Christmas Blessings

The wrapping is gone, the toys strewn about.  The tree is still standing, thou a little tousled in appearance.  The tins of cookies are down to the crumbs, the left overs are stacked precariously in the fridge.  Band Hero and Lego Rockband are suppling the theme music for the day, and I can't believe it's over already!

It was a wonderful Christmas.  Miss Sunshine was in her glory.  Santa brought her a shopping cart that she is head over heels for, and mom and dad got her a doll that she truly hasn't let out of her sight since opening it.  It was wonderful to watch the joy in her eyes at all the magic of the season.

The boys had there expectations met and more.  Even the tween seemed happy with his loot.  Mother nature blessed us with a fabulous snowstorm.  It felt like we were living in a snow globe for much of the holiday!  One set of grandparents came and got stranded which was great fun.  Unfortunately the other side got stranded at home and didn't make it.  That was the only damper on the holiday.

We now have a week of vacation for all of us.  I forsee game playing, fort building, a little room cleaning, some re-organizing, and mostly family time together.  Can't wait!

Enjoy the pics!

The night before the night before the night before Christmas

And all through the house ALL the creatures were stiring...I think I heard a mouse!  Oh the ramp up to Christmas is so fun and insane and crazy!  I was forced to procrastinate this year (waiting on the Christmas money ship to come in).  E and I did all our shopping in 1 day.  We are amazing !  I do have a few bits and pieces to finish this am...then we are preparing for a HUGE winter storm that promises to mess with travel plans, but also be a ton of fun.  Getting snowed in with a pile of presents, tons of good food, and your favorite people in the world doesn't sound too bad! We are hoping the grandparents will all be able to make it to our house...but is isn't looking too good.  That will be a bummer.

Miss Sunshine is all about the lights, jingle bells, and asking "WHat Santa Bring"  if you don't answer "presents" is quick fashion, you are in trouble.  She is a hoot.


Time to go sneak a Christmas cookie with the last drops of coffee and make one more trip to retail land. 

May you find peace and the reason for the season in the days to come.

National Lampoons Christmas vacation...our style

Oyi what a week.  It has been a doozie.  After our picture perfect tree trip, a fun Christmas program at church on Sunday...the fun really began.  Monday morning started with the tween complaining of a sore throat.  Yay, buck up little camper...you can make it, take a tylenol and soldier on.  Said tween returns from school, still feeling crummy.  Take said tween to the MD on Tuesday afternoon.  Is it strep again?  Could it be mono? (oh nooo)  Low and behold, it is strep again.  Huge dose of antibiotics and he is repaired.  Wed, middle man complains of sore throat...another one bites the dust...more antibiotics for him, more days of children home when they belong in school, more days of mom not getting anything done because said children needing mommy.  I need me in triplicate!

This week, Toddler enters full toddler-hood.  OH.MY. GOODNESS.  Girl toddlers are way different than boy toddlers...they have this whole diva thing going on.  Said toddler has decided her attention grabbing action of choice is to melt, lay herself down on the floor and refuse any request mom might make.  It is lovely.  We have tried out the floor at the Y, the aisles of Target, the parquet on in the sanctuary at church, the kitchen floor, and the snowy parking lot at work.  Oh lovely!  She also isn't sleeping, unless she is twirling her toddler-diva-self in mom and dad's bed.  It is making for a sleep deprived, rescoures tapped out mama.

The other silly of the week...11:30 at night, mom hears a crash in the living room.  All living beings are accounted for.  Gravity struck the Christmas tree and it was laying on the couch, water all over the floor, along with ornament bits and pieces.  Oh Christmas tree, oh Christmas tree...

On the up side, I  only have one day left of work, then have 2 weeks off.  Stinks for the pay check, but great for the sanity!  (The new job I am going after still doesn't have an official application...keep praying)  So I can finally START Christmas shopping.  Yes, I know, Christmas is coming very soon! 

So Dear Santa,
Please bring me some sanity, wrapped up in a little sleep, with a lovely new job and salaried paycheck on top...oh and if there is any room left, a wand that will  turn the diva back into a sweet princess and eradicate all germs from the house.  Please Santa, I have been a really, really good girl!

Picture Perfect

It was a Hallmark movie kind of day.  We had a blast cutting the Christmas tree this year.  There was the perfect layer of snow...it was a balmy 25 degrees, the sun was shining, and we found the perfect tree.  It was just right.

I am having a bit of a panic attack that Christmas will be here so soon.  I know it comes the same time every year, but this year it is really sneaking up on me.  I have a ton to do...but the next week and 1/2 will be great fun with lots of merry making, gift buying, and cookie baking!  It is my fav time of year.  I have to remember to slow down and savor it all.

