Can I confess?

...That even though I strongly dislike snow, I DO love seeing cute kiddos get all bundled up and be SO happy...

...that today when the kids asked for macaroni and cheese for dinner I got excited--not because I didn't have to cook, but because I myself love it.

...that we didn't hang a single ornament on our tree this year. Had intentions to, but it never happened.

...that I bought size 1 diapers today. Diapers that I won't need for at least another 8 months...(but that were on clearance!)

...that I also bought a stocking for the little person who will be wearing those size 1 diapers in several more months.

Can I also confess...

...that I would love getting dressed if yoga pants looked like jeans or jeans felt like yoga pants.

...that I am waiting for my creative zing to come back...and it hasn't yet. I am not sure where I left it, but I miss it...and I hope it comes back soon.

...that I have things to be doing, that I am procrastinating...all while writing this list of confessions.

Happy Monday.

Merry Christmas 2009

We had such a nice Christmas this year...lots of time as a family...lots of good food...and more blessings than we feel we really deserve. We are truly grateful...

Christmas Eve was pretty low key...had all the dinner prep done early, and we carried on our tradition to buy Texas Roadhouse rolls for dinner. I don't think Brandon thought I was serious, but I absolutely was! It is SO nice to not have to make a big ol' mess on Christmas Eve making homemade rolls...so we reap the benefits of homemade without the stress. :) I fully intend on doing this again next year...especially since Brandon will be gone on externships and I will have a new baby...

We had a wonderful dinner...the works, like usual. Ham, funeral potatoes, jello salad, green bean casserole, rolls with cinnamon butter...it was all delicious!

After dinner we acted out the Nativity scene with Jenny, Travis and Grace. It was quite the spectacle...but I am sure with a few years of practice we will get it down! :) We then did our Gifts to Christ, a tradition my family has done for years! We discussed with the kids what we could do to show Jesus we love Him and are grateful for his sacrifice...we feel that being obedient to the commandments and living a Christlike life are ways to do that. So each of the kids picked something they would do...listen during church, or sit still during family prayer...or share with others...little things. And Brandon and I picked something...and next year, we will take our little papers with our gifts written on them and take time to think about how we did...

It is something I love doing. I feel like it helps focus on the real reason for the season, the birth and life of our Savior.

We then let the kids open a gift--some new pj's--and we got everyone in the car to go look at lights.

As Brandon and I discussed several things this year as the Christmas events unfolded, I realized that we both still have certain ideas from our own childhood as to how tradition should be. I think it just was more apparent this year because the kids are getting old enough to all participate...

There is something so difficult about giving up tradition and what you know so close to your heart...and then combining it. While there are many good things about putting the best of both worlds together, I find that sometimes I have a certain resistance to certain things. It isn't that I don't want to have a little give...just certain things feel so foreign. :)

Slowly, but surely, our own traditions will fall into place and we will figure it all out...

That's part of life...and marriage...and family.

After the kids were nestled in bed, we played games with Jenny and Trav and ate treats (delicious cheesecake factory cheesecake for example!) until I was falling asleep on the couch. :)

We then got everything set up for the next morning...stockings set out, Santa present on the couch, and boxes of cereal ready to go (yet another tradition we have. I actually was ready to ditch this one since we eat cereal so much now and the tradition began when it was a novelty, but Brandon wanted to continue it...so it's here to stay!)

Jenna got a Princess cash register, Kaden got a rockin' set of Buzz Lightyear wings, and Spencer got a Little People bus.

When the kids came out, obviously they were excited. Kaden went straight for MY present...a new PILLOW (clearly we over thought on his gift!! LOL) and Jenna exclaimed, "MOM, It's not what I wanted, but it's what I LOVE!!!" (she wanted the mommy gotta go doll that poops. Never in my lifetime will she have it...no matter how high on the nice list she is!)

We all got several fun goodies...the kids each had a few presents and then they helped with family gifts. Brandon got some good stuff...the big one being a new GPS with a leather case for his car.

I was SOOO excited about this because I paid for the whole thing using Amazon gift cards I got using Swagbucks. I know I have talked about this a billion times...but seriously, if you don't use Swagbucks to search the internet yet, you should! And if you have signed up and don't use your account, get cracking! Free money...how can you turn down free money?!!? :) And don't be discouraged if it's a little slow at first...the more you search and add friends, the faster it accumulates! :) Click here to get started...

