Horrible Dream

I had a horrible dream about Madelyn. It was awful. I sobbed throughout my dream, etc. so you can probably figure it out from here what happened. I can't even type the words of what happened.

But, you can imagine how relieved I was to see my girl this morning. I told her I had a bad dream about her. When she asked me what it was I told her she had gone away to a place where I would never see her again and I was so sad.

Her response is the reason I had to post this.

First she said, "Well, I do need to go to school on Monday." I assured her that that was okay, and that my dream had to do with NEVER seeing her again.

Then she said, "When I grow up and go to college and get married I will move out, but I will not move very far away." (She has assured me on a couple occasions that she never wants to live very far away from us. I haven't gotten it in writing, but I definitely plan to.)

Of course I assured her that that too was okay. She was just so sweet in making sure I knew she would need to go away, but she has no plans of staying away forever.

I love her and her tender heart. I need to go hug her now ...

Protectors

We know that Madelyn loves her stuffed animals. I posted about it here.

Well, last night she told me that when she goes to bed and lays her stuffed animals next to her she pretends that they protect her in the night. She pretends they are much bigger, the size of her room to be exact, and they keep her safe. She said she knows they don't really, but she likes to pretend.

And, that's perfectly fine by me. I love her imagination.

A Follower

I was so happy to log in to my blog this morning and see that I have a follower. And, I was that much happier when I realized that she was none other than my dear friend Kerry! Dare I say, my BFF (best friend forever) Kerry.

Kerry knows more about me than I like to admit. Hence, the BFF title. When a friend knows that much you have to keep her around forever. And, honestly, I wouldn't want it any other way.

She's the best I tell ya. But, we can never see each other! It's terribly sad.

You see, we both have sickly children. So, every time we plan to get together one of our kids gets sick, and not just the sniffles kind of sick. It's the full on fever, flu, throwing up kind of sick. Or, we make plans and at the last minute something comes up and we can't do it.

That is why this weekend when I head to my mom's house (which is a tad closer to Kerry's house than here) we will not be making plans to see each other. Nope. No plans.

Kerry will not be heading to my mom's house in the morning with her boys so the children can play, she and I can hang out, and we can finally give each other the things we've been holding onto for each other. No way, no how.

I just planned to go to my mom's at the last minute last night and it came up in my daily conversation with Kerry. I was careful to not invite her to meet me there because I don't want either of our kids to get sick.

So, as sad as it is, I will "not" be seeing Kerry in the a.m. But, oh if I were, how fun it would be! It's been way too long ...

Madelyn

This is what my girl does. She goes to bed around 8:30. I mean we are leaving her room around that time. We have read to her, prayed with her, etc.

Well, tonight I go upstairs after a good hour or so of her being in bed and she is on her knees with her hands up on her wall. I don't know what she was doing. It was something with the pictures on her wall. She sees me and what does she say?

"I can't get to sleep."

Um, yeah, most of us can't go to sleep in that position! Too funny. Usually she will read for an hour or so, sitting up in bed, and will then say she can't sleep seconds after setting her book down. I don't know if she will ever learn that you don't just fall asleep like a light switch turning off.

History

It was fun to watch our first African American president sworn in. Madelyn was home sick so she was able to watch it with me. It was fun being able to explain to her the significance of the day.

And, she knew all about Martin Luther King and what he did. Good job Mrs. Paquette, First Grade teacher!

We were looking at all the people on the mall and Madelyn said, "We don't need to be there with all those people. We can see from right here!" She and I completely agreed that we had the best seats ever sitting in our warm home, she playing with playdoh and me sipping coffee in my pjs.

Good times.

Oh Elijah

We had a dear friend here for dinner tonight.

We all sat down to eat and when we went to hold hands to pray we see Elijah with his finger stuck way up his nose! Oh my. Poor David was the one who had to hold his hand! Elijah realized we are going to pray and grabs right onto David's hand like nothing has happened.

Ah, we all got a good laugh over it. Silly boy.

David didn't even wash his hands afterward! Just kidding ... that was the first thing he did.

Men in My Life

The men in my life need a little prayer.

First, Dan goes back to the eye specialist tomorrow. He has been having issues in his eyes and tomorrow is a check up to see if it's gotten better or worse.

Second, my Dad is having major surgery on Wed. It will be 6 hours long, at least a week in the hospital, and a long recovery, never fun. So, he needs prayer and his family as well. These things are never easy and always seem to go on forever.

Thank you for praying. God is good.

Fabulous Weekend

This was such a great weekend. We got to hang out with a bunch of people and it was great fun.

We had dinner with people Friday and Saturday night at their houses, and then we had friends over to watch football with us yesterday. Today I got to hang out with my two dear cousins Cindy and Becky. We giggled a lot. They made fun of me for buying so many different kinds of milk from the store. That's what happens though when you have one kid whose allergic to milk, and when your family loves cereal. I also bought a lot of water and pullups. It was pretty funny. They threatened to leave me there in the snow when I put my cart back. They thought they could take off with all my groceries and head home, but then realized all they would end up with is a bunch of milk, water, and pullups, none of which they really needed. Ah, we giggled and giggled over that one.

I have been so blessed to have such a wonderful family, and there are a bunch of people in my family. I don't get to see them all the time, but I know they've got my back no matter what happens. They are so great. I can't say enough about them. Good families are truly a blessing. So, are good friends.

That's why this weekend was so great. We are truly blessed.

Beautiful People

We had dinner last night with a family from Dan's school and the impression I am left with after meeting them is just, they are beautiful people.

I don't know how else to describe them.

Emma is from Chili and Nico is from Peru so their accents alone are just fantastic. They are just so kind-hearted, genuine, and full of life. I know I only met them this once, but they truly are great.

Nico is a business man and Emma used to nanny for wealthy/famous families like Rober DeNiro. She had some inside scoop on Mariah Carey and some other celebrities that her family members now work for. Nico is a total entrapreneur, always having new business ideas. It always amazes me to talk to people like that and hear all the different business plans they have floating around in their heads.

But, most of all, they love the Lord and you hear that in their conversation. It's refreshing.

They have two boys who are both very sweet. They both attend The King's Academy and enjoy it.

And, they can cook!! I have never eaten food like I did at their house. I think we had about 4 or 5 courses. So delicious!! They were all dishes from Peru (I think). Emma wants us to come over again so she can make us dishes from Chili.

Being with them reminded me of being in Mexico. The people in Latin America are so warm and inviting and will give you whatever you need while you are in their homes.

We got talking about Peru and they were telling us about all these really cool places there. We all agreed we just needed to take a trip there together so they could give us a personal tour of these places and see condors flying around, etc. I'll try to find links of the places to post on here. We were watching Youtube videos of the places they were telling us about. Very cool! We also checked out some of the places in Chili too. I love learning about other cultures and places.

So, good times with Nico and Emma. I just had to post about them.

Days like these ...

are not good for me. It's frigid outside. We are basically stuck inside and I get a little stir-crazy and want something to do so it makes me want to get another animal.

I'm not kidding.

Madelyn wants a rabbit. I've heard that guinea pigs make better pets and are a little (I mean little) easier to keep clean.

I still look at dogs that are up for adoption even though I know better. I really do know better at this point, at least I like to think I know better after the whole Cooper incident. But, I really don't need another dog right now. If I had a fenced in yard, I would probably feel differently, but I don't see us getting a fence any time soon. I would like a fence, but it just isn't a wise investment right now, not when we need a roof more. Ugh. I hate spending so much money on things you can't really enjoy.

Anyway, yes, I need to find things to keep me busy on these cold lonely blustery days, something that does not potty in the house, require daily feedings, and smells. Help! I keep going to the shelter's website and seeing the cute bunnies up for adoption!

Oh, and I need something other than laundry, vacuuming, cooking ... you get the idea.

UPDATE: I found something to do, thank you notes. But, now I am done. Now what? I just saw pictures of a puppy on a blog that I read regularly. I was not expecting that. Now I want a puppy. Help me! I think I need to go to Walmart.

Happy Day!

I found my gloves. Yippee!!! Now my hands and fingers will be prepared for the temperature to drop into the teens on Thursday ... UGH ... no I take that back. Nothing can prepare my skin for that kind of weather! But, I am happy to have gloves that I can do most things in. They truly are like just another layer of cozy warm skin. I love them.

Oh, if you need to know, I found them under some clean clothes that had been sitting on my dresser for a little too long, okay a lot long. But, if you must know another thing, I am having drawer issues in my dresser. Our IKEA bedroom suite just isn't holding up like we need it to. So what we only spent $500 on a 4 piece set and also some shelves 8 years ago. My dresser is the only piece falling apart. I guess I've just been a little too rough with it.

Anyway, still no luck on the camera. I'm starting to get a little worried because my house has been pretty clean for a while because I've been cleaning out. I'm really hoping I didn't accidently "clean out" my camera. Oh, that would be very sad, very very sad.

Daisy Dog Food

I am finding Daisy's food all over the place these days. She takes a mouthful of it and I think she is trying to "hide" it places, but I don't think the middle of the office floor is a great hiding place. I don't know if anyone has told her that yet.

Later in the day she was lying on the office floor and started munching on a piece of her food which was in reach of her mouth. Then she stretched even more to reach the other pieces, all while lying down.

I've also found other piles of food in our bedroom next to Dan's dresser and just now I saw a pile next to my dresser near the closet.

She has done this in the past, but it seems to be becoming more of a constant habit lately. I don't know if it's because the cats have started munching on her food more or what, but maybe now is a good time to teach her lessons on good hiding places.

Again, no picture. We cannot find our camera, nor can I find my favorite pair of gloves that keep my hands warm AND allows me to do most things (buckle kids in carseats, operate Daisy's expandable leash, pay for things, etc.) without having to take them off. My hands are cracking by the minute. I think our camera and my gloves have run off together. If you see them, please tell them to come home. We need them, all 3 of them. Thank you.

Oh, another thing. Dan and I have a niece being born in early April whose name is going to be Daisy so I now need to refer to our Daisy as Daisy Dog and niece Daisy as Baby Daisy to try to avoid confusion. I would hate for people to think that our little niece Daisy is hiding food in our bedroom and office floor.

I promise you our dog came with the name Daisy and we loved it before we knew Susan and Josh had picked the name Daisy for a girl if they ever had one. Well, who knew she would be pregnant by the end of the year with a girl! If Daisy Dog didn't know her name so well, I might consider changing it, but alas, we'll just have to deal with the confusion.

Time to vacuum and scrub my floors ... yippee.

Madelyn's Brush/Comb Keepsake Box

So, another word on the box. It came to church with us today.

I was the greeter at church today so how surprised was I to go in and join my family in the service and see that the box was there too. Only this time the box had her new markers in it.

In the car on the way home she referred to the box as her "goodie box." How appropriate! Where the stuff that used to be in it went, I have no idea.

If I ever find my camera again, I will post a picture, or maybe two. One of what the box should look like, another of what the box does look like.

Oh, and this is a big day for my little Mademoo. She lost her other top front tooth! Now she has no teeth in the middle up top, and a lisp too! So precious and cute and a little funny sounding, but so so so so so cute and precious and cute and have I mentioned how much I love that girl?

Cleaning

I've been on a cleaning spree this week trying to get things re-organized and find homes for things that we never seem to know where they belong. It's been very therapeutic.

So, first was the tackling the upstairs where the kids' rooms are. Elijah's room is pretty straight forward. It's just toys and they just need to go back into the closet in their respective basket, bin, whatever.

Madelyn's room is a whole other story. I never know what I will find in her room. For instance, I came across a keepsake box that holds a silver brush and comb set that is engraved with her initials. Well, what's inside? A little bag of coins, a mini-tape measure, and some other little odds and ends like little rings and bracelets. I wasn't sure what to do with it. Where was the brush anyway?

I finally got things mostly organized. There are a couple baskets in the closet that need to be sorted through, but overall her room is clean.

Last night we were straightening up her room before bed and she brings something over to show me. She was so happy about it too. Her grandparents gave her this flash card kind of game with questions, etc. for Christmas. They came in a plastic holder that fit nicely into one of her storage baskets. Well, she thought that the cards didn't need to be in the box apparently because she brought over the plastic box and it had a bunch of coins in it. Then she happily explained that when she finds another coin she can put it in the box which she is going to keep up on one of her shelves that is mounted on the wall.

I threw myself on the bed (because I'm dramatic like that) and told Madelyn I give up all responsibility of where things are in her room. She just giggled and trotted over to put it on her shelf.

Keep in mind she has two cute little piggy banks that are supposed to stay on her shelves where she now has a plastic box holding coins. Both kids just love to play with the coins. For a while Madelyn had a bunch of coins in a sock.

I love her free spirit in that anything (and everything) can be a toy, but it does drive me a little crazy only because in my mind things have a place and a purpose. If I had a Barbie house when I was little I would have it set up like a Barbie house with the furniture, etc. Very rarely is the furniture or even the Barbies in Madelyn's Barbie house. What is in there? Many times there are little plastic animals lined up on the second floor, or big stuffed animals, polly pockets, board game pieces, coins, you name it. We would joke about Barbie not knowing how to keep house.

So, I know this is only the beginning of battling rooms, but I will enjoy the cleanliness and orderliness while I can.

Question

How do you lick a cupcake without using a shovel?

That was the question posed to me this morning by Elijah. It cracked me up. I had no idea where it came from, but it turns out there was a game on pbskids.org that he had to somehow get behind the cupcake for something. I don't know. This was all at 6 AM when we were snuggled in bed.

Such a Funny Dream!

