Christmas Parade

Tonight was the JC Christmas parade. We have gone every year and I think this year was the first year in a couple that there was no snow. While it was cold - it wasn't freezing. We got to see lots and the kids got a ton of candy.

Me and my 3 little parade goers! I have found it next to impossible to get them all to look at the camera. I guess 3 out of 5 isn't bad. Everybody loved that they had their Santa hats on.
All the way from Bikini Bottom.......SpongeBob Squarepants. The Grinch! (a little dark but his costume was awesome!)From Sesame Street to Main Street - Big Bird!Every parade must end with Santa. The kids were so excited to see him. We are going Saturday to the mall to see Santa again.
I was afraid today that we wouldn't get to go to the parade. Cody woke up at 5 am throwing up. I was hoping we wouldn't get hit with the bug (as my sister, mom and Karly) all had it. He never did run a fever. He got sick a few times and by lunch time he wanted a PB&J sandwich. He ate the whole thing and kept it down. So......by the time I got home he was up and energized and we went. I am hoping that is the last of it.

Snow Pictures

We don't have snow so this is the first of the season for us.
Helping Grandpa shovel......Everyone is building "something"Snow Devil Tyler....the horns are under the hat! :) Dylan standing on a tall pile of snow. Cody is Safe!

Thanksgiving Catch-Up

Hope everybody had a great Thanksgiving weekend. We enjoyed a nice long weekend in Cuba and found it to be pretty relaxing. One nice thing about being away from home is I don't have to look at all my house work that needs done. I just need to concentrate on keeping our stuff together and that's it. So...I called in sick on Wed. and we got home around 3. At 3:15 the boys were out in the snow as they had about 8" and we have none. I forgot how much fun it is to dress 3 boys in all the snow gear for 15 minutes. They had fun though.

Thanksgiving day we enjoyed turkey at the house. It was a first for that as in years past we have gone to either of the Grandma's houses. Brett's family is huge though - we had 20 people around the table. His sister has 10 kids so the number jumps quickly. We did get to see his Grandma Luckey as she was home for dinner from the nursing home. She is elderly and has Alzheimer's and it was hard to see her that way. She kept referring to Brett as "little Brett" and she couldn't get over Tyler. Thought he was so cute. His Grandma reminds me a lot of mine who I miss dearly.

The rest of the weekend we enjoyed more time in the snow. Took in a basketball game at the high school. That was fun. Always nice to go back and route for the Rebels. As my husband would tell me "you only go to chit chat and watch the cheerleaders"...while he isn't completely off - I did notice the cheerleaders and didn't think they looked horrible for their first time on the court. Loud, together, could of smiled more, could of done more sideline cheers, I could of done over half of their cheers with them. Saturday we got to do a little downtown shopping. Picked up some yummy cheese and salt rising bread. Went to Preston's birthday party. Got to see almost all of the extended family. Always nice to mingle with them. We headed back on Sunday and arrived safely through the snow.

One thing all of us managed to get while "at grandma's" were colds. So I'm hoping it goes away soon. I found out also on this trip I have to change my wording. I used to say "going home" cause I think and probably always will of Cuba as "home". But to my boys - Cuba is not home - it's grandma's. Our house is 'home' - so I have to break old habits and that is hard.

Since being home - the tree is up and is now decorated. We picked up Molly tonight and she was so happy to come home. I'll work on the rest of the decorations throughout the week. Thursday night is a Christmas parade and Friday night is my work Xmas party. My mom is babysitting as it's going to be a late night for sure.

The countdown is on..........24 days to go!

Packing up.....Happy Early Turkey Day!

Well tomorrow we are heading to the in-laws for a nice long Thanksgiving break. We spent the evening packing and getting ready. You know, I hate packing when it's winter. I mean the clothes are thicker, take up more room, need to have extra cause I'm sure we will be outside in the snow. Oh yah, don't forget the boots, gloves, hats, snow pants - that's a whole other bag. But for the most part we are packed.

I hope everybody has a great Thanksgiving. I am ready for some turkey, mashed potatoes, stuffing, green bean casserole, and don't forget the deserts. YUM! The boys colored turkeys at school today and listed their favorite treats. Dylan said Turkey....Cody said Lollipop. Um......OK.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Happy Birthday Connor

Today was my nephew's birthday. He turned 2. Ah...the terrible two stage. I have to say though he entered it about 6 months ago. I always thought 2 was tough but Tyler is in the horrible three's and I am thinking this is worse. Can't believe Connor is 2. I remember when Karly called me and told me "my mom's gonna have a baby". I was stunned silent - and that doesn't happen often. :) I always thought my sister was just going to have Karly - and honestly they did too. Connor was their surprise baby. Those surprise babies sure do have a way of sneaking into your heart. Connor had a John Deere birthday party on Saturday. He loves tractor's, footballs, telling people that his grandpa cut down a tree, beating up his cousins (while they sit in awe because he is the baby and we are gently with babies), he cracks me up as he tells me "shut up auntie" with the cutest little grin on his face. He of course gets in trouble but it's still cute.

The very yummy birthday cake!

Happy 2nd Birthday Connor!
He loves his football!

Today, Jack also turned a month old! That's hard to believe too. He is recovering well after surgery. Taking his bottle without all the fuss afterward. You hate to see the kids spit up but I can't imagine seeing them vomit the way he was.

Mom mom is on the mend. She stayed in bed all day and got some more much needed sleep. Tonight as I left Tanya's.....Shaun wasn't feeling well. Tanya confirmed tonight - he is the next to get this. Knocking on wood that we don't! Time will tell. I just hope we get to enjoy Turkey!

It stopped raining...

Ok, I'm not really talking about the rain. :)

Both Jack and my mom were discharged today. Jack has kept his bottles down and is doing well. He had laproscopic surgery so only 3 small incisions and no stitches. So that is a good thing. My mom got discharged last night. She came down with a flu bug and was dehydrated. So I guess rather she had been in NY or in MD she would of ended up in the ER. Just wish it had been NY so Tanya or I could of been there with her. Sorry to any of the men out there but they just aren't compassionate. I do have to say I am very impressed with my husband and how he took care of my mom. Something about a Mom - they just want to be there for family when going through a hard time. She hates she got sick but there is nothing she could of done about it. She didn't plan it or want it. Brett let her sleep the whole ride home and she had 3 little boys very excited to see her when she got home. The flu is a wicked thing and now we are just waiting to see if any of us get it. If so, I hope it's before we get to Cuba this weekend. Time will tell.

We have a nice short week this week. Tomorrow is Connor's 2nd birthday so we'll go have cake again. Yum! Tuesday night we'll be packing (although the boys were packing their toys today - they can't wait to go to grandma and grandpa's) and Wednesday we travel. Still wondering if I am going to hit the Black Friday sales. Looking forward to seeing family over the holidays!

When it Rains it Pours!

The events of the last 24 hours seem to be some what of a blur. It all started last night, I took my gang up to bed around 8 and was hoping for everyone to fall asleep fast so I could have some time with my husband. Instead it was 10pm and Tyler had just fallen asleep when my phone rang. Odd! It was my sister. She never calls that late. Something is wrong.........

She informed me that my brother had called and Jack was needing emergency surgery. OMG! Your kidding right. No. The poor little guy had a pylorus valve blocked in his stomach and has been the reason for his discomfort. So they were being transported to another hospital for surgery. I of course had a million emotions run through me as pediatric surgery is not new to me. But man did I feel so sorry that my brother and Kristie had to go through this too. My mom wanted to go and because my children took forever to go to sleep - Brett got a nice 2 hour nap in. So he offered to drive my mom down so she could be there. They left after midnight.

To top it off - today was Connor's 2nd birthday party. To be honest we went through the motions but were thinking about Jack and my Mom the whole day.

You ask why about my Mom? Well at some point of this afternoon my mom became very ill. She thought she needed something to eat but as they got to the cafeteria she got sick. A doctor walked past and went to be with her in the restroom and ended up taking her to the ER. She was dehydrated and very ill. So they hooked her up to IV's and ordered blood work. She feels horrible and is miserable knowing that she went there to be with Jack. So tonight they are both in the hospital - except on different floors. Ugh. Brett is there with her and we are hoping she gets discharged tomorrow so she can come home. I am at a loss as to what to do. I really can't do anything but hope for the best come morning.

So tonight as I close my eyes I am hoping to get some shut eye myself. I just would like to be in MD right now.