T'was The Night Before Christmas

and all through the house, Daniel is sleeping as quiet as a mouse. :)

What a fun day this has been!

Daniel and I went to the Y this morning. I took him so Jacob could run an errand and wrap my presents. I only had one family (of 4 hyper kids. Jeesh!), but they left at 10:45 and I decided there was no sense in sticking around, so we took off.

We stopped at Kroger for a couple of last minute food items and then came home and fed Daniel lunch.

Then this afternoon we watched "A Muppet Christmas Carol" Daniel danced along to some of the music before going down for nap.

We weren't sure what to watch next, but after I said I had never watched "White Christmas" that's what we settled on!

In the middle of the movie we decided it was junk food time. An Elam family tradition on Christmas Eve. Chips and dip, mozzarella bites, little smokies and boneless chicken wings. Yum!

Finished White Christmas and fed Bubby.

Cleaned up the kitchen and prepared the breakfast casserole for tomorrow so all I have to do is pop in in the oven in the morning! Also got the muffins baked and the roast in the crock pot ready to slow cook tomorrow. Go me for being on top of stuff!

Headed to church for the Christmas Eve service. I enjoy Christmas Eve services. They make me stop and remember the true meaning of Christmas.

Came home and let Daniel open his Christmas Eve present.





Daddy read, "The Night Before Christmas"



Put Daniel to bed early because he was very fussy and tired.

Watched "National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation". Christmas cannot happen in my world until I watch this on Christmas Eve and quote along the entire movie while cracking up at the same stuff every year...and singing along to the song at the beginning AND end of the movie. :)

Seriously...Jacob cued up the movie while I was getting my jammies on and hits play. Me from the bedroom, "NOOOO!!! Don't start it! I have to sing along!" I have problems my friends.

Oh and guess what!? Santa has already been here!



Looking forward to morning, so I'd better get to sleep!

Merry Christmas to all! And to all a good night!

Tis The Season!

Yay! It's almost Christmas! Plus, I feel like I've accomplished almost everything that was on my "To Do" list, which makes me feel pretty good. The only thing I didn't do was go back to Springfield. That can wait until after Christmas. I don't want to deal with the crowds!

The presents have all been purchased! That was a huge weight off my shoulders. Now, we just have to wrap everything. We're going to do that during Daniel's nap tomorrow. I decided that I'm not wrapping his big picnic table we got him or even hauling it upstairs. LOL! We were down there the other night so I showed him and said, "This is one of your presents! I'm not wrapping it because you'll never know the difference!" He smiled. I'll take that as an okay.

Yesterday was probably my most stressful day. Things were just not going my way! Car doors frozen shut, Daniel losing a shoe that I had to take him back out of his seat to go find, almost forgetting a mitten, twisted up car seat strap that required me to bring it inside and yell at it (well...the yelling wasn't required...but always helpful.), and a little boy who boycotted his lunch.

Once Daniel fell asleep in my arms, I felt better. I just snuggled with him for awhile. Then talked to Jacob as he drove home from work. He was excited because he got some scratch off tickets as gifts and won $7, so he was stopping to cash them in. Once he got home my day perked back up!

I told him I wanted to make cookies...except for the part where I didn't REALLY want to make them. I just wanted them so I could EAT them! He has made them the last 2 years, but I finally decided to make a batch. I haven't frosted them yet, but they're made. I swear his taste better. I think I made them too thin. Dang!

Daniel woke up in the middle of baking, so I brought him out to "help"! I really like to include him in things. He may not know what's going on, but I enjoy spending time with him.

He stole my star cookie cutter!



Playing with the dough.



And sampling a still warm cookie. He liked it!



Last night was great! I gave Little Man a bath and he things the squirty toys are HILARIOUS now. Especially when I squirt him with them! Then we all played in the living room and he was in the best mood ever. At one point he came up behind me and "pushed" me. He's never done this before so I went "Ahhh!!!" and pretended to fall over. That boy was in hysterics. We did it over and over and over again. What a silly boy!

I'm so excited to celebrate Christmas again this year. Last year was awesome to have our little bundle of joy lying next to us in his bouncy seat, but this year we'll have a wild child tearing off wrapping paper and of course playing with it more that his gifts.

I'm planning to start the Thatcher tradition and Daniel will get a gift on Christmas Eve to open! We're also going to start "The Night Before Christmas" tradition and Jacob will read it to Daniel. :)

I'm even going to make Christmas breakfast. Muffins and a breakfast casserole. Mmm!

Not sure on our Villa Grove plans quite yet, but hoping to figure it out soon! Then my parents will be here on Wednesday. Hooray!

Crunch Time!

It's funny how Christmas stuff has been out for 2 months and yet it still just snuck right up on me! How the heck is it only a week away? I'm not even done shopping yet! I have a list a mile long of things I need/want to get done, and I'm slowly getting there, but I'm not sure I'll accomplish everything.

My list for the week still includes: balancing the checkbook, doing the weekly grocery shopping, wrapping presents, finish shopping for presents and stocking stuffers, do the weekly grocery shopping get Daniel's hair cut (he's turning into the shaggy dog and I have a coupon. hehe), and go back to Springfield. I want to cash in my JCPenny gift certificates. They have to be used by the 31st, but I thought maybe I could find a small gift or two. Then go pick up my gift certificate for a massage that I won on a radio contest last week! I also need to make a return. Of course all 3 places are in totally different directions. Sigh.

All this between keeping the normal stuff clean in the house and working at the Y in the mornings! (This is the time I miss those couple of hours at home!) I also had "rake the yard" on my list, but it's not gonna happen. Sad, but true...our yard has been unraked this year. The lady next door has a huge tree and it sheds really late into the year and dumps all the leaves in our yard. There just hasn't been a time. Sigh. I planned to do it today, but the wind was crazy. I battled the wind last year...but I was more determined. I was trying to make myself go into labor. LOL! Now it's going to snow, so it' looks like we'll be raking in the spring. Fun. Fun.

