A Broken Leg...What's The Big Deal?

It was a great morning. I'd gone to my childcare room and there were no tears. All the kids got along great and I managed to not get into any arguments with my peers. I even did particularly well in an area I usually do not...sharing my mom. Yes, things were going good, very good! A couple hours later, I arrived at home and had plans. Apparently, so did my mom...she mentioned something about making lunch for herself, me, and my sis...and gathering some materials for a lesson she was teaching during circle time later that afternoon...and prepping some chicken for supper that she could just throw in the oven when she got home from work, since our company for the evening would be arriving shortly thereafter...yada, yada, yada. Oh...and I think she said she had 45 minutes to do all this before she had to head back to the preschool. Anyhow, what I do know FOR SURE was that she had this, " Hey Clairey, you wanna watch Elmo's Potty Time?" My ears perked up! Even though, in reality, I only watch about the first 5 minutes before I am off to the next best thing, I couldn't pass up the chance to see Elmo use his potty for the first time, again. I was pumped and ready to follow my dearest mother down the stairs. And then she did it. She made this fumbling noise as she toppled down the steps. Next thing I know, I hear her scream 2 times. Helloooo, mama, I don't know what you are all excited about, but get a move on...I'm ready for Elmo. Course, she can't read my mind, so I start to verbalize this..."aaa Elmo" ("aaa" means "I want" for those who don't understand toddlerese). She is just sitting there, so I say it a little louder, ignoring the strange, breathing sounds coming from mama's mouth. And then, would you believe what she does next? She has some nerve. Instead of getting up and putting in my beloved Elmo dvd, she starts ascending the stairs, albeit in a strange, sit-on-your-rump, sort of fashion. When she gets to the top step, she reaches for the phone, and *gasp*, starts dialing. I simply cannot believe this woman, who claims to love me and want the best for me. The Lord knows how long she can talk on the phone. As she continues to dial, I get madder and madder. Now, it's my turn to scream. She ignores me. She pushes the hang up button and starts dialing again. Her hand is swaying heavily in the air (and later, I hear her telling people that the phone was moving on her; can phones really do that?). And then, she really pushes my buttons. Despite my demands, she lays down to take a nap. I do not understand her logic? If she's got so much to do, why is she wanting to call people and take a nap??? The understanding is beyond me. Really, I do not care about any of this...I just want her to follow through on what she offered to ME! Her nap only lasts about 45 seconds and then she wakes up, although is still acting somewhat abnormal. She grabs the phone again. She only pushes 3 buttons this time. And when she is talking (or trying to, with me hovering over her, crying my eyes out), I wonder why she is giving them our address? But still, I am outraged and hurt by her insensitivity. She hangs up the phone and shimmies her way to the front door, using her arms and one leg to get there. She unlocks and opens it. The entire time, I've been yelling "AAA ELMO," but to no avail. I hear sirens outside. Next thing I know, there are four strange men in my house. Three of them are attending to mommy and one of them starts to talk to me and is at the door when sissy gets off the bus. I forget about Elmo, especially when one of them pulls out a little bear for me to have. I smile and chat with this nice man...who knows, maybe they can knock a little sense into my mama?!

A Visit From Grandma and Grandpa Ernst!

Grandma and Grandpa Ernst came to visit the day after Christmas and we got to spend quite a few days with them, which we always love. The kids were delighted beyond words to have access to Grandma and Grandpa on a daily basis for almost an entire week! There were many, MANY games played...a couple favorites (at least for Jake and Lydia) were Battleship and the electronic version of Guess Who, both of which Jake recieved for Christmas from Dan and I. Because it was new, it was a popular choice and G'ma and G'pa were very patient to play it time and time and time and time again! One day while they were here, the weather was unusually warm for a late-December day. We decided to walk to the Greene to show G'ma and G'pa the huge Christmas tree set up. It seemed like deja vu, as Dan and I had done this last year in December of 2007 (see pictures below) on a different warm December day. The other exciting thing was that Jake rode his bike with no training wheels, all the way, with a good amount of confidence. Due to our crazy summer, with my surgery and treatment and recoveries, Jake did not have too many opportunities to get on his bike and practice, so it was fun to see it come to him and the freedom he felt!

About to go walk to the Greene...December 2008


Going to the Greene...December 2007
Lydia...always stylish. December 2007In front of the tree...December 2007. See, no jackets on Jake, Lydia, and Daddy. It was so warm that day.
One year later. December 2008...again, no jackets! It'd be nice to have more days like this. And here is Jake riding away on his bike!

Remember Lydia always having to be stylish... here's proof of that again.




This next set of pictures needs some explainin'. Lydia recieved a bride Barbie doll for Christmas. The same day we opened it, Claire got a hold of it and a Sharpie marker and well, I'm sure you can guess the rest. She decided Barbie needed a little something on her face. Lydia and I were bummed about this, but Grandma had the idea of using nail polish to cover up the black mark on Barbie's cheek. I went up and got the shades that would possibly work. Here is Grandpa performing the 'plastic surgery' (in the middle of a Guess Who game).

Lydia watches intently.

A close up of the procedure.

Lydia loves her Grandpa...

and her oranges too, apprently.

A sideways, "mustard face." (Only a few of you will understand this).

A group shot with Grandma and Grandpa before they head back to Indy.

Hugs!

