Our Christmas

We had an awesome Christmas. The boys almost slept in. I think it was at least 7:30 before we headed downstairs. Alex didn't seem interested in much other than his candy and feeding suckers to Spike (our new dinosaur) but Max went right for all of his transformers and other toys. They had a great time. We had breakfast when all the dust settled and got Alex down for a nap. Most of the afternoon was spent playing our new Wii games. Tim and Max tried out Outdoor Adventure while I played on the internet. But they quickly switched to Wii Ski and that has been the biggest hit. Max has been playing for 3 days now. He is getting really good too and comments often that he would like to learn to ski for real. That made daddy proud.

Here are some pictures of the big day.

The before

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The aftermath

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Checking things out

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The kids see Spike for the first time

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Another funny with Spike and suckers

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Max's sucker face

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Mommy's turn

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Max playing outdoor adventure....too funny!

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Check out dropshots for even more video of the kids opening gifts and pictures of that morning. Hopefully I'll have more new ones later today when Grandma and Grandpa get here to visit for the week!

Otherwise, not much else to report. Kids are doing well and I'm soooooo ready to go back to work.

Last Saturday night

Rockapella was in Bloomington, IL. I knew they were going to be there, but never thought I would be able to make it since it's about 4 hours from here. Wouldn't you know, my dear friend Debbie mentioned it and said we could go together and I could stay at her house. Wahoo!!! A night without kids, spent with a dear friend, and I get to see Rockapella too. It doesn't get any better than that! Here are a few pictures from our night

Notice the ice on the trees?

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My favorite Rockapella guy, Kevin

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Debbie and I with the guys

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Friends Forever

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All in all it was a great night. We went shopping and to dinner before the show, and there were plans to go out afterward as well. However, mother nature had another plan for us. There was horrible ice and the power went out at Debbie's house. Her husband hooked up a generator so we were able to sleep comfortably, but we ended up not going out. I can't wait to do it again!

Today is Christmas Eve and we really don't have much planned. Alex ended up going to the pediatrician yesterday because he was beyond cranky and not at all himself. He has yet another double ear infection. I am seriously getting sick of them. He would only sleep with us last night and was up at 5am screaming in pain, but refused to take any Motrin. Usually he loves it so I have no idea what was up with that. He has had some now and is in a much better mood. He has eaten a ton of watermelon this morning so I'm guessing that means he is doing better.

Max was sick last week and is doing much better as well. I'm hoping the sickies are gone from our house now for a very long time. We have all had the stomach bug as well as a cold.

Santa is coming tonight and the boys are very excited about that. I'm not sure I'm looking forward to it, but their joy will help make it all that much better. Look for pictures because there are sure to be some good ones.

Yes, I am a poopy mom!

My baby turned 5 two days ago and I haven't said a word about it. In my defense, I spent his entire birthday in the bathroom with the stomach bug. Here are some pictures to compare.....

Birth

2 years old

And now at 5


I can't get over how much he has changed through the years. He is growing up to be quite the handsome little man. Quite mouthy too, which I'm guessing he gets from me. He had a party on Sunday for his friends and that went pretty well. Unfortunately only 2 kids could come, but the moms stayed as well so that was really nice for me. We discovered we all had 2 year olds as well so playdates would work out well. We are already talking about letting the kids get together over Christmas break.

On Wednesday Max redid his winter program at church for the older people who go during the day. It was nice because both Tim and I got to go. In the afternoon, Alex's daycare also did a Christmas Program. That didn't go over so well. The normally rambunctious 2 year olds did not want to participate in singing or even dancing and hand motions. Alex stood still and chewed on his jingle bells. I'll include a video, but it's very very long. Don't feel obligated to watch the whole thing wondering if you'll miss something. You won't. He pretty much did the same thing the entire time. It was hilarious!

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And now, slacker that I am, I need to get off this computer and go start addressing Christmas cards. I just got them today and figured I should get them out ASAP and hopefully they'll get to at least a few people before the holidays are over. Hehe!

Night!

Party Weekend

I think I might be insane. I am driving 3 hours one way to my mom's extended family Christmas party today. While I am very much looking forward to seeing everyone, my children are insane. They have been wrestling and fighting (for fun) all morning and making me crazy. Two more hours til we leave and I'm not sure I'm going to make it. I am looking forward to them being stuck in car seats though!

Tomorrow is Max's 5th birthday party for his friends. We let him invite 7 just in case a few couldn't show up, but so far I have only gotten responses from 2 so it might be a very small party. Easier for me, but I feel bad because he was really looking forward to his friends coming over. I know he'll enjoy the two that will be here though. And with a little luck, a few will show that didn't RSVP.

I have a lot to pack up in the car right now, so I really should get to it. I have no idea what I'm going to wear yet as I still can't wear anything but sweatpants. I am not all that comfortable in jeans, but I swear I would be so happy to wear some now. It has been 3 weeks in sweats and I am getting really over them.

Not much of an update, but at least you know now why I haven't been around all that much. Too much to prepare for, not to mention Christmas right around the corner. Max is redoing his Christmas play this Wednesday and I volunteered to drive. I'm looking forward to seeing it this time without having to watch through a camera!

Happy Holidays and I'm sure I'll have some pictures to post soon!

Our newest family member

Meet Dexter. Or as Max insists we say, Dex. He is 5 1/2 months old and came to live with us on Thursday. I have to drive up to just west of Grand Rapids to get him, but he is already worth it. So much fun. Both of the kids like to play with him and Max even holds him. I'm sure Alex would but he's too busy getting poked because he likes to pull on the quills. So not nice!