Oh! And I wanted to bake Christmas cookies. I always make some kind of goody at Christmas, but it may not happen. I don't even feel like making almond bark pretzels! Sadness. It's hard because I have a small window of time to get things accomplished...otherwise I have a mini sidekick who wants my attention. Even if Daddy is here he HAS to see what I'm doing at all times. Good thing Jacob brought home a delicious chocolate chip pie from a teacher at school!

It's pathetic how stressed I've been trying to figure out what to ask Jacob for, for Christmas! I finally got a list done! I tried to get everything on Amazon, because we have Prime shipping right now, which means we still have a day or two to order! :) I am excited to get a swim suit though! I really want to swim again!

I HAVE accomplished some stuff though! Got some gifts ordered. Vacuumed. Did laundry. Dusted. And FINALLY started clearing the 6 big boxes of stuff for Goodwill out of my basement. They've only been sitting there for over a year now. Dropped one load off last night at the donation center in town and dropping the second load tomorrow! Heck yeah! Now to start the new pile. LOL!

Anyway...hoping I can get a lot more finished so I can enjoy the holiday and spending time with my family! Jacob's break starts Friday afternoon! Not sure what I'll do with Daniel. I planned to keep him home with Jacob, but I think he actually enjoys going somewhere each day, so we'll see. He may stay home some days and come with me others. My parents come next Wednesday, so I'm taking Thursday off! YAY!

Okay...that's enough rambling for now.

So Many Emotions

Yesterday was just like any old Friday. Got up, worked at the Y, grocery shopped and then came home to eat lunch and catch up on Facebook. I logged in to see post after post about another school shooting. I looked it up on Google and was completely heart broken at what I was reading. I can't even describe the feeling that goes through my body when he hear about mass shootings and other tragedies.

I think because this one involved small children it tugged at my heart strings even tighter. As I was cleaning Daniel up from lunch, this huge sob escaped me and I said out loud, "God, please help these families!". I hadn't expected it, it just came out. Just then my phone started ringing. It was Jacob calling to see if I had heard what had happened. He said he knew that I would be upset and that he was thinking of Daniel. I started crying right then and there. It was very comforting to hear his voice in that moment. With Jacob being a teacher it makes it even more scary. Yes, he teaches in small town schools that are "safe", but everyone thought that Sandy Hook was safe too. :( All it takes is one psycho path.

I had good intentions of doing some things around the house yesterday, but with the news of the shootings my headache returned for the 4th day in a row. (I've been battling a weird sickness/headache this week). I knew I should stay away from the news, but for me watching things unfold almost helps me. In a way it helps me at least attempt to get a grasp on what is happening. Unfortunately, it also hurts. I sat on the couch and sobbed. I told Jacob, even though there have been other shooting in between, I haven't cried so much during a tragedy since 9/11.

My emotions have ranged from heart broken to just flat out angry. If you're going to kill yourself...kill YOURSELF. Do not murder innocent people to go out in a "blaze of glory". I can't imagine how terrified that I would be, let alone little children.

It scares me to death to send Daniel and our future children to school. I know this is just me in worry mode right now. I know that these things can happen anywhere at anytime. Although, I informed him yesterday that I'm building a bomb shelter and he's going to live in there forever. I'm a worrier in general. In fact...it's bad enough that I've actually considered getting help for it. (That's big for me to even admit). I try to joke it off, but if people knew how much worry is built up in me at all times they would probably understand. I play the "What if" game constantly.

Beyond the anger, there's the sadness. The families of these little ones and the staff who were brutally mudered have popped into my mind all day long. I cannot imagine. I do not understand why this happened to them, so I can't even imagine how they will ever begin to understand. I cannot fathom losing my son and I don't know how I could even carry on without dying of a broken heart. Losing him is my greatest fear in life.

Then there's the questioning. I know people have have the rational "church" answers, but I don't get it. I know. I know. "We're not meant to understand." When non believers ask, "Why does God let bad things happen to good people.", I just don't know. I don't get why he lets a man walk into a school and get right up close to the children and shoot them dead. That makes no sense. It always brings me back to wondering why the heck we were even put on Earth? Why didn't God just make it so we were all just born into Heaven? Why did he think we needed free will? Had we never had the opportunity to have free will, we would have never missed it.

I don't knowI could write a book on all of my questions...but no one can help me answer them except God himself. Sigh.

I hold my baby tight every day and I thank God for letting him be in our lives. I just pray that I get to watch him and all of our children grow up.

Prayers to all of the victims families.

Busy, Busy

This month is flying by! Last week was not a good week for me work wise. I was in a bad mood with the kids and they were acting up all the time!

We had a nice relaxing weekend. Friday night we watched the Cy-Hawk game. Hawkeyes won! It's so nice to have a winning basketball team again. It's been too long! It's actually fun to watch again.

I sadly can't even remember what we did on Saturday. We must've just hung out and relaxed all day! That was the goal. I do remember that evening we watched My Big Fat Greek Wedding. I had been wanting to watch it again for awhile. It's one of those movies that makes me laugh every time I watch it!

We had an interesting Sunday morning. We got up and headed to church. When we got there, the person on the schedule to work in the nursery wasn't there. We just hung out with Daniel waiting, while 3 different people popped their heads in asking if I was supposed to be in there and that they were going to go find out where the person was that was supposed to be in there. Someone else brought their kiddo in, so I told them they could just leave her if they wanted and we would watch her until they figured out what was going on.

By the time someone came in and we headed in for the service, they had just finished communion. Come to find it, it was a communion only service! They were having a Christmas musical during first and third services. Anyway, there was a small devotion and then we were dismissed. So...yeah. We went and picked up Daniel after 10 minutes. Ha!

We ran a few errands and then spent the afternoon at home.

Sunday night the shopping bug hit me. I printed out a bunch of coupons and started debating if I should take Daniel shopping on Monday even though it would mess up his schedule. In the end I decided to go for it.

We did the Y thing and then headed off for a busy afternoon of shopping. My first stop was Penny's to see if there was anything I could use a 20% coupon on. (I find it hilarious that the CEO of JCP threw a fit over the fact the consumers were mad that they took away coupons and said they weren't coming back. Well...the lost a lot of business and now they're trying to win us back!) Plus they have these little buttons with codes and 1 in 4 wins. I was hoping to win some money off my purchase, but no luck! I did grab and handful though to try and win in the next few days!

