Happy 3rd Birthday Blake!

**PHOTOS ADDED 1/4/09**

I greet you from my comfy La-Z-Boy chair after a busy day!

My parents and brother are in town to visit. They arrived yesterday after a 7.5 hour delay at the airport, not due to weather, but a missing part for their plane. Fun times!

We decided to do something simple but near home today to get out at least for a little while, so we went to visit a classic/antique car museum near home. The kids really loved some of the famous ones, but also loved some of the classic cars that had unique paint jobs (skulls, flames, etc). They also adored the military section full of tanks, helicopters, jeeps, and more.

Cat in the Hat Car
Kit from Knight Rider
Ecto-1 from Ghostbusters
The Flintstones car from the movie
The Delorian from Back to the Future
The General Lee from The Dukes of Hazzard

The Batmobile from the 1966 TV show
We ended the outing with a stop for hot dogs at a nearby place....Yummy! (I hate that I LOVE hot dogs when I'm pregnant. I usually think they're disgusting, but right now they are OH SO GOOD!).

We came home, and were soon joined by Grandma, Aunt Kate, and Scary Steve. The two families visited and everyone was having a good time. Dinner time couldn't come soon enough for the boys, who were anxiously awaiting cupcakes!! We finished dinner, Blake opened his presents, and we ALL had cupcakes. Yum!

Cupcakes for the birthday boy!
One of the favorite presents
Everyone (except the birthday boy) playing Hungry Hungry Hippos!



Photos will come soon, but puting them on now would require me to leave my comfy chair... which ain't gonna happen! Christmas updates coming soon too!!

Blake's Birthday Cake Tribute

Back in July, I did a tribute to the birthday cakes daddy has made for Trevor. Now of course, I must do the same for Blake.

2006: Blake turns 1. Daddy picks the cake theme as B doesn't really seem to care yet. Trev had lots of ideas, but this was daddy's choice - and since he bakes them, he gets to choose!
2007: Blake turns 2. The theme for this cake and party was not a tough guess at all! What else could it be???



2008: A cake will be made for his kid party which is sometime in January (no it's not all planned yet, I'm too busy with christmas and being pregnant! Who picked this time of year to have a kid!).... so you'll have to wait and see what the theme is!!

Naughty or Nice... how about 1/2 nice?

For weeks, Trevor has been telling me adamantly that he doesn't need to go see Santa. After all, Santa is magic and can see Trevor writing his Christmas list and so he already knows what Trev wants, so why bother to go see him and sit on the lap of a stranger.

Interesting theory, and one that I don't really know how to respond to. I tried pointing out to him, that even tho he can leave messages on a phone for someone (like Grandma) they still like to see you in person and talk to you. Nah, he's not buying that one. I tried telling him that santa would want to talk to him about which gift on his list he would REALLY like, and if he's been good etc. No dice.

Suddenly, I remembered that Santa has a little cottage in the town Grandma lives in, and he's there every night. So, I suggested to the boys that we could go see Santa in Grandma's town, and Grandma could come with us. Bingo! Jackpot! That was the ticket. Blake was instantly sold on going, and if B is going to do it, so is T (and vice versa!). So tonight we will go see Santa with Grandma.

T is now VERY excited about going to see Santa. Heck, you would think it was his idea all along, and I've been stopping him! So on the way home from school, we had the following conversation:

T: I'm excited to see Santa today! I can't wait that long.
Me: So what are you going to ask him for?
T: You silly goose, he already knows what's on my list!
Me: But I bet he'd like to know what 1 thing you'd really, REALLY like from your list.
T: Well... R2-D2 is what I'd really like.
Me: Okay. And if he asks you if you've been good this year, what will you tell him?
T: That's I've been half good. I didn't get to play Wii sometimes. [Note: If he has a bad day, there is no playing of the Wii allowed before bed.]

{pause}

T: So I only get half the presents since I've been half good!!

I was dying laughing!! I absolutely adore 4 year old logic! And I didn't even suggest any of that idea. It was all him.

And to think a few weeks ago, I was worried he wasn't getting the idea of the spirit of Christmas because he wanted no gifts for anyone except him!!! Oh, what a sweet sweet boy!

It's a....

Yes, today was the big day! No, I'm not just gonna spill it right here in the first line, you have to read the WHOLE POST!

This afternoon, hubby and I headed to the midwife's office for my 21 week ultrasound. Yes, it should have happened last week, but my work schedule conflicted greatly with the ultrasound tech's schedule... so we had to wait.

It's funny. With both the boys, we never planned to find out before they were born if they were boys or girls. I had no issue with that, neither did hubby. I never thought about 'cheating' at the ultrasound appointment, and I never regreted waiting to find out. With this baby, we have said for AGES, since long before we were actually pregnant, that we would find out. Maybe because it's the last baby (no matter what gender) or maybe because we already have 2 boys, and having a chance to find out if it was the same or different would make a difference (shopping, preparing the boys, etc.)

