Spoke too soon!!

I spoke way too soon last night. In an act to prove me wrong, the Gods unleashed the snow last night around midnight. I woke up to Griffin ready to eat and was surprised by the white glow I was getting from my kitchen window. It was quite a pleasant surprise and although it was late, I got that giddy/excited feeling and I had to wake up Nate. “Oh Lord!” I can hear most of you saying while rolling your eyes. But I was stoked!

In total we only got about 4-5” but that was enough for us! Nate stayed home and worked from home. Nate had remembered to run to the office and grab his laptop on Friday so he would have it for this “impending storm”. Now they’re calling for more snow on Wed/Friday. We’ll see!!

We got the boys outside playing this morning. It was Griffin’s first snow. I dressed him multiple layers and then put him inside some PJs that were too big for him to protect his feet. I didn’t think he’d want to put his hands in the snow, so never thought about it. To my dismay he went full fledge into the snow and within minutes he was screaming bloody murder.

He did get over it after a warm soak in the sink. When he came back out, he steered clear of the "big" snow and stuck to the little snow on the deck. Improvising we put Maysen’s socks on his hands which kept him at bay for a bit anyway. Who buys mittens in Oregon. I learned my lesson!


Maysen made snow angels and had a blast going down his ice-ridden slide. He flew down that sucker like greased lightning which he thought was hilarious!! The snow is like powder so it’s hard to form into snow balls so the snowball fight didn’t happen but M still grabbed gobs and heaved it into the air.

Nate then thought it would be great fun to punch the top of Maysen’s “tree house” cover high into the air. Did look pretty cool.

We'll see what the week brings, but we had our fun Oregonian Snow Day today. I wonder what would happen if I called other people liars ... maybe the lotto people? Think they'd give in and give me the lottery anyway since I called them liars?

Liars!!

Christmas Program
Last Thursday was Maysen’s 2nd Christmas Program. He did really well and I was happy that we had so many family members who were able to be there to watch. He was a proud sheep and you could see it. He sung his heart out and waved many times to make sure we didn’t miss him.

I worked again on Friday, which was a busy but fast day. Again I was reminded of how nice it can be to get out, but always nice to get home to all 3 of my boys!

Karate Test
Saturday morning Maysen had his karate test. I was so proud of him! There were about 40 people watching their children test, and one-by-one they go in front of the judges. When Maysen got up there you just heard the “Awwww’s” from the other parents. He is the littlest/youngest of the group but he got his first stripe for his belt and his new patches for his uniform. He even did a sidekick and broke his board on the first try!

Snow Liars
We settled in for a weekend of cold, ice, and snow – per the meteorologists. I *love* snow and I treasure any chance of getting it because since moving to Oregon I can count on one hand how many times I’ve seen snow since moving here. On Friday I joked “You watch, it’ll be blue sky and sunny all weekend.” Of course I was just being facetious, but little did I know how true this would be until my last and final hope of snow today dwindled. However, just 2hrs north of us were plowed by snow. I hate to say it really did put me in a sour mood but I just need to learn that when the weather man says something, don’t believe it especially when they’re so persistant about it. We’ve heard all week about “all this snow” we were to get this weekend and we got none. In fact the sun was out most of the weekend. Ha! Sick, sick joke!

I did get over my sour mood this afternoon and we made sugar Christmas cookies (with cookie cutters from Grandma Jo … thanks Grandma!) and our Gingerbread house. That always puts me in a good and festive mood.

We are going to be getting air from our Canadian neighbors this week and although it’ll be sunny with blue skies the temperature will remain below freezing all week – a change for us Oregonians. It’ll probably blizzard this week … only because they haven’t forecasted it.

Keen Observation
Maysen finally got his Gi in, so he's now one of the kids! It's amazing how he could tell he was different at karate. For awhile he had Athlete's Foot (which I totally blame on the karate floor -- what 4yr old has athlete's foot?) so I was making him wear his sandals while doing karate while I was medicating his foot. He had kids saying "Why is he wearing sandals?" Just an interesting observation how kids that young point out who's different and why. And it only gets worse as you get older ...

