Like old times

I have been working SO much this past month. When you're in the middle of it all, you don't realize what you are missing. Well last night, Jack snuggled up with me, and we fell asleep on the couch. I was thinking, this is something I've been missing. Then I realized how long it's actually been. We used to snuggle on the couch all the time...then he go big... :)

So I had Emma take a picture. Then realized I had a picture of her snuggling too, so I had her join us, and Parker take the picture! Too cute... she is MUCH heavier than she used to be. :)

Here is the old one... I can't believe how big they are!

Global Warming

You tell me... do you believe in global warming??

Parker does!

heehee

WE had a HUGE snowstorm yesterday. It just kept snowing, and snowing... So I thought I'd take the kids out, while I tackled the front walk.

Jack has been talking more and more. Still not very may consenants, and he has his favorites, and most of it we can understand. This one...is too cute.

Then here are some pictures from fun in the SNOW!

And these I just thought were pretty. :)

I know I know... icicles mean poor insulation, but it doesn't mean you can't find beauty in it? :)

What's your favorite Carol?

A Christmas carol (also called a noël) is a carol (song or hymn) whose lyrics are on the theme of Christmas, or the winter season in general and which are traditionally sung in the period before Christmas.

So what's YOUR favorite? Hmmm???

Here is mine. And I love how old it is! :)



Some other new favs...

These are off Kristin Chenoweth's new Christmas album. By far this one is my fav. It is so beautiful! Parker said to me the other day, how weird that her speaking voice is so squeaky, but her singing voice is so pretty! I love her. The videos, you don't have to watch. They are just the music, and one picture, so feel free to do other things while you listen!



And this one, plays at work all the time, I think it's in the show... you can tell how well I pay attention... heehee But I tend to sing it often...*sheepish grin* I need to add it to my repertoire.



Now, one of my least favorites, has always been O Holy Night. I think it's because it is SO over done and SO over done- poorly. It's sucha beautiful song, and people tend to butcher it. Don't believe, do a search in youtube...ugh

When Josh Groban did it, I loved it.



Celine's version, isn't bad either.



But... I have a new favorite version.



I love the arrangment, I love how much he puts into it. I love him...duh... :)

And this....is just silliness.



So...what's your favorite. Consider this a tag... find a youtube version of your fav, and put it on your blog!! :) Leave me a comment if you do it!
Can't wait to see them!

Idol... it's coming...

So I was going through the CD's and such, and found the cd of when Em and I went downtown to try and see David. We ended up on the news. It was so funny, and Emma was SO cute!

See it here!

I'm telling you uys, cuz noone looks at the idol blog anymore... :( just kidding...

We're getting excited for January...

The Sweetness of Jack: The Ham!

I got Jack out of the tub the other day, and he was so cute all snuggled up, and insisted on staying that way. So I grabbed the camera. He is such a ham...ooooohhhh I love this kid!

Enjoy!

And then of course, a little video...in case you didn't grasp the peek a boo.

Then I got this one...

and it reminded me of one my favorite baby pictures...

Seriously, is there anything sweeter!?!??!? He has changed SO much, and yet his soul is the same. You'ld never know all this kid has been through, looking at him.

Catch up

Sorry...

So Jack's cheek is a bruise, that turned to scar tissue. duh... He just wants to watch it and recheck it in about 6 months or so. So it looks like he'll have a sweet dimple for a while, if not forever. *rolling eyes* He did hit it the other day again, and now the knot is harder...this kid.

Emma is feeling better. Fortunately her rapid strep was negative. Unfortunately, her rapid strep was negative, so she's still sick. Just a little cold, but can't go to school, so she's going crazy! "I miss my friends", she sobbed to me this am. :(

Other than that, I'm trying to pretend Christmas is not coming. But it's Christmas at work...so it's hard to deny.

I'll let you know if something exciting happens!

Converting

So Emma is running a temp. *sigh* She woke up in the middle of the night, ok, it was 6 am, but when you've gone to bed at 1 am, it sure feels like it.

