Stellan

I know I haven't been around lately but we have been having so much fun up here, blogging has kind of taken a back seat. As I popped on today to see how the world of bloggers was, I found that Stellan had to be admitted to the hospital for a severe bout of RSV. I suppose most of my readers already know who MckMama and Stellan are by my sidebar or you knew them before I did but please keep them in your prayers. He is on the mend now and hopefully will recover quickly.

Merry Christmas

Ok....life has been beyond hectic but I thought I would post quickly to say Merry Christmas to everyone out there in bloggy land. We are up in Massachusetts visiting Dan's family like we do every year. He is the oldest of 7 and it's a full house and lots of fun. We have several rounds of present opening between Christmas eve, Christmas morning and then again in the afternoon. I think we might have to rent a uhaul just to get everything home this year. Yikes! My sibling-in-laws sometimes (or they are just being pains-j/k) forget that we have to be able to fit everything in our van and drive home.
Aside from the chaotic present opening, the day has been pretty relaxing. Hanging out playing cards and a game called "Say What?" And of course watching 24 hours of "A Christmas Story". We actually leave it on for the whole time.(it's on as I am typing this) I love that movie. I look forward to that every year, even though we own the movie and I can watch it whenever I want.
I made sure to phone both my parents and wish them Merry Christmas and let them talk with the girls. And of course apologized for their presents being late because of the mean postoffice lady. We won't actually open their presents until we get home next week.
Anyhow...hope everyone is doing well and enjoying their day. I will post more sometime later when I have more time....or at least when we get home...or sometime!

Not Me! Monday

Ok, I know this is soooo late but I have been running all day and this is the first chance I've had to sit at the computer and type. So anyhow, I guess most people already know the deal so I will just jump right in. Anyone who is unsure of the way this works, or just wants to read what everyone else didn't do, can head over to MckMama's and check it out.

This week, we went to the nursing home this week to sing christmas carols with our church's youth group. Rebecca was NOT walking around pointing her middle finger and saying "like this Mommy." It was some strange hand sign in her mind. I did not have to spend the whole time telling her to STOP that.

I did not just throw away our mini pumpkins that were on our front step on Wednesday. They were not totally moldy on the bottom. That would be so gross.

I love listening to Christmas music.....ALL THE TIME. I keep a radio/boombox on the ledge between the kitchen and the living room. I did not walk past it this week and knock it over...on to the loveseat below it...where Rebecca was sleeping. If that had happened, I wouldn't have been astounded that she didn't notice or even move. She's not that sound of a sleeper.

While listening to the radio, with Christmas music on of course, I heard a commercial for a local store selling exercise equipment. They were offering a free recumbent exercise bike with any purchase over $1000. I did not think to myself...hmmm, I would really exercise more at home if we had one of those. I did not then realize that we do have one and I never use it.

I did not just finish the presents to my mom and dad this afternoon and make a mad dash to the post office only to have the really mean post lady shut the door in my face and say "It's 5:01. We're closed". I did NOT kick the wall and make a rude comment to her about ruining Christmas because my watch said 4:59. I am not that childish and immature. I have my things ready to go on time and even early.

I think that I really had several more but thought that these were embarassing enough to not admit to this week. Have a great holiday and enjoy the season!

Diagnosis

Well I guess this time I was right to bring her to the Dr's. He decided she has bronchitis. Gosh I'm glad I decided to break down and take her. The good part was I was able to get lots of shopping done while I was over there. I was trying to think of something that we needed to do over there (western shore of Maryland) so that I could go shopping....we have nothing in our town but a Walmart & Target. Good for most things but somethings just need specific stores, like Michaels Arts & Crafts, Claires & Hot Topic (gosh I really don't like that store).
Anyhow, hopefully the icky medicine he prescribed will make it all go away, although she will still be taking it on Christmas. I'll need lots of good luck remembering to give her that on Christmas day. I can barely remember on regular days.
I suppose I should stop procrastinating and get my work done and bake the Christmas sugar cookies Jaquelyn needs for school tomorrow...can you say "no sleep again".