Kisses!

And some silliness before they go.

Love you guys so much and can't wait to see you again soon!

Christmas in February now!

Once again, I am playing catch up. Here are some pictures of our Christmas Eve and Christmas day.

So here's the story of our Christmas Eve tradition. When I married Dan, we discussed any traditions we had growing up and it was then that I learned of the Ernst family tradition of having grilled cheese sandwiches and tomato soup for supper. I thought that seemed like a lot of fun, so we started doing this as a married couple. I can't remember when, but sometime early on, there was a discussion with Dan and his family and it was questionable as to wether or not this was actually a "tradition." Regardless, we have enjoyed making it one/carrying it on for our family. Below is our family, along with my mom, dad, and sister enjoying our "soup and cheese," as my cousin termed it once. I'm not sure about Grandma and Jake in this picture.

Here is Lydia styling Grandpa's hair after supper. (I used to fix my Grandpa's hair as well).


Jake reading about Christ's birth from a book to all of us.

Every Christmas Eve, the kids open 2 traditional gifts...pajamas from us and ornaments from Grandma and Grandpa Kanost. Here is Claire opening her ornament (it was Elmo). The kids also get ornaments from Grandma and Grandpa Ernst every year, too. They got theirs over Thanksgiving. They have quite the collection and it's fun to get them all out again every year.

Jake opening up his ornament in his new Star Wars pj's.

The kids in their new pajamas in front of the tree.

Aunt Sarah Beth wears her new pajamas home!
We opened up gifts at home Christmas morning and then headed over to my mom and dad's. Here is a Little People Princess set Claire opened up, from G'ma and G'pa K. which kept her occupied for a good, long while.

Grandpa Kanost opens up his gift from Jake...a cool ice scraper! Sweeeet!

Jake loves his joke book from Aunt Sarah Beth. It is still providing us with some good laughs.

"Who's yo' Daddy?"

Later on in the afternoon, a bunch of my family and the Couture's, who are practically family, come over for an early dinner. After some yummy food, we play games. Here is Jake playing Memory with my Uncle Gary. He won again this year, but Lydia was some closer competition.

Ahh..the can. I made this can in grade school and it is a favorite by all. Well, all but my sister. You see, we have this competition. She made a candy cane that she apparently thinks surpasses my can. Many a time, either the can or the cane go mysteriously missing. I have NO IDEA who instigates this rivalry??? Unfortunetly, I do not have a picture of the candy cane...gasp! So, you can just take in the beauty of the can!

Libby helping Claire remove a pink substance all over her face and hands. I don't remember what she got into...play make up, maybe?

My sweet Grandma Kanost all bundled up.

Two pretty ladies I happened upon.

Two more pretty ladies...the moms of the previous 2.
Time for pie!

Happy Birthday, Jesus

The Sunday before Christmas, our church always does a unified service called "Gift To Christ Sunday." Before everyone goes to the front to drop off their gifts, there is a lot of singing of carols, as well as some special music. This year, Grandma asked if Lydia could sing with her. Jake wanted to be a part of the action as well and he practiced with Grandma, but about five mintues before their special, he whispered to me that he did not want to sing. His name was in the program, but I did not want to make him do something he was afraid to do. He did just wonderful in a group setting during the Jr. Praise team's production of Carribean Christmas, but I think the thought of just him, Lydia, and Grandma up there was too much. Lydia does not seem to have the stage fright. She walked on up, tried on her own to climb the stool in her pretty dress, accepted the help given, and waited for her song to start. She did wonderfully and I am so tickled to have this memory recorded. Thanks Grandma K., for thinking of this. I will always remember it! Also, after the video clip are a few attempts to get our anual Christmas photo of the kids at church. Let's just say Claire had a mind of her own.

"C Is For Cookies...That's Good Enough For Me!" (Cookie Monster)

This was our 3rd anual Christmas decorating event! I've baked cookies for the neighbors and a few friends for some years now, but once we started icing sugar cookies, I knew it would become a tradition. My parents and my sister come over to help head up the decorating. Usually, I am busy baking other kinds of cookies (which I made a ton of Monster cookies this year), but I got to get in on the fun part too. Grandpa didn't make it until mostly all the cookies were done, but he helped with a few. I know most of you probably don't care too much about our specific cookies, but I do this blog for my kids too, so this is more for them. Maybe I can lure you to look at the rest of this post by telling you the group favorite is pretty funny (made by Jake). And just so ya know, my kids also plead with me to let them use some non-Christmasy cookie-cutters. So, if you wonder what footballs or boots have to do with Christmas...the answer is nothing. At least we managed to go without the dinosaur cookies this year.

The Christmas Cookie Crew!

The beginnings of Lydia's plate
Very focused.

Aunt Sarah Beth's plate (her favorite she made is the cute snowman).

My plate...I like my football and Go Colts. Too bad we're not watching them anymore this season.

Grandma Kanost's plate. Grandma showing of one of her favorites she made.

Jake's plate...this makes me laugh. Look at all that candy! Claire's favorite didn't make the picture; she gobbled it up too fast.

Lydia's favorite was one that I made that said, "I love Lydia."

(We obviously kept some of them - that would have been strange to give that one to the neighbors).

And lastly, another one NOT given to the neighbors...Jake's creation! This one was a favorite by the adults and Jake too, of course.