Guess what we're doing today?

We're finally taking down Christmas! Boy the living room is going to look empty, but the tree has overstayed it's welcome for this Christmas season. Standing is less problematic now (had stitches out yesterday) so, I was finally up to pulling ornaments off branches. By Saturday, we should be back to normal... Yeah, right!

You had what for dinner!?!

"We had stoop, mama! And I ate it!!!!"

This from George. He and Kjersten go to Grandma's church on Wednesday for their mid-week kids program. And, yes, they have a soup dinner first.

Seems he likes "stoop" as long as mama's not serving it. Glad to hear it.

I know, I know... he doesn't look sick...

He's happily eating some puffs after a filling dinner of applesauce. Jason took him to the pediatrician tonite because the kid is still sick! He's so cranky. He isn't sleeping. (Oh... maybe that's the mama...) Anyhow, he's fine. No ear infection. No obvious illness. Doctor said the bug has been lasting 12-14 days and we should give him a few more days. $80 advice. Fabulous.

You must be kidding...

Cael is the last one to recover from the illness here. He's still on the cranky end of it and we're out of ideas. The baby wants to be held all the time (not a problem) but not just held... Held in the exact right position. Problem is we don't know what that position is and once we think we've figured it out, it changes... Poor baby. Poor parents.

Here was a thought. Put baby in swing. I know he thought we were joking. He promptly grabbed either side and put a stop to that annoying rocking motion. Then he spent some time telling us that he wasn't too fond of that parking spot.

We let Rhys rescue Ole on the condition that Rhys could try to decipher what baby wants (with Cael's input, of course)!

"The" tongue.

My kids have a "tongue" thing. Hard to explain but easy to show in person. For now, you just have to see Cael's tongue. I'll spare you the details of what he can do with that tongue. Just remember, he's had his first cold, complete with a very runny nose, this week! Ewwwwww!

He looks almost skinny in this picture. Minus the rolls on his arms... And his cheeks... And his ankles...

New Year's Eve

We're a pretty low-key bunch. We got together with some friends for snacks and games. Midnight is much too late for me these days and we didn't get home and into bed until 2:00am. That is beyond late. Next year, we're staying home and going to bed at 8:30! Honest!


Cael and the green onions. His choice off the relish tray. He loved sucking on them.


Bret (eating something normal, no doubt) and his mama, Carol.


Big boys (dads) playing Wii.


Mamas visiting upstairs.


Kids having their own New Year's Eve feast!

Entertaining baby...

Put baby and his pacifier near one another on the hardwood floor. Watch baby try to "catch" pacifier.

Cael and his buddy Bret

Cael loves Bret. His bald head, specifically. (I know... it's not like Cael has hair...) Bret does NOT like his head being grabbed and sucked on. You can see he's anticipating a mauling by Cael.


Bret's mama, Carol, is helping Bret (an only child) return the favor. Cael, obviously the youngest of four, doesn't even notice.


"Oh look!!! There's Bret and his head!"


"Fine. You touch my head? I'll steal your pacifier!"


Here they are, actually playing!

Christmas 2007

Christmas Eve.
We boogied home from church to have dinner and exchange gifts with Uncle Eddy and Grandpa Tom. It was a really fast celebration as my dad had to be to work at 6:30. It did, however, allow us to have kids to bed nice and early.


Uncle Eddy with the kiddos.


Grandpa Tom with Lou.


Cael couldn't resist that tree!


Christmas morning is always torture for me! I'm usually up HOURS before the kids. I have been know to make a bit of noise to wake them. This year, they did better. The kids and I did have to wake Cael (and Jason, of course!).


Rhys got 30 (yes, thirty) books. All individually wrapped...


Kjersten has her own MP3 player now. My iPod is mine once again!



His own Leapster and Heelys for the big kids.


Cael and his Tabbie. I found this via a link from my cousin Colleen's blog. Click here to see these cute little blankets. Cael is fascinated with tags. All tags. Likes to chew them. This is just the thing!


Ahhhh... banana!!!! Love this thing! Cael got a new one in his stocking. It allows me to give Cael any food I want WITHOUT mashing it up. Just stick a piece in the net, screw it onto the handle, and let baby have at it!

Two sick parents + four sick kiddos= Looooooong days

This is the first time I can remember our entire family being sick at one time. Nasty colds. I think I have it worst, but then again, I'm probably just having a pity party.

