Sick Day

I don't remember ever missing class or work for a "sick day", but at least it was an option. As a full-time mom, you can't call in sick! Alexee has had the cough/runny nose stuff since last Saturday, Rhett has had a little bit of a runny nose, and a few days ago I noticed that swallowing was no fun at all. Today I've had that head-to-toe aching, and my voice is pretty much gone. I put A down for her nap this morning then got under a pile of blankets on the couch with Rhett while he watched a cartoon. I guess I fell asleep briefly...I woke up to him piling pillows on my head and sitting on them. Then I guess I somehow fell asleep again, and I was awakened the second time by him spraying air freshener DIRECTLY in my FACE. So I gave up trying to stay warm and rest in order to feel better and decided I'd have just as much luck recovering while doing laundry--at least I would be productive. Well, R's eyes have been really red, and the thought crossed my mind three days ago that he might have pink eye? So I called the clinic today (of course no appointments available for sick people), so the nurse called me back and said the doctor had her call in eye drops for him. I'm not sure it's pink eye, but I guess even if it's not, the $60 eye drops can't hurt. So we saved the time and co-pay of hanging out at the doc's office! I really hope we're all better by A's birthday party on Saturday. Right now her little face is so red and chapped from her runny nose, and she has several bruises on her face from recent tumbles (she's walking!). Please say a little prayer for a healthy household by the weekend! (or earlier...I feel like I have so much left to do to prepare!) :)

Clothing Sale

Today I hosted a Chez Ami clothing party. Rhett liked the party because there were brownies and rice crispy treats and several kids to play with while the moms shopped. All the clothes were so cute--even cuter in real life than what they looked like in the catalog. It made me really look forward to spring.

Watercolors

R doesn't usually have much interest in art activities. However, he does like to do watercolors for some reason...because of the water involved maybe? We painted several pictures yesterday while Alexee was sleeping. I had so much fun! He did one picture for Miss Andrea, one of our babysitters. She is away at college, but he thought it would be fun to mail her something.

Fast Forward

Today R was sitting at the computer playing a reading game on pbskids.org when he told me, "I like spending time with you, Momma." (my heart melted) I said, "I absolutely love spending time with you and Alexee too--it's my favorite thing in the world to do. I'm so thankful that it's my job to spend time with you and take care of you."

Then he said, "Well, when I'm a doctor and I'm as tall as Daddy, I won't get to spend time with you anymore." (my heart broke) Trying not to cry, I asked, "Well, do you promise to always come and visit me and spend time with me after work?" (I'm crying as I type this) Thank goodness he said, "Yes, I'll get IN MY CAR and drive to your house and stay there."

How can he be almost four?!!?!?!?

January Hair Cut-photos added

I don't know what happens to me in January, but I always get a big urge to cut my hair right after new year. Maybe because I'm terribly tired of winter, winter clothes, cold days...and just needing a little change. So today I gave in to the urge. The last time I went through with it was January '04 when I was very pregnant with Rhett (I came home and cried). But today I think I like it???? It's not nearly as short as Posh's in the back, but the front of hers is about the same as mine all around! And I had Debbie cut a few more bangs. What was I thinking!?! I hope I still like it tomorrow. If not, I can probably have it long enough for a pony-tail again by summer. :) I'll post a picture when I have on make-up.

My hair is so wavy that I'm going to have to figure out what to do with the bottom, shortest layer underneath--it kinda sticks out in these pictures.

In the news

This is so sad to me. I've really liked him in several movies, especially The Patriot. It bothers me to think that his little girl will never know her dad and to wonder about his spiritual condition.

Another Project

UPDATE: I finished the curtain today, and I'm excited about hanging it up. I need to find four pegs like in the magazine picture below...any suggestions on where to look/what to look for? I think the magazine example used tie-back pegs (don't really know what they're called), so I guess my first place to look will be Bed Bath & Beyond. I'll post a picture once Lane hangs it for me. I have a little bit of extra fabric, and I was thinking of trying to cover a narrow piece of board that I have leftover from a previous project. I thought I (well, again--Lane) could drill hooks into the board for diaper bags, my purse, R's backpack, etc. Then they would hang neatly in the laundry room and not sit in a pile by the back door!
________________
I love projects. I have too many of them going on at once--I can't seem to finish anything. Here's my latest one:

Very boring laundry room window

Cute idea that I saved from a sewing magazine a while back (I love the ribbon ties and the way it's hanging.)

Fabric on the $6/yd clearance table. Chocolate colored ribbon for ties.

It might be a few months, but I'll post pictures of the final product! (Then again, I might stay up late tonight and do it because I'm excited about it!?!)

Amazed

Last night at Jason's Deli, L & I somehow got on the topic of eternity and how terribly scary and miserable life would be if you lived it not believing in Christ and eternal life through Him. I honestly don't spend as much time as I should thinking about such things because even as a Christian, it's too big and too overwhelming so I just avoid the topic in my mind. I guess our conversation really stuck with me through the night because when we sang this song at church this morning, I instantly had tears running down my cheek. For some reason the words just flooded me with thanksgiving for the gift of hope in Christ.

I stand amazed in the presence
of Jesus the Nazarene,
and wonder how he could love me,
a sinner, condemned, unclean.

How marvelous! How wonderful!
And my song shall ever be:
How marvelous! How wonderful
is my Savior's love for me!

For me it was in the garden
he prayed: "Not my will, but thine."
He had no tears for his own griefs,
but sweat-drops of blood for mine.

In pity angels beheld him,
and came from the world of light
to comfort him in the sorrows
he bore for my soul that night.

He took my sins and my sorrows,
he made them his very own;
he bore the burden to Calvary,
and suffered and died alone.

When with the ransomed in glory
his face I at last shall see,
'twill be my joy through the ages
to sing of his love for me.

Outfit from Aunt Kala

Her little chubby legs looked SO cute in these flower tights! My sister got her this outfit for Christmas, and I couldn't resist these boots on sale last week.

Movie Date & Dinner Date

This afternoon R & I went to a movie, just the two of us--it was so much fun! He was so excited all morning and asked a million times if it was time to go yet. He's only been to the theater one other time when he was really small (summer before last) and didn't enjoy it very much. He was so cute today, all bundled up in his winter coat, holding my hand as we approached the huge theater. I asked him if he thought we should get some candy, and of course he did (Skittles). He wanted to hold his ticket all through the movie. He didn't like the previews and commercials at the beginning (I don't like them either), but once the movie started he was interested and sat still. During the commercials he looked over every square inch of the theater and asked me things like, "where is the light switch for these lights?", "who turns the lights on?" (I told him that the owner probably did, so then he asked "where's the owner's office?") I really enjoyed getting to spend some time with just him. (and L & A had a good time together at home.)

Tonight a friend of ours came over to babysit after the kids were in bed. We were not super hungry for some reason, so we decided to go to the salad bar at Jason's Deli. Then we went to Target and wandered around looking at stuff that we don't usually have the time (or patience) to look at when the kids are shopping with us. We bought Alexee a cute little Valentine outfit and some Valentine stationery & stickers--fun purchases! It's been a really fun family day.

Tag!

Four jobs I've had:
1.  Office assistant
2.  Auditor at public accounting firm
3.  Accountant for our church
4.  Full-time Mom (my favorite job!)

Four places I lived:
1. Flippin, AR
2. Arkadelphia, AR
3. Salzburg, Austria
4. Little Rock

Four movies I've watched over and over:
1. Spiderman
2. Ocean's Eleven
3. Wizard of Oz
4. Office Space

Four shows I watch:
1. 24
2. The Office
3. Biggest Loser
4. Criminal Minds

Four places I've been:
1. Hawaii
2. Venice, Italy
3. Paris, France
4. Montreal, Canada

Four people who e-mail me regularly:
1. Micaela
2. Heather
3. Mary Katherine
4. Sandra

Four favorite thing to eat:
1.  sweets
2.  popcorn, cheese & apples
3.  spinach dip/pita chips from Trio's
4.  seafood

Four places I'd rather be:
1. I'm happy being at home! ...but I'd gladly take a trip to...
2. Hawaii
3. Mom & Dad's house
4. on a train through Europe

Four things I look forward to this new year:
1. Community Group Retreat in May
2. Possibly a spring break trip with Lane (don't know where)
3. Hopefully a family vacation (to the beach) this summer
4. Watching our kids grow and learn new things!

Four people to tag:
1. Heather
2. Lisa 
3. Sharmin 
4. Allison R.

Dinner Idea

Here's a dinner idea you might enjoy:

Last night we had Bible study at Jim & Connie's house, and Connie made the best dinner. She said it was super easy, and I thought it was such a fun idea. She boiled new potatoes and corn on the cob in a huge pot (with a little bit of crab boil seasoning), then added the shrimp to the pot. She had her dining table covered in layers of newspaper and a muffin cup of cocktail sauce at each place. She drained the pot of food, then dumped it out in the center of the dining table on the newspaper...she said her family calls it "dump dinner". Everyone just reached into the pile for their food--no plates needed (we did use forks for the potatoes). She served it with delicious, buttered loaves of French bread from Old Mill. Clean up was easy--just roll up the leftovers in the newspaper and toss! Definitely a dinner I want to try to make at my house. (sorry no photo--didn't have my camera)

New Tooth

I noticed this morning that A has a new tooth...her fifth! This is a picture I made yesterday. I dressed her up in her birthday dress to try to get a few photos.

Valentine Prize

I went to Pokeno tonight at Wendy's house and came home with this cute prize for my font step! She made a DELICIOUS meal. She said she would e-mail recipes to the group, so I'll share them here once I get them. I love this group of girls--I always look forward to hanging out with them each month. It is always a really fun night out for me.

Cousins/Best Friends

My sister, Jaiden & Jeryn came over for a little while this morning, which is always fun! When I told Rhett that Jaiden was coming to play with him, his eyes got big and he said, "Oh, I just called her this morning to see if she could come over!" (I'd heard him on the monitor this morning having one of his pretend phone conversations with her...they really are best buds!)

Here is baby Jeryn (7 months) in the outfit and hat we gave him for Christmas...he was so snuggly soft!

Here's a picture of how Jaiden looked when my sister opened the bathroom door to check on her and Rhett (they'd been playing hide-&-seek in the closet the last few times we peeked in on them, so we weren't too concerned) But then we found that Jaiden had been into my make-up bag. She had lipstick all over her face and she said, "I was trying to make my eyebrows big like my Daddy's". We laughed so hard. Thankfully, Rhett didn't have on any makeup (THIS time--Jaiden has been known to put makeup on him, but I think he told her that boys don't wear make up this time).

Right before they left, I told them to give each other a hug for a picture, and it turned into a laughing wrestling match!

They were finally serious enough for one photo...sweet cousins & friends forever!

Favorite Dress

This is one of my favorite dresses that Alexee has on. She wore it to church yesterday for the first time. I bought it at Pickles & Ice Cream before she was born, and I cannot believe it's already time for it to fit her! She looked like a little doll in it. Rhett is such a sweet big brother to her. It makes my heart so happy to see him help her and play with her. Tonight at dinner he was pretending to sneeze over and over, and every time she'd laugh harder. What a joy!

Fun Weekend

It has been a fun weekend so far.  Last night I went to Scrapbook Night with my friend, Ali.  I had big plans to get several pages done (finish up Christmas of LAST year)...but I only did two pages (2-page spreads).  Oh well, that's more than I would have done if I'd stayed at home.  It was fun anyway.  This morning Rhett, Alexee and I went to a drop-in shower for another friend, Charla.  She's having a little boy in February!  Her little girl is just 5 weeks younger than Rhett, so we were pregnant at the same time and had fun shopping for baby stuff together 4 years ago. Then tonight we were invited to dinner at the Mezels' house.  We used to be in the same Bible Study group a few years ago.  They've been to Flippin with us once and we babysit for each other.  We always have a great time hanging out with them.  They have twins R's age, so they had fun playing in their playroom and jumping on their trampoline tonight.  They grilled burgers and had a fruit salad and a yummy salsa.  Above is a picture of Valerie giving the kids chips to go with their hamburgers.  She'd bought each of them an M&M-filled Valentine heart for dessert which they were all very excited about!

Cake Samples

It was warm (for January) today except the strong wind. We went out on the deck for a little while to replenish the birds' bread supply, and Rhett also wanted to ride his bike during Alexee's nap.

Out on the deck this afternoon
I found some cute Christmas dresses 50% off at Stork Stop this morning. This is one of the two I purchased. I hope they fit her next year!

We stopped by Blue Cake Co. on our way home from school today to price a birthday cake. Of course Rhett thought we should sample their product, which I agreed with! We bought two cupcakes--a red velvet and a chocolate. Both were delicious!

First steps!

Alexee took her first steps this morning before church...2 steps in a row from the ottoman to me!  Rhett witnessed it and yelled, "she walked all by herself!" I'm sure she'll really be on-the-go very very soon!  She was SO proud of herself.  I think she could have taken more steps had she not been so excited that she was bouncing and waving her arms!  It was really cute.  I had a flash back of when my sister learned to walk.  I remember where we were sitting in the living room floor at the house we grew up in, and I remember being so excited when she took those steps.  She'll be 26 in a few months...I'm very afraid that 26 years with Alexee will pass just as fast...probably faster.

Mo & Granddad got her this sweet dress for Christmas.  I loved dressing her up in it this morning!

And this is Rhett's handsome new outfit that he got for Christmas, too.  He looked so nice!  Of course when I picked him up from his class, his sleeves were rolled up, shirt untucked and pants legs tucked into his boots, but that's what little boys do!  
Here he is during his new goggle-hair-washing routine, a wonderful idea from Heather. He gets terribly upset every time a drop of water gets in his eyes, so every night bath time has been a challenge.  But things have greatly improved with the goggles.  Thanks, Heather...just wish I'd started this sooner!  :)
Here they are playing together.  R fixed several toys yesterday (replaced batteries) using his new tool set from Granddad.  This is one of the toys he fixed--Alexee was very grateful!

Yard Work

I think R had a fun day today. A friend called this morning and invited us to meet them at an indoor playground. When I told R and asked him if he'd like to go, he jumped up and started yelling "yes!" (holiday cabin fever??) Lane stayed home with A, so R and I had fun going out just the two of us for a little while. Then this afternoon he helped L rake leaves and clean up the back yard. I loved looking out the back door seeing them working together--they were so cute! In one of the pictures below R is dumping the grass clippings from his little play mower. He looked so sweet all bundled up with pink cheeks from the cold day. I gave him a loaf of old bread and told him that he could crumble it up for the birds on the deck (we've actually seen a cardinal out there snacking). He put some on the rail and crumbled some up on the patio table.

Eleven Months

Another month has slipped by! Here she is, sweet as ever, at 11 months today: