Cough, blow, gag, bark....

...that's what is sounds like around our house these days. Sickness still plagues this house. I thought we would be on the mending side of things by now, but not so much. I'm still not over my sinus infection and wondering at this point if that's what I really have since I've been on an antibiotic for a week now. I was looking forward to going to church this morning since we've haven't been in a few weeks (out of town for Christmas, sick kids, me sick). I laid everything out & even got our breakfast stuff ready to make pancakes all laid out with cups, plates, forks, etc. Then about 12:30 am I was getting ready to go to bed & Kensley started fussing. Normally I just let her fuss & she goes right back to sleep, but she kept fussing. So I went in there to check on her & she was standing up. I picked her up, she gagged, we ran... thankfully we made it to the toilet in time, but she threw up several times last night. I am wondering at this point where in the world she would have picked something up because we haven't been anywhere (except yesterday morning to watch the boys basketball games) in almost a week. Who knows! Then, in the middle of the night, Chandler starts his barking cough. Ugh! I'm tired of it. I'm sure it could be a lot worse, but I'm ready for everyone to be well for a while. I want to feel up to par again and have some energy to do stuff. So, until next time... let's keep out fingers crossed & pray that we all get well.

Stuff: Christmas stuff & kid stuff

Why is it that when you take down all your Christmas decorations that the house looks bare? (yes, I'm telling on myself that I just took down my decorations today, but I've had a good excuse) The only extra thing that takes up space is the tree, but all the other decorations in my house are put out when I take the other stuff down or put it away to be replace by the Christmas stuff. I don't get it. My house looks so empty & so plain now. I guess all the bright colors are more noticeable than my neutral stuff.

I love having a girl...(I love my boys too, but I can relate better with Kensley... cause I am, after all, a girl myself). I prayed that I would have a girly girl and I think I got one. It is SO much fun to just sit & watch her be girly. Today we sat in the floor & played for about 45 min before the boys got home from school. She has a small rocking chair & she sat & rocked her babies & fed them while proclaiming "nummy, nummy, nummy, nummy" as she stuck the bottle in the baby's mouth. She not only had one baby, she had to have 2 babies to rock (mind you, one of them was as small as my hand). She then got up and walked the babies around in the stroller for a few minutes & then went back to rock them again and she said "yok-yok" over and over, loving & feeding them. It is SO sweet! I could just eat her up. She had to have her new pink crocs on & a bow for her hair as she walked around. Then she got so frustrated because she was wearing one of her teething rings as a bracelet, but it kept falling off of her wrist every time she would try to crawl across the room. She cried big, crocodile tears and just pointed at it. She finally gave up trying to crawl with it & just walked with her arm bending up so it wouldn't fall off.

Her personality is so adorable & she is so bright & bubbly. I remember loving this age with the boys too. They really are starting to express themselves at this point and show who they are. I've also looked at the boys over the past few weeks & thought, "where did time go?" They are growing up so fast! Chandler is to my armpit and Carter has lost his little boy look. They are so smart and independent. Chandler made a comment to me the other day about something & said "Mom, I AM 7 years old... I can do this by myself". I sit and look at them & think about when they were Kensley's age. Chandler with his white hair, smiling all of the time & singing. Carter with his curls & fat cheeks, so quite and sucking his thumb. Gosh, I miss that! I guess with another year passing you can get so caught up in all the "stuff" that you do everyday & don't really take time to see how fast your kids are growing up.

Here's a little video of Kensley & her babydoll "episodes" today. So funny!

Name lables for cups!

If you are a mom of a young child, I think you will appreciate this post. It looks like one of the most fabulous inventions ever! I just saw an advertisement for these in a parenting magazine today. Check it out here. Look under the featured products on the front page... it's the Bumpy Name Orbit labels. I've had some labels before that work good, but they were a one time stick and if you took them off they didn't re-apply. How many times do you have to label your kids cups when you go places... church, preschool, play dates, etc. I will be purchasing some of these.

Welcome 2008

How many of you actually stayed up to watch the ball drop last night? I was struggling. I felt bad from my sinus infection, but I was gonna make it & we did. We've had a tradition for the past 7 years that we go to some friends house for New Years Eve, stay up late, play games, eat lots of junk, and ring in the new year together. They live about 45 minutes away, so we always spend the night. We have a lot of fun & their kids about the same age as my boys, so they have a blast playing together & all cramming in the same bedroom to sleep. This year we didn't even break out the board games. They got a Wii for Christmas and we played that all night. It is a lot of fun! I've got Corby on video playing tennis. He broke out in a sweat from playing so hard. It can be a great workout.

I've got a few pics of Kensley. She's at such a cute age right now, so something new is always waiting to be captured. If you ask her where her eyes, nose, mouth, ears, hair & bellybutton are, she will point to all of them. Her favorite is the bellybutton.