Sick Little Girl

Well Rebecca finally succumbed to the sickness that is all around. She was running a fever yesterday of 103 even after a dose of tylenol and one of ibuprofen two hours later. It finally hovered around 101 by bedtime and this morning it is finally under 100. She coughed all night long as her sinus' dripped down her throat continuously. She is feeling better today but I am going to break down and drive the hour to her dr's just to make sure it's nothing serious. Normally I would let her tough it out but we are leaving soon to make the trek up to Massachusetts for the holidays and I want to make sure everything is ok before we leave.
I truly hope that she is ok and she doesn't pass it along to everyone else in the family so we can all be sick for Christmas.
I hope everyone else is doing well this week. I haven't even gotten a chance to make the rounds to read everyone's blogs. This is just too busy a time of year!

Wordless Wednesday

Not Me! Monday Take 12

Over the river and through the woods to Not Me! Monday we go....Ok, that was a bit of a stretch but it's my blog and I can pretty much do what ever I want. Anyhoo, here we are again, ready to bear our souls and tell everyone what we didn't do this week.

I did not laugh at my husband who was trying to explain why he couldn't take out the garbage. He had surgery a few weeks ago and is still under lifting restrictions, so he thought it would be too heavy for him...hmmm. Our garbage can is not on wheels so there is NO lifting at all.

I did not catch the cold my youngest two had. I never get sick. I'm the mom, who has time to get sick. If that had happened, I wouldn't have used that excuse to not go to the YMCA and workout several days. I always go and make sure I am taking care of my body, even when I'm sick.

I did NOT forget about posting a Wordless Wednesday post, decide to post it on Thursday and then just change the posting date. Nope, not me.

Jaquelyn had her winter concert/play on Friday. She was a shepherd. The director did not let us know weeks ago that we needed to provide the costumes ourselves. I did NOT come up with one in my head and wait until 1/2 hour before we had to be there to try to put it together, only to find out that it stunk and had to come up with something else in a hurry. I always take care of these things in a timely manner and never wait until the last minute.

That is what I can remember NOT doing this week. Head over to MckMama's and find out what she is up to and many others.

Trials and Tribulations of A Dodge Grand Caravan

I love my van. That being said, I am a bit frustrated with it of late. I think I have mentioned in a previous post that I have troubles with my serpentine belt. We originally replaced it and several other parts back in February. Since then, it has fallen off hmmmm.....maybe 10 times.
No joke. Rain + High speeds = belt off van. I fully believe in the garage I am taking it to. They have stood behind their work far longer than another garage probably would have. I have not been charged for labor or replacement belts. Only if they add something new to it and then only the part. It actually fell off twice yesterday. They popped it back on the first time and asked me to come back today for them to take a longer look. Before that could happen, it fell off again...stupid rain.

There is a bulletin out for this from Dodge. Harrison's (my favorite garage) has done everything the bulletin says....still no luck. Today, they called the Dodge dealership again to give them a heads up and see if they have any ideas. Oh, by the way, did we mention there is another belt you can use if this is a problem? ARE YOU KIDDING ME!!! It took them this long to finally let us in on the big secret.

So, this afternoon, they got this new belt and put it on my van. We are keeping our fingers crossed for the next time it rains. And still at no charge to me. I think I have cost this garage hundreds of dollars and they still tell me they will keep at it until they get it right! Even offering me a loner vehicle to use while they are fixing mine. I actually feel bad when I have to call them and tell them yet again the gosh darn belt fell off. Talk about giving me a reason to bring all my business to them. I had my transmission replaced by them last year and will recommend them to any and all. They even gave me a t-shirt with their logo on it. I wear it proudly. (right now actually!)

But when all is said and done. I still love my van. I am not looking forward to the day when I finally have to part with it. But, when this one is beyond repair, I am quite positive I will be finding another Dodge Grand Caravan to replace it.

Better Late Than Never

Ok, I know this contest has been going on forever at MckMama's but being the super forgetful busy mom I am I haven't gotten a chance to blog about it yet. If anyone is looking for a last minute Christmas present or charity donation this year, here is your answer. MckMama is holding an awesome contest and you can win a TON of cool stuff. You can even get a pretty certificate if you want to donate as a gift for someone. All the money raised is going to 3 terrific charities so head over and check it out!