Okay...moving on! :)

I myself got some exciting goodies too...one being the game Ticket to Ride. LOVE that game and it was a TOTAL surprise! I got some collapsable measuring cups, a Wii fitness game, a Scentsy plug in (that I bought myself. LOL) and a really funny poem from Brandon about how terrible he would be picking out clothes, included with some cold hard shopping cash to pick out a new outfit. It made me laugh till I cried...it. was. perfect.

Such a good morning.

And so it went...the day passing by filled with nothing but relaxation, family, and food...we all snuggled and watched the movie UP (also a family gift) and then had pepperoni lasagna for dinner (courtesy of Jenny and Travis, and also a Holloway childhood family tradition).

We feel so blessed to be at this time in our lives...in this very season...with the ones we love so dearly.

Merry Christmas...

We have a winner!

I am too tired to do a whole post up with pictures from the random.org page, etc. but just know I did the drawing from the 32 entries for the Disney on Ice tickets and lucky number 5 is the winner!

MARLA, contact me for more info on where to get your tickets! :)

CONGRATS!

And to everyone else, THANK YOU for sharing your wonderful Christmas traditions. I loved reading them all and was so inspired!

Christmasing...

We have been so busy this week. Busy in a good way, really...busy spending time together as a family. Busy enjoying all the things that make this season so fun. Trying to squeeze it all in before the clock strikes Jan 4th and life goes back to normal. :)

So on Tuesday we headed to Kirtland to see the sights there. They have a fun nature preserve that we went to last year for a full size Candyland game--and this year they switched things up, so we had to go check that out again. This time they had a similar set up, but to a game / book about Snowdrop the white dear.

....not nearly as FUN as Candyland...

But still a good time.

After a quick game, 10 minutes on the slide, 2 cups of hot cocoa, 3 trips to the bathroom, and 7 squirts of hand sanitizer we were on our way to see the Nativities at the Kirtland visitor's center. We did this last year too and loved it! And we will definitely go next year...

They have a beautiful display of nativities from all over the world. HUNDREDS of them. It was so fascinating to see how cultures, countries, and people interpreted the birth of our Savior.

Brandon and I have a system when we go see the Nativities. They have a cute little room for the kids to dress up and play with all things Nativity made for kids. So one of us stays in that room while the other scoots to the other large display room, and then we swap. The kids have a blast and we all get to see (and play with) the things we want. :)

Travis and Jenny met up with us, so Grace spent some time in the dress up room too....she made a mighty fine wisewoman. :)

Two wisemen and Mary also took the stage...

All I wanted was one cute picture of the kids all together by the Nativity. Simple, right?

(laughing....)

Clearly not what happened.

In their defense, they had only had a 30 minute nap in the car...instead of the normal 2 1/2 hour one they get in their beds at home...so I can understand the lack of attention span.

But still. :)

We hit up Steak and Shake for a quick bite on our way home.

I took a couple pictures.

Someone was crying or fighting in each one.

They will not be posted. Ever.

Good times...

:)

Why we're a few pounds heavier each year...

Could be that we start off doing our annual Christmas wreath making...unfortunately, this wreath has nothing to do with tree branches and holly...it's 100% edible...

And then it could be that because we were trying to make the most of our family day together, we decided that after making our delicious wreaths (which, might I add, this was actually day 2 of making them...the first batch we ate all by ourselves...sigh)...where was I? Oh ya, after making wreaths we decided to call it a family fun night and make homemade pizza--which we did--sausage, pepperoni, black olives, red peppers, with gooey Parmesan and mozzarella cheese..

drooling. Still.

But having a little bit of dough left over, I decided to make an apple dessert pizza too...

IT. WAS. YUMMMMMY.

I am afraid, VERY afraid, to have to go back to the Dr. in a couple weeks and step on that vicious scale. Cause all this good food can't lie...

Taking a trip to the North Pole. :)

First off...Christmas miracle here...I am actually posting pictures. :) It was so fun to be out as a family, with camera in hand, and spend some time together...and pictures were definitely in order!

