161 Brrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr

It has been cold here. Or, I guess I should say, cold FOR here. We had the snow, and now it is barely getting above freezing. We are not used to bundling up. Connor looks SO funny in his coat! His little arms just stick out because he can't put them down to his side. Katie, you have to force her to wear layers! That kid would run around and get frostbite if you let her.

Katie is trying to hold onto the snow!! Last Thursday she made one last snowball and she stuck it in the freezer. So sad, but it is still there today. I refuse to be the one to throw it out and break her heart.Connor has picked his future wife. This is Cheyenne, my shutter buddy's beautiful daughter. She does NOT seem too pleased with Connor's attention :) I can't blame her too much. His face was covered in blueberry juice. Definitely not the most attractive thing. She will warm up to him, given time!

We let the kiddos take over Rockband ... for about half a song. I put it on No Fail, and let them pick the song, but about 10 beats into the song they were whining! "Its too HARD!! OHHHH, the injustice of it ALL!!" Okay, so they just said it was too hard ... but you could totally hear in their voices that they blamed me for the level of difficulty. I was the one setting them up to fail. It was totally my fault. So, we have a new rule in our house NO ROCKBAND! (for the kids, not me of course) I have one rule to playing a game, you have to TRY! And even if you aren't doing well, you have to FINISH the song. Maybe I will let them try again next month ... maybe??!!

And just in case you did not know how amazing Connor truly is ... here he is eating with a fork and spoon. Oh yes, I know you are amazed!! I can tell!My shutter buddy discovered a cool little area right behind our neighborhood to explore. We can't really explore it since it is technically someone else's property, but we can walk the fence and take pictures. BUT it was too cold to take too many pictures yesterday. And the horses and cows were not out in the cold either! We have plans to go tomorrow, when it is supposed to be 66!! Why can't we just have some normal weather for a change?? I did finish our taxes!! I can't wait for my government funded Valentine's Day present (the refund being depostited - not an actual present). Guess I should remind my hubby that Valentine's Day still is on the 14th. Not that we will do anything for Valentine's. Chip has to work, as usual. Oh well, keeps me from having to find a babysitter ... haha, like that would happen!

126 Here it comes

Yesterday she charmed me.

Today, she tried me!!

We had to have "the talk"! NO, not that one. The one about Christmas being a time for GIVING - not just receiving. At school they have a "Secret Santa Shop" where the kids can go pick out gifts for their family, friends, and teachers for $2 each. It is supposed to teach them about giving. Last year there was a girl in Katie's class that was sent to the "Secret Santa Shop" with $10 to spend on herself, so this year Katie wants to do the same thing. Nuh-Uh!! Ain't gonna happen. For one, my gift last year was a broken necklace. I understand, $2 is tiny, but the least they could do is make sure the stuff was whole! If I want to spend random money on junk I will let Katie go crazy in Dollar Tree. So, back to the story already in progress. I was trying to explain to her about "giving", but she was having none of it. All she heard was me say "no" to her buying more crap, and she broke down into tears. "YOU ARE MEAN!! You are sooo meee-eee-eeeaan!!" So, I very calmly picked up her list of gifts to buy in the Secret Santa Shop, folded it neatly in half, and put it in the trash can. She came barreling toward me, "I'm gonna get it BACK!" So I shut the baby gate on her. Then she balled up her little fists, slammed them down by her sides and scowled at me! "YOU SCURVY DOG!!" And oh my God, I almost lost it right there!! I wanted to laugh so bad, but she was serious. So instead I picked her up and swatted her on the tush. I can take a lot from that child, but she is not going to think she is in charge. (yeah Mom, I can hear you laughing) Even I reach a point where I know she will pay attention to nothing else. And, due to the rarity of a spanking, it definitely gets her attention. I was thinking that it just inconveniences me to have to take her shopping for gifts, but come on, I would have had to do that anyway. It will end up saving me money. And if it saves me a bit of a headache down the road for her to know she can't call me a "Scurvy Dog", even better. Darn you SpongeBob! She pouted for a bit. I cooked dinner, put her plate in front of her and walked away. Hey, my feelings get hurt too, ya know?! I had to feed Connor, and even try to feed myself. By the time I was done feeding Connor she was over it. She wanted me to come see what she had drawn, and sit in the living room with her. She had drawn "Angry Corn" (it was from a Back at the Barnyard show), so I asked her if he was mad enough to call his Mom a "scurvy dog" ... she did not see the correlation, she just told me he did not have parents because he is corn. Still waiting on my apology ...

Katie had her dentist appointment today. He got her broken tooth all patched up, and we go back next Tuesday to do a crown. It was the first time she had experienced novacaine, and her poor mouth was so numb. I was trying to take a picture of her, and she said "but I can't smile". Poor little thing (her mouth was fine when she started acting up later, thank you).

Connor has been adorable today. Even when he is technically being a bad boy. His badness just does not compare!! He likes to walk down the hallway which has the litter box to the half-bath, and he is of course not supposed to do that. But he looks so cute peaking around the door that I let him get about halfway before I call him back.

