Sunday, November 30, 2008

I am Thankful for...

As we wrap up this Thanksgiving weekend, and head into the wonderful world of Christmas, I thought I'd share some of the smaller things I am thankful for right now. Of course I'm thankful for the bigger things...My family, my friends, my health, my wonderful God...I am SO thankful for all of that. But there are small things too, simple things, that are making me happy right now...

My new coffee pot! The not-so-old one bit the dust a couple of weeks ago. I found one I wanted, but thought it was too pricey, and decided to wait. One week later my sweet husband surprised me with it!

My Christmas Decorations! I am loving our single large Christmas tree this year. I went with just one big tree (we usually have 2 or 3) because I didn't want to spend the entire month of December picking up broken ornaments my son flung across the room. Jason, Ellie and I made paper garlands for the big tree this year. They turned out SO cute! Seriously, that tree looks adorable. The girls have smaller trees in their rooms as usual, but Austin...yeah, not so much. Since I'm 99% sure he'd destroy a tree in his room, we skipped that this year. Instead I hung a garland above his window, and hung his ornaments from that. So far he hasn't reached it. :)

Speaking of decorations...they're done! I am so thankful for that! I had pulled everything out three weeks ago thinking...I'll get it up fast, and get this mess put away...or not. Instead the mess took over several rooms while we battled colds and injuries. When I finished a week ago, I wanted to shout AMEN!

I am thankful for yesterday morning. Yesterday morning my girls played nicely together for 3 hours. I don't think that has ever happened. They fight, a lot, and it's hard for me to understand. I'm an only child. Anyway, yesterday morning they really enjoyed each other, and that just made me so happy. Little victories.

Snow! I woke up this morning to snow flurries! There's just something about a little snow to make you REALLY ready for Christmas!

And last but not least...Being caught up! My mom kept the girls last night, and between that little break, and a couple of mornings at home, I have caught up on things. Things like laundry, dishes, and Sleep!

I hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving weekend. Blessings from my home to yours!

Tuesday, November 18, 2008

The NEXT day...

So my last post...

Why do I do that? Write about something great? I mean, can anyone say TEMPT FATE? Not that I really believe in fate, but still.

Let's pick up where I left off...

Had a fantastic shopping trip with Annie and Austin, feeling really good.

THE NEXT DAY.

I told my sweet crippled husband (somethings wrong with his knee, going to get an MRI tomorrow) that I would take Austin and run errands while Annie was at preschool. K-mart and the DMV were my errands. He said..."Are you sure you want to take Austin to the DMV?" And I said..."Oh it'll be FINE. Really!"

Yeah...

We did K-Mart first. I'm not usually a K-Mart shopper, but it's next to the DMV, and seemed like a logical choice. It took awhile to get through my short list. Austin was, well, let's just say NOT as cooperative as he had been the day before. Still, we made it, finally, and went on to the DMV.

I was thrilled to see only ONE lady in line. As I waited for 10 minutes behind her, a few people lined up behind me. While I waited, I held my 30 pound boy, and tried to entertain him.

Why didn't I use the stroller?

He's mastered the art of climbing out of it in 3 seconds flat. That's why.

We played high fives, Where's mommies nose, Ouch you're hurting mommies nose, Re-do mommies hair, and Squirm like crazy.

Finally it was my turn at the counter. People, I was SO ready. I had all my papers organized, checkbook ready, we are talking organization at it's finest! Really, I thought she might even compliment me on my incredible organizational skills. But no, the DMV girl was distracted by her Supervisor, who interrupted her and told her that THIS lady (that would be me) would have to wait, because SHE needed the DMV girl to stamp and sign THESE papers for another person who was waiting. The Supervisor then proceeded to place a stack of papers 3" THICK in front of the DMV girl. I don't blame DMV girl, she obviously had no choice, but the Supervisor? She just STOOD there, and watched DMV girl, as I waited. For 10 more minutes.

In those 10 minutes Austin played some more games. Like...Pull things out of mommies purse and throw them across the room, Watch mommy run and grab things and get back in line, REPEAT, REPEAT, REPEAT. Seriously, it was awful. I glared at the supervisor lady, as much as I could between dashes across the room. I looked around the room. No one else had a child. No one.

Now, I don't think I am any more important that anyone else. HOWEVER. Why? Why did this lady choose to make ME wait? I mean, the ONLY person with a child. And not just any child, but a child who was obviously in a bit of a STATE! Needless to say, I was a bit frustrated, and still am.

After those 10 minutes it took DMV girl another 10 minutes to get through my stuff. Even with my great organization. During that 10 minutes I put Austin on my shoulders to contain him, sorta. He pulled my hair out of my ponytail, so that by the time I left, I looked like some poor crazed lady. Actually, that's how I felt!

