Hahaha...

Me this morning...wish I had a warning sign...{super suave in a dress}

Happy Monday!!  I hear we are getting the storm of the year this week.  Eleven inches Tuesday night plus a few today.  Looking forward to a possible snow day Wednesday.  Too bad I'll be working and not spending time with the chickens.

While in Illinois after Christmas, we stopped quick at The Container Store to pick up a few things.  In my quest, I found this really cute photo display stand and had to pick it up.

Super cute.  I haven't known where to put if {of course} so it's been just hanging out on my kitchen counter.  Since we got back.  Yesterday I was cleaning up and finally took a good look at the new photo display stand.

Remember how I said I was sooo upset because I could not find Caleb's admission ticket last weekend and how I was ruining his life and all that?  Yeah, so I guess I put it here to make sure I could never possible forget where it was...Really, Jodi?  My life.

Keith and I sold admission tickets Friday night.  I've never done it before.  Next year when I sign up I will be sure to check the schedule before I put my name on the list!  It was the worst time ever!  I kept running out of one dollar bills and everyone seemed to get to pay a different price that night instead of the same price.  My lovelies worked their magic and helped me out BIG TIME.  Sara jumped in with tickets and stamping as soon as she got there.  Johanna and Chris took on 50/50.  Jo got right up in the stands and rocked it!  I snapped at them once and felt horrible and apologized for it.  They were sweet enough to pretend not to have noticed.  I also feel bad that they caught some slack for helping out at the game.  It's uunbelievable that some adults can drive over the bridge for a game but don't bring their brains with them!  Blah.  The drink waiting for me at the Chamber helped quite a bit.☺ {thanks, Huiz}  Now I'll be ready for the all day escapade Saturday when we sell tickets for five straight games.  And Keith will be ready for poker. 

The tree is put away.  Kyle's curtain rod is fixed.  The bathroom faucet was almost a go last night but was short a part.  Soon, baby, soon.  Have to get my ducks in order for the 3rd annual birthday bash coming soon.  I've run out of time for the 70's party.  Zweigle, don't worry.  It'll happen.  Hopefully you'll be out of class to enjoy it. ☺

I found an interesting post on a blog I follow.  It's about this thing this lady does every early spring.  I don't remember if she is Catholic, but she uses this practice during Lent.  She calls it 40 bags in 40 days.  She divides her house into forty catagories and tries to tackle a room {and thus a bag} a day of either trash or donating material.  She saves her Goodwill bags and donates them at once.  I am clearly not Catholic but being Lutheran I attempt a Lenten commitment every year.  My kids are much more committed than me.  Perfect.  A parent always hopes their kids do a better job than they did.{do}  This is something I can handle.  I've decided that since my track record isn't phenom, I'm not waiting until Lent to start.  I started yesterday and already have one trash bag and two goodwill bags.  It's cheating a bit but I know there will be days when I cannot get to the issue.  March tenth...here I come!

Stress Energy...{makes me type fast}

It's been a pretty silly slow day at Northland.  I've had plenty of time to think about what I'd like to blog about today. ☺

As my tree still sits, empty, at the corner of my living room I realized last night that I'm doing waaaay too much outside of my home.  Appalling is the fact that Christmas totes are still in my dining room, hand-me-downs are still in bags next to the front door and Allison's mattress has made it's way there as well.  She only lives next door but do you think I have any time to get it to her during her awake hours?  Keith and I make jokes about it because crap is always piled at the front door to either take to someone or to take downstairs and Pat comes two morning a week to drop the boys off and lately he comes across the same stuff every visit.  Finally last night, Keith said to me that we need to stop doing so much for others and do more for ourselves.  Typically that should mean getting away and doing something fun.  In our case...not so much.  It's hard to stop volunteering.  And I imagine I won't.  I volunteer because, without volunteers, the kids suffer.  All of them.  It doesn't even have to pertain to sports.  It can be volunteering for anything.  The other reason I volunteer is so I can pave the way for my own children.  I do it for them.  And lastly, I do it to teach them about being giving of their time and resources.  Lately, though, I've fallen way behind.  Possibly more behind than ever.  I still haven't caught up from my three weeks of sick.  Point of the story?  Next week I am almost totally free until Saturday.  Getting it all taken care of.  Finally.  I'm doing the happy dance.  And maybe volunteering to help the Environmental Club sell items at a ball game to earn money for projects the kids {Caleb included} came up with at camp in November.  What a cause.  How can I refuse?

