Christmas in January?

I have done a very poor job with my job as photojournalist, so here is some catch-up on our December. Consider yourself warned: there are lots of pictures!


Happy Birthday Jesus Party: We had a party for Jesus, decorated cookies, had lunch and let the kids play. It was a fun, chaotic morning with lots of little kids!

The next pictures are of our annual cookie decorating fest:

(Caleb's very nicely decorated cookie.)

Caleb's School Play:

( I love this picture of "Joseph" and the sheep crawling on the floor. They were soo cute!)

Christmas Morning:

(The following pictures crack me up! They are Caleb's face while opening his "best Christmas present ever" his Nintendo DS! This child is so dramatic...gets that from his papa!)


(And this is what my Darling little Twinkies did during the opening of presents: rifle through the diaper bag and wander the house. They liked the bows on the presents, but had little interest in opening anything. We tried to rip the paper in hopes they would want to come and help, but instead Ella just ran thinking that we were tricking her into trouble since she normally gets into trouble when she rips paper.)

(Here they are with their babies. Aren't they cute feeding their babies?! Caleb got them their tu-tu's for Christmas. So cute!)
(Top picture: Ella's done with the present thing and wants breakfast! Bottom picture: The Christmas cookies I made for our neighbors.)

Who says there are no such thing as miracles?

We haven't eaten out in SIX days....alert the media!

Works for Me: What to do with those Christmas cards?

The ideas below are so not mine... I stole them and LOVE them!

It was a great Christmas card season at the Mad House. We got around 60 and words cannot express how thrilled I was to read each and every one of them. Typically, I have NO interest in going to get the mail and if The Love wasn't here, the mail would just sit in that mail box. But when Christmas season rolls around, I literally stalk our mailman, hang out at the mailbox and pounce him when he arrives. (How'd you like that visual?!)

When I get a Christmas card I pour over it and make Lovey listen to all my, "Can you believe how big ____ has gotten?" or "____ has 6 kids now! Can you believe it?" or "I cannot believe how old ____'s kids are! Don't you feel soooo old?" And on, and on.

I love Christmas cards and after Christmas is over have never liked the idea of throwing them away. I have kept them for years. Then a couple of years ago a friend of mine gave me the greatest idea. She keeps them in a basket by the dinner table and each night after dinner they read a card and pray for that family. So we have been doing that for a couple of years. My boys LOVE IT! They really look forward to it at dinner. And then I send that person a note the next day to let them know that we prayed for them.

So then what do I do with the cards after that? Well, that's where I stole another idea...

I got a photo album and put our Christmas card & letter in it and all of the cards and letters for that year too. It has been so fun to look through the past years pictures to see how the kids have grown, new babies have been added... So fun!

I keep all the letters in an envelope and just display the pictures.

Here is our picture from last year along with our letter.

Works for me! For more ideas, head over here.

These are the days of MY life!

I was telling someone the other day that I can't remember the last time I was bored or had a boring day. I'm not sure if it's the 4 darlings, the hubby's crazy schedule or my over-the-top, dramatic, vivacious, crazy personality or a mixture of all three. Or, more likely, it's 'Sab Mad's law of attraction: crazy attracts crazy'.

Case in point:

We are almost done redecorating the playroom, but I wanted to get a few new pieces of furniture from Ikea. We wanted to go to Ikea on Saturday, but life got in the way so we decided to go Sunday after church. (THIS IS A COMPLETE DIGRESSION SO PLEASE SKIP AHEAD IF YOU DON'T WANT TO FOLLOW A RABBIT TRAIL - I went running with a friend Sunday morning and while I ran Joseph packed lunches for all of us, got ready for church, fed 4 kids, dressed 4 kids, packed the diaper bag AND did all the morning chores. When I got back from my run all I had to do was get myself ready for church. My man is seriously a Rockstar!!)



So, back to the story...we head up to Ikea after church. I had high hopes that the girls would take their naps on the way there and then be ready for some shopping. And that would have worked if I wouldn't have had to stop for gas (and trust me, I waited until the very last minute). Heaven knows that if the car isn't moving, the Beauties aren't sleeping. Once we stopped for gas, the twins woke up and never went back to sleep. By the time we got to Ikea, they were in NO mood to shop. Unfortunate for all of us.



I'm getting to the exciting part, it's just taking me time - as usual. So, I'm driving (so that The Love can study! I had high hopes that we were going to be done with all that when he graduated, but alas NOT!) I pull into the parking lot and while waiting for this spot we watch this woman back her car into a row of carts that were lined up to be taken back to the store. Yep, backs right on into them.

Well, she got out of her car in a huff and was all mad. She looked at the carts and looked around for the kid who was collecting them, but he was down another aisle grabbing a cart. At this point our space becomes available and it happens to be right next to this lady. By the time we park and get out of the car, the kid and his supervisor are being yelled at by this lady and we hear her saying that he hit her car with his carts!! Complete LIE!! Appalling! So next thing I know, Joseph is over there telling the supervisor that the lady isn't telling the truth. Then I head over there and tell her that we watched the whole thing and that kid wasn't anywhere near her car. She looks completely taken aback, but doesn't back down from her lie!! Are-you-kidding-me? The audacity!

This lady continues to demand for a supervisor to come out so that she can file a report. I was furious. As we are getting the kids out of the car, I kept telling her that she should be ashamed of herself and embarrassed, and that I was embarrassed for her. Totally lying and blaming this poor kid for her mistake. I think I said those things at least 10 times. I was seriously appalled!

The "poor kid" was so thankful to us and didn't speak very good English, but kept saying thank you. We gave Ikea our phone number in case they needed someone to tell them THE TRUTH!

Is that not the most disgusting thing you have heard today?!

Well, after a lengthy explanation to Caleb (who wanted to know exactly what had happened) we start our shopping trip with 4 kids. It was rough. But we got what we wanted, got soem good deals and headed out fast!

So now we are on our way home (still talking about how shocked we are at the behavior of this lady) when we start slowing way down on the interstate. Way down. And then notice that an accident just happened. A motorcycle was down and so was it's rider. Joseph pulls over and gets to do the I'm-a-doctor-does-anyone-need-help, much to the boys complete excitement! They thought it was so cool that Daddy was helping this man and that "all the cars had stopped for Daddy". (The accident closed down 3 of the 4 lanes on the interstate.) Joseph talked to the paramedics and stayed with the guy until the ambulance came.

Whew, what a day. Run, church, road trip, parking lot confrontations, awesome deal on furniture at Ikea, accidents, ambulance, wild kids in car, - all in a days work! And this is why most days I need to take a nap.

Post Holiday Life

My boys start back to school tomorrow and I'm super sad. We have had fun together (most of the time) and it's been such a joy to have them home.

Life is in full swing and I have lots to discuss, but I MUST get to bed to be ready for early mornings again. Tomorrow I will tell you a funny story of our day today that involves a parking lot confrontation, an ambulance and IKEA! It's a great story that allows you a glimpse inside my bizarre world!

For now, I'm off to bed...

Yes, I would like some cheese with my whine.

It's been a long day.

It began at the gym. January is a really hard month for me at the gym. I really dislike the New Years resolution-ers hogging the machines and not having good "gym etiquette". I really hate to be a pessimist, but I am. And the reality is that in 1 month, 75% of these people won't be clogging the machines because they won't be coming to the gym anymore. I know, that's pretty hateful of me.

It's been a long day.

And then I've decided to drive all the way to the commissary for food. The commissary is about 25 minutes away and I don't usually go because there are 2 grocery stores less than a mile from my house. But I want to be more frugal this year and the commissary has meat way cheaper than grocery stores. By more than a dollar a pound. So I make out my meals, breakfast-lunches-and-dinners, for the next two weeks (something I have done for 7 years!) and head to the commissary. It's crowded and crazy and out of -are you ready for this?- MEAT! Yes, you read correctly. The grocery store is out of meat. ALL meat. Oh, they did have a whole bin of holiday hams. Now I remember why I'm not good at being frugal.

It's been a long day.

The act of determining.

Happy New Year!!

Well, before I get started with this years "goals", we have to take a look back and see how I did last year. Here were the goals from last year:

1. "Working out (minimally) 5 days a week." CHECK!
2. "Half marathon in November." NO CHECK... But, I think I should get a little credit for signing up and training for the Austin, TX Half. Pretty please with sugar? Thanks! Y'all are the best.

So, I'm 50/50 for last year. Could be worse. Now for the things that I would like to accomplish this year...

1. Run at least 2 half marathons this year. Austin and... There are lots out there, too many to nail down right now.
2. Learn something new. And again, there are SO many things that I can think of - yoga, tennis, swimming, take a photography class...
3. Have monthly "dates" with each member of my family. I know that everyone in my family craves one-on-one time with me and I need to make sure that I put more effort into making that happen and invest in them individually.
4. Invest in my quiet time. In the past couple of months I haven't really invested anything in my relationship with my Savior and that really makes me sad. My quiet time has always been cyclical. I'm ready to get out of the "yuck" cycle...
5. Memorize scripture! This is the one that I am most intimidated by and the one that I am going to have to work the hardest at. But I have joined an accountability group hosted by a woman that knows Jesus in ways that I only pray to know him before I meet him.
6. and lastly, Find an accountability partner. I really am in need of someone who is ahead of me, who can help me along in my journey. (Oh, my MC...why can't you live closer?!)

That's a lot, resolutions or goals or determinations, I agree but I am ready for a challenge! Particularly because 2 active boys, twin toddlers girls, and a hubby in residency isn't enough of a challenge.

2008 Memory Lane

I thought it would be fun to take a little (cyber) stroll tonight (since Lovey is gone and well, I really don't want to do anything that requites me to leave the couch but I really need some exercise) down memory lane! Here is a list (done in bullets of course) of some of the most important events, moments and thingamajiggers (in my mind anyway) of 2008:

• The Beauties turned 1 and I still can't believe how fast time is flying by!
• Love graduated from medical school.
• I survived the first half of the dreaded "Intern Year". The second half, on the other hand, I may not survive.
• I sent my first born child to Kindergarten and was, admittedly and characteristically, way too dramatic about the whole affair.
• We took our first family vacation and road-trip as a family of 6 (and lived to tell about it!).
• I discovered the most amazing tv show in the history of...tv! And on my Birthday Eve it's coming back!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
• I've become a gym junkie... (more posts about that than you want to revisit!)
• We talked more about my boobs than anyone really wanted to know or hear about.
• My stubborn and very-difficult-to-potty-train child, finally got out of diapers!!
• AND last, but not least, we have had more illness around here than I ever want to have again! (you really don't want to relive those posts, trust me!)

One of the things that I love most about blogging is going back to look at pictures and read my thoughts and feelings, and laugh at how... dramatic ridiculous absurd ..I am. Thanks for taking that stroll with me. Let me know if any of you go for a cyber walk, I'd love to go with you!

Happy New Year!!

Home

The Darlings and I are leaving my parents house this morning (or since I haven't even started packing us up it could be this afternoon!) and I'm sad to leave. Coming home really is such a treat for all of us. And a reprieve from real life. In real life, I definitely do NOT get the red carpet thrown out for me. Unless Lovey is home. In that case he is always trying to make my life easier and make things special for me. Okay, so maybe I do get the red carpet thrown out for me at home, but not like I do when I come home to my parents!!

My mom is the most giving person I have ever met. There have been many, many, many times in life where I have said, "I like that purse" or "I like that shirt" and she has given it to me right then and there. She gets such joy in giving. And as shallow and pathetic as I am, I can admit I get joy in receiving. And thus we have a great relationship.

At my mom's house there is always someone (mom-sister-future bro in law-stepdad) to love on my kids, get a drink for them, change a diaper and hold a baby. My mom is the kind of grandma that plays with, loves on, waits on, and snuggles with her grandkids as long as - THEY ARE AWAKE! She makes up the craziest stories and has the kids in stitches, always has some fun art project up her sleeve, builds the best forts, and is non stop motion with her grandbabies. And they ADORE her.