Old Roots
Tomorrow we're going to the KSU vs Oregon men's basketball game. I haven't decide whom I'm going to be rooting for - my home roots of Kansas State ... or my new roots of Oregon. We're also meeting up with one of my friends from Kansas (who I met at Kansas State University) who moved to Portland, OR a few years ago. Hoping to meet up with her and some other KSU fans at a nearby bar before the game. Nate's mom and step-dad also got tickets last minute so we'll probably run into them at the game.

New Babysitter
The time finally came ... the dreaded "use of new babysitter". Our old babysitter went off to college in August and we've been holding off on finding a new one. Finally the time has come and we're using our swimming lesson's teacher's sister, Amber. She will babysit tomorrow for the first time. She did come over on Wednesday to meet the boys and say hi before she just came over and we took off tomorrow. She seems like she'll work out just fine and we've a couple of years before she heads off to college as she's only a sophomore.

Back to work
I'm working a few extra days this month, as they're short of RNs for triage/resource because of everyone taking off for vacations, etc. I worked with my old doctor yesterday and that was fun. It's amazing I haven't worked with him in almost 2 years but once I saw him and we prepared for a small biopsy procedure, I got right back in the groove like I had never left. Isn't it weird how you can just get back into a routine? Even meeting up with good friends I find is like this. There are some things that I think just get ingrained in your mind ... and heart. Its so fun going back. Believe me, I love my "no schedule" but I love the fact I can go back, make a little money, get some hours logged, and see all my great friends. There's something comforting about going back to my other "home" and seeing everyone. I get a break from my everyday wiping butts and faces. And I gotta tell you - leaving a list of things (including laundry and dishes) for Nate to do while I'm gone feels pretty darn good! I opened the cleaned dishwasher the night before I worked. I sighed and I as tiredly took out the glasses I thought "why am I doing this? I'm not the housewife tomorrow!" and gleefully added that to my "to-do" list.

Fin Show

I got my camera out this afternoon and took some shots of Griffin post bath. His hair happens to be the most curly during this time, so it made for some extra cute points. He sure is handsome, and starting to sport the same chin Maysen has. Boxy chin that is.

We're in the middle of Christmas Program Music Practice at school with Maysen. My gosh you'd think they were practicing Graduation Ceremonies or something. Maysen has this elaborate schedule, complete with calendar. Normally goes 3 days a week for 3 hrs. Not now. Let's see, this week he goes all 5 days, with an hour here, 4 hours here, 45 minutes here. Sheesh! All for when the night comes and half the kids look out at the darkness, half scared, half "who cares", halfway singing "Silent Night" with their hands up their skirts/down their pants. But that's what makes it great, right??

Finally.

It’s that time of year again. Anyone who knows me well enough knows that this is my absolute most favorite time of year. It always has been. Looking back to when we were small, I can remember dad getting out the old fashioned bulbs and lining our bushes. Dragging out the artificial tree (in Kansas, real trees were ridiculously expensive … maybe because there are no trees in Kansas … they’d have to import those suckers!) was always a family job and we hung so much tinsel from that tree that you could see it from Mars. We got to the point where Jenn and I would deck our room out with Christmas light and we'd fall asleep to the glow (starting that tradition early with Mase). As a past time after dinner we’d drive around and check out Christmas lights, complete with "O Holy Night" blaring from the speakers.

It’s just a magical time, a cozy time, an intimate time, such a time for traditions. I’m sure it rings true for many of you out there, but I look forward to this time for 11 months out of the year and it’s FINALLY HERE!

This year is special because it's Griffin's first Christmas. Of course he won't remember any of it, but it's special to me to spend this holiday season as a new family. Christmas won't ever be like the years past, because Griffin is now here. It's just special. (I'm starting to sound very sappy. Sorry.)

So, Thanskgiving was wonderful. Jenn arrived into town early enough for all of us to have a great visit together. We headed out around 2:00 for Nate's mom's house. We were anticipating having dinner with A & M, which are Nate's step-sisters. When we got there, we were informed that A & M's grandfather had fallen terribly ill and so they had gone to be with him and the rest of their family. It was too bad we couldn't spend time with them as we don't see them very much, but they needed to be with their grandfather.

That meant we just had dinner with Nate's parents and Jenn. It was a small get-together but it was perfect. We laughed, ate, drank, and just had a great time. I learned how to play "Hearts" and did pretty darn good. I came in 2nd, only missing 1st place by a few points. Poor Jenn ended with with Ms Queen of Spades most of the time ... Sucka!