Several weeks ago I reserved a time slot for us to go to Mr. Kringle's Inventionasium. We have never been but I was so curious to check it out. (www.mrkringle.com)

Upon arriving, the helpers measured the kids imagination, assisted them with their lab coats and got the kids ready for an interactive tour to see the inner workings of the Inventionasium, help the personal team of inventors in the development of future toy creations, and meet the Master Toy Maker himself...

What I LOVED is that we went through as a group...just our family...so everything we did wasn't crowded and impersonal. Just us. The whole time.

Poppy was our tour guide, and she was so much fun. Everything was so whimsical and cute. After being sprinkled with inventor's dust, we started the tour.

We started at the brainstorming station...where the kids talked through ideas they had for things that could fly, and then sculpted their ideas with special molding foam.

(p.s. Kaden was being super shy, so he is wearing the "latest trend"...an imaginary lab coat. The workers made a big deal about how it was all the rage this year! Too funny)

LOOOOOVE these tables.

The kids then went to the sound station...where they experimented with a variety of instruments noisemakers and then sang a song with them

Raspberry and Boysenberry were our sound leaders.

And then there was the color mixing station...a station filled with lighted tables and all sorts of colored pieces / shapes, sizes / patterns. So the kids LOVED switching things up and seeing how they would end up.

Jenna wore her FABULOUS sunglasses that she made at her friend's birthday party last night. Everyone commented on them all day, and tonight she said, "Mom, everyone in this town LOVES my glasses!" Yes, Jenna. :) They do.

We then moved to the toy building space, where the kids got to use these little contraptions to make their own ideas into a toy...

Right before we went to see Mr. Kringle we were given these cool little spy glass looking things that were like kaleidoscopes. So I decided to see if it would work to take a picture through it.

It did. :)

We got to finish off the tour with Mr. Kringle himself...and BOY was he a great Santa...not your traditional red suit...but a toymaker's outfit. Green and red, stripes, suspenders. Totally cute.

I was SO bummed because I was under the impression we could take our own pictures. But no.

Sigh.

So the kids had a good visit with the man from the North Pole, just us in his own special chambers...a personal little conversation...and I wished so bad I could have captured the preciousness of it. (hmmm...preciousness...probably not a real word, but we shall pretend)

How I love Christmas time.

And I love my family.

And the two together make a perfect day.

Can I open my eyes yet?

You know that feeling when your husband is driving the car and is following ENTIRELY too close to the car in front of you and you close your eyes while covering your face and trying to stomp on the break at the same time, even though you aren't in the drivers seat?

Ya, I think I have had that same feeling the past few days.

So when I felt a bit of the calm this afternoon, I peered out of one eye, still shielding my face, wondering if it was okay to look.

It is.

We made it through the week...the month...heck, the past FEW months.

Let's get this 2 week Christmas party STARTED!

Brighter days...

are not like today...

A day where a neighbor yelled terrible profanities at me...

A day where out of nowhere the street light in front of our house came crashing down in our yard, barely missing our house...

A day where nothing really sounded good...

And where the kids seemed a little crankier...

Where homework took 5 times longer than it should have...

And patience ran short.

And where I took a break from my 5 day cooking streak to treat ourselves to dinner out...

There are brighter days ahead...

The begin tomorrow...afternoonish...when Brandon finishes his tests and Jenna's done with school for a few weeks...and we have all sorts of time to just hang out together and finally get to celebrating the holidays family style.

Happy tomorrow.

Disney on Ice GIVEAWAY!

It's Giveaway time again!!

This is for all who are in the Cleveland area or are interested in coming to visit us. :) We personally saw Disney on Ice last year and the kids haven't stopped talking about it since. It was a SPECTACULAR show! We can't wait to see this one and wanted to give a lucky reader the chance to see the show as well!

HOW TO ENTER?

--With Christmas right around the corner, I would love to hear your holiday traditions (am looking for some great ideas to add to our own!). You may enter up to 3 times sharing different traditions.

--Enter again by putting this on your blog (be sure to leave a separate comment stating you did so)

--Enter yet AGAIN by linking this blog post on your facebook account. (again, please leave a separate comment so I know you did it)

That's FIVE chances to win!!!