I picked up an cute outfit for Daniel as a late birthday gift. (Used some of his birthday money) and a pair of jammies. Both Carter's and both on clearance! The jammies are going to be his Christmas Eve gift!

Next it was on to Target. I mainly needed to go there because A: I love to walk around Target and look at everything. And B: I needed diapers for Daniel. Plus I had coupons for some good deals. My 2 best scores were, a 12 roll pack of Angel Soft for $3.99 and a package of Bic pens that I got for free after coupon!

After spending entirely too long at Target, we hit up Goodman's, and got my mom checked off the Christmas list. That store is jam packed with stuff...and Daniel became a little kleptomaniac! Not to mention we were having a battle of the wills with his socks and I had to back track through the store to find them at one point!

Then onto Barnes and Noble and Michael's. I gave up at Michael's quickly. I had a couple of ideas in mind, but I could settle on anything and Daniel was starting to get fussy. I still needed to go to Bath and Body works, so we headed over there instead. I had a coupon for a free travel sized bottle of shower gel or lotion. I picked out a shower gel and then also grabbed some other things and used my 20% off coupon. Not to mention everything I bought was on sale too!

By the time we got home it was just after 5 and I was WIPED out. BUT...Jacob had his K-2 program last night and I really wanted to go surprise him. I let Daniel play and I fed him quickly. He seemed to be in a good mood, so we jumped back in the car and headed to the school . It was PACKED. After we found a seat, I saw Jacob talking with some of the teachers, so I decided we'd sneak up behind him and surprise him. The look on his face was priceless and it totally made his whole  night! I'm so glad we went!

Daniel had a blast. He clapped his hands, waved his hands, bounced and kicked his feet during all of the singing!

 By the time we got home it was a little before 8. I decided to skip his bath. My head hurt and we were both tired. He was asleep by 8:30 and I was out around 9:30. Unfortunately, I took 2 Tylenol PM (for the first time in almost 2 years). I was so drowsy and Daniel did not sleep well. Poor baby. I royally messed him up! Thankfully he's been taking a good nap this afternoon. I should have napped, but I wasn't tired until a bit ago. Dang!

It's just the boy and I this evening. Jacob has the middle/high school concert tonight. That one would be too long for Daniel to sit through, and this Momma needs a night to rest! I know they'll all do great though. I'm super proud of all the Jacob has done with the music program!

Just One Of Those Days

It wasn't great. It wasn't awful, but there were parts that kinda sucked.

It was all good until I headed into the Y. My 2 little girls who are there almost every day were already there waiting for me at 8:55. By 9:03 I had 10 kids. The twin boys that come are extremely frustrating to me. They whine, cry, throw tantrums, and literally don't understand basic commands. They're 2.5. They should be getting this! Plus it was one of those days were they all stayed forever too!

Whenever I get stressed and annoyed about one thing, I get stressed about everything. I was super annoyed that I have been there for one month and still haven't gotten any of the supplies that I've requested, even though I've filled out exactly what I'm supposed to, to get them. I even handed the paper directly to my supervisor one day and she promised she'd get the stuff for me. I have no cleaning supplies. Ugh. I kinda feel like no one really cares that I'm there anyway. Oh well. I just keep reminding myself it's extra money and it's only a couple of hours a day. Could be worse!

We came home and had our lunch. Well, I had lunch. Daniel threw most of his on the floor. Then I got mad at him. I hate when that happens. My stress caught up to me and I took it out on him by shouting at him. There's a difference between me being stern and then yelling. His little eyes welled up and in that moment I felt like the worst Mommy ever. I know I'm not, but I felt awful. He may only be 1, but on those few occasions where I've gotten upset over something I shouldn't have, I apologize to him. I always want to make sure that I right a wrong with him and our future children.
Thankfully kiddos are resilient and forgiving.

After that we played. Actually...he played. I plopped down on the couch and watched Everybody Loves Raymond to decompress. He kept leaving the room, so I barricaded him in. He's been pretty good at staying in even though he has ways to escape. Well, all of a sudden I realize it's really quiet. I turn around and he catches my eye. He was on the other side of the pack n play (the barricade) and he started giggling and just tears off. It was seriously the funniest moment of my day! It was like he knew he wasn't supposed to be doing that, but he wanted to make sure I caught him!

Then Jacob called to explain his new health insurance plan to me. I ended up getting overly stressed about it. Partly because we had to decide on a plan by tomorrow and mostly because I was hoping with the new plan that Daniel and I could get back on his plan. That turned out to be a no go. But not before I gave myself an anxiety attack about it. Thankfully logic set in after panic. I still think it's a crappy crappy world that we live in, when school districts have to offer insurance that only benefit their employees, but not their families. For Daniel and I to be on his plan it would be twice the cost of our monthly mortgage payment! Um... So yeah. Sticking with what we have and hoping to switch back to Blue Cross possibly on our own plan in the next few months if I can go meet with an agent. Weirdly the online quote I got for nearly the same plan that I could get through the school is half of the cost.

The evening was better thankfully. I should probably go to bed since I was falling asleep an hour ago, and I'm still up.

This picture pretty much sums up my life though.

Another Weekend Bites The Dust

Weekends go way faster when you actually have to get up during the week and get moving. Such a bummer!

Yesterday some of Jacob's kids were caroling for Christmas on Main Street in Moweaqua. They had vendors selling different items, free carriage rides and barrel tractor rides, and a parade. I debated taking Daniel since I knew it was going to mess up nap time, but it was December 1st and 60 degrees outside so I couldn't resist.

Daniel and I walked around a bit and then listened to the A&M band. Then we listened to the caroling for awhile and looked at more vendors. At 2:00 they had the parade. It was pretty short and not very eventful, but it was the perfect length for Daniel to watch...and he even scored a mini candy cane and a bunch of Dum Dums.

I wanted him to meet Santa, but he was in the parade and so I knew there would be a LONG line of kids waiting to see him. We decided we would skip it for now. Hopefully I can take him sometime.

