Happy Birthday to Nick and me!!!!!!!!!!!!

It has been a wonderful weekend.

Wednesday was Nick's birthday. We celebrated with taco pizza and pumpkin bars. Nick's birthday commences the 4 days a year that he and I are the same age. We have a running joke about our ages. We constantly talk about whether people are "his age" or "my age" even though we are only 361 days apart.

We hosted Thanksgiving dinner on Thursday- it was great! Everyone brought dishes that were delicious and aside from my kitchen being a little small- it was no stress. Our families are great- no political debates, no family arguments, none of the nightmares you hear about with other families. We are very blessed.

Friday I had to work, so Nick and the kids tackled the Christmas tree project. It looks very nice- for now. We however have one stupid cat that climbs the tree and messes it all up. So it's a long process of repairing the tree all month. Before work, my sister and I did the early morning crazy shopping. I like to do it and have fun, although the deals were less than stellar this year.

Saturday was a nice relaxing day. Christian headed to Boone to see his aunt who was visiting from Kansas. Bella and Nick went to the store, while Zach and I stayed home. Last night Belinda watched the kids while Nick and I went out to eat. Then we hit a few stores and got a bunch of people off our shopping list. Only a few more to go!

Today is my birthday and we have my favorite thing planned- NOTHING! Nick is headed to get our kids now, so I'm going to read the paper and enjoy my last minutes of a quiet house. Happy Holidays.

Petting Zoo

Tonight we opened our own petting zoo. I've never had all 5 pets in the same room before. It was time for a turtle hut cleaning, so tonight they met.

Photoless Posting

We do not need pictures for everyone to imagine our house this weekend. Zach most likely has an ear infection, in conjunction with cutting 2 new teeth. Bella has the stomach flu. My mom and Nick were both complaining of dizziness at one point. Christian and I (knock on wood) have been feeling ok.

I am glad to get illnesses out of the way this weekend before we host Thanksgiving, but now I feel like I need to spray the house down with bleach after I complete the 90 item to do list I already had planned.

All right, the sun is peeking out, so the day is upon us. Time to work.

Birthday- Part 2

Today was the party. Zach and his cousin Ethan had a combined party because Ethan's birthday is the 13th and Zach's the 14th. We had it at a pizza place. It was the usual chaos of gathering our kids (my 3 kids, my 2 nieces, my 1 nephew, and Nick's sister's 3 kids- that's 9 right off the bat...) but I think they kids had fun. Thank you to everyone who came to help us celebrate. Zach is actually napping now, but Bella is unpackaging and making sure all the toys work for him. What a nice sister...

Happy Birthday Zachary!!!

Today marks the 2nd year of Zach's life. He had a rough afternoon- after nap he threw up. Luckily his party is not until Sunday, so he has time to recover. However, not even a little bug could keep him down when he got his present from Grandpa and Grandma. He's wearing his Batman pajamas, maybe we need to trade them in for leather chaps? He LOVES his bike!

And yes, we need to thin down that toy pile behind him before his party!!!

Mathematics

41 patients in 7 hours + 4:30pm walk in with chest pain = 1 tired mom

Uggghhhh, Monday.

*YAWN*

Goodnight.

Dan in Real Life

Rent it, TiVo it, buy it. You will not be disappointed. The first 15 minutes are a little slow, but stick with it, you'll be glad you did. If you click on "Dan in Real Life" up above it will link you to a website. The website only gives it 7 stars. My personal opinion is anyone that has ever felt like "the odd one out", will give it 10!

Long, cold week

What happened to our beautiful weather??? It's November, that's what! An update on our family for this week.

Nick was glad to wrap up working on a job that was 90 minutes from home. Next week is his week of school, so he can be inside away from the cold weather for a week before reality strikes. A harsh reality. We always hope he can get a job closer to home and he has. This one is only 25 minutes away... but is it worth it? He'll be working at a sewer and sanitation plant- GROSS! Even grosser- they have 45 days to complete the project before the s$!% hits the fan. Apparently the backup tank can only hold 45 days worth of material before the one they are working on will start to fill up. Talk about some incentive to get the job done on time! Of course my medical brain thought of- what if there is a Hepatitis A outbreak and facilities get used more than usual? Uhhh, honey, you better work fast!!!