Anyway... sore throat headache thing, I am a little worried, cuz this is the age Parker started getting strep every 6 weeks or so...till his tonsils came out, and hers...ARE HUGE! ...but the real reason I'm blogging about this is...

My ear thermometer, has been well used, and unfortunatly "played with". So it only reads in celsius. When she had her kidney infection, in the ER her temp was 40 something, and that alone shot her to the head of the line to be seen. And when Jack was in the nicu, I remember something about 36-37 being normal. So when it read 38.8, i knew is was high, plus she as hot. :)

Anyway, I just got on the computer to find out what it was exactly, and found this page. Cool, but when I read how to convert using math, instead of a computer formula, I laughed out loud. I'll share it with you, so you all can do it, when your computor is not handy!

°F to °C
Deduct 32, then multiply by 5, then divide by 9
°C to °F
Multiply by 9, then divide by 5, then add 32

Ya, my brain's gonna compute that when I have a sick kid in the middle of the night! haha

I just know 38, is "running a temp". We'll leave it at that.

stuff to look at...

I did a few posts on the other blog...if you wanted to know... if you need an invite, let me know! :)

Something else

So Jack has something new going on...

I looked at him the other day, as he was grinning at me and realized he had a dimple, he never had before. Then I noticed, "he has had that bruise, for a LONG time, too long." Yet, I can't remember how long, or even how it happened.

I asked him how he hurt his cheek, and he pointed to Parker. *rolling eyes*

It only dimples when he smiles, and the bruise has a knot in the middle of it. And to make it MORE interesting, it's in the same side of his face his cleft is on.

Here's a couple pictures taken on the same day, a couple days ago.

This is his favorite toy. And just a funny picture. But a good one of the "dimple".

So I have been wondering what to do, who to call, if it's worth worrying about. I finally decided to call the plastic surgeon, since he's the one "in charge" of his face. Well he wants to know, when and how did it happen. And I'm embarassed, that I don't know. None of us, can remember.

Well, I decided, to look back through pictures. I take a few, if you didn't know. And fortunatley, they are dated! YAY! So I found this one taken on Oct 16th.

And then we all remember, a couple days before, he had tripped in the office, and landed on the wheel/leg of the chair. I'm SO glad we remembered, and found out how long it's been. A month is a bit long, for a bruise, don't you think?

So his appointment is tomorrow, and we are hoping and praying it's nothing. Join me won't you??

One Proud Momma

I've always known Parker was special, even when he was little. Actually, when he was little, he was a pain, but when he wasn't being a pain, he was sweet.

Yesterday, his teacher gave me the greatest gift. She told me how much she loves having Parker in her class. She said how he is so popular, everyone gravitates to him, and that he is "A little ball of Sunshine." We are still giggling about that one.

But the gift was when she told me about Jebba. Jebba is a little girl with special needs, in his class. She is from Africa I think. She came to the states last year to get help with her severe facial cleft. I, of course was instantly drawn to her, but so was Parker. He was so excited the first day of school, when he found out she was in his class. He talks about her often, and how cute and funny she is. A few weeks ago, she had some work done on her face. The second he got in the car, he tells me" Jebba is having surgery tomorrow!" Then he saw her, getting on the bus, and was SCREAMING out the window..."JEBBA, JEBBA, GOOD LUCK WITH YOUR SURGERY!!!!" Then one of the girl in their class ran up and gave her a big hug. It was so sweet, I cried.

There are a group of girls, that really watch out for her, and help her in the class. She has an aide, but she also gets help from the kids. Mrs H, told me, that Jebba always picks the girls to help her. Then last week, she picked Parker. We talked about how Parker's main issue with his school work, is staying on task. And yet, when he was helping Jebba, he was TOTALLY focused for the 20 minutes they were working together. She said that she has been so impressed with Parker the whole year. But to see him working with Jebba was so moving, and it really touched her. She felt like she had witnessed Parker's life unfolding, and how neat it was to watch this amazing 11 yr old, and see what a wonderful special ed teacher he would be. She moved me to tears, yet again. Then she said, "Having Jack for a brother has really determined your path Parker." He is SUCH a good big brother, and loves Jack SO MUCH. I'm just glad we get to share him with Jebba too!!

I'm so proud of him, I don't have enough words. And I'm pretty sure HE'S proud of himself too...

Cool Song

Jack's new theme song.



I know he can walk, but I think many things will come hard to him, and already have. This song touched me! I think it's a good message for all of us!!

Jack has something to say...

Emma tells a joke and states the obvious

"Hey Mom, what is black and white and red all over? A Zebra in a blender! HAHAHAHA

Hey Mom! What is green and red all over? A FROG in a blender!

What's pink and pyrple and read all over? A Butterfly! This wing is pink, and this wing is purple.

What's black and blue and red all over? A black and blue sea horse in a blender.

What's grey and has a big trunk and is red all over? An Elephant in a blender!

Oh, and did I mention, the blender is REALLY big!!!"


Oh this girl kills me...

Halloween!

Here are some. I have more, but they are of s at school, and I don't think their parents want me posting their kids pictures on my blog! :)

Ths one is at Daddy' work.

ONE WORD

The Rules: Answer the questions using only ONE WORD.

1. Where is your cell phone? purse

2. Your significant other? sleeping

3. Your hair? flat

4. Your mother? loving

5. Your father? intermitten

6. Your favorite thing? laughing

7. Your dream last night? idunno

8 Your favorite drink? water

9. Your dream/goal? contentment

10. The room you’re in? office

11. Your hobby? singing

12. Your fear? illness

13. Where do you want to be in 6 years? content

14. What you’re not? organized

15. Muffins? YUM!

16. One of your wish list items? house

17. Where you grew up? beverly

18. The last thing you did? IHOP

19. What are you wearing? jammies

20. Favorite gadget? phone

22. Your computer? his

23. Your mood? good

24. Missing someone? always

25. Your car? messy

26. Something you’re not wearing? pants

27. Favorite store? albertsons( sad I know.)

28. Like someone? yes

29. Your favorite color? pink

30. When is the last time you laughed? today- alot

31. Last time you cried? today

Pumpkins!

Carving our pumkins seemed like it was never going to happen. I took me forever to get some, and then with me working evenings, we could never coordinate carving them. SO YAY...the kids were off school Fri, so we headed outside...yay again for beautiful weather... and got the nastiness over with. Just kidding... The kids had fun, Jack thought it was all SO interesting...but we did miss Daddy.

The results of Saturday

• Dentist appointment at 8 am (luckily his dad took him) He had an absess in a baby molar, so he got it pulled...oops...just realized the tooth fairy didn't come. Whatever...see this post. Oh, and I'm going for worst mom of the year, with these pesky molar infections...



• Get Parker's costume, and rest of Emma's, and find Jack's

• Go get pumpkins. Can't go to the grocery store, oh no heaven forbid, must go to the FARM and pick them out from a patch! Ya, SOOOOO didn't happen, I got them at walmart. *rolling eyes*
  
  
• Go see Beauty and the Beast at a local High School. It was SO great! I swear, high school kids get more and more talented all the time!!



• Go to a Trunk or Treat thing at a school down the street. This was fun too! It was weird, cuz it was so WARM! I had on a light sweater, and had to roll up the sleeves! CRAZY!! Who ever thought of trunk or treats, needs a medal!



• Try to see a friend I haven't seen in years. Totally didn't happen! :( Hopefully at Christmas, when she'll be back in town!



• Work for 7 hours. Always fun and entertaining! I love how I can do all kinds of things during the day, and yet still get in 7 hours at work. Being open untill 1 is really a blessing. Although... I usually hit a wall around 11, then get my second wind and I'm fine! :)

So it was a good day all around. I'm so exctied about the costumes this yr. I only purchased a couple things for Parker, the rest, we already had! WOO HOO! I swear, what is wrong with us, that we put so much pressure on ourselves for this stupid holiday? Sheesh...

It's a bird, it's a plane...

Let's see...

• Dentist appointment at 8 am (luckily his dad took him)
• Get Parker's costume, and rest of Emma's, and find Jack's
• Go get pumpkins. Can't go to the grocery store, oh no heaven forbid, must go to the FARM and pick them out from a patch!
• Go see Beauty and the Beast at a local High School.
• Go to a Trunk or Treat thing at a school down the street.
• Try to see a friend I haven't seen in years.
• Work for 7 hours.

This is my agenda for Sat Oct 25th. Hmmmm... she's trying to be super mom again...

And thanks to Lisa, for the inspiration! :)

It's a free country my *ss

This election stuff is making me crazy. I have debated for a long time posting anything. And if you have a comment... be gentle. :)


I hate how hateful everyone is. What happened to free speech, and the right to have an opinion? What happened to the constitution? Why must we change it? Why must abortion, and gay marriage be ILLEGAL. I mean, when you make stuff illegal, bad things happen. People have free choice, no? "It's a free country!" No? Doesn't feel like it.


How is my neighbor marrying her girlfriend, or the love of his life, going to affect me...honestly. I know all the GOD DID NOT INTEND IT. That's fine and proper and all. But what does changing the constitution, have to do with a civil marriage? What about my sister inlaws, who were married at city hall? God had nothing to do with their marriage. What about all the people married by an internet certified marriage performer? Are they not going to be recognized as married, because god is not involved?


What happened to being accepting of all people? Regardless of their gender, race, religion.

What happened to teaching children about free choice? How do we teach them about smoking? Do we BAN them from seeing anyone smoking? Do we tell them those people are EVIL, and going to hell, because they are taking bad things into their body? Maybe you do. I don't know. But I tell mine, that yes, it is bad for you, but we all have free agency, and they are choosing to smoke. But are they choosing?


How is this different, than homosexuality? I want my kids to know about all different types of people. They learn all kinds of things at school. Isn't it my job, to explain, yes, some people make different choices? What about when someone at school tells them there is no Santa Clause? Or they have two Daddies? How is, the family who doesn't believe in Santa is going to hell, different than the one with two Daddies is going to hell? Or what about families who don't celebrate Christmas at all?


Maybe I'm way off base here, but so is EVERYONE!! Obama is a terrorist... Palin is a blithering idiot. I'm so sick of it I could scream!!!! Tell me the FACTS people! Don't come to conclusions based on one sentance out of 30, someone says. I'm so sick of people attacking each other! Can't we just fix it? Fix the economy, fix healthcare. TELL ME how you are going to fix it, insstead of attaching the other guy.

Why can we not have simple conversation, with out yelling? Don't get me wrong, I'm guilty of it, but I didn't start it.

My final statement? Why can't we just be free to choose? Free to love who we want, free to worship how we want, free to choose where we live, work and go to school. Free to buy the food we want, not what we can afford. This is America, remember...Land of the Free, Home of the Brave? I think someone forgot.

If you're bored...

...and need a good laugh...

These are clever and funny, and if only I had that much time on my hands, I'd make one too!!

HOME REMEDIES

This is for Waconia Lisa:

Avoid cutting yourself when slicing vegetables by getting someone else to hold while you chop.

Avoid arguments with the Mrs. about lifting the toilet seat by using the sink.

For high blood pressure sufferers: simply cut yourself and bleed for a few minutes, thus reducing the pressure in your veins. Remember to use a timer.

A mouse trap, placed on top of your alarm clock, will prevent you from rolling over and going back to sleep after you hit the snooze button.

If you have a bad cough, take a large dose of laxatives, then you'll be afraid to cough.

You only need two tools in life - WD-40 and Duct Tape. If it doesn't move and should, use the WD-40. If it shouldn't move and does, use the duct tape.

