Tam's Blog

two more

2010-03-14T08:00:00Z

i was so inspired by the page i made yesterday that i made two more today using lots and lots and LOTS more metals from my stash:

that m&ms layout of davey utilized 5 metal frames, 1 metal tab, 2 metal dog tags and 12 brads. the frames and dog tags have been in my stash for years.... at least 4 or 5 years. seriously. and i have some more to try to use up, as well!

next up, another attempt to use up some more of my stash of eyelets and brads:

i can't remember the exact number, but i think i used around 180 eyelets and brads on this page. i'm pleased at the VERY HEALTHY chunk of brads and eyelets that are no longer in my stash. but i still have too many eyelets and i don't think i can handle another really long session of setting those eyelets and brads, so i think those metals will have to "hang out" a little while longer.

Friday's prompt involved patterned paper scraps. i sat down this evening (after the kids' bedtime) to work on a layout for that prompt. made a whole layout and HATED IT! i cut off the section using the scraps and adhered the remainder of the layout to a new sheet of patterned paper and REALLY LIKED the outcome. so i guess it's back to square one for me on the patterned paper scraps challenge! :)

and now for an update on the family: i took davey to the doctor's office on wednesday b/c he woke up with a fever (103.0). just a virus that would likely take 7-10 days to clear out of his system. his lungs, belly, ears and bowels were clear. so wednesday was a tough day for him - he was quiet and had a fever all day. he ate nothing (asked to eat nothing) and drank about 1/2 can of ginger ale (at the most) over the course of the day. he was doing much better on thursday. but again on friday he had low0grade fevers off and on all day. he was fine yesterday (saturday) and then came down with another low fever around 4 today (after his nap).

we skipped church today (to keep davey out of the nursery) and now i'm glad we did. we'll skip play group tomorrow. we've skipped more things in the past 2 months than in the past YEAR... no exaggeration! nana arrives on wednesday, so i'll get to go to Bible study on Thursday and the kids can stay at home with her. i'm afraid nana may be housebound for most of her 2-week visit with sick kids (or kids who are working to rebuild their immune systems!) but at least she'll get lots of time with her grandkids!

despite having to miss play group tomorrow, it should be a glorious day. why? because adria is coming over. i'm hiring her to clean the fish/kids' bathroom... JUST IN TIME for nana's visit. i still feel awful that i forgot to clean the bathroom for her on her last visit. and i HATE cleaning the tub/shower. so adria's going to do a good deep cleaning for me. and after that tiny bathroom, she's going to tackle some of my kitchen stuff for me. things i don't do like: cleaning the vent above the microwave; scrubbing the front of the dishwasher, fridge and oven; and all kinds of other things i have on my "list."

so getting some things CLEAN.... REALLY CLEAN.... makes me happy. even happier since i don't have to do it myself! :) and in case you're concerned that i'm getting lazy, i did a lot of cleaning this weekend. i dusted the ENTIRE upstairs and all but the office downstairs. i vacuumed the ENTIRE house (again, not including the home office). and i did 4 complete loads of laundry (it's all even PUT AWAY). and the dishwasher was run 4 times. and i SCRUBBED our shower walls (it was pretty nasty) and floor. and i cleaned one more set of mini blinds (the never-ending process). AND i cleaned my crafting space (you have room for your suitcase, mom!). so i've been busy. and i have been cleaning. but i'm smart enough to realize i just can't do it all myself. and i'm willing (and thankfully, able) to hire someone to help me. so in advance, THANK YOU to adria!

and yes, i DO have some newer photos of the kids.... i'll have to share them this coming week ('cuz they're on the desktop and i'm typing on the laptop).

an online class

2010-03-13T08:00:00Z

many of you know that i LOVE to scrapbook. yep. love it. and don't do it quite enough most weeks. many of you also know that i have a HUGE stash of goodies with which to play. so i signed up recently to taken an on-line class called Something for Almost Nothing. it was only $15 and the PURPOSE of the class is to USE all those things i have stored away. i'm hoping to actually do several layouts or projects based on each prompt (we get three prompts a week - M, W and F).

thus far, i've only been able to play around based on Wednesdays prompt (class started on W this week). we were challenged to pull anything METAL out of our stash. personally, i LOVE metals on my sb pages. i use them all the time, but i definitely have some just "sitting" around and not being loved. so here's my layout, using 140 eyelets and brads:

it took FOREVER, but i LOVE the end result. and, while i used up a number of specialty brads, i still have an ABUNDANCE of these things in my stash... so i think i'll be doing a page like this for davey, too!

friday's prompt challenged us to use paper scraps to make a border on our page. frankly, i'm still a bit motivated and inspired by metals... so we'll see what happens!

it's a....

2010-03-09T08:00:00Z

yep... it's a baby. a tiny baby with a profile that matches davey and samantha's.

but that's not what you want to know, right? well, how about this?

two legs and two feet (only one pictured) with five toes on each foot.

or this?

two arms with two hands and five fingers on each?

no? that's not what you wanted to know? well, to protect the FUTURE privacy of Baby O, i'll just tell you, rather than share photos....

it's a GIRL. we're having a girl. and while "Baby Olive" isn't necessarily her in utero name we're sticking with, it works for now ('cuz when we first realized we were pregnant, the baby was about the size of an olive, according to the baby books). so Davey and Samantha will have a baby sister in 16-21 short weeks!

many of you know that i was really hoping for a boy. but on the way to the appointment, i was waiting at a red light and i realized..... i would be happy with a boy OR a girl. no matter what the tech said, "boy" or "girl," i'd be happy. and content. and ready to love this baby. and within 2 minutes of starting the ultrasound, there were those 3 little lines. the 3 lines that prove it's a girl. and not a boy.

a girl. we're having another girl.

organization

2010-03-04T08:00:00Z

so on tuesday, i couldn't possibly stay in the house all day for one more day. so i loaded the kids into the car (they still weren't feeling well and davey still had a fever) but i had to get out. so we ran a few errands (using a double stroller, no shopping carts) and it felt good (for me). we even made it to Ross Dress for Less where i purchased a few casual maternity shirts. i LOVE new clothing, even when they're for fat bellies! :)

it was a short trip into bellingham b/c i had an "appointment" at home at 11:30. see, a few weeks ago, i put out a call on facebook for the name of a local ORGANIZATION consultant. i was ready to admit that my kitchen and home office needed help. LOTS of help. see, many of you know this is WEIRD. many of you know me well enough to know that i am pretty darn good at organizing. i LOVE it. and to some people, i'm an organizing guru myself. but i needed help. some fresh eyes, if you will. so one of my former high school students (now married and living back in lynden) offered to help.

we spent about 3 hours in the kitchen (we have to set another date for the home office!) making a few minor changes that should have a HUGE impact. the first, which i'm VERY EXCITED to share, is that for the first time in my LIFE, i have a BREAD DRAWER! see:

a drawer devoted to bread and bagels and english muffins and even some cookies! i'm SO excited about this! and i acknowledge it's super-special in our current kitchen b/c we only have 7 drawers. two of which are skinny and one of which is very, VERY shallow (intended for knives).

next, janelle corralled my spices. all of them. we had them stored in THREE places: a spice rack, a drawer and on a lazy susan. it was a mess. i knew it. dave knew it. and we knew it wasn't working. but we had no other suggestions. so janelle filled up our spice rack. extra/overflow containers got moved to a basket in the pantry. and all other spices (we have a LOT) got moved here:

inside a cabinet. just above the other spices in the counter rack. genius, i know. SO nice!

so here's my counter now (i know, i should've taken a before photo, but i didn't):

see that EMPTY space between the wooden bowl (containing the bananas, red potatoes, a shallot, and usually some onions) and the spice rack in the corner? that NOW EMPTY space used to be FILLED with all those breads you saw in the drawer. they were stacked on each other. falling over. and spilled off the front of the counter onto the floor. what a mess. and it's no longer a mess!

we made a few other minor changes... sorting and reorganizing mugs, tupperware containers, sippy cups, etc. i feel like i have RECLAIMED my kitchen... and i'm LOVING it!

19+ weeks

2010-03-03T08:00:00Z

dave took this photo on sunday. i looked AWFUL in it, so i cropped out my face. trust me. it was pretty bad. but it's my first belly shot during this pregnancy... at almost the half-way point! hopefully i'll be better about taking photos from now until the end of this pregnancy!

on tuesday (3/2/10), i hit the 20-week marker. my ultrasound is scheduled for monday the 8th... and yes, we DO plan to find out if we're having a boy or a girl. will we tell you? now that's another story all-together! ;)

and so it goes

2010-03-02T08:00:00Z

so we didn't go up to the snow on saturday b/c it was raining on the mountain. yuck. and we FINALLY returned to church as a family on sunday (first time in over 2 weeks). and i was all geared-up for this week to get back to normal, including play group, working, running errands, etc..... and davey woke up with a fever on monday. and his cough isn't getting better. and so it goes. i believe we're on week 8 of various ailments in this house. spring can't come soon enough for me.

but in the meantime, we have had lots of laughs and fun around this house. the kids love to empty out the space under the TV and components in the bonus room and sit in there. it's like their own little clubhouse:

(side note: we needed a "change" last week, so i re-arranged some toys in the bonus room. my apologies because i have no pictures to share. but let's just say it's been a good change. even dave likes it!!!)

and to continue with photos of FUN, tonight, they got a horsey-ride from daddy:

that's almost 60 pounds on dave's back (each child is at least 28 pounds)!

so they might be a bit sick, but they are SO. DARN. CUTE! sam's current favorite thing to do is to climb on davey. sit on davey. hit davey. take his things and make him chase her. it's funny and naughty all at the same time. what a silly (and naughty) little girl!

unrelated photos

2010-02-26T08:00:00Z

she literally loves to be the center of attention:

if davey's race track or trains are set up, samantha is usually sitting in the middle of them (or on them).

she must not have hips... 'cuz most of her pants (especially jeans) have issues staying up:

her vocabulary is still pretty limited: mama, dada, papa, baba, nana (for nana and for banana) and no-no

she has a few other words sprinkled in here and there, but they aren't regulars. i'm waiting.... WAITING EAGERLY for her to start TALKING. she does sign language for more, thank you, please, and bite. apparently i need to teach her "i'm sorry" as well, since she's needed to "say" that to davey a lot lately!

yesterday davey wanted to play hide and seek. so he counted "1-2-3-4-6-7-8-9-10" (he really did leave out 5 EVERY time he counted) and then he would come find me. then i counted and he "hid" (which meant he laid on the couch in plain sight). then he wanted to play duck-duck-goose (must've learned that at Bible study nursery time). so he'd tap m e on the head and say "duck" then he'd go find sam and tap her on the head and say "duck" and then he'd smack himself on the forehead and say "goose!" really loud and start running up and down the bonus room and hall! it was quite comical.

dinner time is NOT a pretty time here anymore. we usually have to fight, argue and threaten davey to get him to eat 2 or 3 bites of dinner - even if it's his favorite thing in the world. lately, he's been spending a lot of "quiet time" in his room. if he gets out of control (which he's done a LOT lately), we take him up to his bed. and he'll stay there - sometimes for up to 20 minutes. and then he'll come downstairs. sometimes he's ready to eat again (or play or apologize) but other times he has to go right back up. we're not sure what's going on, but we're trying to nip it in the bud. the worst is his attitude and the nasty way he talks to us sometimes. we're REALLY trying to pre-empt those!