Zach had a good week. My worst fears that he would never speak are being alleviated everyday. He is successfully putting together two words to indicate a need ("me juice"), a disappointment ("no bike?"), an announcement ("I naughty"), or a denial ("no poop"). Of note, the denial is always false. He also had his two year pictures taken this week. They should be put online soon, so I will publish a link. He did better than I expected (I thought he'd cry and he didn't) but they aren't his best set of pictures ever. Still- it's him, he's cute and that's the whole point.

Bella had a cold and cough this week that rendered her waking up a lot at night and sleeping on mom and dad's floor every night. Her week ended with a little trauma that caused a lot of commotion. Bella fell on the bus after school and got a small cut on her head. Well, heads are very well supplied with blood, so it did create a nasty looking scene. But the commotion comes into play when the bus driver apparently thought she was someone else. The driver radioed to the school to notify another child's mother to meet them in Huxley because of this. Well, this mom goes there and sees her child who is fine. Luckily, we know this mom so she when she realized who was hurt, she brought her to me at work. If this had happened to you or I, we would have left the clinic with a staple in our scalp, but this is Bella. She has a high pitched squeal of fear that shatters people's ear drums and then may ascend into a decibel only heard by dogs. So, it might not heal quite as nicely, but it's under a lot of hair and no one will be the wiser.

Christian is a busy kid this time of year. He has started wrestling practice that goes from after school until 5pm and then 3 nights a week there is an optional practice 630-830pm. On Wednesday nights he has Confirmation class. And we cannot forget his important TV schedule that includes 2 hour wrestling shows on Mondays and Fridays. Conferences are next week so he is pumped for two early dismissals and a day off.

As for me November is going to be a busy month. We are throwing a birthday party for Zach, a birthday party for Nick's mom, and then we are hosting Thanksgiving. I like to organize things, so it doesn't translate into a lot of "work" for me. Both birthday parties are being held at restaurants, so I don't even have to go crazy cleaning until Thanksgiving gets closer. Although, since we are trapped inside this weekend it has occurred to me I could get a head start.

Here's wishing everyone a nice, quiet, warm weekend!

Snack bucket

It is the most coveted item in the kindergarten class. And this weekend it is ours to fill! Bella is so excited it's finally her day to bring treats for her class' afternoon snack. I wonder if they would be surprised if we sent it to school with what it's got inside of it today?

Definitely going to have to wash it out before we put food inside!

Welcome November

November is rolling in with some gorgeous weather! Nick took this opportunity to go hunting with some buddies, Christian and Bella are off with friends. That leaves Zach and I to entertain ourselves. I decided that while he is 13 days short of being 2, I'm going to risk going against Play-Doh's suggestion of only 2+ years and let him try it out. We got a little tiny can of it trick or treating. I was really worried he'd think it was food because it came out of the candy bag and all, but he did a good job. It kept him busy for nearly half an hour! At 23 months, that is impressive!

Then we enjoyed a nice walk with Abby. It's 1pm- Zach is laying in bed talking to Curious George (his new bedtime buddy), Abby is passed out on the floor, the cats are curled up in the sunshine and now, it's my turn. I LOVE naptime!

Happy Halloween!

We learned today that when your child is 5 you should always practice a "trick" or joke before going out trick or treating. Otherwise you are likely to end up with... "Why did the pig cross the road?" "I don't know, why?" "Because he was sick." It got a fair amount of laughs, but certainly not for the funniness factor. We have enough candy to last for months, but with Nick around, it won't last that long! He's the biggest candy eater in the house. Left to right: Lauren's friend, Tori, Bella, Zach, niece Elizabeth, and niece Lauren.