May you find a few Hallmark moments in your week to come!

 

Snow Day, Snow Day!!

What a glorious thing to lay in bed at 5 am, tuned into the local am radio station and have them say, "oh, wait, we have the superintendent on the line, all schools are closed today, due to the blizzard".  Then give your hubby a quick kiss, while burrowing back under the warm covers knowing you can sneak in at least another 1 or 2 hours of sleep!

We are having a good ole MN blizzard.  Snow (about 8 inches right now)  blowing, icicles, it is awesome!  The Christmas music is playing, the kids are still in pjs, Meron is playing with the manger set and talking to baby Jesus...it doesn't get much better.  I think our day will include some cookie baking, a holiday movie or two, a yatzee tourney, the stuff memories are made of.  LOVE IT!

I am taking the plunge and applying for a new job.  I am applying to be the director of Christian Education and Youth Ministry at church.  I had the job for 4 years before J-dog was born.  I loved it, was good at it, and it filled me up.  I really think God is calling me in this direction.  I am soo hopeful, but I also know of some other very qualified people applying.  I am nervous, excited, and trying not to hope too much.  I have had enough let down in the last year to last for a while.  Hopefully my gut instinct is on.  Say a few prayers if you would!!

Gotta go read some Christmas stories to my girlie, girl!

Big, Fat, and Fluffy

No that is not a description of myself....it is of the beautiful snowflakes that are falling outside my window right now.  It is the first pretty snow of the season and it is beautiful.  I know I have been gone from the cyber world for a while.  There has been an awful lot on my plate.  We continued with illness for way too long.  We hit 48 days of having someone home sick.  Then we got Thanksgiving break.  Then we got strep...it feels a little never ending.  Today, everyone was in their proper place, I am holding out a little hope that tomorrow might bring the same. 

The snow tonight has put me in a very reflective mood.  It seems fresh and full of hope, magical.  I definitely needed a little of this in my life.  I am hoping and praying that we too are entering a time of fresh hope and even a little magic.  It has been a really long journey to this point.  The journey to Meron was so wonderful and getting her here and gathering her into our lives was all I hoped for and more, but I never got a chance to catch my breath after that moment.  It was right back into the grind and dealing with a failing small business, financial disaster, four kids etc etc.  Selling the business this summer helped, but left me in a place of wandering...wondering who I am and where I am going and trying to figure out what matters most to me.  My family comes first, but I have learned that in order to give to them fully, my cup has to be full too.  How do I fill my cup right now?  That is the question at the forefront of my mind.  I know that I am not one to just be content with the status quo.  I need to be challenged, to create, to work for good, to dream.  There is a chance that opportunity is on the horizon.  I want to hope, to dream, to pray...but it is a little scary.  I don't want to be let down.  I want my cup to be filled and I think this is the direction I am being called in...but sometimes it is hard to discern God's voice from my own.  So I am going to try to be open, to let hope, and magic, and fear swirl around together to fill my cup.   It's not about adding more people or animals or things in my life...it is about filling my heart, growing in a new direction, being passionate about something again, and getting a chance to start fresh, catch my breath, and finally relax into a true smile.  

I'll update you on all the kids soon, I promise...there are lots of stories to tell.  I just need to fill my cup a bit first! 

A weekend

It was a great weekend.  Friday, E took the boys and they went to a water park for an overnight.  I got to stay home with girlie girl and puppy.  Although it wasn't relaxing, it was quiet.  I did decided that I like my Saturday mornings full of people.  I couldn't justify making a big breakfast for M and I...and I love a big Sat. breakfast, I have since I was little.  Cleaning is also alot more fun with the whole family involved, and it gets done so much faster.  So the lesson from Saturday was, I love having four kids and I miss them when they are gone.

Today was an almost perfect Sunday.  Our youth choir sang at church and did a great job.  Some of our "old" choir kids were back from college with great hugs and fun stories.  I truly love my church, it is a wonderful second home.  After church we came home to watch a fun vikings game and I even got a little family finances done while watching.  After that, it was puppy and mommy on a walk in the woods.  It was beautiful and peaceful and a great time to reflect a bit.  Tonight I made homemade pizza with a new amazing crust recipe and we had the neighbors over.  And now, as I sit and type, I am being seranaded by a tenor sax, snuggled by a sleepy girl, and looking forward to watching a little Brothers and Sisters in a bit.  Life today was good.  Very good.

