Happy Holidays Everyone

Stuffers3 red snowflake BG paper-Mars Olson

Stuffes4 White Furry BG -Mars Olson

Swirly Frames- Lauren Bavin

Good To Be Word Art- Tina Chambers

Snowflake doodles- Kimberly Giarrusso

Fonts-DSP Bethy and Snowdrift

Happy Holidays Everyone, I hope joy and prosperity for all in the New Year. Above it my most recent digiscap page. I hope you enjoy it.

We are such evil parents sometimes. The other day we were watching Toot and Puddle I'll be Home for Christmas. I love the Toot and Puddle books and we have this particular one to I wanted to see the special they made from it. Anyway as it began I was changing Quin's diaper and Alex was curled up on the couch next to where I was changing him. As I changed him Quin farted and I asked him if he was finished tooting. Ken walked up and asked what was on and I told him Toot and Puddle. Quin farted again. I said "Still tooting huh?" Ken asked "If he's Toot who's Puddle?" I pointed to Alex. We both started cracking up because it's true. Alex is liquid boy. Even if he has nothing to drink before going to bed half the time when he wakes up in the morning he's gone so much he's overflowed his overnight diaper. Poor kids having parents who crack jokes at their expense.

Tomorrow we go to my BIL's for dinner, so we'll do presents here in the morning. Then make lots of phone calls. Alex is funny he has a mini kitchen and lately he's been having me or Ken and even Quin come sit by it so he can bake for us and then feed us. It has a little phone on it. He's been picking it up and saying Happy Holidays Grandma, or Happy Holidays Riley, or Happy Holidays Shelby. The last two are our neighbors girls. He also smacks the top of the little refrigerator when he hangs it up, knocking the phone off. I think we've watched Over the Hedge too many times.

I do't know how many of you are familiar with BabyZone but they have a weekly photo contest, and people vote for the best photo in 4 age categories. Well the picture I submitted of Alex last week was choosen for this week in the toddler category.

[URL="http://www.babyzone.com/contest/photocontest.asp"]http://www.babyzone.com/contest/photocontest.asp[/URL]

Now I just have to remember to go vote daily until the 26th.

Good Day

Yesterday was a good day. I got Quin to laugh. He's been smiling (and smirking wonder who he got that from) when I play with him lately. So I was actually trying to get a laugh from him. It sounded like a little hick-up at first but he had this big open mouth smile so I figured it was his version of a laugh.

I got the molassas cookies made yesterday, not sure why but this year I'm going for different with cookies, well different for me anyway. This was my first try at the molassas ones. I think that goes back to my number one craving while pregnant, the molassas chew cookies from Starbucks. Today I have to make pies for tomorrows party, I should say pie, if I make a chocolate cheese pie for other people Ken insists I make one for him.

Now how does the munchkin repay me for getting him to laugh he stays up late. Usually I have a feeding between 9 and 10 and he goes to sleep for a good 5-6 hours. Last night it felt like he was constantly attached to me. Must be a growth spurt coming up. It was 11:30 before he finally went down. I did finally get him to take a pacifier as well. I hope this keeps working because rocking him to sleep has gotten real old. That little quirk was Ken's fault. He found that when Quin fussed as he was drifting off and Ken rocked his seat, he'd go to sleep. Now he won't sleep, or won't sleep long unless rocked. This makes it really hard for me to get stuff done in the evenings. If this keeps up I may take him downstairs and Ken can rock him. You can see why if the pacifier works in helping him drift off instead how it would be better for me.

Just after dinner last night my sister called. She was giving me warning that she was giving our mom her birthday present early. When we were up there in November both Ken and I couldn't believe what bad shape her office chair was in. I mean you had to sit a certain way to even get it level. Talk about messing with your back, no wonder she has a standing appointment with both a chiropractor and a massage therapist. She got it second hand when her old chair fell apart. So I talked to my sister and asked if she wanted to chip in for a new chair for mom. She said yes. I ordered it and had it shipped to her. I did it a bit early my mom's birthday is the beginning of January, they had a sale going on so I could get a better chair for the same price I was willing to originally spend. Karen said her husband was laughing at her when she put it together over the weekend since it was a couple more weeks before they were bringing it over.

So Bill calls yesterday and tells Karen how my mom's chair keeps falling. You know the handle you press to raise it to fit your desk, well it falls all the way to the lowest setting, they pump it back up and as soon as any pressure is put on it it falls again. They took the whole thing apart to see if they could jerry rig something to keep it working. ( Mom is still on a tight budget) Karen called me to let me know she talked to Bill and while they're taking the dog to the vet, she was going to drop off the chair. She thought it was a good idea before mom decided to go out and get a new one, when we had one waiting for her. I think she forgot that mom wouldn't be able to do that right now, they had to get a new fridge a couple months ago so it's not in the budget.
My mom did call this morning to thank us. She was so happy, she wasn't sure what she would have done if they couldn't fix her old chair. Probably use one of the dining room chairs I guess.

I got to meet all Ken's coworkers this morning. The team was having breakfast over at Bob Evans, Ken needed to go because his boss needed him to sign his review for his bonus. We came along because everyone wanted to see the baby. This is the first bonus Ken has had in three years. He also got the highest rating possible from his boss. What a difference a year in a new team makes. Even when I first started seeing Ken the bonuses he got were small. From what he's heard this one will be pretty sizable. It'll show up in his paycheck in about a month. Just in time for holiday bills, we keep saying we'll cut back on spending for the holidays (like every year we say this) but it never happens. This will be welcome as it is slow season as well. He might book a few more weddings but he won't be shooting anything until April most likely.

sweet things?

Well I kind of got a start on my holiday baking or should I say sweet making. Saturday I got three batches of fudge made, Chocolate, chocolate-peanutbutter and chocolate coffee. I have to work a bit on the coffee one. Need to add more coffee next time could barely taste it. Sunday I made snickerdoodles, I had planned on making two other types of cookies as well. Didn't happen.I gave Alex his normal nap count down starting at noon. And at 12:30 he was practically falling asleep on the couch. But as soon as I got him upstairs he decided he wasn't going to sleep. Just as I decided to let him out, it got quiet, and this was close to 4pm. If he had just taken his nap he would have been up and playing by that time. :shake:With only an hour nap he when to bed early but even then he was fighting sleep. Its funny I think he realizes that Quin won't be going anywhere. When he calls from his room for attention, like a cup of milk, his litany is now "mommy, daddy, baby brudder"

Last night Ken and I had or evening cup of tea before bed. Ken drank his. I had finished getting all the Christmas cards adressed and stamped. Iwent over my desk to finished up on the computer and moved my cup to the table next to the couch. Got up to do a couple other things then sat down on the couch. My tea wasn't there. I thought maybe I imagined things and hadn't put it on the table, but it wasn't on my desk either. I asked Ken where my tea went. He got this surprised look on his face then started laughing. He had thought it was his and drank it. Talk about short term memory problems, I thought I was bad. He made me another cup. It didn't stop there after a little :naughty: he used my towel after his shower instead of his.

Today was a slow day. We went to BJ's to pick up supplies. The entire time Ken is complaining he's cold. It was almost 70 out today. When we got home he was feeling tired and achy as well. We think he might be coming down with whatever Alex had last week. He went up for a nap, I took Alex up soon after, today he actually fell asleep almost immediately, well after a trip to the bathroom he did. Quin went down for his an hour after that. I finished wrapping some presents because I didn't think I'd get another batch of cookies done. Maybe tomorrow. Wednesday I have to make pies for the playgroup holiday party on Thursday.

Holiday Stuff

With the holidays approaching I see a lot of stuff floating around on the various boards I visit, even had a couple e-mails. First up
1. Egg Nog or Hot Chocolate? Depends on my mood, today it would probably be eggnog

2. Does Santa wrap presents or just sit them under the tree? Everything gets wrapped except for maybe some of the stocking stuffers.

3. Colored lights or white lights on tree/house? Mostly White lights, though I do have one string of blue/green

4. Do you hang Mistletoe?Nope

5. When do you put your decorations up? Usually try to have everything up by the first week in December, this year has taken a bit longer.

6. What is your favorite holiday dish (excluding dessert)? My mom's mashed potatoes

7. Favorite Holiday memory as a child? My mom's entire family getting together between Christmas and New Years. It was great to see all my aunts and uncles and cousins.

8. Do you open a gift on Christmas Eve? Yes we do, though it got started when my sister and I would stay at my dad'd Christmas eve then go back to my mom's Christmas day
9. When and how did you learn the truth about Santa? I honestly don't know when. I don't think I ever believed he was a real person, I always remember him being the embodiment of giving.

10. How do you decorate your Christmas tree? Lights first, then garland, then all the ornaments I've collected over the years, the ones I made or was given, or remind me of a place, then some simple balls to fill in, finally the star goes on top.

11. Snow! Love it or Dread it?I'm somewhere in the middle. I definately prefer snow to freezing rain. I like it when it snows overnight and the next day is sunny cuz then you can go play in it but by day three it gets old.

12. Can you ice skate? Nope

13. Do you remember your favorite gift? I think it was when I was given Fashion Plates

14. What’s the most important thing about the Holidays for you? I love finding the perfect gift for someone. It's fun figuring out something they want that they didn't even know they wanted and seeing the eyes light up with delight. You know you've gotten it right.

15. What tops your tree? A star

16. What’s your favorite holiday tradition? I think we're still in the preocess of making our own traditions for our little family.

17. Which do you prefer giving or receiving? Giving

18. What is your favorite holiday dessert? Chocolate Cheese Pie

19. What is your favorite Christmas song? O Holy Night (more about this next) & Hey Santa

20. Candy Canes! Yuck or Yum? how about eh, they're good in hot chocolate

21. What is your favorite Christmas special/movie? How the Grinch Stole Christmas (the original)

There was a blog prompt on one of the boards I visit and it was
What's your favorite song and why? I have two different reasons for liking the songs listed above. I've always thought O Holy Night was a beautiful song. And even though my religious beliefs tend towards eastern religions this particular song came to mean a lot more to me. I was in my third trimester with Alex when the holidays rolled around. This song combined with the pregnancy homones to give it a new meaning to me. It brang me to tears everytime, actually it still does.
Now the second song is more recent, it was on the Brian Setzer Orchestra CD I bought last year. And I just love how fun it is, the upbeat swing feel, and fun lyrics everytime I hear it it just makes me smile.

okay that's all I'm going to blather on about today.

You would think it would be Quin keeping me up, but Alex has always been a lousy sleeper. Sunday nght since he still had diarreah,we decided I'd call the doctor in the morning. Overnight cinched it. The first three days it only showed up at his regular BM. So I called the doctor's office when they opened at 7am. They tell me there's nothing they can really do for him but the nurse said she'd have one of the doctors call to give me timps on dealing with it. Seems there is a stomach bug going around and in kids the diarreah can last 7-10 days. As long as he's eating and drinking there isn't much to do. They said bring him in if a) I saw blood in the stools or b) it lasted longer than 10 days. N eedless to say yesterday was horrible. He went through three pairs of pants and two shirts.
(sorry typing one handed, Quinton refuses to sleep unless held or rocked and my leg is cramping)
This is all really messing with Alex's sleep. His naps have been maybe an hou and a half. That's half his normal nap. Combine that with waking several times at night and still getting up at 6am, you have one tired monkey. He was acting up so bad we put him to bed before dinner. He seem to be feeling better though, he was actually cheerful for a few hour this afternoon.

Good Hair Day, Kinda

Here's a funny thing to be excited about. My hair is finally starting to shed at a normal rate. I normally have thick hair and pegnancy exacerbates that. This summer every time I had my hair cut I had to have her thin it out too. And if I had gone for a hair cut five weeks agao like I as supposed to I probably would have had her thin it then too. I finally made and appointment so Monday is haircut day but I don't think I'll have her thin it. Silly huh.

So yesterday we went to BJ's to get stuff. Mostly laundry stuff because I've been doing mucho extra laundry the last couple weeks. While we're wandering around Ken glances down an aisle and I ask what he's looking for. "A boombox for my workshop." I'm swearing inside my head, and then say "no you're not."Man, I thought I'd figured out the perfect surprise for him and what does he do, he spoils it. Actually I got him a shelf stereo system. It arrived yesterday. Luckily he was down in his workshop when the driver rang the bell. I was able to get it stashed upstairs in the sparebed room before he saw it.

Today i spent wrapping little stuff for Alex's stocking. Mostly art stuff like safety scissors, glitter glue, more of the washable markers and waterpaints. I still need to get over to B&N to pick up the rest of my presents for my nieces and nephew. Maybe tomorrow morning, if I get to bed at a normal hour tonight. Up until two am the last two nights, last night I'm not sure why, the night before was because as I was going to bed at one Alex woke up with diarreah. He had it earlier in the evening too. I undressed him in the tub because it had been all over the inside of his clothes the second time we cleaned him up. No mess this time but it was much easier to just rince him off in the tub than make his poor red bottom any redder from the wipes. Anyway by the time I got him dressed again and settled it was almost two o'clock.

I sometimes think cuteness is the only thing that keeps kids alive until they can survive on their own. They just have to flash a smile and mommy's heart melts.

I really wish we could do a family portrait again for Christmas this year but it's impossible to get Alex to sit for anything posed right now. I've heard the magic number is 4 for really reasoning with kids, just over a year until we hit that milestone and of course the second one will be on the move by that point. :sigh: I hope when we go see my dad in Feb/Mar between him and Ken they can rig something so we can get one of the four of us.

Today's playgroup we took a trip up to Longwood gardens for their holiday displays. Kelly, the mom who arranged it suggested to everyone that they should come back up some week night evening to see it all with the lights on. I think I can convince Ken to try that over his break. It's only and hour trip. Took me longer to get to Laurel sometimes, when I was working there. And I even took the backroads instead of 95.

Alex was so fun to watch, with his pack of girlfriends. (He was the only boy other than Quin) It worked out really well I put Quin in the baby Bjorn with a couple of heavy blankets and brought the stroller for when Alex wanted rest breaks. Quin slept almost the entire time we were walking around. Both my kids got the keep moving gene from somewhere. I know that neather one is/was happy unless the car was goin at least 40mph. So driving them around to get them to sleep would not practical if I'd ever even consider something like that. I'd have to be out on 95 constantly. Alex loved the bouncy seat, Quin loves the swing.

When we were at Hallmark the other day, he was happy as long as I was wandering around looking for cards but as soon as we got to the check out and I had to set him down, he was screaming. And he continued the entire time I was at the register, but as soon as I picked up the carrier, silence. The store clerk was laughing because of it. So today when I put him in the bjorn he was crying as I was getting everything out of the car because two kids under three means you need to take stuff with you if you're out more than an hour. Once I started walking he stopped fussing.

I forgot how much laundry babies generate. Alex was spit up king, Quin seems to be blow out king. I'm hoping the size change in diapers stops this. At least soaking everything in oxyclean seems to get rid of the stains.

So this weekend I have to go back to B&N to get the stuff I have on hold because employee appreciation days start. I need to finish decorating the house. And I need to wrap & pack the stuff that has to be sent out. My Christmas cards should be here by the 16th so if I get lables done before then it'll just be stuffing envelopes. That's all I can think of right now. ....

2 months

At two months Quinton likes to stand, he has pretty good head control, though I still get headbutted several tims a day. This doesn't bode well for me in the future. I am hoping since he loves to cuddle so much he won't be quite as active as Alex was. He's gone from baby acne to cradle cap and if he's at all like Alex that means he'll start losing hair soon.

Poor Alex yesterday was playgroup and we hosted. He's actually pretty good about other kids playing with his stuff. The only place he has trouble is at the train table. He's fine if all they do is run cars around the track, but once they start taking it apart he looses it. It was the girls who tortured him this time. Almost all the boys in playgroup are like him now and they pick a side and run the trains around. I had to put Alex in a time out to get a hold of himself (been doing that a lot lately, don't use them for punishment any more, taking stuff and privledges away seems to work better for that) He comes back and plays for a while then a couple of the girls start taking the entire track apart, on was even lifting a whole section of it up over her head. Every time he screamed or cried she'd lift it back up again. Poor kid, I had to carry him out of the room before he had a total break down. I was all prepared to make him take his nap but he calmed down once we got to his room. He was fine the rest of the time everyone was here. He even showed his room to one of his torturers.

We moved Alex to his new bed in May and at naptime I put up a gate. For some reason he doesn't come out of his room at night. Once the sun is up he does come out, so some mornings I get woken by a cheerful "Hi Mommy, whacha doin mommy?" I found though that if I didn't gate him in at naptime he would wander around upstairs getting into stuff in my room. Closing doors doesn't help because he has no trouble opening them. So today I hear "help Mommy, help Mommy!" Where do I find him, stuck trying to climb over the gate. I guess that means the gate is going to be useless soon. :sigh: