and the Senses, I think it’s called. Anyway, it’s a really good book about senses and how our eyes work. In 20 minutes we only got about 1/3 of the way through it (and I was the one reading!). We were trying all of the “eye” experiments and having a lot of fun.
Then Kylie went up to bed, and Josh and Ryan and I went downstairs to play some Wii. First Super Mario Brothers, and then some tennis. Then Josh and John watched the basketball game and Ryan went to bed.
It really was a wonderfully Monday night, even though it was so busy!
Thursday, January 21, 2010
Dinner, With a "Hockey Game" On The Side...
So last night we ventured out for the second night in a row for dinner. We don’t eat out much anymore, mostly to save money, but also because it really is hard with Ryan. He is not happy sitting in a high chair and not having his food immediately (like he does at home). But the kids were all in great moods, and we didn’t feel like making dinner or cleaning up, so we headed to Olive Garden because Kylie and Josh love that place.
They gave us a huge table in the corner, which was awesome because Ryan had his own little “area.” And Ryan did great! We were constantly trying to entertain him – John played with him while I took turns playing tic-tac-toe with Kylie and Josh. Joshie is getting really good at playing that now!
Our food was really good and I was so happy when we left…a little exhausted from entertaining Ryan, but happy. After that we went and picked up my bridesmaid dress for my sister’s wedding that has been in for a while, and then we headed home.
Once home, the kids got ready for bed, played a little, and Kylie and Ryan went to sleep. John and I were supposed to plan out our Friday house church, but after he was done reading his chapter, he suggested we watch “our show” (The Mentalist), and do our house church thing another time. So we left Joshie down playing his hockey game, and we watched our show. About half-way through the show Joshie came up with a sad look on his face and said “I thought you were going to come to my hockey game.” I told him that mommy and daddy were watching TV. He then said “well here’s a ticket in case you want to come.” He handed me one of his homemade tickets that said “CBJ vs. Nashville Predators 8:00.” I told him that we would come down as soon as our show was over.
When the show ended, John and I went downstairs to watch the last 6 minutes of his hockey game. There were a couple of minutes that we watched nothing because he put himself in the penalty box for a 2:00 penalty. After that was over, he went back to playing the game, and CBJ beat Nashville 10 to 4 with a last second goal by Klessler. I am always amazed at how his games are so real. He shoots goals and then quickly runs and blocks them, he has fights and puts himself in the penalty box and he shoots penalty shots against chicken Elmo (the goalie during his penalty shots).
After his game was over, John pulled out one of the programs and asked him player numbers. My amazing son knew just about all of the CBJ players’ numbers. How does he know that? He’s just such an amazing kid! And I love having these times where we can spend some time with just him, because I know it’s easy for the middle child to “get lost in the shuffle of life.”
They gave us a huge table in the corner, which was awesome because Ryan had his own little “area.” And Ryan did great! We were constantly trying to entertain him – John played with him while I took turns playing tic-tac-toe with Kylie and Josh. Joshie is getting really good at playing that now!
Our food was really good and I was so happy when we left…a little exhausted from entertaining Ryan, but happy. After that we went and picked up my bridesmaid dress for my sister’s wedding that has been in for a while, and then we headed home.
Once home, the kids got ready for bed, played a little, and Kylie and Ryan went to sleep. John and I were supposed to plan out our Friday house church, but after he was done reading his chapter, he suggested we watch “our show” (The Mentalist), and do our house church thing another time. So we left Joshie down playing his hockey game, and we watched our show. About half-way through the show Joshie came up with a sad look on his face and said “I thought you were going to come to my hockey game.” I told him that mommy and daddy were watching TV. He then said “well here’s a ticket in case you want to come.” He handed me one of his homemade tickets that said “CBJ vs. Nashville Predators 8:00.” I told him that we would come down as soon as our show was over.
When the show ended, John and I went downstairs to watch the last 6 minutes of his hockey game. There were a couple of minutes that we watched nothing because he put himself in the penalty box for a 2:00 penalty. After that was over, he went back to playing the game, and CBJ beat Nashville 10 to 4 with a last second goal by Klessler. I am always amazed at how his games are so real. He shoots goals and then quickly runs and blocks them, he has fights and puts himself in the penalty box and he shoots penalty shots against chicken Elmo (the goalie during his penalty shots).
After his game was over, John pulled out one of the programs and asked him player numbers. My amazing son knew just about all of the CBJ players’ numbers. How does he know that? He’s just such an amazing kid! And I love having these times where we can spend some time with just him, because I know it’s easy for the middle child to “get lost in the shuffle of life.”
Wednesday, January 20, 2010
Staying Connected...
I have learned, over the past few months, how so very easy it is for couples to drift apart when they have kids. Beginning with pre-marital counseling, and in every marriage conference we’ve ever been to, we have been warned about going through life and waking up one day when the kids are gone and not recognizing who is in bed with you. Both John and I both knew that was not what we wanted, and that we were going to do everything we could to make sure that didn’t happen.
But let me tell you…it’s HARD! For the past few months I feel like John and I haven’t had much time together. I feel like we’re missing a connection. We’ve tried talking about it, but unfortunately, there’s no easy fix. Our days and nights are in such a busy routine, and we’re not sure how to deviate from it.
On a normal day we’ll get home from work, eat dinner, play with the kids, do homework, Kylie and Ryan go to bed, John and Josh sit on the couch to watch sports, I go up to my room to watch TV, and we all fall asleep. So obviously our first try was to *try* to get Josh to bed, and then John and I can watch TV. But the problem was we were so tired, we would just fall asleep. It’s not that we are running around all over the place and need to slow down really, it’s just trying to figure out something for us to do. In the summer it’s easy…we’re all outside the whole night, and the kids are usually off playing with their friends, so John and I can sit and talk, or work on something together. But being inside is hard…there’s not a whole lot to do.
And it would be so easy for us to just continue living life the way it is…nothing is wrong. But, I know that if we continued down this path, we would wake up one day not really knowing who each other is, and that would suck.
So John and I decided that we need to come up with an activity for us to do. We both really look forward to Wednesday nights when we get together and plan what we’re going to talk about at house church on Friday. So at least we’ll have that tonight. But tomorrow night, or this weekend, we’re going to brainstorm some things for us to do together on another night. Some ideas that we had were: I have my wine kit that John got me for Christmas a few years ago that has never been opened, so we’d like to make some wine; work on some house projects together…there are some corners in the basement that REALLY need organized, and even though it’s work, I really have fun doing projects like that with John; or maybe start a Bible study together.
If anyone out there has any other suggestions of what we could do together for an hour each night, I would really appreciate the input! I just want us to live our lives like we’re in love and have fun with each other, not like we’re roommates!
But let me tell you…it’s HARD! For the past few months I feel like John and I haven’t had much time together. I feel like we’re missing a connection. We’ve tried talking about it, but unfortunately, there’s no easy fix. Our days and nights are in such a busy routine, and we’re not sure how to deviate from it.
On a normal day we’ll get home from work, eat dinner, play with the kids, do homework, Kylie and Ryan go to bed, John and Josh sit on the couch to watch sports, I go up to my room to watch TV, and we all fall asleep. So obviously our first try was to *try* to get Josh to bed, and then John and I can watch TV. But the problem was we were so tired, we would just fall asleep. It’s not that we are running around all over the place and need to slow down really, it’s just trying to figure out something for us to do. In the summer it’s easy…we’re all outside the whole night, and the kids are usually off playing with their friends, so John and I can sit and talk, or work on something together. But being inside is hard…there’s not a whole lot to do.
And it would be so easy for us to just continue living life the way it is…nothing is wrong. But, I know that if we continued down this path, we would wake up one day not really knowing who each other is, and that would suck.
So John and I decided that we need to come up with an activity for us to do. We both really look forward to Wednesday nights when we get together and plan what we’re going to talk about at house church on Friday. So at least we’ll have that tonight. But tomorrow night, or this weekend, we’re going to brainstorm some things for us to do together on another night. Some ideas that we had were: I have my wine kit that John got me for Christmas a few years ago that has never been opened, so we’d like to make some wine; work on some house projects together…there are some corners in the basement that REALLY need organized, and even though it’s work, I really have fun doing projects like that with John; or maybe start a Bible study together.
If anyone out there has any other suggestions of what we could do together for an hour each night, I would really appreciate the input! I just want us to live our lives like we’re in love and have fun with each other, not like we’re roommates!
Tuesday, January 19, 2010
2 @ CBJ Game, 4 @ Home...
Last night, the two oldest boys of the house headed out to a CBJ game. They both looked adorable in their CBJ jerseys :)
Kylie’s BFF Isabella was spending the night (there’s a teacher in-service day today), so they played a lot while Ryan and I played. I had so much fun watching him jump from one thing to the other in the basement…first we put up the bowling pins and then knocked them down, and then we played cars and trains, and then I pushed him around on the tricycle. While the kids were eating dinner, I made a batch of cookies, which I haven’t done in a while and tasted so good!
I gave Ryan a bath, and the girls came in and sat on the outside of the tub and played with him. He loved the attention, and the girls liked playing with all of the bath toys without actually taking a bath.
Then I put Ryan to bed, and the girls watch Home Alone 2 while I started reading our waffles and spaghetti book (for house church). John and Josh came home around 10:00, and for some reason, Joshie fell asleep in our bed…not quite sure how that happened.
