Christmas Eve

First, an update since the last blog...although I thought my kidney stone had already passed, it actually didn't pass until yesterday at about noon, over 48 hours after the pain had begun. PLEASE, PLEASE don't ever let me have one of those again! I did NOT get the stomach bug (at least not so far), but Ethan did on Wednesday afternoon. After puking 4 times, I gave him a bath to feel better. He slipped trying to get out of the bath tub and hit his chin on the side of the tub, causing it to open up and bleed everywhere. Appears to be healing nicely, but my goodness...what a week!

Anyway, I do promise a blog on Christmas, but before Christmas came Christmas Eve. As has been our tradition, we dressed the kids in their Christmas clothes (picked out and purchased every year by Grams...she has much better fashion sense than I for these things!). Then we took some pics of us all gussied up. Some favorites:







You could wonder how such beautiful kids could be anything less than perfect at church, right? Well, well, well....

Church was not so much fun. Blythe had been coming down with a cold, but apparently during church service was when her ears decided to hurt so bad she needed to cry and curl up in a little ball. Although I had given Ethan a snack earlier in the service, he decided he wanted more and wanted to dig through my purse. Braden wasn't having that and so Ethan had a melt down. And then Ethan tried to burn down the church during "Silent Night". And why was Braden guarding my purse and not me? Because I was in the lobby for half of the service carrying around a hungry and tired 7 month old baby (oh yeah, guess I forgot to do a 7 month old post as well). After the service was over Brynn and I went back in to connect with Ethan, Braden, and Blythe and then Ethan decided to take his tantrum to the next level. So we literally had to drag him down the aisle while he kicked and screamed.

But at least they all looked nice while they were crying.

Worst 18 hours ever

Don't worry - I will blog about Christmas, but I will do so after I get home and can upload our pics and videos. For now, a blog you probably don't want to see any pictures for. Pretty sure it was the worst 18 hours of my life.

We are visiting my parents and have had a great visit so far. Braden had to leave yesterday to go back to work and I'm hanging here with the kids so Gommy, Poppa, and Laura can babysit while I do some work.

It was about 10:45 last night when I was about ready to go upstairs and go to bed. But I heard my sister yell down, "Mary! Blythe threw up!". Uh oh. My mom had been feeling bad that night, so maybe it was a bug. I went upstairs and Blythe was covered head to toe in puke. It took all I had to keep my dinner inside of me. It was also all in her bed. She's sharing a room with Ethan, but fortunately she did not get any on him. So I put her in the tub and got her all cleaned up and hair washed (which meant blowdrying her hair at 11 at night). My sister and dad changed out her sheets, not very quietly, but amazingly Ethan never woke up.

I got Blythe back in bed (and showed her the trashcan next to her bed in case she had future "incidents"). Scratched her back for a while and she fell asleep. I went downstairs and started a load of wash (oh, after I had to rinse out the chunks from the sheets and rinse off of the new pillow pet she got). Went back upstairs, got my jammies on and brushed my teeth and FINALLY could go to bed.

Except just as I was about to get in bed, I heard Brynn throw up. Sigh.

Got her out of bed, started a bath for her and got some new jammies. After her bath, I took more stuff down to the laundry room, which was getting a nice big pile going. After all that, it took her quite some time to go back to sleep. Finally she fell asleep and then I did too. But within minutes of falling asleep, Blythe came into my room. She had thrown up again. Change of sheets and change of jammies, this time ignoring the small amount of puke in her hair. And another pile of sheets and clothes to take down to the laundry.

Finally time to go to sleep.

Then Blythe came in again. More puke.

Change of sheets (which were running out at this point). Change of clothes...no more jammies, now just regular clothes. And another pile of laundry.

Seriously, will I ever be able to sleep? Apparently not, as 30 minutes later I heard Brynn starting to puke, so I grabbed her out of her pack n play and rushed her to the toilet. After that, I put her back down. An hour and a half later, the same thing again. Poor Brynn may have slept even less than I did. I was finally able to go to sleep sometime after 5:00am. Then up at 7:30 for the day.

Worst day ever, right? It had only just begun.

I pretty much expected to get the bug with the amount of puke I came into contact with over the night. Instead, at about 11 this morning I got back pain. REALLY, REALLY bad back pain. Right where my left kidney is. I couldn't stand it, the pain was intolerable and nothing I could do would make it subside. I didn't know what was wrong. I didn't think I was pregnant, but the chance I could have an ectopic pregnancy was enough to scare me into going to the Emergency Room. That and I needed pain relief SO SO bad.

Finally after 2 hours at the ER, I was given a shot in my butt for pain relief and FINALLY I felt almost normal. As for the prognosis? Inconclusive. I'm not pregnant (phew!) and not a bladder infection or UTI. Could be a kidney stone, but the doctor thought more muscular strain. I know what muscular strain feels like, and this wasn't it, so I'm still leaning toward kidney stone. Fortunately the pain relief shot is still working. I'm dreading when it wears off, but hoping that when it does, the pain is nowhere near what it was (plus now I have better drugs to take). So there you have it...worst 18 hours ever. The good news for me was that Braden came back and met us at the hospital, so we all get to be with him for an extra day...yay!

All ready for Santa....or not

Took the kids to see Santa yesterday. Amazingly we got a picture where all 3 kids look normal and Ethan is NOT freaking out about being on Santa's lap. He started to freak out, but when I put Brynn on Santa's lap, I guess he figured it was safe.


We had to go see Santa to be SURE he knew what the kids wanted and would bring the right things. Ethan told him very quickly, but clearly that he wants a "really big green tractor". Check.

Blythe told him she wants "a Sleeping Beauty costume and a Little Mermaid bath toy". Crap.

Usually we are pretty good at convincing the kids what they want Santa to bring them. This year with Blythe has been a struggle. I started making a list a couple of months ago of things I thought the kids might want. I was at my parents house when we started it. My mom had said, "Does she want a pillow pet?" And I said, "Yes! She actually does!". So my sister locked in that gift. Next we tried actually asking Blythe what she wants. My mom asked her and she told her she wanted a Jasmine costume. So my mom locked in on that one. Later my mom also got her a Rapunzel Barbie because Target had them on sale.

So when it came time for Blythe to make her list for Santa, what does she put on her list? A Rapunzel Barbie and a Unicorn Pillow Pet. Well great, Santa's not bringing either of those. So we had to convince her of something else. We searched the Target toy ad and convinced Blythe she wanted a camera. So she added the camera to her list and we made sure to tell her Santa doesn't always bring EVERYTHING on the list.

Ever since then, her "list" for Santa has been different everytime you ask her. And it practically never includes a camera.

My mom also got Blythe a Rapunzel costume. So now she'll have Cinderella, Belle, Ariel, Tiana, Jasmine, and Rapunzel. So what does she tell Santa she wants? Freaking Sleeping Beauty.

As for the Little Mermaid bath toy, that was also in the Target ad. We have it, but it's wrapped up as a gift from Mom and Dad.

So tomorrow morning should be interesting!

Fun Things With Daddy

Because Blythe and Ethan are switching daycares as of January 3, we had the luxury of pulling them out 2 weeks early, so we didn't have to pay! Merry Christmas to us! Braden is off this week (I'm not...boo), so we told them last week they had no school this week because they were going to do "fun things with Daddy". And fun things they have done!

Monday Braden did have to work a bit, but he took Blythe and Ethan to work with him where they got to color and explore. Later, they hit up Red Robin for lunch and the stores for some errands (including the Dollar Tree....what could be more fun!?)

Tuesday we all went to breakfast at Panera Bread (or "Banana Bread" as Ethan calls it), then we took Ethan (and Blythe) to visit their new school. Ethan loved it and it took him no time at all to start playing with the other kids, so I feel good he'll be just fine come January. After nap that day, Braden took the kids to the movies to see Yogi Bear in 3D. Although Ethan kept taking off his glasses, he actually made it through the whole movie, which is quite a feat for him.

The "Fun Thing with Daddy" on Wednesday was a day at the indoor pool! Then Taco Bell for lunch...the kids were in heaven!

Although the cleaners came Tuesday morning and our house was immaculate for all of 0.3 seconds, now our basement looks like a toy bomb exploded. Brynn was at daycare all week, but she's home today too. No real plans today and most of tomorrow (just church tomorrow), so we may be tempted to let the kids open a few gifts early so we don't go stir crazy playing with the same toys we've been playing with all year. Who knows, maybe we'll even attempt to go see Santa today at the mall (just to make SURE he knows what the kids want for Christmas).

The end of an era

About a month ago I got an emailed letter that stated that the day care where all 3 of my kids go will close as of December 31. As you can imagine, that sent me into utter panic mode. There are waiting lists at all of the daycares here in Blacksburg, so it's hard to get 1 child into a center, let alone 3. Especially with only 3 weeks notice. And especially an infant. We've stayed relatively current on other waiting lists because, although we were very happy at our current daycare, you just never know what might happen. Well, I guess that paid off kind of. I was able to get spots at another good school for Blythe and Ethan to start January 3rd and for Brynn to start sometime in late February. Although I'd have to find something for Brynn for a short while, I was so relieved!

I was prepared for the stress of uprooting my kids from their current well-known, safe environment because there was no other option.

Well, then we got word that there was a potential buyer for the current daycare, but there were so many unknowns - would she buy it? what changes would she make? what would it be like? what would the transition be like? As these answers unfolded over the past few weeks, the stress and difficulty of making a decision of whether to stay or go to the new school got greater and greater. I don't think we've ever before had to make a decision like this that we knew would greatly affect the lives of everyone in our family.