Yesterday, the day after Thanksgiving, has always been our traditional "Day of Christmas Lights". Most people are getting up at 3:00am to compete during "Black Friday", but I'm not one of the brave souls. I did, however, brave the crowds around 9:00. Hey. These days 9:00 is early to me! The crowds weren't too bad and I had just set out for 3 things: New center piece for my table, lighted garland, and poinsettas. I did a few extra things that weren't on my list (isn't that normal?) and was home by noon. Earlier this year, we bought one of those gigs that will coordinate your Christmas lights to Christmas music. So, this was the year to test it. And man, is it cool!! After blood, sweat, a few choice words, and lots of non-patience, here's what we came up with (must have sound/volume up for full effect ... otherwise it just looks like chaos):

Today we got our tree and with the non-list new ornaments up and glistening, our Christmas 2008 set-up is now complete. Just saying that makes it sounds like it was a snap and the truth is, it's been a long 2 days. But it's complete and although it's a lot of work, in the end I love every minute of it. Maysen has said all night "I love this Christmas Day!" I love that he's getting and forming memories more and more every day....

Time to check out the Civil War UofO vs Oregon State game. I've heard it's a good one. Here's to everyone starting their Holiday Season ... Cheers!

He Remembers ...

Ok, I totally bawled like a baby during this video. Amazing ... there are so many people I wish I could get back in contact with. It's so true ... no matter how much time goes by, you never forget the ones that mattered ...

Happy Thanksgiving!!!

Home Sweet Home

We got home this afternoon from a long weekend at Baker City. It was great visiting with Nate’s dad and step-mom. When they come to the valley there are so many kids/family to visit that time is spread thin, so it was great to be able to relax and just visit.

On Wednesday, I picked up Nate from work and we left town, stopping and staying a hotel in Hood River, half-way to Baker. Maysen is just like his mommy – I *love* hotels. We got there and he explored every inch of the room. We were up early Thursday and made it to Baker around noon. To our surprise Nate’s dad had taken the rest of the day off, so we had a nice casual afternoon/evening. Maysen’s cough that had been lingering turned into a full-blown cold with fever by that night. He was having a rough night!

Friday was Girls Day Out. Sherrill and I went to the Glass Shop and made some glass, had lunch, shopped at the favorite local stores, and then Sherrill treated me to a hot stone massage. It was wonderful!!! That night, Griffin awoke with a very croupy cough and fever.

Saturday the “men” (including our little man) went to see Madagascar 2. It was pretty good, according to all parties. Maysen left saying “That was a cool movie!” and then began the march with the swagger. Sherrill is preparing for a marathon so she had to get her 6 mile stroll in for the day. I prepared some items for our Thanksgiving meal that night while Fin slept. That evening we sat down with Huckleberry wine (YUM), turkey, green bean casserole, honey rolls, and so much more to name. It was delicious and nice to sit down and have a nice meal together giving thanks! While Sherrill dug through the China, she ran across Nate’s Grandma Mae’s butter dish and said we could have it. Nate saw it and immediately remembered it from being a kid on grandma’s farm. It will be special to have in our home being used to serve our family.

We were up early this morning, thanks to Mr Fin and being up all night (questioning another ear infection?). We rolled out of Baker City at 8:15 and were home by 3:00. It was so nice to get home and get our bearings. We were stuck with one thing …. We had told Maysen after Thanksgiving we’d put up Christmas lights (we, of course, were meaning the “real” Thanksgiving this week). However, when we were hit with “But we had Fanksgiving with Papa and Grandma Sherrill”, what could we say? So, in an act to compromise we hung up lights in his room. He sure thinks that is pretty special …

Bowling Bash

Do you remember birthday parties when you were small? If so, how far can you go back? My earliest memory was of my SISTER’s birthday party, and I was about 4. My birthday is in July so my birthday memories included overnight slumber parties and going to the County Fair. I then wonder, will Maysen or Griffin remember these early birthday parties we throw for them? I sure hope so!

