embracing chaos

best christmas gifts

2009-12-29T13:40:00.000-05:00

so after pink eye in both kids and an ear infection, Lily woke up Christmas Eve morning with a fever that was accompanied by a nasty cold, ick, i can't wait for the germs to go away!
so i have been busy attending to sick children, but i have to say this christmas I got some pretty cool stuff
My top ten favorites:
10- money from my aunt and uncle to help with favorite gift #1
9- a new diaper/purse bag that should be indestructible, now Jeff and I have his and hers timbuk2 bags, i first didn't like it, but it is growing on me
8- the memory foam mattress topper I got for Jeff for Christmas, it is like have a new mattress without the huge price tag
7- the target gift card my in-laws gave me so i could get a windstopper fleece, I hate being cold and have nothing for in between weather and i didn't want to pay an arm and leg for a outdoor brand ( i.e. mountain hardware)
6- gift card to olive garden and grocery store- to keep us well fed, we already went out to dinner, just jeff and i, it was a fun date night out and can't wait to go again
5- Mary Kay timewise cleanser in the bar- I love it, it lathers up so much nicer than I could have imagined
4- a gift card to IKEA from my sister- she loves me! now I can't wait for a road trip to go shopping
3- Sham WOW! you know the infomercial product- i clean up a lot of spills
2- a new camera since my children broke mine, not having a camera for the last month and half has been TORTURE
and my #1 favorite gift
A gift card to Lowes to get a replacement window!!!! who would have thought I would be so excited over a window, I have been wanting replacement windows for years and even though it is only 1, it is a start and maybe with the money we can save in heating costs we can buy more

so despite the germy germs, Christmas was nice and relaxing, the kids got a lot of toys and my family blessed me with so many wonderful things that I am so thankful for

unbelievable

2009-12-24T13:56:00.000-05:00

where to begin. .
we got 12.5 inches of snow Friday night and Saturday, that is the most we have had in like 10 years.
It was fun and now I want the snow to go away and spring to come.
Saturday we noticed Lance's eyes were watery and swollen.
Sunday they didn't look much better and I concluded he had pink eye.
Monday, took him to the doctor, sure enough, pink eye.
Tuesday morning, Lily woke up and one of her eyes looked goopy.
Wednesday afternoon Lance would no take a nap and started screaming and crying and was inconsolable, took him the to doctor, ear infection.
This morning, got Lily out of her bed and she was burning up, she has a fever. She doesn't seem to be in any pain, but she has a cold.
It has been just one thing after another and I am ready for spring.

sometimes they drive me crazy

2009-12-14T10:18:00.000-05:00

especially when they don't get along,
and there are other times when they melt my heart,

when they play together,
just don't look too closely at the mess they have made

the phantom fever

2009-12-07T14:53:00.000-05:00

Friday afternoon Lance woke from nap and felt warm, I didn't think too much of it. He didn't eat much dinner and after Jeff tried to get him to eat it all came back up. I decided then to take his temperature and sure enough he had a fever. With the vomit incident at dinner I was expecting the worse, but it never came. Jeff may have been right and the vomit was just the result of Lance's really good gag reflex. So Friday night we gave him some Motrin and put him to bed. Next morning still had a fever and was quite pathetic so more Motrin. A couple of hours later he was back to his old self and fever was gone. Strange.
Yesterday Lily woke up from nap and felt warm, took her temperature and sure enough she had a fever. Gave her some Motrin and didn't think much of it. Some time in the wee hours of the morning she woke up and she was burning up, I thought for sure her temperature was going to be 104 or 5, but it was only 102. Gave her more Motrin and got her back to sleep. This morning, though I didn't take her temperature she felt fine and acted fine, assuming she is better.
So both kids came down with some random virus which has resulted in us having a pajama party day today, the kids are still in their pjs and me in my sweats and we are just taking it easy, no reason to go out on this cold day, we are relaxing and hopefully get healthy until the next round of illness hits us, since it is the season for sharing all kinds of things.

rainy/snowy blah saturday

2009-12-05T15:12:00.000-05:00

It is easy to get a case of the blahs on a rainy/snowy saturday afternoon.
It is days like this when I wish Jeff had a real job and had Saturdays off so we could just hang out at home together.
It is lonely here while the kids are napping and it is the perfect weather for hanging out inside, watchign a movie and relaxing, not inside alone waiting for five o'clock.
Lance and I did have fun playing a few levels of Batman before he fell asleep and this morning we went over to my mom's house to help her bring down Christmas decorations from the attic and put up her artificial tree, which helped time pass.
Speaking of Lance, I don't know what is up with him, yesterday he was running a fever, first thing this morning he was too, I gave him some motrin, he perked up and acted like his normal self. Right before he conked out I took his temp and it was normal though he felt a little warm. Not sure what is going on with him, I hate phantom fevers with no other symptoms.
Since I am not sure what is going on with Lance, if he is still ill or not leads to my evening plans.
This evening is the Christmas parade downtown, I want to go, but with Lance possibly under the weather and with rain mixed with snow, it is seems like it will be just miserable and not a good idea. If it just just snowing I would definitely go, but then again, I don't know want Lance to get worse or take him out if he isn't better. What to do, what to do. I should take a nap, I wish I was that kind of person who can, I just don't nap well, I like to go, go, go.
Enough complaining for one blah day, right?

