Late night chatter

We got a new computer yesterday. It's actually for the business but we've set it up at home because that's what we use as a back up for our server here at the office. While Dax was getting it all put together last night (late) he could hear talking so he went to see if Addison and Kirsten were still awake (they share a room) but they were both sound asleep. So he turned off their t.v. (yeah, we're those kind of parents) but he could still hear the chatting.

Now, I need to mention that the kids got these kinds of phones for Christmas.



They have an intercom feature on them so the kids walk around with these phones calling each other all day (and no, our house isn't that big).

Anyway, Dax went into Wyatt's room and he's on the phone talking. Wyatt says 'Hold on, Dad just came in' to whoever he's talking to. Dax asked him who the heck he was talking to at that hour. Wyatt says, 'Oh, it's Abigail. We're both watching the same movie so we're talking about it.' rofl It would be out of the question for them to actually sit in the same room and watch the movie together.

I think it's a flash into the teenage years for us!! GAAH!!

Scared me

Yesterday morning when I was doing her hair, this little angel



passed out cold!! And I mean totally out! It scared the bejeepers out of me. She was out after she hit the floor for about another 30 +/- seconds (but it felt like 10 minutes to me) before she came around. I made her lie there for a minute and then just sit for another minute before I would actually let her stand back up. When she stood up she got all pale and dizzy again so I mad her sit back down with her head between her knees until that passed. Then I helped her to bed and she stayed home from school yesterday. She went back to sleep for a little while and then she seemed to be fine for the rest of the day and was fine this morning too.

I'm not sure what brought it on but I think she may have locked her knees while she was standing there letting me do her hair. I mean, I don't think I put those pony tails in that tight. Why do they want to scare us that way? :0)

How in the world does this happen?

Addison comes in the other morning and asks me for clean sheets for her bed because she needs to change her sheets. When I ask why she explains that she woke up during the night and she was stuck to her sheets. She didn't think much of it and went back to sleep. When she got up in the morning she looked to see why she had been stuck to the sheets and found that she had rolled over onto a Cadbury's caramel, marshmallow, chocolate Christmas egg. What?! Why is she sleeping with chocolate candies? Help me understand, please, I'm begging.

Then the next day I pick up this cat



and can feel her fur all stuck together on one leg and when I check it out I find she's got chocolate all stuck in her fur. How?! I ask all the kids 'Why does the cat have chocolate all over her leg?' Dax asks if I'm sure it's chocolate (gross!) but yes, I can smell the chocolate. Of course, nobody else has any idea how that could possibly have happened.

Well, I find out the next day that they have discovered that the cat was laying on chocolate on the floor in Abigail's room. The cat was laying on the floor staring lovingly into the mouse's cage (which she does all the time). So why, oh why, is there chocolate on the floor for the cat to even be laying in? Of course I got no answer because there isn't much that makes a group of kids scatter as questions like that. LOL

To tell or not to tell....

That is the question.

It's been so long since I've posted one of these. Unfortunately, I tend to forget so many of those things I'm not supposed to do. (hmmm, could this be yet another form of denial?) Let's see......what have I not done?

- I did not decide that before getting serious about dieting that it was better to eat every sweet thing in the house rather than throw it away. Of course I would just go ahead and start eating right even if it was before the New Year actually arrived.

- I did not forget a load of sheets in the washer for 3 days. And I was not surprised when I went to wash clothes and found them there, stinky and wet. Who would forget they washed a load of sheets, right?

- I did not send the rest of the family for flu shots while not getting one myself. That wouldn't be right now would it?

- I did not go buy a bunch of Christmas stuff just to be put away for next year. What would be the point in that?

- I did not laugh and send Dax in with the video camera while the kids were giving our 'slightly wound up' dog her first bath at home. But if I had done that, it would only be because it was soooo funny.

On a Friday Afternoon

Yesterday was a beautiful day here in our area. The temps were in the 70's and there were only a few clouds in the sky. We decided to bundle into the Camaro and head over to Canyon Lake. We stopped and got a pizza on the way and then headed to the marina. We had lunch and then the kids headed off to explore. They had a great time and Addison and Kirsten came home with quite a few shells. We're now looking for a good craft to use the shells on. :0)

We stayed until sunset and it was great. Wish we could do this every Friday.

Trail of Lights

We have an outdoor theatre (the kind for plays, not movies) in town (come to think of it, we have a lot of outdoor things in town) and every year different organizations in town decorate little areas (it's a contest) and make the Trail of Lights. We go every year--often several times--and see the pretty displays, cook hot dogs, roast marshmallows, and drink hot cocoa. It's a delightful small town thing to do. I took my camera with me this year but only got two pictures before my battery died. (note to self--check battery before heading out to take pictures--duh!)

Anyway, here they are, Wyatt and Abigail:

Merry Christmas!

