Poor, Poor Sick Boy!

Nathanael in his dashingly handsome tuxedo resting on a pile of pink bows and runners as we clean up after the ball:


Nathanael hiding in the pile of pink:



The flu has infiltrated our home. I am confused as to when my son was exposed, because we haven't been around anyone who has had it (that I know of), but nevertheless, my middle child has Influenza A. Poor baby has been devastated. He had perfect attendance at school until this morning - and while my other two children would have rejoiced at the holiday, he was in tears. I have to say, though, that there is just no way to send a little boy to school who is running a fever of 104 and shaking and coughing and complaining about joints hurting and headaches and whose eyes are watering non-stop. So, we have spent the day cleaning (okay, that part was just me) and watching every episode of "Sarah Palin's Alaska," which yes, we totally love.

Oh, and the ball was AMAZING! I will post some pictures and give a few more details when I can.

Meanwhile, I am going to go fold some more towels, clean up a little bit more, and continue watching "Julie and Julia" in my bedroom. Which yes, so far I love!

I'm reading a book!

I love to read - this is no secret! My sweet baby sister just sent me two new books to read, and I've had my nose in one since this morning! I also love a comedian on YouTube named Julian Smith. He is completely crazy - no, seriously, he really is - and I have to confess that you need to have a certain sense of humor to think he's funny (my favorite one is Waffles, followed very closely by Jellyfish and then The Perfect Bathroom Trip).

Today, Jodi told me to watch this video that he made. Carl thought that it was so funny he told me to dedicate it to my entire family (and of course to myself) and post it on my blog.

So here it is.

No offense intended.

You have been warned.

Where have I been?

The above picture is of my daughter and my niece at the Princess Ball last year.

Sorry for the lack of posts lately - it has been crazy busy around here. Tonight is our 3rd annual Princess Ball at church, and it is insane how much planning and preparation goes on for that! We have built a Cinderella carriage out of PVC, plywood and white Duct tape - okay, so we had to put some ribbon, tulle and a few Christmas lights on it as well - but it is BEAUTIFUL (way better than last years rental), and 100% free because it is recycled stuff! We made our cake plates and centerpieces from supplies at the dollar store, and the help of a crafty friend and have just really had a lot of fun getting this together. We had a Paris theme, and have decorated everything in pink and black. I will post many pictures tonight and over the next few days.

Oh, and for those of you who are wondering, the Princess Ball is a ball for girls ages 4 years old through 6th grade. They are invited, along with their parents (NO siblings, and especially no boys!), to attend a great ball with feasting and dancing. All of the girls who attend the Princess Academy class on Wednesday nights, memorize scripture verses and perform service projects will be presented with a tiara at the ball. There is daddy/daughter dance and a mother/daughter dance, and it is really an amazing evening!

Cedar

Sorry for the lack of posts over the last few days. I only have one explanation:

Cedar

You see, I have never been allergic to cedar before, but apparently my body has new plans for me. Yesterday was the worst, as I joyfully envisioned gouging my eyes out just to make the itching stop. I've been rubbing Mentholatum everywhere that you can rub it - my husband says that I smell amazing at bed time - and popping Nyquil and Dayquil like breath mints.

Today, I feel better. Slightly better, but better nonetheless.

On a different note - and yet still health related - what on earth can I do to increase my memory? i've heard all of the jokes that you lose your mind temporarily after your first child and permanently after the third, but what I'm alarmed with is that I really have!!!!!!!!!!! I literally cannot even remember conversations mere hours after having them. For exhaustion I've been taking iron - it really does help - but I cannot figure out what to do to increase my memory! I've played all of the games that are supposed to 'strengthen' your brain, and I can pass them swimmingly. So, I'm stumped. But I don't know how on earth to discipline my children for not being responsible enough to remember to turn in their homework when I can't even remember to do the things that I'm supposed to do.

Help!!!!!!!!

Happy Birthday, Baby Sister!

I love you so much, and hope that you have the most wonderful birthday ever! I miss you like crazy, and I hope that one day soon we can celebrate together. Thank you for being the amazing you that you are! I am so proud of you, and I love you dearly! Happy Birthday! (PS - You're getting OLD!)

Thoughts

(Carlye and I at last years Princess Ball)


I stated a few blogs ago that I had some thoughts that I wanted to share about the New Year, and here they are.