He is not technically doing anything wrong here, but he is in the tub because he was "stirring" my coffee while Katie was in the bath. It was cold, and he was doing a good job ... until he decided to pick it up. I had to strip him down anyway, so I stuck him in the tub with Katie. He loves splashing with his Sissy. This is how he looks at Katie, ALL THE TIME! Like she is the best thing ever invented. I know it is blurry, but I had to share the look on his face!

And in case you missed it, here is a really crappy picture of the Moon, Venus and Jupiter. I did not get a cool picture yesterday when they were closer together, but its better than nothing. Kinda ...

Although it is pretty close to nothing.

123 Thankful

I had a lot to be thankful for this Thanksgiving. Near the top of my list was the fact that I was not actually throwing up on Thanksgiving. Our trip to Atlanta was abruptly cancelled when the stomach bug hit me at 3am on Wednesday morning. That would be after I packed all our bags, cleared out the van, and got everything ready to go ... About 5 hours before we were supposed to jump in the car and drive. Sure, I guess I should just be thankful that it did not hit me while I was enroute to Atlanta with two kiddos in the car, but I would have preferred if it could have bypassed me altogether. Katie was absolutely crushed. She cried for quite a while after waking up when we told her. I wanted to cry too, but I am pretty sure that the sobbing would have sent me running for the toilet. I miss my MOMMY!! I want to see her and my brothers and my SILs and my nieces and nephew and various and sundry friends!! I did not want to be stuck in my bed, stomach cramping, insides churning. I wanted to drive 6 hours with two kids screaming. I wanted to be with my family for Thanksgiving. I wanted my mom to see Connor walking, see his two teeth firsthand, and hear his sweet little voice without it being through the phone. I wanted Katie to be able to spend time with her Grammy (though she has started calling her Grandma). I could not wait to see Katie with her cousins, and especially to see Connor and Milly together! Oh, I can just imagine the hilarity that would have insued. Connor would yank Milly's hair, she would scream, they would fall all over each other. I am sure it would have been priceless! Not to mention how long it has been since I have been junking with my Mom! Who wants to go to Walmart on Black Friday when you have a Goodwill or Last Chance Thrift Store or My Favorite Place (also known as Bob's)??!! The junk places around here just have, well ... JUNK! In Atlanta they have treasure! So, in other words ... I wanted to be in Atlanta for Thanksgiving.
We did, however, get to spend Thanksgiving with Chip! He had to work so he was not going to be able to go Atlanta with us, so he was a little bit happy I ended up puking. He was not looking forward to spending the weekend without us. He was a huge help on Wednesday when I was anchored to the bed. I don't know what I would have done without him. There was no way I could have taken care of myself and the kiddos. And he even went out on Thursday and picked us up a Thanksgiving dinner from Cracker Barrel. Sure, it is not our traditional Thanksgiving fair, but this year it was the best we could do. I was definitely not up to cooking a full holiday meal, considering there was no way I could eat it!
I am thankful for my family. My hubby, annoying as he can be sometimes (I am sure he feels the same about me). My wonderful daughter, Katie, who always manages to cheer me up - like writing me a prescription for Gatorade when I was sick. My little man, Connor, for being the sweetest chunk of chubby goodness ever made! My Mom, for being the best Ma-Pa a girl could ever hope to have! My brothers, for being as weird as myself. My Sisters-in-Law for putting up with us even though they don't really have to (that goes for Chip's sisters, too). My nieces and nephews for being the cutest little things ever made.
I am thankful for my -relative- health. Sure, the stomach virus was ill-timed, but overall I can't complain about too much. I am thankful for Katie's excellent diabetes management! Our first year of being "mono-genic" was spectacular! Overall we have stayed pretty healthy. Now if we can keep Katie out of the ER next year ...
I am thankful for finding friends nearby. I have spent a long time without "real friends". I had friends at work, and then when you stopped working they were gone. But I have now found a couple of great friends. A few I met in the neighborhood, and a couple I met through Katie's Kindergarten class. I am so lucky to have found these women. They each offer something different, but mainly just an ear to bend.
I am thankful for being able to stay home with the kids. Being a Stay-at-home Mom is wonderful! It is hard, and I know that sometimes it is a struggle, but I think it is so important to be here if it is possible. I can't imagine leaving the kiddos now, but if the economy doesn't start looking up then I will be finding out all too soon how it feels.
and on a bit of a funny note ...
I am thankful that Katie is still young enough NOT to know what to do with makeup!

And this is Make-Up LAND! Only a SMALL SMALL sample of her make-up collection.

One of these days i am going to be wishing she still applied her make-up like this so that the boys would run away from her instead of after her. Please let those days be FAR away! Now THAT is something I would be truly thankful for!
Although, thanks to Bratz.com I do know that Katie and Jacob are a perfect love match. Now we just have to figure out which one of the Jacob's it is talking about!!!! If it is this one then at least I will have adorable pics for their wedding slideshow!


... but the other Jacob has already been "on a date" with her. At least according to him :) I am just glad it told her that Zac Efron and Nick Jonas were not compatible with her! Phew! Big weight off my shoulders!