It's the Simple Stuff

A date night...

Thanks to my mother-in-law we had a spur of the moment date night!!  We got to go have a delicious dinner at Carraba's my favorite place to eat.  And after dinner we headed to the movies to see The Pursuit of Happyness which I have been wanting to see and I'm glad I finally did.  It was a great movie.  It was so nice to get out and it was MUCH needed alone time for David and I.  And as if that wasn't enough...thanks to Lisa (who taped it for me), I got to come home and watch Grey's Anatomy! 

Tomorrow is FRIDAY!!!!   YAY....love Fridays!  I think I might go to a crop tomorrow night, haven't decided which one yet, there are several to choose from!  We shall see!

My tip of the day....

When you have a very clogged nose, that you simply cannot breathe out of do not...I repeat....DO NOT try to gargle with mouthwash.  I always use Listerine's Whitening pre-brush mouthwash before brushing my teeth in the morning.  This morning was no different...well that is except for the fact that my whole head is clogged, can only breathe through my mouth.  This in and of itself is beyond annoying, but try gargling with mouthwash and you can be sure that you will almost choke to death.  Wasn't even thinking as I took a swig of the potent stuff that I usually stop swishing long enough to take a breath through my nose.  Well this morning I tried to do that, forgetting that my nose has been rendered completely useless due to my cold.  So with a mouthful of mouthwash, I go to take my typical sniff (one must breathe when using mouthwash, especially when you are suppose to swish and such for 60 seconds before spitting it out...no need to pass out from lack of oxygen for the sake of a clean mouth) and gag, cough, sputter, hack, spew....ack.  With that one thoughtless sniff, the snot that is stuck in my head, went straight to my throat and made me gasp, which made me swallow half of the mouthwash, the other half I o so lady like, sprayed all over the sink and coutertop.  You know that feeling you get when you accidentally swallow a little toothpaste...times that by like 50 and you'll understand what it feels like to accidentally swallow that potent mouthwash!!!

So my tip for today is the next time you have a cold...FOREGO MOUTHWASH!!!

Just so you know...

That is if you even care to know, I GOT SOME SLEEP!!!!   Thanks to my wonderful hubby!!  So here's how it went on Friday I got a call from Lisa saying that she was making homemade beef stew and did we want to join them for dinner.  This was weird timing since I was actually sitting on the computer searching  KRAFT FOODS for something to do with the chicken I was going to make for dinner.   SO as tough as it was to not have to cook (sense the sarcasm?) I took Lis up on her offer!  And man was it yummy.  So after dinner and some time spent together, we came back home (you could tell it was time the kids were getting tired and that always means fighting like brothers and sisters!!)   Owen got in some sort of mood and headed off to bed (on his own, even though it was suppose to be a special night where they can camp out on our floor).   Grady and Emma both got put to bed and that left Coop, David and I downstairs.  David and Coop were watching something on TV, I was trying to catch up on some magazine perusing.  After a little while Coop joined me on the couch, so down when the magazine because cuddling with Coopie is a much better option.  We both ended up falling asleep.  Around 11:30 I woke up and drug myself up to bed.  Around midnight Emma started fussing.  I tried to ignore it, David ended up coming up right as I was trying to get her to lay back down.  Seeing that I was nearing a breakdown he offered for me to go sleep in another room and he would deal with our sleepless daughter!   I did not walk, I RAN to Coop's bed and there I had 5 blissful hours of uninterrupted sleep.   The longest I have had in months!!   He brought her to me at 5:30 a.m. for me to nurse, I then took her back to lay down and went back to Coop's bed where I slept until 8:30 a.m.!!!   I'll tell you I felt SUPERCHARGED after so much sleep!!!  Last night not so good, but I am thankful for Friday night and some good solid, wakeless sleep!! She is still not feeling well so I stayed home with her and Grady this morning and David took Owen and Coop to church!   She went down for a nap around 10:30 and I set Grady up with Playhouse Disney and I got myself some coffee and was able to do my Bible Study! 

So I wanted you to know that I got some sleep and I am very thankful for it...makes life much easier.

Today I am hoping to lock myself (well that is figurative since I don't actually have a door) in my scraproom and be creative.  It is much needed!!!  Anyone want to join me?????

Desparately Seeking.....