I appreciate that everyone uses January 1 as that fresh start for new beginnings, and I always find myself a little weepy as I wax nostalgic on the year that has passed. However, I think that we've gotten ourselves into such a rut that we have forgotten that new beginnings are happening every day. Babies are being born, people are moving, new jobs are begun. But even more so than that, new beginnings can happen whenever you want them to! Something amazing will happen that inspires me to be a better person, and from that day forward that is what I strive for. Goals are made daily - sometimes even hourly - and then pursued until accomplished. A few - maybe more - will fall by the wayside, but it is never a failure or a time to give up. It is simply an opportunity for a new beginning at another time.

My favorite time for new beginnings is actually the Spring time. When new life is appearing everywhere, the peach trees are blooming and ducklings are swimming in the creek. The colors, the beauty and the new life always remind me a little bit of what heaven will be like. As you look at all of those little miracles you get that feeling in your heart that you can't grab on to, but when you feel it you want to keep feeling it forever. It's that same feeling you get on those rare occasions when everyone you love is near and happy and together. That's what inspires my new beginnings - my goals to become more than I am. Because wanting to be a better person just because is fine, but wanting to be a better person for the Lord, yourself and the ones that you love is even better!

Happy Birthday, my Marco!

(My little sister with my nephew)

I truly, truly wish that I were there to celebrate with you! I love you so much, and I am so proud of who you are! I hope that you have the most wonderful birthday ever! I miss you very much!

And Carlye, Nathanael, Noah and Uncle Carl say Happy Birthday, too!

Eating crow

Turns out, Noah was really sick.

I feel like a GREAT mom. For a repeat performance I thought that I would send all of my children to school tomorrow in the 32 degree weather wearing shorts, tank tops and flip flops - with no coats.

Making Up Words

Last night at dinner the kids were telling us about their day.

"I'm learning all about the planets!" Noah told us, "There's Earth and Mars and Pluto, but it's too small to be a real planet so it's a dorf (dwarf) planet now."

"I like Uranus," Carlye said, "It's my favorite because it has such a pretty name."

"My best friend at school lies a lot!" Nathanael then told us, "He says his sister is always setting booty (booby) traps and hanging him by his feet. I don't think a 4 year old can really set booty traps like that."

Then, late last night, our youngest child was taken over by a mysterious illness. It makes his stomach hurt awfully, and only the blankets in our bed or being held by mommy can make it stop. The reason I am awake right now is because he just made his 4th sojourn to our bedroom in search of healing. Hopefully he will now stay tucked snuggly into his own bed until morning.

TMI Warning

Really, you may not want to read this. It will be talking about womenly stuff. Just warning you now.

Today at the table my daughter asked me, "Mom, what does it mean to be on your period?"

"Well," I said slowly, "I've told you before. The answer is kind of embarrassing, are you sure you want me to tell you again?"

"I do," my 8 year old son announced. Laughing, my husband left the table and hid in the kitchen. Traitor.

"Okay. When you are a mommy your body produces an egg. If that egg doesn't turn into a baby then it turns into liquid and leaves your body."

"What? You had a baby die?!" he said. My daughter was hiding her face in her plate in shame - apparently she had suddenly remembered what it really was - and my 6 year old was oblivious to all goings on.

"No, I said. It wasn't fertilized so it didn't become a baby."

"YOU HAVE TO ROLL IN POOP TO HAVE A BABY!"

Stunned, I just sat there. Really, I had no idea what to say. It took me a moment to log back into what my son was saying.

"....'cause fertilizer is poop, and that's disgusting."

I love family meal time.

Shopping for a dress

Today, we took Carlye shopping for her dress for the Princess Ball at our church. It is in 3 weeks, so I wanted to go ahead and buy the dress and get it over with (not really a big shopper - I like to know what I want, get it and leave). Our first stop was at JC Penney's, where we have ALWAYS found beautiful dresses before. Nothing (at least nothing under $100). Then we went to Nordstrom's Rack. Zippo. Macy's had one that was okay. And at Dillards, we hit the jackpot.

Problem - too many choices can cause confusion and tears.

After a complete melt down (because the most exquisite dress in the entire store only came in a size too big or too small), the threat of leaving without a dress (because we need to be thankful for our dress, not so spoiled that we spazz out because we have to settle for our 2nd favorite dress), and an apology (I don't know if she meant it or was just desperate not to wear jeans to the ball), we came away with a Bee-yoo-ti-ful dress. (I'll post pictures after the ball - she doesn't ever want her Daddy to see it until the day of the ball).

We are now home in Kerrville getting ready for bed.

On the way home Carlye confessed to me that she doesn't like this dress at all and wants the blue one from Macy's.

Reality? She's wearing it anyway.

Life is so hard.

Report Card Day

Today was report card day.

