The weather people were finally correct! Much snow was predicted and the storm has delivered. Light, fluffy snow is falling at a steady, quick rate and the driveway has been shoveled three times and is ready for a fourth. Many inches have accumulated, road conditions are horrendous and we are all happy!
Today is December 13th. Friday the 13th actually. We were supposed to close on our current house today, but thankfully, it was postponed. Our new house has fallen behind schedule and we are okay with giving a bit more time to the building company. Plus, who wants to sign important documentation on such a superstitious day. We are perfectly fine waiting!
Speaking (or writing) of the new house, it is coming along. Every weekend we try to sneak over there and see their progress. Last weekend a welcomed sight of many cabinet boxes were piled high. We opened one, and I was pleasantly surprised at the rich, dark, cabinets that were seen. I picked them out, but during the procession there was a few switches and some uncertainty. It was nice to remember my choice and actually like it. Tomorrow, Saturday, I can’t wait to see the installed cabinets and gaze at all the new kitchen space I have gained. Maybe I’ll actually take my camera and post some pictures!
Trim was also being applied, and siding on the outside, doors hung, tile being grouted, and the list of uncompleted projects was long, but each week there seems to be more and more finished. I have to admit, being so close (seriously only 2.1 miles from our current house) has given me the opportunity to drive by often and see the outward progress. Weekends are fun to quickly drive over and walk through, dreaming of where things will go and how we will enjoy the new house.
The children are ecstatic, running from room to room constantly. They go in like small wrecking balls (Miley Cyrus has been, unfortunately, stuck in my head lately) and we have to remind them to slow down and be aware of all the dangers surrounding.
Housing updates aside, Thanksgiving has come and gone. We enjoyed many friends and family (minus my Mom and Dad and brother who were unable to make the trip down due to a combination of car trouble and horrible road condition ;-( ) and have a wonderful time. Food was bountiful and delicious, company was pleasant and rather enjoyable, and our time was immensely enjoyed in St. Clair. I’m not sure why, but my camera stayed home, forgotten, but a few pictures were taken by others:
Over the Thanksgiving break we decided to do things a bit different this year. Assuming we would be moving so very close to Christmas we put up, gasp, an artificial tree. And it’s a very small one. I know, I know, I never thought I would have one, but for this year it was the easy, more practical way to go with all things going on. We were even lucky enough to borrow one from a friend. The tree was so simple to put up and the children didn’t seem to mind too much. There were tears and complaints, but once they started hanging ornaments all disappointment was forgotten and joy began to shine through. I have to admit the ease of a fake tree was very nice, but next year we will be back to taking a wagon ride out to cut our own!
Thanksgiving weekend ended and Monday came. Poor Noelle was complaining all weekend of extreme tooth pain and I immediately took her in Monday morning. She suffered another (third) abscessed tooth and had to have an extraction, her 11th!! Poor thing was in a lot of pain and due to the infection the numbing medicine wasn’t fully numbing the tooth. Each and every yank from the dentist’s pliers, were met with loud agonizing screams. Violette and Zane traveled back and forth from the waiting room to her chair, uneasy with her screams. I tried to calm them and her and run back and forth. After over an hour of five shots and many tries, we decided some nitrous gas would calm her down and allow the extraction to proceed. Noelle did calm down a bit and the dentist yanked and yanked and finally the tooth (and an excess amount of blood) came out. She was brave and strong, but having gone through this 10 times before, she was not as cooperative as previous teeth. She was sore, but the pain of the infection subsided and within hours she was feeling much better.
Thursday December 12, I was able to run another highly successful PTO Santa Supper at school. Many families attended to delight in each other’s company while enjoying pizza and visiting with an incredibly awesome Santa, complete with real beard! 53 pizza’s were consumed, with many breadsticks, cookies and salad. I ran around tending to this request and that request, but it ended with many smiles, and even more importantly, lots of happy children!
It’s an interesting experience being at the helm of an organization like PTO (Parent Teacher Organization). The biggest lesson I have learned is that there is no possible way to please everybody and people loves to complain, but rarely like to help. It’s a very humbling experience, taking criticism politely and smiling through it all, all while screaming on the inside, “if you want us to do something we need more volunteers!”. I politely thank them for their suggestions etc. and give them the option to take charge of that particular item to improve it, and am met with glares, shock, and no way’s.
For now, this was the last major function PTO puts on, and I’m so happy to have it behind me and ready to focus on Christmas. Shopping is no where complete, nothing is wrapped, cookies have not yet been baked!
Time to enjoy the rest of the month!
Today I am thankful for boys that wrestle. Maximilian understands that he is older and bigger. He exercises restraint when Zane attacks, and knows when to get it back to him. At times I want to shout at them to stop, but I know this is good for both of them and it is what boys do.
All the children had a great time during their school parties. The Elementary School did a school wide parade for the parents and we cheered on the children as they proudly showed off their costumes. From school we picked up pizza (the line was so long because all parents seemed to have the same idea as me, no cooking dinner on Halloween!) ate, and dressed for trick-or-treating.
Yep, it happened. I had been dreading it and avoiding it the last few years, but if finally came. I turned 30 on October 24th. You know what? It was not that bad. At all. Heck, it was a pretty freaking wonderful day!
Zane and Violette had Thursday School from 9-1:30. That right there was a nice break, but a group of friends got me a pedicure during that time! I arrived at the salon to find a beautiful card and chocolates! During my soaking a dear friend, Krista, came with a beautiful Happy Birthday Rose. Chocolates and flowers, and a pedicure oh my!
Tom came home with a beautiful birthday cake too.
My big present was some gorgeous leather furniture bought a few weeks before my actual birthday. Before any offers came in on the house, we thought new furniture would be nice. Now that we have a new house, it will be delightful to decorate it with the new couches.
The evening before my birthday I made a decision to chop a decent portion of my hair off too. It was a freeing feeling. New decade, new hair, new house, new beginning. 30 will be a great decade. One without births, diapers, and all that goes along with wee little ones. A decade of change and growth and despite my initial hesitation, I’m ready and am leaping into my 30’s gladly!
The sun has set on my 20’s and what a beautiful setting it was.
It was October 19th and that means a little boy in our house celebrates another birthday. Zane Michael turned 3 years old!! Each and every day I am so thankful for this little boy. He’s completes our family, and I look at him with wonder in my eyes. Blond hair and blue (mostly with a bit of green around the pupil) eyed, he truly melts my heart in many ways.
The night before the 19th he was a bit wound up and went to bed late. He went down and about twenty minutes later I heard him shouting for me, so I go into his bedroom and he’s sitting erect in bed. I snuggle him in and he says, “it’s tomorrow, you have to say ‘Happy Birthday Zane’ to me!”. He was very excited about this birthday and insisted that tomorrow had arrived at every chance he got.
Saturday morning finally did come and Zane woke up way too early and ready for his birthday. He immediately opened presents, as Tom and I rubbed the sleep from our eyes and scrambled to get coffee and the camera. Zane loves The Incredible Hulk and his themed presents were just what he wanted.
Cake time came in the afternoon and I delivered with a Hulk themed cake. A dear friend helped me, but I was pretty proud of the outcome and even more excited with Zane’s reaction.
All is good in the world of being three. Zane tells anyone who will listen that he is now three and of course expectations of what he can do have dramatically increased. This boy is a constant challenge (very similar to his big brother) but a consistent joy and we love and adore him very much!
On Sunday the sun was shining bright and he headed out to try out Zane’s new Stomp Rocket. It was great fun for all, including Daddy, to compete on the height of the rocket and distance.
Happy Birthday Zane Michael!!