Sunday we had Maysen’s bowling party, complete with customized "Birthday Bash" t-shirts for the kids to sport. It was a lot of fun!! Jessica came over the day before while the boys (men, I should say) went to the UofO vs Arizona game. Yes; we wrangled all 4 kids all day while the boys were gone. That did include 3 soaked kids coming in from outside after turning on a “secret” faucet on the side of the house. Yes, in 45 degree weather – all 3 kids on antibiotics for some illness or another. Jessica and I made the cake/cupcakes for M’s party and it turned out pretty darn cute if I do say so myself!!

Jonas spent the night with us that night and man are those 2 boys like girls! Maysen and him stayed up talking until about 9:30pm until we finally had to separate the exhausted boys and both were out like lights. We had put Jonas in our room so when we went to bed, we put him back in Maysen’s room. At about 4:00am I got up to go to the bathroom and I see the lights on at the end of the hall. I thought “No way” … sure enough those boys were up … 4:00 am … playing with Transformers! So, to the couch Maysen went and they both slept in until 9:00am.

Jenn and Jessica showed up early to come help me set up at the bowling alley. It was great having their help. Everyone else showed up right on time at 2:00 and we had about 13 kids in total. It was right on the verge of just enough and too many. Only because 13 kids rolling around bowling, some older were having fun, and the younger ones were getting a tad restless Frame 6 of the game. It was a blast though. Even the adults got a lane and bowled … it was hilarious!


Cake, presents, and arcade games and the party was over. Maysen seemed to really understand and be excited this party so I am hoping this one sticks!

He got some great gifts from everyone - so thanks to everyone again for making this one memorable (and LOUD at our house)! I am, however, thinking about buying stock in Duracell - as I think we'll be part owners of the battery company within the next year. AA batteries, to be exact!

Yesterday turned out to be a crummy day as I’ve been fighting this sinus pressure/infection? for about 4 days. I let it go until yesterday when a raging headache made life unbearable. I woke up almost in tears with this headache and when Maysen came flinging his racecar up on the bed with lights/sirens blazing and me wanting to poke my eyes out with forks, I knew I wasn’t going to make it. I gave it about 3hrs on my own with Tylenol and Advil and everything else in me with no improvement. So, Nate came home and took me into Urgent Care. A sinus xray, IV prednisone, IV pain killers, and 3 hrs later and it was presumed that I had a viral sinus inflammatory process. Today has gone much better although the prednisone makes me want to climb the walls!

Tomorrow we are heading to Baker City to visit Nate’s dad and Mom Sher for an early Thanksgiving. We’ll be gone until Sunday, with neighbors house-sitting. Until then …

Happy 4th Birthday, Mase

Dear Mase,

I know that everyone says “Oh I can’t believe how fast it’s gone” but it’s so true. I don’t know where the last 4 years have gone with you, Bean. Just yesterday it was 9:34am and we were excited, scared, nervous, happy, and exhausted all at once. And then you were here! Peeing everywhere and ready to eat – you made your entrance loud and clear! Now here you sit, you've grown out of your cheeks, in preschool, beginning to learn how to write your name (although all you write is “M” and backwards, to boot!), you’re in karate and excelling in that, and you like your jobs around the house like feeding Bay. You are such a little man now it breaks my heart but I am so proud of who and what you are already becoming. You’re starting to be very considerate, too. Your thing right now is to thank me for cooking dinner every night. You sit in your chair and as soon as I hand you your plate you say, “Thanks for cooking supper, mom!” You also will ask dad how his day at work was. I know you don’t care, and maybe it’s because you hear me ask every night but still. To ask just melts our hearts.

This morning I woke you up singing “Happy Birthday”. Last night before you went to sleep, I had told you “when you wake up, you’ll be 4!”. When you opened your eyes, sat straight up, and said “I’m FOUR NOW!?” I made Mickey Mouse pancakes, bacon, and Apple Juice, per your request.

This afternoon you had your birthday party at school (no parents, no pictures). You took mini cupcakes and creatures (snakes, bugs, bats) for party favors. When you came home from school I had invited T over to play. He brought over a birthday gift as he won’t be able to come to your party Sunday. To your delight it was a TransFormer and a new shirt. You guys had that TransFormer out and played with it for 2 hrs! As you can see above, once the TransFormer was apart, it took a computer programmer to put it back together (including instructions!)

When T left, we went to town and met Daddy at Applebees for dinner. He had a table reserved for us with balloons tied to your chair. They don’t sing for your birthday anymore so I rallied the surrounding tables to sing to you …. Ok, I didn’t – but I wanted to! Daddy wouldn’t let me. When we got home we let you open up one present from us – a new pair of McQueen rain boots!!

