2007: A year in review

So the year is almost over. I thought I'd list several things we did (survived) this year...

*5 surgeries (2 tonsillectomies, hernia repairs, a hydrocele repair, & ear tubes) We spent every last penny of our health care spending account!
*A stress fracture (Megan's track injury)
*A 22 hour drive to Colorado with all the kids towing a small trailer. We had to drive home also..we had no choice!
*I also have a new job starting January 14th. The surgery center that is 2 minutes from my house is letting me work 2 days a week!
*Somehow I managed to read 59 books. Yes I keep track of how many books I read. I started this after reading Nicholas Sparks' website. (He reads like 200 books a year!) I thought I read a lot!
*I also learned how to make laundry soap (even though my dear brother-in-law makes fun of me). When I do something really cool with all that money I save, he'll be jealous!

Here is what we have planned for 2008...
*potty training twin boys (I know you all are jealous!)
*4 of us are going on a mission trip to Mexico in March (The twins are staying home with my mom. Maybe that's when they'll get potty trained!)
*Megan graduates in May! (I met Megan when she was 6 years old! The past 11 years have flown by!)
*And I'm sure there are many surprises in store for our family!

I am working tonight. The last holiday I'll have to work because my new surgery center will be closed on holidays. I pray you all have a safe and Happy New Year!

My son makes me laugh

Last night at Target, I used their restroom and wouldn't you know it I picked the stall with no toilet paper! (Luckily I had lots of kleenex in my purse) When I got out to the car, I told the boys about the Seinfeld episode where Elaine has no toilet paper and asks, "can you spare a square?" My 6 year old thought that was hilarious! All day he's come up to me and said, "can you spare a square?" He even had a square of toilet paper in his hands at one point.

The second thing my son does to make me laugh is dance. Their is a really annoying Kia commercial where a car salesman dances all over the showroom floor to the song "Maniac". My son has memorized the dance and will randomly start dancing for me. It is very cute, but he is a maniac maniac on the floor....

Bye Bye

We had a great time with Patrick and Heather over Christmas. Here is a picture of them with the kiddos.

They are on their way back to Florida. If you're wondering what we did while they were here, this picture sums it up.

Just kidding. That's not all we did. I just thought is was a cute picture. I walked in the room and saw 4 laptops & everyone concentrating!

Rotovirus?!?

So Christmas Eve day, I'm at work and my stomach starts rumbling a little. I go to the restroom and literally explode! (if you know what I mean) I spent the rest of the day (& night) in the restroom. You could hear liquid moving through my innards from across the room. I couldn't stand up straight because of cramps! I did make it to the Christmas Eve service to chase my 2 year olds. I didn't know how fast I can run, but chasing a 2 year old up an aisle can make me run pretty quick.

Luckily I woke up feeling like a new woman. I could eat and drink and stand up straight and not run to the bathroom every few minutes. I made my Christmas morning french toast, my family came over in the afternoon, we had a great meal, then my parents stayed with the kids while Steve, Uncle Pat, and Aunt Heather, and I went to see National Treasure 2. It was a great movie! Definitely worth seeing!!

All I want for Christmas is my Family to be Healthy...

We have been sick. All of us. It started Tuesday with my 6 year old and slowly made its way through the whole family. Snipe had to go to the doctor Friday. He got antibiotics for bronchitis. He is much happier. Moose got a bad case of diarrhea..it's still lingering. Megan had to fly to New York Friday (to see her mom) with the runs! Poor girl. So seriously all I want for Christmas is my family to be healthy! No Pukey laundry. No raw bottoms. That would be the best gift for this momma!!

Uncle Pat and Aunt Heather made it safely to our home. The boys are enjoying showing off for them. They are so entertaining! I have to work tomorrow from 7-3, then we'll have dinner, go to Christmas Eve service, then enjoy the night.

Christmas is in 6 days...YIKES

Last night, my husband payed our daughter (very well I might add...it's finals week) to babysit. So he and I got to go shopping by ourselves. We rarely do these days. I forgot how enjoyable it is to go to the store and be able to just browse. These days we tend to dash in, get what we came for, and quickly leave. Usually at least one of our kids is crying by the time we exit the store. We get LOTS of attention as we leave. One of our last stops last night was Paradise Bakery & Cafe for cookies and coffee. It was a great time!