Getting a meal worm from Tim. He doesn't seem to like them much. No interest

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Hand feeding a cricket. Those he does love!!

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and here he is sleeping in his litter box. Hopefully he eventually uses it for the right purpose

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And that's Dexter. Don't be too overly surprised if you hear and see more about him in the future. I'm going to take him to visit both kids schools in the next few weeks so that should be interesting!

No other news to report. It's snowing today and no one wants to get dressed or do anything. We've been bumming around all day and now I'm ready for a nap. I'm going to hit the couch with my book and see what happens.

Just a quickie

Cuz I'm watching ER and typing under the influence...of percocet. I'm still taking about one every night, but during the day I'm feeling ok. I definitely think I've been overdoing it some, and I plan on trying to relax this weekend. Tim is off so hopefully he'll let me. Haha, we shall see, but I won't hold my breath.

Anyway, I got some videos of Max's preschool Christmas play last night. It is a few shorter videos because I had to change positions but hopefully you can still get the gist. Hope you enjoy!



Ok, technical difficulties. For some reason I cannot get the code I need to post directly here from dropshots. Blogger is only letting me do one portion of the video directly with them. I give up. Here is a link to the "day" all the videos are located at. Please visit there and watch them if you have the time. If not, no biggie. I know the grandmas will watch even if no one else does, LOL!

Click here to view videos

Also a picture of Max with a few of his buddies from school

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So Alex doesn't get slighted in this post, have I ever shared his new favorite food? On the nights where he is cranky and doesn't want to eat, all I have to do is say the word OLIVES and he goes crazy. He would eat a jar at a time if we would let him. It totally grosses me out but its so cute too. Here is a picture of his dinner a few weeks ago.

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BLECH!!! And no, that isn't all he had, that was the 10th or 11th serving!

And, on to new pet news. Dexter, our new hedgehog, came to stay with us today. I drove up to Lake Side, which is just west of Grand Rapids, to pick him up. He is the cutest thing ever. Max couldn't wait to hold him and let Dexter crawl all over his legs. Alex thinks its funny to pull on the poor thing's quills which so far has done nothing but get me pricked. Tim decided we should try to put him in his giant ball to roll around the living room so we did. Wouldn't you know he chose that moment to have to pee and take a dump. While I was upstairs cleaning out the ball Tim fed him two freeze dried crickets and then put him back in the cage. Once in the cage he goes right for his hiding spot and I lost my opportunity for a good picture. Hopefully tomorrow when the kids are gone I can get him out and playing for awhile so I can share him with you. I must say I'm pretty impressed that all 4 of us seem to like him. I figured Tim wouldn't have much to say or one of the kids would be afraid of him. Doesn't appear to be the case though.

Anyway, I'm going to finish uploading the videos and then publish for your viewing pleasure.

On my own again

My mom and dad left this morning and Tim goes back to work tomorrow. I am so not excited about this. Granted, it'll be nice having the house to myself after having guests for almost 2 weeks, but I am not supposed to be driving just yet and I'm not sure I'm ready to tackle the household stuff on my own. Tim has been awesome today though. He did the dishwasher and is even running a load of wash right now. I'm still having alot of pain from the bruising (I assume) and am probably doing far more than I should. I can't help it though. I get so bored just laying around doing nothing. Poor Alex is going to be the death of me. He keeps jumping on my stomach and that has to be the worst feeling in the world. When I scream out in pain he says "Sorry Mommy" and then kisses my head. It's so sweet, but doesn't make me want to kick his little butt any less ;)

Max has his preschool Christmas play on Wednesday and poor Tim has a huge function at work that he can't miss. I'm hoping to be able to video the whole thing so he can at least watch it on the computer. I'll have to call Alli tomorrow to see if she can watch Alex because there is no way I can video with him there, especially since it starts at bedtime. He's going to be very difficult if I have to take him along.

In other news, we are getting a hedgehog! Tim finally agreed, mostly to shut me up, but also because they are non-smelly. I have to be the one to take care of it, but I've been wanting some sort of pet for the kids, and from what I've researched they are pretty good with kids. Not saying it'll be easy, but not as hard as a dog, or as smelly as a cat. I've been looking for one for a few weeks now. Usually you can only get them from breeders, but there was an add in the Grand Rapids Craigslist where someone wants to get rid of theirs because their kids aren't taking care of it. YAY!!! Cheaper than buying it from a dealer for sure and the cage comes with him. It's going to be a 2 hour drive, but without the kids it shouldn't be too bad. I'll be sure to post pictures when he gets here and let you know what we decide to name him. I haven't told Max yet. I want it to be a surprise.

Yesterday Krystle and I put up the Christmas tree with a bit of help from Max and Tim. Krystle also decorated the living room and wrapped all of my presents. I swear she is the best woman in the world for my brother. I hope he smartens up and marries her soon!!

Here is the tree

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Max and his tower

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Alex watching TV

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And a video of Alex cooking for Krystle and Bill (just like daddy)
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I can't get the video to post so you'll have to click the link.

Also, since I know some of you are curious, here is my bruise and incision about 5 days after the surgery. The bruise goes down quite a bit further, but I'll spare you a picture of that whole area ;)

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My initials are there because I had to mark the site since they were only taking one ovary. I used permanent marker and it wouldn't wash off. It's almost gone now though.

So, there you have it. A nice little update on us. Not much else to tell from now, but I'm sure there will be lots more in December. So much going on!!