Thanksgiving, Pictures and Santa

We had a wonderful Thanksgiving! My sister and her family did not fair as well. Mallory spiked a very high fever and after a trip to the ER in Iowa it was believed she had Sixth Disease so they came home without spending any time with the family they intended to. They had dinner, via Hyvee, in the car on the way back to KC. How sad is that? At any rate Mallory is feeling better and that's most important.

With help from my mom I hosted Thanksgiving dinner for 12 at my home. It was nice. The food was yummy! What more can you ask for!

Friday we went for pictures. Mostly for Kori's 7-year birthday pictures (seven already!) but I figured we'd throw the little girls in there too. They day was off to a great start. Morgan and Alexis were unusually quiet and clingy. I worried they were getting sick. I gave them juice for breakfast, just in case. Milk coming back up is never good. They perked up after some breakfast which was great! Got everyone dressed and such. They looked great, all 4 girls. Everyone cooperated with hair fixing, except Alexis. Nothing in the world was going to convince her to have ponytails in her hair like her sisters. I choose not to make an issue over something silly like that so she won that round. As we were getting ready to leave she threw up. It isn't your normal throw-up (probably TMI here I'm sorry). It was mucousy and just something she couldn't process so it came out. Nothing on the clothes which was good. We cleaned up and were on our way after she proclaimed, "I feel better!" My nephew was staying with us so we had an extra pair of hands, which is alwasy good. Jason grumbled as we were trying to find a place to park. He wondered why "anyone would take pictures on the day after Thanksgiving". I pointed out we've done it for the last 3 years. We finally made our way in and got taken right back. Jason had to run back home to get my who gets what picture list (I can't function without it). Kori did her pictures and did GREAT! No surprise there! Add in the little girls and there wasn't a smile in the house, except for Kori. We muddled through, picked the best shot of the 4 of them (NONE of them were great). Seriously not a smile from any of the little girls. At any rate the pictures were done thank goodness.

After pictures we headed off to the mall to see Santa. It's the same Santa Kori has seen every year. He's great! The girls walked right up there and plopped up there for the picture. Not huge smiles but no one was screaming or freaking out so that's good.

Today was my niece Mallory's 3rd birthday. Man that went by fast! We went to their house for pizza and cake and ice cream. Her party was supposed to be Saturday but with the illness it was canceled. My brother-in-law's grandmother is in the final stage of her battle with lung cancer so he was in Iowa visiting her for probably the last time. It's very sad as she is a super lady. That being said she has lived a very happy and wonderful life! Many prayers for the whole family. The "party" was nice, just my girls and I and my parents but we made the best of it. Mallory had a great time and that's all that matters! We wouldn't have missed it!

So now it's a new week. Back to school. Back to routines. Back to life. Ugh.

Here's our santa picture...enjoy!

More Volunteer Work

Tomorrow (well today since it's 1:45 a.m.)is Grandparent's Day at Kori's school. I will be working there in some capacity all day tomorrow. Jason is minding the herd, uh I mean keeping the girls. It should be fun. I am prepared. I am taking some kleenex and also some hand sanitizer. I'm winging it on the rest...wish me luck!

Color Funny

I was sitting at the kitchen table Saturday night making up one of my countless lists for this week so I can attempt to stay a wee bit sane with all I have to do. At any rate Kori came with her crayons and coloring book to join me. She was chatting and such and having a grand ol' time. She then proclaimed, "Mommy I think this is one of my favorite colors now". I asked her which one and she said "Muleberry". Huh? I had her spell it, well it turns out muleberry is actually mulberry. It made me giggle. Once I explained it to her she chuckled too. Hey she's only six. I told her she was in good company because her aunt LOVES the color M-A-G-N-E-T-A. You know the one, only for the rest of us it's M-A-G-E-N-T-A.

It's Baaaaaaaaack!

The fussing, the fighting, the bickering, the grumping, the sassing, the tattle tailing...CALGON TAKE ME AWAY!!!!!! And this was all after Kori joined the mix after school. The littles were pretty good today, but by evening, all four of them were beasts!