Yesterday I ranted about the school ski trip on FB for a bit.  LOVE the school ski trip.  DON"T love the stress I allow myself to feel over it.  My friend Fran called it stress energy.  I like that.  I tend to have a lot of it.  And typically I can get a lot done.  Or at least talk a mile a minute. ;)  Anyhow, my stress over an accident seems to get the best of me on many occasions.  After talking it out on FB I actually let it go.  I knew plenty of parents who were on the trip and would know if anything happened.  Everything else was out of my control and, just once, I was able to deal with it.  Caleb skied twice last year.  Andrew has never tried.  Both were wildly excited about going.  Both had a wildly exciting time.  I promised them both we would go this winter.  Even with my freakish, controlling ways I told Kyle I want to get him out on skis, too, because I've certainly done the bigs no favors by protecting them the way I like to.  I planned for a day in February {it's hard having them two weekends a month} and wouldn't you know it...I planned the trip for Super Bowl Sunday!!  I didn't know it at the time and, of course, when I tried explaining it to Andrew he couldn't figure out why we still can't go.  Yeah.  Okay so we have to try again.

The big game is tonight.  Selling admission tickets and running 50/50.  Should be a great night no matter the outcome. GO VIKES!!

Just The Facts...

*Winter cheer may be gone from Whitehall, but I was crazy to think there would be a lull.  I am selling 50/50 for all varsity boy's ball games, Keith is driving for and supervising the morning weight program, we are both working the door for four games coming up, {free annual passes for the fam} and Caleb starting taking stats last night for the boy's team as well. Sigh.

Caleb had an under bite, corrected by a retainer.  Today's ortho consult proved a little more costly.  X-rays, pictures, moldings and eighteen months of top and bottom braces will yield a premium of, as Caleb quoted, forty eight eighty.  Yowza.  Good old insurance covers a whoppin' 30ish percent.  Dang.  Pat asked me if I thought he really needs braces.  I have personal issues with the situation.  My dentist said I didn't need them and my bottom teeth are jacked. UP.

 Just kidding.  That's totally jacked up!  But sometimes I feel like this.  Caleb has a cross bite on top and crowding on the bottom.  Cannot do one without the other.  Big decision to make.  Okay, so not really.  It seems like a no-brainer...

*There are only twenty three more days until we leave for TC.  WOOT!!  Cannot wait.  This year we get to leave Friday morning because I have no coaching commitment.  Snow tubing this year.  Can you say fuuuh-uuunnnn?!

*Although youth sports don't require a physical until school level participation,{seventh grade}Andrew needs one in order to play tennis.  I'm new to tennis so I don't know the rules but I called my doc to see if his wellness check-up from last summer will suffice and guess what?  It's good all year, baby.  No extra appointment.  No extra cash.  Life is good.

*Speaking of Andrew, he is in desperate need of an ipod touch. {his opinion} I was thinking about it yesterday and wondering if it might be a gift in his future.  I don't know about other people, but I do not spend that kind of loot on birthdays.  Let me rephrase that.  I do not spend that kind of money on birthday gifts.  By the time it's all said and done, I've spent that amount on party stuff and a gift.  Every time.  Easy.  So I wondered if I might tone down the party a lot this year and buy him one.  Last night, at the game, he mentioned, again, that he really wanted one.  I told him I'd think about it for his birthday IF worked his tush off until then to earn the extra one hundred. That's a lot of work.  Andrew agreed to it but I don't think he gets the concept of what will be involved in earning one. hundred. dollars. I don't know which way I'm leaning but to throw in another curve, I'm thinking of offering Kyle a "job" for the next few months also to earn some money to pay Andrew for his nano.  I personally don't think a five year old needs a nano {he has a shuffle, handed down of course} but what a pain it is for him to get hooked on a song and then have him struggle to find it on the shuffle.  Kind of a stupid product if you ask me.  A nano would be ideal as he's learning to read.  But even if he can't...I can.  This way I'm teaching him a life lesson, getting him what he ultimately wants, helping Andrew earn money toward his new touch and teaching him a lesson too!!  Win, win.  Right?  In the end, I'm still paying for the entire thing.  And, how hard is it going to be to come up with a three month job {x2} worth all that money?

