something to smile about...

on one of my favorite shows, "Word Girl" (an after school PBS show. Only second to my favorite, "Arthur"), they have a segment "what's your favorite word?" Cal said his favorite word was "gurgle". I said mine was "mesmerize". Kaycey said hers was "fart". Yep, you read that right. (insert uncontrollable laughter from children here).

so just anticipating this BIG snowfall. It better be big. I mean, for crying out loud, they started listed school closings this afternoon for tomorrow. It still hasn't started (not supposed to start for a few hours yet). I think the whole closing schools before it starts is a bit premature...

still feeling crummy today. I did work at the Scrapbook Store, so that kept me occupied. The kids had a Christmas show tonight at school, it was really cute. Santa lost his "jingle" to do anything because Christmas was starting to become all about presents, and what happened to the peace, and love, and cheer??? It was cute, there was a song where Santa thought he was lost and it went something like "my GPS is such a mess, I'm LOL..." then there was a kid dressed like a GPS and saying, "recalculating...make immediate U-turn," etc. It me laugh and remember my little day trip to the scrap stores in Illinois with my store friends.

on the go...

Usually I would be wiped out from a day on the go with 3 kids in tow. Spent well over an hour at Walmart with Maddie (darn those toy aisles, she was very good, just a struggle to keep her moving on and not playing with everything in sight!). After that, we stopped home to grab a few things, and went to pick up the kids from school. Usually they take the bus, but Cal had a Dr. appt. to check his finger one last time. So we took the "long" drive (funny how now that I live "out in the sticks", everything seems further away!) to the 30th and Layton area. We waited quite a while for the Dr--but the finger seems to be healed, he can resume gym and play but needs to tape the fingers together for a few weeks to avoid another injury. After the doctor, we went to eat at Noodles & Company. Usually we vote or I pick, but Kaycey let Cal pick because he went to the doctor (even though he didn't have to endure any shots or pain!) After eating, we went to the Learning Shop, and holy cow! We were in there for an hour and a half. The kids absolutely loved it. The kids play school all the time (Maddie the student usually, and Cal and Kaycey the teachers) so they really thought all the real teacher stuff in there was so cool! Cal found books he wants to ask Santa for. He said all he wants are books. Wow, can't argue with that! So while shopping for cousins, I managed to sneak in an encyclopedia Cal thought was awesome. And I bought a set of report cards, etc. meant for playing school for the three kids to share. After the shopping trip, we stopped at McD's for a potty break, and then had to deliver movie tickets to someone who lived near Mayfair. We didn't get home till almost 8, but the kids were so well behaved it didn't matter.

Onto a more somber note...so I started my post with how I'd usually be exhausted from the in and out with 3 kids around this time of year...but today I am glad I kept busy. I needed it to keep my mind off of things. I routinely check up on fellow kids we met at Children's Hosp. diagnosed with Stage IV NB (same cancer as Kaycey), or on other kids we hear about & get links to their blogs or care pages (a site set up just for parents to blog to keep family & friends informed). I try not to check up too often because then I get really down (I can name only a handful of kids out of way too many who haven't relapsed or earned their wings, as we prefer to call it). I met Jack just after Kaycey got released after her long stay for transplant. He had just been diagnosed, and his mom wanted to talk to a mom who had been through it all. I met with her a couple times. He since had relapsed a little over a year ago, but was treated & given the NED (no evidence of disease). Well, they found out yesterday he relapsed again. For those who don't know much about this cancer, Kaycey is literally a walking miracle. Statistics say approximately 325 children a year in the U.S. are diagnosed with stage 4 neuroblastoma (worst of 4 stages)-- about 25% survive. The five year survival rate for high risk kids is 30%.Then there are factors that decrease the chances even more--for every additional poor factor (amplified MYCN gene, unfavorable histology for example), we fell into that worst case scenario. I know, silly of me to dwell on things when things are "normal" now. But with all the kids relasping and earning their wings all around us because of this monster of a disease, it is such a reality check, that we are never out of the woods, and never will be, and while I always worry, every ache, every pain Kaycey has worries me, I worry 1000x more after reading the heartwrenching posts, like the one about Jack today. All day I felt as if I had a bowling ball in my stomach, and still do. So I am so thankful the kids kept me busy all evening, I hardly had a moment to think about it all until now.

photos of the season

I just posted, but here are some pictures. I haven't put pictures up in a while on here!