I'm not going to go into the details of why we made our decision, but the decision we made was to start the kids at the new school. So today was Blythe and Ethan's last day at their current school. Brynn will stay until her spot at the new school opens up.

Making that decision gets complicated with friends our kids have made, friends we have made, a staff that is like family to us, Brynn's primary care giver who she likes just as much as me (or maybe even more). It's hard. It's really hard.

Blythe started at that school in August of 2007, when she was 19 months old. Ethan started at 12 weeks old and Brynn at 12 weeks old also. I'm trying to get excited about the possibilities at the new school - new friends, new teachers, new experiences, but it's hard because what we've had is so safe and comfortable and my kids have had wonderful experiences there.

So today is a sad day. But we'll cherish the memories we've had and continue to stay in touch with our old friends.

Snow Day

Yesterday was the first snow day of the season. We got 5 inches of snow, which probably would have been more, but it changed over to sleet and then freezing rain a few hours before the weather people had anticipated. The 5 inches of snow was powder though, so the sleet and freezing rain on top improved the sledding conditions.

Fortunately, I had just bought a sled. Nope - we never had one before now. The first 5 years we lived here it hardly snowed. Then last year hit and we didn't have a sled, but you couldn't find one anywhere. It's certainly seeming like this year will be a lot like last year. Cold and snowy. In fact, the other morning it was colder here than it was all last winter. And it's not even winter yet. And last winter was one of the coldest on record. I don't really like cold and snowy, but when you can sled, it makes it a little better.

By the time I broke out the camera, Ethan had had enough of the cold weather. He had sledded earlier in the day, so he was cozy inside watching Dora.

First Tooth

Last Friday Brynn cut her first tooth (one of the lower middle ones). The second one should be not too far behind. She's been taking it pretty well, like the laid back baby she is. Really not much to report on that, but since this blog has taken the place of a baby book, wanted to make sure it was recorded.

"Blythe" toy

Good thing my kids can't read yet or type in web addresses to look at my blog. That means I can post pictures of Christmas presents online.

Actually, there's only one I want to post. This one is way cooler in the box, so I decided to take a picture. I love it because "Blythe" is not in the top 1000 most popular names for a girl. And then this toy even looks a little like Blythe. It's almost like I designed this toy just for her.



No one else probably thinks it's as cool as I do, but whatever.

Christmas decorating

Blythe and Ethan decorated the Christmas tree this year. Can you tell by the placement of ornaments?


We're struggling with Christmas decorating this year. No one is visiting, so I don't really want to put up a lot (because that means having to take down a lot). The kids keep asking when we are going to put up lights outside, but it hasn't been above 20 degrees here in 4 days and every single time I look out the window, I see blowing snow.

I also have yet to buy a single Christmas present from the store. I have bought some stuff online, but I really need to make a trip to Target and it just hasn't happened yet. Christmas is coming up WAY too fast!

A Beary Good Thanksgiving

Okay, so my title is cheesy, but we saw a BEAR...a real, live, giant 500 pound black bear. We headed out to Cashiers to spend Thanksgiving with Grams and Peep and after a delicious Thanksgiving meal, I thought I'd walk off a bit of it by pushing Brynn in the stroller and telling Blythe to "hurry up" as she walked slowly behind me. We were all suited up and Brynn was in the stroller, when a car drove by and said, "We just saw a big bear walk across the street". This is broad daylight, mind you. So I said, "hmmm...probably a walk with my 2 daughters is not such a good idea". So we went back in and told the others about the bear. The other fearless adults all ran out to go get a look at him. His name is Wheeler and he's been in the area for years rummaging through trash most nights. Grams and Peep had seen him at night but never during the day.

They found him settled down a hill, about 100 feet from the road. So a small crowd formed on the road just watching him down there. They came back to the house to get cameras, and then Dan, a family friend, took my camera and got within probably 15 feet of the bear. The bear clearly preferred the peanut butter jar over Dan.



Beautiful creature.



Anyway, we also had our Christmas with Grams and Peep while we were there. Kind of nice to have such an early Christmas because the kids can really enjoy the stuff they got. Ethan is loving his Thomas the Train matching game (I think we've played it almost every night) and his Automoblox cars.


Blythe loves her Leapster game and her fairy outfit.


And Brynn loves, well she loves her mommy, but she doesn't mind being a fairy either.


On Saturday, Blythe and Ethan went out with Grams, Peep, and Braden to find a Christmas tree they could bring back to Louisiana. It was a little on the cold side!


Anyway, it was a fun trip filled with some DELICIOUS food! Trying to work some of it off, which is hard because it's SNOWING here. I used to like snow until last winter. Now I don't like it so much!

We're famous

For the past few weeks I've been dealing with a day care situation that I'm still not quite ready to blog about yet, however it's been a huge stressor and time suck for me (thus the measly 8 blogs in November). But anyway, yesterday the news cameras were there and now our family is famous (and Ethan's boogers are famous too).