Baby, it's cold outside.....

We woke up this morning to 30 degree weather, sleet, frozen porch, driveway & windshield's, and icicles hanging from the outside lights and our landscaping. Hunter spent 10 minutes fighting with me that he didn't need a jacket and Jayden spent 10 minutes fighting with me to find his missing glove. Once Hunter walked into the open garage, he realized a jacket was a good idea and I finally gave Jayden Hunter's gloves.

Both boys were begging for a fire in the fireplace tonight so that they could roast marshmallows. And I'm such a GREAT mom (hold the sarcasm) that I picked the boys up from school and we headed to Target for all of our supplies.

We've lived in the house for 5 years and have done fires every one of those years....but no chimney sweep. Hey, no problem, they make those logs for that. And Target has them! So, we pick up a chimney sweep log, real fire wood and a box of duraflames to get everything going. Yep, we forgot the marshmallows. Thank goodness I had some at home.

Get home around 3:30 and I throw the chimney sweep log on 1st just to be safe. Okay, it says it will be done in 90 minutes, 5:00, then you need to wait an hour to start an actual fire, 6:00. Okay, so then I have 45 minutes to spend with the boys in front of the fire, roasting marshmallows before I head out to meet Wendy for the Babes meeting. See, I can spend quality time with them and have my fun too :)

In a perfect world.........

Well, it's now almost 6:00, the damn sweep log is still going and I still have to get ready.

So much for trying to be that great mom.

and yes, we STILL have icicles.

O Christmas Tree

Kreg and the boys managed to get the tree up on Sunday. Since I have 2 very sneaky little boys, I decided NOT to put any ornaments on the tree. So the boys took up decorating the tree themselves:

Yes, Virginia, There is a Santa Claus

A good friend just sent me this in a email. People judge us because are kids believe in Santa and this was refreshing.....

Editorial Page, New York Sun, 1897

We take pleasure in answering thus prominently the communication below, expressing at the same time our great gratification that its faithful author is numbered among the friends of The Sun:

I am 8 years old. Some of my little friends say there is no Santa Claus. Papa says, "If you see it in The Sun, it's so." Please tell me the truth, is there a Santa Claus? Virginia O'Hanlon

Virginia, your little friends are wrong. They have been affected by the skepticism of a sceptical age. They do not believe except what they see. They think that nothing can be which is not comprehensible by their little minds. All minds, Virginia, whether they be men's or children's, are little. In this great universe of ours, man is a mere insect, an ant, in his intellect as compared with the boundless world about him, as measured by the intelligence capable of grasping the whole of truth and knowledge.

Yes, Virginia, there is a Santa Claus.
He exists as certainly as love and generosity and devotion exist, and you know that they abound and give to your life its highest beauty and joy. Alas! how dreary would be the world if there were no Santa Claus! It would be as dreary as if there were no Virginias. There would be no childlike faith then, no poetry, no romance to make tolerable this existence. We should have no enjoyment, except in sense and sight. The external light with which childhood fills the world would be extinguished.

Not believe in Santa Claus! You might as well not believe in fairies. You might get your papa to hire men to watch in all the chimneys on Christmas eve to catch Santa Claus, but even if you did not see Santa Claus coming down, what would that prove? Nobody sees Santa Claus, but that is no sign that there is no Santa Claus. The most real things in the world are those that neither children nor men can see. Did you ever see fairies dancing on the lawn? Of course not, but that's no proof that they are not there. Nobody can conceive or imagine all the wonders there are unseen and unseeable in the world.

You tear apart the baby's rattle and see what makes the noise inside, but there is a veil covering the unseen world which not the strongest man, nor even the united strength of all the strongest men that ever lived could tear apart. Only faith, poetry, love, romance, can push aside that curtain and view and picture the supernal beauty and glory beyond. Is it all real? Ah, Virginia, in all this world there is nothing else real and abiding.
No Santa Claus? Thank God he lives and lives forever. A thousand years from now, Virginia, nay 10 times 10,000 years from now, he will continue to make glad the heart of childhood.

Elves

My conversation with Hunter:

M: Hunter, what would you like Santa to bring you this year?

H: Ultra blast batman, of course mom.

M: (thinking, he's told everyone that. Give me some more ideas son) Hunter, what if santa's elves don't have time to make you one of those. Is there something else they would make you?

H: (you can see him pondering) No, I'll just take an elf then.

Gee, glad that converstion was helpful.

So, Thanksgiving was eventful as usual. (why oh why am I looking forward to spending 5 days in the mountains with my family?)

The boys spent most of Thanksgiving morning cutting any and everything out of all the “Black Friday” ads that arrived in the paper. Only to bring all those lovely little pieces of paper home to scatter them around the fireplace so that, in Hunter’s words, “Santa gets their message.” Back when the 1st ‘cool’ spell hit, Hunter asked to toast marshmallows in that place where Santa gets into his house. So now our fireplace is associated with anything Santa.

