A Little Christmas Spirit!

Yesterday really was fairly calm. We even got the bathrooms cleaned and the kitchen straightened- only to mess it up again making cookies with Auntie Jess! We made gingerbread people and Million Dollar Bars (thank you Cousin Debby). Yum... It really made it feel like Christmas time. Later we were joined by Brian getting off work and Todd who came to play with Ethan. It was really fun just to relax and have fun with our friends. I can't wait for their little man to join the clan. Less than 2 months to go!

The first picture is of a Christmas present from my parents - their very own shire! They painted and planted and have had lots of fun watching the growth. Ethan keeps checking to make sure it gets "sunbite"- very important!

This picture is of Lucas' new toy (Thank you Baboo!). Say hi to our little alien! I thought the jumperoo would be smaller than an exersaucer. I was wrong. But it is very cool! He can only play in it for about 10 minutes at a time right now, but it will be very useful soon! Even if it takes up a ton of room.

Boys the boys are totally congested. Gross.... It wouldn't be winter without a nasty cold, right?

A Lazy Saturday Morning.... Maybe....

A girl, they think.... Yeah for K, K &M - theirs will be a house of estrogen! Poor Kev! I'm excited to get to buy more girl stuff- I do like pink!

We're doing an experiment today. I think Lucas might be sensitive to something in my diet- so we're just giving him formula for the day and seeing if the evening is better- (he has been rotten in the evening lately and refusing to eat). I was going to wean after Christmas anyway, so I'm fine with it either way. I made it over twice as long as with Ethan - so if we look at improvement- I'm doing great! Of course, if we're going to measure like No Child Left Behind, then I'm a flunkie! Oh well.... Just want a happy boy!

We're getting used to the tag-team parenting and getting kind of good at it. Of course, the boys haven't had baths in almost a week and the house is kind of a mess, but there are no disasters! You've got to love this picture of Ethan- I feel like it's a sneak peek of what he'll look like when he's older. My pizza boy!

We've just been thinking about how lucky we are. Just when things are getting tough, God puts something in our way to help us. We have family and friends who care and want to help us through the tough times. We are so grateful! Well, we're off to get ready for the day- not that we're doing anything special... Brian goes to work and Ethan, Lucas, and I will be staying calm and quiet (I hope.... yeah, right....) Here's hoping for a relaxing day! Hey, maybe the boys will even get bathed....

A Boy? A Girl?

My brother and his family find out tomorrow what they are having. I can't decide whether I think it's a boy or a girl. I think part of me thinks it's a girl just because we have two boys. I guess we'll have to wait and see. The baby better be cooperative. Can you imagine not being able to find out. Of course, lots of people don't - that would drive me nuts! I know, I know - it used to be that you couldn't find out....
So, Lucas has been really kind of a fussy eater the last week or so, which we attributed to the ear infection and amoxicillin. I got totally fed up with all the spit-up on Tuesday and checked out his pepcid- a week expired!! So then I felt horribly guilty. Poor guy! I piled the boys into the car (already in their pajamas) and headed off to Walgreens. I do love the drive-thru pharmacy, though it took them an hour to fill the stinkin' prescription. So now, he seems much better. His appetite is still low- probably from the trauma of drinking expired meds the last week.
We figured out what we wanted Santa to get Ethan for Christmas. Turns out it's "the" toy this year. We can't get it anywhere except for twice the price on E-bay. So, if you have any ideas for us, help us out. Sounds like the Bounce-Back Racer is not to be!
My kids are insane. This time of year is always a little crazy, but for whatever reason- this time they are insane. I'll give them credit though- I didn't want to go find worms for our science project so I put it out there as extra credit and a couple of kids dug them up and brought them in. We thought they were all dead, but turns out they just have stage fright. They only move when we're out of the room. Let's just hope no one lets them free- I wouldn't put it past them!

Choo Choo Santa!

So exciting! Of course, the picture on the website made it look like we were going to an actual town (turned out to be a bunch of wooden store fronts) and that we'd be entertained the whole time by musicians and story tellers (they did come through, just for a little bit) and that we'd be served milk and cookies while we took in the scenery (they were given to us straight from the plastic Albertson's carton as we got off the train in the "North Pole"), but we had a great time anyway. Ethan was entranced by actually riding on a choo-choo and meeting Santa himself. That picture is priceless, but I'll have to have Brian scan it to get it on here. Santa asked Ethan what he wanted for Christmas. Ethan said, "Presents." At least he's not picky!

