Grandmother's Projects

Grandmother Joanie loves her projects. My kids loves to do projects. It's the perfect combination. First up was magnet painting and then beaded animal zipper pulls. Next, Grandmother pulled out a loom and taught Jaelyn how to weave pot holders. We've tried before at home unsuccessfully; so it was nice to see her succeed. I'm sure every little girl has memories of weaving potholders as a child. I remember one Christmas when everyone in my family, including the men, got potholders as gifts.The kids loves to "play" Grandmother's piano. Allie wanted to really learn so Grandmother got out one of her book and gave Allie a little lesson. She can now play Twinkle Twinkle Little Star. Allie is the most musically inclined of our children.Our final project was peanut butter bird feeders. I had to stay away from this project so Granddaddy stepped in to lend a helping hand. Every tree in Grandmother's backyard is sporting a new bird feeder. Now all we need are the birds!

A Bittersweet Lunch

I have a wonderful friend named Sarah. We met through our shared infertility journeys online at an infertility ministry we are both a part of. She moved to Mobile just before we moved back to Pensacola from Germany. I've met many of my online friends over the years. Some you hit it off with right away and other friendships just never seem to click in real life like they do in cyberspace. I clicked with Sarah immediately and we became fast friends. We make the effort to see each other every time I am in Florida. This time was no exception. Driving to Daphne, though, I realized that this lunch would be our last for maybe a long time. Sarah's husband is about to complete his surgical residency and they are moving to Gainseville this summer for a year before heading to Texas for good. It makes me so sad. We didn't let it effect our lunch though and spent 2 hours at Longhorn talking and laughing and having a great time. You have been a wonderful friend, Sarah. I treasure you and our friendship!

Can't Believe It's Monday

I'm not sure where the time is going. I'm amazed that it's already Monday. The days are flying by in a blur. Saturday, the day after Christmas, has left my memory...literally. Dan says we went to Kohl's to spend my Kohl's bucks in the morning. That's vaguely familiar. I bought socks because all of my socks have holes in the bottom (poor Mommy). We had lunch at CiCis Pizza and then the kids went to my parent's house to have a sleep-over with Nick and Jared. They had a blast.

The next morning, Jared wanted to know when they were going home because he was tired of being the entertainment coordinator. I'd say he earned the money I chipped in for his Digivice. Dan and I had planned on dinner and a movie that night, but instead we came back to his parents house about 4:30 and took a nap. He woke up and went to a movie alone while I slept.

Sunday, we picked up the kids and had lunch with his parents. The kids had a few hours to play with their plethora of toys before we loaded Allie and Caden up to go to a hockey game. Jaelyn decided she wanted to stay with Grandmother. Nick and Jared went with us and the Hackney's met us there. It's been a long time since I've been to a hockey game. It was so much fun, although a little tame. We didn't see a single fight :0. The Ice Pilots aren't here anymore. Instead we have a lower division team called the Ice Flyers. They were pretty good. They beat a Louisiana team 3-1. The kids watched the game during the first period, played their DSs during the slower second period and watched again at the end. They may or may not have pigged out on hot dogs and cotton candy :p. It was a fun night. Jaelyn said she wasn't jealous, but I would have been if I'd stayed at home.

Today, we took our nephew Caleb with us to the beach. It sounds fun and we are in Florida, but even this part of Florida is cold in the winter. It was in the 40s this morning, but the beach was beautiful....clear blue skies, white sand, what more could you ask for? The kids kept their socks on to play if that tells you anything. We stayed long enough to take a ton of pictures and find a few shells before loading back up into the van.

The rest of our week is booked solid with activities so stayed tuned...

Our Christmas

We had a good Christmas day, I just wish I had felt better to enjoy it. We got the kids to bed about 8:30 Christmas Eve. We had planned to drive around looking at Christmas light, but we had a horrible storm come through with tornado warnings. We stayed home. Even with all of the excitement, the kids went to bed pretty well.

Jaelyn was in charge of Santa's treats. She left Santa cookies and his reindeer oatmeal and a peppermint lollipop (she read a "non-fiction" book that said reindeer like candy for a treat). She wrote a note and left a blank paper for Santa to write back. He wrote her back, ate her cookies and his reindeer ate their oatmeal and left a sticky peppermint stick behind. She said it smelled like reindeer slobber...priceless!

