My Little Obsession

I have been really happy with how many layouts I've completed this month. Scrapbooking is really quite an obsession for me and I feel good when I'm indulging in my obsession. Unfortunately, I also feel down sometimes when I'm NOT indulging. Why is that? I have no idea, but I hope I find out soon, because otherwise, DH is not going to be happy with me. If anyone out there has any ideas, please share them with me. :)

These are two pages I did yesterday and today. In the first one, DD is only two years old. In the second one, she is five and thoroughly enjoying herself at Disney World. I try to remind myself every day how lucky I am to have such a wonderful DD. Sometimes it's tough when I'm grouchy and she is just chatting on and on about nothing--like tonight. I should be happy that she's healthy enough to talk incessantly, right?

I think that's all I'll get done for tonight. DS#3 was not kind to DH and me last night and I'm beat!

Baby Fix

I haven't posted new photos of the baby recently, so here are a couple. In this first one, he is peeking around the corner of the sofa so he can see me. He LOVES playing peek-a-boo! DH took this photo, and he's really proud that he did. I'm slowing training him... ;-)

This is a photo I took the other night. DS#3 was fussing so badly, but I was giving his dear sister a bath and getting her ready for bed. DS#1 is so good with him and held and sang to him until he fell asleep. The baby looks so adorable here, doesn't he?

Golden Arrow update: DS#1's teacher emailed DH back about how he had made an error with one of the quiz grades. The short story is that his average in that class is "95" and not "93" for the quarter, so he qualifies for the "Golden Arrow".

Gold and Silver

Today, DS#1 got a "Silver Arrow"(As and Bs on his report card) instead of the expected "Golden Arrow" (straight As) and all because he got a "93" (you need a "94" to get an "A" at their school) in ONE class. DH and I are a little upset because we can access their grades online and we didn't see this coming. DH has emailed the teacher in question to ask him how he weights his grades. I can't help but think--wow, this is a good problem to have, isn't it? I mean, missing an "A" by one point is disappointing, but to be that close is still great, isn't it? DS#2 missed an "A" by a tenth of a point last quarter. That was downright heartbreaking. Today, he got a "Golden Arrow"--one of only two boys in his class. That was really cool to see that. :)

DS#3 has been roaming around the house a little more. He is getting better at playing by himself. Just a little while ago, he was roaming around the kitchen area while DH and I were having a conversation. DH was walking away when we suddenly heard DS#3 crying--a distressed but somewhat muffled cry. We had to laugh, though, when we realized what had happened. The pantry door tends to be open most of the time, and most of the time DH or I shut it without even thinking about it. Well, DH shut it as he was walking away and apparently, the baby had crawled in there to check it out. Poor baby! He probably got a bit frightened when it got dark in there all of a sudden and he couldn't figure out how to get out! You've got to admit, though, that it's a little funny. :)

Nursing Woes Revisited

No one has had to listen to my "nursing woes" for a while, so I'm just going to say a little on the subject. Everything relates back to the hard time I had with my firstborn. One of the things I worried about then and now is running out of milk. I'm not worried about my milk stopping; I'm worried about not keeping up with my baby's needs and ending up using formula. It's not a bad thing to give formula to baby, but it's just that I worked so hard pumping at work and all of that sacrifice in time and energy and having to end up giving formula would make me feel like I failed and that all of that wasn't good enough. Why am I talking about this now? Well, we're down to the last ziplock bag of frozen milk. I have 9 packages of frozen milk, 5 ounces in each, between the baby having only my milk and his having to have formula instead. Ack! DH says it's because he drinks more from a bottle and that DH mixes some of it with the rice cereal. All I know is that I'm falling behind...

On a happier note, I've completed 12 layouts this month! That's more than any other month in the last year and a half! With the Winter Blahs Crop at Scrapaddict.com this coming weekend, I should be able to complete a few more by the end of the month! I'm very happy about being able to get some creative things done! Here are three layouts I've done the past couple of days that are using one of the upcoming February 2008 Scrapaddict.com kits.

This is one using photos of the older kids meeting their little brother at the hospital for the first time.
This one uses photos from the kids' Valentine's Day parties at school last year.
This is an old photo of DH and kids from four years ago. Yes, the weather that January was pretty mild, too. Aren't they a good-looking bunch? :)

First Ice Cream

Here I am putting my blog to good use again. I used a couple of my June 2007 entries for the journaling here about DS#2's eighth birthday. After DS#2's basketball game today, I tried to give him a kiss on the cheek. He tried to run away as usual, but I grabbed him and I was trying to hold him, but he was strong enough that I couldn't bring his face toward me. I did manage to kiss the top of head, anyway. :)

DS#3 got his first taste of ice cream today. I took the kids to Baskin Robbins after dinner. I put the Jamoca ice cream in a sugar cone in front of him and he automatically opened his mouth. I dabbed some on there, he tasted it, and then he opened his mouth again. When I was slow about giving him some, he let me know how impatient he was by screaming at me. I took some photos and even took a video. I told the kids that I was going to show DH the video and he would probably say, "That's my son!" We got home, I showed DH the video, and he proudly said, "That's my boy!" I haven't had time to upload and edit any recent photos, but hopefully tomorrow I'll post a photo of my ice cream loving baby! :)

I was tagged!!!!

By Jen.

Seems the idea here is to answer all the questions and then add one yourself at the bottom, then tag some people. :)

1. Name your 2 favorite scrapbooking topics: My cute kids and how lucky I am. :)

2. What are the 2 best places you've been to? Disney World and at the top of Keystone Mountain

3. Name 2 things you do every day: Nursing my baby and watching TV

4. Tell us 2 things that pretty much everyone knows about you: I am married and the mother of 4 children.

5. 2 places you wish to visit: Hawaii and Washington, D.C.

6. 2 things you may not know about me are: I hate confrontations and I've been pregnant 7 times that I know of.

7. 2 nicknames you've had at some time in your life: Lanie (my family's nickname for me) and Mel (everyone else's nickname for me that I don't like too much but that I don't try to correct anymore)

8. Name 2 of your favorite drinks: Chocolate milk and orange-pineapple juice

9. Janet's question: What are 2 interesting (in a good or bad way) jobs you’ve had in your life? I've really only had four jobs. The one that I have now (and those of you that know me know what it is) is pretty interesting on a daily basis. Besides that, I've only been a receptionist at a family friend's medical office, a medical records file clerk, and a lab tech (for a summer in college). I don't know if those would necessarily qualify as "interesting".

10. Cheri's question: Name 2 resolutions you've either already broken or 2 that you've kept so far: Well, I haven't exercised at all recently, but I have scrapped more pages, so I've got one broken and one kept.

11. Jen's question: If you could be any age you wanted to be what would it be? I would be at my present age, because I have all the experience of previous years that have made me the person I am today.

12. Melanie's question: What is your favorite holiday and why? I just LOVE Christmas! I love all of the family time. I love the decorations. I love the meaning of the holiday. I love that I get to celebrate my birthday right beforehand! *WINK*

And I am going to tag...
Anita
Pam
Laura
I can't think of any more people that might actually read my blog that have their own blogs, but if anyone else wants to, please participate! :)

LOAD Challenge Page #8

I finally finished this page! I started this at a crop at the end of December. It really only needed the journaling, which I took from some previous entries on this blog. It still looked plain, though, but then I came up with this way to do the title. The title itself was from a title challenge from Scrapaddict.com a while back. The journaling talks about one busy Saturday in September and also details how busy our weekly schedule was, mostly because of soccer. With that, I am done for the night. Yay! I got to scrap! I feel so much better now! :)

Longing for Creative Stuff

I've blogged every day this month, so I couldn't let tonight go by without saying a little something. I just wish I was still doing a layout a day like I've been doing for the first week of this month. There's just something about exercising my creative side that makes me happy and satisfied. I hope I can get some more pages done this weekend.

I booked our flight to Denver for Easter Break tonight. I got a decent deal on a non-stop flight and I couldn't pass it up. Non-stop flights are SO much easier when traveling with small children. It'll be so fun to visit the mountains again. The kids are pretty excited about going to ski and play in the snow. We haven't been there in about 3 years, so DD doesn't really remember it too well, but the boys do. DS#3 will get to wear the same snowsuit that DS#2 and DD wore at about a year of age. You can get a lot of use out of those things if you only use them once every three years or so!

That reminds me, maybe I'll need to do one of those "connections" layouts that my friend Catherine always talks about where I show photos of the three kids in the same snowsuit. Ooh, now that sounds like a cool idea. I love that creative stuff!

Nine Months

I don't have a layout done today because I'm working on a lecture that I'm giving tomorrow. I just wish I didn't get so nervous every time I give one of these things! I'm sure it's because I never feel like I know what I'm talking about. I'm going to have to change that one of these days...

For the good news, DS#3 is NINE months old today! He had a routine appointment with his pediatrician today. He is apparently dropping off the chart as far as weight--he's only 16 lbs. 13 oz. which his siblings all reached by about 3-5 months. He is definitely still growing, though, since his height is up to 28 1/2 inches (about 50th percentile). His head circumference is 44.5 cm if that means anything to anyone out there. The doctor isn't too worried yet, since he is still growing, but he did discuss allowing him to eat fatty foods, even ice cream! The kids heard that and they all want to feed him ice cream. DS#3 is also meeting all of his milestones, like babbling and getting into things, pulling up, etc. By the way, that's new--he is pulling up by himself on furniture now, not needing assistance from anyone like he was before. It'll be just a matter of time before he starts walking along the furniture. Just tonight he crawled into the office into my scrap area and started pulling at my bags of kits and trying to open my drawers. Uh-oh!

I'll try to get some new photos up on the blog tomorrow!

...And Then There Was One

At 4AM this morning, DS#1 comes in to tell DH, "Papa, I threw up." Ugh! At least he was old enough to do it in the toilet and clean up after himself. So, we started with all four kids at home this morning. DH went ahead and took the baby to daycare because we paid for it anyway, and at least we wouldn't have to worry about him. DH is the only one that hasn't had any symptoms--yet.

DS#2 said he got sick twice, although we didn't see any evidence of it, but he didn't eat so well this morning and he actually took a couple of naps, so he obviously wasn't feeling well. DD spent breakfast time in the bathroom saying that she felt like she was going to get sick, but she didn't. She felt well enough this afternoon to go shopping at Target with me. She's such a little shopper. Sometimes I feel like I've had enough of her constant chattering and constant asking for things when we're out shopping, but today I really appreciated having the company. :)

Here is a simple page I did today using photos from December of 2002 when my oldest son got this huge gear bag with his new weapon package from karate. I wanted to see if they would both fit in it, and as you can see, they did. These photos still crack me up!

Hit By A Truck

I had to work yesterday and it was a particularly busy night. I feel like I've been hit by a truck, I'm so exhausted! Fortunately, the baby has been keeping things down and I was able to nurse him to day, but unfortunately, he still has some of those containment leaks and also DD started the throwing up yesterday. Today after school, DS#2 was telling us that he wasn't feeling well. I think it may have been the power of suggestion (either that or the way my body is reacting nowadays to being so tired) but my stomach was feeling queasy today, too. So tomorrow, we'll have two possibly three kids at home. Sigh--so much for a "day off"!

This page isn't particularly inspired, but the grandparents might enjoy photos of DD. I'm sure they'll want to read an excerpt from the journaling. I asked DD what she like the most about soccer and she said, "Being on the bench." When I asked why she didn't like running around, she replied, "Because I get hot." There you have it--a kindergartener's perspective on soccer. :)

LOAD Challenge Day #5

This is just a simple page with our Christmas Card Photo. The actual newsletter didn't fit well with the scheme of the page, so I adhered a copy on the back of the layout and I put excerpts from the newsletter on the front of the layout. This challenge is killing me, but I'm getting pages done and that's making me happy. :)

Oh Poop!

I told DH that he is never allowed to say that he is worried that little man hasn't pooped in X number of days. I think this was Day#3 or something like that, but now he has officially pooped three times and all three were containment leaks, including one that was up his back and on our bed!!!
Poor thing is just miserable! :( He has also been throwing up everything. I'm glad that I only fed him some rice cereal and not something orange or green earlier today. He did manage to hold down some bananas tonight, followed by some Pedialyte. I nursed him tonight about an hour ago, so hopefully that one will "stick". Poor little guy! :(

On an upbeat note, the "little guy" on this layout scored today at his basketball game! He had two out of his team's three points. We're very proud of him!

LOAD Challenge Day #3

I don't know if I can keep up this pace, but this is a page I did last night. The photos are from 2004 when my oldest was only 8 years old. My, how time flies!

On other news, we went to DS#2's basketball game tonight. The baby desperately wanted to crawl on the floor, so DH let him, even though we knew that the floor was probably dirty. The baby became intrigued by the area UNDER the bleachers, however, and that was just in its own category of uncleanliness, so we spent the rest of the game carrying the little man instead of letting him crawl around like he desperately wanted to!

Last Two Pages from 2007

These are two of the four pages that I started at a crop on the 21st of December that I went to with my friends Jen and Amelia. I finally used some of my 2005 Scrapaddict.com kits. I just now got a chance to scan and upload them after finishing them last week. I actually started two more, but I haven't had time to finish those. Little man has been quite clingy today, and I've barely had time when he hasn't been in my arms or on my lap since I got home from work.
The photos on the first page were taken at Disney World this past September. DD was simply thrilled when she got a chance to take a photo with Snow White. She was all about the princesses on that trip!

The photos on the second page were taken a few weeks ago when my DS#2 shot two free throws and those ended up being the only points his team scored during that game. So, his team didn't start out very good, but it's amazing how much they improve even from week to week.

Layout-a-Day Challenge (LOAD) Day #2

I did this page yesterday. I'm not entirely pleased with the lighting in the pictures, but it's a learning process for me. Improving my photography skills is something I really want to do this year. My journaling talks about how I fixed DD's hair on the spur of the moment on New Year's Day and how I love being able to play with her hair. I'm lucky to have a daughter with such great hair! :)

A Page A Day

I just signed up to do a Layout-a-Day Challenge for the 31 days in January at Big Picture Scrapbooking. Am I crazy or what?!! Here's the page I did very late last night before I knew I was even going to do this challenge. It's a simple page with all of the kids' handprints stamped and a photo I took yesterday so I can see how big they're getting over time. Wish me luck!

Happy New Year 2008!

Today was a fairly lazy day, at first. DH and I got to "sleep in" until around 7:30 or so when DS#3 woke us up. After feeding him, he was wide awake and all smiles. It helped a little that his big sister was there smiling back at him. I made banana pancakes and turkey bacon for breakfast. The baby officially loves banana pancakes! I'm going to have to double that recipe every time.

After breakfast, we played more Wii games. I think the kids and I are addicted, and it'll be hard once school starts back up and the kids' electronic time is limited. We're all rather competitive and we keep wanting to improve so that our scores are better than everyone else's. :)

We then went to the mall for lunch. It was packed! You would think it was before Christmas! I was amazed when I realized that the last time I was at the mall was before Thanksgiving. Anyway, we had to get the kids some new pants--khakis for DS#1 (the ones I bought for him a month ago are now too short), jeans for DS#2 (the ones I bought for him this past summer have holes in the knees and his other ones are too short), and jeans for DD (who is very skinny and very hard to fit, even with the adjustable waist jeans). We were successful for two out of three. I'm afraid we are going to have to start buying pants at department stores for DS#1. He is too big for the kid's stores and too small for the men's stores. Oh joy!

The rest of the afternoon/evening was spent cleaning and putting away things, although the kids did get to spend some time outside on this very beautiful day. DH did lots of laundry and the rest of us did lots of folding and putting away. After dinner, we got to play some board games, Harry Potter Scene It and a new game that DH just bought called Drakkon. DS#1 knows the HP books AND movies inside and out, and he almost always wins at HP Scene It--and he did again tonight. The new game was a bit confusing at first because the players actually "make" the gameboard as they go. We all seemed to enjoy it, though, so I think we'll be playing that game again.

We went to a neighbor's house around 8PM. It's so nice to have nice neighbors. Some of the neighbors were setting off fireworks and were generous enough to let my kids have some, too. They had lots of good food and it was fun to socialize with them for a bit before going home to feed the little man and get him in bed. It wasn't so easy to get him asleep again, and I decided that he will be going to bed on time no matter what tomorrow! I got to take my shower and get ready for bed in peace, at least, and I finished just before the repeat of the ball dropping in Times Square. The rest of my family was still outside, so I spent the first few minutes of the New Year alone. It was short-lived, of course, since everyone came home soon after midnight. We were amazed at how well the kids held up. We'll see how they hold up tomorrow. We'll see how well DH and I hold up tomorrow!

Happy New Year, Everyone!!!

Now He Can Clap

I am way behind on blogging, but I thought I would at least post a photo of DS#3 that I took today. He started sticking out his tongue a while ago, but it seems like he has rediscovered this trick lately. On top of his usual drooliness, he sticks out his tongue all the time. This means, of course, that he leaves little pools of drool wherever he goes. He has also started clapping his hands. He's not all that great at it yet, but in this photo he at least has his hands somewhat open.

I would say that he is adorable, but he just put DH and I through the ringer. He went to sleep at around 7:30PM, but DS#2 left the light on in the gameroom (where the baby sleeps) so DS#3 woke up at 10PM and just would not go back to sleep. He seems like he is finally asleep in his crib now. *SIGH* Okay, he IS adorable anyway. :)

Christmas Day

This was my "Christmas Day" prompt:

Make a list of the events at your house on Christmas morning. Make this a “Day in the Life of” type of journaling. What time did your family members wake up/get up? Did you open Christmas presents today or last night? How long did it take everyone to open their gifts? Did you go to church or did you go to someone else’s house today?

DS#3 woke DH and me up at 6:30AM. We didn't hear anyone up at that time, but we did hear kids get up soon after. I fed the baby and he went back to sleep. I went downstairs at around 7AM. I saw DS#1 getting ready to have his Fruit Loops (a ready-to-serve container that was in all of the kids' stockings). I heard the muffled voices of the other two, and I had to look around, but I finally found them in their bathroom! DS#2 had received a magnetic hangman game in his stocking and they were playing in the bathroom. Apparently, he was trying to be quiet and DD met up with him in the bathroom when she went there. I just laughed because DD can't really read yet and the word they were playing was "universe".

I went downstairs again and starting making cinnamon crescent rolls. Meanwhile, the kids had their Fruit Loops. They were talking excitedly about the presents under the tree and the Santa gifts next to the fireplace. DD had the "biggest" gift and DS#2 was saying that he had the "next biggest" gift from Santa. I let them watch some TV while we waited for DH and DS#3. Finally, at around 9AM, they came downstairs. Apparently, DS#3 was still sleeping, but DH knew that the other kids were anxious about opening presents so he finally awakened the baby at 9AM or he would have slept longer.

I made them pose for photos first (see above) then the chaos began. DD and DS#2 looked the most excited, especially when they opened their Santa gifts (that post will be later). DS#3 was still in wake-up mode and was still hesitant about ripping off the wrapping paper. He really enjoyed his toys, though, and DS#1 also seemed excited, but in his own understated way.

We had lunch sometime after 11AM. We had Honey-Baked Ham, mashed potatoes, and green beans. We gave the baby bits of ham and green beans for the first time. He is more than ready for table food! We didn't have anything elaborate for dessert because the kids were anxious to go outside and play.

DH put DD's bike together and she rode it outside while DS#2 played with his new gigantic Nerf gun. DS#3 and I were napping then and we slept for a couple of hours. He was in a much better mood after that. The rest of the day was filled with video games for the whole family. I even got to play with the Wii this time!

The only other remarkable event was that I attempted to make DH's favorite dessert, Dark Chocolate Souffle Cake. Just before I started mixing things together, I realized that I had run out of sugar when I made pancakes on Saturday. So, I made some ready-to-bake chocolate chip cookies instead. Oh well! DD was a hoot because she had on her Santa Hat and she was eagerly watching the oven. All in all it was a relaxing family day! :)

Christmas Eve

I postponed this prompt until now since it has to do with Christmas Eve.

List any Christmas Eve traditions you might have. Do you do some last minute shopping? Do you go to church on Christmas Eve instead of Christmas Day? Do you exchange gifts on Christmas Eve instead of Christmas Day? If you have children, do you do anything special for them on this day?

We don't really have a Christmas Eve routine, mostly because it depends on my schedule. I had to work yesterday/last night, so I came home this morning a little tired and not wanting to really do anything except take a shower. We had to get one last minute present for the son of a family friend, and we had to pick up our Honey-Baked Ham. That was all that was a must-do on the agenda, so DH and I lounged around for a bit until after lunch. He went out to do those two things. I got to go to Coldstone Creamery with the kids.

