Really? It's been that long?

Okay, I've gotten more than one phone call in the last few days checking on me. I guess I didn't realize it had been that long since I had posted. I'm fine. Been busy. Not sure what I've been doing that has kept me so busy. I'll try to get back to being consistent. (Just so you know, that's typical the excuse I give to why I don't exercise, but this is so much more fun than exercise!)

Instead of blogging I've been....

CLEANING! My house is cleaner than it has ever been and we aren't even expecting company. It's great. Not perfectly clean, but definitely cleaner that it has been. And I now have a plan! I love plans! And with cleaning the plan is much more fun than the actual cleaning--especially mopping Thursdays. I think I'm going to grow to despise Thursdays, so mopping may need to be a rotating day schedule. Here's what else has been happening:

• I got a Webkinz for V-day. It's a monkey and I really like him/her (I can't decide if it's a him or a her).
• Ashley's hand is on the mend (more on that later)
• I love Easter candy--more specifically black jelly beans. Evidently the love for them isn't what I think it should be as Walmart does not sell a bag of exclusively black jelly beans. By the time I had searched for them, I couldn't take it anymore and got a variety pack and picked out all the black ones by the time I got home.
• It snowed again this week and was 11 degrees this morning. I think this winter is the longest one yet and it isn't even March yet.
• I had great fun at a pool (no, it wasn't an outdoor pool--it's still winter remember?) last week with a new friend and her kids.
• I've started using our grocery and drugstore ads more. It's rather addicting.
• My two favorite shows are on...The Amazing Race and American Idol and I get to watch them both due to my fabulous DVR.

It's official...

I'm stressed out. And my life is not that stressful and I really shouldn't be stressed right now. My dear, wonderful husband whom I trust more than anyone else is taking my girls to the doctor (check-up on Ashley's hand) and the orthodontist (the next step in the teeth process). I'm usually the one who does the doctor trips. I had to give him directions to both because he had not been either place. He took his phone (I checked) and he's going to call immediately after he visits with the doctor so that he doesn't forget anything that she says. He offered several times to have me take them, but I didn't give in. I was determined to let him take them. He's taking them out to lunch afterwards for a Valentine's Day lunch. It didn't make sense for me to take them. And so, it's official, I'm a certified control freak.

Friday randomness

• Ashley's hand is doing better. Only one finger is still, um, oozing (sorry, gross, I know, couldn't think of any other way to describe it. BTW, why isn't "gross" spelled "groas"? Shouldn't the "o" in gross have a short o sound? Been working on phonics with John...)
• This morning I imitated the sound an elephant would make if it got its tail cut off. I thought it was very realistic.
• We saw two bald eagles on the way back from the store and got to see one of them fly--up close. Very cool.
• I earned a bunch of webkinz money for Ashley this afternoon playing games with her.
• I treated myself to a Starbuck's Vanilla Latte this morning--my favorite and it was so worth it. (well, worth spending the gift card on )
• John's tiger is eating supper right now--spaghetti just like us, in case you're interested.
• I don't remember getting near the candy that my girls got today for Valentine's Day. It's almost like a spring Halloween.
• I'm going to go put on my comfy sweats and fall asleep on the couch. I missed my nap this afternoon.
• Hope everyone has a Happy Love Day tomorrow!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY SARA!

My baby girl turned 8 yesterday. Eight! WOW! Here's my eldest wrapped up in her birthday blanket. Here are some stats on the big 8 year old:



favorite breakfast: french toast

favorite lunch: mac & cheese (Kraft brand only please)

favorite supper: grilled burgers and mashed potatoes

pasttimes: webkinzs, jumping rope, any type of art, swimming

loves: her new American Girl doll, her siblings, hangin' with her friends, Wheel of Fortune, Are you smarter than a fifth grader?

really dislikes: cleaning her room (does anyone really enjoy cleaning though?), peanut butter & jelly sandwiches, shopping

birthday presents: American Girl doll, Braids & Bows books, hairbrush, blowdryer, art books, art supplies, sleeping bag, blanket


Here's a picture of Sara Beara with her new American Girl doll:





HAPPY BIRTHDAY SARA!

and so goes the saga...

Our family is notorious for their health issues. Last year was a good year. It was the first time in 8 years that no one in our family had to go to the hospital for anything! It was a pretty amazing year. Evidently it was a fluke. We didn't have to go to the hospital today (like we did last Thursday for x-rays), but I did spend a good chunk of my day in doctors' offices. We had to say good-bye to the pretty pink cast and hello to antibiotic cream, gauze, and a removable splint. Somehow Ashley has acquired a fairly decent staff infection on her hand--all of her fingers and the palm of her hand. It was a bummer for all involved especially because none of us had gotten to even sign the cast. She was going to wait until today to let everyone sign it--she wanted one night of it totally pink. And since it's a pretty serious infection she's out of school the rest of the week--no PJ party with her class tomorrow and no V-Day party on Friday. BUMMER! Her prognosis is good as long as I can manage to change the gauze four times a day--it's not a pleasant experience for mom or daughter or anyone a mile from our house. I have yet to do it without crying with Ashley. Here's a picture of the new look for her arm--it was a rare smile from her today.

Just in time for Valentine's Day...

Sorry to leave you all in suspense. It has been a crazy few days, and I couldn't resist just posting the picture. Last Wednesday night Ashley ran down our basement stairs, whacked the back of her hand on a door knob and then managed to fall after she rounded the corner to her room. I didn't find out that she had actually fallen until Thursday morning when Dad was surveying the damage. At the time, he arrived at the same conclusion that I did which was "badly bruised hand with an overly dramatic daughter". When she got home from school Thursday it was apparent that the now it was a "black and blue bruised swollen hand with a daughter that was in realistic pain". She couldn't make a fist. So off to the ER they went with the conclusion that she had indeed broken one of the bones in her hand. They wrapped it in a splint (which was the previous picture) and then today we went and saw the orthopedic surgeon (sounds rather ominous doesn't it?!). No surgery required was the verdict--YES! So now Ashley is all done up in pink just in time for Valentine's Day. She has to wear it for 4 weeks and, as you can see, now that the pain has subsided she's fairly pumped about her new accessory.

Never a dull moment...

She looks like me!

This is my oldest daughter Sara. Beautiful, isn't she. This picture was taken in December after she had just lost a tooth--it was where the hole is.

This, of course, is me. It was taken in December also right after the haircut. See the resemblance? It's okay; I don't either. Ever since she was born I've been searching for some kind of physical symbol that she is my kid. Up until yesterday the only thing that has surfaced is the freckles--we've both got them. Yesterday though it became obvious that she is, in fact, in a physical way my kid. She's missing a tooth. You are probably thinking "of course she is, she's 7 and that's what happens to baby teeth. They fall out." Well, I'm not talking about baby teeth. I'm talking about permanent teeth. If you don't know me real well, you may not be aware that I am missing two permanent teeth in the front. They are the two on either side of my top two front teeth. I have a bridge on each size. It's genetic and yesterday at the orthodontist we discovered that Sara is missing one of the same teeth that I am. (I should also tell you at the this point that Joe's sister happens to be missing the same two teeth that I am, but I claim the fact that Sara is missing hers. I'm her mother!). Anyway, that was the bad news. The good news is that she also got her dad's small mouth so they think they can correct it without implants or bridges. Yeah! Unfortunately that also means that we are starting down the road of expanders, braces, retainers, etc. Ashley had all her teeth but there is no where in her mouth for them. So she is going to have baby teeth pulled, expander, night gear, retainers, etc. If we didn't do this for her I think she would literally have three rows of teeth on the top and on the bottom. I literally gasped at the bill and found at least 10 more gray hairs on my head when I got home. I was feeling blessed that I still had my hair--I thought for sure it was going to fall out from the shock!

Sleeping like a baby (or maybe better than a baby)

My husband works very, very hard for our family. It is one of many reasons that I respect him. He is also a night owl. I am not. I am a morning bird. So I am almost always up before he is--unless it is deer or duck season then he is totally a morning bird and gets up before I do which is really, really early. It's not deer or duck season right now, so he's in his night owl routine. I usually let him sleep in because, like I said before, he works really hard and he deserves some sleep. I usually try very hard to keep the house quiet for him, but he is a hard sleeper in the morning which helps. In fact, he's still sleeping right now which is extremely amazing considering what he has had to sleep through this morning:

• I fell over the pillows on the floor in our room on the way to the bathroom this morning. I didn't want to turn the lights on.
• Nathan hollering from his room (which is right next to ours): Can I get up now?
• Me, as I was on my way to tell him that no, you can't get up yet, stepping on the Spiderman sit and spin and it shouting out "WOOHOO! Let's go!" and then playing rock music. In my panic I grabbed it and actually went into our bedroom only to say "I'm sorry" and ran back out again. Not sure what I was thinking on that.
• Me whisper shouting from our bathroom across our bedroom into the boys room "No, you can't get up until I get out of the shower!"
• The hairdryer--need I say more on that one.
• The boys running from their room to the office so they could watch Bugs Bunny
• Me briefly waking Joe up and asking him if he remembered where he put the living room TV remote the night before
• Me turning on a small light in our bedroom searching for the remote
• Me pounding on the office door whisper shouting that they (the boys) needed to unlock the office door or else
• Me very sternly telling Nathan "NO!" as he unlocks the office door and hands me the living room remote
• FoxNews playing in the living room with the volume up way too high (not sure how I slept through Joe's hunting shows last night with it that loud).

I'm just thankful that Joe probably won't remember any of that.