I was awake most of the night with a cold so I heard the kids get up about 5. They peaked at their presents and then skipped our room on their way to Grandmother and Granddaddy's room. I heard Caden tell Joan "Next Christmas I'm bringing a flashlight because it's dark in there and I don't like the dark." I had left a light on over the sink so it wouldn't be so dark when they get up, but someone one turned it out. All the grown-ups got up and ooh'ed and aah'ed at what Santa left. The girls each got a new doll with a suitcase filled with clothes. I let them open their new pjs last week and Santa somehow knew and found matching nightgowns for their dolls. Caden got a box filled with Star Wars men. We let them open their stocking presents and then took a break to take showers and eat breakfast. After breakfast, we opened a few more presents and then I went back to bed for a nap.

I planned too stay home from Dan's huge family dinner, but Caden cried and there was no way Dan was going to get him their without a major fit. I got up and went with them. We had a nice time visiting with Dan's family. It's been a few years since we've seen some of the extended relatives. After an hour and a half there, we headed to my parents house for their lunch.

I must stop and say that holidays are filled with traditions and for me, most of those are centered around food. I didn't get any of my favorite dishes for Thanksgiving so I was so looking forward to lunch at my mom's house and she didn't disappoint. Everything was wonderful and exactly what I wanted.

The kids had a great day playing with all of their cousins. We had dinner back at Joan and Larry's and opened even more presents with Dan's immediate family.

Jaelyn said her favorite present was the jar of cash from Baba and Grandpa. Caden loved his Lego Star Wars DS game from Grandmother and Granddaddy. Allie's favorite present by a mile was a Hannah Montana dress up kit from Aunt Cathy, Uncle Nathan and Caleb. She snuck off in the middle of opening presents to open it. I've found her singing away with the fake microphone in the bedroom mirror on more than one occassion.

Caleb spent the night last night and played with the kids this morning before we headed to Cici's Pizza to meet my parents and Nick and Jared for lunch. The kids went home with them for another slumber party. Dan and I had planned on a movie and dinner since we are kidless, but instead we came back to his parents and took a nap. This cold is kicking my butt.

In Florida

We had a good 2 day drive. We had originally planned to leave after the girls got out of school on Tuesday, but schools were closed because of the weather so we left Tuesday morning instead. Dan drove and I played the role of entertainment coordinator. Caden and Allie do a good job of entertaining themselves in the car. It's mainly Jaelyn that needs the attention. I folded the front passenger seat and sat beside Jaelyn with my feet propped up. It was pretty comfortable. Jaelyn and I tried to make friendship bracelets, but she gets bored easily. I ended up making the bracelets while she colored and played with her DS. We stopped in Knoxville over night and made it to Pensacola about 4 o'clock yesterday. We dropped off the kitties at Mom and Dad's to kitty sit and then headed to Joan and Larry's to stay. The kids were so excited to see their Grandparents and cousin. Nana couldn't wait to get her hands on the little man. We got everyone to bed by 9:15 and they were up by 6 (7 our time).

Caden is doing better. He's still coughin some, but it's much better than it was. He started coughing up phlem yesterday and didn't like that one bit. Jaelyn and I are getting sic now. I could feel my throat closing up in the hotel 2 nights ago. She's coughing and her nose is stopped up. Hopefully a day of medicine for both of us will have us well for Christmas.

Today's agenga has us visiting friends and family, baking cookies, tracking Santa, and then bundling up in pajamas to go look at Christmas lights before we tuck everyone into bed in hopes that St. Nicholas will soon be here!

It's P-neumonia

This weekend was tough for Caden. His fever finally broke yesterday, but his cough has continued to be horrible. Dan slept in Caden's bed last night so Caden could be close to me in our bed. He coughed all night long. We got into the pediatrician's office first thing this morning. I got to take all three because schools were closed - Joy! Our old pediatrician moved this summer; so we saw our new pediatrician today. I loved Dr. F and was sad when she moved, but I've gotta say, Dr. K is awesome! She heard crackling and wheezing in Caden's right lung so she ordered a breathing treatment and a chest x-ray. The breathing treatment helped a little but not much, she said. She called a little while ago and the chest x-ray confirmed her guess that he has pneumonia. We picked up antibiotics and an inhaler from the pharmacy so hopefully he'll be on the mend soon.

