2011

Charming Noel Christmas

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Sweet Baby Jackson, 3 days old

 

Christmas 2010

Berry Merry Christmas

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Hello, it's 2010!

I can't believe it's been this long! Anyway, can't catch up all my "reader" (haha), so we'll just start today with some pictures! Happy Valentine's Day to everyone. I hope you love someone- and tell them so-several times a day... We went to Sesame Street Live with Miss Pretty and Mr. Man. Their birthdays are in 14 days and 8 days, respectively, and so this outing was in lieu of a roaring, 2-year old birthday party. The other pictures are of our Valentine's Day here at home! Enjoy!

Watching "Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs" in Mom and Dad's room!

Relief

I love reading the blog Kelly's Korner, and she has an additional site on which she reviews products and does giveaways. There is a great giveaway currently happening! If you have dry and itchy skin or eczema and have used Aquaphor in the past, you know that it is a great product. Slade has horrible eczema, and he asks for "itchy medicine" quite often. "Itchy medicine" to him is Aquaphor. We use it at our house for all kinds of things! It's great. Check out the awesome giveaway!

Hmmmm....

I'll be back soon, and I will have to give a giant update, I know. Although, I am not if anybody actually reads (or cares) what I have to say!

Lazy Days

Our household has been so busy and on the go lately that the last two or three days, we have really done a whole lot of nothing, and it's been great. So much so that my oldest told me yesterday that he needed to take a nap, and I almost died from shock, but he slept for a solid two hours and woke up happy as a clam. I guess I could call this "Doctor Week". We have had some form of a doctor's appointment, or two appointments, each day this week, and next week, we have four. Nobody's sick! I am just trying to take care of the 2, 3, 4, 6 and 12-month checkups (dentist, chiropractor, allergist, school physicals and shots, nephrologist, dermatologist, and a few more) all in the same few days so we can start school and not have to to take the kids out in the afternoon or rush from work to appointments and waste our afternoon family time. The transition from nothing to everything will be enough as it is! Truth be told, I feel slightly guilty that I let the kids watch too much TV and play the DS more than I normally would. I also haven't made them pick up their rooms or jump from activity to activity. I just kind of let everyone "be", and so far, nobody has complained.

I've also taken the time to search out some new recipes and last night I made Poppyseed Chicken (which everyone ate and was delicious yesterday for dinner and today for lunch). Tonight, I am making Artichoke chicken which is like Artichoke dip on top of baked chicken breasts. Then, I am going to try Swiss Stuffing Chicken, which sounds fabulous. Plus, they are all really easy, and I think we might be 5/5 as far as everyone eating each dish. In this house, you eat what is made, when it is made, or you go hungry. I tried for awhile to please everyone, and I felt like a short order cook once I had more than one child, so I quickly stopped that business! About the only time I regress is when I make salmon or steak.

I have also enjoyed rereading my most favorite book of all time. Pubished in 1995, Coming Home is the last book of many by Rosamunde Pilcher. Prior to that year, I devoured everything I could find by her. I can still remember the first time I read it; my mom purchased it for me when I was a sophomore in college, and I was so excited. Since that time, that first copy I received is long gone (water damage in a sump pump flood), but I actually have three copies, a replacement paperback and then two copies I have picked up at garage sales. Her books are so wonderful, and in all my recommendations and talking to people about books, only one person has ever said they didn't like Coming Home, to which my immediate (unspoken) response was that they just didn't know what a good book looks like! My sisters and I all love this particular novel, and since Emily has moved to Tennessee, we decided to all reread the book at the same time although we were all in different locations. It's just a way for us to feel connected. That book is like good comfort food! I am also reading The Lace Makers of Glenmara. All my English teachery notions aside, I encourage you to visit your library, the BEST deal ever, and browse for a good book. My students get sick of hearing me tell them that books open up a whole new way of thinking and looking at all kinds of life's questions and issues. Plus, the more you read, the smarter you become!

Also this week, Scarlet has learned how to climb up on furniture unassisted. We have a pretty tall couch, and she is able to boost herself up, which she does repeatedly. I have also found her on the toilet (closed lid), the hearth, and trying to climb up on to her brother's bed. This opens up a whole new world for her! She is very determined. It's probably our fault because we taught her how to climb up and down the stairs awhile ago to prevent her from falling down them and getting hurt. She didn't quite escape that calamity because she did fall once, but so did I in the same week, and I have known how to climb for a lot longer than she has! After that she definitely understands she has to make her way down the many steps instead of throwing herself off the top!

I'm headed to make that chicken dish and then sit on the deck to read while the kids play and Scarlet rides her Barbie ATV around the deck.