16 hour bug from H E L L

For those of you not following along on twitter.

Yesterday our day started with Ady crying at 6am. She was throwing up. By 7:30 when Steve left for work she had made about a dozen trips to the bathroom/garbage can.

According to the time on the camera around 9:20 Jaden started in with it.

It was so bad they were able to lay with each other, no fighting!

With in an hour I started in with it. I was forced to call Steve to come home. He was home around 11am. What a waste of a work day!

Jaden kept yelling for a towel. When I finally gave him one he put it over his mouth. Don't think it helped keep anything down but when you are 2 and throwing up every 10 minutes you can't be reasoned with.

There was a lot of ickies going on yesterday. Tears were shed...mainly by me. Jaden had a few moments of tears, though. Up until Steve got home Jaden was handling things well. Bending over the can, letting me help him, etc etc... As soon as he saw daddy was home he lost it. He had to have his daddy right then and he kept him on the living room for most of the day.

This was the worst stomach bug EVER! I spent around 27 hours, in my living room, with my children! My living room isn't large. In fact if you scroll back to the 2nd picture you can see Scarlet(the dog) laying down. She is in the doorway of the living room and toy room. I am standing with my back on the opposite wall to take the picture. See not very big! Anyway worst stomach bug...blah blah blah...kids were puking every 10 minutes. No exaggeration. Steve and I started getting excited about 4pm when Ady had gone 30 minutes! It was bad!

Brown Bag Movie

Our first 2 weeks with Jonas this summer were fun. We had t-ball games, playground time, swimming, basketball camp and even squeezed in a trip to the movies. Basically we were really busy! During the downtime we were either working on his summer homework or doing his calendar activities. The calendar proved to be very challenging. Many of the activities were focused around his local library schedule. On Fridays they have something called "Brown bag movie". Given the time that this happens I assumed that it meant bring your lunch to the library and join us for a movie. FUN!
It just so happened we had one of the movies listed. Since I am trying to be greener we passed on the brown bag.

Our first waste-free lunch:
Turkey sandwich, pretzels, seedless green grapes, and flavored water.
waste~ the Gatorade bottle...there's a but...it was already reused and it is recyclable.

They really enjoyed having a picnic in the living room.

I realize this picture is blurry but it is the only one that didn't a) show Ady's undies b) look like they were killing each other c) show my messy living room.

A fly on the wall

I thought it would be fun to share some of the funny things the kids have been saying. They are growing so fast.
This weekend I was playing with Jonas and realized there are still things, at 6, he isn't saying right. We have actually noticed this before but yesterday I had to wonder if I wrote out thirteen, fourteen, fifteen would he be able to read and recognize them as 13 14 and 15 or would he ask what those words mean. When he is speaking he says fifting, sixting, seventing. All of his teens end in ting.
He really likes the -ing endings as he really emphasizes the "g" sound on all of them. We don't take Ady swimming, we take her swimminG. We were rhyming the other day and he was telling me that sniff and fifth rhymed. He was saying fiff not fifth. His mispronouncing is one of the few things keeping him little. I am cherishing them. Not correcting...well...there is the matter of him saying "ain't" but that is entirely different from fourting!

Adylynn is always full of questionable material. Most recently she got on this kick of "the peanut house"(interchangeable with place and restaurant as well) She wanted "Daddy to take us to the peanut house" I was very stumped. After some discussion I figured out she was talking about Texas Roadhouse. They have peanuts in buckets at your table and she wanted to go there to eat. Thursday, Daddy finally took her to the peanut place where she indulged her taste buds and belly in handfuls and handfuls of peanuts. She also enjoyed throwing the shells on the floor. What I can't figure out is how she can remember ever being there. I can remember being there 4 times in the last 3 years and none of them included Ady. Her grandma would never take her there. So where the idea even came from stumps me.