It was a good night that seemed to last a long time. But it will be nice to get back to our normal routine since Ky will be back in school tomorrow…I think she and Isabella need a break from each other…they have spent 2 of the last 3 nights together, and all day yesterday and maybe today. Now I know why my parents would say I needed breaks from my friends!
Kylie’s BFF Isabella was spending the night (there’s a teacher in-service day today), so they played a lot while Ryan and I played. I had so much fun watching him jump from one thing to the other in the basement…first we put up the bowling pins and then knocked them down, and then we played cars and trains, and then I pushed him around on the tricycle. While the kids were eating dinner, I made a batch of cookies, which I haven’t done in a while and tasted so good!
I gave Ryan a bath, and the girls came in and sat on the outside of the tub and played with him. He loved the attention, and the girls liked playing with all of the bath toys without actually taking a bath.
Then I put Ryan to bed, and the girls watch Home Alone 2 while I started reading our waffles and spaghetti book (for house church). John and Josh came home around 10:00, and for some reason, Joshie fell asleep in our bed…not quite sure how that happened.
It was a good night that seemed to last a long time. But it will be nice to get back to our normal routine since Ky will be back in school tomorrow…I think she and Isabella need a break from each other…they have spent 2 of the last 3 nights together, and all day yesterday and maybe today. Now I know why my parents would say I needed breaks from my friends!
Monday, January 18, 2010
Scrapbooking Weekend Recap...
What a weekend!
Thursday night I went to learn about making wedding invitations with my mom, sister, and her fiancé. I was worried about getting home late and not being able to see the kids, because the next day I would be going away for my scrap weekend, and since I leave right from work, I would see them until Sunday. I ended up getting home around 9:00, and I was able to give Joshie a kiss while he was walking over to my dad’s house to go to bed. I was able to spend a few minutes with Kylie before she went to sleep. But unfortunately, Ryan was already asleep, so I didn’t get to spend any time with him :(
But fortunately (only in this one time case though), Ryan woke up around 12:00 and was up for a couple hours. I brought him into bed with me and snuggled for a little bit, and then he started talking to me :) I made myself put him back to bed so that I could get some sleep, but I was so happy to have been able to see him before my long weekend away!
Friday evening I left work and headed straight to a city that’s about 45 minutes away. All of my friends were already there, so I quickly set my stuff up and got to work. There were a little over 50 people at this crop, but the room is set up so nicely that we all have plenty of space (each person has a gigantic table all to themselves), and there is lots of room between the tables.
After a little bit we headed to our favorite restaurant and had a fantastic dinner. After dinner we came back and scrapped until around midnight. There were 4 of us sharing a room, but none of us like to share a bed, so we had two air mattresses set up. The problem we had this year was that two of us are always cold, and the other two are always hot. So Friday night I didn’t get hardly any sleep because I was freezing! I had socks on and my robe the whole night and I was still shivering!
We got up the next morning around 7:30 and went down to breakfast. Then we scrapped until around 1:30 and then headed out for some scrapbook store shopping and a late lunch/early dinner at another favorite restaurant. After we ate, we came back and got back to work.
Around 10:00 we stopped and ate some pizza, and then scrapped until about midnight again. I slept a little better because the room was warmer (the other two girls were dying because it was scorching to them!). I got up around 8:30 on Sunday and went down for breakfast and more scrapping. We stopped for lunch around 2:00 and then I wrapped up what I was working on and headed home. I ended up getting 4 pages of Kylie done, 4 pages of Ryan done, and 5 pages of Joshie done.
I got home at 4:30 and played with the kids. It was so amazing how with two nights of not-so-great sleep, I still had a ton of energy to play with the kiddos. My mom made us a wonderful dinner, and right after that Kylie went over to her BFF’s for a sleepover (since there’s no school today). Ryan and Joshie and Pappaw and I went down and played hockey in the playroom – Ryan was so cute because he had his hockey stick and was trying to play standing up, which is a new thing for him!
My dad had to go home, so we said “good-bye” to him, and then I gave Ryan a bath. We played a little more, and then he went to bed, while John, Josh and I curled up on the couch to watch Polar Express. I showed John the three kids’ scrapbooks, and then he fell asleep watching the movie.
It was a fabulous weekend! I got a lot of work done, and still had a good evening with my family to end it all. Now it’s time to plan my annual scrapbooking weekend at my house in the spring :)
Thursday night I went to learn about making wedding invitations with my mom, sister, and her fiancé. I was worried about getting home late and not being able to see the kids, because the next day I would be going away for my scrap weekend, and since I leave right from work, I would see them until Sunday. I ended up getting home around 9:00, and I was able to give Joshie a kiss while he was walking over to my dad’s house to go to bed. I was able to spend a few minutes with Kylie before she went to sleep. But unfortunately, Ryan was already asleep, so I didn’t get to spend any time with him :(
But fortunately (only in this one time case though), Ryan woke up around 12:00 and was up for a couple hours. I brought him into bed with me and snuggled for a little bit, and then he started talking to me :) I made myself put him back to bed so that I could get some sleep, but I was so happy to have been able to see him before my long weekend away!
Friday evening I left work and headed straight to a city that’s about 45 minutes away. All of my friends were already there, so I quickly set my stuff up and got to work. There were a little over 50 people at this crop, but the room is set up so nicely that we all have plenty of space (each person has a gigantic table all to themselves), and there is lots of room between the tables.
After a little bit we headed to our favorite restaurant and had a fantastic dinner. After dinner we came back and scrapped until around midnight. There were 4 of us sharing a room, but none of us like to share a bed, so we had two air mattresses set up. The problem we had this year was that two of us are always cold, and the other two are always hot. So Friday night I didn’t get hardly any sleep because I was freezing! I had socks on and my robe the whole night and I was still shivering!
We got up the next morning around 7:30 and went down to breakfast. Then we scrapped until around 1:30 and then headed out for some scrapbook store shopping and a late lunch/early dinner at another favorite restaurant. After we ate, we came back and got back to work.
Around 10:00 we stopped and ate some pizza, and then scrapped until about midnight again. I slept a little better because the room was warmer (the other two girls were dying because it was scorching to them!). I got up around 8:30 on Sunday and went down for breakfast and more scrapping. We stopped for lunch around 2:00 and then I wrapped up what I was working on and headed home. I ended up getting 4 pages of Kylie done, 4 pages of Ryan done, and 5 pages of Joshie done.
I got home at 4:30 and played with the kids. It was so amazing how with two nights of not-so-great sleep, I still had a ton of energy to play with the kiddos. My mom made us a wonderful dinner, and right after that Kylie went over to her BFF’s for a sleepover (since there’s no school today). Ryan and Joshie and Pappaw and I went down and played hockey in the playroom – Ryan was so cute because he had his hockey stick and was trying to play standing up, which is a new thing for him!
My dad had to go home, so we said “good-bye” to him, and then I gave Ryan a bath. We played a little more, and then he went to bed, while John, Josh and I curled up on the couch to watch Polar Express. I showed John the three kids’ scrapbooks, and then he fell asleep watching the movie.
It was a fabulous weekend! I got a lot of work done, and still had a good evening with my family to end it all. Now it’s time to plan my annual scrapbooking weekend at my house in the spring :)
Thursday, January 14, 2010
Time Is Flying By...
I know it’s redundant, but yet again, days are passing me by and I can’t slow down. I can’t believe two days have passed since my last post…where did they go?
Tuesday night John had a church dinner to go to, so I was home with the kids myself. Normally that would make the night fly by, but actually, the night was long…a good long. I just heated leftovers for dinner, which helped because I didn’t spend a ton of time cooking. But the kids are done with leftovers…after dinner they asked “we can we be done eating this stuff?” :)
We played a lot that night…the kids were all fantastic, and we were even able to get in 20 minutes of reading for Kylie. Josh didn’t take a nap that day, so at 9:00 I had all of the kids in bed and was ready to relax when John came home. This brought out our feisty little four year-old who didn’t end up going to sleep until 11:00! So obviously the no-nap thing did not work.
Last night was pretty much the same, only John was there and Kylie was playing at her best friend’s house. After dinner John and Josh picked Kylie up while I gave Ryan a bath. Then we played in the playroom where Josh, Kylie and I tried to play Chutes and Ladders, but Ryan wanted to play, so we tried to let him play, but then he just wanted the pieces…you know why? Because we were playing the Sesame Street Chutes and Ladders, and Ryan wanted “bi bir” (Big Bird), “cookie” (Cookie Monster), and “Emo” (Elmo). So our pieces kept coming off the game board and we couldn’t remember where they were supposed to go. Kylie and I then read (she’s reading both American Girl books “Meet Kit” and “Meet Molly.”
Tonight after work I’m heading to Archiver’s with my sister, my mom, and my sister’s fiancé to learn about making your own wedding invitations. We’ll have a quick dinner first and then head over there – it will be a lot of fun…I hope! I’m a little intimidated about making wedding invitations, but I can handle it, right?
Then this weekend is my semi-annual scrap weekend. While I will definitely miss the family, I’m really looking forward to getting away with my friends and getting some scrapbooking done! The only downside is that being away will cause me to be behind on some things at home (i.e. laundry), which will be a little hectic to catch up on when I get back. I’m also a little worried about John…don’t get me wrong, he’s an amazing father and can handle anything, but with Ryan’s latest attachment to him and not letting him put him down, it can be exhausting! My parents will be around though, so hopefully they can help him out and give him some breaks (not that he would ever admit to needing them…I just know that I get exhausted and I have a little more tolerance and patience than he does).