an adult meal

2009-12-03T21:00:00.000-05:00

There are some meals that I prepare that are quick and easy.
Some that are comfort foods.
Some that are kid friendly.
Some we joke are fake, since all that is requiring is reheating, like frozen pizza or soup from a mix.
And then there are the adult meals, the ones that make me feel grown up when I making them and feel quite domesticated when consuming them.
Not necessarily because they are complicated or have sophisticated ingredients, but because they remind me of a meal that a 1950's housewife might prepare.
Tonight's adult meal:
Over roasted chicken with cream cheese and rosemary with roasted red skin potatoes.
Something about roasted chicken and red potatoes seems so domesticated, so stereotypical of a meal for a complete, American family.
And it was good!

another rainy blah day

2009-12-02T21:51:00.000-05:00

but I got a whole lot done.
I can't believe it, but the kids and I did not leave the house today and the house is cleaner and more organized then it was this morning even without Lance napping,
So overall it was a good day, a blah day, but good.
It didn't start out promising, this morning both kids were cranky, and it seemed like someone was always crying and someone was always pulling the shower curtain aside and wanting to climb in while I tried to get clean.
There was one highlight to my day, Lance pulled out a puzzle after lunch and when I went to make dinner I noticed it was still out, I asked Lance to put it away and he did. I was floored, he put something away when I asked the first time without standing over him and doing it when overtired. I tried my luck for a second time after he got out the legos and he put them away and even put them back on the shelf, I love my new little helper and hope he stays.
So my research proposal is complete and turned in, now the next stress is preparing for a class presentation on it and the final exam, two more weeks and I will be home free, can't wait.
So the weather outside was frightful, but inside was quite productive, my kind of day!

i'm done

2009-12-01T16:37:00.000-05:00

i'm over it
it is finished
or at least i am finished working on it
19 pages and who knows how many hours work of work is done, with a little over 24 hours before it is due, not too bad
now i can clean up the mess that is my house since i have let the kids go wild for extra seconds typing away on the computer
19 pages, wow, and i was struggling with 6 a couple of days ago, though at least 3 pages are title page and references, but 19 sounds so much nicer and harder doesn't it
so i e-mailed the research proposal to a friend in the class who will hopefully find any problems I have so i won't lose points for not having APA guidelines and then tomorrow hopefully another friend can read over it and i am good to go
AHHHHHHH.
December first and I off to a good start.

30 days of blah

2009-11-30T15:43:00.000-05:00

This year NaBloPoMo was tough. I didn't feel like posting something everyday because life right now is kind of blah and finding something to post was difficult. As a result I posted a lot of blah.
Then to finish out the month of blah, today is really blah. It is so dark and gloomy and rainy that even some streetlights are on though it is 3 o'clock in the afternoon and we have at least two more hours of daylight left in the day.
So I did it, I posted every day for 30 days. I feel some satisfaction, I think. Part of me wishing that my ducks were all in a row so I could post about exciting things, because who wants to read about complaining and the blah-ness of life right, I don't even want to.
Well anyways, here's to making it 30 days, even it is just blah.

tomorrow is picture day

2009-11-29T22:18:00.000-05:00

I wonder which child is going to be uncooperative.
I wonder which child is going to somehow hurt themselves creating a bruise, cut, or rhino horn in a very noticeable location such as their forehead.
I wonder if we are going to be able to capture at least one good pose of the two of them.
Finger are NOT crossed.

hanging over my head

2009-11-28T17:32:00.000-05:00

I have a project due on wednesday that I have known about since the beginning of the semester and of course it isn't finished, no where close. I hate having this project hanging over my head, i just want it done, but it is so hard to get the words on the computer in some order that makes sense. I am so thankful that I took this class first so I can get this out of the way, my motivation is poor now and it would be even worse if this was the last class for my masters. Now if I can just get it done so I can relax and enjoy my week, I am stressed and won't find peace until it is done. So my Saturday night will be spent working on a paper, good times, good times, yeah right. I do have 9 pages complete and the paper is suppose to be 10-15 so I hope I am halfway there, just trying to make sure I have included all the info i need. Cross your fingers for me, my house needs cleaning and groceries need to be gotten, but I can't focus until the paper is mostly done.