Wordless Wednesday

Not Me! Monday #11

Hello one and all....it's the most wonderful time of the year week where we get to bear our souls to one and all. Now is the time to find out all the things that didn't happen to everyone....and find out that you might be a normal mother after all.

I did NOT receive a phone call from my husband at work asking me if there was anything wrong/if I was ok. He was not worried because I hadn't posted my Not Me! Monday post yet. Of course he doesn't think I am that addicted to blogging. I always use my time wisely and only blog when everything else is finished around the house.
If that had happened and I informed him that I would be using this for my first Not Me!, he would not have muttered a swear word. Nope, we never use swear words since we are always a good example for our kids, even if they aren't around.

I am not tickled that MckMama finally fessed up the secret of crossing out words in bloggy land. I didn't totally try it out already in this blog. Not me!

I didn't completely forget to write anything down for Not Me! Monday this week because life with 4 kids is really hectic in December. I always write things down so I won't forget them.

My husband did ask me to do 2 things last week and I didn't forget to do both of them. I am a good wife and I take care of things whenever my husbands asks me to do them.

I am not trying to make Christmas presents for my mom and my dad because none of the stores in our area have what I am looking for. I am not a not-so-good sewer so there is a chance they will not come out anywhere near what I am trying for. (Of course I can't mention what they are since my parents occasionally read this but if they do turn out, I will post about them after the holidays.)

I have not not come up with ideas for teacher/leader gifts yet this year. My kids do not have over 12 adults in that group that I should be getting things for very soon. I am not starting to freak out that I will run out of time and have to get something lame.

I did not just take a guess on how to do underlining and squeal when it worked. I am much to grown up for that.

That is what I can think of for this week....I am sure I am forgetting many, many things I didn't do. Pop over to MckMama's and check out what other people haven't been doing....it's lot of fun!

Our Advent Calendar Doll

Last year, my mother was finally able to do what she had been wanting to do for several years. Give my kids an advent doll. She saw them in a catalog,(I forget which one, Garnet Hill I think) and tried to order one but each year they were sold out. She was finally able to purchase one and then got lucky enough to find a giant rag doll at the thrift shop and made one too. It is very cool and my kids look forward to it each night, especially the little ones. She did a great job making it and it actually hangs in our laundry room year round (since it is too big for my Christmas bins).
I think the only thing I would change is the size of the pockets (my mother agrees) since I have 4 kids and it's difficult to find things small enough that 4 will fit in some of the pockets. Other than that, it's perfect.
One trip to the dollar store for candy and goodies and we were ready for the season. I did decide for a few of the days that I would just put one item in the pocket and the rest would be handed out when the doll pocket was "opened". I was pretty excited about the little figures our Dollar Tree had that were from the Bible. I found Mary, Jesus, Noah, David & Goliath. Perfect for the Christmas season. There are a few days that Rebecca was given something different since the items were not age appropriate for her. It is hard to find something that will appeal to kids from 3 to 16.

Wordless Wednesday

2004

2005

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2007

2008

It Wasn't Me! Nobody Saw Me! You Can't Prove Anything!

Here it is...that time again....Not Me! Monday. If you are interested in what everyone one else is not up to this week, head over to MckMama's blog and be prepared to spend a few hours reading.

I am not the mother who actually considers leaving her 3 year old daughter home alone each afternoon when she is sound asleep and I have to go pick up Jaquelyn. I don't try to justify it by thinking about the fact that Taylor and Teresa will be home 10 minutes after I leave. (I don't actually do it but I think about it every time). I am also not the mother who leaves Rebecca asleep in the van while I walk up to the door at the school and holler for Jaquelyn to get her tush in the car.

My husband and I are not the awful parents you heard about who convinced their 9 year old to drink sugar and vinegar to get rid of her hiccups. We would never do something like that. (it worked..they went away..probably because of all the gagging that followed.)

I do not keep a handheld electronic Yahtzee game in my van to play when I am stopped at a stoplight. That would be dangerous and unsafe.

I did not get my children's pictures taken on the wrong day so I was unable to take advantage of the BOGO coupon I had for portrait sheets. I did not then spend twice as much as I should have for their pictures.