So that’s what’s going on in my life…I’m trying super hard to remind myself to slow down and enjoy the moment, but sometimes the moment has passed me by before I remember to do that!
Tuesday night John had a church dinner to go to, so I was home with the kids myself. Normally that would make the night fly by, but actually, the night was long…a good long. I just heated leftovers for dinner, which helped because I didn’t spend a ton of time cooking. But the kids are done with leftovers…after dinner they asked “we can we be done eating this stuff?” :)
We played a lot that night…the kids were all fantastic, and we were even able to get in 20 minutes of reading for Kylie. Josh didn’t take a nap that day, so at 9:00 I had all of the kids in bed and was ready to relax when John came home. This brought out our feisty little four year-old who didn’t end up going to sleep until 11:00! So obviously the no-nap thing did not work.
Last night was pretty much the same, only John was there and Kylie was playing at her best friend’s house. After dinner John and Josh picked Kylie up while I gave Ryan a bath. Then we played in the playroom where Josh, Kylie and I tried to play Chutes and Ladders, but Ryan wanted to play, so we tried to let him play, but then he just wanted the pieces…you know why? Because we were playing the Sesame Street Chutes and Ladders, and Ryan wanted “bi bir” (Big Bird), “cookie” (Cookie Monster), and “Emo” (Elmo). So our pieces kept coming off the game board and we couldn’t remember where they were supposed to go. Kylie and I then read (she’s reading both American Girl books “Meet Kit” and “Meet Molly.”
Tonight after work I’m heading to Archiver’s with my sister, my mom, and my sister’s fiancé to learn about making your own wedding invitations. We’ll have a quick dinner first and then head over there – it will be a lot of fun…I hope! I’m a little intimidated about making wedding invitations, but I can handle it, right?
Then this weekend is my semi-annual scrap weekend. While I will definitely miss the family, I’m really looking forward to getting away with my friends and getting some scrapbooking done! The only downside is that being away will cause me to be behind on some things at home (i.e. laundry), which will be a little hectic to catch up on when I get back. I’m also a little worried about John…don’t get me wrong, he’s an amazing father and can handle anything, but with Ryan’s latest attachment to him and not letting him put him down, it can be exhausting! My parents will be around though, so hopefully they can help him out and give him some breaks (not that he would ever admit to needing them…I just know that I get exhausted and I have a little more tolerance and patience than he does).
So that’s what’s going on in my life…I’m trying super hard to remind myself to slow down and enjoy the moment, but sometimes the moment has passed me by before I remember to do that!
Tuesday, January 12, 2010
Trying to Calm the Stress...
Life seems to be so busy, and I hate it. I don’t think it’s actually any busier, but I have more stress right now, which makes it feel busier, I think.
I’m in my busy time at work. From now until the end of February I will be busy and stressed and working more. Ryan is going through a phase right now where all he wants is “dadda.” He wants dadda to carry him…all the time. I can usually play with him and distract him, but you can tell the minute he remembers – “DADDA!”
Last night was a good night to relax…we had a great family dinner and then I scrapbooked with Kylie (translation: I helped her make some paper dolls), while John played with Josh and Ryan in the playroom. Around 8:00 I told Kylie to go and read, so she sat and read her book to John while I went down in the playroom with the boys. Josh had a hockey game going on and Ryan and I played a little before I could tell he was super tired and took him up to bed.
Kylie did some math on her DS, and finally at 9:00 I made her go up to bed. John and I were both tired, but we have no idea why. So we watched some TV while Joshie continued with his hockey game. We have the problem that Josh still needs a nap during the day, but when he takes one, he is up super late (he’s laid in bed for 1 ½ hours before because he just can’t fall asleep). So finally at 10:00 I had him come up and watch TV with me, and then at 10:30 I turned the TV off and we both fell asleep. Today I told Jen that he should not take a nap, and we’ll put him to bed with Kylie. We’ll see how that goes :)
This weekend I’m going away with some friends to scrapbook and relax. I really hope that I’m able to catch up on some sleep and just chill. I’m really looking forward to getting away and scrapbooking!
I’m in my busy time at work. From now until the end of February I will be busy and stressed and working more. Ryan is going through a phase right now where all he wants is “dadda.” He wants dadda to carry him…all the time. I can usually play with him and distract him, but you can tell the minute he remembers – “DADDA!”
Last night was a good night to relax…we had a great family dinner and then I scrapbooked with Kylie (translation: I helped her make some paper dolls), while John played with Josh and Ryan in the playroom. Around 8:00 I told Kylie to go and read, so she sat and read her book to John while I went down in the playroom with the boys. Josh had a hockey game going on and Ryan and I played a little before I could tell he was super tired and took him up to bed.
Kylie did some math on her DS, and finally at 9:00 I made her go up to bed. John and I were both tired, but we have no idea why. So we watched some TV while Joshie continued with his hockey game. We have the problem that Josh still needs a nap during the day, but when he takes one, he is up super late (he’s laid in bed for 1 ½ hours before because he just can’t fall asleep). So finally at 10:00 I had him come up and watch TV with me, and then at 10:30 I turned the TV off and we both fell asleep. Today I told Jen that he should not take a nap, and we’ll put him to bed with Kylie. We’ll see how that goes :)
This weekend I’m going away with some friends to scrapbook and relax. I really hope that I’m able to catch up on some sleep and just chill. I’m really looking forward to getting away and scrapbooking!
Monday, January 11, 2010
Weekend Recap...
What a relaxing weekend!
Friday night we had house church. It had been a while since we had gotten together due to Christmas, New Year’s and people being sick. It was great to talk to everyone!
Saturday morning I had a hair appointment at 7:15 AM. While it was really early, it was nice to be out and about so early…it made the day feel really long. Afterwards we put the Christmas stuff away, and then took everyone to the mall to play. Kylie had her best friend spend the night, so my dad watched them and Joshie play while John and I went to pick up some things that had come in (I finally got my knife block John had given me for Christmas and I got my jeans that I had altered). After we got home from the mall, Joshie, Ryan and I took a nap!
After our naps I made homemade spaghetti and meatballs. I had already made the pasta, so that was in the freezer, but I made the sauce and meatballs for the first time, and they turned out awesome! After dinner my dad and I played down in the playroom with all of the kids…it was chaotic and crazy, but a ton of fun! Then my dad took Joshie over to his house for bed, and I set the girls up with a movie. I went up and cleaned up my scraproom and filled one of those collage picture frames full of recent pictures of the kiddos. It was a lot of work, but it feels so good to have it done!
Sunday we got up and went to church, and then Kylie and I went grocery shopping. She was a huge help (besides all of her “mommy we really need this” shouts). After that we ate lunch and played for a while. Then I took a tiny nap, which was really needed :) After that it was dinner time, homework time, and then we had “Sunday Sundae Night.” Kylie and I had gotten some special ice cream, so the kids made their own sundaes, and we ate them while watching “Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs,” which I had never seen before. We had a really good time hanging out as a family!
Then Kylie and Ryan went to bed, John and Josh watched the rest of the CBJ game, and I organized some more scrapbooking stuff. I’m going away this weekend to scrap, so I’m trying to get all of my stuff packed up early!
It was a really nice and relaxing weekend…but of course it went by way too fast :)
Friday night we had house church. It had been a while since we had gotten together due to Christmas, New Year’s and people being sick. It was great to talk to everyone!
Saturday morning I had a hair appointment at 7:15 AM. While it was really early, it was nice to be out and about so early…it made the day feel really long. Afterwards we put the Christmas stuff away, and then took everyone to the mall to play. Kylie had her best friend spend the night, so my dad watched them and Joshie play while John and I went to pick up some things that had come in (I finally got my knife block John had given me for Christmas and I got my jeans that I had altered). After we got home from the mall, Joshie, Ryan and I took a nap!
After our naps I made homemade spaghetti and meatballs. I had already made the pasta, so that was in the freezer, but I made the sauce and meatballs for the first time, and they turned out awesome! After dinner my dad and I played down in the playroom with all of the kids…it was chaotic and crazy, but a ton of fun! Then my dad took Joshie over to his house for bed, and I set the girls up with a movie. I went up and cleaned up my scraproom and filled one of those collage picture frames full of recent pictures of the kiddos. It was a lot of work, but it feels so good to have it done!
Sunday we got up and went to church, and then Kylie and I went grocery shopping. She was a huge help (besides all of her “mommy we really need this” shouts). After that we ate lunch and played for a while. Then I took a tiny nap, which was really needed :) After that it was dinner time, homework time, and then we had “Sunday Sundae Night.” Kylie and I had gotten some special ice cream, so the kids made their own sundaes, and we ate them while watching “Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs,” which I had never seen before. We had a really good time hanging out as a family!
Then Kylie and Ryan went to bed, John and Josh watched the rest of the CBJ game, and I organized some more scrapbooking stuff. I’m going away this weekend to scrap, so I’m trying to get all of my stuff packed up early!
It was a really nice and relaxing weekend…but of course it went by way too fast :)
Sunday, January 03, 2010
Christmas Vacation 2009
Wow, I can’t believe how long it’s been since I’ve posted. That’s horrible! But I have been super busy, and relaxing, and having family time, and super busy :)
I was able to be out of work from December 23rd all the way until January 4th. I usually try to take a bunch of time off around Christmas, and this year has by far been the most fun and most relaxing.
The Wednesday before Christmas I finished up some Christmas present projects and wrapping. While the house was being cleaned I was able to hang out with the kids down in the playroom and we watched movies, ate snacks and played. The day ended with Kylie going to her best friend’s birthday party and spending the night, and my dad, John, Josh, Ryan and I heading out to Skyline for dinner (the boys’ favorite place) and to the mall for some last minute gifts.
Christmas Eve was super nice too…I ran out to finish some last-minute errands, picked Kylie up, and then went home to make cookies. Kylie, Josh and I made cookies. We decorated sugar cookies (luckily I had already made the dough a couple of days beforehand) because those are the cookies they wanted to leave for Santa. I also got our traditional Christmas Eve dinner started (prime rib, mashed potatoes, corn casserole and green beans). John’s parents stopped by for a little bit, my sister arrived from Michigan, and the kids were tracking Santa’s progress on the computer. We had a late dinner, and then the kids opened some presents. John and I gave the kids PJs, my parents gave Kylie her American Girl doll, and Joshie got a racquetball racquet and some hockey books. We read The Christmas Story to the kids, and then they set up the cookies, put some reindeer food and carrots outside, and headed up to bed. My mom and sister went to church – our church does not have Christmas Eve services, but my sister really wanted to go, so they headed out to an 11:00 service. Then John and I got everything cleaned up and then opened each other’s presents. I got John a food dehydrator and jerky gun because he loves beef jerky, but always complains about how expensive it is, along with some jeans, cologne and an OSU headband thing for the cold. Johnny did not disappoint me at all…he got me two more of my awesome knives along with a knife block to hold them.
Christmas morning started at a great time! The kids woke up around 8:30, and we all made our way down to the tree. My other sister and her fiancé headed over, and my parents came over right away too. The first present the kids got were their DSis. They played with them for a long time before asking to open another present. Those were, and still are, the best presents Santa gave them! The kids opened the rest of their presents…Kylie got some cute clothes and earrings, along with some great clothes for her American Girl doll, Chixos, an American Girl movie, and Santa brought her and I the new paperdolls Cricut cartridge :) Joshie got a football, basketball hoop for the playroom, hockey sticks, another hockey goal and a Brown’s jersey. Ryan got a Sesame Street music player and then was done with presents :) But my parents got him one of the best gifts of all…a Little Tykes car (like the Cozy Coup) that is a black truck, which looks exactly like the truck my dad drives! We call it “Pappaw’s truck” and we call him “Little Pappaw” when he’s driving it. He loves pushing it, and getting in and out of it.
My parents gave out their presents, and as usual, went over the top. They got me a cute little dip chiller, some little kitchen gadgets, some workout clothes, and best of all, they got me a Gypsy. I hadn’t even put this on my list because it’s pricy, and I only made jokes to John about getting me one because I secretly hoped maybe he would. I was absolutely shocked. I was and am still so very grateful…they didn’t need to do that and I don’t deserve it at all. For John they got him a measuring tape, other miscellaneous stuff, and best of all a CBJ jersey. The family has really turned into huge hockey fans :) My sisters got me some clothes, a gift certificate to Victoria’s Secret, a huge crockpot/buffet thing to cook and keep food warm (3 crockpots!) and a Cricut cartridge.
After we were done opening presents we had brunch and most of the family took naps. I started making food to take over for John’s family’s Christmas and just enjoyed the peace and quiet.
Once the kids woke up we loaded them up and headed over to John’s sister’s house. We opened a ton more presents – Kylie got adorable clothes, a Pandora bracelet, a doll and some doll shoes, and Joshie got some great CBJ stuff – a rug (which he uses for face-offs when he’s playing hockey) and an adorable print of a CBJ locker room with jerseys hanging up, and one of them has our last name on the back. He also got a new OSU jersey, which he desperately needed! Ryan got a ton of clothes, and a shopping cart and train to ride on/play with. John drew my name in our gift exchange and got me a new lens for the camera, which was an awesome surprise! I also got some new Cricut cartridges and a gift certificate to Michael’s from John’s parents, which I loved! After we opened presents we ate a wonderful dinner and just hung out.
Christmas night we went home and put our tired kids to bed while John and I just watched TV. I couldn’t believe the day had gone by so fast!
The next couple of days were spent cleaning up the Christmas messes and playing with new toys. Over the weekend we spent a lot of time with family – my sister from Michigan was staying with us, and my parents came over every day. We had great meals and just overall had a ton of fun! The big thing that really started happening was that Ryan started walking! He still crawls a lot, but he also walks, and will voluntarily walk to something, whereas before he had to be coaxed.
On Monday, John went back to work, and my parents and sister and I took the kids to the mall. My parents watched them while they played in the play area, and my sister and I took Ryan and went shopping. I had to exchange the jeans she had gotten me, so we went in and tried some other clothes on and just had a really great time. I don’t get to go shopping very often anymore, so it was a really nice treat…even if little Ry-Ry was a pistol at the end!
Tuesday was filled with Ryan’s well-check appointment, H1N1 shots (really mists) for Kylie and Josh, a trip to Hobby Lobby, grocery shopping, drawing on windows, and a dentist appointment for me. We followed it up with another great dinner. After dinner, my sister and I made homemade pasta! My neighbor had shown me how to use my pasta machine, and it was so easy and the spaghetti turned out so good!
Wednesday John stayed home from work and my sister and I went bridesmaid dress shopping with my other sister and the other bridesmaids. We found a dress that we could all agree on at the second store, so we ended our trip with appetizers and margaritas. That night my sister watched Kylie and Josh so that John and I could run some errands. Even though it was cold, it was so pretty out because it had been snowing, and John and I had a lot of fun hanging out with just Ryan.
On New Year’s Eve loaded up all of our donations and took those over, and then went grocery shopping (bad idea on New Year’s Eve!). I went home and made some food because we were having some friends over. Our New Year’s Eve was very mellow, but a lot of fun. The kids all loved playing together, and were going strong until almost 2:00 AM!
New Year’s Day was full of football and naps. My mom made us a wonderful dinner, and my sister and Big Josh came over for the Buckeye game (go Bucks!). After dinner we played some Euchre, and then my sister’s and I relived our childhood and played some games of Speed.
The weekend was spent trying to wrap up last-minute things that needed to get done before the normal routine set back in. Saturday my sister and I watched some reality TV while making awesome sweet potato chips, and then she and my dad headed home, which was really sad. They were both here for 1 ½ weeks and it just flew by. We had church on Sunday at a new/old place (it’s where our church first started meeting, and now we’re back there), which was great for us because the kids’ rooms were fantastic! We spent the rest of Sunday just lounging around and relaxing.
The entire vacation was so amazing, and I really can’t figure out how it went by so fast. I had so much fun being with the kids all day and I felt so relaxed all the time (well, after Christmas was over anyway :) ). John and I are planning on taking some extended time off in the spring or summer and just staying home. While we love vacations, it will be very difficult to travel this year with Ryan and the stage that he is at, so a vacation can be more work than relaxing. Staying home and just being “lazy” might be exactly what we need…it sure did feel good over Christmas!
I was able to be out of work from December 23rd all the way until January 4th. I usually try to take a bunch of time off around Christmas, and this year has by far been the most fun and most relaxing.
The Wednesday before Christmas I finished up some Christmas present projects and wrapping. While the house was being cleaned I was able to hang out with the kids down in the playroom and we watched movies, ate snacks and played. The day ended with Kylie going to her best friend’s birthday party and spending the night, and my dad, John, Josh, Ryan and I heading out to Skyline for dinner (the boys’ favorite place) and to the mall for some last minute gifts.
Christmas Eve was super nice too…I ran out to finish some last-minute errands, picked Kylie up, and then went home to make cookies. Kylie, Josh and I made cookies. We decorated sugar cookies (luckily I had already made the dough a couple of days beforehand) because those are the cookies they wanted to leave for Santa. I also got our traditional Christmas Eve dinner started (prime rib, mashed potatoes, corn casserole and green beans). John’s parents stopped by for a little bit, my sister arrived from Michigan, and the kids were tracking Santa’s progress on the computer. We had a late dinner, and then the kids opened some presents. John and I gave the kids PJs, my parents gave Kylie her American Girl doll, and Joshie got a racquetball racquet and some hockey books. We read The Christmas Story to the kids, and then they set up the cookies, put some reindeer food and carrots outside, and headed up to bed. My mom and sister went to church – our church does not have Christmas Eve services, but my sister really wanted to go, so they headed out to an 11:00 service. Then John and I got everything cleaned up and then opened each other’s presents. I got John a food dehydrator and jerky gun because he loves beef jerky, but always complains about how expensive it is, along with some jeans, cologne and an OSU headband thing for the cold. Johnny did not disappoint me at all…he got me two more of my awesome knives along with a knife block to hold them.
Christmas morning started at a great time! The kids woke up around 8:30, and we all made our way down to the tree. My other sister and her fiancé headed over, and my parents came over right away too. The first present the kids got were their DSis. They played with them for a long time before asking to open another present. Those were, and still are, the best presents Santa gave them! The kids opened the rest of their presents…Kylie got some cute clothes and earrings, along with some great clothes for her American Girl doll, Chixos, an American Girl movie, and Santa brought her and I the new paperdolls Cricut cartridge :) Joshie got a football, basketball hoop for the playroom, hockey sticks, another hockey goal and a Brown’s jersey. Ryan got a Sesame Street music player and then was done with presents :) But my parents got him one of the best gifts of all…a Little Tykes car (like the Cozy Coup) that is a black truck, which looks exactly like the truck my dad drives! We call it “Pappaw’s truck” and we call him “Little Pappaw” when he’s driving it. He loves pushing it, and getting in and out of it.
My parents gave out their presents, and as usual, went over the top. They got me a cute little dip chiller, some little kitchen gadgets, some workout clothes, and best of all, they got me a Gypsy. I hadn’t even put this on my list because it’s pricy, and I only made jokes to John about getting me one because I secretly hoped maybe he would. I was absolutely shocked. I was and am still so very grateful…they didn’t need to do that and I don’t deserve it at all. For John they got him a measuring tape, other miscellaneous stuff, and best of all a CBJ jersey. The family has really turned into huge hockey fans :) My sisters got me some clothes, a gift certificate to Victoria’s Secret, a huge crockpot/buffet thing to cook and keep food warm (3 crockpots!) and a Cricut cartridge.
After we were done opening presents we had brunch and most of the family took naps. I started making food to take over for John’s family’s Christmas and just enjoyed the peace and quiet.
Once the kids woke up we loaded them up and headed over to John’s sister’s house. We opened a ton more presents – Kylie got adorable clothes, a Pandora bracelet, a doll and some doll shoes, and Joshie got some great CBJ stuff – a rug (which he uses for face-offs when he’s playing hockey) and an adorable print of a CBJ locker room with jerseys hanging up, and one of them has our last name on the back. He also got a new OSU jersey, which he desperately needed! Ryan got a ton of clothes, and a shopping cart and train to ride on/play with. John drew my name in our gift exchange and got me a new lens for the camera, which was an awesome surprise! I also got some new Cricut cartridges and a gift certificate to Michael’s from John’s parents, which I loved! After we opened presents we ate a wonderful dinner and just hung out.
Christmas night we went home and put our tired kids to bed while John and I just watched TV. I couldn’t believe the day had gone by so fast!
The next couple of days were spent cleaning up the Christmas messes and playing with new toys. Over the weekend we spent a lot of time with family – my sister from Michigan was staying with us, and my parents came over every day. We had great meals and just overall had a ton of fun! The big thing that really started happening was that Ryan started walking! He still crawls a lot, but he also walks, and will voluntarily walk to something, whereas before he had to be coaxed.
On Monday, John went back to work, and my parents and sister and I took the kids to the mall. My parents watched them while they played in the play area, and my sister and I took Ryan and went shopping. I had to exchange the jeans she had gotten me, so we went in and tried some other clothes on and just had a really great time. I don’t get to go shopping very often anymore, so it was a really nice treat…even if little Ry-Ry was a pistol at the end!
Tuesday was filled with Ryan’s well-check appointment, H1N1 shots (really mists) for Kylie and Josh, a trip to Hobby Lobby, grocery shopping, drawing on windows, and a dentist appointment for me. We followed it up with another great dinner. After dinner, my sister and I made homemade pasta! My neighbor had shown me how to use my pasta machine, and it was so easy and the spaghetti turned out so good!
Wednesday John stayed home from work and my sister and I went bridesmaid dress shopping with my other sister and the other bridesmaids. We found a dress that we could all agree on at the second store, so we ended our trip with appetizers and margaritas. That night my sister watched Kylie and Josh so that John and I could run some errands. Even though it was cold, it was so pretty out because it had been snowing, and John and I had a lot of fun hanging out with just Ryan.
On New Year’s Eve loaded up all of our donations and took those over, and then went grocery shopping (bad idea on New Year’s Eve!). I went home and made some food because we were having some friends over. Our New Year’s Eve was very mellow, but a lot of fun. The kids all loved playing together, and were going strong until almost 2:00 AM!
New Year’s Day was full of football and naps. My mom made us a wonderful dinner, and my sister and Big Josh came over for the Buckeye game (go Bucks!). After dinner we played some Euchre, and then my sister’s and I relived our childhood and played some games of Speed.
The weekend was spent trying to wrap up last-minute things that needed to get done before the normal routine set back in. Saturday my sister and I watched some reality TV while making awesome sweet potato chips, and then she and my dad headed home, which was really sad. They were both here for 1 ½ weeks and it just flew by. We had church on Sunday at a new/old place (it’s where our church first started meeting, and now we’re back there), which was great for us because the kids’ rooms were fantastic! We spent the rest of Sunday just lounging around and relaxing.
The entire vacation was so amazing, and I really can’t figure out how it went by so fast. I had so much fun being with the kids all day and I felt so relaxed all the time (well, after Christmas was over anyway :) ). John and I are planning on taking some extended time off in the spring or summer and just staying home. While we love vacations, it will be very difficult to travel this year with Ryan and the stage that he is at, so a vacation can be more work than relaxing. Staying home and just being “lazy” might be exactly what we need…it sure did feel good over Christmas!
Thursday, December 17, 2009
I'm Soooooooo Busy!!!
I don't even have time for this post! Work has me swamped, and family...it's Christmas-time...what more can I say? I want to tell you all about the wonderful time I had last night working with families that are less fortunate, but it will have to wait. I want to tell you about how 98% of my Christmas cards are out, but that will have to wait. I want to tell you about how I have to have 6 dozen cookies made by tomorrow night, but that will have to wait.
I have work to do! Hopefully I can update soon!
I have work to do! Hopefully I can update soon!
Thursday, December 10, 2009
Contest Winner and Update...
I'm sorry for the delay in letting you know who won the contest, but Jen from Sabbatical Mom won the $30 at http://www.cookware.com/! Congratulations Jen!!! Please send me your e-mail address and I will get you the info.
Just a quick note to let everyone know that I feel like I have been burried alive. On top of all of the holiday and work stress, I have two very sick kids. Ryan has pink eye on top of a really bad cold. He looks and feels miserable. Kylie has a stomach flu right now, and at 11:10 PM, I cannot see a bedtime in sight for me. 3 kids in her class threw up at school today, and she decided to join in the fun around 7:00 this evening. Unfortunately, she is on an every-20-minute schedule, so John and I will likely try to take turns getting 20 minute power naps with her tonight.But in all of this, I'm thankful. I'm thankful that my kids rarely, and I mean rarely get sick. I'm thankfuly that my mom made us dinner tonight, and that they are here this weekend in case John and/or I contract this stomach-thing.
And I hope we don't get sick...we have John's office Christmas party tomorrow night, and then we have our house church potluck on Saturday, and I need to get a ton of stuff done this weekend...I have been praying really hard that John and I stay healthy, or at least that we get what Ryan has and NOT the stomach bug.
Tuesday, December 08, 2009
Good Night With Friends, Sick Baby...
This is the last day to enter the contest!!! Come on people…this is $30 free and clear!!!
What an evening…
Poor Ryan woke up sick yesterday morning. He was completely fine the day and night before, but woke up all congested and was just miserable and clingy the whole day. Thankfully, we as a family don’t get sick very often, so I really have nothing to complain about. But it’s still so hard when a baby is sick…it’s so hard to comfort him because he doesn’t watch TV, no matter how hard I try, and he just wants you to hold him, while standing up. Last night he was up from 2:00 AM - 4:00 AM again, only this time he was happy and playing in his crib from 2 - 3 (and constantly saying "dadda! Daaaadddddaaa!") and then whined himself to sleep from 3 - 4.
On a brighter side, our neighbors came over for dinner last night, and that was a ton of fun! With it being so cold outside, we never see them, and that’s hard to adjust to when we were used to seeing them every day during the summer. So the kids all played in the basement while the adults got to catch up. And Ryan even took a little nap, which made him feel a little better.
While discussing with my neighbor the next 2 ½ weeks leading up to Christmas, I started to stress again…I just hate how much there is to do! I still have to finish shopping, I have to wrap all of the presents, I have to get the Christmas cards out, I have to make more Christmas cookies, and we have a number of gatherings before Christmas where I need to make food or get a present ready. And it doesn’t help that I think I have the same cold as Ryan…I have had constant headaches and just don’t feel well.
I know I will get everything done…I just really hope to get it all done before Christmas Eve!
What an evening…
Poor Ryan woke up sick yesterday morning. He was completely fine the day and night before, but woke up all congested and was just miserable and clingy the whole day. Thankfully, we as a family don’t get sick very often, so I really have nothing to complain about. But it’s still so hard when a baby is sick…it’s so hard to comfort him because he doesn’t watch TV, no matter how hard I try, and he just wants you to hold him, while standing up. Last night he was up from 2:00 AM - 4:00 AM again, only this time he was happy and playing in his crib from 2 - 3 (and constantly saying "dadda! Daaaadddddaaa!") and then whined himself to sleep from 3 - 4.
On a brighter side, our neighbors came over for dinner last night, and that was a ton of fun! With it being so cold outside, we never see them, and that’s hard to adjust to when we were used to seeing them every day during the summer. So the kids all played in the basement while the adults got to catch up. And Ryan even took a little nap, which made him feel a little better.