Black Friday blahs

2009-11-27T23:03:00.000-05:00

My mom, lily and I hit up some stores since it was black Friday, shopping at 8 am wasn't too bad and we were done by 10, and the stores had everything we wanted except for 1 thing, not too bad. Overall the day was pretty blah since I am trying to get my research project done, not my idea of a fun Friday night but I think I am halfway done, hope to finish it up to orris, so tired of having it hanging over my head.

Thankful

2009-11-26T09:19:00.000-05:00

Happy Thanksgiving!
I am thankful for:
- still being married after a very stressful year
- that we are still in business after a fire destroyed our business
- for all the friends, family, and strangers that have supported us the last 6 months when we haven't been able to support ourselves
- that we have a roof over our head and food to eat
- two healthy, and relatively happy children
- that we are rich compared to most of the world
- for good friends and good times
- for my mom, she is the best and she spoils me and the kids rotten
- for Jesus, the light of the world and restorer of my heart
it has been a rough year for us, but we have survived and I am so grateful
-

what we did today

2009-11-25T16:59:00.000-05:00

what do you do on a rainy november day in the virginia beach area?
you go to the aquarium

a good time was had by all

Road trip

2009-11-24T20:54:00.001-05:00

This afternoon we packed up the car and headed east to spend Thanksgiving with Jeff's extended family. We stopped halfway in Richmond and went shopping at Crate and Barrel. After hitting traffic we arrived safely and looking forward to spending the day with Jeff and the kids.

panicking

2009-11-23T16:32:00.000-05:00

AHHHHH!
I have a 10-15 page research proposal due a week from wednesday and after working on it for 3 hours today and who knows how many hours before today and i only have 3 pages done.
3 pages with 1 inch margin and double space is nothing.
Ahhhh, I hate this, working on this proposal is like pulling teeth, it is so hard and so long and just so, blah.
I gotta get this done ASAP and yet words just won't come.
I have an A in the class right now and this project is worth 30% of my grade, I want to keep my A, I am that kind of perfectionist and I want it done.
I can do it, I can do it, right?
Just got to stop panicking. . .

a night of fun

2009-11-22T12:24:00.000-05:00

There is an artificial snow surface for snowboarding, skiing, and tubing near our house. Jeff of course is always there to network and let people know about our store and all his time up there paid off. We wanted to take Lance tubing so we headed up to the mountain (hill) and asked how much it would cost. The girl at the front counter said 7 dollars an hour plus 5 dollars for the tube, which equates to 12 dollars an hour, a person. Well even if we weren't poor, I was not about to pay 12 bucks for Lance to go tubing when he might only last 15 minutes, plus we knew Lance would not want to go by himself at first so we would need to purchase an hour for one of us, so that would be 24 dollars, way too much for tubing on a microscopic hill. We were bummed. We headed up to watch some snowboards and walk around the lodge. They have been working on increasing the slope and Jeff wanted to see the improvements so he asked one of the employees he knows if we could walk up the hill in the gravel beside the slope, the employee said we could as long as we had signed waivers. We headed down so I could sign the waiver and ran into a manager, Jeff was talking to them and explaining we came to go tubing, but couldn't afford the outrageous fee especially since we would only last about 15 minutes, well she helped us out and told the girl at the counter to give us a discounted rate. So after climbing up the hill and enjoying the view of the city at night we got to go tubing. It was so much fun. Lance loved it, we threw Lily in a tube, she loved it, it was so much fun. We went up and down for what seemed like forever and when everyone was tired we headed back home. Well I am so thankful we got a deal on tubing because we only lasted 30 minutes. It seemed so much longer than just 30 minutes, how do people last for an hour especially when you have to walk up a steep hill, it is cold outside, and you get a little wet while headed down? So a good time was had by all and I hope that we can go again.

quite a year

2009-11-21T14:53:00.000-05:00

I have been uploading pictures to snapfish for our annual family calendar and I am blown away by how much we did this year. I am a glass half empty kind of person and so for me I look at this past year and see financial difficulties, the fire that destroyed the store, stress, illness and I forget about:
- our two trips to MD/ PA/ and northern VA
- our week at the beach
- our spring weekend trip to Wilmington
- our day trip to the transportation museum, the zoo, the parkway, the apple orchard, the strawberry patch, and the safari park
- our weekend trip to D.C
we have experienced a lot this past year and overall it was a good year.

new moon

2009-11-20T16:05:00.001-05:00

Tonight I am going with a gaggle of women to see New Moon.
I can't believe I am going on opening night, that is so not me.
I am not a crazy fan, I am mainly going to watch my friends swoon and cry and be ridiculous.
I am interested to see this movie and hope I make it through- I HATED the first one.
So why am I going to see the second one?
I don't really know, peer pressure I guess, I wanted to be cool like all my friends.
Of all the books, New Moon was my favorite, I like Jacob, I wanted him to be the chosen one, not a vampire fan.
I am excited because it is girls' night out and after spending all week inside with these two monsters, even a cheesy movie sounds good.