Today my mom & dad have the twins out at the library and McDonalds. So it's cleaning time! I've mopped the kitchen with my new swiffer wet jet I got at CVS. And I've cleaned two bathrooms. Next is vacuuming and who knows what else. We are getting ready for Steve's youngest brother and his wife's visit. They will be here Saturday. We haven't seen them in 6 (I think) years!! The twins have never met them. We are so excited about their visit.

SNOW

This weekend brought us lots of snow! Of course this was our busiest holiday weekend also! We had a dinner at some friends Friday night. It was very fun, and I won the card game we played. I am seriously not competitive, but it was fun to win! Then on Saturday we had lunch at my sister's house with my mom's family, a wedding, then a MOPS Christmas party. It snowed all day Saturday. My husband is the chief snow remover at our church.

So with the 3:00 wedding on Saturday, he spent a lot of time outside. Then this morning he spent more time outside. He does it all with a happy heart! We spent the rest of the day trudging through the snow and cold. We did make it to Walmart, and I finally got my cards! So now I must go and work on them so I can mark another thing off of my to-do list.

Christmas Card Update

So the two times I went to Walmart was a fiasco. The 1st time I had the wrong picture copied on the CD. I thought for a brief minute to just use the bad picture, but it was really bad! So I decided I'd try again later. The 2nd time I went there was a man editing all 600 pictures he had taken. Seriously, he would pick each picture, try to edit it by chaning the color, then go back and pick his original picture. This went on and on. Finally I had to ask him if he was going to go through ALL of his pictures. My husband was waiting in the car with 3 kids. So that was when I left Walmart the 2nd time.

So in my case the 3rd time was a charm! I zipped into Walmart (after all the kids were safely in bed), there was no one in line, I had the right picture with me, and I totally ordered some cards! I will pick them up tomorrow after work and get busy!!

Christmas Picture

Twice I've gone to Walmart to try and order Christmas cards. Twice I've left empty handed. I don't know if I'll ever get cards. So for now, here is our picture. Merry Christmas!!

My Tuesday

Here is what all I did today!!

*got up at 6 am
*Hubby & Moose (twin #1) went to hospital. (Moose had a hydrocele & hernia repair..ouch)
*Got Noah on the bus
*Made 4 dozen cookies for a cookie exchange tonight
*Got myself & Snipe (twin #2) dressed
*Went to church to set up for rescheduled MOPS brunch
*Went to hospital to see Moose
*Stayed at hospital until we were released
*Came home & held Moose most of the day
*Went to Walmart to get Moose a new sippie cup & milk
*Picked 2 friends up & went to cookie exchange

I am now in a cookie-induced coma! I ate a lot of yummy cookies & a few buckeyes! I'm glad I got milk earlier! Tomorrow is another fun-filled day with the MOPS brunch. This week is going really quickly!

Bye Bye Cribs!

It's been a rough few days here at our house. My twins have decided they no longer need naps. While they are supposed to be napping, they very quietly take off their clothes & diapers, use their sheets as a diaper, climb out of their cribs, then dump the water out of their vaporizer. All this in about 15 minutes. After 3 days of this, I am at my wits end & tired of all the laundry!

Tonight we went to Walmart (for the 3rd day in a row) and picked out toddler bed sheets, got the beds out of the attic, and set up their new room. So now my two little boys are asleep (finally) in their new beds! I doubt they will take a nap tomorrow (although you never know!). But at least they are closer to the floor and less likely to get a head injury.

Silent Night. Holy Night. All is calm.

Back to Reality!

We had a great time in Hawaii! It was so much fun spending time with just my husband. We met lots of cool people in Maui. I really miss the weather and Hilo Hattie (our favorite store...they give you a shell lei when you walk in the door. I think we came home with 12!).

Today we got our first snow. Along with the snow came a 2 hour school delay. So our MOPS Christmas brunch was cancelled. All the kids got to get out in the snow for a little bit. They loved it! It's time for a family trip to Walmart! It's always a good time for everyone.