Bugs, bugs and more bugs....

There is a bug at our house. Declan started feeling bad, then Teagan. We are hoping and praying the baby doesn't get sick. Because then I quit. Nah, just kidding. But seriously, what kind of horrible thing did I do to deserve 2 sick kids? Teagan coughs like a seal, and Declan only went to school on Monday. I am soooooo ready for him to feel good enough to go to school.

Maren went for her first physical therapy session yesterday. She has a mild case of torticollis (you can read more here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Torticollis ) and will go for physical therapy to loosen up the tight muscle's on the left side of her body. Judi, her therapist said she is a delight and she can come play anytime! Maren was a little trooper, and tolerated therapy for about 30 minutes.

I am *still* trying to move the things out of the guest room, so we can eventually move Teagan in there. Then Maren can move into the nursery (that's the plan Amy!). Just moving my scrap space into the loft proved to be a major job, and with 3 kids, things don't move so quickly. The job also required another trip to Ikea, of course. I got another Expedit bookcase to store my sewing things and fabric. Maybe I'll get to work on it today........

Today we are expecting the arrival of a very special guest! Santa has sent us our very own elf (http://www.elfontheshelf.com/) He'll begin working tomorrow, watching the kids and reporting back to Santa.

Well, off to start the day!

New Bedtime Routine.

Okay, let me start off this post by saying I know I should be in bed, it's almost 11:00. But, the house is so quiet and I can actually have some time to be by myself. It's a treat, even if I'll pay dearly tomorrow when I can't get out of bed.

It seems like when I lay down at night I lay there forever, unable to turn off my head. I'm listening for Maren, worrying that the second I fall asleep, she will wake up. Maybe it's hormonal, maybe I'm turning into a night owl (hehehe, nah), maybe I'm just getting old. Maybe, JUST maybe, it's that I want to actually complete something that I started.......

Anywhooooo....... this time last year I was working on setting up my scrap space in the 'guest room.' It used to look like this:

And then it looked like this:

Well, change is once again a brewin. We are going to move Teagan into the room formerly known as the 'guest room/scrap space.' In order to do this, we had to move my scrap space into the loft. Thank GOD we bought a house that was way to big for us 9 years ago, because we have since completely filled it up. The chairs from the loft had to go to the Living room and that is where the new bedtime routine comes into the picture.

My Mom had a great suggestion of rather than reading to each child separately, and then sitting with them, that we begin reading the kids their books together downstairs and then everyone just goes upstairs to bed. You know, like killing a few birds with 1 stone. The kids loved the idea and have been doing a really good job going to sleep after the books are done. So here I am, with my 3 pack, reading a few books before bedtime.

YES, I am aware that I am wearing the same thing in all of the photos of me lately, I swear I am washing it and taking showers. Promise. Honestly, since having Maren, I've been able to keep some of the baby weight on, and so not much of my old clothes fit. This is one of the few comfy things I have to knock around the house in.......

Alright, enough of my rambling. I should get off to bed, because Maren is waiting for me to fall asleep!

I'm thinking this will be one of our 'Family Traditions'

Decorating a gingerbread house for Christmas. Hopefully it will eventually be the kids decorating and me watching them. But today it was me decorating and them 'tasting' all the yummies. Teagan just kept saying "Ummmm, yummy!"

I think it turned out cute, Greg did the practical things like coach lights and door knobs - teehee!

Who'd a thunk it?

Here is mine:

You Would Be a Pet Cat

Independent and aloof, you don't like to be dependent on anyone. And as for other people, you can take them or leave them. You often don't care. You live your life by your own rules. And you have deep motivations that no one truly understands. Why you would make a great pet: You're not needy or greedy... unlike other four legged friends. Why you would make a bad pet: You're not exactly running down to greet people at the door What you would love about being a cat: Agility and freedom What you would hate about being a cat: Being treated like a dog by clueless humans

Here is Greg's:

You Would Be a Pet Fish

Relaxed and laid back, you prefer to sit back and observe what's going on around you. You are secretly very wise and intelligent, but few people take the time to learn about you. You don't mind if the world doesn't understand you. You're having enough fun trying to understand the world. Why you would make a great pet: You're peaceful and nice to be around, but not very demanding Why you would make a bad pet: Let's face it... the only person you're truly interesting to is yourself What you would love about being a fish: Swimming around aimlessly without a care in the world What you would hate about being a fish: Being used as bait or food for bigger fish

What Kind of Pet Would You Be?

You would have thought it was 20 below.....

We decided to take a walk over to Starbucks yesterday evening. I bundled the kids up like it was sub-zero temperatures out! They LOVED getting their gloves and hats on. I was pleasantly surprised that Teagan's hat (knit for her by Grandma) matched her little sweatsuit perfectly! We can't be going out street walking lookin like riff raff.

Maren wasn't quite as excited as the other two, but she sure was cute! Oh, and here is the double stroller we go rollin' in! teehee!

Declan and Teagan each got their own little hot chocolate drink. Seriously, does Starbucks have their act together or what?! Greg and I split a Pumpkin something yummy latte. DeLISH!

Halloween goodies!

I wanted to post a picture of what I made for Declan to hand out to his friends at school. Now my posts are all out of order, but you get the idea! It's little Playdoh's in the bags.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY GREG!!

They say it's your Birthday.........well, me and the pack of 3 wish you the very best year yet!!!

The kids and I made a lemon cake with lemon frosting to celebrate. The kids decided to put 5 candles on the cake, instead of 41......

Oh, and when we sang Happy Birthday, we did the 'cha cha cha' version!

Finally.... an update, with pictures!

Declan's preschool had a field trip to the Pumpkin patch. It was actually at the same Pumpkin Patch that we took Declan to when he was a baby. Greg's Mom flew in that morning, and so she came along. It was fun, and the weather couldn't have been better!

Okay, click to enlarge this picture of Teagan. Look at the huge BLING ring on her finger!!! She is a girly girl after all! She wears her "pretties" all day (and a few nights too). This ring in particular lights up. It's about 85 carats.

This is what a 2 yr old looks like after "painting"

Declan's preschool had a Halloween party, and they got to dress up. It was a good thing Declan had 2 costumes to choose from. He was a firefighter for the school party. I went in to help, and handed out treats for the kids when they trick or treated in class. Declan thought it was pretty cool that his Mom was there (although I think he thought I was there to pick him up when he first saw me - he didn't want to miss the fun!)




That night was the real deal. Teagan was a fairy, Declan was Spiderman and Maren was the peapod that has become a tradition at this house. Notice the "spooky" glowing eyes inside?!


Okay, Blogger won't let me add anymore pictures, so I'll have to break this post into 2...