I made it back to my car, ready to sit down and bang my head on something. As I tried to balance Austin, my purse, and the paperwork and license plates (note to self, that's where the stroller would have come in handy) I couldn't find my keys. I knew they were in the depths of my purse, but try as I might, I couldn't find them. Just as I was about to go insane, I heard a sweet voice say..."Ma'am, Can I help you?" I turned to see a friend, who hadn't realized it was me. OH! We both said, and laughed. She took Austin, just as I dropped all the stuff on the ground. I told her the story, and explained why I looked like I was going to Crazy Hair Day. She smiled and laughed and lamented with me. Then she told me she almost hadn't said somthing. You know, you want to help, but what will someone think? However, her Bible Study had been on random acts of kindness that week. So she did. And what a blessing she was!

So there it is...the NEXT day! I said I knew it wasn't a turning point...who knew how right I was?! I had to share though, because that is my life. The good and the bad! With one VERY active boy!

Saturday, November 15, 2008

Soccer girl!

Annie had a great time playing soccer this fall!


Tiny but mighty! :)


With friends William and Houston.


Thanks Coach Skip for a great season!


Shelley

Wednesday, November 12, 2008

Little victories.

I'm just about back to normal. Which, of course, is a relative term.

I can hold a thought in my head for more than 10 seconds. I can make it through a day without a medicine cabinet full of drugs. My energy is almost all back. I'm feeling pretty good, which feels Great!

I felt good enough this morning to venture out to a shoe store with my two younger kids. Austin (we think) tossed one of his shoes out the window of our truck one day last week. We've looked around, and so far, no shoe. Since he only has 2 pair of shoes that fit, and at least one of those is usually dirty or wet (from dunking it in the dog's water bowl), I decided to find a replacement for his pair that's now missing a shoe.

The last time we ventured into this shoe store, I thought I was going to lose my mind. Austin was wild and crazy and quite loud, and I thought the sales lady was going to burn right through me with her angry stares. That was a couple of months ago, and while he's still far from an easy child, he has calmed down...a bit. So this morning I was hopeful that things might go a smidge better.

We were in the store for all of 3 minutes when he climbed out of his stroller. Oh no, I thought, here we go. He ran to the play table that Annie was at, and started to play with her. Well, maybe that will keep him occupied for a minute, but I doubt it. I quickly scanned the boxes for size 7 1/2 wide shoes. After a couple of minutes, they were still playing nicely. Um...okay, that's new. Since they were doing okay, and Austin wasn't running down the isles pulling boxes down yet, I took another few minutes to look more thoroughly. Soon I had a few pairs for him to try on. Here we go, now he's going to throw a fit because he doesn't want to stop playing. I sat on the floor, and pulled him into my lap. "SHOE!" He said, and grabbed the box from my hands. He played with the boxes while we tried on two pairs of shoes. When the second one was perfect, I let him up to walk around. He stomped his feet a couple of times, and then went right back to the play table. Wow! Really? It was that easy? He played nicely as I put the other shoes back, and we checked out and left the store as clean as it was when we arrived. The sales lady was super sweet as we walked out and wished me and my "two little helpers" a very nice day.

I am still amazed. We had a successful, easy, and happy shopping trip, with Austin!!! Miracles! Have we turned a corner, doubtful. Did we have a good day? Yes! My hope is that the hard trips will become fewer and the good trips will increase. Today gave me hope. He is getting easier, little by little. And while I'm still scared to put the Christmas decorations up (what will he do with all of that?!) I am thrilled with the little victory that was today.

Monday, November 10, 2008

Fun times in First Grade!

Ellie has a fun class this year!


Parties!


Best friends!





And field trips!


And we love Miss McGhee!

Thursday, November 6, 2008

I think I got a faulty contract...

As a mom, you are not supposed to get sick.

At least that's what I think.

The last few days my allergies have taken a turn for the worse, and turned into a full on nasty cold. Now I realize it's just a cold, but still, I feel awful. To make matters worse, Austin has it too, and Ellie came down with it last night. Nights are no fun around here, what with all the coughing and tossing and turning, and yells for ...MOMMY! Yesterday evening, as I was doling out medicine like I was a pharmacist, I just put my head on the kitchen counter and said to Jason...This just sucks. He said, "Yeah. I thought moms weren't supposed to get sick. Isn't that in your contract?"

I wish!

The the thing that frustrates me the most though, is that this morning I wasn't able to go and visit my sweet friend and her two brand new baby boys. OH that makes me mad! I want to hold those sweet tiny babies that we've all been waiting on pins and needles to meet. But I'll wait, because I certainly don't want to get anyone else sick.

I'll just sit here on my couch, and wonder why my contract seems to be invalid.

Sunday, November 2, 2008

It's that time of year...

Time for pumpkin carving...





Dressing up...








Trick-or-Treating and hanging out with our friends!


Happy Halloween!


Shelley