While discussing with my neighbor the next 2 ½ weeks leading up to Christmas, I started to stress again…I just hate how much there is to do! I still have to finish shopping, I have to wrap all of the presents, I have to get the Christmas cards out, I have to make more Christmas cookies, and we have a number of gatherings before Christmas where I need to make food or get a present ready. And it doesn’t help that I think I have the same cold as Ryan…I have had constant headaches and just don’t feel well.
I know I will get everything done…I just really hope to get it all done before Christmas Eve!
Monday, December 07, 2009
Weekend Wrap-Up...
Another fantastic weekend that ended too quickly!
But first…don’t forget about my contest below…post a comment to that post before midnight tomorrow night and you’ll be entered into the drawing for a $30 gift certificate to www.cookware.com!!!
Friday evening my sister called me and said she was at the bridal salon and had found another dress that she liked better than the one she had picked out. So I ran over there and looked at it…definitely gorgeous and definitely made her happier! After that I rushed home for house church. Yet again, a fun evening with friends! I love that my hectic, stressful weeks end with a night with good friends and food :)
Saturday morning was a lazy morning. The kids played, and while Ryan went down for his morning nap, I actually laid on the couch for about a minute! Unfortunately, right at that time Kylie informed me that she was hungry for lunch. So I got back up and made everyone lunch :)
After Ryan’s nap, my mom, my dad, and the kids and I headed over to our town’s holiday festival. John’s company was doing a picture booth like they always do, so he was already there. This year it was nice having my parents there because the past few years they have been busy, and it has been just me navigating three kids through the absolute chaos!
The first thing we did was we went and saw Santa (I love this because we never have to go see a mall Santa because this Santa is awesome, takes his time, and we get great pictures!). Ryan of course screamed, which is good because I love that screaming Santa-picture! After Santa, John took the kids’ picture, and then we headed to the next room and did all of the crafts. The kids really have fun at this event each year…it just stinks because it’s so crowded, and there are so many small children and strollers, and no room to walk.
After we were done, we headed home and everyone took a nap :) After our naps we made some Christmas cookies and ate pizza. It really was a good Saturday! Sunday was church, and then grocery shopping and then just hanging out at home. After we cleaned up the playroom, the kids and I played a game of I Spy (the board game). If you have young kids I highly recommend this game…Josh and Kylie can play this equally well, and even I have a lot of fun playing it with them! Now it’s back to the grind of the week and stressing about getting everything done for Christmas. I’m about 60% done with my Christmas shopping and I’m waiting on a ton of packages to arrive. Once those get here, I hope to get some major wrapping done and hopefully be completely done the week before Christmas. That’s the goal anyway :)
But first…don’t forget about my contest below…post a comment to that post before midnight tomorrow night and you’ll be entered into the drawing for a $30 gift certificate to www.cookware.com!!!
Friday evening my sister called me and said she was at the bridal salon and had found another dress that she liked better than the one she had picked out. So I ran over there and looked at it…definitely gorgeous and definitely made her happier! After that I rushed home for house church. Yet again, a fun evening with friends! I love that my hectic, stressful weeks end with a night with good friends and food :)
Saturday morning was a lazy morning. The kids played, and while Ryan went down for his morning nap, I actually laid on the couch for about a minute! Unfortunately, right at that time Kylie informed me that she was hungry for lunch. So I got back up and made everyone lunch :)
After Ryan’s nap, my mom, my dad, and the kids and I headed over to our town’s holiday festival. John’s company was doing a picture booth like they always do, so he was already there. This year it was nice having my parents there because the past few years they have been busy, and it has been just me navigating three kids through the absolute chaos!
The first thing we did was we went and saw Santa (I love this because we never have to go see a mall Santa because this Santa is awesome, takes his time, and we get great pictures!). Ryan of course screamed, which is good because I love that screaming Santa-picture! After Santa, John took the kids’ picture, and then we headed to the next room and did all of the crafts. The kids really have fun at this event each year…it just stinks because it’s so crowded, and there are so many small children and strollers, and no room to walk.
After we were done, we headed home and everyone took a nap :) After our naps we made some Christmas cookies and ate pizza. It really was a good Saturday! Sunday was church, and then grocery shopping and then just hanging out at home. After we cleaned up the playroom, the kids and I played a game of I Spy (the board game). If you have young kids I highly recommend this game…Josh and Kylie can play this equally well, and even I have a lot of fun playing it with them! Now it’s back to the grind of the week and stressing about getting everything done for Christmas. I’m about 60% done with my Christmas shopping and I’m waiting on a ton of packages to arrive. Once those get here, I hope to get some major wrapping done and hopefully be completely done the week before Christmas. That’s the goal anyway :) Friday, December 04, 2009
Christmas Lists and A CONTEST!!!
It’s no secret to those who know me that I love to cook. Part of the reason that I love to cook is because I love good food, and therefore, I love to make good food. It’s funny, I don’t enjoy cooking an easy mac ‘n cheese meal, because to me, that’s not “good food” (don’t get me wrong, that is a family staple in our house, I just don’t love cooking it). But you want pot roast with homemade mashed potatoes, onions and carrots? I will gladly whip that up for you!
So in the past years, my Christmas list contains many cooking items. Last year my list consisted of a wok, a Panini pan, a pasta machine, wooden spoons, a fryer, spatulas and measuring spoons. I received all of those items and have used them more times than I can count (except for the pasta roller thing, but that’s only because I haven’t taken the time to learn how to make pasta yet, but I’m dying to try!). And John’s gift to me last year? A set of three fabulous, hard-core knives. One of the best presents he’s ever gotten me, and it wasn’t even on my list! This year I have some cooking items on my list again, but not as many as I really don’t need many more items.
One thing that I would love to get some day is a whole set of good pots and pans. I was searching cookware sets and drooling over the Calphalon sets. I’m very lucky in that I do have a bunch of Calphalon pans (all pretty much given to me at my wedding), and I love them. But not all of my pans are Calphalons, and sometimes those pans that aren’t make me angry :).
In the spirit of giving, the awesome people over at http://www.cookware.com/ have given me a $30 gift certificate to give away to one lucky reader! All you have to do is leave a comment to this post telling me what item you would love to have from http://www.cookware.com/ by Midnight, EST on Wednesday, December 9th, and I will randomly pick one person to win the gift certificate!
I have browsed the site, and being the avid cooker that I am, everything looks so wonderful! I keep drooling over my Shun knives (seriously, if you ever want good knives, I LOVE them!) and hoping that maybe John will get me another one for Christmas. And if you want a good Panini pan, they have my Calphalon one on sale with free shipping! I have yet to make an actual “Panini,” but I use the pan all the time for grilled cheese! The kids even ask me to make it in that pan as opposed to a normal skillet.
So go to the site and look around…you will find some great deals! You can Christmas shop and maybe get yourself a little something too! And leave a comment to be entered in the drawing for the $30 gift certificate!
So in the past years, my Christmas list contains many cooking items. Last year my list consisted of a wok, a Panini pan, a pasta machine, wooden spoons, a fryer, spatulas and measuring spoons. I received all of those items and have used them more times than I can count (except for the pasta roller thing, but that’s only because I haven’t taken the time to learn how to make pasta yet, but I’m dying to try!). And John’s gift to me last year? A set of three fabulous, hard-core knives. One of the best presents he’s ever gotten me, and it wasn’t even on my list! This year I have some cooking items on my list again, but not as many as I really don’t need many more items.
One thing that I would love to get some day is a whole set of good pots and pans. I was searching cookware sets and drooling over the Calphalon sets. I’m very lucky in that I do have a bunch of Calphalon pans (all pretty much given to me at my wedding), and I love them. But not all of my pans are Calphalons, and sometimes those pans that aren’t make me angry :).
In the spirit of giving, the awesome people over at http://www.cookware.com/ have given me a $30 gift certificate to give away to one lucky reader! All you have to do is leave a comment to this post telling me what item you would love to have from http://www.cookware.com/ by Midnight, EST on Wednesday, December 9th, and I will randomly pick one person to win the gift certificate!
I have browsed the site, and being the avid cooker that I am, everything looks so wonderful! I keep drooling over my Shun knives (seriously, if you ever want good knives, I LOVE them!) and hoping that maybe John will get me another one for Christmas. And if you want a good Panini pan, they have my Calphalon one on sale with free shipping! I have yet to make an actual “Panini,” but I use the pan all the time for grilled cheese! The kids even ask me to make it in that pan as opposed to a normal skillet.
So go to the site and look around…you will find some great deals! You can Christmas shop and maybe get yourself a little something too! And leave a comment to be entered in the drawing for the $30 gift certificate!
Thursday, December 03, 2009
Quick Kiddo Update...
I’m really busy at work, which is unusual for December. Usually during this time I’m able to get everything ready for my busy time starting in January, clean up my office, and be able to take time-off guilt-free (of my own doing…not by anyone else). But this year is different. I’m working on a memo that is, quite frankly, draining me. It’s about a topic I just can’t get my arms around, and that’s so frustrating to me. I know that I will figure it out, I always do, but the road has been/will be bumpy.
So I’ll take a minute to give a quick kid recap and then I’ll dive back into the madness :)
-Kylie is the best big sister I’ve ever seen. She plays with Josh a lot, and hates it when he’s upset or getting in trouble. I can leave Ryan with her while I run and do something and know that she will watch him at all times and make sure he is not climbing the stairs!