My mini-ornaments tree in entryway on a table (It's about 18" tall or so)



The kid's tree in the dining room

Close ups of my favorite ornaments...(thank goodness I found all my little houses, I love them!)

Our attempt at a Christmas card photo in front of the tree didn't go very well Friday night. This is the best photo I took, which is alright, but the quality of the photo itself didn't turn out great.

They went out and played in the snow Sunday, and I brought my camera out. So this is the Christmas card photo I think...I really usually have my cards done and mailed over a week ago!!

more snow in forecast

and I'm glad!! With warmer temps on Sunday, most of what we had melted. I would like a White Christmas! How else is Santa going to get his sleigh going without snow??

Speaking of Santa...so a little birdie told me what he's bringing, but SHH...it's a secret.
Cal is getting a Baltimore Orioles baseball hat (the old logo), 2 books about Cal Ripken, a game for his Nintendo DS(which he is getting from Grandma and Grandpa, Mike's parents), and the first Indiana Jones movie.

Maddie is getting a stuffed dog (which she seriously has loved for a year--everytime we go to Hallmark at the mall, she picks out this dog and says she is hiding it for her birthday; and she shoves it at the back of the display case. The first couple times, I figured, whatever. But everytime we went there after she'd check to see if he was still there!), a polly pocket princess Jasmine (the only polly pocket princess she doesn't have), a Backyardigans movie, and a singing barbie (I know nothing about all these Barbie movies that are out there, but the past few times Maddie has gone to her friend's house, Maddie throws a fit because she wants to bring some singing barbie home from a barbie movie. It's really not funny at the time, esp. since Maddie is really such a good little girl. But I stopped going to this friend's house because everytime she would dig up this barbie and want to bring it home!) So Santa is so thoughtful, he thought it would be nice if she had her own.

Kaycey is getting an American Girl doll from my Grandparents (either way it's a hand-me-down, either my old Molly doll, or a Kit doll my Grandma got from a resale shop, I think) so then Santa is getting a couple outfits for the doll, a game for her Nintendo DS(which she is getting from Grandma and Grandpa, Mike's parents), the Kit Kittredge movie, & a Puppy Place book.
I found her a "Give Kids the World" snow globe--that is where we stayed on our Wish Trip to Disney. But it's not necessarily Christmas-y, so she might get that for her birthday.

I have bought some miscellaneous little items, like socks, ornaments, little notebooks, barettes. Maybe those will go in the stockings (which nothing usually gets put in the stockings, really). So this is our "simple". I feel it's the perfect medium. Just those few extra special things the kids have been talking about, you know? Nothing outrageous or crazy expensive. I figure there will be years for those requests when they are teenagers!! I suppose simple would be one gift from Santa. I suppose, what we do is simpler than some people, more complicated than others.

A quote for today: For it’s when we believe without seeing that we experience the spirit of Christmas and the heart of our faith.

Christmas thoughts

I just have to say I am so happy and proud of the fact that our kids are not greedy, and are happy for whatever they have. They don't ask for much (particularly birthdays and Christmas) and it's next to never that they would ask for anything while at a store or a check out line, and I can't think of a time they've been unhappy about a gift they've received. I can honestly say that our kids get a just a few special items they may have asked for from Santa, and that's it (of course Grandpas and Grandmas and Aunties buy for the kids, but for the most part, no one goes overboard and Santa keeps it real simple). While at Old World Wisconsin with Cal, they discussed what gifts were given in the 1880's--an orange was a wonderful present to a child. An orange!!!! How did the holiday become what it is today?? It is really sad, I think, to see how overly commercial and materialized it's become. I'm glad we keep it relatively simple for the times we are in.

For the second year in a row we are sponsoring a family and purchasing gifts for them. This year it is a single mother with 4 boys, and she lost her job this past summer after her (5th) son was killed in a car accident. I love doing this. It makes me a bit sad, but at the same time it's very gratifying to know we are the ones to help make their Christmas more joyful. It really puts things into perspective and I know it makes our kids feel good to be helping to get the presents for the family. The requests on this family's Christmas lists are such simple things that we take for granted like laundry soap, socks, boots, thermal underwear...it really makes my heart feel for them.

One of my favorite Christmas quotes: "The best of all gifts around any Christmas tree: the presence of a happy family all wrapped up in each other." ~Burton Hillis