Caden Is Still Sick

Caden's fever has stayed between 99 and 102 since Friday night. He has a yucky wet drainage sounding cough. At one point yesterday, he told us his chest hurt and Dan went for a walk to check the roads to figure out if we could even get to the ER. Upon talking to him more, it wasn't his chest, but his tummy and we decided he was hungry. He gave us a big scare though. His breathing seems to be okay. I was up with him for about an hour and a half last night rocking in the living room. I finally put some more Vicks on his chest and that seemed to calm down his cough. Hopefully, the doctor's office will be open tomorrow although I doubt there's anything they can do other than tell me his lungs are clear (which will give me peace of mind). I'm positive he has the flu based on his symptoms and from the way he's been coughing, I'm afraid the rest of us will have it too - just in time to drive to Florida and see our families. Dan says we are going no matter who's sick!

Our Biggest Snow

I'd say this weekend we've received more snow than anywhere we've ever lived. It was crazy to watch and measure the snow drift building up outside our back sliding door on the deck. The snow finally stopped around 8 last night. We had drifts as high as 3 feet, but I'd say average on the ground might be close to 18-20 inches. If I get a wild hair later, I'll go out with a yard stick and measure. For now I'm staying inside where it's warm, even if we are out of hot chocolate. Dan was awesome and shoveled off sidewalks while I slept in this morning.

Long Night

Last night was a llooooonnngggg night. It started around 4:30 when Dan was fixing the kids' dinner. I happened to catch the stopped up toilet. Don't you love it that when the kids need something, they yell "mommy" instead of "daddy." It's a regular occurrence in our house since we have a child that only poops once every 3 days (sorry TMI). Anyway, about that time, Caden's cough turned to nausea and he threw up in the floor. Two minutes later the phone rang to remind Dan he had duty that night. He took a pass on Friday and apparently someone changed the duty roster because the last time he looked he wasn't on it. He headed out about 5:00 and left me to deal with poop, vomit and a pounding headache. Our evening only had one tantrum at bedtime from Jaelyn thankfully because I was "being nicer to Caden than her." This is after I spent an hour and a half playing mancala and boggle with her. Everyone was asleep by 8, but Caden continued to cough in his sleep. His breathing sounding really bad. I gave him tylenol for his fever, cold medicine for the cough and put him in my bed to sleep. I think I was awake more than I was asleep last night between checking on him and listening to him cough and grind his teeth. That was a first. I don't think I've ever heard him grind his teeth before.

We got up to a white world. The snow drifts on our deck are about 8 inches high and we have a couple inches in the front yard. We are supposed to get snow until Sunday morning. It's going to be a white Christmas in Maryland. I'm glad I won't be here ; ).

Right now, I'm just hoping Dan has an ice scraper in his car (he brought one in the house while cleaning out his car and I reminded him several times to put it back in the car - it's still in the house) and the roads will clear enough so that he can get home.

Will you pray that Caden gets well and the rest of us stay well? Dan and I both have sinusy stuff going on. We are scheduled to leave Tuesday to head to Florida for Christmas.

Caden's Christmas Party

Caden's preschool class started practicing their Christmas play right after Thanksgiving. Caden was assigned the role of Joseph. He cried when he found out because Joseph sounds important and he didn't want to have to speak in front of so many parents. Miss Patty assured him he'd only have to knock on a few doors and he was happy. Caden is a very good knocker, encase you didn't know :p.

Caden spiked a fever Tuesday night and I was worried he wouldn't be well enough to play Joseph. His fever went away, but he's been left with a cough. I gave him some Delsym and took him to school this morning anyway. Half of his class is coughing so I didn't feel bad. The play was really cute and the kids had a great time at their party. Santa didn't have time to stop and visit, but he did drop off a bag of presents by the door. Santa gave Caden a pile of sticker books. They'll be perfect for our car trip to Florida ;).

