Sore back remedy

What do you do when your back is sore and aching?

Maybe...
Get a massage?
Visit the chiropractor?
Try acupuncture?

We have our own methods...

Ahhhh!

The Christmas Post

What a wonderful Christmas we had! I know it's been a month now, but, for posterity's sake, I'm still going to blog about it!

Nate and I got each other book cases for Christmas. It was the BEST present! Now, the office is WAY more organized! And that makes me happy! I love it! Thank you Natey!

Christmas Eve
We were fortunate enough to get to spend Christmas Eve with friends who are like family to us. We enjoyed a Honduran feast and delightful company over at the Andrews' house (along with the Griffins & Xelas sister Mandy & her family).
An interesting side note: I'm starting to notice a theme with my holiday posts this year (have you noticed it too?) Let me clarify...Halloween? (at the Andrews' for dinner) Thanksgiving? (at the Andrews') Christmas Eve? (also at the Andrews') See what I mean? What wonderful friends we have!

The elephant gift exchange was a delight as well.

It was a memorable night and we all quite enjoyed it!


Christmas morning was so exciting. It was our first one as our own little, intimate family. The kids called for us when they woke up, we went up and they brushed hair & teeth, then came down, one by one (while Daddy had the camera on them) to discover that Santa had definitely come! A true highlight was Santa leaving a letter for each of the girls, tucked inside the tree branches, sending them on a mini-scavenger hunt for their "big ticket" presents. Julia was the one who spotted them in the tree! I'm so glad she did!
Julia had asked for a 50-inch cheetah and Lili, a talking princess kitchen. I guess Santa didn't want to give it away, right off the bat. The girls loved it! Julia's was in the office (the hint on her letter read that it was in "the cleanest room in the house" - since we had just organized the office with our new bookshelves, it sure fit the bill!) - and Lili's was in the laundry room (her hint read that it was "in the room where our clothes get very, very clean). They both found theirs easily, but did it one at a time, so they could be there for each other. It was darling!

Since we were leaving the next morning early to drive to South Carolina, we decided to go ahead and take down the tree. Yes, it was kind of sad to do it on Christmas day, but the tree was so dead! It really needed to come down. Can you imagine what it would have looked like if we had waited another week? See what the area looked like after Nate took off all the decorations and lights? Yikes! I had the task of sorting/putting away the ornaments he left for me on the couch.

You know what works well for a whole lot of little branches and needles? A shop vac! Good thinking Nate!

Since we had such a fantastic feast on Christmas eve, we thought a big, yummy breakfast was just right for our Christmas day. It was delish! I made that baked blueberry pecan French toast again. A big hit, since it's Nate's favorite breakfast! We were full the rest of the day! The kids had peanut butter pancakes. Well, except Simon, who only ate bacon and fruit.

The next morning, we hit the road. We had a bit of a rough go of it at first. We had wanted to leave at 8:00 am. We didn't leave until almost 11:00 am. Oops. Once we finally got on the road, we had to go back to the house because we forgot something. I can't remember what it was right now. (Obviously it's easy to forget.) Then, we got on the road once more, but had to pull right back off again because Julia (there's really no way to put this delicately, but I'll try) got car sick.
Thank goodness I had given her a Ziplock bag. And, she has good aim. So, we finally, officially, hit the road by noon. We drove straight (taking stops as needed for gas, bathroom, and our one "big one" for dinner - at Applebees). We got in at 6:00 am SC time. Yeah, it was a long night, but everyone did great. Truly they did. What troopers!

Since they knew we were coming in right after Christmas, my family delayed theirs and we had another "Christmas morning" on the Sunday following the actual day. Of course, we all enjoyed that!

We had a lot of fun visiting with my family. The kids had the best time playing out in their very big yard, feeding the horses, swinging, and just hanging out with Grandma and PaPa. Thank you Mom, Dad, Kara and Andrew! It was so wonderful to get to be with all of you!

I'm also so glad my friend Kristin, and her daughter Alice, came over from Charleston to visit with us. She spent one whole day with us. We played games, talked, laughed (ate my Dad's pizza), and watched Simon and Alice enjoy each other. It was like the "old days." I loved it! Thank you Kristin!

Of course, I HAVE to post about the food! :) Christmas dinner, pies, Kara's lumpia, Dad's pizza, and (although I didn't get a picture of this) our traditional Christmas eve shrimp boil. All yummy! And, by the way, did I mention that my Mom had just had a full knee replacement a month before! She's amazing! Thanks everyone!

What a joyful time of year. I'm sad it's over, but I'm so glad we got to go home this year. It was a blessing that it worked out we were able to go there this year. My 93-year-old grandma, who lives with my family, is not doing very well right now. In fact, we weren't sure she was going to live long enough for us to see her. But, thankfully, she did. I'm so glad I got to spend some time with her. It was hard to say goodbye, because I'm sure it will be the last time I see her (in this life).

I love you Grandma!

{she's still holding on for now, thanks to my Dad, who takes such wonderful care of her! What a shining example you are for being the best son, Dad!}

An interview with...

Liliana Louise Wright
1/5/2009

Me: What are your favorite animals?
Lili: Giraffes, zebras, and dolphins and horses

Me: What are your favorite foods?
Lili: Noodles with butter, Parmesan, and salt, fruit salad, broccoli, any kind of cereal

Me (her idea for a question): How old are you?
Lili: I'm the number four, that's true.

Me: What do you do for fun?
Lili: Play with my cousin and playing Mommy school (writing with my Mommy), swinging on a see-saw, going to a restaurant, going to a playground.

Me: What do you like to wear?
Lili: my "I love horses" shirt, long jeans (when it's cold outside) and socks and shoes

Me (Lili's question): How do you like your hair?
Lili: I like it in a back ponytail.

Me: What's your favorite thing about you?
Lili: That I have a wonderful Mommy and she makes good food for me and my Daddy gives the best hugs, and my Mom gives the best hugs too. And Mommy and Daddy give the best sugars too.

Me (Lili's question): How much do you love your parents?
Lili: Really much.

Me: Tell me about your siblings.
Lili: I love my brother so much that he gave me things. I love my sister because she lets me have things she has because I gave my books to my brother and she gave her books to me. And that's why I love my brother and sister.

Me (Lili's question): Tell me about the rain.
Lili: The rain gives lots of water to the plants so they can grow. And the grass. And it gets rid of bugs you're allergic to. And stink bugs.

Me (Lili's question): Tell me about your grandparents.
Lili: Because I love my Grandma because she took me to Books-a-Million. They let me feed the horses. It's a long time to get from Texas to South Carolina.
I love them so much that I can't wait to get to their house and see Uncle Thabo.

Me: What's your favorite color? Why?
Lili: Blue. Because my sister loves my favorite color and I love her favorite color and we love our favorite colors, that's why.

Me: What do you want to be when you grow up?
Lili: A princess.

Me: What's your favorite toy?
Lili: Littlest Pet Shop and Littlest Teeniest Pet Shop

Me: Is there something you'd like to collect?
Lili: Marbles, buttons, lost things, and candy, and pens and paper, and Nerds

Me: What do you like about your room?
Lili: That it has my princess cook thing and Funky Monkey and that it looks so clean when I clean it (and then when the Gobble Bin comes out, he's hungry and he looks in my room and sees no books).

Me: What do you like about Christmas?
Lili: Santa brought us toys. Because it's about Jesus's birthday

Lili: "That's it! The End!"

On a more positive note...

I was thinking about my last post. I think it's a bit of a "Debbie downer." So, in light of that, I wanted to share some "positives" from last week...
1. Simon DID NOT break his nose when we fell!
2. With being sick, we spent a lot of time together as a family, at home. I ALWAYS love that!
3. Julia didn't get sick.
4. Everyone seems to be feeling a lot better today.
5. We're actually having winter weather today! Will it snow? It's so exciting!
6. I'm slowly, but surely getting laundry done.
7. We are healthy. Yes, we get sick, but who doesn't? What I mean is, we have our health. I'm so thankful for that all the time. Nothing like getting sick to remind you of what a true blessing it is.
8. I decided to make an outing yesterday to run a few errands. Because I did, I returned some clothes the kids got for Christmas and got in on a big sale at Gymboree. We're talking, jeans, shirts, sweaters...all for $4.99 a piece!
9. I know I'm loved. By family, friends, etc. Thank you for your concern!
10. I might get a new Crock Pot out if this (maybe one of those big ones with a more specific temperature control). That is, if I can't get a replacement lid ASAP! :)

Those are just a few things! I have so much to be thankful for! Whenever I get down, I think the best "medicine" for me, is to think of my many blessings. Then, those "other things" don't seem so bad after all.

"What a week I'm having!" - Walter Kornbluth, "Splash"

I'm taking my friend Melanie's lead on this one.

Sometimes a great quote says it all.

This line has been running through my head for days now. Why, you ask? Let me break it down for you...

UPDATE: I neglected to mention here, that we took Liliana to urgent care on Sunday night because her ear was hurting so badly. Turned out she had an ear infection and tonsillitis. How I could have forgotten to mention that, I don't know! Poor girl!

Tuesday evening, I think, "Hmm, my throat is starting to hurt. I hope I'm not coming down with a cold!" Wednesday morning when I wake up, it feels like I'm swallowing glass. ARGH! I take medicine and go about my day as normally as possible, but, I get worse. When I wake up Thursday morning feeling just as bad, I decide to go to the Doctor (because, at this point, I'm thinking strep throat is a strong possibility). Not to mention, "Dr. Mom" and
"Dr. Xela" told me that's what I have. Turns out, they were right. A fun little throat swab confirmed it. Meanwhile, Nate seemed a day or two behind me on the same symptoms. Oh no! Both of us sick at the same time! Not the best scenario. Especially when you have three young children.

And, not to mention, when you're sick, you don't feel like doing a whole lot. So, as you can imagine, laundry, dishes, messes, etc. were starting to really pile up at our house. That doesn't really help this sick girl's spirits!

Okay, so Friday morning (Nate is feeling terrible at this point), when Simon wakes up, I go upstairs to get him. Then, as I'm walking down the stairs holding him, my feet slipped out from under me, I slammed down on the steps and proceeded to slide down about seven more steps. Ouch! I set Simon down on the step, stood up, gathered my wits, then looked at Simon. He was crying, understandably. But, then I saw it wasn't just because he was scared. His nose looked like it suffered quite the bonk and scrape. I couldn't figure out why at first. He was holding a board book, "Was that why?" I didn't really know.
[I'm since convinced that he hit it on the stairs.]

I put ice on it and wondered if it was broken. I woke Nate up and we decided I should take him to the ER. My poor little guy!

I took him, Lili came with us. While we were there, in addition to the x-rays for his nose, I asked them to check his throat and ear for me too. His ear was (sorry, this is gross) seeping a mucous-y substance (which I noticed the previous night). And I wanted to rule out strep throat. Good news! He didn't have strep throat and his nose was not broken! Phew! But, he did have a pretty bad ear infection (which had ruptured his ear drum). We got our prescriptions and were on our merry way (about four hours later!). It would have most certainly been longer than that, but we put a call in to our friend (who happens to be the CFO) and, suddenly, we were being helped and taken EXCELLENT care of! Thank goodness!

Once we were home, he seemed back to himself (cheerful).
But, he didn't look like himself.
Julia even said, "Mom, Simon doesn't look right."

By the end of Saturday, he looked like this...
My poor little sweetie!


So, yes, it's been quite the week indeed.

Did I mention that I broke my Crock Pot lid last night?

Stitched up Simon

Still catching up...

Early last month, Simon went into our office (where I was) and took a spill, knocking his forehead on the corner of the coffee table that was pushed up against the wall (at least that's what I think he hit it on...it's the only thing that makes sense). I turned around just in time to see him pushing himself up into a sitting position, and then I watched the blood start to flow from the cut on his head. I scooped him up, ran him in to the kitchen and began my "Dr. Mom" treatments. I could see that it was going to need more than Neosporin, a band-aid and some kisses to make this particular "owie" all better.

I called my pediatrician and I called Nate and I ended up taking him to the hospital, where he had to get six stitches!

He was a trooper (as was Lili, who was dragged along with us).
{FYI for anyone who might ever have to go through the same thing: tossing a large bag of various candies in to your purse to take to the hospital with when your child needs stitches is a stroke of genius.}
Simon didn't like being held down while they stitched him up. (Which, by the way, they have a very smart way of doing, involving a pillow case). but once he had a lollipop to suck and a was being held by me, he calmed down immediately. By the time we got home, he seemed to be pretty much himself (except for the new look he was sporting).

That night and the whole next day, he would point to his band-aid-ed forehead, say, "Owie," wait for a kiss and an, "Aww sweetie, I'm sorry, " then he'd be good to go for another hour or so (and then he'd repeat the ritual - so adorable!).

It's been a little over a month now and it already looks a lot better. Though, we did suffer a hit in the exact same spot just days after the stitches came out! It bled again and I wasn't sure if it had come all the way open again. After getting several "second" opinions, I used both a liquid bandage and a butterfly bandage and it healed up just fine.

It's starting to fade a bit. He, of course, is still as handsome as can be...now he just has that charming, "rugged" look. But, this mom is still using Mederma for kids anyway!

And, yes, that does make us three for three in the "children who needed stitches (on their faces)" group.

"Merry Christmas Y'all!" (Yes, I'm still catching up!)

Julia and Liliana both participated in this year's Show Kids (musical theater company) Christmas production. It was called "Merry Christmas Y'all - a Texas Christmas." It was darling! They performed it three different times and did a wonderful job each time! One of my favorite moments was during the "friends and family" show they did last. Liliana just came alive on stage and was a hoot to watch. It was as if she was thinking, "hey, look at all these people! Here to watch ME!" She was striking poses and doing her own thing - all with a big smile on her face. Adorable! She and Julia both were a delight to watch!

See, aren't they cute?

Why are New Year's Resolutions so hard to keep?

I know a couple of reasons...

{this post is for you, Xela}
;)

Christmas Festivities

Decorating for Christmas...

It's always fun to get out the boxes and set everything up. The kids had fun with their Santa hats and the big "candy" cane. Lili even pretended to be a reindeer and Julia was
Santa. If you look closely, you can see Lili the reindeer pulled Santa-Julia around in their "sleigh."

The next day, we picked out our tree, brought it home and decorated it! Simon really enjoyed his ornament this year. (Well, he enjoyed tasting it anyway).

Nativity exhibit...

Every year our church has a nativity exhibit with singing groups who perform. I enjoyed singing in our choir again this year. Christmas music is such a big part of the season! I just love it!

"You can look at the nativity sets kids, but please don't touch!"

Gingerbread Houses...

My mother-in-law's tradition lives on...only this year it was BIG! We reserved our club house for a night and hosted a Gingerbread House decorating party for some of our friends. It was a lot of fun. The kids enjoyed decorating their houses (and eating as much candy as they wanted). Julia decided she wanted to make a "log cabin" this year (all her idea). It turned out so cute!
Nate worked hard making frosting for everyone and I tried to mingle a bit and help where needed (more frosting anyone?). My house didn't get done, but it was probably a good thing because Simon climbed on it in the car before we left to go home and it collapsed. Oh well, there's always next year!

Parties...

Our good friend Stacy had a little Christmas party for all her little buddies one night in December. Julia took a picture she drew just for Stacy. There was candy, games, laughter, crafts and a whole lot of fun! The kids had a blast! Thank you Stacy!

Our church Christmas party was a family home evening style one this year. There were stories, musical performances (including the primary children and bells - always a bit risky, but they did GREAT!), a hot chocolate "bar" and a dessert table. It was delightful! There was even a surprise visit from Santa!

There was no pulling the wool over my kids eyes though. They knew he was someone dressed up as Santa and they kept trying to figure out who it was!

I was glad to be able to go to Julia's Christmas party at school. I brought a fruit platter that looked like a Christmas tree (thanks to the suggestion from, my previously mentioned gourmet friend, Christine).

The Polar Express...

A nearby town has a charming historic train and every Christmas they offer rides on the "Polar Express." And this year, we finally got to ride on it! Okay, okay, technically they call it the "North Pole Express," but I'm sure that's just to get around any trademark disputes. But for all intents and purposes, it was the same thing! We went with several of our friends and enjoyed the memorable night together...complete with the song singing and dancing while we waited to board, the ride itself, and the visit from Santa! Topping off the night, Nate, the kids and I watched a glass-blowing demonstration and then watched the light show in the cute little downtown area before we headed home.

One more party...

What would the Christmas season be without...

white elephant gifts?

We went to a fun party at our friends' house. We enjoyed delicious food, great company, laughing at the funny gifts. It was so much fun!

Christmas clothes...

The Sunday before Christmas. The kids got to wear their new Christmas dresses. Didn't they look so beautiful (even when they were being silly)? Julia wanted her hair down (of course) and Lili wanted hers up "like a princess."
{Simon was asleep when we took these! It figures!}

But I snapped this one of him after church. I had wanted to buy a little outfit for him, but hadn't yet and realized, "Oh, that's THIS Sunday!" Oh well, he still looked cute (of course)!

Yep, we stayed busy during the Christmas season. I'm sad it's over, but am happy to know we all enjoyed every minute of it!