When my husband was using one of Jaquelyn's hangers to try to get something out of the bathtub drain, some of the plastic covering came off the hook part, which was the only part he had unbent. When he said he needed something longer, I told him that he could unbend the whole thing because I wouldn't use that hanger in case the kids got hurt from it. The truth is NOT that I actually wouldn't use it because it wouldn't match the other hangers anymore.

Pictures

Ok, better late than never. Today has been a bit hectic and I haven't gotten a chance to sit down and blog. Since I am awfully tired I am just going to pop a few pictures on here and head to bed.
This is my favorite one and will probably be our Christmas card this year.

Christmas Pictures On Black Friday

I took the girls to Sears yesterday to get their pictures taken for Christmas. I know, I know, what was I thinking....going to the mall on Black Friday. To tell you the truth, it really didn't cross my mind until much later and I just wanted to get them over with so I didn't want to reschedule.
We were actually supposed to get them taken on Wednesday. We had the whole day planned out. Jump in the van, Dan would meet us at the portrait studio, get the pictures done, Dan would take the younger two home and we would meet my friend Pam and her daughter Micayla and just hang out for awhile. Ah, the best laid plans.... My van didn't like this idea so it decided it wasn't going to start. Several hours later, I had a new battery and a working van but no pictures...bummer. So I called and rescheduled, not thinking about what day it was but just to go them as quickly as possible so they would be back in time to send out with our Christmas cards.
Of course I forgot until the next day that it would be a CRAZY idea to go to the mall on Black Friday. I decided to just go along with it and hope for the best. Sometimes I am such a blonde it scares me. The whole reason I had planned the pictures for Wednesday was the buy one sheet get one free coupon that only worked Monday - Thursday. Guess when I remembered that one....at the portrait studio...AFTER our pictures were finished. Talk about bummed. I am all about portrait coupons. I did have another one but I REALLY wanted to use the other one.
Anyhow, I will post some of the pictures tomorrow when I am not so sleepy. They came out pretty good (not biased at all) and I actually have the copyright release so I can do anything I want with them. I am pretty excited about that since it's the first time I've gotten that.

Happy Thanksgiving!

I hope everyone has a terrific day! I am already stuffed and ready for a nap!

Updated: Rebecca just shared this song with me as I was getting her ready for bed. I just had to share it with everyone else and wish that I could have put it on my blog earlier. I was cracking up the first time she sang it for me.

Wordful Wednesday

Imagine your kids looking out the window and seeing this right next door. At the neighbors house...the ones with NO kids. They were having a birthday party...her 30th birthday party. They were nice enough to come over and invite our kids to jump around on it since they had it until 5pm. Rebecca and Jaquelyn had a blast even though it was pretty chilly out.




Our house is to the right but you can't see it.
This is our house behind Jaquelyn.

Not Me! Monday # 9

Here we go again. Time to unload our guilty conscience with all the things we didn't do this week. If you want to know what other folks haven't been doing, head over to MckMama's and start clicking away.

I DID NOT have this post finished and the stupid computer wouldn't let me save it or do anything so I lost the whole darn thing. I am not irritated now with the prospect of trying to remember what I said before.

I didn't skip last weeks Not Me! Monday because of Dan's surgery. When I did think about it my mind wasn't completely blank because I hadn't written anything down.

I did not forget to go grocery shopping on Thursday, the last day of the sale. If I had, I certainly wouldn't have remembered at 11pm, checked how late they were open until and run out to pick up the things on my list. (I DID save almost 2x what I spent...well worth it.)

If this had happened, I wouldn't have had to stay up until 4am finishing the work I didn't do because I was shopping.

I did take Teresa to the Cardiologist today to get checked out. (she's fine!) I did NOT try to hurry the doctor just a bit because we had to be back home by noon to pick up Rebecca.

I did not justify taking Rebecca and Teresa out for fast food (which we rarely have but love Wendy's) because the Cardiologist said Teresa needed to increase her salt intake. (never thought I would hear that coming from a doctor...eat more salt)

Taylor did make some scrumptious treats this weekend called "Reese's balls". They are sooooo good and taste better than the peanut butter cups. I have NOT been eating them like crazy because they are so addictive. That would be counterproductive to losing weight. They do not have like a million calories in each one....ok, maybe only 1/2 million.

A New Contest At MckMama's

Just a quick post to mention the latest goings on at MckMama's cool hangout. She is hosting a Small Fryday contest that sounds pretty cool. She also has some ideas for raising money for string of pearls. Anyone interested can just hop over and check it all out.

It's Report Card Time!

This week was the "honors chapel" at Jaquelyn's school. She made it on the "superior" honor roll this quarter for making straight A's. We are very proud of her. She has been struggling a bit in math and science so this is a big deal for her.

Taylor did well on her report card also. She received 4 A's and a B. She is working very hard to bring up that one B and she is getting pretty close.

Teresa....got grades that are all passing. And that's all I've got to say about that.

Wordless Wednesday

I Love My Van

I really like my van. My reliable, mostly, Dodge Grand Caravan. Tried and true I have stuck by it for almost 9 years and it has stuck by me. We have had our problems...a new engine at 107,000 miles....new transmission at 175,000 miles....multiple serpentine belts over the past 6 months trying to find one that won't fall off in the rain. But every relationship has it's problems and even with these problems, I love this van. We hit a big milestone today which I just had to share. I even pulled over on the side of the road and took a picture to remember this day by. I have been watching our odometer faithfully for the last few days and today it finally hit the big 200,000 miles. I don't know how much longer we will be keeping the van but I know I will always have fond memories of my van.

(of course stow & go seating will go a long way to ease my pain)

Surgery

My husband had surgery yesterday for a hernia. He is doing fine and recovering slowly. I am running on practically no sleep since he needs help for almost everything. Luckily we have older kids who are good helpers....most of the time. Of course we had to also have a thunderstorm last night which woke up Rebecca and she was fussing on and off for over 30 minutes. We have multiple things going on today which require me to drive the kids all over the place....and of course they are all supposed to be picked up/dropped off at the same time. Noon is going to be a difficult time here since I supposed to be in 4 places at once....everyone will end up being a bit early or a bit late I'm sure. Anyhow, just wanted to drop a quick update to explain the lack of posting for the next few days. TTFN.

Triple Digits

Updated: I just realized, after a good nights sleep, that what I MEANT to have for the title was Quadruple Digits! I guess that goes to show you what lack of sleep can do to a brain.

I glanced at my site meter today and noticed....I am only 2 visitors away from hitting 1000 visitors. Totally cool. I know that it is a bit off, since every so often it has a total brain fart and starts logging my visits but I don't care. The one at the bottom of my blog is WAY off because everytime I close this window, it resets the "blocking cookie". It is much farther off.
Anyhow, I just thought it was cool that it was getting close....nothing like MckMama's which is collecting visitors quicker than McDonalds and their "over a billion served".

My Husband Was On TV!

My husband is a part owner in a coffee shop. They recently opened their 4th shop here in our town. He was on TV on Veteran's Day promoting their company. I think it was pretty cool. Here is the link if anyone is interested.

http://www.abc2news.com/content/gmm/story.aspx?content_id=6dd5a030-c8f5-4269-99d4-c55dbf02a376

Wordless Wednesday

Not Me! Monday

I did not get a phone call at 5:45 am from one of the employees at my husband's coffee shop on Thursday because she didn't have a key and needed to get in. If that did happen, I certain wouldn't have gone and dropped it off in my pajama's because I didn't feel like getting dressed. That wasn't me. I would never go out of the house in my pajama's, especially if I knew I was going to see someone I had never even met. I am also not the person who picked her daughter up from the bowling alley at 11pm on Saturday in her pajama's.

I am not the person who just blogged about gas prices hitting $1.99. I am much more interesting than that. I have lots of things going on in my life to blog about. Who gets excited about the price of gas anyhow? Not me!

I am definitely not the woman who went to the dentist and had two cavities filled and had tears streaming down her face. That was absolutely not me! I am not a big coward when it comes to the dentist. I love getting shots and the noise of that drill. What fun!

I did not forget about BOTH Teresa's and Jaquelyn's girl scout meetings this week. On two seperate days! I always have everything written down and make sure we are early and not 20 minutes late.

I am not the woman whose teenaged daughter had a date this weekend. That would mean she is growing up. My children are all too young to date and will be for the next 20-40 years.