SLEEP!!!!!   I think that I do fairly well at functioning on a rather limited amount of sleep but this is ridiculous!!!   Emma is sick and teething which does not make for a good night's rest.  I honestly do not think an hour went by last night that she didn't wake up.  I feel so bad for her.  She has a nasty cough and a runny nose and every time she coughs her eyes get all teary and start running.  It's sad how tired she is.  She has those poor little sick eyes, you know the ones that are all red underneath her eye and sort of glassy.  AND YET SHE SMILES!!!   I did take her to the doctor today which wasn't very productive...it always seems that when I take them they say "O, its just a cold, nothing we can do, call in a week if she's not better".  So the next time you take that advice to heart and you wait the week rather than going in and having them tell you to wait and then you finally take them in to find out they have a double ear infection or something else requiring medication and you feel like a horrible mother who should have brough her child in so much sooner!  Ya can't win I tell ya!

I have a feeling tonight doesn't hold much sleep either.  She was rubbing her eyes, so we gave her a bottle and laid her down.  She would be quiet for a minute and then start coughing and crying.  I let this go on for about an hour (checked on her a few times because she gagged a couple of times) until I finally went in and got her and took her downstairs thinking I would just hold her.  She isn't my most cuddly baby, she wants to move.  So I just finished nursing her and laid her down again.  I just heard her cough and cry again.  I would let her sleep on me if she would actually do that.  That is what I always did with the boys.  But she just wants no part of it! 

O well...this too shall past.  Who needs sleep????!!!!!

A little post....

Don't want to get into my non-posting rut again...so thought I'd do a quick one while I wait for the kids to get home from school.   

Yesterday the kids had off and we decided to spend some family time.  David took part of the day off and we took the kids to Fudruckers for lunch.  Owen's favorite place (besides Chuck E. Cheese) because they have games there and he loves those ridiculous claw games.  Suprisingly enough he has won a few things out of those things (at Fudrucker's, not anywhere else).   Anyway, after a yummy lunch, we headed over to Chocolate World.  David hadn't been there since they re-vamped the ride.  We were then going to go and see a movie but the timing was off, so we ended up renting one instead.  It was such a yucky weather day yesterday, the kind that made you feel REALLY tired.  But we still had a great time as a family.

Today I started attending a Bible Study at CBC.  I'm drawing a blank as to the name of the book but its a good one about self-worth and the fact that our self-worth should come from how Christ sees us and not based on the world's standards or what other's think of us!  It was a little awkward going to a study where I don't know others.  Just my mom and one of her friends.  Everyone was very friendly but I do wish it was with a group of girls that I knew better.

Well the kids will be home any minute and the peace and solitude of this moment will quickly evaporate as I deal with homework, snacks and just general mayhem!!

LATER!

Today....

So back to the regular everyday stuff, now that I have shared my Christmas photos. My Grandmom has been here visiting and today we are going to get a four generation photo taken at Picture People.   I so hope that it turns out well and that Emma cooperates.  As you could see in the photos I shared she generally is happy and easy to get cute pics of...I just hope that since this is a planned venture that she will participate and not choose to be a diva today!  She is growing so unbelievably fast!  She started crawling on all fours the week between Christmas and New Year's.  She was dragging herself about a little before that.   BUT NOW....now the girl wants to get up and walk.  She is pulling herself up onto her knees on anything that she can get her hands on and if it is David or I she can actually pull herself to her feet!   I'm soooo not ready for this!!  She is now eating on a semi-regular basis.  I try for breakfast, lunch and dinner, it just depends on the day whether she will eat it!  Such fun! 

Anyway, I haven't been to Picture People in a very long time and I'm exciting to go and hoping that they will turn out today.  If they do I want to make a few appointments, one just for Emma I have a few really cute outfits that I'd like to get her picture in.  One for Grady and Emma....I swear these two are the cutest together, Grady simply adores her.  And finally when I'm feeling really brave and want to sweat off a few pounds....one for all four of them.  I'd like to get a Valentine pic of all of them!  We shall see.  I'll definitely be enlisting some help for that last one!

So that's that, I'll let you know how we make out!

Happy Day Everyone!!!!

I'm Back.....

Hey....I'm back!   I know several of you were wondering if I fell off the planet.  Thanks for your emails checking in with me!   To be honest I have been in a little bit of a funk lately.  Don't know why, nothing's wrong, maybe its just PMS.  Yeah, that's it we'll blame the hormones!   So after a long break, I have tons of pics to share.   The holidays were great, lots of family and friends and food! 

The boys on Christmas Eve leaving cookies for Santa.

Our Christmas tree on Christmas Eve...after "Santa" came

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The kiddos all nestled and snug in their beds.....I take a pic of the kids asleep in their beds every Christmas Eve!

The boys Christmas morning waiting at the top of the steps before they could come down they had to wait for my parents to get here!

Them coming down, rounding the corner and seeing their loot!

All the kiddos in their jammies before the unwrapping chaos began.

All right so I believe that I have mentioned the Star Wars frenzy that has overtaken our home...particularly Owen and my biggest boy...my hubby.   Well Cooper by default has gotten a little bit into all the hype....here he is after opening the one Star Wars figure that he asked for...Princess Leah....yep I'm a little worried!!!

Owen opening his new favorite thing...his PSP complete with the Star Wars II Legos game and some PacMan racing game which I have become addicted to!

These pics says it all....it was the year of Star Wars for Owen and Cars for Coopie!

This Christmas as with all first Christmases was particularly exciting for me since it is Emma's first Christmas and I got to buy PINK, GLITTERLY wrapping paper!!!   SOOOO FUN.....

Here is the link to the rest of the CHRISTMAS PHOTOS that I put in an album for my blog!

Craziness!!!

Crazy busy, that's the only way to describe my life as of late.   It started last Friday and hasn't let up since.   I've bounced from a scrapbook night at church, to a school program, back to the scrapbook night, to Allentown for a birthday party, to a Lifegroup Thanksgiving dinner that we hosted and that was just last weekend.  This week has brought many Thanksgiving preparations, two class parties on two different days, one of which I had to organize and for those of you that know me you KNOW that organizational skills are not high on my list of gifts!!!  All this to and from, back and forth in the midst of my already hectic, taking care of four kids, life and having a nagging cold that just won't quit!   Its all good though because tonight we finally got to go to the movies as a family, we saw Happy Feet, kids liked it, it was ok, but I can't say that I would want to see it again! Now two of the four kids are finally in bed and I'm just trying to catch my breath before setting my table for the Thanksgiving dinner that we will host for a grand total of 18 people.   I must admit I love Thanksgiving and a full house.   I'm grateful that I have a family that wants to be together and that we generally live to tell about it! 

I can't believe how long its been since I blogged.  I think I tried a total of five different times since my last post to get a post completely written and posted but I didn't get through it before something or someone demanded my attention.  So maybe I should quit while I'm ahead and just say......

HAPPY THANKSGIVING TO YOU AND YOUR FAMILY!  HAVE A WONDERFUL DAY, FULL OF LOVE, LAUGHTER AND TURKEY WITH ALL THE TRIMMINGS!!!!

Picture upload....

Picture upload or overload...depending on how you look at it.   So far I have uploaded about 450 pictures to winkflash...making a dent.  I know that I won't develop them all at once but my thought is that if they are already uploaded then I can order them as needed or wanted and not have to wait!  It is taking dreadfully long to get them uploaded.   I think one set that I did took about three hours!  I just selected a ton more to upload and will let them upload overnight!  I hate waiting!!!  While going through and choosing photos to upload I came across some fun ones from this summer and thought I'd share since they are kind of humorous.   Apparently chalk is more fun when wet and used as war paint!!!   LEAVE IT TO BOYS!!!

You have to admit...they are creative!!!  I had to laugh when I saw this...didn't get mad, I was actually amazed at where their curiosity had led them!  Apparently they were coloring on the pavement, then they would wet it and rub it on themselves!  Honestly, it was much more fun to draw with the wet chalk, the colors were so much more vibrant!  Here's a pic of the fun that "Mommy" had with the wet chalk!

Try it, you may be surprised at how much fun it is!!!  Anyway, that really had nothing to do with anything except that I had fun strolling down memory lane while enduring the tediousness of uploading photos!!!  here are the rest of the photos of our wet chalk discovery!

Off to bed to read my book!!!

No school....

The kids have off school today and tomorrow for parent/teacher conferences.   Coop hasn't had school all week.   I had his p/t conference on Tuesday.   That's actually the first one I've ever been too.   It was nice because I felt like I really got a handle on where Coop is, what he's doing during his day and how he is fairing.  His biggest struggle is not being able to identify his letters.  He knows all their sounds, but can't tell you the names of all of them.  So that is something that we will be spending some extra time working on.   Usually it is the other way around, so we'll see how a little extra work goes.   The teacher told me she loves having him in her class that he is a joy and very anxious to please.  That's more important to me than the academic stuff!  I have Owen's conference tomorrow and since I missed back to school night, I'm anxious to go and find out what a typical day looks like and how he is doing.  They got their report cards last week (which I forgot to mention) and they both did really well. 

Well Miss Emma is awake, so I'll have to blog more later!  Have a great day!!!