So, get sharing those traditions so you can WIN a family 4 pack of tickets to see this super show!

We'll announce a winner at 10:00 a.m. on December 26, so you have until then to get your entries in!

And don't worry, if you don't win or just can't wait to get your tickets, I have a deal for you!

A 4 pack of tickets for only $44 to any weekday show or $4 of any ticket purchased for a weekend showing. Just use the coupon code: MOM at www.Qarena.com

Disney On Ice's Lets Celebrate will be in Cleveland:

Friday January 8 @7PM

Saturday January 9 @11AM, 3PM, 7PM

Sunday January 10 @1PM, 5PM

Tuesday January 12 @7PM

Wednesday January 13 @7PM

Thursday January 14 @7PM

Friday January 15 @7PM

Saturday January 16 @11 AM, 3PM, 7PM

Sunday January 17 @1PM, 5PM

Monday January 18 @1PM, 5PM

Our Secret Santa

The past few days we have received mysterious gifts each night from someone who has taken on the role of a Secret Santa.

The first night, we thought it was just a single gift someone was giving us.

The second night we thought, oh wow!

And the third night I cried...

I cried happy tears that someone out there is thinking of us...they are aware of us. They know our names and we are on their mind at least once a day.

And somehow knowing that just has meant so much to me.

Their gifts have brought us some really happy times as a family...playing with the spiky rubber ball they gave, or watching the Christmas movie with popcorn...or explaining to the kids how special it was that we were being thought of when they left us a poinsettia last night.

My heart feels so full. So grateful. And words would fail to express adequately just how much this experience has touched me.

Whoever you are...if you are even reading this...thank you. Thank you for your selfless act of service that has made our Christmas season so memorable. I will never forget this...

Our crazy point game

Several days ago, one of the kids did something good, and suddenly I awarded a POINT to them for their good deed.

The point game caught fire and the kids have been practically begging for ways to earn more points.

First one to get dressed in the morning gets 2 points...

First one in the car gets 1 point.

Each person who puts away a toy gets 5 points, etc.

We have given points for all sorts of random things.

And we have taken points away for not being respectful, for fighting, for disobeying....

and the kids are TOTALLY devastated every time.

What cracks me up is that nobody ever adds the points up. We don't even have an AWARD for most points. It's solely a point by point game where I get people to cooperate and be happy...

It's made a world of a difference...and I have to say, it's pretty fun.

How long do you think I can get away with this? :)

Resisting...

This whole bout of nausea (now known as pregnancy) has really taken a tole on my mental health. :)Okay, not really...but I remember writing a post a while back about how I WANTED to eat healthy, but my body just wouldn't let me. That's honestly how it feels.

I wish it really were a mind of matter issue...but it's just not. At least not in my world. With all my pregnancies I have CRAVED eating out my first trimester--restaurant food sounds SO good. Cooking, not so much. This was all fine and dandy when there were no other kids around...or the kids were too little to care. But now, if I eat out, I have 3 other little people (and 1 big one) who wonder where their food is. :)

I definitely can't afford that. Heck, I can't even afford to feed my own cravings. :)

And so I struggle every day to try to make myself find something to eat. Something that will fill me up, something that won't make me puke, something that will calm the troubled tummy.

So when I forced myself to go grocery shopping today to stock up on the "somethings" I need to fill my house with so I try not to crave anything and everything NOT in my house, it was a struggle.

Ick. The smells of the store...and the sight of icecream (ewww...) and the pastries....oh the pastries. I had to beeline past them so fast or I was going to lose my lunch. There was not a lot that looked very good...

And it was discouraging.

But I stocked up on stuff we needed anyway, and threw in a few things that looked edible, and went on my way home...

...until I drove past Taco Bell....

....where my hands unwillingly cranked the steering wheel into the drive-thru....

...where I ordered my yummy bean burrito with no onions and a crunchy taco. (oh how I crave their crunchy tacos!)

It's just so hard to resist when your body has it's own mind... :)

My diagnosis...

For months I have struggled with symptoms galore,

From nausea and cravings to headaches and more.

Medications were given and specialists seen,

to figure out what was treating my body so mean.

They convinced me that through an Ultrasound,

early on they could tell if a baby was found...