and there you have it. we're hoping to have a family morning up to mount baker tomorrow, just playing in the snow. i'm not expecting samantha to be at all happy about it. i'm expecting davey to enjoy it until he gets too wet. and then it'll be miserable. but i'm looking forward to the adventure.

improvement

2010-02-24T08:00:00Z

we're seeing some improvement in this household.... whew! we still have some pretty crabby kids at times, but overall, they're doing great. we seem to be on the mend. i'm slowly adding non-BRAT foods into their diet. we're taking it day by day around here. i'm hoping we can venture to Bible study tomorrow morning, as i'd hate to miss ANOTHER week (i've already missed two of the four!)!

i finally snapped a photo of davey with his haircut....

what a little man!

and i was ENAMORED with the color of sam's shirt the other day (it's not quite as "bright" in real life as it is in these photos), so i snapped some like this, too:

it's nearly impossible to get them both to look at the camera and smile at the same time. but i love these shots. i have no idea what davey is doing in the first one. samantha is still pretty obsessed with belly buttons - usually just her own, but sometimes yours, as well. i love the photo of davey and samantha checking out her belly button... "OH! it's still there?! Whew!"

Happy Wednesday from our home to yours!

sleepy

2010-02-22T08:00:00Z

these photos are from thursday (davey) and saturday (samantha) but show new things about both of them.

on thursday, when davey REALLY wasn't feeling well, he only took a 90 minute nap (his usual is 2 hours and when he's sick it goes at least 30 minutes longer than that). so we sat on the couch and watched the Olympics and he fell asleep in my arms for awhile. and then i moved. so he crawled to the other end of the couch. and within 15 minutes, he looked like this:

i don't think he's fallen asleep on the couch in a long, long time (perhaps before samantha was born was the last time?). if you can see the photo up close, you'll see he's doing his "freaky eye thing" where his eyes are partly open even though he's sound asleep. he slept like this, off and on, for about 2 hours. he needed that rest. it was after this nap that his fever finally broke (the first time).

on saturday, i was able to snap this photo of samantha:

in the last few weeks, she's become quite attached to her baby dolls (she has two) and her white blankets (again, she has two). she's still using a bottle. i tried to wean her from them about 2-3 months ago. we were down to using them only at nap time and bedtime. and then i think she got sick. and now, much as i'd love to be bottle free in this house for a few months, i don't see it happening.

attempting

2010-02-21T08:00:00Z

it's sunday. we're not at church. we're attempting to keep the kids on the mend and keep them healthy by keeping them OUT of the church nursery for another week (we might venture to Bible study on Thursday). and i'm going to do my best to keep them away from shopping carts (those germ-ridden vehicles are so necessary in the stores!). and, for the most part, i'll even keep them away from other kids. it's time we BUILD OUR IMMUNE SYSTEMS so we CAN go to church, so we CAN go to play group, so we CAN run errands and use shopping carts... so one more week of "sequestering." that said, i'm open to outside activities (even with other kids) at the park. at the playground. going for walks. so hopefully we can do some of that this week. but i must be honest and share that i caved last night and let davey eat a little bit of mac and cheese with his dinner (he requested rice krispies - which he's been eating with rice milk). apparently the mac and cheese didn't sit so well. b/c he woke up at 2 a.m. with gooey, orange puke (with macaroni in it) all over his pillow. on his sheet. and down the arm of his pajamas.

so for the next few days, no matter how he whines, pouts, cries, begs or anything else, we're sticking to the B-R-A-T diet. cuz we are TIRED of puke in this house. very, very tired of it. i should also mention that despite his late night experience, he's his usual, happy self. running and jumping. drawing and coloring. and pushing the shopping cart and playing and asking for chocolate milk (ummm.... no) and other things that 2-1/2 year old boys do.

can i just tell you how much joy and delight this little girl brings to our lives? a lot. i think it's immeasurable. she's amazing. she's also demanding, short-tempered, stubborn and all sorts of other not-so-great things, but she can be such a doll. so sweet and loving. and i just wanted to remind myself of that by telling you. she's been on rice milk for a week now and is doing very well with it. honestly, i'm afraid to switch her back to whole milk b/c i don't want to deal with the potential of that partially-digested milk vomit (it looks like cottage cheese and smells awful). but rice milk isn't cheap (so glad they carry it by the case at costco, though)!

pulling through

2010-02-20T08:00:00Z

we might be "out of the woods." it's been 42 hours since our last episode with vomit in this home. no more fevers. it's beautiful and sunny outside and it's been in the 50s (and warmer), so i've been opening windows to air out the house. i need to give it a good cleaning again, but i'm lacking some energy.

unrelated to anything i'm telling you in this post, some kid photos:

(my kids love to climb into baskets and bins and buckets and just sit there. crazy kids!)

davey and daddy went on an adventure this morning - haircuts. Davey was LONG overdue for one. his last hair cut was in early July, before Uncle Jeff & Auntie Taryn's wedding! they both got trims, but davey sure had a lot "trimmed!" then they went to Starbucks for a treat. samantha and i stayed at home playing and watching the Olympics (i've been doing that a LOT lately - especially since we have some Canadian stations here, so we can practically watch the Olympics 24/7). but then i decided it was time to get outside in the fresh air and sunshine. so we headed to the garage and driveway. sam played with ride on toys and balls and rocks and bottled water and anything else she could find. i inventoried and reorganized the upright freezer and defrosted it a bit with a hammer. (i need to defrost that thing the correct way this summer!)

when davey and daddy got home, it was time for the kids to play outside and really soak up this beautiful weather (i saw on the forecast it's supposed to turn cloudy and rainy again on wednesday). i finished with my freezer project and moved on the "leaf removal" project. for whatever reason, our house, our deck, our side yards are LEAF CENTRAL for the neighborhood. it matters not that we have no trees. we still end up with several lawn & leaf bags full of leaves every year. there's a wind tunnel effect along the one side of our house. crazy, i know. so i cleaned the leaves off the deck (i wasn't overly ambitious - we'll just mow over the ones in the yard!) and dave loaded our yard waste onto our trailer (really for bicycles). then we had a family adventure out to tim & carrilee's house where we dumped our yard waste in the raspberry fields (owned by tim & clee but rented to a local berry farm) and emptied our burnables (the dead leaves, some wood, etc.) onto the burn pile. the kids and i enjoyed henry & jorja's swing set while daddy did the heavy (and smoky) work.

now, totally unrelated to anything i've shared in this post, here's a photo of the beautiful roses dave bought me for valentine's day (davey picked them out at the store):

i got dave a package of Dove dark chocolates (solid, almonds and caramels) - one of his all-time favorites!

still it persists

2010-02-19T08:00:00Z

it's friday. and whatever germs and bugs have made their way into our home are still wreaking havoc. poor davey has it worst of all. he spent 45 hours (just shy of two days) feeling AWFUL, including vomiting - even just water and ginger ale. he finally felt better. LOTS better. WAY better yesterday. and then last night, b/c i hadn't been carefully rationing his beverage intake, he puked again shortly before bedtime. and then twice during the night (which i didn't learn about until this morning - dave took care of it).

poor kid just can't shake this stuff. and today, i feel pretty ill, too. could be from all the vomit we've been cleaning up this week that now my stomach is really weak and queasy. or it could be that i have a mild version of whatever it is davey has.

so today, samantha is on an adventure with auntie carrilee, henry and jorja while davey and i chill at home. it's been so frustrating to be stuck inside with the BEAUTIFUL and mostly warm weather we've been having, too. i'll be glad to see spring arrive (early) and to watch these miserable germs leave.

and now it's time for me to go add more puke laundry to the washing machine. i've been VERY THANKFUL for the past week for my washer and dryer. they aren't top notch or anything, but they get the job done and they get it done well. and i'm glad i don't have to haul stuff to the laundromat. or to the river!

we covet your prayers for healing and health in our home. and for boosted immune systems. we're looking forward to "regular life" again.... though we plan to avoid that for another week or so (no church nursery, no play group, no shopping carts, etc.) so we can try to recover and STAY healthy!

almost the same

2010-02-15T08:00:00Z

i took this photo last week (shortly after samantha threw up on her shirt and socks):

yep. my 30-month old and my almost 16-month old are just about the same size. they weigh the same (around 28 pounds). they wear the same size clothing (24 months and 2T..... though his 24-month clothing is getting a little too small).

but they (mostly) love each other and (mostly) they play well together. they both love remotes, cell phones, davey's shopping cart (from uncle john & auntie babi), sam's baby doll stroller and all the toy kitchen plates, cups, teapots and related items. these are the things they fight over ALL. THE. TIME. oh yeah - and sam's purse (from auntie rachel & uncle sterling). they LOVE that, too!

it seems samantha has picked up, yet another, disgusting bug (big surprise with all the things she sticks in her mouth!). she spent a few days throwing up partially-digested milk all over our house (it's a good thing dave REALLY wanted that carpet cleaner last year - it's come in VERY handy lately). so we moved her to the BRAT diet (you may recall that this also happened about 2-3 weeks ago - just before i got sick). we finally had to go without giving her milk AT. ALL for 2 days. that was pretty torturous.... for us as much as for her. then we found Rice Dream (milk) and things seemed to be going okay. until she had a MAJOR diaper blow out today during naptime (it required full bed-strippage AND a bath). so we'll see what happens next. i should mention, that we JUST PURCHASED a CASE (12 cartons) of Rice Dream milk at Costco this morning/early afternoon (before naptime).

it's time

2010-02-13T08:00:00Z

it's time for shaggy to get on the calendar for a haircut:

yep. even this mama will agree and admit: it's time.

he's a rock star

2010-02-12T08:00:00Z

like father, like son:

total rock stars (especially davey in those super hero jammies!).

davey really got into it. daddy plugged his iPhone into the upstairs radio and turned the music up... he pulled out his old guitar (electric? bass? i don't know the difference!) and let davey go to town. and he didn't need much encouraging to really get going!

and i start to think about how quickly he's growing up. he told me yesterday "i a boy. i not a baby. i a boy." he's been saying he's a boy for a month or two now. but yesterday was the first day he whipped out that full discussion about being a baby vs being a boy.

so this photo makes me happy. because even though he's growing up so quickly, he's still kinda little since this guitar is taller than he!

my new hair

2010-02-11T08:00:00Z

i almost forgot to show you my NEW HAIR:

i went dark. all over. i hadn't planned on it. i planned to get my usual cut. and my usual highlights. the same thing i've been doing for 6 years now. but as i sat in the chair, and really looked at my hair, i was pretty disgusted. somehow, somewhere, someway, it turned different shades (from top to bottom), including a very brassy, orange-ish color on the bottom. it was not attractive. so for the first time in my life, i went with all over color. SCARED! i certainly was. but i trusted brandi. and i LOVE it. it's darker than my natural color, but i like it. a lot. dave wasn't a fan the first day (tuesday - same day this photo was taken), but he's liking it more now. and i'm stoked. no more various shades of "natural." no more grey (hip hip hooray!). and something new! all good things.

additionally, i believe i told you i've been busy working on our Kenya 2006 album (finally). i had all the photos added and most of the journaling completed when i decided i needed to order more photos. so i ordered 133 more photos. (i only ordered 127 the first time around). so i had to pull out ALL the photos and start over. and i've run out of page protectors (i ordered more yesterday). but here's a sneak peek at the inside cover:

those "people" on the lower left are made from chipboard. and i've since painted them. i'm excited for the final product of this book. my first goal is to add all the photos. then go back and add the journaling and some decoration/embellishment here and there. basic. easy. fun. and finally (FINALLY!) in progress on it's way to completion. WHEW!

broccoli

2010-02-10T08:00:00Z

on monday night, davey spent 20 minutes (literally - dave watched the clock) chewing one TEENY, TINY piece of broccoli before eventually swallowing it (following warnings, spanking threats, etc.). samantha, on the other hand, scarfed hers down. she LOVES broccoli. in fact, she loves it so much, she ate some of the left overs with her dinner last night:

she kept signing "more" after she finished each piece (stem and crown!) and excitedly pointed to the left overs container when signing "more" so there was NO QUESTION what she wanted.

how could i possibly have two kids more different?! sheesh!

in other news, when davey gets in trouble, i've learned that while he hates spankings (especially from daddy), nothing will send him into a fit like a time-out. seriously. and time outs are hard b/c samantha will go and sit next to him. not super helpful in the "punishment" category.

(and no, he's not allowed to play with toys during time out.... i just hadn't moved the airplane quickly enough this time).

ah ah ah.... ah ah ah....

2010-02-08T08:00:00Z

can you hear the little mermaid song (i think that's the movie it's from).... "ah ah ah.... ah ah ah...."

anyway, that's how i feel. today is monday. it didn't start out the greatest. dave didn't sleep well. i didn't sleep well. samantha didn't sleep well. i had a headache for most of the day. but now, at 6 p.m., i can say that today was a good day.

while my pink eye came back (ugh, i know), it seems that it's FINALLY leaving my system, even though i'm not using the drops (i really hate 'em) and the kids both seem to still be in the clear. we've been out and about (locally) for the past 5 days or so. we went to Bible study on thursday. the kids were at carrilee's on friday (while i went to see my OB and run a few quick errands). saturday was low-key, though davey did get to go on an "adventure" with grandpa & daddy to lowes while samantha and i visited safeway, mcdonalds and grandma. that night, dave made dinner (3 thai dishes!) and his parents came over to enjoy it with us. we ventured to church on sunday (we seem to be on an every-other-week rotation thus far this year) and then enjoyed the superbowl at tim & carrilee's house. today was play group and then lunch at grandpa & grandma's house.

(in order from top to bottom: red curry, chicken pad thai, prik king curry)

after davey's nap, he and i went for a walk in the sunshine to get the mail. then we stayed outside for an HOUR and did some yard work. it's laundry day, so i was wearing yoga capri pants and a t-shirt (i had removed my sweater b/c it was so nice outside). after an hour, we headed inside and as we were sitting down to a snack, i heard samantha.... which meant she took a 3 hour (and much-needed) nap!

i'm in the process of getting dinner ready (i guess i should get back to menu planning, eh?), doing laundry and "watching the kids." all while typing this entry. tee hee!

but before i go, two quick things:

1. my new website pages have been scanned and saved to my computer. now dave needs a chunk of time to sit down and make the change. i make no promises when it will happen, but i hope before the end of the month (perhaps, even, before the end of the week?)

2. tomorrow, my wonderful TOM friend, Julie, is coming over to watch my kids for 90+ minutes while i go and get my hair done. for the first time since last june or july. or was it august? or march? i can't remember. but it's been a long time. i'm debating what to do. i think i want to chop off a chunk. like 5 inches. maybe. i'm scared. and highlights again. i love blonde, but i hate the roots when they grow out. should i go red again? what do you think? i asked dave and he said "make it sexy." as if that helps! :)

3. below is a lovely photo. for the first time, one of our children poo'ed in the tub. it was samantha. just plop and there it was. floating... and sinking. and on my watch! dave was wonderful and came quickly to my aid. we drained the tub. did a quick cleaning with bleach. filled it up and back in they went. silly samantha!

so happy monday to you!

memory lane

2010-02-04T08:00:00Z

so this time, four (4) years ago, we'd had most of our shots. we were filling our malaria medication prescription. we were getting ready to pack and leave work for two weeks. it was almost time for the vacation of a lifetime. it was almost time for our trip to kenya. and it's fresh in my mind right now because i FINALLY started working on a scrapbook of our photos. and i've discovered that i need to print MORE photos. seriously. MORE. because my book appears to be a little too short. and i feel like i've neglected some animals. and some memories. and some scenery. and for me, this is exciting. i feel the need to print MORE photos? awesome! unbelievable! so fun!

so here's a glimpse of our lives, almost four years ago:

and i have over 1500 more photos! :)

note: i was able to scan my new website pages today. hopefully dave can get them up sometime this weekend. think: bigger space for all my ramblings... so you have to scroll down less! :)

finally, please continue to keep me in your prayers. i'm still recovering from this horrific cold that has seriously kicked me in the behind! the kids seem to be at 100%. i'm hovering around 80% recovered right now, i think. and my mother in law, linda, could use your prayers, as well. she's recovering very, very slowly as well. and it's frustrating.

on the mend

2010-02-02T08:00:00Z

well fans, it's tuesday. around 4 o'clock this evening will mark ONE WEEK since i came down with the creepy crud (as i'm referring to it). it's been a long and difficult week. and i'm not recovered yet. but i am on the mend. i was home, alone, with the kids all day yesterday and we made it through the day. it wasn't always easy or pretty, but it went better than i thought. we (well, i) took it easy for 99% of the day. my body needs it.

both kids are recovered. some runny nose issues, but that's the norm around here, especially at this time of the year. sam's eyes are free and clear of any gunk, so her bout with pink eye is over. and davey is still on his anti-biotics, but he's been on them long enough that he's considered "clear," too. so i'm the only one still contagious. yep. you read that right. my pink eye persists. i woke up (briefly) at 4 a.m. to use the restroom. my eyes were a bit blurry, but not crusted shut. when i awoke at 7, a mere 3 hours later, both eyes were glued shut. sigh. guess i have to be vigilant with the eye drops again today (i slacked a bit yesterday).

i've also obtained this obnoxious cough. it's frightful, really. b/c about 75% of my coughs are just an attempt to clear some gunk so i can work up to the good cough. there's lots of throat clearing going on here today - good thing no one else has to hear me b/c it's pretty obnoxious! when dave and i were watching heroes last night, we were a coughing concert. yuck. we finally tracked down some candies to help "curb" the coughing fits.

today will be another at-home, lazy kind of day. well, as lazy as i can convince myself to be. i've already cleaned our bathroom and disinfected door knobs and light switches and sink faucets. i've got a load of laundry going and the dishwasher is running, too. i have not yet embarked on the toy-cleaning-mission. i just don't have the energy. (heck! i don't even have the energy to do what i've already done, but it needed to be done)!

tomorrow we'll slowly resume a normal schedule. i'm going to take the kids to carrilee's house (instead of to visit my mother-in-law, who went to the doctor yesterday for eye drops for HER pink eye!) so they can play and i can come home and get some work done. on thursday, we'll head to Bible study (as long as my pink eye is no longer contagious) and i should be able to scan my new website pages! friday morning i have an OB appointment, so the kids will go back to carrilee's for a little while.

i really am surprised at how much this cold has knocked me down. i haven't been this sick since high school! i'm sure my lack of sleep has contributed greatly to my slow recovery time. last night was the FIRST night in at least two months, i believe, that ALL FOUR dunkins SLEPT. THROUGH. THE. NIGHT. now i know i said i woke up at 4 a.m., but since getting pregnant this time around, i've been waking up at all hours of the night to use the restroom. i was awake for less than 15 minutes. and i consider that sleeping through the night (esp. since i woke up for personal reasons instead of to help one of the kids)!

i'm sorry for another picture-less post. grabbing the camera has not been a top priority for me for the past week. but i wanted to keep you updated on our status. the kids are doing great. i'm hanging in there. and dave is doing alright. and now it's time for me to close so i can lie down and rest awhile!