Ethan ate a whole, huge, sugar cookie covered with thick frosting. This led to him dancing and jumping around the whole way back. We're exhausted! But all in all, it's a memory we won't soon forget!

Oh Christmas Tree....

We put up the tree today. Haven't gotten to the ornaments, besides the new ones, but the lights are already on it, so it's pretty already! Ethan took all the cereal boxes and put them underneath- like presents. It was so cute, until he started asking for cereal every 30 minutes!

Brian had his first two days home with the boys. It went really well. For some reason, they're great for him when he's alone and rotten for me! Well, not all the time, but today may go down in the history books. It all culminated in Ethan shoving a medicine syringe down Lucas' throat- leading to screaming, screaming, and more screaming. He's fine, but I'm a bit traumatized and of course feeling guilty that I didn't catch him before he did it. He was trying to comfort Lucas- first tried the pacifier and when that wouldn't work, went for the medicine. Sheesh...

We worked through our budget this week and are starting to figure it all out. We have to give up all the little luxuries that we probably once thought were necessities. TV leaves us on the 10th... ugh... And this was the 2nd week our house wasn't cleaned for us- double ugh... It's all exhausting, but I'm just enjoying the boys, even in the craziness. Ethan's at that point where we can carry on real conversations and he is obsessed with all things Christmas. Lucas is changing every day and growing so fast. It gets to me! I feel like I have to really take in every day because whatever he's doing (like shoving his fists in his mouth) will be over before I know it.

School's going well. It's all very high pressure though. I didn't realize how relaxed I had it before. I think it was great that I was surrounded by people that were able to ignore that stress. I have to keep reminding myself of my philosophy- I don't get paid enough to stress! My kids have gotten so much better. I don't think we'll ever have an easy day- they're too high-needs, but we have good days. They're learning a lot and I'm enjoying my job again- all good signs!

Tomorrow we go see Santa at the North Pole. Not only that, we go on a train where they'll be reading Christmas stories and eating cookies! Could it get any better? I can't wait!

Oh What a Night!

Lucas slept 11 hours straight last night! I'm sure it has to do with the antibiotics he's on, but we'll take it! I woke up several times, of course, but yahoo!
My kids took the big state writing test today. I was reminded of how stressful testing can be for teachers. I've made the decision that I won't stress. All I can do is teach them the best way I know how and get them enthusiastic about their work. I was somewhat dreading this test because I just did not feel they were prepared. But, they wrote better today than they ever have, so I can't complain. It was like things clicked for them- very exciting. Who knows if the scores were any good, but I was excited to see their work. Those poor kids are tested, tested, and tested some more. And teachers, the ones worth anything anyhow, feel as if they are tested through each and every one of those. We're expected to do more with less resources and get better results. So I've decided just to take it as it comes and not stress. I'm not paid enough.
Ethan was cute tonight. My parents got him a book with a bunch of short stories from the Pixar movies. He normally loses interest within a couple pages of a book, but he really loves this one. He and Brian have read from it each night since we've been home. It reminds me of reading Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing with my mom and my brother, curled up on my parents' bed. So fun!

Merry Thanksmas!

In our family, we rotate which family we spend Christmas with every year. So, on the year that we won't be together for Christmas, we do Thanksmas- a somewhat (though not that much) smaller version of Christmas on Thanksgiving weekend. This weekend, we spent having Thanksmas with my parents, my Baboo (grandpa), Nana (grandma), and my brother and his family. It was so much fun! Exhausting, yes, but so many good memories were created!

We got to spend a lot of time with my niece Morgan. She and Ethan were quick friends. Of course, they competed over everything, but all in all they got along really well. No pulling of the hair, like last year. They baked cookies together, played games, and watched movies. It was just one adventure after another. Morgan is great fun. She never stops moving... literally! I know it's awful to say, but I'm thankful that Ethan is such a TV lover. I know, I know, TV is evil!

In our family tradition, we ended up at Urgent Care- Lucas has ear infections. He really wasn't that fussy though, so it didn't put too much of a damper on the weekend.

The non-highlight of our trip was in the airport when Ethan dumped over my coffee.... on my seat... So I had to walk around the rest of the day with a soaking, brown behind... classy, I know! I survived though, and despite minimal delays, we made it home easily.

I had a whole lot of coffee today, so it went pretty well. I'm sure at some point I'll crash, but I'm not there yet. Soon, I can feel it coming! This week, we're working on getting Lucas to go all night without eating. Last night he went from 8ish to 6 this morning! I'd call that success! He didn't sleep real well though- kept getting out of his swaddle! Oh, and by the way- Ethan is pretty much fully potty trained! What a guy!