He only napped in the car for 20 minutes on the way, and then jabbered and played the whole way home. I put him in his crib when we got home hoping I could get a short nap out of him. Nope. He played for an hour. I was fine with that except that at one point I peeked in and realized he was playing with his mini blinds! UGH! Unfortunately there is no other place his crib can go due the the way his room is configured. Well, there is one way, but that would put the crib against the wall with his light switch. Yeah...so he's either going to tear apart his blinds or turn his lights on and off. Great.

Once I decided he wasn't going to nap, I let him out and he was a huge goof ball! He played happily until he got tired. By 7:30 he was fast asleep and he slept until 7:00 this morning!

Today I was in the nursery at church. The lady who is in charge and is always in there just had a baby 2 weeks ago so it was just me. I only had 3 kids though, which was crazy! Usually there are at least 10 during that service. One was our new senior minister's little girl. Quite a spit fire, but she was good. Today their family was visiting and he was preaching. They won't actually start until May when the current minister retires. Yay for a church being on the ball about hiring someone!

Once the service was over, Jacob came in and I had to wait for my replacement. She was late, but Jacob made a friend. A little girl who is 2 or 3 befriended him and climbed up in his lap with a book. It was seriously the cutest thing ever! I guess we really do need a little girl next! Totally melted my heart.

This afternoon Grandma and Grandpa came over. I tried getting Daniel down for an early nap. Once again, he played for almost an hour (but left the blinds alone. Phew!). He finally fell asleep and ended up sleeping until I woke him up at 3. He had fun playing and showing off his walking skills. The last time he was just starting to take steps. Grandpa and Daddy took Daniel outside to play too.

Brenda brought a main dish for supper and I made a veggie, rolls and dessert. It worked out great and the meal was quite tasty.

Gave the little man a bath, played and then he was ready for bed at 7:30 again. Poor boy...after 3 weeks of a cold, he was FINALLY better. Yesterday his nose started running and it hasn't stopped since. Back to being congested. Hopefully he sleeps well again!

I Did It!

I made it through 30 days of blogging! I will try to be better at blogging more, but props to the people who blog every single day. I couldn't do it. Then again, those people tend to have way more interesting lives than I do!

It was crazy busy for a Friday at the Y! My first few Fridays there were only a few kids. Today I had 10! There have been new kids coming out of the woodwork this week. I had to yell at them to be quiet a few times. They weren't being horrible for the most part, just LOUD. Thank the Lord Almighty for the old man who brings the kids suckers every day. He just started doing this a little over a week ago. He comes in and walks and then he stops by the daycare room and gives all of the kids Dum Dums. Now when the kids see him counting out in the hallway they all go to the window and jump up and down yelling, "SUCKERS!!!!"

Want to know the beauty of these suckers? I can bribe them. He gives them to me and today they were all bouncing off the walls and the room was a mess. I told them no suckers until the room was clean and I've never seen toys get put away so fast. Then we went over the rules. You have to sit at the table. If you get up I throw your sucker in the garbage. It makes for at least 10 minutes of all the kids sitting still. Even I get a sucker now. How cute is that? He always says, "I put a sucker in there for you too!"

Let the record show that the caramel flavored Dum Dum is disgusting. Let it also show that the bubblegum flavored Dum Dum is DELICIOUS. I totally wish I had one right now.

This afternoon I went to Springfield to pick up the Portrait CD of Daniel and also picked up Ashley's for her. I waited for Jacob to get home and then he watched Daniel. Originally I wanted us to all go and then go out to eat, but Jacob wasn't really wanting to go to Springfield, so I enjoyed some me time in the car and then stopped and picked up a highly nutritious meal of pizza and ice cream. I mean, really...we would have eaten even more calories going to a sit down place. LOL! Like how I try to justify this?

Anyway, that's all. I shall leave you with a few pictures of the cutest baby boy ever.

Another Day In Bullets

• Woke up to hear a very happy boy playing in his crib. I LOVE that he entertains himself in the morning when he wakes up. Then once I go in to say good morning I give him toys and go shower. He just plays contently for almost the whole time! I love that boy!
• Went to the Y and had even more new kids. I've had 3 or 4 new ones this week. Crazy! Although one didn't stay long at all. Paranoid mom. Oh well. The baby was fussy anyway!
• Came home and fed Daniel early. I decided to try out peanut butter again and made him a PBJ. He seemed to like it for a bit (and then threw the rest on the floor, of course). He didn't really break out, so yay!
• Put the munchkin down for a nap.
• Swept the kitchen floor and stairs.
• Then decided to sweep the area at the bottom of the stairs where there were dead spiders and a cricket a smashed 2 months ago. I can't even tell you how icked out I am by dead bugs (and live ones too). Now I don't have to walk by them all creeped out anymore.
• Decorated the Christmas tree!
• Ashley came over to hang out during the last part of her break! If there's one thing I miss about my old job, it's hanging out with my bestie every day. We don't get to hang out enough! :(
• Daniel woke up crying, but then we played a little and then he discovered the ornaments. Oh boy. This will be a fun month!
• Went to Daniel's 1 year check up. He weighs 23 pounds 3 ounces and is 31 inches.
• He had to get 4 shots. Thankfully 2 nurses did 2 shots each at the same time, but my poor baby screamed and cried. One of the nurses took pity and gave him a sucker! (And boy was he mad that I wouldn't let him have it while we were driving home!)
• Ate supper.
• Played with Daniel. He was cracking me up tonight. He's figuring out the concept of peek-a-boo and would hide behind his door, crawl back out and crack himself up!
• Watched our Thursday night shows.
• Put Daniel to bed early. I think the short nap and shots caught up to him and he was crying non stop at 7. Poor kiddo.
• Now it's almost bedtime for me!

Come On Big Bucks!

Not much to say again. Only a few days left of National Blog Month. I always forget how exhausting it is. I don't ALWAYS have something to say!

No flat tires this morning, so Daniel and I made it into the Y. Apparently they were able to find someone and my supervisor said it all worked out fine. Judging by the sign in sheet yesterday, I'm rather happy I was gone. I would have had 10. I still had quite a few today, but one of my naughty ones was gone. I was even missed yesterday. Made me feel a little good, even though I'm not really attached to this job.