I hope you all have a wonderful Christmas filled with happiness and love of family and friends. Be well!

Polar Express

We went on Thursday to the Rotary event for the kids at Christmas. Each year they do this but this is the first time we were able to go. One of the members (I think he's a member anyway) owns several train cars from the Silver Streek that used to run from Chicago to Las Angeles. The cars have been restored and he opens them up for the kids to see what passenger trains were like. He dresses like a conductor and reads The Polar Express to the kids. Then they are visited by Santa and each child receives a candy cane and a bell. I found that I must REALLY believe in Christmas because boy could I hear all of those bells ringing!! lol It was a good time and the kids really enjoyed looking in the passenger compartments in the cars.

This is one of the cabins with the seating made into the bed.

This is the same cabin with a veiw from the bed back towards the other seats.

That's the owner of the train cars in the chair by the tree. He's reading The Polar Express to the kids.
This is Wyatt with Santa. He's a Blue Santa because he 'helps' at the police department. His daughter was dressed as an elf in a great costume but I couldn't get a good picture of her.
Addison & Santa.
Kirsten,
And finally Abigail. :0)

Ponies!

I've been trying to get rid of these guys for awhile now. At first I was trying to sell them for what I paid for them. Then for about half of that. Now I'm down to just giving them to a good home. The kids aren't interested in riding or caring for them and they just cost too much money to have around as lawn ornaments. They really need to be in a home where the people know a little about horses - we don't and haven't learned much in the time that we've had them.



Last weekend I thought I had found the right people to take them in but they didn't return my phone calls or emails when I was going to deliver them. And then on Saturday morning Dax went out and found that one of them can't see!! How does that happen?!

I called the vet and he acted like I was crazy because the horse looks perfectly healthy but all of a sudden he's blind. He called me back on Monday to schedule a time to see the horse and I was a nervous wreck. He had been more than a little rude on the phone on Saturday. I felt like a little kid being send to the principal's office (only when I was a little kid, that didn't scare me. lol) I told my mom that I was really nervous that he was going to be mean to me (and although I can get my b*tch on I really don't like to have to resort to that if I don't have to.) Anyway, he came out on Monday and was much more friendly to me after he saw that I'm not (completely) crazy and the horse really does look healthy overall. I swear, if you didn't know how he usually acts you would never know. It appears that he's gotten some sort of infection and/or inflamation behind his eyes. So now I have to go out twice a day and squirt goop in his eyes and antibiotics down his throat -- he's not particularly cooperative as I'm sure you can imagine.

Well, last night I talked to the original lady again. She had had to leave town because there was a death in the family. I explained to her everything that had happened over the weekend and the horse's condition and joy of joy, she still wants them both. Woohoo!! (happy dance goes here) I am thrilled that someone is willing to care and give a home to a pony that may be permanently blind. The vet was talking about putting him down and I just can't do that to him when there's nothing else wrong with him. I hope they have a wonderful and happy new home with these people.

Thankful Thursday

It's been too long since I've stopped to give actual thought to the things that I'm thankful for. It's not the big obvious things that I like to pause and think about. It's the little things that I all too often take for granted.

I am thankful for our vehicles. It's comforting to know that when I get up in the morning that I don't have to worry about whether or not I can get to work. It hasn't always been that way, and I'm grateful that it is now.

I am thankful for the snow on the ground yesterday. It was only a small little bit but the kids were thrilled. They happily ran around and played with each other in the morning before school with no arguments. That's all too rare at our house. :0)

Last night I suggested to Addison (who loves to help in the kitchen) that we make dog treats and take to the animal shelter for Christmas. She happily and excitedly agreed and then Wyatt chimed in that he wanted to help too. I'm thankful for their giving hearts. It gives me the warm fuzzies that they are caring little people and I pray that they don't lose that as they get older.

I'm thankful that we have stained concrete floors. Every time it rains and the dogs and kids track mud all over the floor I'm grateful that I can just mop it up rather than having to clean the carpet.

I'm thankful for my parents. My Mom came and stayed with the kids while Dax & I were at the conference in Las Vegas and also while we went to pick up the car. They are so helpful and allow us to do so much and never complain. I could never fully express the depths of my gratitude but I hope they know how much I truly love and appreciate them.

I'm thankful that the Halloween candy is gone. I've been so bad at resisting its temptation that I'm glad it's not around anymore. But, alas, Christmas candy and a whole host of cookies are on their way.

I'm thankful that my mother-in-law and sister-in-law decorated our Christmas tree while they were at our house for Thanksgiving. It's usually a whine-fest with the kids over who gets to put which ornament on the tree which turns it into a miserable afair. This year, however, they were perfect while helping Bushia and Aunt 'Manda decorate the tree. Nary a whine or wimper, of course making a liar out of me. :0) But that's fine, the tree is done with no fights. :0)