Having foot surgery right after Christmas seemed like a good idea. After all, I've met my insurance deductibles & out of pocket limits. Having a baby will do that. So... why not have the necessary surgery while we're on break from co-op and while Cael is not totally mobile?

I'll tell you why. I'm terribly sore right now. The Christmas tree and other decor that looked so nice two weeks ago, looks like total clutter now. The downstairs (including the laundry room) is down the longest staircase ever! And I have a terrible cold. (sniff, sniff)

Okay, enough pouting! I have pictures to post. We've made a bit of space on the hard drive. We're trialing an off-site storage company and I'm being judicious in what pictures I allow to reside on the hard drive. For now, I have some stability and that means I'd better get to posting...

Next best thing?

For so many reasons, we chose to NOT put a fireplace/wood stove in our home when we built. I don't miss the mess, the massive danger factor (have you met George?) or the space it would require. I do, however, miss the crackling flame...

Well, Wendy found the solution. For Christmas, she found me a beautiful candle. The fragrance is appropriately "Fireside". I love it! Not only does it smell fabulous, but it has a special feature. It has a wood wick. It crackles as it burns so it sounds like a teeny-tiny fire. When the kids are all downstairs with dad, it's smells and sounds quite nice up here.

I thought I saw them at Target, but apparently I am confused. Here's the link to Amazon: WoodWick Candles. They look nice, smell great, and even sound comforting. Thank you Wendy!!!!

Scary little thing...

I am still parked on the couch, recovering from foot surgery. My foot is propped on three pillows. My glass of water and TV remote are next to me on an overturned laundry basket. Laptop perched where else? On my lap.

As I'm working on my unnecessary new project (see: 366 Glimpses... to the right), a bald little melon pokes his smiling face around the screen. He's been pulling up on furniture for a while. Now, he's working on the cruising skill. He just walked down along the couch to say "hello" to the mama. Cute. Oh, and no, he doesn't crawl yet. Despite his daddy's coaching, Cael is not interested. Yet.

Yup. Those are construction cones. Yes, it's indicative of my delayed posting on all things these last few weeks. You see... my laptop only has so much memory. Seems I've used it all. I am not to save anymore anything to my hard drive until I figure this out. We're investigating our options and hope to have a (even temporary) solution in place by New Year's Day.

So, I might do a bit of posting and wait on the photos... Or I might just wait.

Either way, know that we are still here. Alive and well with LOTS to post once doing so will not crash my computer.

"I've been everywhere, man. Crossed the desert bare, man. Breathed the mountain air..."

Actually, I haven't been everywhere. Not even close. Here you can see where I've been... Add Mexico and Canada and that covers my limited travels. However... I have lived in 25 different homes in 6 states. So, I haven't been "everywhere" but I've covered a lot of ground in a few of those states!

create your own personalized map of the USA

Cael and his buddy Bret

"Bret gettin' mugged by Cael" At least that's what Bret's daddy posted!

Aren't they cute? Bret is 2 months older than Cael. Bret's faster and smarter, but has no siblings. He was not keen on being mauled by another little person. Cael, on the other hand, knows nothing else. And Cael likes to touch Bret's bald head. (You know Cael can't reach his own yet...) Oh, and when Carol put Bret's PJs on, I just had to put Cael in his. Gotta love Costco!

Oh no... It's happened!

I truly thought we'd dodged this particular problem this Christmas. Nope. Cael has discovered the Christmas tree. He doesn't crawl. He manages to scoot backward, then turn around to investigate new treasures. Argh! The tree is quite the reward for getting around...

(He's not going to "crawl" anytime soon. He much prefers to pull himself up on furniture and such. I think that's a good thing. Right?)

"I don't want to take a nap! I don't! Really!!!"

2 hours later, I had my cheerful little boy back!

30,000 Pounds of Bananas...

I can't help but hear that song in the back of my head whenever I type "bananas".

Anyhow... it's more like 1/4 cup of bananas here... Cael had his first "real" food this afternoon. I don't count rice cereal as "real" food, 'cause who eats that stuff besides babies?! Yuk!

I have the lofty ambition of making all of Ole's food. I've always intended to make all the kids' baby food and have never ever done it. Until today. Today, I mashed part of a banana with a bit of water and, lo and behold, he ate it. He loved it. We're betting that Cael's going to love most food.

Kjersten was in charge of documenting the event.

Bathtime

Oh, does the baby love bath now that I let him sit. He's always liked baths, but now he LOVES them! He wants to "catch" that glorious water falling within reach...

More happy roly poly Ole...