sick of winter sickness

That's right. I'm tired of winter and I'm tired of everyone being sick! Kaden has pneumonia AGAIN. We're thankful that it's not severe enough to require hospitalization, but it's frustrating and worrisome. He is doing much better than he was at the doctor's on Wednesday, and I'm just hoping that we don't have to deal with this any more this winter. Leah is weathering her own problems - her left tube has come out and she's already got an ear infection in that ear. Sheesh!!

In other news, I am getting more and more excited by the day about the best babysitting gig ever! I have been given the wonderful opportunity to travel to Florida with a friend to help watch her son while she attends a work program. In exchange, I get a free hotel room, a free plane ride ... and I GET TO BRING MY KIDS! Kaden will be riding on my lap and we've scrounged the money to purchase Leah's ticket as well! It's only a 3 day trip, but it's Florida in February and it's with great company, and it is SO what I need for my mental health right now. I cannot wait to spend a few days with Leah and Kaden and hopefully get to the beach ... ahh, I'm relaxing just thinking about it. Just don't mention the logistics of getting three children packed and on a plane. And don't mention my ever-increasing travel anxiety. Think sun, think sand, think special memories with my kids.

it's always something

and today it was waking up to a house without any running water.

i hate winter.

but i LOVE my Dad. He's hands down the best dad in the world. And when Mike left for work ... leaving me at home with 3 kids and no water (yes, 3, I can count them, Leah spent the night with Papaw & Totsie) ... my Dad spent his Sunday working at my house to score me some running water.

Thanks, Dad. I know you would have rather been at home watching football. We'll have dinner ready for you and the game is on ....

bedtime?

Here is one example of what it is like to put Miss Leah to bed at night. In case you can't decipher her rapid-speak, she is telling the story of the night before when she woke up crying and Kaden came down the hall into her room to check on her (aww, how sweet!). Then they both came down the hall to Mommy & Daddy's room to cuddle for the rest of the night. No children were harmed in the filming of this clip - and I swear that Leah was not given any illegal substances ... nor was she given excessive amounts of sugar or caffeine prior to this filming.

GO BLUE!!

Ok, guess where this gal is going to be Sunday at 1:00?

At the Dome, 40 yard line, 12 rows up!!

YEAH BABY!

nothing new

Not much going on around here except for the usual madness. Leah & Kaden are still trying to get back on a regular schedule after all of the holiday excitement. Not much sleep happening at our house, but we're trying to get back on track. Report cards are filtering back home and Hannah has had a dramatic improvement in Reading & Spelling. Still waiting for Cody to bring his home .... And just a few pictures since it's been a while:

These two were taken at Christmas at the Zoo:And these two were taken at home last night:

how long until

our kids stop singing Christmas carols?

another year begins

and who knows what this one will have in store. The last several years have been nothing like I expected them to be, so I'm staying open to any possibility ... while hoping 2008 feels like a better year than the last.

H, C, L, & K had a wonderful Christmas. They've got so much new stuff I don't know where we'll put it all! We had a very nice visit with Nunny and got home last night in time to unpack and get more new toys out of their packages. The kids stayed up late with Dad (they had a lot of energy to burn off after spending 7 hours in the car - they all were amazingly good on the trip back) while Mom went to bed early. Sigh. What's that say about my lot in life these days, eh?

I'm not a big believer in making New Year's resolutions ... if you don't have the will to stick with change at any other time during the year, why now? But I will admit that the coming of a new year provides an excellent time for reflection. For re-assessing your goals in life. Every day I try to remind myself to focus on what's truly important to me: in particular, Leah & Kaden. Maybe at this time next year I'll include Hannah & Cody in that statement, for now, this is still part of my process of becoming ....