Where did the time go?

Wow! Time really slipped away from me! I just looked at my Journal and realized that it has been 2 weeks since my last post! I thought it was just last week. LOL

So, I am here at work absolutely bored out of my mind! It is very frustrating because there is so much I could be doing outside of work, but I am stuck here! The rest of the week will be better because I have small things to do at work and something fun to do each day that will make the day go by faster. But yesterday and today have been painfully boring! You can only try to look busy for so long! Luckily, Stinky Pete isn’t here! He is in a meeting in Chicago and then on vacation, so I don’t have to deal with him…which is heavenly. But still bored!

I can’t believe that Christmas is almost here! I have lots to do still…it seems. But I am not really stressing about it because what I don’t get done, I just don’t get done. I am trying to just enjoy the time because I always get so sad after it is over!

Things are going to be a bit different this year because some of my Dad’s family from Oklahoma are coming in for the week of Christmas. I am excited to see them all, but also a bit sad because it may mean that we don’t get to spend New Year’s with my Mom’s side of the family – which has been a tradition! Scott isn’t too happy about it because he doesn’t know my Dad’s side of the family hardly at all. He hasn’t been around them much because we haven’t been around them much. So, we are still un-decided on what to do about that. I just hope that I can make everyone happy….that is always my dilemma! LOL

And Scott’s mom is going out of town on Christmas day with her boyfriend (to his hometown to see his family)…so we have invited his sister’s over to spend the day with us since they really have no one else and the thought of them being alone on Christmas Day upsets me! So, they are going to hang out with us….that should be fun, but different. My family usually comes over for breakfast too, but since the Oklahoma crew is coming, I probably won’t see them at all on Christmas Day. So…not bad, just different.

Umm…the kids are so excited for Christmas to get here. We had Christmas with Scott’s extended family on Sunday. That was fun and the kids had a blast playing with all their cousins. There was a WII there and Isaac loved it. He was breaking a sweat while they were playing tennis and bowling. Maybe next year we will find one of those for him! I hate that they are so hard to come by….that is the bad thing about Ebay! Everyone gets them to make money and the people that really want one for their kids can’t get one! Oh well…

Anyways, I need to get the rest of my presents that are at my parents’ house and get those wrapped up so I can see what I have for each kid. Isaac is at the age where I am sure he will be counting presents to make sure he isn’t jipped! But it has just been so much easier to buy for Faith Anne this year. We (actually Santa) is getting Isaac a basketball hoop – so that isn’t cheap. But how do you explain to a kid that Santa tries to spend the same amount of money on each kid and that the Santa presents also cost Mommy and Daddy money! I tried to tell him that as he gets older, the toys he asks for are more expensive…so he will probably get less than his sisters. Well, he said, “But Mommy, the toys I get from Santa are expensive. You can still buy me some too!” LOL So funny!

Faith Anne had a “Breakfast with Santa” at her school last week where we had breakfast and then each class sang a song on stage….very cute. Then they got to have a class and an individual picture with Santa. She did very good with that! She has told Santa that she would like a Family of Bears…that is 5 Teddy Bears. As if we need more stuffed animals at our house! She says the cutest thing….she said: “Mommy, I am brrrring….” Meaning, she is cold. So, I asked her if she was brrring the other day and she said no but asked me if I was brrring….too cute!

And the other day, Isaac got up on Saturday and came right to me and said that he needed to call his Mimi Ohio and “remember her something”. She had told him she would take him bowling sometime…so he had to “remember her” about that. I know I should correct them when they say these things, but they are so cute and this age will only last so long! LOL Thank goodness for that on some days!

Gracie is just cruising all over the place and getting into every last thing! She has left the tree and presents alone for the most part. She is such a cute little thing…I just wish she slept better. She technically sleeps through the night…but wakes up sometime between 4:00 and 6:00 to have a bottle. We need to stop that, but it is so much easier to get her back to sleep with it. I know, Bad Mommy!!!!

The kid’s program at church was great…they were all so cute. Our cantata at church went well…I forgot the words to my song, of course. But I – actually God – made up for it. He really helped me come up with some new ones that fit! I hate that I get nervous and forget words…I should’ve used my book! But even on Sunday when we sang it again, I had my words and still messed them up! LOL Oh well. It is over – thank goodness!

I am doing pretty good on WW. I have lost about 18 pounds since I started…so that is okay. I wish I was doing better, but I can already tell in my clothes. Kelli gave me some pants that were a smaller size then I had been wearing and I can wear those. Just not gaining the normal “holiday weight” is a big plus for me! We are starting a Wednesday night study at church in January that is called “Lose it for Life”…so I am looking forward to that! That should help…and I am anxious to start a Bible Study again. We haven’t been to small group in over a year and it is just so hard to get involved in stuff…I won’t go into everything…but anyways….that is cool!

Umm..what else? My life is pretty boring, so I don’t have a lot to post about! I mean, we are always busy….but who wants to hear about the everyday stuff of life with three kids and two parents that work full-time out of the home? Suffice it to say that it is chaos. Faith Anne is starting a dance class at the Rec center in January and Isaac is starting swimming lessons. I need to get them both involved in something. Isaac’s classes are Tuesday and Thursday evenings and Faith Anne’s is Saturday mornings. So, it shouldn’t be that bad. I think Faith Anne will really like the dance class – it is called Dance for the Very Young and just teaches the basics of tap, jazz and ballet. She loves to shake her booty, so it should be interesting! At the party on Sunday, she put on quite a show with her dancing! I think she gets that from my mom! She is always playing music and dancing with the girls. Gracie can get her groove on too! Isaac is like his Daddy – not the best dancer! LOL

Well, I guess I have bored you enough for one day! Talk to you all soon! Love you all! And post more often so I won’t be as bored at work!!!!

Exciting Times!!!

We had a BIG NIGHT last night! My Faith Anne overcame two of her big fears last night! We have been trying to talk her into getting her hair cut for a long time now! As you know, she has a whole head-full of hair….my mom has trimmed it several times – probably taken nearly 6 inches off herself. Well, we wanted to get it cut to make it more manageable because it is just so hard to deal with…and she hates to have it fixed. So, she has been so scared and determined to not get it cut for the past few months. We have even stopped in at Sweet and Sassy – a very girly salon – a few times to check it out and she has FREAKED out every time. For some reason, I asked her if she wanted to get her hair cut on Monday and she said yes! So, I made her an appointment for Tuesday – not really thinking she would go through with it…but we got there and she did GREAT! They really do a cute job there…wearing a Princess cape, watching a movie, then when she is done they spray their hair with Glitter and then something that smells like cotton candy and they put a star on their face. It was very cute…and I LOVE her new do! They cut off about 3 – 4 inches (maybe more) and layered it! She looks so adorable and it should be easier to manage now! I was so proud of her!!!

So, since we were at the Greene and Isaac was anxious, we went to see Santa! Faith Anne has been telling me that he is not going to sit on his lap…that she would just yell at him what she wanted and he could throw her some candy. So, we walked in to the little house and there were some kids on his lap having a grand-old time. I asked her if getting her hair cut hurt and she said no…so I told her that this wouldn’t hurt either. So, when it was our turn, she was a bit shy…but then she just walked right up to him and gave him 5 and then let him put his arm around her for a picture. Then, when we were paying for it, we turned around and she was sitting on his lap talking to him!!! WOW! I was so proud of her! She had a BIG NIGHT! Hopefully she is out-growing her fear of EVERYTHING. Isaac is hoping she is out-growing her fear of dogs because he really wants one…I am not sold yet!

So! It was an exciting night for us! Well, actually…it started out even more exciting – only in a worse way! Gracie got into the bathroom while I was taking care of a fight between Isaac and Faith Anne…and she got toilet bowl cleaner everywhere. I panicked, thinking she had eaten some of it….so I debated on taking her to the ER, but I talked to Mandie (my cousin’s wife who is a RN) and she told me to call the poison control number and that I probably wouldn’t need to take her to the hospital. It had bleach in it, so she said that the good thing about that is the taste is horrible, so if Gracie ingested any of it, it wasn’t enough to hurt her. Even so, I felt horrible and Gracie slept with us last night because I was so worried. Bad Mommy….I win the Worst Mommy of the Year award – that is for sure! I am telling you – neither of the other two kids EVER, EVER, EVER got into stuff like this. So…that was the excitement of our evening!

All of that stuff aside, things are going good! I love this time of the year! I actually love the anticipation of Christmas more than Christmas itself, if that makes sense. Anyways, Thanksgiving was wonderful! We had a great time with Jodi and Jim and Mom and Dad in Kentucky. Too much food, but we had fun! Then we went shopping on Friday, which was fun, and to see Fred Claus – also fun! We just had a great visit and enjoyed ourselves. The kids did NOT want to leave their house….they have so much fun there.

We are doing an Advent Bible study each night – “we” means me and Isaac and sometimes Faith Anne. I am really trying to make sure they know the real meaning of Christmas. Last night at the Greene, after we sat on Santa’s lap, we stopped at the Nativity Scene and they sang a Christmas carol to us…the kids enjoyed that. I wish we could go Christmas caroling – that is one of my favorite memories from when I was a kid – going Christmas caroling in Port William. I guess we live in a bigger community now, so it might not be as easy to do…but that was such a good time!

I am not done with my shopping yet…still have quite a bit to get, actually. I also have a lot of wrapping to do. A lot of my presents are over at my parent’s house, so I need to get those over to my house so I can get them wrapped! I don’t want to put anything under the tree yet because I am sure that Gracie will get into it! She has left the tree alone, but we put it up so she can’t really reach it easily.

We have our first snow day today! I don’t know how much snow we have out there, but it sure looks pretty! It was slow getting to work today, but not too bad. The main thing is the crazy people who think they are invincible…their driving makes it bad for everybody else. Isaac was disappointed because his class was going to the Secret Santa shop today to pick out gifts for his family, but he gets to spend the day with my Aunt and his cousins instead, so I am sure they will have fun. We just bought the kids new snow boots over the weekend, so that was perfect timing!

Yeah, Scott and I had a date night on Friday! That was nice! We went to the Cheesecake Factory for dinner – YUM – and then we did some Christmas shopping. We had a great night together! It was the first time we had left the kids with a babysitter instead of our parents….so that was fun! I had the best thing at CF…I don’t remember what it was called, but it was grilled chicken with asparagus and mushrooms and some sort of wine sauce and mashed potatoes! And then we split a piece of cheesecake for dessert….it was DIVINE! I have been back on weight watchers for a few weeks….but I did really good at dinner because I only ate half – actually less then half of my dinner – and we split the dessert. So, it wasn’t that bad! I have to lose some weight – for many reasons – but one of them is that Kelli and I are planning a beach get-away next year for her 40th Birthday. So….that is good motivation!

Umm..I feel like I am rambling and kinda all over the place. I guess that is what happens when it is so long between posts. I really do read everyone’s journals regularly, I just don’t comment very often or post very often. No good excuse, I guess.

My dad’s family is coming in town from Oklahoma for the holidays….that will be fun, but also different because we are always with my mom’s family. So, hopefully it all goes well. His family can bring drama sometimes, so hopefully this time is different! Then my parents leave for the month of January to go to Florida and on a cruise. That will be an expensive child-care month for us! But I am excited for them! This is what they have worked so hard for!

Well, I have to get back to work! December and January are very busy times for us! Everyone have a great day and love to all!