My Christmas Gift

This is one of the coolest gifts I got for Christmas this year. The photo is not my actual ring, but I found the website to copy the picture for my post. I have wanted a mother's ring for a long time. This one is very nice - it even has two black hills gold leaves. Jon's mom helped to order it and make it a surprise for me. (It takes a bit of work to get a surprise over on me - I usually have to know everything that's going on.) So when she was ordering, she realized there was room for seven stones. She entered the birthstones for Jon, Megs, Karli, Nate and me and then decided to add two "diamonds" for the twins I miscarried before Megs was born. That makes it even more special! Of course, I cried.

Thanks to my wonderful family for the wonderful gift of my best job ever - mother!

It Was A Good Christmas

Well, we survived the big day. Unfortuately, I got so wrapped up in the making of rolladen that I forgot to grab the camera. Sorry, Shari! I'll work hard to remember it next time we make it. :(

Jon and the kids surprised me with a wonderful gift this year. He and his mom worked together to order a Mother's ring for me. It has two black hills gold leaves on it and seven stones. The birth stones are for me, Jon, Megs, Bug, & Nater, and then two more "diamonds" for the twins I miscarried 11 years ago. It is very special to have them included in my family ring.

Santa brought good stuff for the kids. Nate got his remote control jeep - which he had to drive outside while he was still in his pajamas! Karli didn't know what to ask for, so she got an MP3 player - hot pink - and loves it. Megs was only asking for a Nintendo DS, but Santa must have known that Uncle Bear was getting the kids a Wii (remember the post about the lucky find?) because he brought her the High School Musical Sing It game for the Wii.

Every year we say we're going to slow down on the gifts we buy, but it was another huge pile of presents. I sure count my blessings that we are able to do the things we want and that we are healthy.

Here's a wish that you all have continued good health and happiness for 2008!

Family for the Holidays

We have a full house now for the holidays. My brother from Denver arrived yesterday afternoon. He'll fly out the afternoon of the 25th. Jon went up to Garrison to pick up his mom yesterday. We were having a mini blizzard, but he went anyway. He said the roads were dry and mostly clear so it was no problem. Grandma will stay until the 25th also. Then Megs gets to go home with her for a few days. They are both so excited!

This afternoon my mom and I will be starting the preparations for our traditional Christmas dinner - rolladen. I'll take some photos of the process for a post.

Happy Winter!

Christmases Past

Here are some previous attempts to visit Santa at the Mall.

2001:

Bug was a little scared that day. Megs looked so sweet and innocent. Ah, the good old days...

Here is 2004:

Nate wasn't just a little scared, he threw a full-on fit. Again, Megs was ever the sweet little angel in the scene. Notice the serene smile on my face. It was there because I knew someday the time would come when I would show him what a pill he was that day. I don't even recognize the man's hand on the left. It doesn't look like Jon's. Must have been one of the elves.

The only reason I don't have a photo like this of Megs, is because when she was that scared, she was an only child and we didn't even take her to see him that year. Hope everyone can enjoy their trips to see Santa as much as I have.

Jolly Old St. Nicholas

We finally were able to go visit the big guy. The kids all made their requests, we got 3 cute pictures and we were off to Grizzly's for supper. There wasn't even a line to wait. The crew working were all about 16 except for one lady. They did a nice job. I'll scan some past photos of our visits to share next time. They haven't all been so smiley...

A Busy Week

Sorry for the delay in posting. I think there are only two people out there reading my blog, but I have been swamped this past week. Life should be slowing down a little - only a little - after today. I think today was the busiest day our family has had in a long time.

Last night our good friends from Minot were down for a swim meet today. After the Christmas Contata at church, we hung out here. The other two moms and I played a game and visited while the guys watched some movie on tv. A fun evening!

So this morning started the busy day. Mel & Tara and their families needed to be up about 6:00 to get ready for the swim meet. Two of the little ones woke up about 5:00 instead of savoring that hour of glorious sleep. So anyway, they made it out of the house by about 7:30. I finally dragged my butt out of bed by about 8:30. The five of us made it through showers and all the daily get-up to be out of the house shortly after 10 for the girls' piano recital. They did a great job. We forgot the camera so I can't share any pics. Sorry. After that, we grabbed lunch and headed back home to prepare a surprise birthday party for my dad. He turned 65 today! Wow - that doesn't seem quite as old as it used to.

About 2:45 Bug and I left to sing for church. Jon took Megs to her dance performance at 4:30. Bug and I went to watch the dance, but just missed it. They close the doors while each team performs so we couldn't tell who was dancing as we arrived, but they came out just as we were about to walk in. Oh well, there will be other shows to see.

So we got back home by about 5:30. Then we headed to Johnny Carino's for supper about 6:15 or so. Bad idea with 6 kids 9 and under with a projected 45 min to an hour wait. The good news is that they under promised and over delivered. We only waited about 15-20 minutes for a table of 11! Good food, good friends, all in all a good day.

We all rolled out of the restaurant since we were so stuffed. I think we had 6 or 7 to go boxes. That must be some kind of record or something.

Tomorrow is a light day with only a Christmas carol sing-a-long at Sunday School and the lovely piles of laundry calling me. I'll be glad to sit around folding clothes all day if I don't have to run around like a chicken with my head cut off.

Good night!

What a Lucky Duck!

My sister-in-law happened to be in the right place and the right time - twice! She is an expert shopper of Christmas gifts and found what we have been looking for. I can't say what it is here because my kids like to check out my blog, so if you want to know, you'll have to email me and I'll let you know.

We had given up hope of finding this special much-desired item. Then Michelle saved Christmas for us. Oh happy day!!

Winter Wonderland

Yesterday Megs asked if I knew when we would have about 2 inches of snow because she couldn't wait to go sledding. Well, ask and ye shall receive:

O Tannenbaum

It's funny, but for all the singing I do, I don't really know the english words to "Oh Christmas Tree." When I was little and learning to play piano, I would play a few simple Christmas carols on Christmas Eve while my family stood around and sang along. Since my dad grew up in Germany, he always sang his favorites - Silent Night and Christmas Tree - in German. It is a tradition that has gone by the wayside for awhile, but I think it might be coming back since our girls are now taking piano lessons. We'll just have to see...

Merry Christmas

We survived the weekend with 20 some people at our house. I think everyone had a fun time. Oma, my aunt and I took seven kids (9 and under) up to Garrison for the big Dickens festival. (and we got to visit Grandma) I was kind of disappointed that they didn't have more activities going on for a Saturday afternoon, but it wasn't too bad. The kids all behaved. We had my three, my niece, nephew and our two God-daughters from Minot with us. We got to have lunch in Ye Olde Malt Shoppe, saw the Queen Elizabus, and the horse drawn trailer rides. We hit the dollar store and headed back home. Check out the Dickens Festival here.

Sunday we got our tree up and decorated and all the decorations out. I love Christmas! I'll try to get a photo added soon. In the meantime, enjoy the last few days of November.

Happy Thanksgiving!

We all seem to be on the road to health. Bug's cough is finally almost gone and she is getting back to normal eating. Megs and Mr. Man are holding strong and not getting the cold symptoms she had so it looks like it should be a good weekend.

I'll be cooking the traditional meal tomorrow for 14 people and adding about 5 more for the weekend of "St. Sausage Day".

Travel safely if you are on the road this weekend. Here is a poem I received today. I'm passing on the wishes to you:

May your stuffing be tasty, may your turkey be plump.

May your potatoes 'n gravy have nary a lump,

May your yams be delicious, may your pies take the prize,

May your Thanksgiving dinner stay off your thighs!

On the Mend?

Well, we've officially made it more than 24 hours now without puking at our house. Bug has even eaten a little bit since her shot yesterday afternoon. She doesn't even feel the injection site unless she touches it and it's not red or hot or anything like I expected it to be. Good news for her. She is, however, coughing a lot. The Robitussin works well, but we can tell exactly when it wears off. She went to school today for the first time all week. She's been good about doing her homework each day a little bit so she shouldn't be too far behind.

Wow! I've had a long month this week. Happy Friday!!!

Both Ends

This story actually begins with last Saturday. Our second child (we affectionately call her "Bug" - 7 years old) was sporting a little rash just below her neck. My keen mother sense went into overdrive and I started checking throats for signs of strep. Sure enough, Bug's throat had little white spots.

Hmmm, what to do? The after hours clinic was already closed, not urgent enough for an ER visit, so we just decided to go in to the clinic Sunday morning. I had all three kids swabbed just in case they share the germs better than they share toys. My mom (Oma) had a scratchy throat also, so she tagged along. I took the kids directly to the lab while Oma went in to see the on-call doc. All three came back negative! Wow - I was surprised. In the mean time, Oma had been diagnosed with sinus infection and the start of bronchitis - and she wasn't the one we thought was sick! Anyway, I still had Bug and Mr. Man (our 5-year-old) seen by the doc working with kids and she said it's just viral. Treat it with tylenol and cough syrup and be on our way. She was really nice and good with the kids, so I trusted her. Silly me.

So, Oma is on her power antibiotics, my kids are supposedly in the clear with just a little cough, so we decide to pack up and head to visit my Grandmother in the nursing home in Wahpeton and stay in a hotel with a pool. Fun! Bug was a little laid back, not swimming as much as the other two, but not too bad.

We stopped at Olive Garden in Fargo on our way home Monday and got a message from the nurse to call back. Finally at 3:30 (after we were home again) the nurse calls back and tells me what I knew all along that Bug's gunk had grown out into strep. They called in the prescription and I asked for pills since the kids learned how to swallow them this summer.

The end of the story??? Not by a long shot!

Since the medicine hadn't had a chance to work long enough for Bug to not be contagious, she couldn't go to school on Tuesday. I stayed home in the morning and Jon (my dear hubby) was able to work his schedule to come home at lunch time. It felt like playing hooky since Bug and I baked bars, played Uno and SkipBo, and had "salon time" where I did her hair - all before noon. She was feeling fine. Daddy came home, she took her third pill, some cough syrup and took a nap. We thought she was on the mend so sent her to dance class since she has a performance this coming Saturday. Between dance and piano lessons, we grabbed her a cheeseburger and pop. She hadn't eaten lunch, and then she only ate about half of the burger, but proceeded to puke at the piano teacher's house. Ewwww!

Jon and I were out at trivia night, so Oma picked up the girls from piano and got the kids to bed. Able to arrange for a sub, Jon stayed home with Bug Wednesday and he cleaned the house all day - what a guy!! By 9:00, Bug had thrown up again so I called the doc we had seen at the after hours clinic, but she was out until Thursday. Our regular pediatrician was out until Friday. I was able to contact another doctor who called in a prescription for the liquid amoxicillin which Bug had not reacted to previously. By evening, she was tired out, but no more pukes so we're in the clear, right?

Wrong! This morning she had a nice shower, cough syrup, the liquid meds, and a little cereal. So we're off to drop off Mr. Man at day care and she complains about not feeling well. She ended up running to the bathroom and throwing up again! This time we had the added fun of diarrhea too. We dropped Megs (9 year old big sister) at school, stopped by my office, and headed home. I'm starting to think she has my stomach for drugs. The last two times I had amoxicillin (supposedly a very mild and easy to take drug) I puked like five times after taking just the first dose.

She is scheduled to see yet another different doctor today at 12:50. I'll keep you posted with what we find out.

Update 2:30pm: We went in for a shot in the leg. The nurse said Bug did the best of any kid she's EVER had to give this shot to. Then she almost fainted. I guess the worry and hype of getting a shot was too much for her.

Thanks for stopping by

I've been thinking of starting a blog and finally got to it. Thanks to my friend Shari for giving me some questions to get me started:

1) what made you decide to start a blog?
I read several blogs daily and thought it would be a fun way to share what happens in my life with my friends out there in cyberspace.

2) where’s the nickname boner come from?
That is one nickname that not many people in my life today are aware of. It all started sophomore year in high school (1987). Almost everyday for lunch Dan, Shari and I would drive to McDonald's in my Renault LeCar. I don't have a vivid memory of exactly how it started, but it was something about rhyming Mone Bone and it turned into Boner. It really stuck for the rest of high school and today Shari, Brandon, Carolyn (and evidently Shari's family) are the only ones who use it. Maybe Shari can elaborate more...

3) what would you do if you won the lottery?
Pay off all of my bills and then go on a cruise or some kind of great vacation.

4) if you could have any career in the world, what would it be?
A back up singer for someone famous. I wouldn't want to be the headliner because there is so much pressure and publicity for that person. The back up singers get to be a part of the show, tours, etc but don't have to be quite so much in the lime light.

5) if you could choose any career in the world for your children, what would you like them to be? Cheesy answer - whatever they want to be. Real answer - something that makes them happy and rich at the same time. Money isn't everything, but it sure helps.

6) chocolate or vanilla?
Definitely chocolate and always has been since I was little.