My Cyber Babysitter

Isn't technology grand??? My dad loves to webcam with the kids. He'll call a few times a week and ask if they want to talk and play games with him. Jaelyn likes to do puzzles and bowl with Grandpa. She is sneaky though. She'll grab the puzzle pieces he's working on and hide them under other pieces. Allie prefers Uno and Caden likes to play Tic Tac Toe and Rock, Paper, Scissors. They all like to use the silly features on our webcam to distort their faces and put on wigs. I love it because it provides a free babysitter. He keeps their attention and I cook dinner in peace. It's the perfect combination. I've even managed to sneak a shower in when he's chatting with them. If something important happens, he just picks up the phone and calls me.

Who needs a TV to babysit their kids when they have Grandpa and a computer!?!?

Waking Up Sore

My back has been so sore lately. I wake up feeling like I've been sleeping on a 20 year old mattress. Dan discovered the reason last night. I sleep on my stomach and it seems that our 13 pound cat, Zac, has started sleeping on my back at night. Dan came to bed late last night and said Zac was stretched out on his side right on top of me. No wonder I wake up hurting all over. Crazy cat. When we adopted him, I said I wanted a cat that would snuggle with me, but that's not quite what I had in mind!

Where Oh Where Are We Going

I hate this time of year...when we know moving will be in our future, but we don't know where. I hate that someone else has control and I don't. We found out today that we won't be moving to Kansas this summer as we thought. There are too many majors signed up for too few major slots at ILE. Dan's submitted his choices (staying here being #1) and now we wait to find out what the powers that be will decide. Even though it does add stress, I do know that ultimately, God is in charge. He knows where we are going (or where we are staying) and everything will work out for good...the suspense is killing me though :p!!! I'm ready for God to let us in on His plan.

Better Day Finally

This has been a hard week. Dan left early Monday morning, and I do mean early - 2:30 am, for Korea. Jaelyn has gotten much more difficult again (I keep saying season affective disorder - it got worse last fall and winter and got better in spring and summer). We are talking about scheduling an appointment with Dr. W again. Anyway, she's been horrible this week. She's had explosions morning and night. Some I've been able to see predict because of her rumblings; others have taken me completely by surprise. She rumbled a little about her coat this morning, but it never escalated. She came home happy. She did her homework when I asked without complaint and big whines about not being able to do it. She ate her dinner nicely. After dinner, she even mopped the kitchen floor for me before helping the other two clean up the basement. I sent everyone to their beds at 6:30 to look at books. We did our Bible Study at 7:10 and everyone was tucked in for the night at 7:30. Jaelyn is still awake an hour later, but she's not yelling at me like she's been doing. It was really nice to have a peaceful day! Dan will be home on Saturday and I can't wait.

Great Wolf Lodge

I cannot believe I never went back and wrote about our weekend at Great Wolf Lodge in Williamsburg. I was sick for a few weeks after we got home and life took over, I guess.

We went the first weekend in November because the kids were out of school on Thursday and Friday for teacher meetings and workshops. I guess I never wrote about my parent/teacher conferences either. Anyway, it was a 4 hour drive to Williamsburg and we got there just in time to check into our rooms and hit the water park. I was amazed at this resort. It seemed like a normal lodge from the outside and in the main sections, but go down 1 flight of stairs and through a door and you were in a kids' water paradise. In the center of this enormous room was a wooden fort with rope bridges, water cannons and slides. To the right side was a shallow pool with slides for little kids. Behind that was a walk in pool that had waves just like the ocean. It was so cool. Tucked to one side of that were the hot tubs (one was kid free and peaceful!). Behind the ocean pool was the knee board ramp which Allie had a blast one. Behind the huge fort were two family friendly water slides. One had a float that held 3-4 people. It was by far my favorite. Beside that was a lazy river that you could swim around or leizurely float in a tube. In front of that was a mini-wipe out lily pad and net course. Jaelyn did it once, fell in and that was that. Caden and Allie mastered it.

