Other Christmas vacation fun

1. Danny, Steph & Co. came over the day after Christmas. We hung out, ate dinner together, and played games. It was fun!
2. I got to sleep in every other day. I finished The Lost Symbol by Dan Brown and read Dear John by Nicholas Sparks.
3. I went shopping in Cincinnati with two of my friends all day long! It was so much fun. Bought several things with my Christmas money. We even stopped at the Cheesecake*Factory for to go cheesecake on the way home. I brought Andy a piece to thank him for my day of girl time!
4. Andy and I celebrated our 9th anniversary! We ate lunch at Red*Lobster and ran errands, shopped, and just enjoyed being out without kids.
5. Had game night with my family at Cara's house. Fun!
6. Planned b-day parties for Wilson (GI JOE) and Luke (SPIDERMAN...again!). Did the party shopping and had fun with the boys.
7. Watched movies with Andy.
8. Enjoyed being with my family and lounging around the house in jammies. This has been a perfect vacation.

Now, ringing in the New Year with my hubby. All the boys are asleep. Tomorrow we need to take down Christmas decorations. I'm trying to get caught up on laundry and do some cleaning before I head back to work on Monday. :( I'll sure miss my boys!

Christmas Day

Tyler woke up first so I tried to keep him quiet until 7:15. Then the big boys woke up and we all came downstairs! They were adorable. Wilson ran to his new Lego garage and was pumped. Luke glanced at his box and then ran over to get Lottie's stocking for her before seeing what he got himself. He is so tender hearted! Then he realized Santa brought him a huge slot car racetrack. He was very excited! They dumped their stockings out and enjoyed seeing what was inside. Tyler got a See N Say and a little car garage. They also opened a couple presents from mommy and daddy. It was fun. Wilson bought me a gift with his own money. It was totally his own idea. He went up to Andy a couple days before Christmas and told him he wanted to buy me a present. I told Andy I really needed a new shower puff from Bath & Body W. So Wilson went and picked me out a red puff. It was so sweet! They started building Lego's and the racetrack with Andy while I got ready. We went to my grandparents for breakfast around 9:30. It was great to see my cousins! We were home in the afternoon and I took a big nap while the boys played. Then around 4 we went to my mom and dad's for opening gifts and dinner. It was a great evening. We even played Apples to Apples while the kids watched part of a movie. Christmas Day was wonderful and filled with family!

Christmas Eve

We had a wonderful Christmas! Having the week off leading up to Christmas is so nice. We made sugar cookies for Santa, bought the last minute gifts and wrapped lots of presents. On Christmas Eve morning we let the kids open their gifts from Mimi and Poppy. Luke opened a gumball machine was very excited about that. Wilson opened his pillow pet dog. They each got a game too. We went over to my mom's for a little while in the morning to hang out and let the kids exchange gifts with Terry. At 5pm we went to our church for the Christmas Eve service. Afterwards a group went to a local nursing home to sing carols in the hallways. We thought this would be a great service opportunity for our family to participate in together so we went. It was neat - the boys were of course shy but I think it was good for them. I had them waving to the residents as we caroled down the hall and Luke was brave enough to go up to some of them to give them the little potpourri gift we were handing out. Came home and read "The Night Before Christmas", set out the cookies and egg nog and convinced Wilson to go to sleep! They each got to open a gift from mommy and daddy before bed too. They were so excited. Andy and I had a lot of fun that night setting out gifts and stuffing their stockings. We always trade stockings that night too. We had a great day and I couldn't wait to wake up and see W & L's faces!

Ty's 15month Check-up

Ty went to the doctor on Monday for his 15 month check-up. Everything went well and he had to get 3 shots. He hated that! He weighs 26lbs, 7oz which is in the 73rd percentile. He is 32 1/2 inches tall (84th percentile) and he has a huge head - 99th percentile! He has 8 teeth now and say 2-3 words. He says uh-oh and quack quack really well. He sometimes says da-da. We're supposed to work on getting him to say more words. He can now fold his hands when we pray before eating dinner. He walks all around and is getting pretty good at it! He can stand up from squatting on his own and always wants to be held. He is so sweet! Love him so!

Wilson's Christmas Program

Make a Smilebox slideshow

Luke's Christmas Party

Make a Smilebox greeting

Major Breakthrough!

I am still in disbelief...but oh so proud of my Wilson. Wilson shocked me during his Kindergarten holiday program. You wouldn't believe how many conversations we have had about his upcoming program- not wanting to sing in front of people, wanting to skip school on the program days, etc. Anyway onto the positive - he not only sang, stood on the risers and did the hand motions- he played Rudolph in the last song!!!!!!!! I was in disbelief. Wilson came down by himself during the Rudolph song wearing a blinking nose and antlers. He skipped around the entire crowd waving while they sang the song. Then he came up to the front with the music teacher to take a bow. My heart was so proud of him for being courageous enough to allow himself to do that and have so much fun at it. His friend Matthew was supposed to be Rudolph but went home sick today. Wilson asked his teacher if he could be Rudolph. She said yes (though she was very surprised too!). I still can't believe he did it! This afternoon at home he couldn't stop talking about it. He is so proud of himself - and rightfully so. People at school that know him and his struggles with anxiety were overjoyed for him too. His assistant was crying she was so proud of him. It was amazing. I'm so glad he has this positive experience to remid himself that he can get through his tough times. My friend Shawna was there with her nice camera and got some good pictures. I'll have to post them soon. Wilson has mentioned over and over that if Matthew is sick he will gladly play Rudolph again. Poor thing has had a fever this afternoon though so I don't know if he'll get to be in the program tomorrow or not.

*On a side note Wilson is no longer ok with being called Will. Whenever I accidentally call him Will he corrects me and tells me he wants to be called Wilson. Fine by me, I prefer Wilson. It's just that I often shorten it to Will so I need to break that habit!

T-Dub

Yesterday we made the trek to CCH for a neurology appt. It was LONG. But uneventful! Yea! Tyler is developing as expected with no complications from his PWS. That is the news we want every time. We got there around 10am. Went to the dr room around 11am. Saw the doctor at 12:20pm. It took forever. FOREVER. Tyler was tired and hungry. There is only so much one can do to entertain in a tiny room for that long. Luke was with us too and he was such a trooper. I did venture out to find a snack machine and bought the boys some animal crackers eventually. The neurologist did spend about 20min with us asking questions and assessing etc. Ty also got his first round of H1N1 vaccine b/c they had it available and offered it to us. So at 1pm we were able to leave. Rushed out of there, drive thru at Wendy's, ate in the car, and made it back just in time to pick Wilson up from school! Best news: neurology doesn't want to see Ty for 1 year!

Tyler has also been cutting TWO teeth - one of the back molars and a tooth on the bottom left. Poor baby!

I am well and need to go get ready for work! I am so thankful to be healthy and able to go to work today. Plus, only 4 more days!!!

Flu Update

I hate being sick and having to miss work. My job is stressful but I enjoy it. I don't mind missing one day here and there but multiple days in a row and I start to stress out. My team and Brenda are taking good care of my sub/subplans/class etc. - I am sure! But I missed two SAT meetings, an ARC on a new student, club meeting (in which we were planning our Christmas party for our buddies), Primary Celebration where the club was being introduced, 1 day of secret santa, and tonight I have to miss the staff Christmas party. I am so bummed. I haven't been to the staff x-mas party in 3 years I think. Sick this year. Last year had a 3 month old baby and didn't want to be away, and I think it was cancelled the year before that. To make matters worse I am unable to access my school email at home right now due to a problem with my router. So I am totally disconnected. I love having days off but not when that means I am home sick. I am not good at sitting around doing nothing for days on end when I have to. I long for days off to relax but when everything is still going on without you it is hard!

Same at home. This sure makes it seem like my priorities are out of whack but even with being sick I've seen the boys a lot. I haven't been taking care of them but I've been in the same room watching them play etc. I miss holding Tyler and snuggling with my boys. That is for sure. Andy is holding down the fort. I know he is exhausted. I'm hoping no one else gets this.