Mom, Marsais, and I spent all morning slaving in the kitchen to prepare all the side dishes and deserts, and the men only had one job, FRY THE TURKEY. Well, they throw the turkey in the fryer and sit down to a game of dominoes and beer. Needless to say, the turkey fried all right. Fried itself BLACK. Thankfully, not all was burned and we were able to enjoy a little.

I drove home Thursday night to get some rest before the dreaded black Friday weekend. Must have been too quiet in the house because I couldn’t sleep. The boys and Kreg spent the weekend in La Grange fishing, hunting, and having a blast.

Jayden’s surgery went smashing, but he was a little fussy. We figured the ENT gave us that big bottle of Tylenol with codeine + a refill for a reason. By Thursday, Jay was still very fussy. Finally, he dawned on me. Umm……Tylenol with codeine will make you constipated. The poor child hadn’t pooped in almost a week. Hell, no wonder he was fussy and wouldn’t eat. I felt like such a great mother. After pumping him full of V8 and straight apple juice, the kid finally is himself again!

While at Nana and Popo’s house, Popo pulled out the go-kart for Hunter to ride. The kid was in heaven until him and Nana ran into a tree that he swears fell from the sky because it wasn’t there before. Hunter popped up and hit his cheek and just said his butt hurt from hitting the bar in the seat, until further investigation. Nana was worse off with a sprained ankle. Sunday night as Hunter was swimming in the bathtub, I noticed a very nasty looking bruise in the place no man wants to get hurt. The poor child is black and blue and red. He swears it doesn’t hurt, but man, I’m just worried the kid is now sterile.

Yesterday was the 1st day to take the kids to the sitters. I was an emotional wreck. My anxiety levels were super high. It didn’t help that I overslept, the kids didn’t want to get up and I still hadn’t had a chance to do their laundry. We arrived and Hunter ran in to never be seen again but Jayden clung to me. He was still screaming when I got into the car. It didn’t last long though and both boys enjoyed themselves and even took naps! Woo-hoo!!

Soup Day

we had a blast up @ the kids school enjoying "Soup Day"

as usual the soup was super yummy & so were all the deserts.

here's a little slideshow with the highlights:

Bed Bugs.

so they aren't really bugs....or a bug....it's JAYDEN!

when Kreg went hunting I allowed Jayden to sleep with me. no biggie. until it turned into something he wanted to do EVERY night. we've been pretty good with convincing him to get into his own bed and he tries at least 3 times every night to crawl in with us. each time Kreg marches him back into his own bed. but last night, niether Kreg or I could put him back due to his excuse.

of course Jayden comes in and crawls over Kreg without Kreg even flinching. I have to nudge Kreg and Jayden looks over at me. I ask him why he is in my bed. His response: "Your bed warm, my bed just too cold."

we figured we couldn't put the poor baby back into a cold bed. that kid has our number. DAMN IT.

Parenting.

being a parent and a mother is one of the greatest gifts one could ever ask for but no one ever told me it would be this hard :(

why do I feel so bad for finally putting myself first? I've been a stay at home mom for the past 5 years. It's wonderful and something I feel truly blessed to have done. Even though the kids and I want to kill each other half the time, we do enjoy being together. I never imagined what it would be for me to go back to work full-time and the agnony I would feel.

I really enjoy my job these days. It's so wonderful to *have* to get dressed up, put makeup on, fix my hair, so that I'm able to spend time with women co-workers and clients. The adult conversations, the time away, the female friendships, I love it all. The thought of doing it full time is wonderful and I didn't think twice about it.

But then, there's the kiddos. Who I love dearly, enjoy picking up from school, and all the giggles we share. I can't imagine spending my day away from them.

But the more I thought about and agnonized, I realized it was time to put myself first and it was hard to come to that. But as the kids get older, they enjoy time with other kids. They enjoy being away from me and dad. So I think finding a nanny is the right choice. I should have 2 days off during the week I can spend with them. And we will just have to vow to make the most of them.

But then comes the fact that I'm homesick as hell. My god, I never though in a MILLION years I would say it, but I have. With Hunter going to school next year, I want to have someone to depend on if something happens. I don't have that here. I don't have someone in the family I can call at the drop off a hat to help me. (I know my girlfriends would help, but they all have kids of their own to worry about :)) And I really need that. I want to move close to my parents and family so I know I do have someone I can depend on. The boys adore going down to La Grange and spending time at my parent's house. I remember the days of riding the bus home and spending time with my Grandpa. I want the same for the boys and they want it to.

Right now.....so much is in the air. It's amazing how one day your life is going calm and the next day a bomb drops, causing so much chaos.

There are so many descisions to be made. Things are going in the right direction but it looks like major change is what we have been needed.

stay tuned for more......

surviving our stay at children's hospital

we survived surgery and staying at the hospital without too much drama!

kreg and jayden headed down to children's hospital, while hunter and I went shopping for our little guy. surgery was over by about 9:30. children's hospital was full so we were placed in a room over a brackenridge on the children's floor. it was terribly sad. but from the moment hunter and I walked into the doors, we were greeted with the most wonderful people and the boys were given so much. from new cars, books, movies, games, snacks, and more. it was so wonderful to be in such a caring place. the hardest part was seeing the terminally ill children and the children who had been in and out of the hospital their whole lives. the gut-rentching stories parents had, you see the pain in their eyes and you couldn't do enough to reach out to them. children who had had more surgeries than birthday's. it was hard but we understood just the company and talking was doing them some good. both boys had such a wonderful time in the playroom, library, and at movie night. who wouldn't love a movie night were you are treated to a FREE snack bar just like the movie theater offers. kreg ended up spending a tough night with jayden and they were able to come home today. overall, it was fun, but pretty rough for jayden. some nurses didn't believe in round the clock pain meds, but one we found one who did, things got better. though, we are still looking at a 7-10 recovery period. let's just pray all goes well.

keep us in your thoughts....

Jayden and Kreg are at the hospital already. Any minute will be going under to have his tonsils and adenoids taken out. We are all praying for a fast recovery.

Tonight I have an interview with a nanny. I'm very excited and can't wait to meet her. Let's hope she's wonderful!

how guliable does he think I am?

As I'm getting ready for work this afternoon, Hunter runs up stairs to tell me this:

"Mom, all of a sudden Jayden woke up off the couch, colored on the middle of the floor and then went right back to sleep."

Yeah.....I'm going to believe that one.

Yep.....red color scribbled all over the floor.

Thankfully things scrub off very easily from the laminate wood.

What I learned while shopping with my children this weekend.

so all the boys are off at deer camp and mom and I decided to do a little shopping. but here are some things I've learned in the past 2 days:

1. If we decide to try anything on, we have to pick a dressing room near the end, next to one another. If not, the boys go crawling under all the rooms searching for us. Not giving a care who's in them.

2. Boys think all balls and balls. Especially the very pretty, hand blown, hand painted ones in the beautiful Christmas section. The sound of them hitting together and falling to the ground in pieces is not a pleasant one.

3. If there is any money to be seen, the kids want it. That includes the little boxes set up to donate to. It's amazing where their little hands can fit.

4. Mannequins aren't very strong.

5. Hunter feels the need to clean EVERY public toilet before he uses it. (yes, he stands up)

6. My voice is not loud enough to cover every square inch of a department store when searching for a lost child and when you tell people working there you've lost a child, they don't offer much help.

7. Hunter says the santa at the mall is NOT real. Real santas don't wear glasses. Why would the mall have a fake santa he would like to know.

8. When you tell Jayden to drop the toy, he will, right there. And everyone just laughs.

9. As horrible of a mother I think I may be, I will never be as bad as the woman literally beating her child's naked rear in the women's restroom. I've never seen so many women shudder in my whole life. I make the promise to never do that. I can still hear the sound in my head.

I'm sure there is so much more, but I'm tired and headed to bed. Shopping with the boys will wear you down.

This week....

has been a crazy week. I've been working my tail off and Kreg's getting ready to go deer hunting. Fun for all.

I've been given the opportunity to take on a full-time job and I'm actually terribly excited about it. (more details to come later!) But the hard part, is I am now on the search for a 'Nanny.' So if any readers know anyone who's looking to take on some boys, let me know.

Kreg and I have been thrown a loop and are trying to figure everything out. It's amazing how quickly your life can change.

this left me speechless this morning:

http://www.komotv.com/news/4533931.html

don't ..... know what to. . . . . say

randomness

you know you are a shopaholic when you enter CVS and the lovely sales person hands you a flyer to which your 4-year old promptly replies, "No thanks. We are just looking."

and why is it people STILL try to drive down parking rows the wrong damn way and they get upset at you when they think you are in their way. come on people! look at the way the cars are parked and the fact that I'm coming up the row. don't honk your horn at me and flip me off because YOU are going the wrong way. some people just shouldn't have a license. I'll hop off my soap box now.

the tooth from H-E-L-L strikes again.

yep, I landed myself back in the dentist chair again today :(

last Tuesday I went in to have my stitches removed and still had quite a bit of swelling. they put me on another steroid pack but said things would improve, just be patient. that night, the crown on the tooth cracked. no biggie, dentist said when I am up to it, they will replace the crown.

this Tuesday I started having some pain and noticed the tooth was cracked in 2 places. by this afternoon the pain was getting intorable so I made the dreaded call.

anyone who has ever had anything stuck in their teeth can feel my pain with this one (or at least try too). turns out a part of my crown actually broke off and was jammed up in my gum, causing pain. imagine something stuck in your gum for 2 days, except mine was porcelain. needless to say, my gums have taken a massive beating.

after 2 root canals, a crown, an apicoectomy, and now this, I hope my troubles are soon over.