-Joshie is adorable! His knowledge of sports never ceases to amaze me. He knows players, and rules, and teams and scores. Joshie knows his numbers a lot better than Kylie did at this age just because of watching so many sports! He’s also learning addition a lot earlier because of sports – his imaginary football games will have scores and we’ll work through what the new score is now that a team has scored a touchdown.
-Ryan is my buddy! Hearing “mamma” come out of his mouth in his high-pitched voice never gets old (even at 2:00 in the morning!). He’s a tough little kid…he bonks his head a lot and he’ll just sit there and rub it and move on. We have a little kids’ couch (made out of foam) down in the play room, and he likes to climb over the back of it and tumble down – he’s such a roly-poly! He has also mastered climbing up the little Tykes slide we have and sliding down. I can’t trust him completely by himself yet though…he likes to stand up and look over the edge :)
-Kylie is my little smarty-pants. We had her conferences and her reading evaluation put her at the level they like to see kids leaving first grade at. It’s no surprise as she loves to read and does it all the time. She does great on her spelling tests, and this week is her first week with two “challenge” words which are extra credit (holiday and thankful). She’s good at math, but not as strong as reading. Just about every other night John gives her a page of addition and subtraction problems as a timed test (this is what they do in school). She gets flustered and tells herself she can’t do the problems. I keep trying to work with her and tell her that she can do them, she just needs to calm down and breathe!
-Joshie makes me laugh the most. He makes the funniest faces when he talks, and he tells me “seriously” all the time. The way he pronounces his “Rs” is adorable and when he talks I just want to scoop him up and eat him! My worry with him is his weight. Everyone thinks I’m crazy, but the kid is seriously skin and bones. When I pick him up I feel like I could break him. He doesn’t eat a whole lot…we make him eat his lunch and dinner, but it can be such a struggle. And just by watching him every day, I can see his caloric output is a lot higher than his input.
So that’s a quick recap…counting down until I get to spend the whole week with them after Christmas!
So I’ll take a minute to give a quick kid recap and then I’ll dive back into the madness :)
-Kylie is the best big sister I’ve ever seen. She plays with Josh a lot, and hates it when he’s upset or getting in trouble. I can leave Ryan with her while I run and do something and know that she will watch him at all times and make sure he is not climbing the stairs!
-Joshie is adorable! His knowledge of sports never ceases to amaze me. He knows players, and rules, and teams and scores. Joshie knows his numbers a lot better than Kylie did at this age just because of watching so many sports! He’s also learning addition a lot earlier because of sports – his imaginary football games will have scores and we’ll work through what the new score is now that a team has scored a touchdown.
-Ryan is my buddy! Hearing “mamma” come out of his mouth in his high-pitched voice never gets old (even at 2:00 in the morning!). He’s a tough little kid…he bonks his head a lot and he’ll just sit there and rub it and move on. We have a little kids’ couch (made out of foam) down in the play room, and he likes to climb over the back of it and tumble down – he’s such a roly-poly! He has also mastered climbing up the little Tykes slide we have and sliding down. I can’t trust him completely by himself yet though…he likes to stand up and look over the edge :)
-Kylie is my little smarty-pants. We had her conferences and her reading evaluation put her at the level they like to see kids leaving first grade at. It’s no surprise as she loves to read and does it all the time. She does great on her spelling tests, and this week is her first week with two “challenge” words which are extra credit (holiday and thankful). She’s good at math, but not as strong as reading. Just about every other night John gives her a page of addition and subtraction problems as a timed test (this is what they do in school). She gets flustered and tells herself she can’t do the problems. I keep trying to work with her and tell her that she can do them, she just needs to calm down and breathe!
-Joshie makes me laugh the most. He makes the funniest faces when he talks, and he tells me “seriously” all the time. The way he pronounces his “Rs” is adorable and when he talks I just want to scoop him up and eat him! My worry with him is his weight. Everyone thinks I’m crazy, but the kid is seriously skin and bones. When I pick him up I feel like I could break him. He doesn’t eat a whole lot…we make him eat his lunch and dinner, but it can be such a struggle. And just by watching him every day, I can see his caloric output is a lot higher than his input.
So that’s a quick recap…counting down until I get to spend the whole week with them after Christmas!
Wednesday, December 02, 2009
Christmas Cards and Jinxing...
Guess what the UPS man delivered to me last night? My Christmas cards! I’ve never, ever had my cards “done” this early before! So now all we have to do is run the envelopes through the printer, and they’ll be ready to go out. It will be such a huge relief to get those out…I always stress about getting them done, and last year they were mailed out on Christmas Eve!
If anyone wants a card from me, just send me your address!
As for the rest of my Christmas chores, I’m getting there :) I added a few more decorations to the house last night, and I ordered a couple more presents as well. I’m hoping to get some more ordered today during lunch. I really, really want to not have any stress as we get closer to the big day!
Another thing I realized last night is that I’m really good at jinxing myself…for some reason, as I was watching TV last night, I was appreciating the fact that Ryan sleeps through the night. I don’t know what prompted that thought, it was completely out of the blue. Well, as I’m sure you can guess, at 2:15 AM I heard my little guy whining. I went up to put his paci back in, and found him sitting up in the corner of his crib. When he saw me, he smiled and said “mamma.” He was ready to get up! I laid him back down and for 2 hours he played/whined/cried/played and finally fell asleep around 4:30.
So if you need anything jinxed, give me a call…apparently I’m super good at it :)
If anyone wants a card from me, just send me your address!
As for the rest of my Christmas chores, I’m getting there :) I added a few more decorations to the house last night, and I ordered a couple more presents as well. I’m hoping to get some more ordered today during lunch. I really, really want to not have any stress as we get closer to the big day!
Another thing I realized last night is that I’m really good at jinxing myself…for some reason, as I was watching TV last night, I was appreciating the fact that Ryan sleeps through the night. I don’t know what prompted that thought, it was completely out of the blue. Well, as I’m sure you can guess, at 2:15 AM I heard my little guy whining. I went up to put his paci back in, and found him sitting up in the corner of his crib. When he saw me, he smiled and said “mamma.” He was ready to get up! I laid him back down and for 2 hours he played/whined/cried/played and finally fell asleep around 4:30.
So if you need anything jinxed, give me a call…apparently I’m super good at it :)
Tuesday, December 01, 2009
Thanksgiving 2009...
I can’t believe the long weekend is over :( It was so restful, and so relaxing, and we had so much fun!
The holiday started off with a short-notice viewing of the Rockette’s Christmas Show. My mom had wanted to go, so she took my sister, Kylie and I to the late afternoon show. Afterwards we all went to a very nice dinner out (Kylie didn’t understand why there were no kids menus).
After dinner we went home and hung out with the boys. The big thing that happened was that Ryan actually took a couple steps! He still has no interest in walking, but when he really wants something (like to come and see me), he’ll take some steps! Then the kids started up the movie Bedtime Stories, and part way through it my other sister arrived from Michigan. We went over the plans for the next day and all went to bed.
Thursday we woke up bright and early (I feel old, because just a few years ago, before kids, I had trouble dragging myself out of bed before the parade ended, and here I was up way before the thing even started!
I went downstairs and started making the traditional sticky buns, along with our new addition of homemade cinnamon rolls. Both of them turned out fantastic! We had enough leftovers that I’ve been bring the cinnamon rolls to work for breakfast, which has been an awesome treat.
We watched the parade and just lounged around, which felt so good! Around 12:30 we started making the food…first the appetizers which were going to be our lunch, and then the main dinner items. John got the garage all set up to fry the turkey and watch football. We were finally all ready to eat around 5:00, but no one was hungry! Seriously, all of the food was laid out on the island and no one wanted to eat. So a couple of us headed over to Michael’s because they had their cricut cartridges on sale. When we got back we all sat down and ate our wonderful dinner. After dinner we played Taboo, and it was neat because Kylie actually got to play a little – we had her on both teams and didn’t count her points, but I was so surprised at how well she did!
Friday we got up bright and early and headed down to John’s parents’. They were all going to the OU game, which started at 11:00. John’s sister, Kylie and Ryan and I wanted nothing to do with sitting out in the snow to watch a football game, so we stayed back at the house. John’s sister took Kylie to see a movie, and Ryan and I took a nap :) After the game we hung out for a little bit and then headed out to dinner. It was another great family dinner, only this time with pizza :) When we got back home, Ryan went to bed and Kylie and Joshie went over to my parents’ house (I think my dad was having withdrawal not seeing them for a whole day!), so John and I got to watch some TV and hang out together.
Saturday was another lazy day! I didn’t go anywhere, and we got to play with the kids a ton! That night my other sister came over, we got some Chinese, and watched the CBJ game and Night at The Museum 2.
Sunday was church, and then more playing and relaxing. We also went and bought our Christmas tree – we finally found an artificial one that we liked. So after my sister left to go back to Michigan, we got the house decorated. We only have a tiny little bit left to do, which is very different from the past years…usually it takes us forever to get everything decorated, but this year seemed so simple.
So that was Thanksgiving weekend 2009. I actually didn’t take too many pictures, which is strange, but I definitely had a great weekend, and I can’t wait until Christmas!