Whatever the reason, I have been DYING for today to come. Since last month's appointment, I have been couting the days, reminding hubby, and telling the boys that soon we'll know what kind of baby we're having. This morning went so SLOWLY! (So is this post, isn't it! At least for those of you who haven't cheated and skipped to the bottom already!).

Before we left home, Trevor told me he wanted it to be a boy baby. Blake just echoed Trevor, which is his style lately!

We got to the office a few minutes early, and waited about 15 minutes. Based on the number of people there, and past experiences at the office, that's not too bad. The tech came and got us and took us back. She started the ultrasound and found the baby pretty quick. Lots of good pictures (no video like the two boys tho) and views of the head, heart, spine, arms, legs, etc. Everything looks good, measures right, and seems to be just fine. The little feet were dancing away, and the tech called the baby "twinkle toes"... maybe a new nickname!

Then she asked the question... "Do you want to know what you're having?". And I about screamed "yes".... I finally got to say yes to that question! And our little one cooperated - amazing and probably the only time in life that will happen!

So.....

without any more waiting....



it's


a



GIRL!!!

Yup! It's a girl. I will not be quite so outnumbered in this house anymore come April. We will add a little girl to the family!

We got home and told Grandma - who was ecstatic - and Trevor - who was less than thrilled. To be more accurate, he was downright distraught and upset. He threw himself to the floor (from a stool at the counter!), and just was bawling uncontrollably. He just kept saying "I wanted a boy". Nothing would calm him.

Half an hour, 1 tv show, and lots of mommy-cuddling later, he was much better. No specifc reasons came up that he wanted a boy, or didn't want a girl. Just pre-schooler logic (i.e. nothing!). We started to talk about him helping her to play t-ball when she's older, and look for worms, and suddenly a girl didn't seem so bad to him. I failed to mention the dolls, hair brushing, and dress-up stuff that may also take place... he can deal with that when he's older!

By bedtime, he was talking about what to get her for christmas. He wants to buy her a rocket ship. At first, I fully expected that statement to be followed by, "So we can send her to the moon!". But it was not! He actually wants to buy her a toy rocket. So, I think all is as normal as can be expected with Trevor.

As for Blake, he's not really sure what he wants -brother vs. sister. I think in time, i.e. after her birth, he'll realize he didn't really want either, as his status as "baby of the family" is gone and his life is about to turn upside down!

So, all in all, it's a great day here... we're happy it's a healthy baby, and excited it's a Girl!

Christmas Tree

Yay! The Christmas tree is up! I LOVE the smell of a real tree in the house and we had lots of fun getting it and decorating it! When I say we, I mean the boys. Hubby and I don't get to have fun right? We just do all the work so the kids can have fun!!

We went tree hunting last weekend, at a farm about 45 minutes from home. Yes there is one about 5 minutes from home, but their selection of tall trees (8.5 feet) is poor, so we take the long drive. The amount of time to drive and bundle up the kids - it was about 15 degrees - was longer than it took to find a great tree. But that's ultimately a good thing... we had lots of selection, and found a beautiful tree for only $40 in about 10 minutes. Way before the boys got tired of walking in the snow and knocking snow off the trees.



Daddy cut down the tree, we caught the farmer's wagon just in time, and hauled it back to the finishing area. We watched them shake the dead needles and snow off and then send it through the machine to tie it up - the boys love both of those things.
Then we (me and the boys) left Daddy to strap it to the roof... we went to have FREE hot chocolate! And while we were there Santa stopped in to say hello. Neither of the kids were really excited about Santa... he's just another stranger to them. They said hi, but that was about it. They have NO desire (even under threat of no presents) to go sit on his lap and talk to him. I'd love the photo of them with him, but I don't want the stress of trying to get it... I've got enough stress right now! So, I guess no Santa picture this year! oh well...

We got the tree home, and put up. We were letting it unfold and warm up before decorating and it decided to fall down, not once or twice, but three times!! Fun times! After re-cutting the bottom, and adding some blocks, we got it to stand up. Let the decorating begin!!

I've determined the easiest way to decorate a tree with young children involved. 1. Let them hang only the unbreakable ornaments wherever they can reach. Later you can hang the breakable ones up above these where they can't reach, thereby insuring that they 'might' not get broken. 2. Let them hang the ornaments wherever they want. Then when they are in bed or otherwise distracted, redistribute as necessary to avoid 15 ornaments on 1 branch and none anywhere else! Or leave them like the kids put them if you're not as picky as I am!

None the less, for better or worse, the tree, the house -both inside and out- are decorated. Heck, there are even presents wrapped under the tree already! Sometimes being pregnant is a good thing for me.... I figured I better get a head start on things or we wouldn't get it all done in time.