Caleb plays his first travel ball game Saturday.  Without a practice.  How crazy is that?  It wouldn't be except he's playing with half of a different group of kids.  From Montague...{☺} It oughta be a blast.

*Last fact...it's five pm.  Time to fly.  Stopping at GW Boutique thanks to a tip that there was and maybe still is a gigantic round table just waiting for me there.  Cross your fingers for me...

What Is Happening...?

When the bigs were about five {3 and 5 and for a couple years after} they were known to request and sing Celebration and YMCA.  Over and over again.  These days, they have their little five year old brother requesting song number 6 in the van...



We've created a monster!  I asked the boys the other day to make a list of songs they wanted from itunes.  I got two lists.  On Andrew's, there was a request for Dingalingaling. {all one word}  {crickets}  Okay, so I just sat there, not knowing quite what to say.  My mother referred to a penis as a ding-a-ling when I was younger.  It took all I had to keep my composure.  After finding an instrumental from '93 {1993} and My Ding-a-ling by Chuck Berry, I texted a friend to help me out.  Kris figured it was Ring A Ling by the Black Eyed Peas.  Ahhh...that made perfect sense.  I played it for Andrew and when  was over he told me the song he was talking about was slower and sung by different people.  Huh??  He started telling me it was about a grandma giving her grandson a string...I about puked in my mouth.  It was, indeed, this song...



Unbelievable!  Caleb's list had a long line of titles, most of which were unfamiliar to me.  Cali Swag District.  Lupe Fiasco.  Troop 41.  Do The John Wall.  Teach Me How To Dougie.  Teach me how to dougie??? Shoot me now.  Hip Hop is not really my thing.  Apparently it's Caleb's.  And Kyle's.  Heaven help us all.  I said an extra little prayer for Caleb after watching the instructional...

Stress+Fun...

I love super fabulous weekends. {serious}  I also love this new stage of teenagerdom I have fallen into. {sarcastic}

Friday I picked the boys up from school at 3:30.  Caleb gets into the van and tells me the Elks free throw contest is that evening and wants to participate and that all his friends are also.  Keith was at an all day impromptu football camp and Andrew and I were heading to a jewelry party. {not really.  Andrew was supposed to ride with me but go out for dinner with his friend}  I asked Caleb the time and location.  He just stared at me.  Apparently it didn't cross his mind to ask that question.  I told him to figure it out.  Still, I got the stare.  I came up with the great idea of texting a friend. {crickets} He did.  When one friend didn't know, I told him to text another friend.  When that friend didn't know, you can guess what I suggested next.  Funny thing is, he said those two were it.  This is the second time I've heard "all my friends are doing it" when, in fact, there are only a limited number of boys actually doing it.  Sigh.

Caleb made it.  Ended up that there were three of them.  He didn't do as well as the night before {which he shot 11 of 15...forgot to mention...and also shot a just-in-case tie breaker with 4 of 5} but managed 14 of 25.  Bummer.  Oh well.  25 shots in a row, I imagine, gets tiring.

I got home from the jewelry party and started putting all of Caleb's SAT paperwork together.  Except I couldn't.  I have a basket on my counter that has nothing in it but SAT and ACT paperwork for the boys.  Both admission tickets were in there when Caleb took his practice test.  Not Friday night.  I ripped my house apart.  I cried.  I ripped more of my house apart.  I cried some more.  I was ruining his life.  Then I second guessed myself, thinking he never received the ticket in the mail.  Ruining his life indeed since I never reported it.  Whatever.  He's in 7th grade.  Once I calmed down and regained rationality, I remembered having the ticket because it had the test location verified on it.  I don't throw any paperwork away.  It's a crazy quirk of mine.  I found a number to call, but couldn't call til 8a.m.  Caleb had to be there at 7:45.  I tried printing a ticket online, set up an account for Caleb, had to pick his interests and aspirations and college major hopefuls {did I mention he's in 7th grade?} and when I was all done, I got a message that he wasn't registered for any tests.  I barely slept.  I woke up with my heart pounding.  Sick.  I ended up driving Caleb and Co. to Ludington myself just in case I could take care of the matter.  Worst case scenario would be Caleb rode back home with me.

