12-9-2012 Week in Review

So I’m pushing almost 2 months behind and I never even finished last year! Ugh…

Alright…Monday, Dec 3rd…Happy Birthday Dade & Ryan!!

17 years ago today I was on day 3 of labor!! But at 3:27 in the morning my sweet Dade finally arrived!! Though he was pretty cute back then, I have to say he's just grown more handsome over the years. Happy Birthday, Dade!!

Since Ryan was gone, Ella & Corben were at school, and Dade wasn’t around, I celebrated their birthdays by going to pick up my glasses. I was in a super duper rush so I grabbed them and left but the lady warned me that my eye was so bad that the world might look kind of crazy for a week or so…I had no idea.  I tried to drive with them but gave up rather quickly.  The world was looking Dr. Seussish. Anyway, grabbed the kids and rushed to meet mom at Dade’s school for a 15 minute meeting with him to give him his gifts and his cake. I was going to make some crazy cake sculpture but that didn’t happen so he got a cake completely covered in Twizzlers!! It was a nice (but way too short) visit. I can’t believe he’s 17…

Tuesday (in honor of Dade) I provided pizza for Dade’s entire hall of 40 something young men. (Okay, it was actually for their weekly meeting but I picked this week in honor of Dade.)  My glasses are causing me great distress. I’m not sure if there is anyone who can relate to this but I feel like I’m in another world when they’re on. The world looks very flat and fake. I feel like people around me can’t see me and I keep finding myself standing and staring off. I thought glasses were supposed to make you smart! lol…I’m feeling rather dumb. I’m actually having a lot of troubles thinking with them on. Almost like my brain is trying overtime to manage the weird visual input and it can’t do anything else. I was so mixed up I rushed Sylvie to gymnastics…a day early. 

I decided that my brain needed a break so we should all go to the library. I even had a free Papa Johns’ pizza saved up so it was perfect. To make it even more perfect we discovered it was the night that Santa visits!! Yippee!! Collin just loved staring up at Santa!

Let Ella read some Christmas books to Sylvie that they picked up at the library. Somehow I missed that one was A Christmas Carol! I got to them before they got past the first ghost even though they were assuring me they weren't scared. Now they're both crying upstairs. Lovely. -- On a brighter note, they all got to see Santa tonight and I actually was able to get a free Papa Johns pizza for supper. Yippee!

Wednesday…someone got ahold of my phone…

Thursday was my nephew RJ’s birthday!  Happy Birthday RJ!

Today I could use about 4 or 5 more of me...ugh.

Tonight was also Ella’s school production of The Mitten. (Several of these photos – all the good ones – are from Ella’s awesome teacher)

The musical was great and the kids sang their little hearts out. Ella also got to play the xylophone and she did a fantastic job! I spent the night trying to adjust to my glasses and the lack of depth perception. At one point a woman handed me a program and I missed it. Caught it the second time but the lady sure looked at me funny!

Thursday night was a NIGHTMARE!! (or it would have been if I’d actually slept to dream) I’ve been working for weeks on a book for my grandma’s 80th birthday. It involved getting almost 80 people to send me current photos and nice notes for Grandma. Can you say Nearly Impossible?? It had to be done by tonight in order to get shipped in time and I’d already spent the last 3 days (almost completely) working on it. Things also needing to be done tonight? How about packing for a trip to California and getting the kids ready for a week with me away. Finally the voice of reason stepped in (my sister) and I relented to the fact that the book would not get done. She also helped me to see that if I paid more for the shipping I could have an extra week to get it done AND my amazing, wonderful, loving, caring, crazy sister offered to work on it for me!! I can not even begin to tell you how much I love her.

So…with absolutely NO sleep, me and the baby headed out in the morning to the airport for a long trip to California.  As predicted…I did have to nurse on the plane next to not one, but TWO very large men with very hairy arms. We all survived. Collin had spent the last 3 days screaming and needing to be held all the time (adding to the joys of last night) and now he was super quiet…sure enough…he had a fever. Ugh. Well, it did make for a quiet and sleepy trip and everyone commented on how wonderful he was. Poor little guy!

Ryan and his brothers spent all last night in a different part of California and my plane landed a couple of hours before their planes came in to meet us in San Diego. Ryan’s mom and granddad picked us all up and we headed back to relax! YAY!

In San Diego!

Saturday – First I must thank EVERYONE who is helping with my kids on this trip. Neighbors, my mom, friends from church, my brother and his family. Thank you, thank you, thank you!!!

Saturday I got the very rare opportunity to go and visit one of my best friends of all time, Shannon! She, her husband, and her son live in San Diego and I only get to see them on the rare trip out there. I’ve known her since the 7th grade and we’ve been through some real high and lows but she’s amazing and I am so blessed to have her in my life. :)

I also had some time today to work on Ryan’s mom’s lathe.  Ryan and his brothers spent most of the day today making amazing things.

 

Here’s my little contribution…  It’s a Christmas tree!! Now…after I was already started Ryan said it would have been really amazing if I’d been able to put a star on the top SO despite not having enough wood left to make a star I did my best just to prove it could be done…

Sunday we went to church and then spent some wonderful time with Ryan’s grandparents.

Collin with his Great Grandparents! (There's a 93 year difference here!) :) So glad we made the trip to see them.

Oh, and check it out…little man started pushing up on his hands!

Here’s Sylvie at my mom’s house putting a Service Ornament on her Christmas tree. For Christmas this year my mom just asked us to do service and then send her a hook in the mail so she could put an ornament on her tree!