I usually grocery shop on Thursday, but Daniel has his 1 year checkup tomorrow afternoon so I have to get home from the Y and get him down for an early nap. I decided to go to Aldi and then go back to WalMart later when Jacob got home.

When we got home I tried feeding Daniel something new for lunch. A chicken patty. This boy just won't eat a meal. One bite and then he chucked it on the floor. We're still doing jar food at supper because he needs some kind of fruit and veggie. He be content to eat crackers and yogurt all day long. I am happy that he's getting really good at drinking milk though!

Went back to WalMart after Jacob got home to get the rest of what we need for the week. I'm pretty happy that I'm able to get almost everything at Aldi now. There are only a few things I either have to get at WalMart food-wise, or that I just prefer. I have a few select items that I just can't go generic on.

I texted Jacob to see if he wanted to gamble. We've never bought lottery tickets before, and I know that a bazillion and one people bought a ticket today, but I figured it would be fun. I never waste money on stuff like that, but whenever a jackpot is high I always think about it and then wonder later if I could have won. I totally messed up the first time because I didn't know what I was doing. Then the second time I accidentally put one of Jacob's numbers down wrong. Oops. So, if his original numbers win I will probably cry forever. On the other hand, if my screw up makes us win then I am a rock star.

More than likely I will go to bed with $4 less in my pocket. But for the next 45 minutes I will dream of what it would be like to have nearly endless money.

After I got home we had supper, gave Daniel a bath and had a text date with my mom while we watched Survivor. At the end of Tribal Council, Jeff says, "The person voted out of Survivor is..." and the screen goes blank. There next to the TV stands my child. He turned it off! Turd! I was sad about who got voted out in the end. Darn.

Welp...that's all folks. Come on jackpot!

My Day In Bits and Pieces

Bullet Post

*Heard Jacob leave just before 6:30 and drifted back to sleep.

*Phone woke me back up a few minutes later. He had a majorly flat tire, so he walked home to get my car.

*I called for a tow truck to get it from the gas station. I figured I'd have to go wait for them, but they said if I left a key in it that they would just take it and I didn't have to wait around. (Wish I would have known that before hand to tell Jacob!)

*Left Daniel in his jammies and bundled him up in a coat, mittens and hat. It was 10 degrees with the windchill, but we walked up to the gas station. He didn't seem phased. I however lost feeling in my legs on the way home!

*Tried calling people on the "sub" list my supervisor gave me before Thanksgiving. Worst list of people ever. Half are high schoolers who can't work for me and the other half don't answer their phones, nor do they call you back. I just called the Y and told them I couldn't find anyone but couldn't come in .My supervisor wasn't in, but the lady I talked to sounded annoyed that I couldn't find anyone. Sigh. Oh well. I never heard back from them after that so I guess they found someone.

*Showered and ate breakfast. Multi grain Cheerios and a Hostess Cupcake, because I was stressed and that's just how I roll.

*Talked to my very grateful husband who made me cry...in a good way. :)

*Played with my munchkin. He was kind of grouchy, but in between tears there was laughter!

*Got a text at 10:45... "Sure! I can work for you" Um...a little late person. A little late.

*Fed Daniel and put him down for nap.

*Wasted away the afternoon online and watching TV

*Went to get Jacob's car when he got home...and bonus it was WAY cheaper that we thought!

*Made supper.

*Fought with Daniel's car seat...AGAIN. I was trying to re thread the harness straps and it was a giant pain in the butt. Found the seat I really want on a very good sale, but I can't decide because I'm afraid it'll be too bulky and won't work right rear facing. I guess I could return it if it didn't work. What to do? What to do?!

*Reinstalled the car seat...I've gotten really good at that at least!

*Used the money and a little more that Jacob gave me earlier to get us ice cream.

*Watched our Tuesday night shows.

*Bedtime!

It's Beginning To Look A Lot Like Christmas!

I'm pretty sure that I've blogged more this month than I have all year. Although, I hope to stay more faithful, I'm getting tired of writing every day.

I busted out the Christmas decorations today, and for the first time ever, I put the tree up. I'm pretty sure Jacob was extra thrilled about that. I got the mantle all decorated too and was even able to decorate the top of the DVD cupboards like usual. I don't think Daniel can get to it. He hasn't tried to mess with any of my normal stuff up there anyway. Plus, since I was working with a small space, I had to put his Jumperoo in that corner, so that'll make it a little harder for him to get to that stuff anyway.

The only things I couldn't put out because of space that I was sad about was my Precious Moments nativity and I couldn't hang the stockings. Daniel it tall enough to stand up and pull the stockings down...which would result in him pulling the metal stocking holder on top of his head too. Oh well!

I haven't decorated the tree yet. I need to buy some kind of string since most of my ornaments require hooks and I won't use those with Daniel being so little. I want him to get used to the tree first before I add more temptations though. He has done pretty well so far. He's just checked out the branches. The tree didn't get decorated last year for a few weeks either. My parents put up the tree for me the day after we came home from the hospital (or maybe it was that day). Whenever it was, I was napping...and I didn't have the strength or energy to decorate for a couple weeks due to a certain sweet newborn baby.

Now...if I could just figure out what I buy people for Christmas, I would be set. I just didn't see a whole lot of good Cyber Monday deals that I could take advantage of.

Home Again Home Again Jiggity Jig

This morning we packed up and headed for home around 9:45. The weekend went by way too fast, but I'm so glad we got to spend time in Iowa and enjoy family. I never feel like there's enough time though, no matter how much time I spend there. There are always friends I'd like to see and get to spend time with, but it just goes by so fast and I want my family to get tons of Daniel time.

As I was packing, I could hear Daniel upstairs giggling and it made the tears well up knowing that we would have to leave soon. He had a blast with everyone. He is just such a people person and will play with anyone who wants to play with him. I did okay saying goodbye though and since I was having a fight with the car seat straps it distracted me from crying.

There was definitely more traffic going home today which I expected. We still made good time though. We only stopped once. It did Daniel some good to get out of the car a stetch too. He did an excellent job in the car again though. He got a bit fussy the last 45 minutes or so. I figured he would go down for a short nap when we got home since he fell asleep in Cedar Rapids and was awake by the time we crossed the border.

We got home and unpacked. Plus opened a couple of packages we found on our porch. More presents for the little guy! He never ended up laying down. That boy was wound for sound. He was tearing around the house and cracking up at EVERYTHING. We were dying with laughter. He was walking tons and fell and bonked his head twice, but barely cried and then would be laughing again. I even noticed that he had a bump later, but it apparently didn't bother him. Then he tried to run to Daddy and face planted into the carpet. It still didn't get him down! Finally around 7 he fell again and that was that. He was upset and needed comfort. Once he fell asleep he was totally out. Hopefully he'll get a good night's rest.

Tomorrow it's back to the Y. Hopefully there aren't a million kids since all these parents probably pigged out all weekend and will need to workout. Ha ha!

I put away my fall stuff tonight and I'm hoping to get out some Christmas stuff tomorrow. I can't get it all out this year since a lot of it usually sits down lower and Daniel has LONG arms. The mantel and walls may be the only things decorated. I've also decided I'm taking the plunge. I've been leary of putting up the Christmas tree, but I'm gonna do it. I can't do Christmas without a tree! I'll just put the breakable stuff up higher and find string to hang the stuff I usually use hooks for! YAY for Christmas spirit!

Weekend In Iowa

Recap of our weekend...

*Watched Meet Me in St. Louis with my mom and Kendra on Thursday night. Made fun of all of the cheesiness as always. Yet we still love that movie!

*Woke up earlier than Daniel yesterday. Jacob brought him upstairs when he woke up and we both sang "Happy Birthday" to him!

*Ate breakfast.

*Kendra and I ventured out to Kohl's. I had gotten a $5 off promo card and mom had gotten $10 off. Plus we had a 15% off coupon. They all said the could be combined with other offers! Kendra found a Carter's outfit for Daniel that says, "Cool like my Auntie" and then I found a hat and mittens that match Daniel's coat. The line was really long, but they were super fast and we got through in 10 minutes! Scored $20 worth of stuff for $4! It was so worth it!

*Came home and put the Birthday Boy down for an early nap. He was fussy, so he missed out on Thanksgiving dinner.

*Grandma T. showed up as I was putting Daniel down.

*Had turkey dinner. It was delicious!

*Daniel woke up and he opened his presents. He scored lots of toys, books and clothes. He loves opening gifts. I loved when he opened a stuff animal from Grandma T. He pulled out the tissue paper and threw each piece individually. Pulls out the puppy, and chucked it too! He saw a little piece of cardboard lying in the bottom of the box and wanted that! Silly boy!

*Took a break while Dad and Jacob napped and then did the whole cake thing. It was just as amusing as the first time!

*Kendra helped me give Daniel a bath.

*Hung out all night with the family.

*Today Grandma T. headed home around 10:00. She had so much fun spending time with Daniel and he really likes her too. He showed off his walking skills for her (and for Grandma S. too). He is getting better and better each day.

*Mom, Kendra and I went to my friend Tracy's baby shower. I had a great time! I got to catch up with some friends from high school which was a lot of fun too!

*We all went to the new Chick fil a for supper. YUM!

*Then we came back and played Apples to Apples. I didn't win either round. Sadness.

*Just put the Bubber's down to sleep.

*Now we're chillin'.

We're heading back home tomorrow. Partially ready, but I'm never fully ready. I always hate to leave. Darn you Iowa...why do I have to love you so much?

A Birthday Letter To My Son

Dear Daniel,

One year ago today was the best day of my life. It was the day I met you. You spent 9 months growing inside of me, and as soon as I saw your little face, I felt as if I had known you forever. I finally got to meet the little boy who practiced kung fu fighting each day inside my tummy. You were the most beautiful baby I have ever laid eyes on. I cried tears of joy, when you let out your first wail. Your Daddy and I fell in love with you immediately.

The first few months of your life were a blur to me. Time just flew by. You had your days and nights mixed up for what felt like months. You liked to keep me up to all hours of the night, sleep a little and wake me back up again. Sometimes during those middle of the night crying spells I would cry right along with you...but then you would settle down. Eventually you would be sleeping peacefully in my arms and all was right in the world again. Even though I was exhausted, there were times I would just hold you as you slept and stare at you. My heart would swell with love for you.

As a little baby, you enjoyed your swing and spent many hours swaying side to side and listening to the music. Another favorite toy was your Baby Einstein MP3 Player. In fact, even now it remains one of your favorites. You have always enjoyed music of any kind. Sometimes, Daddy would blast music when you were crying and you would just stop and listen contently.

It has been amazing to watch you grow and learn new things. You smiled for real around 2 months old, although often times before that you would smile in your sleep. It was the sweetest thing I had ever seen. Your smiles make your big brown eyes light up. Then came the giggles, and eventually the laughter. Whoever said, "Laughter is the best medicine." was right. Your smiles and laughter can make the worst day a thousand times better.

You rolled over for the first time when you were 4.5 months old. Once you mastered it you rolled all over the house! You could go pretty far very quickly! You sat up at 5.5 months. You learned pretty quickly how to keep yourself from toppling over. Then a few weeks later came the army crawl. You would tear around the house on your belly. We were amazed at just how fast you could move! You eventually started crawling on your hands and knees after you discovered you could go even faster than you had been!

By the time you were 8.5 months you could even pull yourself up! You showed off that trick to Daddy first and wouldn't show me for a few days!

Just 2 weeks ago you started standing alone. That same day you took your first steps! You're getting better at learning to walk each and every day, but haven't mastered the skill yet. You still prefer to drop down to your hands and knees.

This past year has been filled with many other "firsts" as well. First bath, first trip to the store, first trip to Grandma and Grandpa's. You've celebrated all of the holidays for the first time too! I always dress you up for holidays and you never seem to know quite what to think. You probably think  I'm crazy...but you're just too cute not to dress up.

Your first words were, "Dada, Mama, and Hi!" That's still pretty much all you say, but you have added in, "What's that?" You also can clap and wave. When other people cough, you "cough" too. It makes me laugh when we're at the store and you cough back at someone.

You are a sweet and loving little boy. You aren't one for snuggling usually because you want down to explore, but sometimes you lay your head on our shoulders, or give us slobbery kisses and it's just the best feeling ever! Other times you come over and lay your head down on my lap. Of course, you also have an ornery side and usually follow that up by reaching over me with your "Go Go Gadget" arms and grabbing my phone or the TV remote! You silly boy!

In this past year, my entire life has changed just by you coming into it. You make the world a brighter and happier place. I am SO proud to be your Mommy and to call you my son.

Happy 1st Birthday, Bubby! I love you so much!

Love always,
Mommy

Happy Thanksgiving Sort Of.

We're getting ready to watch Meet Me In St. Louis, and the laptop is about to die, so I'll make this short and sweet.

Had a safe and easy trip to Iowa! Had a lovely McDonald's breakfast. I've never done that on Thanksgiving before. The drive went so fast having Jacob with me. Plus Daniel was super awesome as usual. Barely made a sound the whole trip. Just played and slept. What a good boy!

Hung out with the family all day. Daniel showed off his walking skills for Grandma, Grandpa and Aunt Kendra. He even climbed an entire flight of stairs like it was nothing. I was quite impressed!

Kendra and I are contemplating being dummies and going to Kohl's mid morning tomorrow to use some free money we have. Have to use it before 1:00. We'll see.

Thanksgiving and Daniel's Birthday tomorrow! I still can't believe my boy will be one! Stay tuned on Facebook for an awesome slide show I put together of his first year. It's a picture per week through is first year. He's changed so much.

I just put him to sleep. His last sleep as a "baby". Who am I kidding...he's always gonna be my baby! Love that boy!

Gobble, Gobble!

So, everyone is talking about Thanksgiving being tomorrow and I keep getting confused. Ha ha! We aren't celebrating until Friday, so in my mind that's when Thanksgiving is. Tomorrow is just a day for travel for us. We could have left for Iowa this afternoon, but decided that it would work out better for all of us to travel in the morning.

I'm glad too, because it gave me time to get some stuff done today. I had to run some errands after work, which took me about 45 minutes. Thankfully I didn't need to take Daniel out of the car for any of them because he ended up passing out almost right away! I figured that would officially mess up nap time. Nope! I quietly brought him into the house, but he of course woke up. I decided to just nurse him and skip lunch to see what would happen. You know what happened? That boy slept until 3:30! Crazy!

I'm really looking forward to spending Thanksgiving in Iowa. It will be nice spending time with my family. Plus both of my grandma's are going to come over on Friday too! Grandma T. hasn't seen Daniel since June!

Although, I know Friday will be filled with lots of fun and happiness as we feast and celebrate a special little one year old, it will also be a little bittersweet. This year, Grandpa won't be there with us. He won't be there chuckle at silly things (with his gobble chin wobbling!). He won't enjoy a slice of pumpkin pie for dessert. And he won't be there to grumble about how terrible Iowa's football season was and how we should fire Kirk Ferentz. Thankfully, we have memories of years past to cherish. He will me missed though.

I *think* I'm going to be okay about Daniel turning one. I used to feel so incredibly sad thinking about it. I've been feeling pretty good about it lately though. He's in a very fun learning stage right now and I love to watching him grow and explore. I might tear up a little bit, but more tears of happiness because I love him so much!

Reflecting back...

Last year the night before Thanksgiving WAS the 23rd. I was holding my little newborn in my arms, completely mesmerized and in love. Thanksgiving was spent in the hospital. They had turkey, but I passed it up for pot roast. I was on a beef kick after Daniel was born. I couldn't get enough of it! Even though we were stuck in a hospital room and I was still in a good amount of pain from giving birth, last Thanksgiving was the best ever!

Lots of memories of Thanksgiving's past, but here's to new memories!

Say a prayer for us as we travel tomorrow and have a Happy Turkey Day everyone!

10 Pet Peeves

I've never gotten around to finishing my 30 Days posts, and I know I'm going out of order, but Ellen reminded to me today of one of my top annoyances, so I thought I would roll with it.

1. People who still write checks for everything. (This was what Ellen talked about today!) In a world of credit/debit cards, checks just drive me nuts. Of course, they come in handy sometimes, but writing them in line is aggravating. The kicker for me is that most stores don't even keep the check anymore. They run it through like a DEBIT and give the check back. I know some people like it to keep records and such, but just write it down. Phew.

2. People who ride your butt when there's more than one lane. Just PASS ME!

3. To go along with number 2...people who speed through construction zones and the people who WOULD speed through if they could. Those are the ones who ride my butt through the whole zone. Sorry, people but if the regular speed limit is 65, but it's only 45 in the construction zone, I'm going 45 and you can just live with it. In fact, maybe I saved you from getting a ticket or hitting someone, so you should really be thankful for me going too slow for your liking.

4. People who take advantage of "the system". It really annoys me and gets me all worked up when I know that at this point in time I couldn't afford to have another baby because I don't have maternity insurance right now...but other people in better situations or the same situations can take advantage and have everything covered for them. Usually these people are unmarried, but still live with their child or children's dad. So the kicker is...if Jacob and I weren't married (just using this as an example), I could have a baby for free. AND they're the same people that get to have 3 or 4 kids because it cost them NOTHING to have them. Gah!

5. Getting put on hold for any type of customer service and then have to talk with people who don't understand a lick of English. So. Annoying.

6. People who have to one up you on everything. No one's life can seriously be that awesome.

7. People who are always late. Now, I am one of those always try to be on time or a bit early...but I am late sometimes. Usually by 5 minutes or so. That doesn't bother me. (Although it would bother Jacob...he really likes to be early.) It's the people who show up 20-30 minutes late for everything. It's rude. Plain and simple. Especially if it makes other people have to wait for you.

8. I know they're over now (Thank the Lord!), but political ads. Blech.

9. When you go into store and stuff it all scattered and cluttered everywhere. The worst it Kohl's. It's not the store I'm blaming, it's the customers. Seriously you're just going to throw piles of clothes on the floor until you find what you need? I admit, I'm totally guilty of putting things back in random places, which is bad enough. But seriously, just throwing clothes all over the floor!?!?