I've been fever free for 48 hours but my sore throat is so awful. I've never had a sore throat this bad (but I've never had strep either). I called the dr today and they said the sore throat is a symptom of the flu. So I'm taking Tamiflu, ibuprofen, mucinex, and cloriseptic throat spray as recommended by my doctor. Pretty drugged up. I bought some icecream today - spumoni. Was pretty excited. I ate some this afternoon and it was so good. Made me wish to go eat at the Spaghetti Factory! I'm trying not to pout all night and hoping to attend Saturday's Christmas party...and hosting one here Sunday night!

Ty's walking video!

I Spy

Luke and Wilson like to play I Spy. We use it to pass time in the car, doctor's office, etc. Luke cracks me up. Wilson and I say "I spy with my little eye...". Not Luke. He says - every time - "I spy with my BIG eye"!!!! It makes me smile every time. If he accidentally starts to say little he corrects himself to big. I think it is so cute! I guess he thinks it is better to have a big eye than a little eye!

Tyler is walking!

Tyler is such a big boy - he is now walking around! He is wobbly and falls but he is doing well. I still can't believe it! He thinks he is big stuff. He is a climber too. He can climb on the coffee table in the basement. He loves to find one of Luke's stools and climb up on that. He is almost 15 months old. Starting to cut some teeth on the bottom. He's still holding at 6 teeth. I'll have to get a picture or video up soon. Yay Ty!

I have the flu.

It's true. It is miserable. And it's the first year in all 9 of my teaching years that I haven't gotten a flu shot. I ALWAYS get a flu shot. The boys all have had their shot, thankfully. But somewhere in the middle of that I never got around to getting myself a flu shot. Andy NEVER gets a flu shot so really hoping he doesn't catch this from me.

Last night it hit me but I didn't know what it was. My whole body was aching. I went to bed early. Woke up at 11pm and took motrin because my right ear was aching. Still felt bad. My plans were mostly ready but my room was a mess after rushing out of school after a long meeting on Tuesday. Plus I knew it would be hard to send Wilson in without the usual routine. So I went. And felt terrible. It was painful to teach reading for 2 hours feeling bad. Then writing.

Left school (with things ready for Thursday) and went to the dr. They tested me for flu and strep (my throat is also very sore). Came in and told me I had the flu. I'm on Tamiflu. Dr. wants me out the rest of the week. Did I have time to get stuff ready for Friday? Of course not.

I'm bummed. I hope hope hope I am feeling better by Friday evening. I have 3 Christmas parties to attend this weekend. I've been looking forward to them. So here's hoping.

So this is my 500th post.

Crazy! In honor of my 500th post I thought I'd post a link to my 100th post. I definitley won't try to write 500 things about myself!

Pepperoni Rolls

I thought I'd already posted this on the blog but couldn't find it to link in the previous post. Last year I sat and watched Carol make her basic bread dough. I put measurements to her recipe. She just makes it from memory without any real measurements. I came home and typed it all up and gave myself an official 'recipe' for her bread dough. It has helped my bread dough to turn out just right!

Carol's Pepperoni Rolls
1 pkg instant yeast
1 cup warm water (not hot)
3 cups flour
1/8 cup sugar
¼ tsp salt
1 T shortening
1 egg
Butter, melted
Pepperoni cut into bite size pieces

Pour yeast into cup of warm water. Do not stir. Let sit 1-2 minutes. Meanwhile, add flour, sugar and salt to bowl. After the water/yeast mixture sits for 1-2 minutes stir and mix the yeast into the dry ingredients. Add shortening and egg. Mix with spoon. Then mix by hand, adding enough flour so that the dough doesn’t stick to your hands. You want the dough to be elastic. Set in a warm place to rise until doubled. About 1 hour.
Cut pepperoni into bite size pieces. After the dough has doubled, pull a golf ball sized amount of dough, and push several pepperoni bites inside ~ 4-6 pieces with your thumbs until it is completely covered with dough. Dip dough ball into melted butter and place on stone. Repeat. One recipe should make about 12 rolls. Let rolls rise again, about 30 minutes.
Bake 10-12 minutes at 400 until lightly browned. After taking out of oven coat tops with butter. I just hold a stick and rub it on the top. Enjoy!

Blogger Doesn't do well with math.

So apparently I was a little ahead of the game. When I logged into blogger it said 500th post but my dear, sweet husband added up the posts from each year and informed me that I was NOT to 500 yet. :) So I think this is 498 or something. Almost there!

We've had a great weekend! Friday night Andy made homemade pizza- yum! We hung out around the house and after the boys went to bed watched The Holiday. Saturday I did some cleaning - I forgot to tell you I got a new vacuum! I now have the best vacuum I've ever owned. It works SO well. You wouldn't believe the amount of dirt and dust it gets each week. Crazy! I got it on Black Friday at Kohl'*s. For a really great deal. My dad let me spend part of our christmas money premature-ly since it was such a good deal. I have used it 3-4 times since just because I like it so much. Don't worry, that will wear off I'm sure! Every time I vacuum I show Andy the dirt inside and we're both amazed.

Back to Saturday...in addition to some cleaning we had the church christmas pageant rehearsal Saturday morning, then I ran some errands and did some Christmas shopping. I made pepperoni rolls and potato/broccoli/cheddar soup for dinner. Once the boys were in bed I wrapped presents while we watched National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation. Not my favorite but it was still fun to watch! Tonight is the annual variety show and christmas pageant followed by the youth coffee house. Looking forward to the variety show acts!

Christmas Decorations!

Check out some of our Christmas decorations - we've had so much fun figuring out where to put everything in our new house!

Here is the big family christmas tree down in the basement with all our ornaments.

Here is our first fire place and mantle! We were thrilled to hand our stockings! I also set out a lot of my snowman things across the top.

In our split foyer you look up and see this cut-out into the living room. I hated this when we bought the house and wanted to cut out the knee wall. Now I'm thinking that is way too much work! It will probably stay like this forever...so I made the best of it with more christmas decorations! Candles and figurines I haven't set out in years b/c of little fingers grabbing... :)

In our new house I set up 2 trees! A first for us! I've had the wish for a snowman tree for several years and always said when we move into a bigger house I was going to put all of my snowman ornaments on a tree. Here it is! I love it. This is an old tree we inherited and it works for now. I would love to have a taller skinny prelit tree eventually for this room.

Life is good...but sometimes hard.

Why? Why do I let the little things get me down? I have a wonderful life and family. Some days it is more than I can take in - being a fulltime working mom with 23 students all day then coming home to take care of my family, house, and all the daily things in life. Tonight I told Andy I thought I was going crazy. TOO MUCH! Wilson is whining all the time. Licking his lips all the time. He has a ring of red around his mouth everyday. I can't be there to apply aquaphor all the time. He has been struggling to walk to his class but once he is there and I am gone - he is fine. On the way to school today we had to talk about what happens if the school burns down. His worries and anxieties are pushing me over the edge. It feels like it has gotten so much worse lately. Sometimes I just want to scream instead of explain, forewarn, promise it will all be okay AGAIN. Today at school I cried. I worry about him. I usually can set his worries aside and don't let them get to me but today I couldn't. I don't want him to deal with this forever. He has his second appt with the play therapist tomorrow.

Then I opened the letter from CCH about Tyler's last hemangioma/dermatology appointment 5 months ago. Reading the dr reports just throw the whole "capillary malformation" back in my face. They make it sound so real. The reports are good but all the "no complications at this time" etc just make my mind wonder what if... I have been doing so well with just trusting God, that he is in control. I need to give it over to God again and not worry about the silly dr report we got in the mail. The doctor's at CCH are so nice and thorough. I appreciate the reports, it just makes me realize how serious his port wine stain is - because of what it could become.

Just a hard day as a momma. I know it will all work out okay.