This may only be funny to those who know my dad or know the other people in my dream, but I had to post it.

I dreamed last night that my Dad was working at the church where I used to work. When Dan and I moved to MD for him to take a teaching job I worked at the church there. I liked working at the same building where Dan was, but I should have trusted my instinct and quit the church job the first week I was there. I was actually planning on doing that until they introduced me in church that Sunday as the new secretary. I felt it wouldn't be right to quit the next day so I stuck it out. Bad move. Oh well.

Anyway, in my dream it seemed I worked there again because I headed back there. The only problem was that Madelyn and I had been at the beach that morning so my hair was wet, like the slicked back kind of wet where I hadn't combed through it yet. Not only that, I was only half dressed. I hadn't put a bra on yet. My plan was to go in, put my stuff down at my desk and then head to the bathroom to finish getting myself together. I just wanted to at least get myself into work because I had been putting it off.

What happened is someone died who was associated with the church so I was going in to help with funeral preparations since it was going to be a pretty big deal for the church. Well, when I get in there with my wet hair and no bra look I find my dad sitting at a desk working there! My dad! If you don't know anything about my dad, picture a NY business man sitting at a desk working as a church secretary in an office with wood paneling ... ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha!

I was a bit surprised to say the least, and embarrassed because it was totally obvious I was blowing off work to be at the beach with my girl. And, I am really embarrassed because I am hoping they don't realize I am not wearing a bra. So, while all this is going on, what happens? Oh, a guy I know from high school walks in with his family. He had like 8 brothers and sisters who were all with him. So, of course I am glad to see him and greet them, but again I am hoping they don't notice the no bra thing.

They weren't there long so I walk them out. Well, on my way in someone stops me and tells me that the pastor asked them to ask me to put a bra on. Of course he did. They even had one for me in case I didn't have one with me. Ugh.

I got my hair brushed, finished dressing, went back downstairs and talked to my dad. I still could not believe he was working there. I didn't really know what to do because he was basically doing what I should be doing, the funeral program and the Sunday bulletin. The pastor was ready to leave for the final funeral prep and I bumped into him on the way out. He told me that my dad was doing a great job and really picking up computer programs quickly, etc. But, he added, Bill did say that he thinks sometimes he shows up to work with a little alcohol in his system. I said, "Well, that wouldn't surprise me." ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ... oh, it just makes me laugh so hard.

And, honestly, looking back I think I should have shown up to work there with a little alcohol in my system. It definitely would have made the job seem more appealing.

Looking Forward to 2009

It only took a stomach bug (that about took my life - remember this is my blog), but I am now looking forward to a fresh start in the new year. I wasn't pre-stomach bug. Post-stomach bug, a different story. I have a new perspective on things.

For instance, as I was walking Daisy yesterday I was thinking that I don't want to see walking as a chore, but as a privilege. Even if it is freezing outside it is challenging and invigorating to get out in the cold. You just have to dress for it. This has been a wonderful lesson for me. It's been a long time coming too. I hated feeling like a slave to winter. I'm sure I still will to some degree because you are limited in the things you can do, but I'm not afraid to go out in the weather like I used to be. A lot of this thinking is in thanks to my sister Shannon for giving me an incredibly warm Columbia coat. It keeps my torso sooooo warm! I love it.

When you are cooped up in the house for days you are thankful for fresh air.

So, remind me of this lesson when I start to complain about winter.

Also, I am looking at a fresh start to weight loss (along with everyone else right), but the fact that I just got a 4 lb jump start on it helps (thank you stomach bug). I am doing WW again (they waived the $30 startup fee for me - yippee!) and so is a friend. We are going to help each other. So, I will be digging out some new recipes to try. It helps that Dan would like to lose some weight too. I don't need to be skinny. I just want to be at a healthier weight. I let myself get to the point where my normal clothes were too snug and I had to wear a cute hoody or something over my normal shirts to hide the extra poundage. That's never good.

I am learning some other things, but this post has become long enough, and I need to post about the dream I had about my dad last night. It was so funny!

Lord of the Flies

Well, we are on the mend. The children are adjusting to having supervision in their lives again. Elijah has now been fully dressed for two days instead of just wearing a pajama top with one sock and maybe underwear, hopefully underwear, but I was just too sick to keep track and remember seeing him without it at some point.

So, things are looking up. I was able to bathe the children last night, change and wash some sheets. I still felt sick so I had to take breaks, quite a few breaks, but I knew if I got certain things done I would just be able to rest better.

As I said in my last post, the kids were great while we were sick. I posted that, started to feel achey again, turned off my computer and waited for the tylenol to kick in, and then I heard it. Craziness. Dan and I were in the basement watching football or something. I don't really remember. I just remember hearing a lot of running and giggling upstairs, but it was the crazy kind of giggling where you know it is going to turn into crying eventually. The giggling soon made it's way down to the basement where the kids were then just running around in a circle in front of us. Yes, just running in a circle.

I finally had to tell them to head back upstairs. You know when you are so achey and nauseated that you can only handle so much noise and activity. So, they went back upstairs, did more running and crazy giggling, and eventually scaveged for food in the kitchen ... the poor children. I shivered my way out the door to walk Daisy, and made my way back up to Elijah's bed to try to warm up. The kids needed to go to bed, but I just couldn't wait until they finished whatever they were eating.

Dan eventually put them to bed and just explained to them that he couldn't read to them that night. They were both pretty tired and surprisingly I didn't hear anything more from them that night.

It's not easy being sick with young children to care for, but we all survived. Although, by last night after the marathon of bathing, changing sheets, and I had also made a run to the store for more gatorade I was ready to cry. I almost felt like I had Post Traumatic Stress Disorder.

But, we watched a funny movie and things continued to look up.

After the movie Dan and I were talking and I had to remind him that he got a Garmin for Christmas. It seems like Christmas was just a distant memory, and it was only a week ago.

So, this is not exactly how we planned our Christmas break to end, but what can you do? These things happen and God provided for us. Even though Sandi probably won't want me to (for fear of germs) I want to hug her and thank her for providing the gatorade for us. I believe that saved our lives ... okay, I'm being ultra-dramatic now, but it is my blog. Therefore, I will stick to that. Sandi saved our lives on New Year's Day 2009. I may buy her flowers too. She deserves them. If not for saving our lives, then at least for mothering 6 boys! Yes, she definitely deserves some flowers.

Here's to starting 2009 4 lbs lighter and off to a great new eating plan (not really eating or wanting to eat at all)!

Oh Me Oh My

Well, I certainly hope your New Year's celebration turned out better than ours. I think even if you had to get 15 needles in your arm it still would have been better. Yup, I'm sticking by that statement.

Let's see where should I begin? ... Dan throwing up right before the ball dropping, canceling plans with friends (thank goodness for their sakes), spending the early morning hours in the bathroom waiting to puke while my cat chases his tail in the bath tub, hearing Dan moan and groan from downstairs because he had such a fever and just could not stop running to the bathroom to be sick ... hmm, tough call ... or, I could mention how by 2 pm we were both dehydrated and trying to move so we called our friend and neighbor Sandy so she could leave gatorade at our front door.

Dan and I were just so sick. He was in our bedroom on the first floor and I was in Elijah's room on the second floor so throughout the day we didn't really know how the other was doing until I would venture downstairs with all the strength I had to help Elijah with something and would call into him to see how he was doing.

Finally, at 2 pm when there just wasn't anything left in me I made my way downstairs to attempt a drink of water. I found Dan on the chair in the living room so I sat/laid on the couch and we shared our battle stories before calling for help.

I have to say our children were wonderful. Madelyn just went through this herself so she could understand what we were going through. She watched tv and movies today (I think). I don't even know what she has eaten today, or Elijah for that matter. Oh, well I know Elijah had a lot of yogurt today. When he wanted to get into bed with me around 6 am I told him I was sick and so was Papa. He said, "Okay, I won't lay ON you then." The closer he is to me the better his life is in general from his perspective. He then went downstairs and helped himself to yogurt.

When he made his way back upstairs eventually he informed me that he wanted a new set up for his train tracks. I had to explain to him that I was in no condition to be building trains. He asked me a few times along with asking me if I was still sick and if he could use the computer. He loves to play on the computer.

Madelyn was very helpful and sweet today. She got Dan ice and a wash cloth while he was struggling through his fever. Later she made Elijah peanut butter and jelly. Dan told her she was like a second mom today. She smiled and said she likes helping. Man, I love that girl.

Another fun tidbit about today is while I am "hanging out" in the bathroom I hear my cat throw up twice! Blech! Then Elijah comes in and says he threw up on the kitchen floor .... NOOOOOOO, but then he trotted out of the bathroom saying he felt fine so I did wonder. When I finally made it downstairs I saw that it was just a spit spot, almost like he coughed and that is what came out. I think he just wanted to fit in.

So, without getting into more details (I mean I can if you want me to), that was our new year. Dan actually said last night after he got sick that he thought it was an appropriate ending to 2008, not one of our easiest years. Of course, we thought that about 2007. Can 2009 be worse? I hope not.

HAPPY NEW YEAR EVERYONE! May you experience God's truths more than ever this year.