Actually,we've even already made Christmas cookies!! Woo Hoo!!



Now we're almost ready to host hubby's family on Christmas Eve, and then my family for Blake's birthday! If only I knew what to cook for Christmas Eve!

Things Lost During Move

Okay... so if you're reading this, you discovered I moved the blog, or changed the URL at least.

I've been pondering this for privacy reasons since I'm trying to remove the family name from the internet. When you have a first name as unique as mine, putting the whole first and last name out there on the 'net means that anyone can find you and find your address. That can be bad!!

So update your blog roll, your bookmarks, whatever it may be. And could ya update the title of the blog too, so the family name is really gone!? Thanks!!

Anyway... in the moving, I lost my blog roll. I've tried to reconstruct my list of blogs I follow, but I know they're not all there! So, if I lost you, I apologize. Post a comment and leave me your URL and I'll add you back right away!! Sorry!!

And wow... as I just noticed, this is my 100th post. Talk about exciting!!!

T + B = Sick

Well, it's officially winter, cause we're sick. 3 out of 4 of us, at least. I guess technically, 3 out of 5, since I'm fine (and therefore so is the Tater Tot!) - knock on wood!!

Blake has had a hacking cough for a while now, but that was all. I attributed it to the weather change coming home from Vegas on Turkey Day. Well, then Trev started hacking a few days later. Still....no other symptoms, and acting TOTALLY normal.

Thursday morning, Blake's hacking cough scared me.... I was waiting for a lung to come out of his mouth!! And Trev got up and said, "I don't think I should go to school." Now not wanting to go to school is not new for him, but his next statement was, "I think we should go to the doctor." Something he NEVER wants to do!!

So we went to the Dr.... both of them. And the surprising result, Trev was fine, and B has an ear infection. The Dr says something like, oh and T will probably get it by Monday since he's a few days behind on the other symptoms. Just call us when he gets it, don't rush to the ER over the weekend.

So, we get the antibiotics and try to rest/relax at home. They're still both acting totally normal, and B says his ear doesn't hurt. (The dr did say that the cough was related to the ear infection-I don't quite understand how but I don't have an M.D. after my name-just 30 years personal experience with ear infections!!).

Today, they still both have the cough, but otherwise seem fine. I go to work, and later get a message that Trev is complaining about his ear, and is "inconsolable".

So I call the Dr office. The receptionist, after listing to the fact that I was there yesterday, says oh well, too bad, we still have to see T to determine what's wrong before we can prescribe. Standard answer, no surprise. So I ask to talk to the Dr who calls me back. And I repeat to her, and remind her that she saw us yesterday and that she expected this. She says yes I did. But we still have to see him!!!! GRRRRRR!

From 3-4:30 pm, T bawled, wanting Mommy. I came home from work, and he was attached to me from then on, still bawling for about 2 more hours. At 7 pm they saw him, and what do you know??!?! T has an ear infection. Gee, surprise! I swear if I get billed for 2 dr office visits for him, I'm calling their billing gal and giving her a piece of my mind. Each visit was less than 10 minutes, but I'm sure each will cost me $150 or so! (Oh, and we had to go out in 15 degree weather-real temp-don't know what the wind chill is!).

And Steve is sick...which NEVER happens (even less often than me!). So, it's a happy house to be in. Given that I'm not sick, I'm tempted to run away and leave because being sick while pregnant...SUCKS! You can't take any good drugs, I'm already somewhat uncomfortable, and I'm still expected to take care of my 4 kids (I'm counting Steve and Tater Tot there!).

How are you doing???

Elf Yourself Video!

Send your own ElfYourself eCards

2 kids = chaos, 5 kids = peace!

Yes the title seems to be true. At least on Monday at our house it was!

Monday I watched a friends 3 kids: R who is 3.5, K who is 2, and Baby J who is 7 months. The two older are girls, each about 10 months younger than my 2 boys, and kids that my boys have played with many times. The little guy, is just a peanut, and will be exactly a year older that our little Tater Tot when he/she joins us.

My friend, L, and I, have known each other a while, but really gotten close since she had Baby J and stopped working full-time. Now she's training for a really cool job in L&D at nights. But of course, training is during the day, so myself and some other mutual friends have offered to help out and watch her 3.

In my mind, nothing to it. Yes, it's more bodies to watch out for. But I know my kids, and they like having new playmates - they get tired of each other ever once in a while!!! I also know that my kids tend to be better behaved when out in public than when at home, so either that will be true for her kids, or my kids will behave because there are other kids around, or both.

Anyway.... Monday turned out to be a pretty good day. Her kids were here by 6:30 am, while mine slept until 7:30. Okay, I'm not good at mornings, but the girls weren't quite awake yet, so a movie and exploring a new house, kept them happily entertained.

By the time the boys were awake, I'd already noticed SO many differences between her 2 girls and my 2 boys. Maybe it's boys vs. girls, maybe it's hers vs. mine, maybe it's the age differences, or maybe it was just the way things were that day. Differences such as: when a kid show is on (which happens a few times a day), my boys watch tv, as in they sit on the couch and watch-INTENTLY; the girls want a show on, and then play and ignore most of it, except for the songs which they sing and dance to - something you won't EVER find my boys doing (and they looked at the girls like they were strange when they did!!). Differences such as how they interacted: when my two play alone, T makes the game/rules and B follows along-pretty happily most of the time-they get loud and they get rough; the girls played for the first hour they were here without my boys around-it was almost SILENT-and they pretty much completely ignored each other! Just interesting differences....

The day continued, and we survived. I appealed to T that he was the oldest, and that I needed him as my helper. And of course that him being a good helper would be rewarded by helping with Christmas decorations after dinnner. There were no major meltdows.... a few attempts at it by R, K, and B. But those were thwarted by my lack of interest! I blatantly told all 3 of them, "Sure lie on the floor and have a fit, I'm going over here to play with X." Each time, they had a little bit of a crying fit, and sniffled, but got over it pretty fast since everyone else was doing something fun and they weren't getting any attention. Yay me!!

And that (and a few other things) made me realize that my past teaching career does have a use! If only I could use it every day when only my kids are here. But somehow, that doesn't seem to happen. When it's just me and my boys, I feel comfortable enough to lose it and scream, and then the boys know they've gotten to me. I must not let them know that.... I could clearly see the benefits of staying calm on Monday....

There was a point when 4 of 5 kids slept (T never naps so no surprise there). I think they were all asleep for about 45 minutes. But they staggered their naps, so that for quite some time, there were only 2 awake at a time. Nice quiet break for me!

It was also interesting to watch tke kids and Baby J interact. 3 of the 4 kids pretty much ignored him all day. Who didn't? Can you guess? Trevor. T was enamored with him for most of the day. He wanted to hold him, play with him, give him a bottle, anything and everything. Any time Baby J moved, T told me about it "he rolled over", "he's playing with the elmo toy" etc. etc. None of the rest of the kids really cared. So, is this another age difference? Is this personality? Is it because the girls are used to him being around and don't notice so much? Who knows.... but it will be interesting to see how both T and B are when Tater Tot arrives!

The most interesting 'change' came when the girls and Baby J went home. Literally 5 seconds after the door closed behind them, T & B were back to "Boys will be Boys". They were using every kung-fu move they've ever seen or could imagine, tackling each other, screaming, yelling, chasing, etc. They were WILD! The night went way downhill, VERY fast! They couldn't even sit still for a special treat to watch "Shrek the Halls". They were just amped up and crazy!!! It was strange how fast and easily that shift happened, once the other kids left!

So, I'm watching them again a few more times this month, on days I don't work (which aren't many), but I think it will be good. I debated doing an art project with all of them, and maybe I will, and maybe I won't.... we'll see how the next time goes!!

DWTS Wrap Up

I just had to hit on this topic for a moment. Somehow, in the madness that was November, I did find time for all my TV shows. Hmm....maybe my priorities are a bit out of whack?? Oh well, it's done now!!

In September, I predicted the top 3: Toni & Alec; Brooke & Derek; Lance & Lacey.

Well, 2 out of 3 ain't bad. I'm not sure what happened to Toni & Alec, but the other two did not dissapoint. Especially Brooke & Derek.....WAY TO GO!!

I was not upset to see Warren & Kym make it to the finale either. They really danced well, and it still amazes me to see how well pro-football players do on this show. Especially really big guys like Warren. I was surprised that they beat Lance & Lacey in the end.

Another season done, and so more time for more important things... like sleep!!

December.... what happened to November??

I don't even know where to start! Oops, a month without an update.....SORRY!!

Umm, yes we are still all alive. The kids and baby are fine. Hubby and I are busy working, both at work and around the house.

I'm not even sure what happened in November that could qualify as an excuse. Trevor went to lots of birthday parties, Blake went to a few. We all went to some gatherings with friends. But nothing astoundingly major happened. I did bake 14 batches of cookies...all for work! But apparently, I'm just a slacker! But that's not news to you.

We did head to Las Vegas at the end of the month for Thanksgiving with the boys' great-grandpa. More about that in another post.

Now of course, we're busy again with work (this is my BUSY time of year) and getting ready for the holidays. The boys are THRILLED to see snow and want to play in it ALL THE TIME! When they're not in the snow, they want to decorate the house top to bottom for Christmas, and waiting until Sunday to get our tree is NOT SOON ENOUGH!

Oh well.... I'll try to post more often this month. And a few major updates are coming right now!