There was nothing there, and from what they could see,

there was absolutely no sign of pregnancy.

I got several results from the tests that they took,

A diagnosis that seemed to be right from the book.

But it didn't make sense deep down in my heart,

so I did what I should have done from the start.

I finally took the test the Doc failed to do...

The one that shows up one line or two...

And It turns out all the Doctors were wrong,

Apparently, I've been pregnant all along!

9 weeks down, with 31 more...

We can't wait to meet baby #4!

Jenna's first big debut...

Jenna had her first big school concert last night. The whole school did performances as a tribute to Michael Jackson. The kindergarten did Beat it and Thriller as their 2 numbers...and it was just too cute!

If you watch the videos, Jenna is the one in the jeans...hard to see...why they put the smallest girl in kindergarten in the back is beyond me, but we did our best to catch a glimpse of her every now and then! :)

I've heard gingerbread is good for the blahs...

First off, thank you all for your sweet comments on my blah post...I especially have to give a huge shoutout to my new reader/friend Allyson/HBMomof2. She was one of the first to post and left such an inspiring comment that I read it right before bed...so it was fresh on my mind all night. I felt like I had the umph to get myself out of bed the next day and take part in the Christmas spirit that I love about this time of year...

Every year as part of our Christmas festivities we do gingerbread houses, and I have had our gingerbread kits ready to go for a while now. (sorry for all you homemade diehards out there...I just don't have that kind of time or energy. :) So this weekend was the perfect time to tackle this tradition.

A Lotta candy...

plus 3 kids and a gingerbread house...

Equals one beautiful masterpiece!

Oh boy, did the kids have TONS of fun. I loved watching them as they delicately placed pieces in certain spots, and licked their fingers and stole candy.

In the previous years we have always all shared a house, but I get really into the decorating and feel like I can't do my own thing on THEIR house. :) So this year we decided to do an adult house AND a kid house.

We waited till they were nestled snug in their beds and then we got busy decorating our own.

I would compare it to being a kid in a candy shop...haha....

IT WAS SO FUN! It was nice to just create...to imagine...to bring that little brown house to life.

It felt good.

So thank you for the uplift this weekend...

I needed it.

And Allyson, PLEASE shoot me an email or leave a comment with how I can contact you.

I would love to!!! hollowayfam (at) yahoo(dot) com

The Sound of Silence.

I seriously have not felt like there has been much to say lately.

It's true.

I wish it went along the lines of no news is good news...but it feels more like no news is boring.

I feel boring.

I feel like any creative spark in me has been extinguished. And gosh I hate that feeling.

I take a nap pretty much every day while the boys sleep. How lame is that?

I hardly even touch my camera some days. Okay, many days. Just haven't felt it lately.

Just going through the valley of blahs...

I haven't even posted pictures lately. Just boring old posts...that lack substance and life.

So to spice up this Friday night spot, I am putting one of our family picures that we had taken recently. My friend Randee and I swapped family pictures with each other, and I was so excited to have ours done. Randee = talented photographer. My kids = distracted mess during pictures.

So, not a lot where everyone has a decent face or is looking in the same direction, but in all reality I was just hoping for ONE.

And Randee delivered that. :) (thanks Randee!!)

So, there's our own family sneak peak...

and the end of another boooooring post.

Happy Friday!

Missing

Our computer is getting a new hard drive installed and all cleaned up, so I haven't had it for 24 hours now...

I think I did pretty a-okay without it...even though I had moments where I sat down to check my email and realized there was nothing there. :) But having Brandon come home and provide me a sneak peak at email and facebook made me realize how much I APPRECIATE having that access through the day. I use it SO OFTEN...

Can't wait to get my baby back and up and running!

'Cause creativity counts...

At the beginning of the school year, Jenna got a paper that designated when they would have their ALL ABOUT ME presentations. Well, for whatever reason I tucked away in my brain the date of DECEMBER 4TH.

I got a note yesterday saying Jenna's week had already started.

Unfortunately, that particular note wasn't read until this morning as we raced out the door. She was SO upset about it.

I felt like the world's lamest mom.

Who forgets that kind of thing??

December 4th was not the beginning of her spotlight...it was the LAST day.

So, 2 days into it, we were scrambling to finish her homework assignment.