Tomorrow will be better, tomorrow will be better, tomorrow will be better! Where the heck is my ice cream??? (Kidding!)

Volunteering

Today I was a volunteer at Kori's school for their book-fair. I got there and there were a few of us working. After a few minutes the PTA stand-in President informed me that after 11am I would be flying solo. Huh? What? Oh man! All in all it worked out fine. I got to eat lunch with Kori so that was cool. It wasn't cool that they changed the menu at the last minute. It was supposed to be their Thanksgiving lunch but they decided they should move that to next Tuesday in honor of Grandparent's Day. Great! People will have turkey on Tuesday and then again Thursday, while I on the other hand was forced to choose between the hot dog or the shrimp poppers. Both great choices huh? I chose the hot dog and also got corn and fruit cocktail. At the time they were out of fries and I didn't have time to wait, and it didn't sound too appetizing either. A little butter and salt and pepper on the corn would have been nice, but maybe that's just me being spoiled and over critical. Elementary school kids probably don't notice and/or care.

During lunch Kori got to pick a classmate to eat with us. She picked a girl I will call "E". "E" has a slight speech impediment (not poking fun as I had a severe lisp until around the 2nd grade, not to mention both a brother and sister who suffered in the "Speaks Clearly" category -- sowwy Wabecka. :-) ) Any way she calls Kori "Tori". Kori told me a couple of the boys make fun of her so we discussed how everyones different and that's okay. "E" was eating and unbeknownst to her was completely GROSSING me out!!! She had enough ketchup on her hot dog to supply a small restaurant for a while. She proclaimed to me "I just looooooove ketchup!" Really? I hadn't noticed, it's dripping off your hot dog. Then there was the eating the corn (not on the cob) with her fingers. Swiping her finger through the ketchup lake and licking it off, amongst other things. I was doing okay with it, my palms were a bit sweaty, but I kept reminding myself "their only 6, their only 6, their only 6" over and over. Finally it was time to go. But not before I pointed out she had a big glob of ketchup on the front of her shirt toward the bottom and also on the sleeve. At this point she licked her sleeve, pulled her shirt up to her mouth and sucked off the glob of ketchup before proclaiming, "No problem, all taken care of!" At this point I think I threw up just a bit in my mouth before declaring "Time to go, I'll walk you guys back!" In my head I had to remind myself to quit thinking about the germs that were clinging on to the ketchup for dear life. My stomach was already churning...no need to make things worse.

After a stop in the bathroom where I thoroughly washed my hands and took a minute to catch my breath, I returned for the rest of my volunteering shift. I was greeted with a cute little guy with a book and the money to purchase it. I told him his total and then about passed out when he took the money from his baggie, wiped his nose with his hand (same hand holding the money) and then gave it to me. Oh goody! Where is my hand sanitizer!?!?!?!?! It reminded me of the days when I was a clerk at the police station and we would get bond money from people bailing out their family, friends etc. Sometimes the money came from purses and wallets, often it came from bras, pants, shoes etc. There were crinkled bills, ripped bills and my personal favorite, wet ones. Those trips to detention were followed up with LOTS of hand washing. I believe this is where my germ issues started to manifest.

Anyway time went by quickly and I managed to not screw anything up! Bonus! I chipped in extra change of my own here and there because I just hate to tell the kiddos they are short money, especially a little bit of change and can't get their book(s). So I went with about $4.00 and came home with about 30 cents. Oh well, it made someone smile I'm sure.

Jason kept the little girls and did a great job! Thanks daddy, you rock!

Next week...voluteering for Grand Parent's Day! Bring it, I'm ready!

POOPAPALOOZA!

Holy cow! I changed 8, that's right, 8 poopie diapers today! (Have I ever mentioned how glamorous my life is???) My hands are raw and cracked (well moreso than usual) from all the hand washing. Yuck X 3!

I was glad that all had handled their business before nap time. They typically use a nice poopie to stall the nap process. I thought we could get down to the business at hand a just go to sleep.

Nope they all had to do it again. And again, and again. Oh my stars, I've seen enough dirty diapers to last me for quite a while.