We are celebrating your birthday on Sunday with family and friends, however today was your true birthday and in my heart I’ve already celebrated. I love you, my Bean.

(These are the T-Shirts I have made for the kids to wear at Maysen's Bowling Party on Sunday ... Maysen has his own "Birthday Boy" I made, but I think these turned out cute!)

Our Fin, walking!

Walking
Walking is such a basic concept for you and I, but the challenge it must be as a baby to learn it. I mean, you have the awkwardness of gravity pulling on you from all angles, but yet the instinct to persevere upward and forward. I have had early walkers to-date, which mean I miss the days they stayed in one spot!! Maysen took his first few steps at 9 months and was fluent in walking within a few weeks. Griffin took his first couple steps at 9mo 2wks and is taking his time at being fluent. Do you think it’s because there’s always a threat of a big brother bowling around the corner to knock him down?

Outcome of Day Out #2
Sickness prevailed against my day with Jessica for our massages. Her son, Jonas, turned out to have strep throat. Poor little guy! We all had decided to head to their house, so when we got the call that Jonas had strep throat we just had to turn around. This fall has certainly started out rough in regards to illness! Hope you feel better soon, J & M!

Long Time, No Post

Wow. What a week this has turned out to be. again, just another version of the rollercoaster that is my life :-)

THE HOUSE
Our house is officially OFF the market as of this week. We had signed a 4-month contract with our realtor and sadly, that has come to a close. The rain has set in on Oregon and the holidays are approaching. Therefore our hopes for a new and bigger house by the holiday season must come to a close. We are going to try again in the spring when things aren't so dead and we can hopefully raise the price again on the house. (Thanks Economy!) We're going to try and sell it on our own again, but if need be we'll "study" our realtors before listing with another deadbeat realtor ...

THE SICKNESS
Last week Maysen came down with what was presumably pink eye. I had some tobramycin eye drops left over from a bout in June. Of course pink eye ran rampant in the house and this week, Maysen's eyes weren't looking better. Thinking he had a resistant form of pink eye, we went back to the doctor on Thurs. "Oh really? You don't say" was my reaction to the statement "He has a double ear infection AND sinus infection .. the pink eye is merely secondary". HM! Considering Griffin had similar "cold-like" symptoms all week she peeked in his ears. Yep! Double ear infection. So both lads are on the bubble-gum tasting (YEA RIGHT) antibiotics for 10 days.

Then last night I started a really nasty migraine. One of those "my body hurts and the lights hurt my eyes ... I'm getting nauseated" headaches. I even slept on the couch upright as to ward off the headaches. You see, today was the "DAY OUT" (see below) and I didn't want to be sick for this day. I was willing myself to be well. The big D (I think you get it) set in this morning and I was pouring in the Imodium in faster than it was coming out in hopes to plug the system. I started feeling better mid-day but as I write to you now, I'm back to feeling dumpy and gaining a bit of a fever (100.2).

DAY OUT
Maysen is having a sleep over at Bob & Bonnie's tonight, which has been planned since last week. They invited him a while back while Bob was recovering from surgery, and when I really let them know he could have them whenever, this weekend was confirmed. With the help of Nate's mom who watched Griffin this afternoon (which his walking took off at Mom's house so it was nice they got to see him walk! He walked probably 4 feet without holding onto anything -- all after Poppi's mustache!), Nate and I got pretty much ALL (yes, I said A.L.L.) of our Christmas/birthday shopping done. In the month of November and December we have 6 birthdays and of course Christmas to shop for, so it gets crazy fast! Of course I wasn't feeling all that up to par, but since it was such a rare opportunity to get that done, I swallowed my pain to get the day done.

DAY OUT #2
This weekend was to be Jessica and I's weekend getaway to the condo in Bend. Things didn't work out like we had hoped with childcare, so we had to cancel the condo, but instead reserved a couple of hours at the Day Spa where Jessica lives. I am seriously hopeful that my poopies don't interfere with this day tomorrow. However, I don't want to get any one else sick too...

And with that, I am heading to bed. I've taken some nice Advil in hopes my aches go away ...

We've made History.

President Obama is finally here. Amen!