My daughter - for the first time ever - pulled two B's. "Oh, well" she said, "at least I know that I know it, so I don't care." Awesome.

My oldest son received his very first B ever - an 89 - and practically blew a gasket. "What! A B! I can't believe that I got a B!!!!" He sunk into complete devastation in the backseat. When I pointed out that he had received an S+ in organization and class preparation it buoyed his spirits. "I have straight A's for the semester, though, so that's good."

My youngest son's report card said that he's showing improvement. He did, however, receive an S- in being prepared for class and listening to the teacher without interruption. When I pointed this out to him he said, "Ya, it's 'cause I don't know what a G is."

Thrilling. I never knew of the connection between the letter G and being prepared, but it is apparently a strong one.

Whoops!

Well, I managed to put on 22 lbs over the last 2 months. Ever since I had my knee surgery I haven't been running, and then after messing up my back I just sorta quit doing everything. And boy, can you tell! I do NOT feel well, I'm not sleeping well, and I'm getting sick more easily. So, I have made a new commitment to myself to work out consistently. I am not big on New Years Resolutions - this is more of a "today the Biggest Loser starts and that motivates me to keep going so I'm going to start today" kinda thing. (Seriously, you should watch that show - it is awesome!!!).

Carl's family is now in on this with me as well. In order to motivate us all my hubby said that he will give $100 to whomever has lost the largest percentage by April 28. Then, to make sure that we are all serious about it, we had to put in $50 in order to compete, which brings the total prize money to $400. Plus, my horrible husband made all of us weigh in so that we know exactly what our starting numbers are. (I don't really believe in scales - the less you know the happier you are!).

So, here is my challenge. I have to get healthy and lose weight without being a bad influence on my kids. We don't talk about dieting, we talk about making good choices. I try not to complain about the way I look or say anything negative about my weight because I want my kids to know that beauty comes from the inside. BUT, I also want them to know how to make healthy choices for themselves so that they can live long, happy, productive lives. In an effort to stay on track I have created another blog where I will share our family meals (Mouthfuls of Memories). Obviously, my kids aren't on a diet, so I'll add bread or other items to the meal for them - whole milk for the fat that their brains need to develop correctly - and then I'll eat a smaller portion of everything that I prepare. We can still have our family meals - which are VERY important to me - and they are eating in a healthy way as well. Hopefully this will be a win-win situation. Another struggle for me is to avoid fad diets. I want to provide meals for myself and my family that utilize every food group. We are just replacing our bread, rice, etc with whole grains (not enriched white flour!). SInce we don't keep soda's, chips, etc in the house it is simple for me to drink milk and water. When I want carbonation I splurge on a Perrier.

As for exercising, I'm using our eliptical and doing core exercises that are good for my back early in the morning before I bring the kids to school. I'm also using the workout portion of Just Dance 2 for the Wii - and yes, it really does give you a good work out! I can do this in the afternoons with the kids, and we have so much fun playing!

Well, I have to go - Biggest Loser has already started!!

My house is naked

Today we took down all of our Christmas decorations, and my house is now naked. It makes me so sad to walk in and look at the blank spot where my Christmas tree used to be. Since we were throwing away massive amounts of garbage we cleaned out the pantry, freezer and refrigerator as well. They are so fresh and clean and - well, empty. All ready for me to go grocery shopping tomorrow and replace our accumulation of Christmas junk with some fruits and vegetables.

Thank You, Heather!

Thank you, Heather for my new blog background! It's beautiful!

Carlye's Birthday - and breaking rocks with your head

Today we celebrated Carlye's birthday with the family. She wanted a birds nest birthday cake, and this is what we found.



Here is what I made:






Then I baked and decorated egg shaped sugar cookies:




Meanwhile, Carlye, Nathanael and Noah decided it would be a lot of fun to race down a rocky dirt road. Noah is now known as the rock breaker. Seriously, a huge piece of rock fell out of his head! He's fine now, by the way.

1-1-11

For the first time ever we stayed up until midnight as a family to ring in the New Year. Carlye baked us a dessert, we played many (too, too many) games with the kiddos, and then we watched a movie. It ended 10 seconds before midnight, and we did the countdown with the rest of San Antonio via channel 5. I have so much more on my heart and in my mind, but meanwhile

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!

Nathanael's Urkel impersonation:


Playing Operation:


Pick up Sticks (Carl cheats):



Playing Star Wars Trouble:


Carlye's yummy dessert:


Our picture, taken right at midnight. Our expressions say it all - this is what we look like after spending an entire evening hanging out with our kids, playing games and trying to keep everyone awake until 12:00 a.m.: