Christmas Reflections 2008

Where does the time go? Track back a couple of weeks ago to our Santa visit. Mr. Eli who was all talk about going to see Santa would not go near the man. Not even with me. So, he watched as his sister's took turns on Santa's lap. Mack had the cutest little grin on her face but for the life of her could not think of a single thing she wanted. She kept tapping her cheek with her index finger saying "ummm. Ummmmm." It's not often you see the girl speechless! Schuyler had a variety things on her list and wasn't afraid to share. Really, when you think about it, Santa is a double standard. Here we are as parents, warning our children about strangers. Don't talk to strangers, don't take food from strangers, don't go with strangers, etc... But, here, go sit on this white-bearded man's lap and tell him what you want for Christmas, even though he is a complete stranger. It's no wonder kids are hesitant, they're just doing what we tell them =)

Okay, reflections from Christmas. I enjoyed the comfort of Oyster Stew on Xmas Eve at my father's house. I'm also happy to report that both my girls tried some. Mackie drank the broth and did not attempt an oyster. Schuyler, however, attempted to eat the oyster although she made a terrible face and spit it out. She also enjoyed the broth. My kids will eat oyster stew, eventually = ) We ended the night with a few games of Pokino.

I LOVE that my kids are learning to play cards. They also were taught several new games at Aunt Mitch and Uncle Jim's. Schuyler is really into it playing war, memory, go fish, UNO, etc... I think I'll be able to make her into a pitch and cribbage player someday.

Not only did they enjoy cards on the farm, but also 4 wheeler rides and they even hooked up a sled to the 4 wheeler. Eli could be found climbing into the tractor and pretending to drive and jumping in the back of the truck.

Reflections of the kids...

Eli - almost 2, is 100% boy. Nothing is too tall to climb and the greater the challenge, the more likely he is to try. He is beginning potty training and has had nightly successes on the "big" potty. His new favorite toy is a motorcyle, which much to my dismay does not have an off or volume button. He calls it his "vroom, vroom". This is followed closely by his new workbench and 3 drills. I guess a man can never have enough drills! His favorite book is Brown Bear and he still must have his blanket for bed or nap.

Mack - age 4 1/2, is our "girly" girl. She loves all things beautiful. Pink is her favorite color. She loves her American Girl doll, Felicity, and enjoys dressing her in all the new doll clothes she got for xmas. She also is fascinated by Tinkerbell. Mack still speaks some "McKenzism" and we are often humored by her words. She can make her bed beautifully and is surprisingly very good at cleaning up. Her smile can melt us.

Schuyler - age 6 1/2, is our "sporty" girl. She is very gifted at writing stories and illustrating them. On occassion, she can be absentminded, but don't let this fool you. To this day, you can still constantly see those wheels turning, just as she did when she was a child with her serious face. Unfortunately, Santa didn't bring her 2 front teeth for xmas so she is still a toothless wonder. She is ready for sports to begin and has picked her favorite teams for the bowl games.

A couple snap shots from the holidays...

xmas cookies, shirley temples, and other holiday cheer

Yes, yes, I know. My very, poor neglected blog. Where have I been you wonder? Xmas shopping, proofing pictures, creating xmas cards, proofing pictures, taking pictures, proofing pictures... you get the picture.

So, I am FINALLY wrapping up all my photography sessions. I have only one left, a sweet newborn =0 That means you'll probably be hearing/seeing more from me.

We started our xmas cookie baking this weekend with some buried cherry chocolate cookies. I had left the room very briefly to use the restroom and return to find Mr. Eli up on the counter eating the marachino cherries, one by one with a little red juice running down his chin. He was on #3 at least and NOT very happy when I took them away. We finished the cookies and used the excees cherry juice for some shirley temple drinks = )


We resumed cookie baking on Monday evening with some sugar cookies. This was my first year with all 3 kids helping. Lets just say we'll be using a different approach next year. I thought it would be fun for the kids to cut out their own cookies. Well, the bickerin first started over who got which cookie cutter (the angel was apparently a hot commodity). I explained you could actually remove the cutter after you had imprinted it on the dough. Well, then they all wanted to stamp in the middle and go all at one time. So, we got a system in place and I thought things would be smooth sailing. Not so, Eli then starts randomly stampting, including places where the girls had already created cutouts. Now there are tears! Eli is removed from the table to do a different activity with dad. Between the girls sneaking cookie dough bites, it goes fairly well. They used 1 3/4 bottles for sprinkles. I'm still not sure how much actually got on the cookies and how much is still on my floor!

The kids had their church xmas program this past Sunday. Our girls are complete hams! Mack was sitting on stage with her legs all crossed. They sang a jump for joy song. They were actually jumping on the risers. Personally, I'm not sure that's the best idea for 3 and 4 year olds but since I'm not the organizer, I'll keep my comments quiet (well, relatively). Schuyler was next to one of her best friends and took any free moment to enthusiastically wave at us in the audience. They did a good job.

On a side note, did you know there is such thing as candy cane milk? Our kids love it. That's usually their night time treat and mine is egg nog with a little holiday cheer = )

We go to visit Santa tomorrow. I'm excited!

Sanna

"Sanna" is Eli's word for Santa, story to come... We tried to do some xmas shopping on Saturday. We didn't get much accomplished shopping wise with the 3 kids but enjoyed some of the string beans concert at South Pointe. We also ran into Santa and helpers down by the ice cream store, they were waiting for the parade to start. When the kids saw Santa, they stopped dead in their tracks. Santa was really great... asking the kids what they would like, if they were good, etc... Schuyler said Hannah Montana stuff, Mack was lost for words for a change (although it might have been due to the coldness) and Eli, bless his heart, kept saying "Hi Sanna"! I didn't even know he knew who Santa was! When it was time to go, Eli had a few tears. He kept saying "back", meaning he wanted to go back. The whole way home all we heard was "By Sanna".

Eli has learned his animal noises. My favorites are his neigh, meow, and roar! He also has a monkey toy that I'm sure came from a McDonald's happy meal. Anyway, if you shake the monkey, one of his sayings is "A ha!". Eli LOVES to imitate this and it's so very cute.

Schuyler lost yet another tooth last Monday. She just had a dentist appt where they said it would come out in another month or two. Seriously, she plays with her teeth that much! She pulled it out while in bed trying to fall asleep. Both girls came out with sheepish little grins on their face. Schuyler also got her cast of today! Woo hoo! She now has to where a splint for 2 weeks but only when at school and dance. The skin is discolored, which is normal. It still has a slight bend but that will correct itself in a year or so. Schuyler is SO excited to take a normal bath!

I have WAY to many pictures to go through from Thanksgiving but just wanted to share one of my SIL. If you have ever wondered what the pregnancy glow is, well just look below and you will see = ) Isn't she beautiful!

giving (belated) thanks...in sickness and in health

This past week has been filled with the usual ups and downs! It started with a productive weekend... Mark steam cleaning carpets, a trip to the Children's Musueum for me and the kids, 7-8 bags of mulched leaves gathered and I even got the exterior lights up. Then came Sunday evening and my throat was on FIRE. I chalked it up to my lingering cold and all the dust, etc... Monday, I had the nurse at work take a peak. Doesn't look like strep but it's very swollen. She says, if it persists see a Dr. I'm miserable... hurts to swallow and talk. Tuesday comes and I had to work. I do NOT feel well and finally break down and make a Dr. appt. Dr. takes a peak in my mouth and says, "Eeew, you have a swollen inflamed Uvula and some thing secondary as well". My first question is "What is my Uvula" and my second question "What does some thing secondary mean". Your Uvula is the thingy in the back of your mouth that hangs down, and, yes I have a form of strep. My prognosis - Uvulitis (use that in scrable and I'm sure you'll get many points) and Step throat.

Thanksgiving day was the first day I felt up to par. I could swallow with minimum pain. My Friday was not so lucky. I threw up 4 times in the a.m. as we were to be having Thanksgiving, at my house, at noon!! I'm pretty sure it was the orange juice on empty stomach in combination with drainage. Not fun!! I now have new meds, steroids, which should help. It's still to soon to tell.

So, to brighten up this post, here are just a few things I'm thankful for. My beautiful and wonderful kids who bring me more joy than I could have imagined. A husband who completely cleans the house and then cooks for his in-laws while his wife is puking and sacrifices the chance to see a friend he has not seen in at least 2 years. A good dog who tolerates sharing her domain with all her cousin dogs. Parents who help cook, watch the kids, etc... at the drop of a dime. Friends, on-line and in person, who are the most caring bunch!

completely and utterly swamped

I have that feeling. The one where you know no-matter what you do, even if you stayed up all night, you wouldn't get everything done. I hate that feeling. Between my photography, my job, family needs and the approaching holidays - I'm struggling to find the balance. So, I'm trying to follow the advice I so often give to others, take it one day at a time and throw it up in God's hands. This too, shall pass.

On some other notes, last Saturday, we became the new owners of a Honda Pilot. It's used but new to us. It's the nicest car Mark or myself have ever owned!! Leather interior, sunroof and my very favorite feature.... heated seats!! Oh yeah! The kids love it and call it "the truck". Schuyler and Mack have been fighting over who gets to rider in the back.

Schuyler got a smaller cast on Monday. It allows her to bend her elbow. At first, she was unsure of the saw used to cut the cast off. But, after the technician showed that he could grab it while going, she was fine. In fact, she thought it tickled. Once the cast was off and they cleaned her arm they sent us for xrays. I saw the color drain from her face followed by the onset of yawns and I knew immediately what was happening b/c I get the same way. She said her tummy hurt and then gagged. She never got sick. They let her sit on my lap for xrays. Once back in the regular exam room and picking out stickers, she started to gain back some color and got most all back after laying down. The arm is healing well. Just as the Dr. said, new bone has began to grow and old bone that is connected is disintegrating. The body is so impressive. She picked yellow again and we hope to get it off completely after 3 weeks = )

Mack has been Miss helpful lately. Last week she cleaned the bathroom by herself. And when I say clean, I don't mean just picking up. She organized things that were out of place and found her water spray bottle and wipe the counter top and floor and folder the towels. It looked impressive. She tends to be an organized girl and I think her sister's untidy habits irritate her. Schuyler tends to be aloof and will leave things randomly in the house and often can not find things... for instance her dance shoes. Mack folds her clothes, puts them in her drawers and always knows where her dance shoes are.

Eli came down with pink eye on Sunday and went to the Dr. on Monday for a terrible cough. Ends up the E-man has croup! He has not slept for the past 2 nights which means mommy has not slept for the past 2 nights. Actually, the whole house seems to be coming down with the cold. UCK!!

Here are some snap shots from Halloween... I wish I would have had more time to capture them. Oh well...

Halloween aftermath

Did ya'll have a good Halloween? I know our kids made out like bandits. I think we may decide to hide it all - out of site out of mind, or so we hope! We had a good Halloween. Grandma S and I took the kids to Vala's pumkin patch on Thursday. Wow! I can't believe how much there was to do! We started with the goats and the bunnies. There is a cute little sign that says something like, please do not cross - bunny homes only. Well, can you guess which of my children did not mind the sign. If you guessed Eli, you are correct. I turned to tell my mom something and glanced back and there he is, over the little fence peaking into the bunny house!! We walked through a house decorated as a spooky mine then off to pony rides - for all except Schuyler. She opted out b/c of her arm - can't blame the girl! This was Eli's first pony ride. It went around once and he said "done!". He actually made it the whole ride. So much else... train ride, jumping pillow, duck races, family go cart, play areas and it wouldn't be complete without the Hayrack ride, picking pumpkins, and treats at the end = ) Mom- I'm so glad you came with us = ) Only Schuyler stayed awake for the ride home!

Halloween was a good time. Schuyler was a Husker cheerleader (with broken arm), Mack was a lion, and Eli was a giraffe! We started great grandma's nursing home. Honestly, there buckets were full from that. We came home ate and got ready again...well the girls did. Eli did NOT want to put the costume back instead choosing to put in the living room. So, Mark took the girls and Eli and I handed out candy.

Some of you may know we were actually supposed to be in KC this weekend to purchase a new vehicle. Well, long story short, they accidentally sold our car. So, we're back to square one. On a bright note, we have ourselves a new computer... an IMac! I love it and I haven't even turned it on. The beautiful 24 in screen and sleek looks!!

Didn't want Schuyler to be left out of the fun. Here she is in all her toothless glory!

Last Thursday was conferences for all 3 kids. It went very well = ) Mack was the first one up. She has taken a strong interest in writing. For instance, she made little book about horse. You have to color in the body part of the horse and then write the name of the body part on the paper. So, forehead, body, tail, hindlegs, forelegs, etc.. Her horse was a little different as the hindlegs were in front and forelegs in back = ) Without her sister to follow, she has blossomed into a leader for the younger students = ) The challenge school and ourselves face is keeping the expectations high and communicating those expectations. For example, she can buckle her seat belt. But there are times when for whatever reason (tired, lazy, just doesn't want to, etc...), she won't buckle it.

Eli continues to speak new words on a daily basis. Even words that the school nor us as parents remember using. Books are a huge interest to him. He will take a large stack in the corner and flip through them. His ample climbing skills was noted as well. He's been found almost over the chain link fence at school. It doesn't take but a second or two for this to happen - we know from experience!

Schuyler is a strong student all around. Her teachers and fellow classmates find her very enjoyable to be around. She is one of the first to help when needed. I like to hear this as it's more a reflection of her. Along with the regular reading homework, and math, they are now adding spelling to the mix. They each have individualized spelling words to work on.

Our very good friend's, the Fogo's, were in town this past week for a couple's baby shower. They are expecting their first at the beginning of February. I can't wait to meet the little man. The parents have more energy than anyone I know so I'm sure their child will have an energy level off the charts.

If all goes as planned, I'm taking tomorrow off and the kids, myself, and Grandma Cindy are heading to Vala's pumpking patch. Also, I think we are very close to buying Mark a new car = ) We may be going to Kansas City this weekend to pick it up. Again, knock on wood

I took pictures of the Montessori kids again this year. I got this new backdrop off ebay and am loving it. Here's one of Eli. So much for keeping him clean that a.m. You can see some dark spots on his shirt. You can see more pics here.

One of Mack and Eli. I have to go back and rework this one. It's a little "flat" for my taste.