She's so girly and loves her babies, so Corby gave her one of my purses the other day. She loves to cram stuff into it and carry it around... and it has to be on her shoulder.

She got some new boots for Christmas from my Mom & she loves them. It put them on her tonight & she was fascinated with them & the balls on the front of them. She kept pointing at them & walking around talking some gibberish. So cute! I'll say "Kensley, look at Mommy" and she sees the camera and says " eeeeeese" (for cheese).... that's what she's doing in this picture.

10...9....8...7....

...the countdown is on until the famous ball drops tonight. I can't believe it's the end of 2007. This will be short & sweet.... I'm battling a sinus infection so I don't feel great & haven't been on the computer much lately. I want to wish everyone a Happy New Year!~ I hope your 2008 will be fabulous!

The Aftermath

Well, we are home. We had a great Christmas & enjoyed spending time with family & opening lots of presents and eating lots of yummy food. We got home late last night and today has been a doozy. Coming home after Christmas or any trip is always hectic trying to get all the stuff unloaded, unpacked, washed, put up, etc. I don't enjoy that part. To top it all off we had some extra drama today. Carter woke up in the middle of the night a couple times with a sore throat. I knew he would have to go to the doctor today, so Corby took him & he has strep throat. Chandler had a sore throat a few days while we were at my parents, so the dr. said he probably had it too. They are both on an antibiotic and Kensley is still on round 3 of antibiotics for her ears.

Then, I started washing the mounds of clothes, from being gone for almost a week, this morning. I was in the bedroom unpacking & thought the water sounded really loud. So I walked into the kitchen to check on it & there was probably close to an inch of water in the laundry room running into the dining room. PANIC! I immediately shut off the washer but it was still pouring out.... still panicking.... So I turned off the water valves... water still running... I told Chandler to go to the neighbors to see if they had a wet vac... I finally figured out that the water was draining out of the back & the hose in the back had detached from the washer, so there was really nothing to do except wait until it finished draining. I grabbed every towel that I own & started throwing them on the floor trying to soak up the water. It finally stopped and my feet were freezing from standing in the really cold water. My neighbor did come with the wet/dry vac, so that helped a lot in cleaning the mess up. My towels are still hanging on my clothesline & dripped with water all afternoon! Corby came home after lunch & fixed the hose. Then the washer got off balance and wasn't level, so it has jumped and banged every load I've washed this afternoon! Ugh! I hope my floor doesn't collapse from all the wetness & the banging of the washer. So, needless to say, I didn't get much done today with the washer drama, a sick kid, and Kensley being attached to me all afternoon.

So, to sum it all up. The kids had a great Christmas and got everything they asked for... plus a lot more! Here's a few pics of the kids over the past few days. By the way, Kensley is walking pretty good now. She tries (key word) to walk more than she crawls now.

The boys throwing out the reindeer food on Christmas Eve.

Kensley LOVED opening presents.

She loves her babies! She got a carrier that she insisted carrying all of her babies in, despite the fact they fell out every time she took a step.

Kensley and her babydoll stroller... she loved it, although hasn't quite got the hang of it on hard floors yet.

Carter & Chandler both got a Nintendo DS

The boys both got real firefighter gear from Mimi & PawPaw

Me & Corby got luggage from my parents

The boys (wearing their firemen suits which they just took off today) made their own santa sleigh with 2 hot wheels-reindeer!

Merry Christmas to all!

Well, only a few more days till Christmas. It's been such a busy week... I looked at my last blog entry & realized, whoa.. that was a few days ago & seems like I just posted that last night. All the wrapping, cooking, baking, shopping, washing, packing... and pretty much anything else that ends with -ing... has got me tired & ready for a break. I love Christmas, but all the preparation can wear you out. I read a devotion today that marked this Bible verse as the focus:
“Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is Christ the Lord.” Luke 2:11(NIV)
She talked about focusing on the word "today"...what is our reason for celebrating this season? It's Jesus of course... but concentrate on how you can celebrate Him today, not worry about all that you still have left to do in the coming days. Praise Him by singing carols while you wrap your gifts; praise him while you bake your goodies as if you were preparing them to take to the stable He was born in; praise Him while you are buying those last minute items and standing in the long lines at Wal-Mart by smiling and greeting someone around you with a Merry Christmas (that last one is one I came up with... from experience).

It's so easy to get wrapped up in all the hustle & bustle of it all and believe me, I have. But every time I read something that brings me back to the real focus of this season, it makes me so thankful that the tiny baby was born in a place so humble. The least I can give to him is the glory He deserves... in all that I do.

We are heading out of town tomorrow, so I wish all of you a very Merry Christmas!