The holiday started off with a short-notice viewing of the Rockette’s Christmas Show. My mom had wanted to go, so she took my sister, Kylie and I to the late afternoon show. Afterwards we all went to a very nice dinner out (Kylie didn’t understand why there were no kids menus).
After dinner we went home and hung out with the boys. The big thing that happened was that Ryan actually took a couple steps! He still has no interest in walking, but when he really wants something (like to come and see me), he’ll take some steps! Then the kids started up the movie Bedtime Stories, and part way through it my other sister arrived from Michigan. We went over the plans for the next day and all went to bed.
Thursday we woke up bright and early (I feel old, because just a few years ago, before kids, I had trouble dragging myself out of bed before the parade ended, and here I was up way before the thing even started!
I went downstairs and started making the traditional sticky buns, along with our new addition of homemade cinnamon rolls. Both of them turned out fantastic! We had enough leftovers that I’ve been bring the cinnamon rolls to work for breakfast, which has been an awesome treat.
We watched the parade and just lounged around, which felt so good! Around 12:30 we started making the food…first the appetizers which were going to be our lunch, and then the main dinner items. John got the garage all set up to fry the turkey and watch football. We were finally all ready to eat around 5:00, but no one was hungry! Seriously, all of the food was laid out on the island and no one wanted to eat. So a couple of us headed over to Michael’s because they had their cricut cartridges on sale. When we got back we all sat down and ate our wonderful dinner. After dinner we played Taboo, and it was neat because Kylie actually got to play a little – we had her on both teams and didn’t count her points, but I was so surprised at how well she did!
Friday we got up bright and early and headed down to John’s parents’. They were all going to the OU game, which started at 11:00. John’s sister, Kylie and Ryan and I wanted nothing to do with sitting out in the snow to watch a football game, so we stayed back at the house. John’s sister took Kylie to see a movie, and Ryan and I took a nap :) After the game we hung out for a little bit and then headed out to dinner. It was another great family dinner, only this time with pizza :) When we got back home, Ryan went to bed and Kylie and Joshie went over to my parents’ house (I think my dad was having withdrawal not seeing them for a whole day!), so John and I got to watch some TV and hang out together.
Saturday was another lazy day! I didn’t go anywhere, and we got to play with the kids a ton! That night my other sister came over, we got some Chinese, and watched the CBJ game and Night at The Museum 2.
Sunday was church, and then more playing and relaxing. We also went and bought our Christmas tree – we finally found an artificial one that we liked. So after my sister left to go back to Michigan, we got the house decorated. We only have a tiny little bit left to do, which is very different from the past years…usually it takes us forever to get everything decorated, but this year seemed so simple.
So that was Thanksgiving weekend 2009. I actually didn’t take too many pictures, which is strange, but I definitely had a great weekend, and I can’t wait until Christmas!Wednesday, November 25, 2009
I'm Thankful...
I am thankful for so many things, but right now I would like to highlight the things that I am thankful for that are outside “the normal:”
-I am thankful that my kids are so close to my parents.
-I am thankful that my parents live next door some of the time.
-I am thankful that during the day, Joshie can go over and play at Grandma’s house.
-I’m thankful that the kids can freely and easily go back and forth between my parents’ house and ours.
-I’m thankful that my kids can spend the night at Grandma and Pappaw’s almost whenever they want.
-I’m thankful that my mom took Joshie and Ryan to see the zoo lights last night…I can tell they had a wonderful time.
-I’m thankful that at this time of year, a family dinner on a special day is not a super special occasion because we have them all the time!
-I’m very, very thankful for my family.
It’s interesting how your relationship with your parents changes over your lifetime. There were times that I really, really hated my parents. There were years that I counted down the days until I was 18 and could leave the house. And then over the second half of my life things got better. I think they realized that my strong personality was there to stay, and at the same time, I matured and learned how to communicate better. I think ultimately it came down to the fact that I was now an adult and I could no longer be told what to do, so compromises were made and there was mutual respect.
It’s also interesting when you think about the annoyances of parents (or in-laws) – it’s so easy to get upset and annoyed with them over things…especially now that you are both adults and have to learn to compromise, as opposed to one person having the authority to make you back down. BUT!!!! These are the people that made you who you are…or who made your spouse the way they are. Somehow, those quirks and characteristics helped mold you/your spouse into the very person they are today…whether it was good teaching, or you acting in the opposite direction because of how much you disagreed with them. Either way, if you at all like who you are, or you love who your spouse is…so much of that came from the parents.
And for that, I’m very thankful!
-I am thankful that my kids are so close to my parents.
-I am thankful that my parents live next door some of the time.
-I am thankful that during the day, Joshie can go over and play at Grandma’s house.
-I’m thankful that the kids can freely and easily go back and forth between my parents’ house and ours.
-I’m thankful that my kids can spend the night at Grandma and Pappaw’s almost whenever they want.
-I’m thankful that my mom took Joshie and Ryan to see the zoo lights last night…I can tell they had a wonderful time.
-I’m thankful that at this time of year, a family dinner on a special day is not a super special occasion because we have them all the time!
-I’m very, very thankful for my family.
It’s interesting how your relationship with your parents changes over your lifetime. There were times that I really, really hated my parents. There were years that I counted down the days until I was 18 and could leave the house. And then over the second half of my life things got better. I think they realized that my strong personality was there to stay, and at the same time, I matured and learned how to communicate better. I think ultimately it came down to the fact that I was now an adult and I could no longer be told what to do, so compromises were made and there was mutual respect.
It’s also interesting when you think about the annoyances of parents (or in-laws) – it’s so easy to get upset and annoyed with them over things…especially now that you are both adults and have to learn to compromise, as opposed to one person having the authority to make you back down. BUT!!!! These are the people that made you who you are…or who made your spouse the way they are. Somehow, those quirks and characteristics helped mold you/your spouse into the very person they are today…whether it was good teaching, or you acting in the opposite direction because of how much you disagreed with them. Either way, if you at all like who you are, or you love who your spouse is…so much of that came from the parents.
And for that, I’m very thankful!
Tuesday, November 24, 2009
There Comes a Point When You Will Exhale...
Whitney Houston had a song in the 90’s titled “Exhale.”
Chorus:
Sometimes you’ll laugh
Sometimes you’ll cry
Life never tells us, the when’s or why’s
When you’ve got friends, to wish you well
You’ll find your point when
You will exhale
I remember hearing that song, and wondering if there would ever be a point in my life where I would be able to “exhale.” The song came out when I was a junior in high school. At that time, I had a long-term boyfriend, good grades, did gymnastics, and overall, life was pretty good…but I still didn’t feel like I could “exhale.”
I had forgotten about the song until last night. For some reason it popped into my mind and I started examining my life and wondering if now I could finally “exhale”…I mean I love my life and I’m so happy…but I’m still not sure I can “exhale.”
I feel like at any moment a crises could come up…right now everything seems to be aligned fairly well…we are part of a fantastic church, we have fantastic childcare, John and I have great jobs, we all have great health, etc. But any one of those things could be pulled right out from under us…and I would have to take a big breath and hold it again…until everything was resolved.
But as Christians we shouldn’t live that way. I definitely stress over things way too much…things that are completely out of my control. My stressing about these things does nothing but harm me, so I need to learn to let them go and give them to God. I need to learn to live my life as a constant breathing pattern…with equal inhales AND exhales.
So with that, I’m exhaling right now. I’m letting God take control of my life and I’m just breathing…which is what I was supposed to be doing the whole time. It’s kind of like Lamaze classes for childbirth…you go to class and learn how to breath so that when you’re the in the heat of the pain, it will come naturally to you**. So I’m practicing, so that when the next “crises” comes up, exhaling will be natural for me.
**While I did take childbirth classes, I opted (OK, really I begged) for the epidural. Is there an epidural option for life?
Chorus:
Sometimes you’ll laugh
Sometimes you’ll cry
Life never tells us, the when’s or why’s
When you’ve got friends, to wish you well
You’ll find your point when
You will exhale
I remember hearing that song, and wondering if there would ever be a point in my life where I would be able to “exhale.” The song came out when I was a junior in high school. At that time, I had a long-term boyfriend, good grades, did gymnastics, and overall, life was pretty good…but I still didn’t feel like I could “exhale.”
I had forgotten about the song until last night. For some reason it popped into my mind and I started examining my life and wondering if now I could finally “exhale”…I mean I love my life and I’m so happy…but I’m still not sure I can “exhale.”
I feel like at any moment a crises could come up…right now everything seems to be aligned fairly well…we are part of a fantastic church, we have fantastic childcare, John and I have great jobs, we all have great health, etc. But any one of those things could be pulled right out from under us…and I would have to take a big breath and hold it again…until everything was resolved.
But as Christians we shouldn’t live that way. I definitely stress over things way too much…things that are completely out of my control. My stressing about these things does nothing but harm me, so I need to learn to let them go and give them to God. I need to learn to live my life as a constant breathing pattern…with equal inhales AND exhales.
So with that, I’m exhaling right now. I’m letting God take control of my life and I’m just breathing…which is what I was supposed to be doing the whole time. It’s kind of like Lamaze classes for childbirth…you go to class and learn how to breath so that when you’re the in the heat of the pain, it will come naturally to you**. So I’m practicing, so that when the next “crises” comes up, exhaling will be natural for me.
**While I did take childbirth classes, I opted (OK, really I begged) for the epidural. Is there an epidural option for life?
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