I get to work at Kori's school tomorrow at thier book fair. I have warned daddy since he'll be in charge. That could be interesting.

So this has shoved me further over to the "potty training darkside". We'll begin in earnest next month. They will be 2 1/2...no time like the present.

I Think...

I scared them! They have been acting SOOOOOOO much better! Saturday was just downright blissful! Kori played in the living room with her Barbies ALL day and was perfectly content. She didn't yell when any of the little girls walked withing 50-feet of her, which usually would set her off about them "messing up her stuff". It was great! It was cold and windy and yucky out so we stayed in (well I ventured to the store later in the evening but everyone else stayed in). I even managed to doze on the couch for 20 minutes or so (I had an AWFUL headache) while the girls were in their cribs for what should have been nap time. Alexis napped the other two, not so much. Oh well, at least they were in good moods at any rate.

Jason threw the littles in the tub Saturday evening when I went to the store. I soooo appreciated that! After the girls went to bed Kori proceeded to beat me 2-1 at the game TROUBLE. Dang! Oh well, it made her happy and we had fun, that's all that matters right? To heck with my wounded pride!

Today was another relaxing day. Our VCR in the playroom ate our Beauty and the Beast tape...that sucked! Jason played basketball this morning after work so he slept a bit later than usual. Kori did more Barbie playing etc. and I took the girls to the drive-thru for some McD's for lunch. It was easy and I didn't have to think of what to fix. Everyone deserves a break every now and then!

I spent the evening after the girls went to bed going through old pictures. They sure do bring back lots of good memories. I had a lot of uh, different looks. None of them particularly good, but oh well. So many of my sister Margaret. Made me miss her that much more! Life is so unfair sometimes.

At any rate, the house is quiet. Jason is working his last night and I am off for some more reading.

Another busy week this week! Calgon take me awaaaaaaaaaaaay!

Survivor

Nope, not the television show (although I do enjoy it when I get the chance to catch 5 uninterruped minutes of it), me. This week, that describes me. After surviving the past two days, I celebrated tonight by eating some Rocky Road ice cream straight up. Yep that's right. Right out of the container. Just me, my spoon and some Rocky Road love. (It's okay no germ contamination I'm the only one in the house who likes it)

My 2-year olds are refusing naps or falling asleep 20-minutes before nap time is over and the either way they are grumpy from around 6pm on. Do they give up at bedtime and just go to sleep? No way! That would be way too easy! We must stall, giggle, cry, scream, jump, dance, talk, you name it, they do it. **Sigh**

My 6-year old is sassy, surly, lazy, grumpy etc. etc. etc. Today I found the boots she wore to school yesterday shoved under her bed. Upon questioning her about how they got there and not in her closet where they happen to belong she replied: "Oh yeah, they must have fell under there." Uh excuse me? Are you trying to convince me that your boots "fell" under your bed??? I don't think so. You can package it however you want sister but I'm not buying it! Perhaps they were sucked under there by the Crap Monster that was inhabiting under there before I made her clean it out. Oh my goodness that room was a M-E-S-S! While she protested the cleaning and once again reorganization, afterward she proclaimed, "Your right mom, it does look much better this way then when it's all junked up!" She then thought I was nuts as I raced to the kitchen for a pen and paper to record this date in history where someone in this house proclaimed me to be right about something! I'm quite certain it won't happen again, so I thought I'd better record it so I'd never forget. Also I don't want her to be able to deny it in her teen years (if she lives that long -- totally kidding!) when she tells me everything I am wrong about.

My husband, oh lord don't get me started. Today was one of those days where I wanted to help him get his stuff ready and get him out the door as soon as possible. I thought about calling from my cell phone from outside and pretending to be a high ranking police official and act like there was an extreme emergency that he was being called in early for. **Sigh** He grumbled about EVERYTHING! The economy, politics, the weather, work, his boss, work, news anchors, work, taxes, work, you get the idea right?

By the time the house was quiet for the evening I wanted to stitch my bloody ears closed and retreat to a dark corner of the house. Instead here I am, to retell it all for you. Hey, no reason I should suffer alone right???

So I am hoping after the last couple of days that tomorrow will be better! It HAS to be better! It just has to! God are you listening...it must be better! There isn't enough Rocky Road ice cream (topped off with a touch of Cool Whip from a can) to make it better for too much longer.

Off to read some more of book #2 from the Twilight series...soooooo good!

Apologizing

For my absence. I was gently reminded that my blog was not so up-to-date. It has been a typical normal crazy week or so around here. By the time I am done for the evening it's late and I'm pooped. Not to mention those darn Twilight books are taking up some of my time. Reconnecting with old friends on Facebook. Chasing 4 kids. Keeping up laundry/housework/cooking. No wonder I lose track of weeks at a time.

Monday was Jason's 38th birthday! He requested manicotti for dinner, and I obliged. We had fruit pizza for dessert and kept things low key. Birthdays lose a little luster the older you get.

Tuesday my sister made me go to see the New Kids On The Block. That's right you heard me right. NKOTB! It was like going back in time. Lots of eye makeup, leg warmers, side pony tails, crimped hair. It was a bit surreal. I survived, it wasn't too awful and I will post pictures soon.

So once again, I will try and keep things rolling along and not stalled. Thanks Liz! :-)

Allow Me...

To entertain you. Let me tell you a couple of the reasons why on many days I feel more than a bit crazy:

My little's are on some sort of self-imposed nap strike. I did not okay this! I was not consulted about this. It is not okay with me in the very least! Nap time = mom gets a bit of sanity back. At any rate, whether they choose to sleep or not is up to them. They go in their cribs, where they remain until what should have been a good nap (no less than 1 1/2 hours) is up. At that time if they aren't asleep then they are released for their cells, uh I mean cribs. Of course that's what I meant. :-)

I have a very small laundry room. Far to small for six people. At any rate, I must make the best of my closet that holds my washer and dryer. There are some shelves and a rod that I hang up all my stuff on. On occasion I set a basket of folded clothes on Kori's vanity. That was the case one day last week. The basket was blocking the sink. I sent Kori to brush her teeth as it was bedtime. I noticed afterwards that the basket was still there. I asked her if she moved it and got a firm "Nope". Okay, how did you rinse etc I asked? I got, as a reply, in her best "duh mom" voice, "I squeezed my hand around and filled up my cup with water I spit it in the toilet". Okay, no problem I thought. I then had to go one step further. Did you rinse your brush and put it away? "Yep (same duh mom voice)I rinsed it in the toilet and it's on my shelf". WHAT????? I replied, "Oh Kori you didn't?" She assured me that she did. Thank goodness it wasn't her new toothbrush from the dentist she'd just got. No it was her nice battery operated Hello Kitty one. It promptly went into the trash, with some protesting from her. I promised we'd get a new one, but that one was now out of commission. YUCK! YUCK! YUCK! The germaphobe in me kicked into high gear. Sweaty palms, queasy stomach...blach!

Those are only a couple examples. I should keep a running total. It wouldn't be pretty, but you would all understand why I am so insane.

Mixed Emotions

While I am not glad that my candidate lost, I am glad that I don't have to see/hear anymore political ads. I don't have to hear anybody approving any messages. Well until the next election anyway.

Whether you are Democrat or Republican, you can't help but realize what a hisorical election this was.

I am a bit scared for our country, but will put my prayers in God's hands that he will lead our country out of this mess we are in.

I did watch some of Barack's speech last night. I found it sweet when he mentioned his love for his children and how they earned the new puppy that would be going along with them to the White House. That was sweet and cute.

I didn't need to see Oprah's big face so many times. That woman rubs me the wrong way as of late.

At any rate, it's over and I am glad.

I celebrated our defeat by cleaning the master bedroom and bathroom last night. Nothing says defeat like scrubbing away some soap scum and ridding the house of some dust bunnies.

I will post more later because I have pictures from Halloween, which was GREAT! And also pictures from our trip to the zoo on Saturday so please stay tuned.