Just got back from the movie and had a blast! The movie was very entertaining, much better than I expected. The audience was awesome, cheering and swooning, it was a lot of fun, it probably would not be as fun if it wasn't a packed theater with people who really got into it. A whole bunch of us 11, to be exact did a girls' night out and did dinner and the movie, it was so much fun, I forget how much fun hanging out with the girls can be, I can't wait to do it again. So tonight I got to pretend to be 17 again and out with my friends, drooling over a guy on the screen and laughing hysterically. It is all good.

Thankful

2009-11-19T14:29:00.000-05:00

1- two healthy children- even though they seem to have permanent runny noses
2- naptime- it is so quiet and nice
3- being able to stay-at-home while the kids are little
4- preschool, lance's vocabulary has increased and he loves the social interactions
5- dvr- love watching tv on my own time
6- Christmas- my love language is giving gifts so it is my favorite holiday
7- indoor plumbing- can't imagine life having to run outside in this cold rainy weather
8- that I am around in this century, i love my gadgets and modern amnenties
9- food to eat
10- freedom

15 Months

2009-11-18T14:10:00.000-05:00

Ms. Lily is now 15 months old.
She is getting so big so fast.
She is extremely mobile.
She can say bye-bye, uh-oh, momma, dadda, all aboard, and seems like she is on the verge to saying a whole lot more.
She loves to dance,
play with lance,
clean and pick up as well as make a big mess,
she keeps me on my toes and is a joy.

I am so thankful for my sweet baby girl and enjoying watching her grow.

over my head

2009-11-18T06:55:00.000-05:00

My graduate class this semester is Research Methods and Applications and the final project- due in two weeks is writing a research proposal. Tonight is the last night of class before the proposals are due and I am trying to get a lot of mine done today So someone can review it in class today, but it is so hard to get started. I don't like the project, I am not crazy about the topic, and I don't like writing everything perfectly in APA guidelines. It is like pulling teeth trying to sit down and get something done, it is all in my head, but it is so hard getting it down on paper, or I should say the computer screen.
I am thankful though I took this class first so it is out of the way and done.
Now if I can just get this done so I won't have to work on it over Thanksgiving!

sleep glorious sleep

2009-11-17T13:08:00.000-05:00

Lily slept again all night last night, it was wonderful!
Unfortunately Lance did not.
My poor buddy was coughing and hacking and just quite pitiful.
He was up for quite some time, now if we can just get him sleeping all night we will be one well rested happy family.

And totally random-
There is someone who is flying over the city in an airplane pulling a banner that has a picture of an aborted fetus and says "10 week abortion" with a 800 number. Just saw it again out my window. I am against abortion, but I am also against tactics like that. Is that really effective? Does that really change people's hearts? Why doesn't this person or group who is probably from out of town use the money they are spending on fuel, lodging, food, and who knows what else to counsel women, show them love, support women who choose to have deliver their babies instead of aborting them. I personally think changes happens through relationships and love, not through fear, hate, and gross images. That's just my two cents, I am not saying I am right and I am not saying I'm wrong, I just think that there are better ways to make a change.

another beautiful day

2009-11-16T14:01:00.000-05:00

Today is a good day!
This morning we went grocery shopping then came home and had lunch. After lunch we played outside and it was so beautiful.

If we didn't have all that rain last week I might have taken the sun and warm temperatures for granted. I love being outside when it is warm and sunny. I also love that Lily can do so many more things outside without me having to be right there, she is getting more and more independent which makes playing a lot more fun, it isn't Lily and Mommy playing with Lance, but it is more Lance and Lily playing with Mommy, much more fun.

So today is a really good day, not only because of the sun, but because Lily slept all night last night!
First time in weeks, maybe a months, she got in a bad habit of getting up a lot. It could be a fluke, but I set up a humidifier in her room and I don't know if it was the moisture or the sound, but she didn't wake up at all which makes me feel so much better. I have been able to handle the kids, have so much more energy, don't feel like I am in a fog, though I still lack the motivation to get everything super tidy and do the laundry- saving that for when it is too dark outside or raining.

So today is good and I am so thankful.

why does it have to get dark so early?

2009-11-15T17:41:00.002-05:00

Today was so warm and sunny.
We spent all afternoon outside and didn't want to come in, but we had to since it was dark.
I wish it would stay like today all winter, but then there would be no snow and Christmas isn't Christmas without coldness.
Okay, so maybe I need to rethink things.
Maybe. .