I was accused by my neighbor of being a little too Martha Stewart.  I have been dabbling in a little crafting here and there.  I am thinking about venturing into Etsy.  I figure it might be the creative outlet I need to keep the brain going while I patiently wait for a better job to come along.  I must say though, this weekend I may have over done it.  I sewed doll clothes for M's American Girl baby, did a little prep for a Thanksgiving table masterpiece, as well as made pizza crust from scratch...so yep, maybe a little too Martha, but I gotta keep this brain going.

Gotta go do the bed routine...heres to a week that resembles the weekend!!

Ugh-ity, Ugh, Ugh, Ugh!

Yep, that is about how I am feeling right now.  Just when I thought maybe we were getting back on the road to health, Jman came into our room in the middle of the night to let us know he had thrown up.  Poor kid.  So back to the couch turned hospital bed for him.  Luckily the sheets and blankets had just come back up from the laundry the day before...that one day there wasn't someone illin' on that couch.  Seriously we have had illness in our house for over 45 days.  That is just plain unreal.  I am considering demolition...maybe if we just re-built??  And it's not like we live in a stye.  I clean...with bleach...all the time.  My peeling fingers prove it.  There are some seriously tenacious bugs in this community.

I am not sure if it is all the sickness that has me down or just life in general.  I am someone who needs a brain challenge and to say my life is lacking in creative challenges right now is an understatement.  I need something to really sink my teeth into.  Something that fills me up.    I am trying really hard to just be satisfied with what I have and where I am. It's not things that I want or more to love or more to nurture (yes, I have enough breathing beings to nurture)  I crave a good brainstorming session, a chance to think and problem solve and dream and figure and talk and scheme. Teachers aide in a preschool isn't doing it, it feels a little too much like home, cleaning up kids messes, refereeing disagreements, getting snack...  Maybe it is the drudgery of this constant illness, or the huge changes in my life over the last year settling around me...or, or, or...I don't know.  Maybe it is a wandering time, a time to figure out who I am and what I want to be.  I do know that if something doesn't give pretty soon, I may be contemplating life from my very own padded cell.   

Ugh-ity, ugh ugh ugh...life goes on.

A tale of two toddlers...one human, one canine!

Oh the toddlers have taken over.   Meron found her terrible two today.  Yowza.  She has a sassy streak a mile wide and an attitude to match it.  From looking right at us at dinner while she fed the dog, to screaming "mama do-on't" as I tried to get her pants off for bath.  I am slightly shaking in my boots.  It was also hair night, which is always as interesting task.  She had had her hair in little puffs, but they were falling out of their holders so it was time for a new do...one that might last a few days (maybe a week if we are lucky).  If you heard a shriek around 8:45, it was the princess, giving me her opinion of hair time.  Armed with a lollipop and a large assortment of colorful hair bands, we did make it through.  And I must say it turned out pretty cute.

Then there is the puppy.  Lovin her to bits, but she is all puppy.  We thought she was 5 months.  Turns out she is closer to 3 months.  Hence she is a chewer.  But she is so silly, and sweet and has brought many needed smiles to our house.  We love it.  She has been keeping Zach company (who IS really sick and back in bed with a high temp...poor kid) and she is getting me out exercising every morning and evening which is great.  But it is like having two toddlers.  Tonight I had to tell both of them to get down many times, to take "that" out of their mouths, and they both heard plenty of No, NO, NO! 

 

But I think they will be the best of buddies and will have each other for many years to come!

Sometimes Parenting Sucks

Just when I thought we might be entering a time of health, peace and tranquility (yeah, shut up, I know with 4 kids this is unlikely)  we seem to have hit a colossal snag.  My sweet Z-man, my prone to high emotions, high drama, and a dose of hypochondria child is really having a hard time.  I am having a really hard time separating truth from fiction, real pain from conjured pain, and emotion from manipulation.  It is a yucky place to be and it brings out the very worst parent in me.  We were hoping to get in to our MD tomorrow to get some insight, but the clinic called and he is out for the next 7 days with H1N1..oh joy.   I am at an impass and I can't figure out what to do.  I hate it when my instinct is too quiet and my resources minimal.  Say a little prayer for him...I know it isn't easy on him either.

On other notes, I am not loving 3 yr olds.  I love teaching the 4/5 year olds, but the three year olds might do me in.  Lucky they only meet twice a week.  I am not sure preschool teaching is for me.  It is a job,one I can do, but oh I think a year will be the max. 

Part of my problem is I have my heart set on a job that isn't vacant at the moment.  But I am feeling such a strong call to go in this direction.  I can't discuss it all yet as the chips are in mid-fall...but a little prayer in that area would be good too!

Not all parenting sucks...the 11 yr old and 6 year old are hilarious right now and thriving...and princess sunshine is baby and girl and toddler and mischief maker all rolled into one.  I love it. 

