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.

It's a heat wave!

It's 25 degrees outside with a wind chill of 11 and it feels like spring! I didn't even wear my gloves and I swear I heard some birds sing. Ahhh, it is suppose to be below 20 again tomorrow, but it does give me hope that maybe next week we'll maybe make it into the 30s! I may need to get my shorts out...

My random 25

Just as a warning, if you're on facebook and my friend you've probably already read this. (If you're on facebook and not my friend you definitely need to ask!). I know somewhere I got tagged for this in the blogging world as well, so I thought I'd post it here as well. So here are my Random 25:


1. Between facebook and my blog, I figure it isn't too polite to ignore being tagged on my random 25 anymore. I think I've been tagged 25 times.
2. I have never colored my hair and am trying to figure out what I am going to do when it starts going gray.
3. I like Bon Jovi--1980s Bon Jovi--not the 2000s Bon Jovi.
4. I am much more of a sports fanatic than my husband. I prefer college basketball and NFL, but will pretty much what whatever is on TV.
5. It drives me CRAZY when our living room couch in front of the picture window gets pushed up against the curtains. Since we have tile and our couch moves very easily, I fix this at least 20 times a day.
6. My husband recently freaked me out by asking me what I thought our "dating policy" should be in regards to our girls. I mean, Sara is 7 & 11 months! But I guess it is always better to decide before it actually is an issue.
7. I have visited all the lower 48 states and hope to go to Alaska and Hawaii someday.
8. I like to mow the grass and trim the edges.
9. I am not a good housekeeper and I hate mopping the floor.
10. Spagetti is my favorite food.
11. I have no idea what my love language is and am convinced that it changes pretty much everyday.
12. After our kids are grown I would love to go hunting with my husband. With practice, I think I could shoot better than him.
13. I never filled out my youngest child's baby book. (Cut me some slack...Sara was 4 when he was born!)
14. I like rodeos and bull riding. (viewing not participating!)
15. One of the biggest blessings I received when I moved was my five bedroom house. I never thought I would ever get to have a five bedroom house and I never even told anyone that I wanted one. It was God's way of saying that He knew the desire of my heart.
16. I don't like to sew. My mom is a wonderful seamstress and made my wedding gown. It didn't rub off on me.
17. I do not like to do jigsaw puzzles. I find them very, very boring.
18. My husband has a better eye for interior decorating than I do. It has taken me years to admit this.
19. I liked the idea of living in Texas a lot more than the reality.
20. I would love to get my master's degree in something someday--probably not business or accounting.
21. I like action movies so much more than romantic comedies.
22. I'm a political junky.
23. As I have gotten older, I have become more of an introvert.
24. I never, ever thought that I would be a pastor's wife. Even before we were married and I knew Joe was going to seminary, I didn't think it. He was going to teach. So much for that...
25. I'm on an Asian food cooking kick. (try saying that ten times fast)

Question of the morning

This is what I was pondering this morning: what is it about getting dressed that children hate? I think I say about a million times (okay, maybe more like 20) every morning "Go get your clothes on!". So I decided to take a poll to see if I could get to the root of the issue. The poll question "Why don't you like getting dressed?" Here were the poll results:

Sara (the eldest whom always (well, most of the time) desires to please): But I always like to get dressed mom.

Ashley (who was having difficulty eating her breakfast and obviously let that bias her answer): Oh, I want to get dressed. Can I get up and get dressed?

John (who happen to already be dressed and was completely confused by the question): But I'm already dressed mom. Mom (trying again): Well, when you aren't dressed, why don't you like to get dressed. John (looking at me like I'm an idiot and sounding very exasperated): I don't know!

Nathan (who always tends to have his finger on the pulse of the children of the house): Because you told me to.