I was looking over the grading system and saw she gets graded for creativity. So, the brains started working hard and we came up with our plan to take pictures of Jenna for all the categories...like, her holding a pizza box for her favorite food, and her in roller skates for her favorite sport...

In all honesty, I think it turned out really cute. And it was really fun to do together.

We sat together and cut and pasted onto 3x5 cards, as specified in the assignment...and then she proceeded to practice her speech.

As I listened to her, my heart just swelled with pride.

She looked so grown up, sounded so mature...and she was so excited about her project.

It is definitely moments like this that cancel out the things like Kaden pooping in the backyard today and make being a mom feel so worth it.

:)

Happy Tuesday. :)

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas.

Between feeling icky and having my sister's family here this week, and Thanksgiving, errands, etc. I just have not made it to the computer much. I have had so much on my mind that I wanted to write down...so once again, this will be random, but I just want to make sure it's here.

Esther and Nathan (my sister and her husband) came on Wednesday night. The kids were SO excited to see their little girl Hannah! We had a pretty relaxing Thanksgiving...aside from having it potluck style, I also did most of the prep ahead of time, so it cut down on the big day's duties.

After the big dinner, we came home and got the kids in bed, and put in the movie White Christmas...okay, the movie was put in, but I fell asleep. :) I did wake up later and was up much of the night, so I did my one bit of Christmas shopping--looking for a wireless printer. I found one for cheaper than the Black Friday advertised price and was SO EXCITED not to have to brave the cold the next morning.

I know that some people love Black Friday. I wish I could. I do. I know there is a lot of excitement that goes with it, and there are some amazing deals. But at the same time, I have had so many bad experiences where I have seen the absolute worst be brought out in people just because of a great deal. So online shopping works for me in this case! :)

Esther, Jenny, Crystal, and I went out to a LATE breakfast at Bob Evans once the black Friday rush was over...oh it was so good. I have decided that no matter how poor you are, once in a while you just need to treat yourself to a good breakfast out! We made a put stop at Walmart on the way home and grabbed a couple things, and called it a day. I went home and slept again. :) (Did I tell you I have been exhausted lately!?)

Esther and Nathan provided us with an opportunity for a great night out--so we took them up on their offer to stay and put the kids in bed while we went to dinner and a movie. Brandon and I haven't been to a movie together in YEARS. Literally. Like, our recollection of the last movie seen in a theater together was The Lakehouse....circa 2006...Ya, loooong time.

I have been DYING to see The Blind Side. EXCELLENT movie! It was a great show and truly a treat!! I CANNOT give enough thanks to my sister and her husband for watching the kids for us--it's really rare that we get to go out and come home to the kids in bed (even though we still had a straggler when we came home)...

Saturday...Saturday...ran errands with my sister, took some family pictures for her, had a low key day. There was so much we wanted to get done, and hardly got to scratch the surface on getting to it! We spent most of our last hours together this morning making a dress for Hannah and talking. Never enough time when you have a visitor and I am so glad they came!

At any rate, it was such a whirlwind of a week. It's hard to believe we have a new week ahead of us and that we are heading right into December.

Our Christmas stuff is up, the lights on the tree, and I just love to sit back and bask in the glow. I have been thinking a lot about Christmas presents lately...and how our family does Christmas. All these years I have just bought presents throughout the year. That's how we do things...that's how we can afford it The kids never noticed...they were young enough and were happy with whatever. But lately, as the kids have seen the toy ads and such, I hear them mention things they want or what they are going to ask for and it has hit me that I can't give them those things. I just can't. Their gifts are already bought and ready to wrap. Most of them bought on clearance...our budget is tight. No wiggle room this year...

And I know Christmas shouldn't be focused on presents.

I don't want it to be. But let's face it...it's part of the deal.

And my heart breaks knowing that there is no such thing as a granted wishlist this year. While I am sure that Christmas day will be wonderful and the kids will be thrilled with their gifts, I just got thinking about the future...will they be disappointed if they never get what's "on their list"??

I would love to know how you deal with this...are you a pre-purchaser at sales throughout the year? Do you buy throughout the year but budget some money for one requested item? Or do you just wait and see what your kids want?

