Where did the last month go to?

Where do I start? How do I cover an entire month?
Well, we were snowed in for 9 days. After the 5th day it was bad. The kids loved sledding with the neighbors. On the 10th day Tony and I shoveled our driveway for almost 3 hours. We were desperate and were so happy when the snowplows finally came through that morning. It gave us hope. Who said it never snows in Seattle?

We made and decorated cookies for Santa Christmas Eve. Thank you Than family for all the trimmings, the boys loved it. I think Mr. Clause also loved it.

Christmas was great. We were still snowed in but it was nice and quite. The big family gift this year from Tony and I was a "real" basketball hoop. Can I just say that it is going to send me over the edge. It still isn't put together. You all know that I love to put things together but not this one. It is lame. So it sits taking up half of my parking space in the garage. Someday the boys will be able to play with their Christmas present. It's a good thing all the other gifts were such a hit.

Kiegan had a great birthday. I can't believe he is 10. AAHH!! That makes me feel really old. We gave him Rock Band and we have all become addicted. Yes, even me who is not the least bit musically inclined. Getting Rock Band was a blog in itself. Tony went to a million stores the night before and then the one place it was in stock he got there 3 min. after closing. He got up the next day and went to that store but had to wait an hour because it opened late. Needless to say he was thrilled and still is. I didn't know I knew so many obnoxious rock songs and am a bit concerned they are becoming my boys favorites now.

We took Rock Band to a friends and played and ate way to much food. It was fun to bring in the New Year with such great friends.

The rest of the month has been a blur. We all had colds. Which was so sad to see Belle with her first real cold. She was a trooper though. I have been so crazy busy it hasn't even been funny. Just with school stuff, Belle's appointments, Primary, and then normal running the house stuff, I've been running around like a chicken with my head cut off. One of my highlights was that I made some connections with some other really great moms with kids with DS. I will make a post on it's own but it was/is so great. I also spoke in church which you all know I HATE. Ugggh! Which made all of last week stressful leading up to it. I'm honestly surprised Tony didn't kill me. Before we even made it to church I had a big blowout with one of my children, a light fixture got broken, and I got thrown up on as we were walking out the door. Isn't that nice? Belle had her eye appt. last week and passed. She doesn't have to get glasses this year. YEAH!! I think that wraps the last month up. I promise to find my groove again and return to normal blogging. I do have a few little blogs to post to make it all up to date.

Hmm....

It feels so very.......strange that church has been cancelled for the second week in a row because of the snow. Hmm?

Here's a good laugh...

Mr. Weatherman told us it was suppose to snow Tuesday night and then all day Wednesday. So Tuesday we ran around like mad getting Christmas done and grocery shopping out of the way and all those little things that needed to be done. When we woke up Wednesday school was closed but still no snow. Mr. Weatherman told us once again that it should snow all day Wednesday. So I decided that we would get all the last minute packages shipped and go to the store to get boots for the boys before the snow started. We did just that and still no snow. By 3:30 in the afternoon there still wasn't any snow so we dropped Jonah and Tate at a friends and the rest of us decided to go walk around Target to kill some time. As we were getting out of the car the people next to us were getting in and she said to us, "you should probably hurry my husband says he is in Tacoma and the snow is on it's way here." Someone (I'm not mentioning names) scoffed at this and we went inside and preceded to wander. Tony and Kiegan separated from us girls for a minute and quickly came back saying it is dumping outside we need to go. I truly thought that they were pulling my leg until we got up to the checkout. Sure enough it was coming down and hard. We hurry as fast as we can but no one really knows how to drive in the snow here because it rarely snows. We decided that we would just go the normal way home which is the shortest way but up a hill and around some blind corners. We are doing fine and then all the sudden we turn a corner and there is a wreck. So of course we have to back down and somewhat around this corner sliding here and there. Very stressful for Tony. We finally get turned around and decide we are going to go up the back way to our neighborhood. Well, that road was closed. Tony by this time is unnerved and asks me to drive. We are trying to avoid the freeway at all costs and a friend suggests this other way that has a steady hill but not so bad. I'm driving and it takes FOREVER to even get 1 mile to this other way. We are doing good, we have enough momentum and I decide we are just going to go for it and try to go in between the cars coming down the hill and the cars going extremely slow "trying" to get up the hill. So what happens? An idiot driver from the slow side goes in front of me and I have to slow down which of course causes us to spin out and we are toast. We proceed to slide backwards down this hill, and yes I admit I said a few choice words. I finally get the van stopped and over to the side but by then we are toast. We can't go back down the hill and try again because there are too many idiots now who are stuck in the middle of the hill and street. So we sit. Thinking that we are in an interesting predicament and being very grateful that Belle managed to fall asleep even though she should be awake screaming for food. I of course am cringing inside that no one knows how to drive in this weather and I who do know how to drive in snow has to suffer because of their stupidness. We sat there awhile trying to decide what we could do. Should we walk, do we try it again, do we try the last option...the freeway. Then my sweet sweet friend calls to check on us and to see if we want her to come and get us. The heroine to our snowy adventure. Katie K. came and saved the day. She not only entertained Jonah and Tate for the afternoon but she was brave and came out by herself to rescue us. She is so great! One more hero that needs to be recognized is Bryan P. To the few of you who don't know him this guy is the king of the snow. He loves and often stays out until all hours of the night helping stranded people when it snows. We were thinking that maybe he could help us in the morning or something but he came straight over and drove, yes drove our van up the hill and straight home with no problems. Thank you thank you Katie and Bryan you saved our day. You guys are the best! We appreciate you guys so much.
At the end of the night when I was climbing into bed I was so grateful for great friends that look out for each other, a sleeping baby amidst the chaos, family, warmth, and a watchful eye from above. I was also humbled a bit that I being raised in 10 foot snow couldn't do it and had to ask for help. Yes, stubborn me had to ask for help and I would do it again.

6 month checkup

Belle had her 6 month checkup yesterday which is actually closer to 7 months. Nonetheless she had to get 3 shots 1 was the flu shot. YEAH!!! Last night was not good though, she woke up at 3 am with a fever of 102. I felt so bad for her. After the medicine kicked in she pretty much moaned all night long which meant both of us were awake the rest of the night. She finally went down for a nap this morning and I am looking forward to one this afternoon. She is completely miserable. I feel so bad that something so good for her is making her feel so miserable.

Here are her stats:
24 1/4 in. ........35%
14 lbs. .......60%
head 15 7/8 in. .......4%

This is the closest smile I could get all day yesterday. Poor girl.

Thanksgiving

A few pictures from Thanksgiving.

Jonah and Kiegan love the huge turkey legs. (GAG)

The boys spent the entire day sliding down the stairs in their sleeping bags. Tony and I thought for sure we would be making a visit to the E.R.

Guess who weighs more?......The turkey at 16 lbs.

Our Thanksgiving was nice and small. We wanted to be with family but we made the best of it at home. Which of course meant that I stayed in my pj's almost all day while Tony cooked everything. So I'm not complaining. It was great and it all tasted so good. We are thankful for so many things this year.