Ellie Rolled Over!

I MISSED IT!!! One of the big advantages of being a stay-at-home mommy is that you are supposed to get to see all of the great "firsts" in your kids' lives. I MISSED IT!! My mom was over here babysitting while I got some much needed cleaning done today. Ellie rolled over while my mom was watching her! Life can be so unfair! :( But, if we go by my rule....it isn't really a first until I see it happen! :)

Did I mention that we took Jayden ice skating?!? He LOVED it. He kept saying, "Go again?" every time we went around the ice and then took a break. We took a break after every lap. DANG, I did NOT remember how those stupid skates hurt. Whose feet are shaped that way?!?? And NO padding?? OUCH! We took frequent breaks until Jayden finally pooped out and wanted a nap. Still, it was fun and we will probably do this again.

Always something new!

After watching Jayden's chin turn from icky to UGLY to down-right nasty in 4 days, I decided to call the doc. Guess What?!? He has a bacterial infection on his face! AND it's contagious! So it isn't just herpes but something entirely new to us. Fortunately, no one else is showing symptoms.

And the fun just keeps on keeping on! Jayden has done nothing but fuss and yell and order me about all day. I can't believe the little punk is trying to give me orders! Go Away! Do this! NOW! PLEASE! (As if that is an order in an of itself) and my "favorite" little snippet...."SHUT-UP!" All this with his little hand put up as if to stop me. One of these days I am hoping to get a picture of that charming memory. Oh how I love age 2!

All good things...

I love having dinner with the family. There are many hours of wandering and mingling and "what have you been up to?"s. But it's enjoyable and fun because it's family. And, no matter what the story is, you gotta love it because it's family and you gotta love your family. No matter how kooky or crazy or non-sensical (is that a word?) they may be, they are family---AND I love it!

Needless to say, our Christmas festivities went well. We spent a lovely afternoon and evening in Boulder Creek on Saturday visiting with Dave's side of the family. Everyone is so different in that family that it's almost like and international hodgepodge of people. Even so, the kids had a great time playing together (I am glad that the girls like to let Jayden play with them at this age, because he is the only boy.) and the adults had a good time drinking together! :)

I am glad that Jayden was finally well again too. He had been sick earlier in the week with a nasty fever and some stuffiness, congestion, and the green snot ran long! Of course, now, he has some pretty nasty fever blisters on his chin. I hope they don't get worse like last time and rampage throughout his mouth. He keep such a tight reign on his pacifier I worry that he is going to spread the cold sores around his whole mouth. But, even worse than that, I worry that he will give them to Ellie. He loves to touch her, kiss her, play with her....And my understanding is that they stem from herpes which is highly contagious. She is too young to have to deal with all that craziness that we went through with Jayden last year when he got it for the first time. I guess I need to keep my fingers crossed.

Tonight was also the first night of Hanukkah. We lit the candles and with no surprise, Jayden squealed with delight. He cried, "CANDLES!!" with a huge grin on his face and promptly, blew them out! I explained as I lit them again that these are not birthday candles, but Hanukkah candles and we don't blow them out. But, all the while we were saying the blessings over the candles, he was trying to blow them out. Ahh! So cute! :)

After candles, we did presents. I gave Dave a mug with a little mouse in it---a little reminiscent of the mouse we have haunting our house. :) The real thing scared the peepers out of Dave when it jumped out of a mug of molding coke on his desk a short time back. Jayden got a Dora puzzle which he put together 3 times before throwing the pieces on the floor. And, I opened Jayden's puzzle with my new mini Swiss army knife complete with scissors and a nail file! :) This one is much smaller and lighter than the one I was carrying in my purse, but still has all the functions that I need (I think).

Anyway, that's it for tonight...Chanukkah party at my parents' tomorrow....wonder what fun that will bring! :)

Merry Chanukkah!

I love winter! I also love that it doesn't snow in California....not sure what I would do if I were freezing all the time! Anyway, we get to go up to Dave's aunt and uncle's house tomorrow for our first Christmas celebration. This the traditional family celebration. I expect we will have good food, good wine and good family-times. We will follow that celebration with a trip to Dave's mom's house on Christmas morning. We had talk of going to a movie in the afternoon, but I think that will depend entirely on the kids...especially Jayden.

We will start celebrating Chanukkah on Sunday night with lighting the first candle and presents for Jayden. A party at my parents' house is planned for Monday night and then of course we will have candles to light every night and presents for Jayden every night for all 8 nights. I decided not to get Eliana 8 nights worth of gifts this year because she is too young to appreciate them and enjoy it. I got her one just for the picture. It's a teething rattle. If my suspicions are right, she will be needing it soon. I think she is going to teeth much earlier than Jayden did.

Oh well...we shall see! Off to sleep before we celebrate.

Lynda

Just for Kit!

A very very long time ago, when I was in high school, I had a friend named Kit. She is now a world traveler and specially requested a picture of me in my blog...since it has been so long! :)














So I decided to include a picture of Dave too. This picture is one of my favorites.

I know it isn't the most flattering picture of either Dave or Eliana, but I like it. I think Dave likes it too, because he is holding Ellie and she isn't crying. She crys a lot when he holds her. Not sure why that is, but I think it is because he tends to get to her when she is tired and cranky from the day. Since he is usually tired at that time too, the combination of the two of them is not conducive to a pleasant visit. Oh well, I am rambling! :)

Bottom line today...Here are those pictures you requested, Kit!

Where have I been?!?

When I look at the last entry I made, I can't believe that so much time has passed. I find life truly amazing when it flies so fast that I have trouble keeping up! How can I be so busy and still be doing nothing?

I have to look at my life though and realize that I am quite blessed. I am sitting at my computer with Jayden in my lap. He is such a good boy. I know I complain about his rambunctious behavior and his antics, but he is a blessing! I couldn't imagine life without him. Also, at this very moment, I am listening to Eliana chat away through the intercom. I couldn't ask for a happier baby! I hope she keeps up that good spirit her whole life long. She is 3 1/2 months now and so precious!

Ok...enough philosophical goodie-goodie....we will be busy busy over the next couple of weeks. Hanukkah with my family, Christmas with Dave's, New Year's at home I hope! :) More soon (I think)!

Where have you been??!?!??!?

Ok...You have got to be wondering where on earth I have been! EVERYWHERE!

I have had a very busy couple of weeks since Mom landed in the hospital. She was discharged with some very strong orders to take care of herself on the Monday before Thanksgiving. Since then, she has been working very hard to monitor her diet, check her blood sugar, and exercise 30 minutes a day. I am so proud of her and happy for her that I haven't even the words to describe.

Thanksgiving was a phenomenal event. We had 25 family members here. Thank GOD my kitchen was done and ready to receive such an indoctrination. I was grateful that we were blessed enough to have that many people here.

Last weekend I gave my presentation at the annual math conference. Wow! Was I nervous! The room was PACKED before I even got there and when I realized they were there for me I started to really get nervous! But, once I got started, then it was just the way I practiced and it went very well. I got loads of positive responses and several emails indicating that people really enjoyed my session. I even felt so good after it that I signed up to do another session next year!

This week was really hectic too. Because my mom is out on disability, I subbed for her. It was interesting. I learned that it is a lot more work to teach high school than junior high (well...I remembered that anyway) and that I am not ready to go back to work yet. I really want to spend time at home enjoying my children and choosing what to do during my days, rather than working their little lives away.

Tonight I got very...ummm...Relaxed from two glasses of wine. This was the second...Or third...Time this week. My sister-in-law is here and Michelle is a very bad influence on me. I know she is only drinking one glass of wine, but I don't really want to stop at one....two gives me a much better buzz....and that all over relaxed numbness. It's a good thing she isn't here all the time...I would turn into an alcoholic real fast!

OK....This blog is all about me and nothing about the kids or Dave. Next time I will have to update about them. I just got pictures from JC Penneys of the kids...They are sooooo cute! jayden went in and as soon as he realized we were getting pictures he started saying "Cheese!" and didn't stop until we were done. He is such a CUTIE!!