Always a dilema... :) I would love some feedback on this...if you have made it this far in my loooong post.

But at least I got it written down, recorded, done. :)

Ready to start this new week now. Happy Sunday!

Giving Thanks and Thanksgiving.

It has been a good day.

Family, food, friends.

Did I mention FOOD. Oh such good food. :)

I will post pictures later, but I just needed to say that I truly feel blessed. I am grateful for my family, my freedoms, my religion, my life. There is so much good...

I love this time of year. While I wish we could feel this magic all through the year, it doesn't always work that way...so I love when this time comes around again. It serves as such a good reminder...

Happy Thanksgiving everyone!

Turkey trot and Tuesday Thoughts

Today I took the boys to cheer Jenna on during her school's Turkey Trot...where they ran around the block and the winners took home a turkey... :)

Jenna did not win. She wasn't even close. I felt so bad. Could it be that she has her dad's love of running and my lack of skill?

Either way, she was a good sport and looked so darn cute.

It is SO nice to know that school is done for the week...no more driving her to school or picking her up. Time for her to play with the boys...and to be together as family. So excited.

Speaking of family, my sister Esther is coming to visit tomorrow. Is my house ready? No. And quite frankly it probably won't be tip top when she DOES get here. I have learned that I am not a miracle worker. :) And yet, my house needs a miracle right now....

I have debated for a long time about sharing a bunch of stuff that has been going on. I have used this blog for so long to document so much about our family and my feelings. But I have had some things that I just didn't feel belonged here yet. Hence the multiple days between posts when my previous pattern was at least one a day. :)

But today it occurred to me that I didn't have to lay it all out there yet, but could at least say how I have felt...which will hopefully explain why often I don't know what to say when it's time update the blog.

The past several months I have felt sick. Along with a never-ending cough, a big part has been morning sickness sick. It has been terrible. Honestly, a good majority of my days are filled with ickiness...

...the need to eat or else...the need to eat what sounds good OR ELSE...the dry-heaving...

Oh it has totally turned me upside down. I feel so worn out and frustrated.

Frustrated because sickness like this should be associated with having babies...and let me make it clear that I AM NOT PREGNANT. But it's the worst thing to be going through all these same symptoms...and have no real reason to show for it.

The very time in my life when I am truly trying to change my habits and eat better, and BE better, I find myself facing a wall of stomach-calming carbohydrates...and I hate it. My desire is there to eat different, but my body physically just can't without feeling nasty inside.

To make matters worse, after finally seeing the Dr. I was put on some medication...that makes me even more nauseous.

Yay.

And it makes me exhausted. So exhausted that many nights I have fallen in bed at 9:00...or had to have a nap to make it through the day. This is so not like me...

I feel like my body has been taken over by a diagnosis.

And some nights I have wanted to say nothing except...

Tonight I feel like crap.

Today I couldn't bring myself to put real pants on...so I wore yoga pants all day...and laid on the couch and watched TV while trying not to vomit.

Today I felt so on edge...so grumpy. So not myself. Because I just am not lately.

So there you have it.

I am trying to be optimistic and get over this nausea...hoping to see a light at the end of the tunnel and for all the other symptoms I have to work themselves out...and I am sure it all will.

But for now, if there is a night or two that I just post a one-line downer, you'll know why...well, kind of why...at least for right now.

Happy Tuesday.

Randomly Random Saturday night thoughts.

Some people blog about milestones their children complete...or about buying homes or completing school....

Strange as it sounds, I consider the following achievement as equally successful...


I cleared all of this....

out of here....

And it was monumental...

HOW, HOW, HOW did I ever let my purse get so bad? I wish I could answer that...but the fact is, I saved my receipts and stuffed every paper someone handed me into the zippered pockets and between other important papers.

And as I was cleaning it out, I felt totally lame.

But it's organized and so clean now! I LOVE IT! It was yet another step in my process to regain control over my life and organizational skills.

Other steps I have taken?

Christmas cards are ordered and here, ready to be addressed.

Desk has been cleaned off, baskets purchased to help neatly sort the things I do need to keep there.

Plans are in place for how to secure some additional short term storage on the main floor.

I have a calendar on the fridge now...and a planner in my purse...and sticky notes (which are my lifesaver).

I have felt SO MUCH BETTER.

I will have to document my system after I get a couple more things in place. But so far, so good...

In other news, we FINALLY got a family picture taken today. After all the sessions I have done for others, we finally had our chance and hopefully will have some updated pics for grandparents, etc. soon! I am so excited to see them...and to finish up the sessions I have done for everyone else this year. :)

Am going to go join our family movie night now...pumpkin pie cake in the oven, pizza for dinner, and Ice Age 3 in the DVD player. :)

Happy Saturday!

Wicked...take 2

Last night I got to go on a super fabulous GIRL'S NIGHT OUT to see Wicked...AGAIN. I loved it when Brandon and I saw it the first time, and so when I heard it was coming again, I arranged to buy a big bulk section of tickets for a GREAT price and a BUNCH (like, 30-40) of us went out on the town to see this Spectacular musical.

If you have not seen it....DO. :)

I turned my taxi (a.k.a. carseat loaded minivan) into a short limo for 6, and filled it with a bunch of cute women and fun conversation.

The theater was beautiful, all decorated for Christmas, and the energy in the air was captivating...oh, how I love being at the theater. The clapping, cheering, theatrics, music...I love it all.

Love girl's night out. Love Wicked.

And I will once again, love listening to the soundtrack for the next month solid. :)

Happy Thursday!

That "in your face" feeling....

I am a big Craigslist kind of girl. I love to buy stuff on there and sell stuff there...it's a great resource.

Well last week I listed a little cottage we had that we were no longer using, and within a few hours I had a response and commitment to buy it. The woman who came to pick it up took it home and a couple hours later I got a nasty email from her accusing me of selling broken toys and including with her accusations a string of swear words.

I was stunned. First off, if you know me, you would know I would never intentionally sell something broken and try to hide that fact. I have disclosed several flaws in other items because it is how I would want to be treated. Secondly, she flat out accused me and insisted that she knew that I KNEW it was "broken". Not once did she say "hey, I don't know if you knew, but there was a piece inside that was broken..." Nope. Just a flat out criminal case against me.

I emailed her back and told her that I had replaced that broken piece before and would be happy to call--to which she emailed back insisted I couldn't have replaced it because the company supposedly never carried replacement pieces and I was a liar.

This went back and forth for a bit, and my anger and frustration grew. I was so ticked off that I was believed to be some liar and cheat and not even allowed to make things right...and eventually she said not to ever contact her again.

So I called the company myself to see what they would say. They opened my file from last year (proving that I DID order the piece...not that the Craigslist lady believed me or anything) and that the item had since been discontinued and replacement items could not be ordered at this point. HOWEVER, because of the inconvenience to me, they would be sending me an item that equaled the value of the "broken" item. (which brand new retailed $80...don't worry, I never pay full price!!)

I was really surprised. And I have to admit I was happy...happy that I knew what the truth was and that because she had ZERO tact or humility (and clearly either didn't talk to the right company or lied to me instead), she shortchanged herself a brand new toy.

So, our new TOY came today....

Even though we will end up selling it to get some much needed money, I still felt that bit of 100% human "in your face" feeling towards the woman who totally wrecked my day last week...and it felt terribly good... :)

Mongolian BBQ...and a date!

I forgot to mention that on Saturday, in between the 3 photo shoots I did, Brandon and I got to get away on a little date. We ran across this Mongolian BBQ place on our trip to Brandywine Falls a few months ago and I have been so anxious to go back and try it out...hoping it was like the Mongolian grill back home.... (oh how I miss that place!)

Verdict.

It will never quite be home.

But it was good.

And it came with a HUGE buffet of other foods...American food, Chinese food, ribs, chicken, rice, fruits, veggies, bread, etc.

And it was fun to watch them cook our food on the round grill...just like back home...

And most of all, it was time away from the kids and time to just visit with Brandon.

And any time to do that is rated A+ in my book.

Jerod and Shelley - sneak peak

Jerod and Shelley! Here ya go!! A quick sneak peak of what is to come. :)

Tyson and Lauren...sneak peak!

It was such a beautiful day, and so I packed in the photo shoots...here's a sneak peak for another family with a funny little 2 year old and a newborn baby! :)