Finally I bring you the little one. After being allowed(ahemSTEVENahem) to watch Transformers, Justice League Unlimited, and Kung Fu Panda (ok so I had a little to do with the last 2 but Transformers was totally Steve) Jaden has taken to kicking stuff. Not so much stuff, he really only kicks air but if you ask him something like "Jaden what are you going to do if that bug comes back" He will say "I kickakickakicka the bug like this" picture little leg kicking the air. It is so funny.
The other one he has been doing for awhile is "I no likea" At supper he will says "I no likea corn" or when he is mad at me "I no likea mommy"
He is spoiled rotten. Last week we took him to Aunt Shel's for a play date with Bryan. On our way home, the big kids and I were talking about how we would enjoy the break from the wee "double boy", Ady's name for him, and Jonas said something about him being mean or bad I explained he is just 2. That is what 2 year olds do. But I have to admit that I am worried that Steve and I are spoiling him.

So if you were a fly on the the wall in our house these are things you would hear. Heck given the amount of screaming you could be a fly outside of the house!

Need an ego boost? Go to the eye doctor with 3 kids

The older kids went to the eye doctor today. First visit for both. We only took them because of the new law in IL stating that every child entering kindergarten needs to have an eye exam by a optometrist. I figured since Adylynn had to go it wouldn't hurt for Jonas to get checked too. After the appointment I was planning on going to the library so I took Jaden with us. All 3 kids were beyond excellent.

The exams went really well. Both kids did exactly what they were asked. It seems both Jonas and Adylynn have a slight farsightedness. Nothing to be worried about, most likely it will correct itself.

Ok I am going to start bragging. If you don't want to hear about how perfect my kids are, please turn off your computer.
Don't say I didn't warn you...
So first the individual child compliments I got
1. Wow, he is 2. He is so big(that isn't the compliment and in fact I am really getting sick of hearing this) and such a good boy letting mom fill out papers. My babies never let me get this stuff done ~ from old lady in the waiting area to(about) Jaden
2. He is very informative isn't he? ~ the doctor about Jonas. Jonas must have some sort of nervous talk a mile a minute tick. He did this same thing yesterday. He is asked a question "where do you live in Indiana" and instead of answering the name of his town he goes into this huge story about being a child of divorce, the days of the week, what all the instruments remind him of, all the insects, birds, animals we saw on our walk and how we all think he is very smart.
3. She is the best 4 year old I have ever tested. She is probably better than the 5 year olds too ~ the doctor talking about Adylynn. He wouldn't stop talking about how good she was. she's great. She is so mature. So well behaved. Or the best one, "I bet you are just a little angel at home, a big helper for mom"
I have no idea how why or when Ady managed to wrap this guy around her finger but good golly did she ever have him.

Now onto the group compliments
Look at how good these kids are being ~ receptionist
You really are an awesome mom ~ creepy old guy referring to my ability to juggle 3 kids, stairs, papers, a purse, a stroller, and a doll Jaden insisted on bringing but then I was stuck carrying.
You must be doing everything right with them. I have never had a group of kids behave so well~ the doctor
You walked here? How old are they? How far did you walk? You are lucky, my daughter's kids run all over. ~ the librarian when I asked her for a bag for our books.

I feel so good about the kids and myself. I am considering taking them out everyday.

Overheard this morning

We have already had a rough morning, and it is only 8:30am. I am trying to de-stress over a good cup of coffee, Pandora, and reading blogs but not having much luck.
All 3 kids are playing together. NICELY!
I think they are playing Transformersdoranarnia or maybe Doraformersberrysleepingrapunzel. ANYWAY, whatever it is Ady just said "No Jonas we need to save my friend Billy from the pirate pigs" Jonas said "OK but who's Billy?" Ady, with the same attitude she gave me over getting dressed, responded "MY FRIEND BILLY JOEL. The pirate pigs trapped him. He will never be able to sing again! The whole world will be sad especially Mommy! We have to save him! VAMOS!"

Suddenly I don't feel so stressed and tired.

Rainy Day Blues

These pictures pretty much tell our story. You know, not including the mini freak out I had on Steve. I was totally rational no matter what he says. It also doesn't include the absolutely horrible unfriendly neighborhood insurance agent we still currently pay to insure us.(Please note-CURRENTLY)
So anyway, here is the short story:

This would be some time before we evacuated the house in the wee hours of the morning. Please notice the water level.

Another water level shot. If you look to the left of the picture you can see a black piece of padding on the weight bench.

Water has stopped coming in from the toilet. What we didn't know at the time was there was still water coming in through the foundation and a water spigot.

The weight bench. Water is now touching the pad.

We didn't have insurance, which is a long pissy story, but we really didn't take a big loss either. We had to have someone come in to fix the water heater and air conditioner. There are a handful of material items that we lost but overall we were very lucky. The kids and pets all survived well. Steve and I were laughing during most of this. I believe laughter is probably one of the greatest gifts I have. It all comes with a huge dose of sarcasm BUT at least we can laugh about this stuff.

That's it, in a very small nutshell. I might post more down the road. I don't know. Honestly I am still dealing with the aftermath on a daily basis and retelling the LONG story to anyone who will listen so I don't know that I will share more here. Besides I still have a dance recital, and a graduation to post about.

tattling vs tattling

You tell me which you prefer

Adylynn, age 4. She likes to tattle old school style. High pitched screaming, running to adult, doing a yell cry "JADEN IS TURNING ON HERMIE'S LIGHT AND IT IS ALL HIS FAULT AND AND AND I AM NOT TATTLING JADEN IS JUST A CHEATER" she points a finger toward Jaden and sniffles back a tear.

Jonas, age 6. He likes to explore different ways to tattle. In this particular instance he crosses his arms over his chest says "FINE JADEN KILL MY FISH SEE IF I CARE" stomps over to the adult and sits with a heavy sigh with arms crossed. Where he will stay until said adult either asks him what's wrong(as if I don't know) or takes the bait and removes Jaden.

Knowing me personally you would probably think I prefer the pouty tattling of the 6 year old. You're wrong! Why? Well, I guess I feel like when you know tattling is wrong you shouldn't try to "work the system" just walk away. Walk away QUIETLY! Not with four thousand, under your breath, comments. Just suck it up and walk away! Now you are thinking I am evil. Poor Jonas thought Jaden was going to kill his fish...boohoo....well what you aren't considering is my 6 year old is exceptionally smart he knows that turning the light on and off on the fish isn't' going to kill it. He also knows that when he stomps off, comments, pouts, and does it RIGHT IN YOUR LINE OF SIGHT that he will win.

Now Adylynn's tattling usually results in more lecture to her and less punishing of Jaden. She knows it is wrong to tattle. She knows she was tattling.

So you see I prefer the more black and white version. The one where the lines are clearly drawn. Lectures are short and sweet. No complications of how there was no difference in what the 4 year old did versus the 6 year old.


~If you are worried about poor Jaden, he is fine. He was removed from the fish tank and then promptly picked up some scissors and cut my table ...and no... that isn't tattling, it immediately hurts someone/thing.

Saturday

We had a busy Saturday. I got up bright and early and headed to community wide sales in a town 50 minutes from home. I spent the grand total of $5.50, sales were a complete waste of time, but it was nice to be out laughing and enjoying the weather. At home Steve managed to get all 3 kids up, fed, and dressed by 8:30am, pretty impressive! They had t-ball practice at 11am. When we all made it home Adylynn left and then the fun began. Not because she left, in fact it sort of sucks that she wasn't here. ANYWAY after Jaden and Steve napped we decided to take the boys up to the annual festivities in our town.