I got a coupon for a free "Love It" size ice-cream for my birthday, and it expired today, so I didn't want that to go to waste. I actually got a coffee ice cream shake like I always do, and DS#2 got a shake (the flavor changes) like he always does. My oldest son got the big ice cream cone that was free with the coupon--he's a growing boy, after all. DD insisted on a chocolate shake this time, which she didn't finish as usual. That meant that DH got the rest of her shake when we got home.

It was late enough by then that we went ahead and got ready for church. We wanted to go to the 5PM Christmas Eve mass this year so we could be free to lounge around and play with our new toys on Christmas Day. At mass, we saw our good friends (DS#3's godfather and his family) who invited us to their house for some hors d'oeuvres. That was perfect since we hadn't planned on anything much for dinner and this way we wouldn't have to cook! We only stayed for about an hour and a half, but it was really nice to socialize for a bit and have some good food.

At home, everyone took their baths/showers and the little ones went to bed. I'm on the computer and DH is wrapping presents. I think I'd better go help now. I'm a little behind on the photos on this blog. I'll try to post some tomorrow!

Merry Christmas, Everyone!!!

The Wonder of Christmas

Ask your kids what Christmas means to them. I would suggest that you ask them separately and then maybe get them together with their answers. My kids tend to mimic each other when they’re together, but sometimes that will enable the younger ones to think of an answer they wouldn’t normally think of. If you don’t have children, then you may want to reminisce about your own childhood or you might want to write about the nieces or nephews or other young family members.

DD - "To get presents"
DS#2 - "We give gifts and it’s Jesus’ birthday"
DS#1 - "The birth of Jesus Christ and peace, I guess"

It's interesting the five-year old is all about the presents, the twelve-year old understands the more abstract meaning, and the eight-year old is smack dab in between. Oh, and the eight-month old just grinned and babbled a little. ;)

Christmas Traditions

List your Christmas Season traditions. (Christmas Eve and Day traditions will be covered later.) Select one to describe in more detail, and take some photos to match. Do you have to get a family photo at this time, or do you have to get a photo of your kids with Santa? Do you have any special preparations at this time of year, whether it’s a cookie exchange or giving to some needy family?

We used to get a family photo every year at this time. This gave us a picture to use for our Christmas photo card plus a yearly glimpse at our growing family. When we had DD, she simply would not smile for strangers. We had such a tough time keeping her from frowning that it just wasn't worth the hassle. I started taking photos of just the kids from then on.

We've never really gotten photos of the kids with Santa. Neither DH nor I were ever willing to get in the long lines at the mall plus with the age differences in the children, there was almost always one that wouldn't tolerate sitting on a stranger's lap, even if it was Santa.

As for other activities at this time of year, I can't really think of any except for basketball games and soccer practices that are ongoing. We do usually get an angel from the angel tree at church and give presents to some needy family. I'm afraid that I'm skipping that this year just because I can't bear to do any more shopping! I promise I'll do better with that next year. :)

January 2008 Scrapaddict Kits

I finished my assignments this week with the upcoming Scrapaddict.com kits. I can't believe I finished these so quickly. I didn't even add that much to them this time. The first two below are from the Yellowstone Kit using Pebbles, Inc. Theodore papers. The bottom two below are from the Time For Recess Kit/OD using the A2Z Essentials What's New Club papers. Thanks for looking!

Weather

Describe the weather during the holidays in your part of the world. Does the type of affect your “Christmas spirit”? Is there anything you do to make up for the weather?

The weather in my part of the world ranges from warm and sunny to wet and chilly. The weather this year has been very variable. It is warm and sunny one day and wet and chilly the next (instead of a few days each, which is more typical). I have to admit that it's difficult to get going on Christmas activities when it is warm and sunny outside. Wet and chilly makes me want to curl up in bed inside instead of doing Christmas shopping or decorating.

There isn't really anything much that I do to get in the Christmas spirit, but it never hurts to listen to Christmas music. I love Christmas music, and this year, a couple of radio stations in town are playing only Christmas music. I wouldn't want to trade the warm and sunny days at this time of year just to get in the "Christmas spirit". The best weather here is in the winter!

Wrapping Gifts

Today's prompt:

Describe how you wrap your presents. Do you go very simple with just plain wrapping paper or gift bags or do you go all out with bows and handmade tags, etc.? Do you wrap your gifts before sending them in the mail? When do you wrap your gifts—right away or at the last minute?

I used to wrap up presents with this elaborate wrapping paper folding on top of the present combined with ribbon. I still will wrap some adult presents like that, but for the kids, they really don't seem to care. It takes a while to do, so it's not worth the time to do this for the kids' gifts. If the presents were going to be under the tree for a while, then I might want everything to look "prettier", but wrapping is usually done close to Christmas, so the presents really don't stay under the tree for that long. We do it this way so the boxes will be out of sight (and out of reach) for curious little hands. Of course this year, Eric's favorite thing is paper, so those presents won't be placed under the tree until Christmas Eve.

Holiday Shopping

Today's prompt deals with shopping, one of my favorite activities!

List some stores that you always seem to go to for your holiday shopping. Why those stores? Do you like to “one-stop shop” or do you like to go to different stores to find exactly what you want? Do you use online versus bricks-and-mortar stores? Why one versus the other?

This year, I started my shopping on the day before Thanksgiving. I stopped at the toy store down the street first. It's family owned and a wonderful place to find unique toys. The owner is always there and makes personal recommendations that really helps speed my shopping along. The only time I've seen them have a sale is the week before Thanksgiving when everything in the store is 15% off. The other great thing about this store is that the owner will wrap my gifts for me for no extra charge. Believe me, that is one perk that I like to fully take advantage of!

My next stop this year was Toys 'R Us. They were having some pre-holiday sales and I had wish lists in hand from my kids and from my nieces and nephew. Between the two stores, I finished the biggest bulk of my Christmas shopping within about two hours, despite carrying around a baby that didn't want to sit in the shopping cart. That's the way I like to get things done--not exactly "one-stop shop" but close! Another plus was that almost everything I bought was on sale!

For toys, I tend to buy at the bricks-and-mortar places because it's easier for me to find out if that's the toy I want to get when I can read and see the packaging. I do some online shopping as well, but not as much as I used to since I have such a big selection of stores here in town. What I might do is shop online to narrow down my choices then go to the store to get the item. The exception is usually my nephew (DH's sister's son). Since I have to ship it anyway, I tend to shop for him entirely online.

Christmas Carols

Today's prompt is about Christmas carols:

List your favorite Christmas carols. Pick a favorite Christmas Carol and describe what makes it your favorite. If you don't have a favorite Christmas carol, then describe why you don't like them or why you have too many favorites.

I love Christmas carols so much that I like to sing them year-round. My kids love them so much that they each request at least one Christmas song every night before they go to bed. I have many favorites, but I love O Holy Night and The Christmas Song (Chestnuts Roasting on an Open Fire) the most.

O Holy Night has such a powerful melody, and I find myself wanting to sing it at the top of my lungs with all of the emotion of a Diva. My voice hardly equal to a Diva's, however, so I am always disappointed that the sound I hear is not what I feel.

The Christmas Song has the opposite effect. I find it very calming, especially the version sung by Nat King Cole. I can just picture my family gathered around a warm fire in the fireplace when I hear this song.

I could go on and on, and tomorrow I might find some new favorites. There is a radio station in town that is playing Christmas Music all the time during the Holidays. I think even I would tire of hearing Christmas songs on the radio year-round, but for now, I enjoy listening to that station on my way to and from work.

Holiday Eating

Here is the prompt from my Scrapaddict.com challenges.

What are your favorite things to eat during this time of year? List some reasons why each particular dish is one of your favorites. Does it evoke special memories? Is it only offered during the Christmas Holidays? Describe in more detail how to prepare your favorite dish or treat.

I don't think I have any one particular thing that I like to eat at this time of year. I just like that there are lots of goodies around to eat. That doesn't help me as far as losing weight, but it makes life fun. :)

Oh wait, I just remembered that I love those Danish cookies that come in a tin. It's a little silly, I know, because those are available year round and no one has to bake them especially for me, but I always associate those with this time of year. I remember when my mom's boss used to give her a gift certificate to Neiman Marcus every year. Everything there was usually too expensive, but they had those Danish cookies and they were affordable and we enjoyed them, so we always got them. I never realized until much later that you could buy them for much cheaper elsewhere.

I also fondly remember the Walker's Shortbread cookies that come in a red plaid tin. I remember the apartment where DH and I lived when we first got married. The landlord lived in that building too, and she gave us those shortbread cookies every year for Christmas. That was such a stressful time in our lives, and I remember how kind she was to us. We moved away soon after she passed away. She passed away so suddenly that I am still sad whenever I think of her.

Maybe as the holidays roll around, I'll remember some more. Food is one of those things that can really trigger memories for me!

Christmas Cards

This is a preview of our Christmas Card photo this year (for those of you lucky enough to get one *WINK*). We're sending a photo card again this year. We've been doing photo cards ever since we started having children, because everyone always asks us about how big the kids are. We usually also send a Christmas letter, just because we send cards to friends and family that we don't see more than every few years. Some of my friends I have seen in many, many years, but I still enjoy keeping up with them and vice versa, even if it's only once a year.

We usually send about 80 or so of these. I entertained the idea of making my own Christmas Cards, but time is short, and these will suit our purpose. My overachiever sister made all 90 of her cards all by herself. You go, girl! :)

Holiday Parties

We try to get in the spirit and go to my work Christmas Party every year. I work at one location in the training program, and I don't see the people that work at the other location in the training program except for this party and the Graduation Party at the end of the "school year". Last year, one of my colleagues, who is apparently very good at breakdancing, did his thing at the party. It WAS pretty impressive, I was disappointed that it was too dark to get a good photo. The boys would have loved seeing it. That won't happen this year, because my colleague injured his knee at the annual soccer game and is recovering from surgery. It's too bad that we have to get old!

Last year, I was pregnant and still getting very tired very easily, so we left before 10PM. The party is scheduled for next Friday, so I can take some photos then.

There is also a work Christmas Party next Friday during the day. This one is for the whole department rather than just my section. There is usually way too much food, and that's what makes it very enjoyable. I'll report back on that next Friday, too.

Outdoor Decorations

We usually don't have too many outdoor decorations either, because DH is the one that puts them up, and they do take quite a while. This year we will have the clear net lights on the bushes out front, and some clear lights wound up on the trees next to the fountain. New this year will be a decoration I bought at Target of a lighted holographic Santa and three reindeer. DD helped pick it out and the older boys murmured their approval. DS#2 even said, "Cool!" DS#3 just wanted to eat the box. ;-)

Again, I'll get some photos up when I catch up on my backlog of holiday stuff.

Indoor Decorations

We don't have too many indoor decorations, but I would love to have more. There's just something about young children and curious hands...

We do have several Santas. I haven't bought any new ones lately, but I have more than a handful of standing Santas and a couple of sitting ones. My favorite one is the 36-inch tall one because I remember buying it when Alex was 2 years old and 36 inches tall. He got such a kick out of looking at that Santa eye-to-eye, or actually, he was taller than the Santa by Christmas time.

The Nativity scene was a present from my in-laws. There are three Wise Men included and we place them closer and closer to the stable as January 6 approaches. That's one reason why we don't put away our decorations until January 6. My MIL believes that we should exchange gifts on January 6 instead of Christmas, since that is when the Three Wise Men gave the baby Jesus their gifts. I agree, and that would be a better time to shop, but while the kids are young, I guess we should conform with everyone else.

That's pretty much it, except for the tree which was discussed in an earlier post. We used to have a garland for the stairs, but I think we accidently left the batteries in and DH threw them away. If I do end up buying a new one this year, I'll take a photo as well as photos of my Santas. :)

Decorating the Tree

Here's the Scrapaddict.com journaling prompt for December 4:

Describe how your tree is decorated.
Do you have a certain color scheme or a certain theme? Do you have colored versus clear lights? What types of ornaments do you hang on your tree? You might want to expand this to describing what certain ornaments mean to you or what type of ornaments you like to buy.

We have a collection of ornaments that we've gathered over the years. I'm partial to wooden (or at least wooden-looking ornaments. I also love Santa ornaments. A few years ago, someone told me that every year, they took their kids to pick out their own Hallmark ornaments. I started doing this soon after that, so we have a collection of Hallmark ornaments, too. This year, DS#1 was going to pick the Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End ornament, but then he saw the soccer goal/soccerball and video game controller ornaments. Ultimately, he picked the video game controller one and the DS#2 picked out the soccer one. DD picked out the Barbie as the Island Princess ornament--very fitting since she is all about the girly sparkle right now.

The boys' ornaments are also very fitting to what they're interested in right now. DS#1 is very much into the video games. he got a Nintendo DS for his birthday in October, and he has accumulated about four or five games for it since then. He also loves to play this online role-playing game called Runescape. Some of this friends from school play it, too, so sometimes he'll "see" them there. DS#2 is all about soccer this fall. This was his first season playing in a more competitive league on a team that is not affiliated with his school. He has made new friends and learned some new skills from their professional coach. The ornament itself provides some insight into DS#2's tastes because whenever the attached soccer ball goes into the goal, a recording comes on that says "Gooooooooallll!!!" or "Score! Way to go!" or "What a kick! That is In there!" DS#2 is all about the sound-making devices. :)

I'll have to take photos of the ornaments tomorrow.

Putting Up the Tree

Here's today's Scrapaddict.com journaling prompt:

Do you have a live or an artificial tree? Why do you have one versus the other type? You might want to expand this into talking about why you’ve chosen a live versus an artificial tree.

I'll have to ask my parents to be sure, but for as long as I can remember, we've always had an artificial tree. Artificial trees are convenient (easier to put up and take down), they're neater, they're cheaper in the long run, and they last longer. Especially since we've lived in warm climates for most of my life, artificial trees last the whole season, from Thanksgiving in November to Little Christmas in January. Since we've had children, there is the additional reason that the small children are not in danger from swallowing the needles from the tree.

That being said, I love the smell and look of live trees. One Christmas, we were at my in-laws condo in Colorado, and they had a live flocked tree outside on their balcony. I thought that was the coolest idea to have it outside, and I would love to plant live trees outside that we could decorate. I haven't pursued this since, but maybe in the future, we'll have multiple "Christmas trees" decorating our yard. :)

Picking Your Tree

Here I am continuing my Scrapaddict.com challenges. This is today's journaling prompt:

Describe what you feel is the perfect tree.

If you have a live tree, how describe how you choose which one to get? When do you like to go get a tree? Does one person in your family have the final word?

If you have an artificial tree, then describe how and why you picked the tree. Is it flocked, or plain? Is it a prelit tree or do you still have to string the lights? We just got a new artificial tree. DH and I had talked about how big a tree we wanted. He saw this one at Costco and there were huge crowds just before Thanksgiving already, so he decided to go ahead and get it. There isn’t much to the story, but years from now, even simple journaling like that gives some insight to what type of person my DH is (practical—very practical).

DH and I feel like the perfect tree for us is one that is the biggest we can get in our living room, one that is easy to put together and to maintain, and one that is easy to take down. Oh, and it has to look good too, of course. This year, as it states above, we got a 7.5 foot prelit tree. I took the kids out shopping while DH put it together. Apparently, except for the fact that the bottom two of the three pieces were heavy, it was very easy to put together. He didn't have to mess around with untangling lights from last year, and therefore, he won't have to worry about trying to put away these lights for next year. We would both love a taller tree, but this is one is just tall enough to allow for a topper without scraping the ceiling. I love how bright the lights are and how many there are. The tree looks pretty full, too--almost real, since a "real" tree really isn't practical for us.

The Reason for the Season

I know I'll be busy with all of the holiday stuff this month and I won't have much time to scrap. I'm running this challenge on the Scrapaddict MB this month. I want to take a photo and do some journaling daily. This way, I hope I will have the makings for a Holiday Memories 2007 album after the hustle and bustle of the holiday season is over. The first journaling prompt is below:

What special types of holiday worship, if any, do you engage in? Do you do something every week (or every day) or do you just go to church on Christmas Day? Does this have a special meaning for you? This isn’t meant to be a guilt trip for whether or not you do anything at all, but merely an account of what and why you do what you do. Remember to take a photo that symbolizes what this season means for you, too.

During this holiday season, we plan on going to church at 9AM on Sundays just like we do the rest of the year. We'll plan on going to Mass on Christmas Day also. Especially when Christmas has gotten so commercialized, I want the kids to be reminded what the true "reason for the season" is. The reason for Christmas is to celebrate Christ's birth, not to exchange presents. The reason for the special decorating we do is to make this a special time, just as Christ's birth is special and not because we agree with all of the commercialization. The reason why we go to church on every weekend throughout the year and not just at Christmas time is because we want to be able to thank God year round for all of these wonderful gifts that we get year round. My family and I are all truly blessed. :)

First Day Report

DS#3 did fine today at daycare, of course. He was in the 6-12 month room. I joked about how he had "skipped a grade" since he had skipped over the 0-6 month room. *WINK* DH asked the teacher about whether or not DS had taken any naps. The teacher said that he had taken a 20 minute nap in the morning and a 5 minute one in the afternoon. DH told her, "That's why he's here." How does that baby survive on such little sleep?!!

Going to Day Care

DS#3 is going to daycare for the first time tomorrow. I have mixed feelings about it. DH and I wanted him to get used to kids his age. Kids his age won't wait on him hand and foot like his siblings do. He is very needy, too, and DH can't get anything done at home while watching him. What I'm not sure about is that women outside of the family will be caring for him for the first time. I not crazy about sharing him! :)

Thanksgiving 2007

Wow, I think this is the longest I've gone between blog posts! It's been quite a busy week. I'll just touch on a few highlights.

--I worked the night before Thanksgiving.
--We left to visit my family after I got home from work.
--DS#3 did not sleep during the whole car trip, but luckily didn't fuss too much either.
--We went directly to my sister's house. Her in-laws were also visiting.
--My sister's father-in-law got down on the floor and army crawled toward DS#3 who in turn started army crawling straight to him. It was so cute!
--DS#1 and DS#2 started playing Guitar Hero II on the PS2 with my nephew. That was their obsession for the rest of the trip.
--DD started playing dress-up with my niece. My sister could smell the lip gloss when they got near. They were such a contrast to the boys.
--DS#3 took a couple of short naps and that's it. He had a little trouble getting to sleep in the "new" crib and surroundings but did okay the rest of the night.

--On Black Friday, all of the kids got up early, so DH decided to go out to one of the local electronics stores (around 5AM). The checkout line was so long that he decided just to look around.
--We went to my youngest sister's house and "hung out".
--They had bought a tent and my BIL had already put it together in the living room when we first got there. Our boys stayed over there that night and they "camped" in the backyard in the tent. The temps overnight got into the 40s with thunderstorms. I still cannot believe that my scrapping sister failed to get photos of the three boys camping out for me!
--In the evening, we went to my younger sister's house because her DD was coming home from being with her father for Thanksgiving. DD spent the night there with her two girl cousins.
--DH and I were left with only DS#3 that night but he woke up at 3:30AM and kept waking up at least every hour or so. I sent DH to sleep in the other room since he was going to be driving.

We drove home yesterday. It was miserable, cold, wet day, and it wasn't a fun drive, but it was nice to be home. :)

My Oldest Son

I shouldn't forget my oldest son. I talk a lot about his siblings here because they're at a point where they're changing more quickly. I forget that he's changing, too. Today, I noticed in church that he was singing with a lower voice than I remember. He is still in the middle school choir because his voice hasn't changed yet. Tonight, I asked him if he noticed that his voice was getting lower. He said that he could still hit the higher notes but that he found the lower notes easier to reach now. Thank goodness that he can at least hit those notes, as compared to his father who always seems to miss those notes. *WINK*

I still sing to my oldest son before he goes to sleep. I'm happy that he still wants me to sing to him and he still even wants me to rub his back when I sing. I was doing that tonight and I was struck with an odd feeling. Here I was looking up to him as I lay in the bed with him. I found myself wondering if his feet were beyond where my feet were. He is taller than me now, of course, and it was weird rubbing the back of a boy who is bigger than me!

His face is changing too, as are other parts of his body that are not visible to me, I'm sure. He cares more about his hair. He'll ask to get a haircut instead of waiting for us to tell him it is time. His little brother made a comment the other day about how he is growing a mustache. Well, not really, and DS#2 IS prone to exaggeration, but DS#1's facial hair IS getting a little darker.

DS#1 spent the night at a friend's house last Friday. I really missed him. I saw him on Thursday night, and then I left for work before he woke up on Friday. We didn't see him again until Saturday afternoon. I caught a glimpse of myself in a few years, when DS#1 is off at college. I know my kids have to grow up and eventually leave my house, but I hope I can learn to cope with it better by then!

November Kit Layouts

I forgot to post these pages earlier. I posted one in October--Bobbing For Apples. Here's another one using the same Cast A Spell Kit for November from Scrapaddict. This uses photos from our recent Disney World trip.

This next one uses the White Picket Fence SDJ and photos from last fall's soccer season, during DS#1's game. DD was happily playing in dirt with the sister of another player. Her hands were filthy! She wanted to take home the dirt she was playing with. DH told her that we had our own dirt! :)

This one also uses the White Picket Fence SDJ and photos from last year. DD got this outfit as a hand-me-down from her second cousin. She was all giggly that her tummy was showing. I was just a proud Mama who was thinking of how beautiful her daughter was!

Last Soccer Game!

DS#2's soccer team played in a tournament this weekend. They played three games today--at 8AM, Noon, and 4PM. They won one game and lost the other two. What a long day! We left the house before 7AM and didn't get back until after 530PM. At least poor DS#3 was able to nap here and there, but he wanted to crawl around so badly that he would look at the ground when we were carrying him. We didn't make it to the next round, but DH and I are secretly thinking that isn't a bad thing because otherwise, we would have one and maybe even two games tomorrow, too!! I enjoy watching my kids play soccer, but enough is enough. I want my free time back!

The Search Is Over

The search is over. I wanted the elusive Nintendo Wii for Christmas, and DH found one today and bought it. He didn't even have to stand in line waiting for one. That would have been too much trouble. Now, I can't wait to play with it!

On a slightly different subject, I finally got a photo of DS#3's two bottom front teeth. Isn't he adorable?

Girls' Night Out

My friend Jen gets together with some other military wives once a year. It was her turn to host this year, and she invited me along. I have known all of them except for one through the ScrapAddict.com Message Board, and it was really cool to finally meet them face-to-face. Even though they had all known each other for a while, and I was the new one, they all made me very welcome. Thanks to Jen for inviting me, and thanks to DH for encouraging me to go and for watching the kids. :)

Good and Bad

Today was the awards ceremony at the kids' school. My oldest got a "Golden Arrow" for this quarter and DS#2 got an award for the first time--a "Silver Arrow"! Only students from the third grade on up can win those awards. "Golden Arrow" means an average of 94 in the core subjects. "Silver Arrow" means an average of 90 and above (I think). DS#2 actually only fell short about TWO points in ONE class or he would have qualified for a "Golden Arrow". DH and I were a little bummed for him, but he was still happy, thankfully.

Both boys also got the Reader Awards for their respective classes. That award is for the child with the highest number of Accelerated Reader points (from reading a certain amount of books worth a certain amount of points) in their class. We're so proud of our children!

Okay, so we have to have the good with the bad, right? Well, we also found out this morning that DS#2 earned a "mandatory" (which is basically an afterschool detention) for not having his math homework done. What a shock! That kid lives for math! He had even wanted to work ahead in math! He said that he forgot his book last night. That wasn't a very good excuse, but because of this, he has lost all of his privileges until next week. He didn't get to go out for a celebratory milkshake like his brother did because he was still at school!

DD doesn't qualify for any awards yet since she is only in PreK, but I would have bought her a shake. The only problem was that she was sent home form school after having thrown up her breakfast. DH said that she seemed to be feeling better at home, so she had a peanut butter and jelly sandwich--and promptly threw that up, too. She was very bouncy when I saw her at the awards ceremony, but she really only ate an apple this evening along with some water I made her drink. She went to bed at 6PM, and I'm hoping that tomorrow will be a better day for everyone!

Air Show

Today we went to the Air Force Base in town to watch the Air Show. Despite living here for five years, we've never been to one of these. DS#2's godfather was in town flying in the Air Show, so we made a point of going just to see him. These are some photos of the older kids with him and a photo of his plane. I guess when you're single with no kids you can have expensive hobbies like this one. It was great to see him again.

All Saints' Day

DS#2 was St. George, and DD was St. Michael the Archangel. DS got to read from index cards. DD can't read reliably enough yet, so she had to memorize her saint name and two facts. We started practicing daily last Sunday. I still had to prompt her, but I was proud of her. She said her lines loudly and clearly. Last year, she couldn't say a thing when she got in front of everyone. All she could do was give an embarrassed look and hide her face in her teacher's skirt.

I think they enjoyed dressing up more than anything else. :)

Costumes Part 2

This is the fourth year that my kids have been going to this Catholic school. That means that this is our fourth All Saints' Day at this school, too. On this day, all the elementary school kids dress up as saints and give reports about their chosen saint in front of their class. After they do that, they get to have a party. So, it's like Halloween all over again, except on the following day. This is the first time that I haven't had to "make" a costume. Do you know how difficult it is to find a ready-made costume of a saint?

The first year, DH and I totally freaked out when it came down to a week or so before the big day and we didn't have any saint costumes for the boys. Luckily, DH was able to find an adult monk costume that I cut down to fit DS#1. I had figured out that a monk costume could last a long time, and DS#1 wore that costume the following two years after that. This year he didn't have to dress up because he's in the middle school, and dressing in costume isn't required for them.

DS#2 wore a recycled wizard costume that first year. He was St. Patrick, so we tried to dye the dark blue costume green, but in the end, it still looked blue and we decided that it didn't matter. The following year, we again tried to find a monk costume (for DS#2 this time), but we had no luck at all. Again, we did this all at the last minute. Because of this, I spent about six hours the night before (which was Halloween) making a monk costume for DS#2. Sometime after I got home from work, I went out to the fabric store, bought a pattern, and the supplies to make a generic monk-type garment. I remember starting at about six and finishing at about midnight. That's with skipping dinner. That's with totally missing all of the Halloween festivities, including trick-or-treating. I actually haven't scrapped the Halloween pictures from that year yet because I still get upset thinking about missing all of it.

Last year, the boys already had their monk costumes, so we were set. I was so relieved! DD was only in PreK, so we chose a saint to match a ready-made costume. Target had these queen costumes last year, so she was a saint that was a queen. I can't seem to remember which one right now. More on this tomorrow.

Because of all of that past last-minute angst, last year and this year, I have requested call on the night before Halloween (so I would have Halloween day off) and a vacation day on All Saints' Day. That way, I can make a last minute costume if I have to. That way I won't miss Halloween again. That way, I can see my kids give their saint reports and help at their parties.

I'll have to share today's events tomorrow with the photos I took of their costumes.

Happy Halloween!

We had the usual neighborhood potluck dinner at the entrance to our culdesac tonight. We had chili, sausage, and hotdogs. We had veggies, fruit, and chips with dip. All of our candy containers were laid out on one table so trick-or-treaters to help themselves.

DD was in a cowgirl costume, and once again DS#2 was a Ninja--black this year, not red or white as in previous years. DS#3 was in a pumpkin outfit that Grandma bought for DS#1 about 12 years ago. DS#1 did not want to dress up in a costume, but he went with us to help with his siblings.