Coming here is a treat for all of us. How many moms bring their grown daughters breakfast in bed? How many grandma's have multiple closets filled with toys that come out when her babies come for a visit? She is amazing and we are blessed.

And it's not just her. My step-dad, step-mom, dad, siblings - all are so excited to see us, so great with my kids and really enjoy spending time with them. Seriously, they do all the work and I get to eat, rest, surf the net, shop, watch tv, SIT - all in peace. One word...glorious.

Today it is time to go home. And the only reason I'm looking forward to going home is because The Love is there and I miss him. And I miss going to the gym. And my friends. And my house. Okay, and I miss Titan too! Alrighty, so I am excited about going home.

But, I sure do love coming back to my parents house. And feel so blessed to live 3 hours from them. I do think that a 2 hour drive would be better, but am not going to complain since most of my friends live double-digit-hours from their families!!!! Yep, three hours isn't bad at all!

And I'm thankful that we will have at least 2 more years being this close to my family. And I'm already looking forward to our visit in March! And I better get out of bed and start packing. And getting reacquainted with doing work...

R&R

Part of the problem, for me anyway, when there are days that lapse between blogging is that I have so much to say and no cohesive r organized way of saying it. So today I am blogging in bullet point. In real life I think, talk, and live in bullet points,

• Seriously.
• I am in Sugar Land, TX right now at my mama's house and for the first time in 4 days - all is quiet. The boys have been staying up until 9p - 10p every night because...
• my mom throws the, "Let me enjoy being a grandma and my grandkids. I don't get to see them very much..." blah, blah, blah. So my kids are wild and...
• since Joseph had to fly home last night to go to work today, I am on my own here. It's me against Caleb, Luke, Lily Kate and Ella and the worst culprit, MY MOM!
• I have been running while here and am breaking all my records because there are no hills. This place is as flat as a pancake. It's a nice break from San Antonio. While SA isn't the hills of San Francisco, San Antonian's call themselves the Hill Country of Texas. Needless to say, I am really enjoying running on flat land outside for the first time.
• And it is a good thing that I am running because I am eating like there is no tomorrow. The food here is delish and I always seem to fall into an eating spell when I come here for a visit. Gumbo, hams, homemade candy... Yes, it is a good thing I am running.
• I found out this morning that the USATF is allowing the use of headphones at races. The inability to use my IPOD while running was freaking me out, but now that is no problem!! Words cannot express how thankful I am about that!!
• We all had some sort of stomach thing over the past couple of weeks and I got it on Christmas Day. It reminded me why I am done having kids. Being nauseous and sick like that, for 5+ months, with 4 kids to take care of and a hubby who isn't home... Yep, it's time to end this child bearing business. There is always adoption...
• I have to tell you that Santa was very good to me this year. I got everything that I asked for. And my favorite thing is this little jewel. Isn't she a beauty?
• I love being back home at my mama's. It really is the place where I get rest and reprieve. Joseph and I get to go on lots of dates and even went to the movies to see this little flick. It was excellent!

Alrighty, that is all I have time for. My mom lives next to some great parks, so I'm off to take the kids out...

Merry Christmas

Kids say the darndest things!

We have a busy day ahead and I am so excited about Christmas that I can't sleep. Not a good thing! So instead of tossing, turning and waking up Lovey I decided to stop the inner dialogue and...blog!

My kids have been saying some of the funniest things lately and I want to write some of them down to remember them.

Luke:

The other day I was ranting and raving calmly discussing how it irritates me that the boys put clean clothes in their laundry baskets (this seriously drives me crazy and could be a whole blog post in itself!). I was telling Joseph that it is all my fault for not being tougher on them when they did this in the past. I just kept repeating, "It's all my fault."

Out of no where (because I didn't even know he was listening or in the room) Luke says, "It's not your fault mommy."

So laughing I said, "Well, whose fault is it?"

Thinking for a moment he says,"Daddy's!"

Daddy starts laughing and says, "It's always my fault. How does that always happen?"

Luke was quiet for another minute and then said, "No, it's Titan's fault!"

If all else fails, blame it on the dog!

**********************

Luke also has said (a couple of times) the most amazing thing I have ever heard a child, definitely my child, say. I was changing one of the girls when he came up to me and said, "Mommy, when you get a chance, will you turn on the TV for me please?" Did you catch that? When you get a chance!! This is music to a mama who is always reminding her kids that I only have 2 hands and 4 kids, so they need to please be patient. I love that this sweet boy noticed I was doing something important, had a requests, but was willing to wait patiently for help. LOVE IT! Hopefully this is a sign of things to come...

Caleb:

For the past couple of weeks Caleb has really started to notice that the world does not revolve around him. We have really been trying to drive this home to him because I want children who have empathy and are not selfish. So lately he has been telling me, "Mommy, you seem a little stressed out right now. Is there something I can do to help you?" Love it!

I just love when my kids show me that they are listening and growing into people who want to put others before themselves - true servants!

*************************
And then Caleb said one of the funniest things I've heard him say in a while. Luke was throwing up the other night and Joseph was tending to him while Caleb was sweeping the kitchen floor and I was cleaning up talking to my mom. Mama was asking what was wrong with Luke and I told her, "I don't know what's wrong with him, but he probably has the same thing that the girls had."

Out of no where Caleb goes, "Maybe he has the rhinovirus and I hear zicam is good for that. You should take it at the first sign of symptoms and don't cover it up like they did that rhino." I just stared at him for a second and then busted into laughter!

"Where did you hear that?" I asked.

He very simply replied, "On TV." Then he told my mom all about this commercial in great detail. Perhaps we have another doctor in our future?!

The Beauties

Siblings

This is a common sight around this house. When the girls want someone to hold them and I am in the middle of something (which is almost always!) the boys will sit on the floor and the girls will go and sit in their laps to be held. Is that the most delicious thing you have heard in the last hour?! The girls love the attention and the boys love being the heros! And I love being mama to these four Darlings!!

