Relaxing

Christmas was a delight. The girls were crazy monkeys all day, but I think they enjoyed it. They were back to normal yesterday, thank goodness. We enjoyed presents, family, and the joy of the season. Even sitting here now, I hear the girls reminding each other "Santa is watching". Too cute. They have spent hours playing with their toys and each other upstairs in their "house". It is just a lot of fun. Here are a couple of pictures.

Abigail opening a gift.

BatGirl

Books with our names in them

Pillow Storybooks

My own LeapPad

Snow Queen

Me and Brian

I'll Give it a Whirl

I am very excited about Christmas tomorrow. The tree is beautiful and the girls are excited. We've enjoyed several gatherings and gift exchanges. Now it's time to cozy up at home and watch the joyous events unfold. I have made it my mission to blissfully ignore reality for the week and have enjoyed reading and playing during my vacation. Reality will slowly resurface next week and then be back full force starting the 5th. Until then, may I pass along all of my holiday cheer and relaxation. You've earned it.

Not Feeling Bloggy

Being done with the semester, I am indulging in more non-computery type leisure activities. I've read a novel and a half, baked cookies, wrapped presents, cleaned....you get my point. Not that my days aren't eventful, I am just not inspired to document them for my tiny handful of groupies. I'm sure to post as we indulge in exciting holiday festivities, but I make no promises.

Happy Holidays to All and a Happy New Year.

Brief Overview of Badness

Brian blogged this in more detail on his blog www.heromaker.net, so I will be brief. Don't feel like investing anymore time on it.

1) Brian got laid off. We have money coming in through late winter, but it still sucks.
2) Brian's hard drive crashed, as did the backup hard drive.
3) We had to buy a new computer (fancy enough to finish off the job that he is being laid off from).
4) Got a bad grade on my Epi final and the teacher is slow to respond (rather I'm impatient).

So, Brian has had his job for 8 years. It allows him to work from home. He gets to meet Abigail at the bus every afternoon and chat over snack time. There is always someone home if an appliance needs to be repaired. And the best, Brian and I get to enjoy lunch dates and morning coffee. BUT, I am optimistic that there is enough time for us to find something new, and not just any old job, a great job.

As for my stinking bad grade, I never trust online exams. Not because they can't be reliable, but because they haven't been reliable during this program. I aced that final, so I have a lot digging to do to figure out what went wrong. Did she post another student's grade, did the computer stop accepting answers after a certain point. Who knows. Tired of having to be so proactive just to get shit done.

Cutie Pies

Every year there is an annual Gingerbread House competition in town. We go and see the talented gingerbread artist and the girls visit with Santa. No mall lines, no fees to take pictures, just getting a mom and pop shot of your kid chatting it up with Santa.

Last week we made our own "gingerbread" house out of rice krispie treats. Honestly, there was no time for me to bake, all the premade kits are manufactured with nuts, and rice krispies are quick and very maleable. I did the names, but the girls did the rest...it was messy and it was a lot of fun.

A Delicious Work in Progress

The Final Product

Signed, Abigail and Autumn (in pink, of course)

After going to visit Santa today, we asked Abigial what she thought of Santa Claus. She said, "He has a really long beard. He's a cutie pie. I want to marry him." It's just never who I imagined she'd end up with. Both the girls were so excited to see him and Mrs. Claus. As soon as we left Autumn said, "I miss Santa Claus." Here are some pics of the girls with the cutie pie.

Abigail and Santa Claus

Autumn and Santa in Matching Outfits

And, the ultimate cutie pie was seen when the girls got to meet their newest cousin (whom they believe would make a great stocking stuffer). Autumn was a little afraid, you would have thought she was in the room with a dog. She warmed up to him, but was too nervous to "hold" him (hence the leaping from my lap in the pic).

Abigail and Quinn

Autumn Taking a Curious Look While Brian Holds His Nephew

Autumn, myself, my BIL (the proud papa), Quinn, and Abigail

Back to Work

I enjoyed my unexpected mini-vacation, but now it's time to get my nose back in the books.

But first, here's a picture of my new nephew. Quinn Bernard Murphy was born yesterday to two amazing and proud parents, Kevin and Grier. And an extra star for Grier for giving birth sans medication. She had an amazing support system and deserves a big long nap.

Quinn and Uncle Brian

And now I should pay attention to lecture or clean up my presentation for next class. Decisions, decisions.

Talk About Vacation

I am notoriously a bad vacationer. It takes me almost the entire time to relax and defer my responsibilities. I am quite surprised, and pleased, that I have totally indulged during this vacation. I've blown of my ethics final for days and don't really feel guilty about it. I've decorated the house, but done no cleaning. I've played with the kids, had a West Wing marathon with Brian, the only thing I've cooked was for Thanksgiving, and I even took a 3 hour nap yesterday. Tomorrow's going to be a harsh reality putting the nose back to the grindstone, but it's only for 10 more days. Hopefully I can be just as relaxed and indulgent on my 1 month winter break from school. Good-bye stress monkey, hello sleepy sloth.

Make That 13!

I just got a birth announcement in the mail of a super-duper cute baby boy born to an old coworker. She always wanted to be a mom and now she has a girl and a boy. Congratulations go out to the growing family!

I dare you to be the first one to break the baby boy streak.

I double dog dare you.

Slacker, but Not Really

Wow, I didn't realize until today that my last post appeared twice. Why would it do such a thing when I clearly had nothing to say? Silly blog. (of course, I deleted the error, so you might just think I'm talking trash...but I'm not.)

I've had the worst head/chest cold that will not vacate the premises. That coupled with successfully getting school work done has left me little time or desire to post. To boost my spirits, I will off a bunch of school things you don't care about but I do: I've finished critiquing 7 papers for my Epidemiology class. Informative, but so glad I'm not a teacher. Finished up my arguments and rebuttals for my Ethics debate (to selectively reduce or not selectively reduce a pregnancy, that is the question). I have completed my handout/presentation for Psych. If you want a quick overview of resources available for postpartum depression in my town, I've got a handout for you. I am now down to four finals, one of which I should be working on right now. I'm dragging my feet because, seriously people, exams should not require references. I thought I was done writing papers this semester. A little fruit and fiber and hopefully I will be done with that exam by the weekend.

So, I guess I'm feeling accomplished. I see the end of the semester and don't feel like I will be burning the midnight oil to get it all done in time. Now I'm focusing on the fun holiday season. The gingerbread display is right around the corner, the Nutcracker ballet, Christmas music, tree-trimming, and maybe I'll even make a new stocking. The possibilities are endless.

This Is Me...

Having nothing to say.

I See the End

I am finally at a point in the semester when I feel like I've gotten all the tough stuff out of the way (all four paper are pooped) and I can see the light at the end of the tunnel. I have 8 assignments left, many of which are pretty minor. Seriously, if it weren't for the papers, I don't think I would find nursing school stressful. I can cram for an exam and slap together a presentation in an evening. It's those blasted papers that leave me sobbing and lifeless.

At any rate, I am celebrating with a night out with friends on Saturday. Next week is Thanksgiving and I have the whole week "off". Sigh...

Happy Birthday Autumn

A trip down memory lane. Three years ago, I woke up at 4AM with contractions. No need to wake up the house quite so early, so I decided to squeeze in one more episode of ER that I had tivo-ed. Within two hours, I realized this was not going to be as liesurely as my first 19.5 hour labor. My midwife said I could relieve back labor if I got down on all fours and arched my back like a cat. Abigail thought this was a great game...mom is on all fours so that I can climb on her back..woo hoo. Still in mom mode, I try to convince Abigail to be a cat, too. Not so convincing. All the while, Brian is thinking he has time to do the dishes and take out the garbage. At any other time this would be awesome, but I seriously wanted to find a spot to labor closer to the hospital. Off to the in-laws who live a stones throw from the hospital. Again, I was barely five hours into labor, surely I had at least seven more to go, right? At the in-laws for all of 10 minutes before I realized the hospital is calling my name. Finally get to the hospital, hand off Abigail, cave and get the epidural only to find out I am fully dilated. At this point, the epidural is too effective and I have to wait for it to wear off to push. In no time flat, she was out and had a perfectly round head. Baby Autumn Sage.

Not a baby anymore. I can not believe Autumn is THREE!! She was so excited for her party that she woke up bouncing. We had a wonderful morning with friends and I'm constantly amazed at how independent she is getting.

I'm Three!

Girls Love Pretty Jewelry

Me on My Big Girl Bike

More big news. Abigial lost her first tooth this morning eating a piece of cinnamon bread.

The tooth fairy pillow I made her last week.

Before

After

Need I Say More

OBAMA

Pins and Needles and Puppy Dog Tails

Oh....my....god. Glued to the television, hoping VA goes blue. I suppose Brian is right. The only thing that really matters is the final score, but I can help but get my hopes up watching the blow-by-blow.

I think I mentioned in a previous post that all of my friends who were pregnant were expecting a boy. That wasn't entirely true, one is still a surprise (due any day). But now I am up to 12! The last twelve babies I've known to be born (or will be in the next few months) are boys. There isn't just something in the water, there is a specifically boy-creating-something in the water. So, if you are looking to have a baby boy, now's your chance.

Of course, what I should be doing is mountains of homework. Between psych clinicals (the demons are not for me), presentations, illness, surgeries, teacher workday, birthday party planning, tooth fairy pillow making, and distracting presidential polls....I am just trying to get through November. Wish me luck.

EDIT: It is a suprise no more-the official count is 12 boys. Surely we can fashion a team of some sort out of that.

Spooky

Here's a pic of Angelina Ballerina and Cheerleader Autumn dressed up for Halloween before school this morning. We'll see if the costumes hold up until trick-or-treating tonight.

My baby girl is growing up so fast. Abigail came into our room this morning announcing that she has a loose tooth. Can you believe it!? Gotta run and get a tooth fairy pillow.

Growing Like a Weed

We moved Abigial into a "big girl bed" at 2 because we needed the crib for Autumn. With Autumn, we actually got to use our convertible crib as a toddler bed. But yesterday we decided to graduate her to her own big girl bed. It was a huge hit. Both the girls crawled right up to snuggle in. Here's a look-see. Makes me want to curl up and take a nap.

All Made Up

Snuggle Buddies

Curled Up With a Good Book

Halloween Madness

I did not realize that the Saturday before Halloween was going to be such a crazy party day. Abigail has multiple invites to Halloween parties on Saturday and local activities at the University and Downtown are popping up.

We actually won't be going to any of them because we will be giong to my sister-in-laws baby shower. We are so excited for the girls to have a new cousin right down the street and can't wait to meet the new little tike. Abigail is hoping to have mini pancakes and mini ice cream sandwiches as food for the shower. As cute as that is, I think grown up food is in order.

We'll just have to wait until Halloween to jump in on the fun. Currently, we have three options for trick-or-treating and a neighbor has offered to host S'mores over a fire pit for Halloween night. Where to begin.

Almost Regular

You will understand this post only if you are one of my groupies (not).

I have pooped out another paper and plan on pooping out another one today.

I am beginning to feel some serious relief. That just leaves me with one more to start and complete by mid-November.

Elementary School Rocks

Abigail and I had the best time at her school's culture festival last night. The local highschool was there to perform Step Show. I LOVE Step Show's. We made an origami frog, wrote in Japanese calligraphy, she tried indian food...can you believe it?! My picky eater was trying new foods (Again, credit goes to the school) Her teacher has a grant for weekly Alphabet Cafe. They try new foods that relate to the letter and phonics they are learning that week, they have to wait until everyone is served, they can NOT say anything is 'yucky', and they must mind all of their table manners. Ingenious. Back to the topic at hand. We ended the evening with listening to African Drums and dance. It was a blast. Did I mention how cool it is that the high school has a Step team? :)

He Is Famous

My awesome writer husband just had this WoW article published online.

http://fidgit.com/archives/2008/10/top-10-echoes-of-doom-in-the-n.php

Don't forget, his awesomeness also has a story published in the Dragonlance Chronicles.

http://www.amazon.com/Search-Magic-Dragonlance-Tales-Souls/dp/0786918993/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1224202957&sr=8-1

You rock, Brian!