We ate first then set off (around 7PM) with the kids to the next block. The next block was having a block party also, so there was a one-stop shop there, too, except it was a long block, so some of the neighbors did stay at their own houses. The kids went door-to-door there. DD had a hard time keeping up with everyone as usual. One of our neighbors, an 8-year-old girl, was so sweet and stayed with DD and even helped carry her bag. We were on our way back the other side of that block when DD decided that she was ready to go home. That was fine with DH and me, so I headed home with three of the kids while he went on with DS#2 who seemed to be the only kid that was really excited about trick-or-treating this year.

It was over so quickly, but the best part as always was being able to socialize with our neighbors instead of staying cooped up in the house passing out candy!

Can You Believe...

Can you believe that the little man is trying to pull up already? He's made such great strides this week! Oh, and tooth #2 just popped out today, too. Too bad he's still not sleeping through the night...

Bobbing for Apples

DS#2 didn't have his two front teeth at this time, last year. His Den Leader had a Halloween party at his house complete with a bobbing for apples game. They had a rule that you couldn't use the stem to get the apple, but they made an exception for DS#2. He didn't seem to have any trouble getting the apples, rule or no rule, front teeth or no front teeth. That's what this layout is about. Tonight we went to that Halloween party again. We arrived late because DS#2 had a soccer game. We specifically requested that they hold off on the bobbing for apples until we got there. I didn't get any photos this time, but DS#2 was even faster at getting those apples. This time, he didn't even get his costume wet. He made bobbing for apples look easy. He had SO much fun! :)

More Random Facts

I don't really enjoy talking about myself, but since Catherine tagged me on her blog, I guess I'll come up with a few facts.

1--I'm very non-confrontational. I remembered this one after reading Catherine's facts. I don't like to admit it, but I run from fights or my mind goes blank and I come up with great comebacks after the fact.

2--I'm afraid of heights. I can go to the top of Eiffel Tower, but I get this weird tingly feeling all over that I don't like. The same goes for rollercoasters. I can go on one, but I don't think I should when I spend the whole time praying that I'll survive the ride. Not fun!

3--I would love to have another child. Shhh! Don't tell my DH. What's stopping us? The fact that I've had three miscarriages and I'm not getting any younger, so the risk keeps going up. Also, the fact that we don't want to sacrifice the time we have with our others. DS#3 is already getting shuttled to various soccer practices and games and other activities. We already have to split up going to different kid events. DH and I would each prefer to go to be able to go to ALL of the kid activities.

4--I would love to have family live close to me, the closer the better. I consider myself very lucky that I have a good enough relationship with my family to feel that way. When I pointed out to my MIL that there was a house for sale down the street from us, she told me not to worry and that they wouldn't move that close to us. I just thought, why not? We're so busy that we probably wouldn't be home anyway. That way, they could go to the kid activities too, if they want to. I want my kids to KNOW both sets of grandparents! :)

5--I'm very disorganized, or at least I always feel that way. People always think I'm organized. That's because I don't like clutter and I like to put it away out of sight. That means the closet is disorganized, as a result.

6--I prefer to be indoors. Today was beautiful weather here, and for a change, I wanted to be outside. Since the weather is rarely perfect, I usually prefer to be indoors--with central air conditioning and heat. My whole family is like that. My parents have consistently refused to go to any of their grandkids' games. They're even more indoor people than I am.

7--I have a hard time throwing anything away, especially scrapbook paper. The problem is that I don't always have time to do anything with it. Recently, I organized a file drawer with my scraps and told DD she could use any of it. The problem now is that she'll give me her creations and tell me that she made it just for me. Of course, there was the one time I caught her doing an "eeny meeny miny mo" with DH's desk and mine...

I hope I didn't bore anyone with these facts about me. I don't have anyone left to tag, so if you're reading this and you feel like sharing seven random facts about yourself, please do!

He's Crawling--No Kidding!

DS seemed close to crawling a few days ago, but we didn't realize he was this close. Today, his siblings were putting the TV remote control in front of him to see if he would move toward it. He scooched at first, and then, like a lightbulb turning on, he figured out how to coordinate his arm and leg movements and he was really moving. I wanted to take a video of this event, so I set my old red cell phone (this boy is drawn to red like his Mama) about a foot in front of him. In a matter of seconds, he was using the phone as a teething toy. Now, I have to figure out how to resize that video so I can post it here. He is growing up way too fast!

Avoiding Lectures

I'm supposed to be working on a lecture for tomorrow. It's one that I've given before, but I still need to practice it so I don't stumble over my words. I don't know why I can't shake this horrible nervous feeling every time I have to give a lecture. Meanwhile, I've distracted myself by making brownies to bring. Food always distracts everyone into thinking that I'm actually doing a good job of lecturing. *WINK*

I actually scrapped yesterday. It was my turn to host the Monday Sketch Challenge at ScrapAddict and I picked Annette's awesome sketch. Look how little DD and DS#2 were!

First Tooth

Today, we discovered a sharp edge along DS#3's bottom right gum. He's finally got a tooth! I know he's not technically behind, but the other kids had their first tooth by four months. I guess he just wants to emphasize that he's his own baby! I'll try to get a photo when you can actually see the tooth instead of just feel it.

This afternoon, I pressed down on his gum right beside his first tooth. He got VERY upset. I don't think tooth #2 is very far behind. I just hope he lets me sleep tonight more than last night. He woke up several times, and apparently I was coughing a lot, too. I was so tired that I barely remember any of it.

We're Not Tired

These were photos I took yesterday. The photo of DS#3 was at DS#1's soccer game yesterday afternoon. He only slept through half of that game. At DS#2's game yesterday morning, he slept through the whole thing. At least it wasn't hot yesterday, because I had this warm little body on my lap the whole time.

The photo of DD was taken after we got home after DS#1's game. We had just pulled into the garage and we realized that she was "toast". I couldn't believe that she was doubled over so much. Unfortunately, she awakened when DH removed her from the car. Oh well! That girl really needs more sleep than she gets.

I'm Moving...Temporarily

I decided that I like some of the features on this new site better...for now, gentle readers, please join me at Truly Blessed on Vox for the time being, and feel free to give me feedback as to which site you like better.

He's Crawling!

Well, okay, I don't want to call it "crawling" quite yet, but this baby is moving faster and faster while on the floor by himself. Last night DH put the TV remote control on the floor about a foot from DS#3's outstretched hand. He was bending and extending his legs until he got closer and closer. Then, because he was looking up at me taking a video of this (I wish I could figure out how to resize video so I can put this on the blog), he turned over and got pretty much within reach of the remote control.

This morning, the remote control was about six inches from his outstretched hand and with one newly coordinated move of his arms and legs, he was able to reach that remote control. Darn, I guess we need to clean out all that miscellaneous stuff in the living room--like the magazine basket!

Another Computer Junkie

Here he is--another computer junkie. With six computers in the house, including the two laptops, there will be plenty to go around... :)