If you can't fix it with a hammer, you've got an electrical problem.

Remember: Everyone seems normal until you get to know them.

Daily Thought: Some people are like Slinkies. Not really good for anything, but they bring a smile to your face when pushed down the stairs.

HAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!!!!!!!!

Neurology update

Ya, just like I thought. Not much to say, other than, "Oh My! He is doing MUCH better than we expected! Duh...

He said we could have another MRI. Now that debate begins. Because really, it's not going to change anything. We might get a prognosis, might not. There might be something in his malformation that explains his speech delay, or why he spikes a fever, or why/if he has a high tolerence for pain. Or if he is prone to seizures. We haven't had any yet, but lemme tell ya, when ever he does something funky, that's where I go.

So...we are thinking, and debating. Our insurance if different now, so we need to find out cost. argggg everything costs...

And once again, he was a delight...

The many hats we wear.

Today is a day, I get to wear a few of my favorite hats. So I've been thinking about all the hats I wear, and how best to wear them.

First up PTA Mom- Hat. It's school lunch week, where parents can come and have lunch with their kiddos. Not that they can't all the time, but the school sets aside a few days for this specifically. Anyway, I signed up last week, to be the parent cashier. I said to Parker last night, "So do you want me to come have lunch with you?", knowing full well the answer. I said, "Well I'll be there anyway, taking money." He said, "Will Jack be there then?!?!" Jack, he wants to have lunch with, me, not so much... *grin*

Then before lunch is over, Kindergarten Mom- Hat. I need to send Emma down the hall, while all this other stuff is going on. I'm sure the bell will remind me... :)

Then Jack's Special Needs- Mom Hat. We have the much anticipated neurology appointment today. I'm sure it will be a moo point("Friends" reference). But we're trying anyway. I have NO idea what, if anything we'll find out. But I'll be sure to let you all know...

Then I get to wear my Older Lady But Acts Like a Teenager- Hat, at work! heehee And depending on when we get done at PCMC, I might be managing, which a different hat. So I guess I'll bring both, just in case.

Just for fun, some of my other hats:

Wife, Jr High Mom, Elementary Mom, Advocate, Singer, Cleft Awareness, HPE Awareness, Friend, Shoulder To Cry On, Sister, Daughter, Aunt, Housekeeper, Picker-Upper, Hydrocephalus Awareness, Early Intervention Advocate, Birth defects are Not a Tragedy, Have To Change the World.

Sometimes it makes me a little crooked. It's quite the juggling act, all the different hats we wear, but oh so fun, when I get to do a bunch in one day!!

Ya gotta love um.

The kids have kinda been makin me crazy lately. Emma, is testing her snotty boundries. Jack's speech seems to be getter further behind, and all he does is whine, and demanded, and cry, into my crotch. Maybe if he was taller, it will be more tolerable. Nick just get's more teen mopey, and Parker is so excited all the time, he needs an off switch. Well tonight was the first night I've had off, and been home in a couple weeks. It was SO nice, to just sit down and eat dinner. And then hang out, and watch our shows.

Anyway, at one point in the night, I looked over, and all three boys were looking at a book. It was SO sweet, and I realized it something I've miss when I'm not here. So I started taking pictures. I looking for that perfect shot...desperate for it, in fact.

The following...is what I got:






Getting better, but Parker's not in it.

I get him back, and he decides to cooperate-or just got into the book.

Yep, into the book.

Then Emma wants to see, of course.

And then I get it...

MY NEW FAVORITE PICTURE!

I cried when it uploaded. It's beautiful. They are beautiful. I love them.

The Third Eye

Seriously... the stye got worse, but sort of better. And now it looks like a third eye! I took him in, and they can sedate him, or use a papoose board, to "pop it". Um no thanks...he said it's fine running it's course. Of course, I'm freaking out, not being able to pick it, cuz, I'm a picker don't ya know...

He's still the cutest thing ever...even with his third eye.