10. This one is from my daycare days (although I have one lady who kind of milks it at the Y). Parents who always take their kids to daycare even on their days off. Or they have a half day and go home and leave them at daycare. Okay...I get that they're paying for it and by all means go to your doctor's appointments in peace but don't just go home and watch TV while your kids could be home with you! I always wondered how I would feel once I had my owns kiddos. I feel the same way. Yes, I  would like a break sometime, but I can honestly say if he was in daycare I wouldn't leave him unless if maybe for a quick appointment. I just prefer him to be with Jacob or I. He's even going to stay home with Daddy over Christmas break on most, if not all days I go to the Y.
Also...when parent's say, "Oh, but MY daycare provider doesn't mind that I'm taking my kid(s) while I'm off" THEY DO care. They will never say it to your face, but they DO care. I've worked in 5 day cares and every single person I've worked with was irked with a parent at one time or another for doing this.

Rant over. :)

There ya have it. 10 pet peeves. Hopefully this doesn't offend. It's not written directly at anyone...and I'm sure I do plenty to annoy other people!

Just Another Day

Umm...I've got nothing.

It was a rather uneventful day...which is good in the sense that I wasn't stressed out for once.

Daniel wore one of his new outfits from Grandma and Grandpa Elam and his new shoes from Mommy and Daddy. I know I'm biased, but my kid is SO adorable.



Once I finally got the shoes on and his feet actually all the way in them he kept them on! I'm normally against hard soled shoes for kids learning to walk. In my many years of experience I prefer soft sole...but Jacob suggested we try them since I was getting so frustrated each day as he pulled his other shoes and socks off. I was so excited that they stayed on his feet! (This will of course change once he figures out how to take those off too, I'm sure.)

When I got in the car I was greeted by Christmas music playing on the radio! It's about time!

We had an easy day at the Y. Monday are my busy days usually, but today I only had 4! I'm hoping the next two days are just as easy.

Then we came home a proceeded with our normal routine of lunch, playtime and nap time.

Had tacos for supper. Usually can't go wrong there, but I must have used too much seasoning this time because it was too spicy!

Daniel was a chow hound today. He ate like crazy! Plus, he's starting to drink milk from his sippy cup now instead of throwing it on the floor right away.

He's still coughing like crazy, but at least I can hear the congestion loosening up, which means the albuterol is doing its job. I only have to do it for a week, but they gave me enough for more, so if he's still coughing I'll probably take the nebulizer along with us to Iowa.

And in the words of Jolene...3 more sleeps until Iowa! I can't wait. I love getting to be with my family and I'm excited to hang out with my sister. (And mom and dad too of course!) Kendra and I have bonded a lot more in the past couple of years and I love it!

Well...I guess I did come up with a little to write about after all.

Our Little Birthday Bash

Whew. I'm exhausted tonight. I'm not really sure why. I guess I was living through all of Daniel's fun today!

Daniel slept through the night again last night! Jacob decided to stay home from church today, so he kept Daniel home with him and I went. Looks like they've made a decision on a new minister for when the one now retires in May. Yay for a church that's on the ball about this stuff! He's a younger guy with 3 little kiddos and he'll be preaching the first weekend in December. Very interested to hear him speak.

I got home and got Daniel fed and down for an early nap since Grandma and Grandpa were coming over this afternoon.

We had a great time celebrating his birthday.



He thought opening presents was great...although often got distracted by other wrapping paper and gifts. He got really good at tearing the paper off when he really wanted too though!









Getting ready for cake!





He just didn't know what to think and threw a lot of the frosting on the floor. Silly boy!



But then he got in the spirit!






Then it was off to the bathtub!



Then I had to clean up the highchair while Jacob went and threw his clothes in the wash!

We got pizza for supper and then had cake and ice cream ourselves. Even Daniel liked the pizza tonight! He of course enjoyed the ice cream too. He gets that from his Momma!

Then Grandma and Grandpa had to go home. I had to get a picture first!



What a fun day! I had to bring up a new bin for toys and put some in his room. I think it may be time to start sorting through toys and maybe donating a few. I also need to find time to go through his closet and dresser and put away all of his summer stuff I still have out. I don't think I'll be needing those for him anymore!

Little Man was so tired that he started crying around 6:15. By 7:00 I took pity and just put him to bed. He was snoring in my arms within minutes. He was worn out by all the birthday fun!

4 more days of my baby being a true "baby" and then I'll have a one year old. Crazy!

Turkey Day Flashbacks!

I couldn't think of anything to write about other than my very productive yet very boring day, so I thought it would be fun to take a look back over the years in pictures! At least as far back as I have saved to Facebook! So...here are the past 5 Turkey Days!

2007

Erica digging into her favorite Orange Jello Salad.



At the cousin's table. Hm...wonder if Andy set anything on fire this year?



Grandma and Grandpa S.



Don't they look thrilled?



3 Generations...hmm we should do a 4 generation this year!



The family!



2008

Ahh, yes. The year he carved the mini pumpkins.



Aunt J cheezin' it up



Jacob's and my first Thanksgiving together.



The "Grown Ups" table. :)



Foggus Cousins



Dad and Kendra



Turtle Face!



Uncle Mike!



2009

Brenda getting the food ready!



Kent helping get the table ready.



Jacob ready to feast!



Copy cat Olive Garden Pumpkin Cheesecake! YUM!



2010

Yummy food!



Jacob stealing the rolls.



Jacob and I ready to eat!



Grandpa decided he didn't need a fork to eat his pie. I sure do miss that man!



Skyping with the Beck's. I love how you can see me taking the picture. LOL!



PIE!!!



Grandma learning how to Skype...hysterical!



Dad took them outside!



2011

Last year we spent Thanksgiving Day in the hospital!











Although we celebrated Thanksgiving at home on Friday. Daniel was not happy about it though.





There have been some great memories over the years! Last year was my favorite one by far though! Looking forward to a trip to Iowa this coming week for another celebration!