If you enjoyed these little bits of fun, be sure to head over to MckMama's and read everyone else's.

$1.99!!!!!!

Ok, I know this is soooooo lame but i couldn't help it. I bought gas yesterday for $1.99!!!!! Life is good, life is awesome. I am very easily impressed. My whole outlook can be changed by cheap gas prices. This particular gas station is not actually close to our house but I happen to be driving past it yesterday and conveniently needed gas. (desperately needed) In our town we are hovering around 2.03 and I am still hoping ours will drop but who knows.

A Trip To The Park

Here are a few pictures from my dad's visit last week. We picked up Jaquelyn from school a little early and headed over to the park. Rebecca and Jaquelyn had a blast.

Wordless Wednesday

Not Me! Monday Once Again.

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Ok, here we go again. My week was very busy so my not me's are a bit sparse. (since if I don't write them down, I forget them)

I did not neglect my blog this past week because my dad was here for his annual Halloween visit. I am great at multitasking and was able to post often while still spending lots of time with my dad.

My kids came running into the living room last week. "The bookcase is falling over!!" We have a wire rack stacked on top of a shelf with some of their books and toys on it. It was falling apart and I ran over to try to save it. 3 people(Taylor, Teresa & Mike my nephew) watched as I tried to carefully take the items off it. I did not lose my temper because I was trying so hard to do it all while everyone watched me. I DID NOT shove the entire thing onto the floor and watch it fall to pieces. I controlled myself and calmly asked for some help.


While we were at the Y on Sunday, swimming with my dad, we were playing Keep Away/Monkey in the Middle. I was in the middle and holding Rebecca because she wanted to help. I did not lift her up to catch the ball for me and let the ball hit her in the face(very soft ball, she wasn't hurt). But if that did happen, I totally wouldn't have burst out laughing. I would have felt horrible and immediately comforted her.

Here is my contribution to our favorite day. You can head over to MckMama's blog to read more about everyone's week. She is not participating this week since she just gave birth to beautiful Stellan as you can see by my side bar. (I am not totally tickled that I finally know how to link a website to a word)

Halloween

I know this is several days behind the times but this is the first chance I have gotten to sit down to the computer for awhile.
We had lots of fun on Halloween. Teresa is in the color guard at school and there was a football game on Friday so she wasn't even home all day. Taylor and my nephew Michael gave out candy and managed not to eat it all before giving it out to various children. Dan had to work at his local coffee shop that is opening (hopefully) this week. My dad and I took Rebecca and Jaquelyn trick or treating in a neighborhood close by.(since only 1 in 6 houses usually have lights on in our neighborhood)
As we are getting the younger girls ready to go, Rebecca decides she has no interest in being a ragdoll. Nothing like last minutes changes to keep things interesting. But really, this is actually ok with me since we have more costumes/dress up clothes in this house than Walmart. In the span of 10 minutes, she changed her mind at least 4 times, none of these choices were ones that I would have liked her to wear. Oh well, she finally makes up her mind that she wants to be a ballerina. I tried oh so hard to push the costume my mother gave her but she had her mind made up(finally!) So by this time, we are 45 minutes after the time we were going to leave and no costumes on yet. We finally got everyone ready and out the door. Trick or treating was a bit on the thin side this year it seemed to me. We went to the same neighborhood last year and it was jam packed. But the girls both got plenty of candy and had a blast so all is well. Here are my pictures to document the evening.

Pumpkin Carving

I know this is a little late, but we have been sooooo busy these past few days. My dad is here visiting for the weekend and we have been keeping busy doing activites with him. He comes to visit every year for Halloween and the girls and I really look forward to it.
We usually leave our pumpkin carving to do when he is here so we carved our pumkins on Thursday night. I think they came out very....interesting. Rebecca's is by far the cutest (in my opinion) but Jaquelyn and Teresa did theirs completely on their own, so they get credit for that. Taylor was busy making some treats for Teresa's last football game so she never got around to carving one.








Pumpkin Carving Fun.






Rebecca gets in on the action.

Teresa's Pumpkin



Jaquelyn's Creation




Rebecca's Princess Pumpkin