Funny kids, sweet husband

Jackson grabbed Stephen's ice-cream bowl and I had to get a pic.

Poor kid was zonked- She rarely falls asleep around noise and in the living room.

Madeline loves to dress in her swim gear and say she is going to the beach with Nana and Grandpa.

Madeline, Ella, Jackson, me.

I did an icing heart for him to put candy so he would not feel left out.

I have enjoyed this Thanksgiving holiday immensely! My husband was home for 4 days and I was able to sleep in until 11:30 on one of those. I know that is pathetic but I do not think I have slept for more than 6 hours since Jackson has been born. Thank you Stephen!

Don't worry, he got his sleep in day as well, and I will not embarrass him by telling how late he slept. He is famous for his "block everything out" sleeping abilities.

We did our usual two Thanksgivings- one with my fam and one with Stephen's fam. By the second one, I was not hungry but it was fun to visit. Friday, my niece came over for a little while and then Madeline and I had girls-only shopping day. I let her have a cherry icee, and pick out candy at the candy story with the scoopers, so she starting acting a little nuts. It was fun and nice to spend quality time with her. I had her with me to pick out clothes for herself since she has become picky. Let me just say that she wanted pink socks, undies, pants, shirts, etc. We came home with some ultra-pink pants from Old Navy. Saturday, my niece came over and we did gingerbread men (see pic).

Funny Madeline comments:

"Mommy, I love you and I will never hate you"-Thanks darling! Remember that when you are sixteen.

I overheard her saying "My daddy is the tallest and the biggest and the strongest and he can fix anything".

At a friend's house with a cat ( I am highly allergic and she knows this because that is why we cannot have one)- "Now, mommy (with calming hand motions) don't be nervous. I won't let the kitty crawl on you."

"Mommy, this show impresses me."

To Jackson:"You are the best brudda" (brother) She has very clear speech, but for some reason her th's come out as d's when she says mother and brother.

Now a note about Jackson: He has turned into a climbing, exploring, dumping, moving maniac. I can hardly keep up with him. This little guy is sneaky. Stephen and I are reevaluating the baby-proofing in our house. Everything must be bolted and I realize that even if I think he cannot get to something, he will work to find a way. He is still my sweet, cuddly bear, but he definitely keeps me on my toes.

Overall, I am so grateful for my healthy family. Stephen had a lung x-ray and they are OK. This has encouraged him to really try and quit smoking. He actually asked the person reading the x-rays to check again because he was so sure that his lungs had something. We are very grateful. Also, Jackson has a weird ridge/bump on top of his head that I freaked out about, but it turns out he just has a bumpy head like his daddy. Stephen has the same bump

Arghhhh! Rant!

What is up with cars that have extra parts specifically put on them to make them louder? Actually, I am just curious as to what provokes someone to spend money to make a vehicle be heard throughout a neighborhood everytime it started and stopped. I know this is like something a lot of people like to do, and I really would like to say- More power to you- But we have about 4 cars in my near vicinity. A couple start right next to my son's window and it is so loud that even the sound machine on the highest volume does not come close to drowning it out and wakes him up almost every time. Sometimes, the people with the cool cars start them and rev them over and over and over. These cars are obnoxiously loud. I thought it was a good thing for the engine to "purr". Sometimes, when one of the 4 cars starts, I will get all fired up and start to go outside just to stare them down (oooohhh, I know) or ask them why?, or just beg for mercy but then I remember my squeaky dog so I go back inside. Any ideas on drowning out the really low but loud rumble? My baby needs to sleep and I think I need to as well.

More sickness, more pictures

The happy stuff is first. Madeline's Halloween party at school was great. The moms doing this party really went the extra mile. Madeline looked like a true princess. Jackson came and she was very proud of "her baby". She is still telling me that certain kids really liked her baby. Jackson was a zebra for Halloween and he actually did not mind being in the costume. He just goes with the flow. For some reason, I cannot find the zebra pics but I will put them up when I do. If anyone can tell me how to fix my pics so that they are not all over the place, please let me know.

Now for the not so happy stuff. Madeline has an ear infection again (may be the same one and the medicine did not take care of it), and I was awakened at 3:00Am to a child with a 104.8 fever and a headache. I was so scared. The headache thing really scared me. The scariest thing was that she was incoherent. She was delirious and talking about really strange things. Anyways, they gave her a shot and some more antibiotics at the ER and she missed 3 days of school and gymnastics. Thank God that it was only an ear infection. I was nearly in tears when I was holding her while we were getting ready to go to the ER. Trust me, we have been through many fevers, weird things (BHS, crazy bug bites) and illnesses but something about her this time was so frightening. She is better today, and her last fever was last night. Poor kid seems to pick up everything. We have all been cooped up and are ready to party this weekend with Daddy, lol.

Back to my family.......

I am taking a politics break because I am getting too frustrated. I do not take the time to link to statistics or news articles written to back up my thoughts. Personal experiences with health insurance and owning a small business has really shaped my views so I have a tendency to get on a rant. If I ever get organized enough or a lot of uninterrupted time(haha), I would love to intelligently put into words why I believe the way I do about abortion, govt. healthcare, the concept of "fairness", and many other things. I used to be the biggest whiner, pity partier, you name it. I have been on the side where I felt entitled to things and that things were always "unfair". I was pretty spoiled because I think that my family wanted to make up for certain events in my life. I do have compassion for people who did not have the security that I had growing up, and I hope that those that become parents can realize that as a parent, you have to do what you can to move on from the past so that it is not repeated or so that you do not inflict stress and a bad attitude on your kids. OK- this post just went in a totally new direction which is why I should stick to pics and short captions.

I guess it is time for the sign to come down.

My McCain/Palin yard sign probably should have been gone Nov. 5th, but for some reason I have not taken it down. Maybe it is laziness, or maybe the action is like admitting it is over to myself. Oh, well. I will say that I will support and pray for President-elect Obama, who may be wondering why he wanted the job, especially now that he is privvy to all that extra-secret info from President George W. I read on another blog and agree that we should try to do this and not exemplify the hatred that I have seen from so many directed at our current President. I mean, the man has made some mistakes, but it is hard to judge when you are not one of the 43 presidents or do not have access to the special information that he does. Seriously, I do not think I would ever have the gall to run for anything. I am too much of a wimp to go through the scrutiny and I can guarantee you that I probably have more skeletons than Sarah Palin! Good luck to the Obamas and their beautiful little girls.