SO I solider on...unsure of the path or the destination, but taking it one little day at a time.

The Halloween Scene

It's 9pm on all hallows eve...the kids are in varying stages of their sugar highs.  The tween is passed out in the reclining chair, the puppy is passed out in the papasaan .  The toddler is spinning in a circle singing, and the first-grader is already heading to bed (heard mumbling...I'm the only smart one in the whole family!) The "has been sick for a million years" boy is happily enjoying a tummy full of candy...not acid and mom and dad are facebooking and blogging the adventures of the night. All in all the perfect end to a fun night.

We live in what one could call an All American neighborhood.  You know the kind you imagine when you think about a midwestern "perfect" place.  Tonight we joined the masses of witches, gobblins, princesses and ghosts and trick or treated our way down Baker Street.  Moms and dad's pushing strollers with the littlest trick or treaters, dogs greeting each other on darkened corners, your favorite old couple dolling out ziplocks full of treats and telling your kids ( who are trying to be scary )that they still look like the same sweet boys they saw last year.  It's one of those feel good nights.  A night you can forget about  H1N1 , the financial crisis,  and making it through the winter.  Instead the quest is simple...see how many friends you can greet and how many snickers you can secretly consume.  And if I rate my night by those standards, it was definitely a winner.

 

The Road to Recovery??

This afternoon I had all my school aged children at school.  It was a miracle.  My Z-man is finally feeling better, I think.  I bit the bullet and took him to the MD on Wed.  The therory the MD gave was that these kiddo's who have been hit by a couple viruses in a row are getting this GI virus that "settles" in for a while and makes for a sore, acidic tummy.  He is on Zantac for a few weeks and hopefully that will help.  It has been a real parenting challenge.  Z is my high EQ kiddo who trends toward the dramatic.  He has a history of tummy attacks that have in the past been anxiety related, andso it has made diagnosing this bout that much harder.  I hate it when I have to question what my kids are telling me, but I also don't want the wool permanently pulled over my eyes.  Hopefully we are now on the road to recovery and we can get back to some sense of normal.  Thirty five days of sickness is too many!  The tips of my fingers are dried out and peeling from all the bleach I have cleaned with, my laundry has become a huge stack of "sick" laundry, and my paycheck is looking a little skinny this month given all the days mama stayed home.  Oh well, I guess when you choose to have a large family,  you take the joys and challenges!

On the puppy front, I am completely in love.  She is all puppy and is chewing everything, piddling on plenty, and can melt your heart with one look from her sweet little face.  I am such a sucker!  E has been gone the last two days and I decided that 4 kids and a new puppy are not complimentary to the single parent!  At least it wasn't dull!

We are looking forward to a weekend of fun...sectionals for the HS football team, trick or treating...fun fun fun!  Pictures to follow!

A puppy, the flu, what more can we do??

If you followed us over from the other blog, you know that it has been a rather sick time in our sandbox.  Today will mark day 32 (give or take)  of having someone home sick.  It has hit all of us except the littlest one which totally amazes me!!  We started with the flu that should not be named and then it morphed into tummy flu.  That has lasted the last 2 weeks and at least for the 9 year old is taking a very long time to get over.  He has missed another solid week of school.  I feel so bad for him!

I am a nurturer.  I LOVE to love, and care for, and pamper anything (well almost) that has legs and breathes.  Sometimes, this is a slight downfall...some may say I give my heart too easliy, and the chaos that is my daily life comes from this insane desire to love.  But it makes me happy...it makes me smile...and it fills my heart.

SO when you are stuck with in the walls of your home...your kids are sick, and you have just put your dear dog down...petfinder seems a great way to wile away some time.   This of course leads to a little more chaos...a spouse that shakes his head and smiles, and 4 kids that now have a new puppy!

SUnday afternoon in the midst of the first wave of flu recovery, we piled everyone in the car for a ride through the farm fields to go meet "Susie" (now known as Izzy).  She is a sheltie, beagle mix and soo cute.  She is 4 months old and full of puppy, but also snuggles well, and is a laugh a minute.  Other than the howling she does when kenneled in the middle of the night,  she is perfect.  (okay so it's only 2 days in..but so far so good!)

I best scoot... looks like I have 2 home today, so best call my new best friend, the school nurse, and let her know we won't grace them with our presence today!

Enjoy a little Izzy cuteness!

A new spot to settle into

Welcome to the new blogspot! Because our adoption journey is over and we have fully settled in to a family of six, I decided it was time to start a new place to chronical the tales of our brood.

Stay tuned for adventures, stories, and anecdotes from a life full to overflowing!