When we weren't playing in the water, we were playing Magi-quest in the hotel. It's an interactive game through 4 hallways in the hotel. You go on "quests" and have to find things. You zap them with a magic wand. When you've found them all, you get a "rune." When you have all the runes, you can go on adventures and slay a dragon or fight a Goblin King. The kids, including the biggest one, loved Magi-quest.

Each night the kids got to enjoy a magic show or story time in the main lobby. Dan was sweet and booked me a foot massage for one evening. He scored some major brownie points.

We can't wait for the opportunity to go back!

Christmas Crafts

On Gotcha Day, we made our Gingerbread Houses as usual. Normally, we make one, but this year, I let each child make their own. It was quite a night, but we had a lot of fun and only consumed a minimal amount of icing. Well, Allie might have consumed a little bit more than that.

Caden let me put the icing on his house where I wanted and he stuck his candies all over it. He did quite a good job. He had a pattern going around the bottom of the house (they've been learning about patterns in school). I think he used every candy in his bowl.


Allie wouldn't let me touch her house or her icing. She wanted to do everything herself. Allie is sort of like a bull in a china shop so it did get a little crazy and a lot messy. At one point, she had a huge blow out with her icing bag (because she wouldn't listen to me when I tried to explain how to roll up the end) and she had icing everywhere. She had fun though and was very proud of her house. That's all the matters, right? It's the process, not the product!


It would appear that Jaelyn has a little of me in her. She wanted my help, but only with her telling me where to put the icing. She very carefully placed each and every candy exactly where she wanted it.Our finished Gingerbread Row - they all had icicles, but someone (I'll let you guess who) ate all the icicles off of the houses early one morning. The houses have been moved up high. Too bad...they were a cute centerpiece to our table.

I haven't been very crafty with the kids this year. Other than the houses, we've only done 1 other project. One afternoon, when Dan was in Florida, I needed something to entertain the kids. I made salt dough and we pressed out Christmas ornaments. They were supposed to be white (flour, salt, water), but I ran out of flour and used cinnamon so the dough wouldn't stick when we rolled it out. The ornaments dried a light tan and smell really good. We painted them this weekend and I think they look more Mardi Gras than Christmas because of the color paint we had, but that's okay. The kids love them and again, it's the process, not the product. Right?!?!?

Not Quite Enough Snow

Not much of the snow from Saturday actually stuck. Sunday, Jaelyn and Caden spent several hours playing in the "snow" in the backyard. Here's the fruit of their labor...

Frosty, the very tiny, Snowman

It's okay, you can laugh at him. I did!

Official Brownies

I wish I were talking about the dark chocolate, gooey ones, but alas, I am not. I'm talking about Girl Scout Brownies, of which the girls have officially joined. They had their Christmas party last week and their investiture ceremony. They got their official girl scout pin and several new patches to sew on their empty vests. It was a fun party with lots of food and presents. Caden even got to join the games. Anyone want to buy some cookies???

Quote of the Day

Caden cracks me up. As we were emptying out his piggy bank for his shopping trip, he said "Mommy, if now is the season of giving, when is the season of getting?"

He did a great job at his purchasing. I helped him pick gifts for Jaelyn, Allie, Baba and Grandpa and Grandmother and Granddaddy. Then we walked up and down Dollar Tree's aisles until he spied something for Mommy and Daddy. I gave him the basket, turned my back and he snuck it into the basket. He paid for his purchases and the cashier wrapped everything up so I have no idea what he chose for me and Dan other than it was "perfect." I'll let know you after Christmas!

Two shopping trips down, one more to go with Allie.

The Spirit of Giving

I've been practically beating it into my kids' heads that Christmas is not about getting. It's about giving. It's about the greatest gift God gave us. I'm not always sure I'm getting through as I hear "Mommy I want this" and "Mommy I want that." It seems constant.

Jaelyn showed real generosity today. I told the kids I would give them each $2 and take them individually to Dollar Tree so they could buy a present for their siblings. I took Jaelyn today. Before we went, she made a list of people she wanted to buy a present for and emptied her piggy bank out. I'm so proud of her. She took her time and found the perfect gift for everyone on her list - including me! The kids have noticed that everyone else's stocking have presents in them, even Daddy's, but Mommy's is empty.