Jonas and Steve rode the Tilt-a-whirl. Shoot, I still need to download that video. When I do I will have to share it. The ride starts out fun for both of them but as it progresses and progresses Steve starts looking sickly. After the ride, Jonas played the Win-a-Fish game. He got 8 balls to try with and on ball 5 he had won! Enter "Hermie" the amazingly spastic anorexic goldfish.
I am very happy with Hermie's name. SO much better than what I was expecting Jonas to name him. He said Hermie within 2 minutes of winning him but then on the walk home had talked about "Wiggles" and some other equally non creative names. Very glad he decided to stay with Hermie.

We had to go grocery shopping Saturday night. We ran(literally) through Aldi then went to Walmart. Jonas and I were standing in the pet food section looking for fish food when I noticed the rabbit food. Jonas has a guinea pig at his mom's and I hadn't heard anything about him. When I asked Jonas how Tickles was doing he said "good, but his butt is really big. It's like this(insert his hand reach toward me) big (squeezing my boob)" Yep my 6 year old just molested me in WalMart. It all happened so fast.
I was shocked. Hopefully since I didn't make a huge deal about it he won't do it again. Or feel like he did something wrong. We had a 2 sentence conversation about remembering privates are for private and I left it at that. I think he was just trying to get a good comparison for me. There is also the possibility that he thought I had a guinea pig stuffed up my shirt since I am usually the queen of the UNA BOOB!


Back to Hermie, he is eating, finally! Still acts spastic but, I am beginning to think he might live more than a few days. When I was in high school I had a fish I won and named him "Flush" since I expected him to die. He lived for several months.
Aunt Shel has looked at him now. She thinks he might have a parasite, but it is treatable. Oh and she is also fairly certain that he is actually a she!

Hermie can be a girl name too, right?

Future Jerry Springer Guests

Adylynn and Jaden are playing house. See if you can follow this.

Jaden is the daddy. He has 16 kids. The blue bunny's mom never came home one time so he had to get a new wife and have new kids. The 5 "kids" he had with his next wife were all different and didn't get along so the wife took 2 and left the other 3 with blue bunny. Adylynn is the other 10 kids "we all look the same but we are very different" Adylynn's mom is on an adventure with her monkey friend Boots. Boots' mom is the blue bunny's aunt but not Jaden's sister or the mom's sister. The grandpa is Diego but Jaden calls him Diego not dad because he has no respect for his father EVEN THOUGH Jaden's daddy worked very hard to take care of Jaden's 16 kids.

I don't know where she comes up with this stuff.
Watching them play house was great. Jaden is still too little to play like that so she would start crying "daddy" and he would yell "Daddy at work" She would growl and yell "you are the dad we are pretending!"

The kids(and Awesome Hubby) surprised me with this

iPod shuffle


and yes I have Billy Joel on it.

To my kids on Mother's Day

If I sat down to write a letter to the kids this mother's day...

What a truly incredible year the 3 of you had. We had so many twists and turns this year.


Jonas has had many milestones this year. Some we were prepared for and others were more of a "wing it" thing. Many have been very private personal things that I would never dream of blogging. However there have been a few rights of passage that we have shared. We find ourselves talking about big kid rules now. Do you get more computer time? What about outside time? Bike riding? More privacy? And personal belongings...they are your things shouldn't you have some control over what happens to them? Last year I would have never guessed all the things that were ahead for you. The little things seem to be past us now. What happens to you from here on will help shape your view of the people around you, your community, and the world. When I talk to your mom we share our love for you. She is truly a wonderful mother to you. We are all very blessed to have such a warm, compassionate, fun-loving child. Thank you for making everyday a little brighter, even if I can only see you through cyberspace.

