When will winter end?

It is finally the end of January and it is the time of year that I start counting the days till spring. There are 51, if you wanted to know. I found out in November that I have an injury and can't run till it is healed. The kids are becoming couch potatoes, I feel like I am living at the gym, and we are all looking pasty. Blech. I'm ready for some fun! I don't think that the super bowl counts unless someone sends me to Floriday to see it in person. So, if you have some spare tickets, send them my way! The good news is that Colby is getting bigger and cuter everyday, as evidenced by the pictures.

Liam has been entertaining himself with a battle with his little green army men that has taken over the house. There are snipers and scouts going down the stairs, there are troops in the living room, and tanks everywhere. He is having a good time, and is good about keeping them where they won't get stepped on.

Hurrah for a New Year!

Well, the holidays are over, and it is time for us to all get busy and work off all the goodies we inhaled. Bummer. I am thrilled that the radio stations aren't playing Christmas music anymore. Wow, some of that stuff is really bad! I wonder what they were thinking when they recorded some of it. "Golly, I'm bored, let's go slaughter a couple of holiday songs and see if anyone will be dumb enough to buy it!"

The kids had a good Christmas, and were pretty thrilled with the Wii system that Santa brought. Dee and I get a kick out of the Wii fit, except when it tells us that we gained weight and then wants us to list the reasons why we did. I was dissappointed that Christmas wasn't on the list of reasons. It should be. We, including Zac, went to Hillary's house Christmas eve for dinner. I had Dee really wondering what he was going to get this year. He kept asking how big it was, and if he could put wheels on it. He was hoping for a ATV. Sorry!

New Year's Eve Dee and I were invited to a costume party. He went as Charlie Chaplin, and I was Janis Joplin. Of course, the first was devoted to football, and food. Zac came out again, and some friends came too. Zac's ex brought Colby, who has changed so much. Isn't he a sweetie?

After two weeks of being home for the holiday break, the kids are really ready for school to start again and I am ready to get back on schedule.

Am I the Grinch in Disguise?

The Christmas frenzy is in full force, and I think Santa and his elves threw up all over our house. Decorations are everywhere, and have been since I lost my mind on December 1st and let the kids help me decorate. Usually, I am more likely to wait till the week before, and then take it all down by noon on Christmas day. I was doing ok until tonight when I realized that my house has been taken over. My bedroom has been turned into gift-wrapping central, the living room has toy ads (with the desired toys circled in black marker) scattered in stragegic places, the dining room table has the remainders of the Christmas card marathon on it, the kitchen, oh, my poor kitchen, has been the scene of cookie baking episodes, ornament creations, and tonight it was Ri, Trey, and Liam's gingerbread house construction site. I don't know when it will ever be back to normal. Actually, I do know. 12:00pm December 25th!!

Whoo! Hoo! Clean Closets and Random Stuff!

Here are some more pictures of baby Colby. Isn't he just sweet?

Yesterday, I went crazy and cleaned some closets. I was tired of dodging whenever I went into them, and I wanted to take a bunch of stuff to the DI. I wish I had thought to take "before" pictures but I did take some "after" pictures, and though they may not look like they are organized, for me, they really are. And besides, the one on the right is only my side of the closet, which is always a mess, while Dee's side is never a mess.

Today has been a frenzy of cleaning and baking. My parents and my sister, Hillary and her family are coming for dinner tomorrow. The house smells great, and the kids are getting really excited! Happy Thanksgiving everyone!

New Addition!

We have a new addition to our family! Zachary's son was born this morning at 5:43, weighing in at 7 pounds, 13 ounces, and he has lots of dark hair. He has a fever, so they are keeping him in the hospital for a few days. Needless to say the kids are very excited about this and can't wait to see him. Dee and I went to see him tonight, and he is so sweet! We are so in love with him already, that we can't stand it.

Just another freaking day in paradise!

Ok, honestly, I got the title from a sign that I have in my kitchen, but it reflects my daily life. And sometimes I don't even mean it in a sarcastic way! I know, that is hard to believe. Thursday was a good example. I exercised at 5:30 am, then got the kids off to school, went to work, then had to hurry home to make a cake for Devin's 17th (that's right, the kid turned 17!) birthday, and the soup he requested for dinner. In my head, I had envisioned a lovely family dinner, followed by cake and some fun conversation. Well, that isn't exactly how it worked out. We had the nice dinner, and the cake, then Devin took his loot and headed to the basement. I think Zac was wondering why he bothered to drive out to the house for it, except that free food, is free food and he is all for that. So it was a good day. My kid survived another year, and we did have good food, but as usual it wasn't quite the what I had planned. Just like the rest of my life.

We are looking forward to the coming week which will include some big events. Number one, Liam turns 9 on Wednesday. Number two, election day is Tuesday (get out and vote you people!) and thus ends the irritating political commercials. Three, Rianne goes in to get her arm X-rayed to see if she can take off her cast. Four, Dee and I are going to Cheyennne for the weekend, if Dad gets out of the hospital. We'll see if life this week goes according to plan. Keep your fingers crossed!

Too Much to Remember?

Today I have decided that I just simply have too much to remember, and that is why I forget so many things. On an average day I have to remember my name, my address, my birthday (even though I'd rather forget that), my phone numbers, my children's names, which teachers they have, the date, and whether I have anything in the kitchen to make for dinner, if I have to go to work and how to explain subject/verb agreement when I get there. Then there are the doctor, dentist, vet, and hair appointments. That list doesn't even include PIN numbers, passwords, and social security numbers for heaven's sake. My brain doesn't have any room for such trivial things like did Rianne leave the house with her hair done, or is Devin really still wearing his church socks on Thursday?

But why does my brain hold on to strange things, but not other more normal things? Why can I remember one of my best buddies' parents' phone number from 20 years ago, but not whether my kids are up-to-date on their tetnus shots? Why can I remember the name of the jerk who sat behind me in health class (Jack), but not my neighbor's? What is up with that? Shouldn't there be an expiration date on some things, so they can just dissappear when no longer needed, making room for new things? So, for instance, when you get new liscence plates for your car, the old number would be deleted and the new one would take its place. My kids would just like it if I could look at them and say their name with out running through all their syblings' names first. I must admit, that would be an improvement. But at least I don't call them what's-your-name. Yet. One more password to remember, and their names might be next to go!