We are getting ready….

 

Thanksgiving

We had a great Thanksgiving yesterday and I am once again reminded of how much I have to be thankful for in my life.  For starters….

I am so lucky to be married to a wonderful husband who gets the turkey ‘dressed’ like this:

And inspired to have fabulously creative kids who make name placards for the table that look like this:

I am very fortunate for a table filled like this:

And especially blessed to be surrounded (physically and otherwise) by amazing people like this:

Thank you God for all the gifts you have given to me.

Hope you enjoyed your Thanksgiving and counted all your many blessings as well.

Turkey Trot

Last weekend the kids ran the annual Turkey Trot 1K at Snoqualmie.  Campbelle had joined the running club at her school a few weeks prior to the event.  Christian thought it was silly to have to be in running club ‘I already know how to run!!’  Duh.

They had a great time on the crisp, clear autumn morning.

There were 750 runners total.  300 from Campbelle’s school and 300 from the other elementary school in the area.  The remaining were adults taking part in the 5k.

Christian finishing the race.  He was so excited about the medals…. and can’t wait to be ‘a champion again.’

Yes, that’s Leif behind him.  I swore up and down that I wouldn’t crack any jokes about how he complained of sore calf muscles for a week afterwards.  (really, who am I to make fun anyway)

And cutie pie Beckett – all bundled up for the crisp morning.

The makings of a family photo…..

Why is this so hard? Oh yes I know – 5 people (3 of whom think its some funny game to torture their mother with) are nearly impossible to get looking in the same direction and smiling normally all in the same photo.  I guess that’s why Photoshop was invented.  Just too bad I don’t know how to use it.

Last weekend we attempted family pictures for our annual Christmas cards.

There were no clear winners.

But there were some clear losers.

 

Um… 5 year old boy on ladder to train… not a good idea.  61/2 year old girl who wants to be on ladder to train … also not a good idea.

And poor Beckett - this got a little too ‘Michael Jackson-ish’ for me….

It appears that Leif thinks he can do a better job at getting Beckett to look into the camera….

Yep,  not as easy as he thought it would be.  Oh well.  The car got in the way too.

Thanks to our dear friend Amy who put up with us. 

And we did get this precious one.

Nothing says Thanksgiving like celebrating God and Corn Bread!

At least we think that’s corn bread.

Shots

I have a story from a few weeks ago, I haven’t blogged about it before – perhaps because I’ve tried to erase the whole ordeal from my memory, but having just retold the story today without needing a strong drink afterwards, made me realize that I can now write about it.

Here it goes:

Two weeks ago I took Beckett into our pediatrician for his 15 month well check appointment.  I had phoned the clinic a day prior to ask about their availability of the flu shot and the H1N1 shot.  They had them, so I decided to bring the other two along with me and get everything taken care of at once. 

I spoke to the kids about getting two shots and they expressed a little concern over the poke of the shot.  But nothing that seemed like  alarming anxiety of it.  So I thought nothing more of it.

The next day at the appointment, all three kids and I go marching into the office and into a little exam room.  I love all the staff at our ped’s office and have been coming there since Campbelle was 6 months old.  Such nice sweet people and either they know how to stroke a mother’s ego or they really do think my kids are amazing…. because as we were walking into this particular appointment, two different nurses commented on how lovely and well behaved all the kids are.  “Jill, your kids are so great.  What really nice well behaved kids you always have when you come in here.”  And that is a direct quote.  (And of course it goes straight to this proud mama’s head.  Big mistake).

Anyway, Beckett gets checked over and all is well with that big buddha belly and the time came for shots.  Shots all around.  Beckett was getting 4 and the kids were each getting 2. 

As the nurse stepped out to prepare, Campbelle and Christian got in a heated debate as to who was going to get their shots first.  Both wanted to prove they were the bravest.  Christian somehow won the battle and when the nurse came back in he was jumping up and down with excitement that he got to go first.

He pulled his arm from his sleeve and was so proud to be brave… and then the nurse spun around on her stool with a tray FULL of shots and I could literally see the blood drain from that kids face.  Immediately he tried to get his arm back in his sleeve, begging and pleading that he decided to let Campbelle go first.  “I changed my mind.  I changed my mind.” He cried as I tried to hold him still (all the while holding Beckett on my knee.)  He put up a quite a fuss and cried for a bit – but eventually the two shots were in him and he was done.  Wheww…. I sighed.

Campbelle’s turn. 

But where is she.  Oh yes, there.  Crouched in the corner and she appears to be trying to molt herself into the wall.  As soon as we look at her she immediately starts screaming.  No, I mean SCREAMING at the nurse that she will not get a shot.  NO I WILL NOT.  YOU CAN”T MAKE ME.  GET AWAY FROM ME.  NO – LEAVE ME ALONE. (and then just a bunch more, scream at the top of your lungs cries escape her mouth.)  I literally didn’t know what to do.  She had clearly transformed into something else entirely.  The nurse went to get her in the corner of the room and Campbelle starts kicking and swatting at her.  Yes – I said KICKING AND SWATTING at her.  I am completely dumbfounded.  She is scaring the living daylights out of Beckett (whom is still in my arms) and is quite frankly scaring me.   This goes one for what felt like an E.T.E.R.N.I.T.Y!

I don’t know how to respond to this behaviour.  Should I get angry and demand her to shape up and get her shots.  Do I try to coddle her and comfort her telling her it will be ok.  She is SWINGING at anything that gets near here.   I am completely dumbfounded and shocked by what I was seeing and hearing from my own flesh and blood.

Finally, another nurse comes in and between the 3 of us (I’m still holding Beckett remember) – we hold her down and as quick as possible give her the two shots.  All the while blood curdling screams are spewing from this little devil that has obviously possessed my daughter’s body.  My 6 1/2 year old daughter.

There is no way that anyone in that entire office didn’t hear all that had transpired in that room.  And I’m sure people wondered what type of stitches, or compound fracture, or severed limb of a patient was in that room. 

We gather our coats and things.  There was utter silence among everyone.  We leave and the nurse whispers to me ‘we both could probably use a glass a wine later on tonight after that’ and I quietly apologize for the kicks she received to her shins.  And thought to myself how I wouldn’t mind a shot of a different kind right about then.

We get into the van and drive home. 

All night I try to process what went on in that room.

Not a word was spoken about the incident until the following morning when Campbelle says at flippantly at breakfast, “I kinda overreacted to those shots, don’t you think.”

I blink long and take a drink of coffee.

“Yes.  I think you might have.”  I muster to speak in my calmest tone of voice.

 

(Oh, and you wonder how Beckett did with his 4 shots.  He grimaced and whimpered a second. And then quickly found the band aids very interesting.)

Sheryl and Campbelle

This is what our family awoke to early on Sunday morning. 

The girl loves to sing.

Tearing down walls

I’ve given up on trying to keep this house clean. I’m at the brink and just don’t care anymore.  In fact,  I’ve decided to let the kids write on the walls.

Ok – not really.  But ever since we built the house two years ago, I’ve hated this half wall in between our formal living room and dining room.  I even asked the builders to omit the wall, but there were unable to break from the specific floor plan that we selected.  (Dumb – believe me I know!)   I was never able to expand my table all the way and it felt too cramped whenever there were more than just the 5 of us eating in there.   So finally, after all my complaining about it, we hired a friend to get rid of it for us.  He did a great job and I’m amazed at how much it has/yet hasn’t changed that area.  (Does that make sense?!?)

Here’s a before photo:

And after:

I can hardly wait to throw the biggest dinner party and just expand our table all the way open and have all this comfortable space.  Thanksgiving …. anyone want to join us?  We’ll have plenty of room!!

Trick or Treat

Um…. I think I’d slam the door if I saw these two monsters coming up the walk. 

We should have used thses masks as ‘Crowd Control’ … if a group of kids came to the house looking a bit too old to be trick or treating – these two should have answered the door.  We had some questionable trick or treaters this year…. and i hope those teenage boys were happy with my choice of goodies – stickers with googly eyes, pencils or bookmarks.  (That’ll teach them to trick or treat past their time.) Leif was worried the house would get egged – but it didn’t.

 

Thank goodness our night was mostly filled with cute little trick and treaters like these guys:

And of course sweet Marie:

At the end of the night, the kids had about 22lbs of candy but we found tons of fun things to do with it besides consuming it all.   The kids sorted, by kind and color and made scientific predictions on which category would be the winner.  They dissolved some in water to watch them break down.  They made patterns out of the different ones and saw who could build the highest tower.  There was candy wagon racing and all sorts of fun – without eating more than just a few.

The kids gladly turned in their loot at the end of the night to the famous Candy Fairy who visits these parts.  They left their bag of candy on the front porch and in return they each got a magazine, a flute and a puzzle.  And in hind site, the Candy Fairy really should use her head and think before buying two flutes for this household ever again.  Damn Candy Fairy!

;-)

And I’ve heard that she in turn delivers the candy as payment to Microsoft.  I think they basically own the rights to her.