Catch-up

Alrighty peeps, I have lots to report so consider yourself warned...

My girlie's have some sort of weird stomach bug. Ella woke up from nap last Thursday from nap covered in puke. And continued to get sick for the next couple of hours. Poor thing. It was the night of Caleb's big debut, but since Sister was sick Daddy stayed home with all the kids while Caleb and I had a "date night"! At 10:30 that night, both girls were throwing up. SO, not fun! Lily was over it by the next morning, but Ella has thrown up during nap time for the past 3 days. Not too sure what is going on there...

Caleb's Christmas pageant was wonderful. He was a very handsome Joseph. You will have to take my word for it for the time being because my camera is dead. Died right in the middle of Caleb's performance. I did, however, video tape it for the Daddy, but my video skills are pretty poor. You need to take Dramamine prior to viewing the tape.

Joseph also took one for the team when he stayed home with the Sickies while I went to our Progressive Dinner on Saturday night. I was so sad that he couldn't come with, but thankful that he let me go. I had put a lot of time into planning it and would have been really bummed to miss it. Plus, my BFF's hubby is out of town, so I had a date for the night. It was super fun and I am very sad to report that I didn't take one picture. I know, highly unusual for me....

Last Saturday marked the beginning of 9 days off for The Love! Whooo-hooo! And the man has already painted the bathroom! He's getting right to work on my list of projects. Love it! We are also getting to spend some time together too. Today we got a babysitter and went out on a shopping/lunch date. We were able to get all the kids presents. They each got 3 gifts and then a couple of shared gifts. I think they will really like what they got.

We got paint for the playroom and are planning on re-doing it too. I will try to get some "before" and "after" pictures.

I did two long-er runs over the weekend and I am super sore. I even impressed The Love when I went running yesterday in freezing cold weather and yes, to this Texan, it was freezing cold. And windy. Very windy. But I had a run to run, so I went. The Love thinks I'm hardcore. I don't think he's ever said that before. And I love it! I've recently learned to spit while running and yesterday blew my nose in my shirt. Yep, hardcore...

Well, I think I've got you caught up! I gotta run, the girls are in nap time and I think I just heard a cough...not good!!

I'm always learning something new!

(exhale)

As I blog, all is quiet. It wasn't that way a couple of hours ago. We had a Happy Birthday Jesus party and there were 16 kids, 4 and under, at my casa. That, my friends, is a lot of kids under my roof. Only a few things got broken, spilled or lost. Not too bad, not too bad. While I had other things planned, with kids that small all you can really do is sing Happy Birthday. No deep theological dissertation needed.

We have a busy rest of the week. Caleb is making his acting debut as Joseph tomorrow night at his schools Christmas pageant. He wanted to be Jesus, but lost out that role to a plastic baby doll. So, Joseph is the next best thing. We are all going to the pageant as a family and I'm praying that the Twinkies don't distract us from this Oscar winning performance.

Then on Friday we have a party and Saturday a progressive dinner with our favorite 9 other couples. That will be SO fun! We have some hilarious friends!

On another note, I started my marathon training this week. Yesterday was my first run and it was terrible. Hopefully yesterday was not a glimpse into my future...

Well, I'm off to mop my floors. The cleaners came before my party and I don't think I'll make that mistake again! Lesson of the day: cleaners come after party with 16 small children!

H-E-L-P!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I'm in total panic mode! And in desperate need of help!!!!!!!

Does anyone have any ideas for useful, inexpensive gifts for our bus drivers, teachers, and I'd love to even get something for the girls at the gym who love on my babies day after day! Any ideas? Anyone? Pretty please help a overwhelmed, overworked, unorganized, procrastinating mama out!

I am not even 20% through my Christmas shopping and suddenly I realized that Christmas is NEXT WEEK! Seriously, I haven't gotten the kids 1 thing. And this week we have Jesus birthday parties, Christmas parties, Santa parties, school parties, Christmas plays, progressive dinners, ahhhhhhhhhhhhhh!!

I need to go to bed. Hopefully tomorrow I will feel refreshed and ready to tackle the world. While I'm sleeping, please be thinking for me! Please... Thanks, y'all are good friends!

WW Friday

Not a good report this week. I gained 2.2 pounds! And don't really care. I weighed myself way later in the day than normal and after I went to my brunch and had the yummiest food ever. So, I'm taking this weeks weigh in with a grain of salt. Next week on the other hand...

I'm kinda over the scale. I got some new clothes and am down a size. Not to mention that I have more muscle and am stronger than I have ever been.

Next Monday I start my half marathon training schedule. My running coach at the gym has already started training me, but officially I start next Monday. I'm nervous, excited, full of doubt and ready to prove something to myself.

Very ready to prove something to myself.

After spell checking this I learned that "shwack" is not a word.

The condition of my purse is always a good indicator of how crazy my life is. My purse is a disaster.

My little twinkies have pneumonia. They had been running fever on and off for 4 days when I finally told The Love to get his stethoscope and listen to their lungs. He confirmed that there was lots of noise in there. One of the many perks to having a hubby that is a doc. Since being on antibiotics, they are getting better and much less clingy!! I've said it before and I''ll say it again...the hardest part about having twins comes when they get sick at the same time! That, and getting in and out of the car!

Things have been especially nutty around here because I am putting together a brunch for 60 women tomorrow. The RSVP deadline was Tuesday and I had a lady email me last night to let me know that she will be coming. Ummm, you missed the deadline... And then another one called today. Ummm, seriously, you missed the deadline. Why is RSVP so difficult? So annoying!

My running coach at the gym kicked my (getting smaller) booty on Tuesday. I could barely walk yesterday and was very sore today. And then she did it again today. She is really trying to get me ready for my marathon. She's nuts. She ran a marathon last November, 4 months after giving birth, in 1:39. She's a machine. She wore a shirt today that said, "Yeah, I run like a girl. Try and keep up!" She is determined to see me reach all my goals. It's awesome having someone like that in your corner. Even if I do want to hurt her during my workout!

Caleb had a very exciting week - he's, Student of the Week! We went yesterday to chapel with him while he got his award.



Here he is waiting for me to get my act together and take his picture. Isn't he cute? He got the award, "because of his love". I'm not exactly sure if that is because he was showing love to others or because he is loving or ??? But I am proud of him nonetheless.

My Christmas cards should be arriving any day now. They will be different than any that we have done in the last 7 years of writing Christmas cards. Kinda exciting! I went through my Christmas list and shwacked (is that a word?) a bunch of people off. The list was getting too big and I'm not sure most of the people on it will notice if they don't get a card. I don't know, in reality I go back and forth with the whole Christmas card thing. The Christmas letter is so hard for me because I want it to be real. I don't want it to be a list of how fabulous we are because we have our issues just like everyone else. But at the same time, I am proud of my little family. I don't walk fine lines very well. And then I often wonder, "Does anyone really want a card from the Mads?" Really. So, I took liberty with the ever growing list. With that said, if you want a card let me know. Otherwise I may assume you don't and shwack you off!

I'm not even remotely done Christmas shopping. I did, however, get my hubby something and the man already opened it today!!! It was supposed to be a surprise, but because he is a super sleuth (or he just happened to look at our bank statement when he wasn't supposed to!) he found out what it was! Here he is putting it together:

Can you figure out what it is? How about this:

Yup, the poor man (and I say poor with thick sarcasm) was having a difficult time playing his XBOX on our old "little" tv. And because I adore the ground he walks on and am sick of seeing him sit right in from of the tv while playing XBOX (so that he can see) - he got a new tv. I'm happy because he is so happy. We had our old tv since we got married and it really was time for a new tv. We have had a magnetic spot on it for years that was growing and growing. And then I think the kids put magnets on it again because there were some new spots. Anyway, the only thing I am sad about is that I wasn't able to keep it a surprise until Christmas! And I'm thrilled that while he would have liked a bigger tv, he settled because he knew it would make me so happy to have a tv that fit in the armoire. That was my only requirement. I wasn't going to have some gargantuan tv be the centerpiece to our living room - no sirree, that's not for me!

Well, I'm off to take a nap. I'd love to hear if you are sending out Christmas cards this year and if your writing a letter. Oh and do let me know if you are including your blog address in your letter. That's another one I always waffle on.

A diva after my own heart!

"If I don't make eye contact, perhaps she will go away..."
"I'm not going to look at her. All a girl wants to do is have her breakfast in peace. But, noooo, that woman has to go and get her camera and make ridiculous noises, so happy and cheerful... Is she blind? Does she not see that I'm sooo not in the mood for this?! Yada, yada, yada...bad hair day -so cute... Go away..."
"MOM! Get that camera out of my face! Seriously, leave me alone and let me eat my breakfast."
"I give in - get your little picture of my bad hair day. Get it? Got it? Good. Now leave me alone! Don't you have something to go clean?"

Thanksgiving with the Fam

My dad, sisters (Carami, Amy & Lara), brother Mark and stepmom - with my brood. It's always nice having them all! So many arms to hold babies and playmates for the boys!

My Dad playing his Martin for the twins. Ella is our dancer and started dancing almost as soon as my dad started playing. Little Kate on the other hand just stared in fascination. It was fun, because my dad played some of the songs that he used to play to put me to sleep when I was younger. It's one of my most fond childhood memories...drifting to sleep while my dad played guitar.

My sister Carami, my dad and the twinkies.

WW Friday

Last Friday I didn't post the weeks weight drama because I was spending money, losing Caleb, and didn't really want to think about all of the food I ate at Thanksgiving. I didn't work out from Tuesday to Monday - so you know I was sick!

So you can imagine my surprise this morning when I went to weigh in and lost another pound! I have passed 10 pounds now!!! Whoo-hooo! And it has been a great week at the gym.

The bad news is that we are all sick...again! I think it's a combination of having 2 kids, in 2 different schools and they gym that is keeping any of us from getting well. I have been sick more in the past month than I've been in a very long time, if ever. We've all been sick a lot.

I figure that at the rate we are going we should have caught all the major colds and viruses that are plaguing the southern part of the US by January 15th. Lets hope it will be over by then.

There are no excuses now!

I jokingly tell my man the other day to go and do something with his daughter's hair because it is getting stuck in her bugars.

Gross, I agree.

Anyway, it was only said in jest because for months he has been telling me that he, "doesn't do girl hair".

SO, you can imagine my surprise when Little Kate came out looking this cute:

Seriously.Cute.

Now, in order to achieve this look he must first douse their heads with a fire hose wet their hair. Then he works meticulously to create the perfect part. I kid you not, the surgeons he works with would be proud. After he creates his masterpiece part, he proceeds to give the girls any and everything they want in order to keep them still so that he can keep his part straight while gathering his little ponytails.

Viola! 20 minutes later ONE girl has piggypails...just one more to go!

It really is the cutest thing. Especially for a Daddy who, "doesn't do girl hair"! I heart my man!!

WFM - Treasure Tree

Growing up I loved decorating the Christmas tree and I couldn't wait until I grew up to have a tree of my own to decorate. I have loved decorating my tree each year, loved it! But then my kids started making ornaments (very cute, cherished ornaments!), getting ornaments, and wanting to take ornaments on and off the tree - repeatedly. So a friend of mine gave me a great idea, give the boys a tree of their own. Their Treasure Tree is a perfect place for them to put all their special ornaments!

This year the boys got a new tree because their old one got too small to hold their treasures. They picked out a 3 foot, prelit tree with colored lights and love it! I let them unpack their box of ornaments and they decorated their tree with such pride! It was so cute. Caleb put all his ornaments on one side and Luke put his on the other. They were so excited:

Aren't they cute?

Works for me! Check out Rocks In My Dryer for other great ideas...

The big question...

I know lots of people who enjoy blogging, but feel like they don't know what to talk about. I have - no such problem. In real life or here in bloggity-ville. I, unlike my Love, have never enjoyed silence.

There is a lot that I could talk about right now, like how I didn't get to brine my turkey this year because my Love dropped dish soap in my brine while it was cooling. Yeah, still makes me kinda sad...

So then I could tell you all about my c-r-a-z-y black Friday shopping experience yesterday! I was one of the psycho's that got to Wally's at 3:30 AM!! While I got some great deals, even I was questioning my own sanity...

Which brings me to the next thing I could discuss which is how my Love thinks I am insane for even going out, instead of watching football all day and eating left-overs. We don't remotely agree on the phrase, "thrill of the hunt"!

Or I could tell you how I had the worst moment in my career as mommy yesterday when I lost Caleb in a huge store with lots of people. I don't panic easily, but was absolutely hysterical. Thankfully, after the longest 5 minutes of my life he was found, looking for me, by a nice worker. He wasn't upset until he saw how unglued I was and then he started sobbing. Oh, how I love that little boy. Let's not talk about this anymore because it's starting to make me feel queasy!...

What I really want to talk about is my big dilemma right now. A dilemma that I have thus far been successful in evading, but can no longer. It starts with an S and ends with an A. Can you guess? Yep, the big man himself has suddenly invaded our home - in full force! And I don't quite know what I want to do about it.

Caleb and Luke wrote letters to Santa today. I was folding laundry when they kept coming in from the front porch to ask me how to spell things like "Darth Mal" and "Nintendo". Finally, I was super curious and went out there to see that they were up to. Caleb had already written Luke's letter for him and was working on his list. I didn't know what to say, so I walked back in the house wondering if my Love was saving someone's life or had time to counsel me on what to do. I decided against calling him at work for the 1000th time and just hoped that the boys would forget about this and move on.

They didn't. Instead they came in the house with their written letters sealed closed, "Santa" written on the outside along with their names, ages and sexes!..(So cute!)...and they were looking for stamps. Seriously.

From what I can gather, they got the idea from some of the neighbor kids. It doesn't help that people are always asking them what Santa is bringing them for Christmas. Or that they love the "Santa Clause is coming to town" song. *sigh*

Now Caleb, being the ever so inquisitive child that he is, has asked about Santa before. And I have been able to dodge the question. Which for this very perceptive child, has only made him more curious. I just don't know what to do.

There is something fun about believing in Santa. I did when I was a kid. And I have heard the theory - 'when they find out there's no Santa, perhaps they'll think Jesus isn't real either' - which I don't buy into because I know that never happened to me and I don't know anyone that has happened to. With that said, I don't want to lie to them either. Nor do I want them to be so wrapped up into Santa that they are more amazed by him than they are by our Savior's birth.

And therein lies my dilemma. I'd love some advice...how do you all handle this?

A WHOLE lot about NOTHING!

Soccer officially ended this past weekend and I am glad! I love that my kids play sports and think soccer is a great outlet for my boys, but by the last game I was ready to be done with it for a while. 2 practices, 2 different nights, 2 games, 4 kids and a hubby that couldn't make it most of the time is a handful. The boys had a great time and are looking forward to next season already!

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On our way to Caleb's last game, Ella threw up! So Daddy took Luke, Lily Kate and Ella home while I went to the game with Caleb. The Daddy is pretty much a Rockstar - by the time I got home he had given both girls a bath, cleaned out the van, washed and dried the girls clothes, washed the car seat and was feeding the kids. Yep, Rockstar status!

Yesterday morning when I went to get the girls, Ella had thrown up again in the night so I had to clean her and her bed. She didn't throw up again (thank God!!) but started running fever mid-day. By last night she seemed much better, but her sister was very fussy!

One of the hard parts about sickness and 4 kids is you are always waiting for that proverbial other shoe... I am just praying that if we all get it, it happens before Thanksgiving!!

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Speaking of Thanksgiving, I got all my groceries for the big day last night! I have had Thanksgiving at my house for the past...at least 6 years. Now that I think back I can only recall 1 Thanksgiving, since we have been married, that we went somewhere else. It was our first year of marriage. I love to cook for the holidays and while some of our friends offered to have us over, we opted to stay at home and have our family come here. I think it will be fun!

Every year I cook the same feast, using the same recipes, and it is delicious (if I do say so myself!) - sweet potatoes, mashed potatoes, stuffing, cranberries, green bean casserole, frozen Rhodes rolls (this year I got wheat), and the only think I don't make homemade is the gravy. (Although, my stepmom will be here this year, so maybe that is what I will put her in charge of.) And then I am making 2 pumpkin pies and an apple. YUMMY!! Oh and I have brined the bird for the past 3 or so years, and this year I am trying a new brine recipe. If you have never brined your bird, you seriously don't know what you are missing. It is so moist, it's amazing. Simply amazing.

Yep, I'm getting excited!

Joseph works the day shift on Thanksgiving, which is actually a perfect shift since we don't usually eat until around 4.

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And while I am cooking this yummy feast, I plan to stay on target with my weightloss attempt at weight loss by starting my day off with a 4 miler Turkey Day Trot! Doesn't that sound fun?!

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The kids are off this week and it is our first school break! I had been looking forward to it until the first day and the kids behavior was awful. We had a serious talk with the offender(s) and yesterday was a marked improvement. It's hard with Ella sick because now we are going to be confined to the house and not be able to do the fun outings I had planned (and these boys need OUTings!). We will now go to plan B and that is having a craft day today. The Love is off tomorrow and plans to have a 'guys day out', which will be good for the boys (and their mama). And then the boys will have their teenage aunts and uncle here from Wed. to Sat. and they are so looking forward to that. Lots of attention. Personal attention.

The twins are SO active, that when they are awake, it is all I can do to keep up with them! They are at "that age" when if unsupervised, they find trouble to get into. And it really is double trouble because while I am getting one sister out of a mess, the other sister is finding a mess to get into. Whew, trust me when I say they are a handful anymore!!

It always makes me glad that we opted out of homeschooling this year. We had very wise friends, who homeschool, tell us that it would be very difficult with the age of the twins. Not impossible, just very difficult. I now see the wisdom in that. I love looking back and seeing how God does know what is best for us.

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Well, if you are still reading this novel, I am impressed! I'm off to start another day that I am sure will be full of adventure!

Raining Babies!

When I say that more than half my friends here are pregnant, I'm NOT joking!! In my closest circle of 7 ladies, 4 are pregnant. No fear, this mama is NOT!!

So I helped throw a shower for them. (Caleb is so cute - he kept asking, "How do you throw a shower?") Here are some of the pictures of my super cute preggo friends at their shower.

Here is the gang! Aren't they cute?! I really love these ladies!!

My Julie is having a GIRL!! She has two boys and now is having a girl. Pink, pink, pink!! I just wish she was having twin girls!!
Karen has a boy and girl and is having another girl!
And here is my Kellie - isn't she so photogenic?! Disgusting! She also has a boy and a girl and is having another girl!! I have been helping her with names, but I don't think that she appreciates my help.
Maggie has a little boy and isn't going to find out what she is having until the big day! I have no idea how people are able to do that?! I am such a control freak!!
The prego's!

WW Friday

Not good news. And I'm really discouraged.

Here is a peek at why I GAINED .02 pounds:

Friday - lifted, 30 min. of cardio
Saturday - nothing
Sunday - nothing
Monday - lifted, 45 min. of cardio
Tuesday - ran 5 miles at a 9:03/m pace
Wednesday - lifted, 45 min. of cardio
Thursday - ran 5 miles of intervals.

We didn't eat out much at all, so I have no idea why there was a gain. Depressing.

I'm learning

I have really felt God calling me to slow down. Not maybe so much in our schedule, but more so in my response to the kids.

Things can get crazy around here with a hubby that works a lot and 4 kids who are still pretty young. The noise level and demands are high. My kids are at an age where they are very dependant on me for help - with pouring drinks, wiping bottoms, making meals, seat belts, crossing streets, cutting food...the list seriously goes on and on. It really is exhausting.

And the smallest things slow us down. Way down. This mama who is on the go, doesn't like to be slowed down.

What I am especially impatient with is what I call, "drama". It's the tears because we can't find our favorite socks or arguing over what twin is going to sit in front of you, therefore refusing to get in the car or determining that you only want the green bowl, even though your cereal is already poured in the red bowl or taking our shoes off enroute to the store(and somehow losing them in the van!)... Yeah, these are the things that send my blood pressure up.

I really am impatient with these moments. But I have been quite convicted that these are the moments of motherhood. It's not always about serving a great meal, it's about serving some compassion when there are tears over socks. It's not always about creating the best family experiences, it's about using the day to day experiences to create the best family. It's in the small every day things that my character is being shown to the kids.

So for the past week I have really been trying hard to slow down. And I have seen it pay off.

Last night Caleb had his soccer party at Chuck E Cheese. We showed up with 50 tokens and then the coach gave us some more. Since it was just Caleb and I, I played a lot of the games with him. He loved it! Getting me one-on-one is a treat and he knows it and loves it. We would occasionally run into some of his teammates and they would say hi to him and try to talk to him, but he was being somewhat aloof. After he spent all his tokens and traded in his tickets he looked up at me and said, "Now what? I'm bored. There's nothing to do."

Are you kidding me? We are at Chuck's. I started to feel my blood rise at the ungratefulness, but took a deep breath and gave him some options of things that he could go and do. He started crying and didn't want to do any of them and just kept repeating that he was bored.

Now, this is usually where I start to get irritated. But instead, I tried to figure out what was going on with him. After many words on my part and lots of tears on his part, we decided to get his trophy and pictures and head home.

On our way to the car Caleb is crying and won't talk to me. I was starting to get frustrated again when he says, "I don't know how to say the words about how I feel."

Oh, my poor sweet boy. I pick him up and have him sit in the front seat with me and hold him while he cries. And then we start talking. Really talking. And I find out that he doesn't have any good friends on his team and doesn't feel like he fits in and feels left out. Stab in the heart. I felt terrible for him.

We ended up having a really good conversation. A really, really, really good conversation. A conversation that we wouldn't have had if I had been in my hurried mode.

These are the moments that I want to be remembered for. And they will only happen if I slow down. Thank you, Lord, for conviction!

My Little Ladies!

I have no time to blog today (although I have a lot to blog about!) so I thought that I would show you some pictures of my Yummy Little Twins!

Ella looking awfully serious.

This is one of their new favorite things to do - push one another in their little car. I just love it! Their like two little old ladies!

Some dance action - they have moves!

Do you think they still look alike?

Lily Kate

Ella Grace

The little old ladies stylin' their sunglasses!

Lily Kate

Ella
Drivin' Miss Ella
Delicious aren't they?? Love it!!!!!

WW Friday

Are you ready for this?...
It was a good week!! A very good week!!

Here is the nitty-gritty:

Friday: Lifted & 30 min of cardio
Saturday: Ran 5 miles
Sunday: off
Monday: Lifted & 30 min of cardio
Tuesday: Ran 5 miles
Wednesday: Lifted & 30 min of cardio
Thursday: Ran 3 miles

Not too bad considering I'm sick too! Yesterday I felt awful, thus the 3 mile run instead of my planned 5 mile run.

Now to the scale: I lost 2.2 pounds!! Wooo-hoooo!! I definitely think that sticking to my workout schedule, oh and that we didn't eat out EVERY day this past week was quite helpful! We actually only ate out twice and I think that may be one for the record books! Eating out is what really kills me. Not only is it not healthy, but it is also expensive. Note to self: eating out isn't good for the pocket book or the scale! I should probably tattoo that on my forehead!

My last piece of exciting news is that I signed up for my first half marathon! I am so nervous, but also so excited! It is in February, so I'm sure you will hear way more than you really want to know about all that in the next couple of months!!

Fabulous Five!!

Julie tagged me for Fabulous Five, so here goes...

5 years ago:

1. Joseph and I had been married for 2 years.
2. I only had 1 child! (I can barely remember what that was like)
3. We were living in Minot...
4. with grand dreams of going to medical school.
5. Lovey had a job that took him 5 minutes to drive to, worked from 7:30a-4:30p, came home for lunch everyday and I thought that he was gone way too much for my liking... Oh, how NAIVE I was!!

5 things on my list today:

1. Go to the gym.
2. Laundry. (always on the list)
3. Take a nap.
4. Make some new bows for my Twinkies.
5. Go to the store!

5 snacks I enjoy:

1. 100 calorie pack Oreo's.
2. Dried fruit.
3. Chips and salsa.
4. WW ice creams!
5. Frosty's from Wendy's.

5 things I would do if I were a millionare:

1. Visit our Compassion kids.
2. Give money to Samaritan's Purse.
3. Go to Tenwek with Joseph for a short term mission.
4. Take the kids on a trip around the world.
5. Buy Joseph that truck he's been wanting.

5 places I have lived:

1. Houston
2. St. Louis
3. Colorado Springs
4. Minot, ND
5. Silver Springs, MD

5 Jobs I have had:

1. Waitress - Planet Hollywood, Damons, Lonestar Steakhouse and Saloon - to name a few!
2. Nanny
3. Receptionist - Toni & Guy
4. Camp Counselor
5. MOMMY!!

5 people I tag:

• anyone who wants to play along!

WFM - Gifts that change lives!

Samaritan's Purse is one of our favorite organizations to support. They take care of the spiritual, emotional, and physical needs of people all over the world, in the name of Jesus.

One of my favorite times of the year is when they send out their gift catalog. It is amazing to see how little money it takes to do things like care for an orphan for a month, or feed a hungry baby for a week, or buy a blanket , or even to buy a brood of chickens for a family to eat off of and sell - seriously the list is amazing and there is so much to choose from depending on how much (or little) you have to spend.

Last year we let Caleb pick out something that he would like to give and it was a great chance to talk with him about our responsibilities and how blessed we are! This year we will let both Caleb and Luke pick something.

Our kids don't get much for Christmas (from us anyway) because it isn't about what they are getting, it's about our Saviors birth and what Jesus gave and what they are giving. This is a great way to reaffirm that to them and more importantly, to ourselves! It's really hard as parents not to want to give your child all that they want for Christmas...and more. It's hard not to measure our job as a parents by how many gifts are under the tree. We're going to try hard this year not to do that by starting the season off with giving!

Please take some time to check out Samaritan's Purse gift catalog. Bless someone because I promise that you will walk away more blessed. We always do!

Works for us! For more ideas, head over to Rocks in my Dryer.

O'righty... It has been a couple of weeks since I have participated in Ten Things Tuesday and in honor of this thankful month, I thought I'd take a few seconds to jot down some things I am thankful for today...

1. ...My gorgeous friend Rebecca who made me laugh during...
2. a 5 hour shopping trip sans kids!
3. ...My wonderful hubby who doesn't bat an eyelash when I leave him to run the house (and fold 3 loads of laundry!!!) while I have fun with a friend.
4. ...that God knows all my needs and provides in perfect time.
5. ...TWO adorable little girls who allow me to "do girl hair"!
6. ...a 4 year old with the most adorable little face who is completely obsessed with how old people are!
7. ...a 6 year old who says, "I adore you mom!" a couple of times a day.
8. ...for organizations like Samaritan's Purse!
9. ...for the new friends we are meeting in our couples bible study.
10. ...for my wonderful mother-in-law! Thank you for the love and hard work you poured into your son to produce the amazing man that he is today! I'm sorry we missed your birthday...we love you so much!!

To see what others are giving thanks for today, head on over to xbox wife.

If I were President...

I would make it a law that there will be NO decorating for Christmas, playing of Christmas music, Christmas ads on tv, buying of Christmas presents or even talk of Christmas until the day after Thanksgiving!!!!

Seriously, I backed out of my driveway a couple of days ago and was appalled to see that my neighbor across the street was putting up her Christmas lights, decorating the lawn and had a wreath out to hang!

What is that all about? I still haven't put away my jack o'latern! It is absolutely NOT time to get out the Christmas decor.

So I did what I always do when I am outraged - called The Love to whine complain discuss the situation.

ME: You will never guess what I just saw?!
LOVE: (totally uninterested!) Ummm, no idea.
ME: E___'s mom is putting up their Christmas decorations!!!
LOVE: (totally unimpressed and possibly even bored!) They're getting started early.
ME: I am not going to stand for this! It is absolutely NOT time to decorate for Christmas. Isn't there some rule in our HOA about when you can decorate? This is ridiculous! Love, they're trying to ruin Christmas for me!!
LOVE: I doubt you even crossed their mind.

Ugh! That man never takes me seriously.

Then the icing on the cake came right after I hung up the phone with my totally unsympathetic and doesn't-even-try-to-pretend-this-registers-on-his-radar husband. I turned the radio on and heard, "Have a holly jolly Christmas..."

Why is everyone against me?

WW Friday

Not a good week...at all!!

I gained .4 pounds.

And I'm shocked I didn't gain more! Here is a break down of my eating and exercising for the past week. You, too, will be shocked I didn't gain more weight...

Friday: Ate out 2 times, Strength class
Saturday: Ate out 2 times, (and scarfed down lots of chocolate!) no exercise
Sunday: Ate out once, no exercise
Monday: DIDN'T EAT OUT - ALERT THE MEDIA!!, lifted & 30 min. cardio
Tuesday: Ate out once, ran 5 miles
Wednesday: Ate out 3 times!, no exercise
Thursday: Ate out once, ran 5 miles (averaging a 9:04 pace)

Yeah, so it is amazing that I didn't gain 5 pounds!! I plan on having a WAY better week next week!