Adylynn, oh my, what to say...4 is hard. It is real hard! However you have shown us what a special gift we have with you. You are the perfect blending of every family member. I can spend the afternoon with you and feel close to my entire family. You remind me of Aunt Sissy on days you take care of Jaden like your life depended on it. You show me Num Num when you stomp your feet and tell me how it is. Stubborn! You have the green thumb of Aunt Shel's. Your marigolds for Mother's Day grew more than any other preschooler's this year. Sitting on the couch to watch a movie flashes me back to watching movies with Papa Chocolate. He would get all settled in and I would keep wallowing(his word for snuggling) him until a good kick to the face would ruin all my fun. I was told to sit down and sit still or go play! Sound familiar? Mostly I see me in you. I see all the great things that make me me but I also see the not so great things about me. You make me want to be better. I don't want to watch you struggle with the same things I did as a kid. If there are things I can change now, tweak, to save you from wasting a minute of your childhood on unimportant things I jump at the chance. You are swimming this year. That is a good example of trying to protect you. Not only will you be able to save your life if you fall off a boat BUT you can actually get on to that boat in the first place. We live 7 miles from a beach there will be a million different ways to put those swim lessons to use:) I said before that 4 is hard. It is, I have made no secret of that on this blog, but this will also be the year that your daddy and I discovered what a remarkable little girl you are. It was once said "you have no weaknesses" We couldn't agree more. If only we could figure out to how parent that. If you break it down take it to the nitty gritty, that statement also says "you are going to take us for one hell of a ride" and "Good luck mom and dad, she is going to be fighting you for the rest of your lives" Daddy and I are both honored to be on the ride with you...maybe you can ride in Jonas' car seat you have "never ridden in Jonas' car seat before" Thank you for being...YOU!


Jaden, you get more and more awesome to me everyday. You have the honor of being the baby. Take your title and use it for good. You have discovered puzzles this year. Being the little man you are, you didn't go for the piddly 9-12 piece etched background tray puzzles. Nope, you are all about the 63 piece big boy puzzle(never mind that it has princesses on it-it is a puzzle and you will conquer it) You have also thrown a curve ball at Daddy and I. We thought we were prepared for anything you had for us but your sudden fear of ghosts has shocked us both. There is no monster or ghost living in your closet, Bubby. Oh, and the day you were in the basement and got freaked out so bad it scared the crap out of you(LITERALLY) I am sorry we laughed. There is also no ghost living in our basement. Your sister did speak with a man in the toy room once but I am pretty sure that was just her imagination. So no more fears. You have much more important things to do with your time. You can't get all the "beating your siblings" time if you are fretting about a ghost getting you. I wish you were able to explain this fear to us. Where did it come from and why? I also wish you weren't so damn cute when you yell "I'M TALKIN TO DADDY" at me. I am pretty sure that one is going to come back to bite us. Since we are on the subject could you maybe be a little less cute when you don't listen? Daddy has a hard time controlling his smile. Everyday you have another trick to amazes us with. Thank you for making me smile everyday!


I hope I can be the mom you all deserve. I might make you angry. sad. just plain frustrated at times. Please remember I am human and I will make mistakes. Part of making a mistake is admitting it and asking for forgiveness. I hope we are able to recognize when mistakes have been made and move past it with a lesson learned.
Thank you for making Mother's Day a very special day!

Toys! Toys! Toys!

I have been lazy with blogs this week. Imagine my delight when I saw 5 minutes for mom was having 2 weeks of toys! This is the perfect contest for someone who has had her kids' toy room publicly attacked as "just awful".
More. Toys.

ANYWAY 5 minutes for mom is doing a 2 week toy contest. These are some pretty cool toys, for all ages, and many of the toys would be a welcome addition to our "just awful" toy room.

Go check out some of the cool contests at 5 minutes for mom

*Please note some of the opinions expressed in this post are not those of the blog owner. Our kids are not allowed to eat, drink, color, marker, playdoh, art, or craft in their toy room. SO... I do not feel our toy room is anything more than overwhelming cluttered.

sponge paint

Sadly, Jonas is back at school today. However since Adylynn is just starting spring break I figure it is ok to keep sharing how we spend breaks around here.

Sponge painting with fun Easter shapes!

See the medal? He got that at basketball and wore it most of the week. He is very proud of that medal.

The birds and the bees

Jonas and Adylynn were talking about when they are my age they would be parents and I would be a great grandma. I quickly corrected them because I AM NOT THAT OLD! I AM NOT EVEN 30!
Plus, there is the whole matter of them being confused for the rest of their lives on how grandparents and great grandparents work. BUT more importantly I AM NOT THAT OLD. Sure, I am the 2nd oldest of my friends but my oldest friend has several years on me. Plus if I didn't mention I am not that old! You are following, right? Erin is not old. Okay. Glad we have that settle. Now for the funny stuff.

During the conversation Adylynn tells Jonas

"you can't have a kid right now because your wife is private and closed up"

I have no idea what she meant but since everyone in her class is OBSESSED with marriage I wouldn't be surprised if she got it from school.

I love hearing the 2 of them talk about life.
Life is so simple in their eyes.

St Patty's Day--the pinch edition

St Patrick's Day didn't go unnoticed in our house, just unpublished.

Our day consisted of Jonas pinching anyone and everyone no matter the green. We only saw 3 people yesterday but he still managed to get in 6 pinches! Sometime in the afternoon he started complaining that we didn't celebrate St. Patrick's Day. We should be wearing head to toe green and only playing with green things etc etc... If only we were all 6 years old. Jonas was obviously disappointed in the celebrations. I am all for green beer, kiss me cause I'm Irish partying but I thought the kids were a little young for that sort of celebration.
Adylynn was in the spirit of the holiday. ALL. DAY. Every single thing we did, no matter if we have done it every other day for as long as she can remember, she would proudly announce "It's St Patty's Day" We watch "It's the Easter Beagle, Charlie Brown" Adylynn said "Jonas we are watching this cause it's St Patty's day" Since it wasn't the green beer making her festive it must be the 1/1000th of Irish blood in her.
I had planned to have a fun supper(without corned beef and cabbage*ahem mom ahem) but after Jonas' obvious disappointment I decided to make supper, with help from the kids, over the top.
The Menu:
Green "Buttered" Noodles(Deceptively Delicious recipe I just added the green)
Broccoli
Salad(green peppers, iceberg lettuce, spinach)
Green Grapes
Biscuits with Green Butter
Jonas LOVED it! Adylynn kept saying things like "we have green butter because it is St. Patty's Day" Steve was not impressed. Jaden is repaying me today with green poop. So we didn't have the Leprechaun box, or "magic" throughout the day but we had a good time just the same. Plus I hope that I am teaching the kids that where magic/pretending is fun isn't it more fun to help with the festivities rather than just letting them happen.

Basketball Season comes to an end

Saturday morning the kids had their last basketball games.
Jonas showed a lot of improvement. He was on fire! He was guarding his man, running down the court, and most importantly participating. Previous weeks he would barely make it down the court before the ball did. If there would only have been 3 more weeks of basketball I think we would have really seen him enjoying it. As of right now he would like to play again. If they still have Saturday only practices/games we would also like to see him continue for another year.
Adylynn played her game and was playing well, not complaining, and participating too. She would not like to play basketball again. Honestly, if exceptional athletes are born with a natural skill,l I can tell you she is not going to be the star player on any team. Actually if I am being totally honest Adylynn is probably better off not getting back onto the basketball court unless it is to cheer from the sidelines. She wasn't the worst player on her team but she also doesn't' have any natural talent and looks miserable while playing the game. We agree with her, she won't be doing basketball again.
So both kids enjoyed spending their Saturday mornings out on the court but in the end we have one semi-interested in continuing and one who would rather sit the sidelines and watch her brother.
What's next?
Well for Jonas I'm not sure. He is really excited about soccer but from the look of it we can't start him here and he can't play at his mom's house. Both are because of season schedules and he is at opposite houses the majority of each. We will be looking into some sort of sport or day camp or play dates or something for this summer. Thankfully this has been made easier with our new Y membership.
Adylynn has T-Ball this spring, in addition to still taking dance, she is pretty busy. She also has BIG hopes to start running with Steve. She has been telling me for months "one day I will run faster faster FASTER than daddy and pass him up!"
I will get some last game pictures up soon.

there's nothing to see here

move on! Go read something else today. I am feeling down. Wounded is the best way to put it. Wounded with a little bit of grumpy, lousy, rejected, depressed, and tired all rolled into one. I have a good reason for feeling this way but explaining it would take more time than I have.

need some good reads?

Be inspired

Feel the love

Find a new friend

Baby love


Time to scoot. I bribed a 4 year old into missing school(no ride today) with popcorn, movies, ice cream, board games, and paint~my day is full!

HAPPY 6th Birthday

Jonas turned 6 today. We woke him up singing Happy Birthday and then opened presents, deposited money into his savings account and headed off to Chuck E Cheese! We Spent 3 fun filled hours with the mouse, friends and family, and a gazillion other children celebrating their birthdays today. It was a great day!



HAPPY BIRTHDAY JONAS!

give me another week please

Happy New Year All!

The Christmas holiday was LONG and trying at times but we made it through and had a great 6 Christmases! I have bunches of pictures that will get published, before July.
The living room will hopefully be completely done(minus some furniture) this weekend. Hell I might even order the remaining furnishings today.
The kids have so many new toys, I am still opening packages! They have given everything equal playtime at this point but the favorites are clear already. Uncle Nick is again the coolest gift giver Jonas and Ady have ever known! Last year it was the V.Smile(still getting used) This year Transformers for Jonas and Playdoh for Adylynn--hands down the most played with toys for them. Jaden, on the other hand, is harder to say. Last year it was the Mega Blocks(still played with daily) from my mom. This year, if it is from the transportation family he is overjoyed! I would like to say the train table is his favorite but it is too early to tell.

We are busy, and tired this week. Adylynn and Jonas stayed up to ring in the new year with us. After the ball dropped they went to bed in their new tents and sleeping bags. Ady loves to camp out in the toy room. The one kid tent packs they got for Christmas are perfect for indoor camping!
Steve and I opened and drank our last bottle of Malvira Birbet on New Years. We are wine-less until my mom is feeling generous again. The best wine in the world is also the hardest to find. We know where we can buy it, by the case, but I have yet to brave a liquor/wine/spirits store with kids in tow. I am sure people do it all the time but I will just suffer through the long days until mom has more to share. Plus the place to buy it is 45 miles from home. There is a hidden bonus in the hard to find wine--we aren't spending our non life savings on it:)

I hope everyone else had a good holiday season. We sure did. I have lots to post. However, it will be another week before I am posting regularly. If you are wanting something to read go check Steve's blog. He has posted 2 days in a row! Given the new year it could be a resolution of his to post everyday. Enjoy!

Trimming the Tree

We got our FAKE(GAG!) tree put up Saturday. As in the previous years we always do it with Jonas home but this year I realized that for him to truly enjoy the tree we really need to put up earlier. We decorated Saturday night, he went home after lunch on Sunday and won't be back until after Christmas.
The tree will remain up until he gets here to open his presents and have "Christmas morning" with us. This year he got special attention in trimming the tree. Ady slept through most of it, Jaden didn't care, I was unwrapping our treasures, and Steve was...hmm...I don't remember what the Awesome Hubby was doing but that left Jonas to hang 3/4 of the decorations himself.

He strung the bead garland. I know it doesn't look like much but he really put a lot of thought into which branches to use.

With the exception of the angel topper and 4 glass ornaments this is as high as the ornaments go.

After Ady woke up she did help in decorating. She likes to cluster decorate. She also likes to have the ornament friends near each other so they don't miss each other. There are several character and animal ornaments that are facing each other so they can talk.

The finished product!

~*~ Check the walls behind the tree! That is "Bayfront Palm" the most wonderful color of green EVER! More to come on the living room, after it is officially done. Lots more pictures and lots more to talk about!