I asked him{after reminding him for sure two times last week and possibly three}if he had his calculator.  He just stared at me. {are you seeing a pattern?}  How in the hell do you take an SAT without a calculator?  I found his old solar one that never worked in class unless he sat by the window and a flashlight.  I handed him both and told him to charge the calculator on the way.  So red neck.

The highway was the worst it's ever been while I've been the driver.  White knuckled all the way.  It was so dark and so snowy and although it looked like the slow lane had been plowed, the snow was blowing so bad I couldn't tell most of the time where i was and hit the rumble strips many, many times.  The worst experience. 

We got to the school in plenty of time.  Early in fact.  When we got inside, I gave a twenty five second sob story to the lady in charge.  Everything we've received states the student can not get in without an admission ticket and id.  It took her less than five seconds to tell me not to worry about it.  Only seven students were signed up for the test.  You mean to tell me the cold sore on the bottom corner of my lip was for nothin'??  Yay for Caleb.  Boo for me.  I had to turn around and jump back on the highway.

I took a nap, Andrew came home from his sleepover, Kyle played video games, Caleb came home from testing and I don't know what Keith did.  We cleaned house, got ready for Andrew's soccer game and headed to Red Lobster for dinner.  Caleb's idea.  Yuuuh-ummm!!

The game was lost, but a lot of hustlin' was going on!  The opposing team was just really good.  Afterward, the boys all went bowling with the Blankstrom boys and the Buchberger boys.  I headed to the 'Gue for major girl time.  By major I mean we stayed up til 4a.m. chatting, slept til 9 and chatted  til 1!!!!!  As Kyle would say...Niiiiiiiiiice!!!

Kyle cracks me the heck up.  Want to share a few oh so randoms from the weekend...{they're going in the book}

Kyle: Mom's kind of little like me. {yes, dear, I am}  Mom, you look like you're five-when you're not wearing high heels.

Kyle: i want to keep it humble
Keith: I've never seen a humble bone in your body.
Kyle:Yeah, but I want one...

Kyle: What?  I'm trying to be nice-o {nicer}
Me: You are?  Then why isn't it working for you?
Kyle:{shrugs, raises eyebrows and sticks his lips out} Don't know."

Kyle: What are Mad Libs?
Keith:You've got to use verbs and adverbs. {I think there was more to this explanation from the boys}
Kyle: Oh good.  I love adverbs.

So Much Fun...

Tuesday was the best!  It started a bit wacky.  Couldn't get a signal to watch for school closings and the website wasn't up to date.  Had to wake Keith up {grrr} to wipe of the dish, which made for a crabby Keith.  He had no idea the amount of snow on our deck...until he stepped in it up to his knees and got his pjs wet.  Lucky us, school was cancelled, as well as all evening activities.  We had nothing to do!

PS2. PS3. Basketball. Legos. Tomato soup and grilled cheese sandwiches with lemonade.  Hot cocoa with red hots, melted chocolate and marshmallows. Fruit smoothies.  Sledding.  Money for shoveling. Spending time at home with my boys.  What's better than all that??

Yesterday the ballers played in the semi final round against North Muskegon.  Those boys played their hearts out.  It was the best game of the entire season.  The entire game was so close.  So close.  As in a 32 tie with a minute to go.  And a 32 tie at 16 seconds to go.  Then we made a free throw and then NM made a basket and with only about 6 seconds to go, our team could not pull off the win.  They lost by one point.  Those boys were a mess afterward.  Some couldn't contain their emotions while still out on the court.  The rest held it together until they hit the locker room.  It was a sad day but victorious nonetheless. 

Tonight Caleb is shooting in a free throw contest.  He has participated the last few years and has done quite well.  He's ready to move on from the school season and head into the travel season with this contest in between.  I've never watched him during these contests.  They always fall on a Thursday and he's never with me that day.  It just dawned on me this morning that I've never gone.  Ah well.

Looking ahead, I am hittin' a jewelry party at the Zwemer's with Andrew tomorrow evening and then picking Caleb and Co. up from the SATs, shopping for an under mount microwave and new toaster, heading to Andrew's soccer game and then attending a spendover Saturday.  Busy, busy but I cannot wait!  I'd prefer not to stay out on my weekend with the bigs but it happens, sometimes, when others are in the same situation.  Looking forward to chick flicks, nail painting, wine and girl chat. Super love.♥

Kid Stuff...

I'm starting to feel better.  Getting some energy back.  The multis are finally doing their job.  Now I just need to catch up on the last three week's worth of stuff and I'll be good to go.  Wish me luck.

Saturday's drive to Remus wasn't bad, considering all the snow we got the night before.  Mr. Hyatt told me it was a straight shot on M20 but that it gets hilly and curvy after the first half.  I had no idea we'd turn in so many directions to head east!

Only 16 kids showed up for the Spelling Bee.  Quite a few schools were associated with the bee so it was odd that so few kids showed.  Two of our own weren't there.  I figured it's because it's one thing to participate locally, just because, but it's totally another thing to travel with so many different family schedules on the weekend.  Andrew did what he set out to accomplish originally when he made it to regionals and earned a gift card.  Well, then he wanted to win it all.  Unfortunately that did not happen.  There was a practice round so I cannot remember if he went out in the second or third round.  As soon as he said, "t...y" my heart sank.  The word was AMPUTEE.  I watched him walk back to his chair, sit down, slide his chair back and then make that face.  It's the one where if you didn't know better, you'd think he was kind of smiling.  His nose was crinkled up and his teeth were showing.  I knew he was holding back the tears.  I wanted to run over to him but obviously I could not.  After the event, we chatted a bit.  He said he felt so dumb.  Then he started to tense up.  I just grabbed him and held him.  He's certainly no dummy.  I came up with something to say, knowing I wasn't going to be able to take away what he referred to as his embarrassment.  Poor honey.  I wished he was coming home with me that day so we could just cuddle all afternoon.

                          {I forgot my camera in the backseat of the truck so this is what I got...☺}

{and a little added bonus...geesh, it must be really awful to travel in the winter...for both the buggy passengers and the guy broken down on the ramp!}

Since that wasn't the case, I headed to my scrapbook haven to finish up what was left of the all day event.  I organized most of the 473 pictures I just received in the mail, started a few pages, ate dinner, won a prize, played with my prize and went home.  I missed Andrew's soccer game {which his team won, 9-2 I think} but I had these plans for months so...and Keith said that Andrew played well.  He missed a couple goals but hustled.  Way to make a bad day better.

Today is the beginning of playoffs.  Whitehall plays Hart, at home, at four.  Hoping for a win.  Then the team will advance to the semis Wednesday at Montague against maybe Shelby?  The last game was a nail biter.  That's the one that went into double OT!  Super Excited!!

Yesterday was a full day but I'll get there next time.  And I may just start finishing up projects I only blog about...and the proof will be in the pics!

Smile...

Blahhhh...

I have been having a hard time keeping up.  It's not even a blog situation.  Since we got back from Illinois, I have been under the weather and just cannot seem to shake this illness.  Laundry was caught up Christmas Eve.  Leaving the day after Christmas has totally hindered my keep-up ability.  I'm grasping at straws.  I've had well-meaning intentions of getting so much done, but the reality is that I come home from work and lie down on the couch.  I fall asleep sometimes by eight.  Usually nine at the latest.  I've been taking my vitamins.  Yesterday I took Kyle to school, headed back home and slept until ten.  Really?  I have to shake this.  Soon.  Life hasn't seemed to stand still for me.  I'm way behind.

I bought a sink and faucet for my bathroom.  It wasn't a walk in the park.  The standard sinks were all to big for the area I have available on the buffet.  I had three options.  Buy stock.  Special order.  Buy a vessel style.  I didn't think the bowl would be appropriate for the style of the furniture.  I didn't have time to special order.  My FIL was coming over to install it and my in-laws are leaving for Arizona for three months.  I bought a sink that suited the piece and my taste the best.  It was a close fit.  By close I mean sneezing would have caused major wreckage.  I panicked the night before my FIL came over.  Changed my mind about all of it.  I did a good job of measuring but never considered measuring underneath the top.  Big mistake.  The structure was going to be compromised and I couldn't handle it.  My FIL decided to check it out anyway and came over the next day.  He measured and measured and measured.  Then he laughed.  "You wanna try it?"  And away we went.  Decided to cut into the support.  No turning back.

 NOT bad.  Not bad at all.

 Not bad at all. The next step of fun was cutting holes into both the back and the bottom. The plumbing ran up through the floor and of course we weren't centering the furniture where the old cabinet set.  Silly Bill wondered why his measurement was so high on the back to cut into...I pointed out he measured from the back's bottom edge instead of from the bottom of the legs!  Crisis averted!

 Cutting the back holes proved to be not quite the end plan.  There wasn't enough clearance to put the furniture over the plumbing and still get the water turn-offs in without running into the shelves.  Solution?  Cut the shelves out. {no pic}  I didn't need them anyway.  My nifty FIL did some fancy footwork to the drawer fronts so we can just screw them on as dummies and they'll still come off if a plumbing problem arises.

Hook up plumbing, purchase new hardware and screw on door fronts.  We're just sooo close!

Saturday gramma called to see if the boys wanted to go sledding.  I had to say no because Andrew was playing soccer.  Andrew wanted to go so bad that he planned to just snowboard down our measly hill later.  Later turned out to be dusk and not much fun so I promised the boys we would take them sledding after church Sunday.  Haaa...

Kyle started limping Saturday afternoon, blaming it on a fall from the monkey bars, swearing he needed both crutches and leg surgery.  By early, early morning he was unable to move his leg at all and could not put any sort of pressure on it at all.  I believed it to be a growing pain at first.  Kyle asked me to bend his leg for him so he could get comfy in bed.  He kept asking me to rub it.  At first he said it was his whole leg. {we've done this before} Then he said it was from his knee to his toes.  When asked to try to rotate his ankle, he complained of pain in his upper thigh.  He couldn't get up to shower so I said if you can't shower for church you cannot go sledding.  Now I expected the typical spasm which is Kyle but when I heard, "I know." I knew something was wrong.  Keith took Kyle to the ER while we went to church.  The doc ordered x-rays and blood work.  I hadn't heard from Keith so the bigs and I headed to the snow hill and I texted him. {this is all you get}

 So far all tests looked normal.  Keith was still convinced Kyle had meningitis.  He's a freak like that.  The doc believed a virus had settled into Kyle's hip socket. {I skipped a ton I guess. Try to follow along.}  Basically he was released with instructions to give Motrin and see our pediatrician.  Kyle was sick prior to this but I wasn't buyin' the virus thing because Kyle has complained before of hip pain.  We always chalked it up to a growing pain then, too, but now I wanted more answers.  I didn't believe a virus kept creeping into the synovium around his hip.  No school for a couple days.  The kid couldn't move.

Monday morning I awoke to what sounded like Kyle running through the house.  Of course I yelled for him.  I guess he wasn't really running, but he was able to move more.  I took him in that afternoon {busy people on a Monday I guess} and chatted with our doc.  The gist is this...I questioned the returning pain and the virus scenario.  Doc said there's two types of this type of inflammation.  Toxic, or reactive, Synovitis and Traumatic Synovitis.  As soon as he said the second option, I knew where he was going and I totally agreed.  In case you didn't already know, Kyle is a mad man.  A beast.  Friday in gym class, he kept sliding on his knees on the hard floor.  For fun.  That night he played basketball fast and furious with Caleb.  Saturday as well.  Oh, and the monkey bar incident?  It must've happened last fall, but whatever.  Because He plays sooo hard, it's the consensus that Kyle caused his own trauma to his hip socket.  And most likely has done it before, just not to this extent.  He was able to go back to school with strict instructions...Lead a boring life this week.  No running, jumping, sports, sledding...no being Kyle.  His words when I told him to listen to the doc..."whaaaaat?  Anyone at the game last night may question his ability to listen to authority. He'll be fine but he needs to heel.  And take it easy somewhat after this week.  Yeah, right.☺

Caleb's playing his last regular season game today against Oakridge.  After a win in double OT last week and a huge win Monday, I believe they have what it takes to pull off another W.  They played Oakridge before and lost but from what I hear they should have won.  The team has come so far and has a great chance of winning today.  Cannot wait.

Andrew's regional Spelling Bee is Saturday in Remus.  I've had prepaid plans for months so I may be skipping his soccer game {if he gets back in time} for ME time.  Of course we have to make it back from Remus first.

Hoping to get out of this rut.  And soon.  I don't do sick very well.  Or anything else for that matter.  I did try to get in to see my doc yesterday.  There was one open appointment...at the time I was supposed to pick up Andrew from school.  I was offered an appointment today.  When I said I have to work the kind nurse replied, "well I tried, didn't I?"  I responded with, "Yes.  And I hope I don't have pneumonia after all..."  The jury is still  out on that.

December 23rd-The End Of The Year {the condensed version}...

Okay, who am I trying to kid?  I'll do my {New Year's best} to condense this.

Thursday.  I ran around the house like a crazy lady preparing for Christmas Eve.  Apparently the stress missed Keith and Kyle.  They put on a mini concert.  A little Survivor and The Outfield both got top billing.

Friday. Christmas Eve.  No work. {for me}  Had to drive to town to get something to Andrew and then made my way to the Hyde Park neighborhood to deliver a few treats.  All in my pjs.  In the evening we celebrated at my parents' house.  Great food.  Great gifts.  Great time. {it won't take much to notice I "forgot" my eyebrows...and lipstick.  yikes, girl.}

The church service changed to 10:00 and that is a bit of exciting news.  It was awesome as always.  None of us could wait to get home, however, to get to bed.  Kyle fell asleep on the way home so Andrew took care of business.  He sprinkled the reindeer food and put carrots out for the reindeer, set up a plate of leftover treats and a bottle of water for Santa, as well as a note for him too.  On the back of a used envelope.  Classy.  We crossed our fingers that Santa was milk-and-cookied out and would welcome the other.  We must have been right because one of the elves wrote back saying Santa did appreciate it as well as the elves because Santa shared with them!  Bingo.  Keith and I fell asleep on the couch and went to bed at 1:20.  Andrew said he woke up at 3:23, found Santa's presents and slept the rest of the night on the couch.  Caleb said he woke up at 3:03 and although he didn't pay too close attention, he didn't notice the presents under the tree yet.  So in case you weren't watching the radar, Santa stopped by our neighborhood just after 3 a.m.

Saturday.  Christmas.  The sweet boys let us sleep in until after 8 sometime.  It was funny because I could feel Andrew hovering over me, watching me.  It happens every other year when the boys are with us.  I finally told him that he didn't have to creep.  He could just wake us up.  I got the typical shriek of excitement.  Cute.  First we went through our stockings.  This year Santa remembered me.  The year he didn't was quite something.  And hard to explain to the kids when I didn't know the answer myself.  Anyway, after that we opened all the gifts from the kids.  Sweet things.  They were very thoughtful with their choices.  Next they opened all their gifts from us, then from Santa and then as they went off to play, Keith and I opened our gifts from each other.  I don't know when we got into that habit but we do it so we can watch the boys open all their gifts.  Snoopy pants {Caleb} ended up a lucky boy because when he went through my texts and found what I wanted to buy him for Christmas, I told him to forget it.  In the end, I gave each boy $50 toward "Legos" for Andrew, "Black Ops" for Caleb and "whatever" for Kyle and like I said, Caleb ended up lucky because a) I caved with the money and b) Santa brought Black Ops.  Now everyone had money for our trip.

 After the morning exchange, the boys went to their dad's for the day and then came back to do an evening exchange with the Stratton clan.  More fun.  More food.  More gifts.  Yowza.  We are definitely spoiled children.  All of us.

Sunday. Headed to Illinois for our trip.  Andrew woke up feeling lousy.  Headache and sore throat.  He told me he was still up for the trip though.  The boys got ready and I drove them to church.  Andrew had sermon notes due and when he had gone with me two weeks prior, the church was out of sermon note papers.  It kind of put us off schedule but it needed to be done.  I packed up the van while Keith picked the boys up and then we were off.  We didn't do too bad.  Somehow we made it to our destination like 45 minutes early but lost time on the way home and I'm not talking about the time change.  We missed our first toll booth and then panicked for about 15 minutes because we didn't know where we were.  Thankfully Jo was just a text away. {or 7 texts away}  Basically, we went to the mall, {where the rest of Illinois was}Caleb stood in the Hollister line for almost an hour, ate at Rainforest Cafe, swam in the hotel pool and watched tv...on 3 different tvs.  Anytime we weren't moving, Andrew slept.  In the van.  At Hollister in a chair.  At dinner.  At the hotel watching tv.  This was the pattern the entire trip.  Poor buddy.  He slept with me.  Caleb slept with Keith.  kyle slept on the couch.  He had his own tv so he was on cloud nine.

Monday.  Got up and ready for breakfast.  Promptly headed to Legoland Discovery Zone.  Totally intended for Andrew.  Being the middle, he constantly feels left out.  This was for him, but we knew it would be enjoyed by Kyle  and Caleb, if he opened his mind to it.  There was an amazing set up of Chicago, followed by a jungle and Indiana Jones.  Some super heroes were built for picture purposes.  There was a ride, kind of like the ones at Disney in the "It's a Small World" park, and a factory setting to show how legos are made.  Andrew and Kyle each received a special edition lego made only at the discovery zone.  Pretty cool.  We watched a 4D movie, which was pretty cool, and apparently missed another one.  We also built a replica of the Sears Tower which we could have purchased but the boys didn't want to.  We ate lunch, received more legos, and played in the building zone.  After leaving, I was dropped off at IKEA and the boys headed to a massive Dick's store.  I called them to pick me up, with purchases in tow, and we headed back to the mall for dinner.  Jo met up with us for dinner and some shopping.  It was nice to see that sweet face in a far away land. ☺Andrew hadn't found what he wanted at Legoland so we stopped at the lego store.  He bought something but still saved most of his money for an online lego purchase.  We went back to the hotel, which by the way was really nice, {thanks so much Kelley for hooking us up} and hit the pool again before tv time and sleep.

Tuesday.  I woke up feeling like total crap.  Headache, sore throat, swollen glands, achy body.  You name it.  Ate breakfast, pool and packing.  Hit The Container Store and Home Goods before heading out.  I really wanted to shop but I really didn't.  I felt miserable.  The ride home was a bit different than the ride to.  Lots of semi trucks.  Missed our first toll booth again.  Thankfully you can pay online.  I originally noticed that my map quest directions were a mile off from one direction to the other but never gave it a second thought.  Following them on the way home, however, we soon realized we were taking a totally different route home.  It was like the scene form European Vacation...Big Ben, Parliament...I wasn't sure we'd ever make it home.  But we did.  Thankfully.  I spent the rest of the day and the next 5 days {minus New Year's EVE} on the couch.  Miserable.  Wrapped up in my new Christmas blankies.  Never knew they'd come in handy sooo soon.

Wednesday.  Thursday.  Friday.  I don't remember much.  Keith spent his days away from home.  On purpose.  He left me alone so he wouldn't get sick.  He even slept downstairs on the pull-out every night.  Friday I finally loaded myself up consistently with Motrin so by about 4pm I was feeling okay.  I decided to party it up with my friends and all the kids.  Okay, by party it up I really mean I ate a little, drank zilch, and laughed and coughed a ton.  The cough was new.  It only happened when I talked.  Or laughed.  No Dirty Minds this year.  Instead it was LRC and Bullshit.  It's comical how good of a player one can be at Bullshit when one is the only ONE sober. Charades wasn't a drinking game.  It happened after the ball dropped and after people were attempting to sober up.  It was, however, fun while it lasted.  Happy New Year, peeps!

Saturday.  So I texted Christine at about five minute til 6 a.m. when we got home Saturday morning.  My sickness came back full force and I didn't get up from the couch again all day.  Blah.  Kyle had lots of time to play with all his new toys and PS3 because his parents were worthless and his brothers were at their dad's. 

Sunday.  I think Sunday was pretty much like Saturday.

Technically I went beyond the rest of the year and technically I didn't condense as well as I had hoped.  And I don't usually post this many pics so I had to resort to the school Christmas party order of business and collage the heck out of my photos. 

I hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas and has a super great New Year.

FYI...

No, I did not get hit by a train. I just feel like it.  When I have more motivation and less aches and pains I will update here. ☺