For Pete's sake - it's HALLOWEEN people!!!!

Steve came home tonight and said, "you've got to hear this!" and tuned our radio to not one but TWO radio stations that are playing...can you guess?... CHRISTMAS MUSIC. Seriously???? It is HALLOWEEN. It's not even November!!!!

Anyone who knows me knows that I adore Christmas season. We got married during Christmas season because we love it so much. We usually get our Christmas tree the day after Thanksgiving. We bust out the decorations at dawn (not really because I'm one of the lunatics who is out getting the good deals at 5am).....you get the picture.

I count down the hours on Thanksgiving so that I can plug that first Christmas CD into the player and let it rip! I'm a diehard - I won't listen to regular radio from the day after Thanksgiving until the 27th of December. I just won't. (I do have to confess that last year on a bleak November day I made some cookies and tuned in to the Christmas tunes....but it was only the one day. Then I held out til my normal after Thanksgiving routine.) But even I find this to be over the top - Halloween isn't even over yet and we've moved on AND how special will the Christmas music be when "Have a Holly Jolly Christmas" plays for the 937th time by Thanksgiving day? I get sick of the "radio mix" myself ("Simply Having a Wonderful Christmas Time" and also that one about the ex-lovers who meet in the grocery store that really isn't, in my opinion, a Christmas carol at all but which the radio stations ALL play in abundance - not that I'm bitter about it....) and I'm only listening for a month - not TWO!

I'll get down off my soap box, but I was pretty fired up about it earlier. No apologies to anyone who is already listening to Christmas music on the radio - or anywhere else. :o)

Sam update

Sam is doing well, I'm thrilled to report!! With permission from his mom, I've posted a link to his Caring Bridge site in my links section. I couldn't begin to relay to you the absolute inspiration that this boy - and his mom - are to me. They will be to you as well if you choose to follow his progress. Carole manages to see the light in every dark moment and Sam soldiers on with the courage of someone much older than his 3.5 years. They are a constant reminder to me to trust in God and to see the good in every thing that happens!

Poke office

Yesterday after the boys went home I told the kids we were headed for the post office. So we went. And then it was time to go home. Kailin asked where we were going and when I told her it was home she said, "No! We have to go to the post office!" I explained that we'd just been to the post office. She said, "No, Mom. We haffa go the poke office. They poke my eye and make it better!" It was SO hard not to laugh. I explained and she wailed "but my eye is hurting!" I assured her that we'd go to the hospital and get it taken care of.

I thought I was going to get up this morning, shower, and then get Kailin up - leaving Steve and Colby to sleep for a bit. No such luck. I had to wake Kailin at 5:45 (she's normally up closer to 5:30) and Colby was already awake. Go figure. So Steve had to get up as well. Kailin asked for her juice and I reminded her that we'd talked about her not being able to have anything to drink. She accepted it like a trooper and reminded ME that I said she could have some juice as soon as we got home. Off we went.

We got checked in and Kailin got into her little gown and grippy slippers. She immediately began asking every possible question about every possible piece of equipment in the room including the bed. Ha. She did ask me if Samuel had a bed like she was on and I told her yes. She is intrigued with Samuel's condition and I think seeing a hospital room brought it into better perspective for her. Anyway, we had to be there at 7am and by the time 9:15 rolled around we'd had visits from the nurse, the anesthesiologist, and Kailin's doctor, had watched several tv shows, and I'd answered about 9 bazillion questions. Kailin was still talking about whether or not the bed would fit in the elevator when they rolled her away. Bless her heart for being so brave!!

She wasn't gone but 25 minutes and I heard her coming back. They carried her up and she was wailing, kicking, flailing and lashing out. They handed her over - but didn't bring her bed back up. So now I'm sitting on the slick vinyl hospital room chair trying to contain her. I kept assuring her that I was there and she would calm down for a half a millisecond and then launch back. I was glad when that part passed and she was just crying that she wanted something to drink and that her eye hurt. They gave her a cup full of apple juice and she drained it and then was much, much calmer. Another cup of apple juice and some Tylenol later and we busted out of that joint.

Her eye looks great! She downed another cup of apple juice on our way home while she watched Nemo. That perked her up. I'm convinced, though, that they gave her a quick dose of speed with that Tylenol because let me tell you - that girl was BOUNCING OFF THE WALLS all afternoon and even right up til bedtime!! That's my girl!

We've now been to the "poke office" and all is well in this house. It's been a LONG day and I'm off to bed!

Trick or treat, smell my feet!

Steve woke up with a horrendous (it should be an there, shouldn't it? That just doesn't sound right....) cold - sore throat, plugged ears, stuffed up nose - the works. And I awoke with a smashing headache that made me want to throw up and had me thinking my head might just split in two. Not great on a day you're supposed to be joyously taking your kids out to walk around the neighborhood trick or treating. We skipped church. I debated taking Kailin to Sunday School, but in the end she was a. in no mood and b. I did not want to infect anyone at church with what we have and also hedged on exposing her to any additional germs which might cause her to have an increased chance of getting sick herself which would then force us to postpone her surgery.

Despite my condition, we were out of milk among other things, so I set off to the store. When I returned, my sweet daughter gleefully informed me that she fully intended to say "trick or treat, smell my feet" to everyone she wanted candy from. Thanks, Steve! Ha ha.

Both kids had a short nap and I feared for the worst. The sunny skies again clouded over and the wind kicked up. Recipe for disaster. We made ourselves coffees and dressed the kids in their costumes. I figured that Kailin would refuse to say "trick or treat" or "thank you" and that Colby would be freaked out by the whole thing.

I couldn't have been more wrong. Colby was still very guarded about the whole trees with blowing leaves bit, but other than that, he marched right up to every door with his sister who was as outgoing as I've ever seen the girl! She gladly said her trick or treats and thank yous and watched out for her brother. We had a great time despite the cold. Colby was DONE at the end, but he held out longer than I thought he would. Kailin, to my surprise, was thrilled with the scary stuff. In fact, the scarier the better as far as she was concerned. That girl is just full of surprises!

Big trip to the pumpkin farm...

Today was our big trip to the pumpkin farm. I was nervous when we got up and it had been raining. However, by the time Cricket was out and we got home the sun was shining. I rejoiced! We decided that we'd take the kids to the pumpkin farm AFTER nap so that we could be reasonably sure of a trip with good natured children we'd be happy to claim as ours. We planned an earlier than usual nap so that we could get the show on the road. The kids obliged by going right to sleep (relatively speaking). However, they slept just as long as they would've had we put them down later. Let's roll with it, shall we - who are we to turn down a good long nap?! However, the skies had clouded and a brisk fall wind had begun to blow.

Well you'd think that a long nap would put them in a great moods, but not so much. So now we're starting out later than we intended and oh the kids need a snack and Kailin needs to go to the bathroom and then we get in the driveway and the camera battery dies, so I run back in to grab our little camera and off we go only for me to realize partway through town that I've removed the memory card from the little camera, there are no more cards in the camera case, and we need to go home again or we will only have 10 pictures of the pumpkin farm. BREATHE!!! This WILL be fun!! Needless to say, it was not the picturesque start to our trip that I'd dreamed of.

We arrived at the pumpkin farm and Colby was taken with the calves. Then he saw the goats and it was all over. The boy loves the goats! Both kids thoroughly enjoyed feeding them and then we moved on to seeing some piglets, a couple of turkeys, and some chicks.

Then it was off to look for some pumpkins. Kailin was determined that she wanted a tiny one she could carry. It actually took us awhile to find one - most of them seemed to be large. Colby wanted to touch them ALL and was yelling and hooting about them. It was fun. Steve went and got a wagon to haul our loot in and the kids took turns pulling it. Unfortunately after we hoisted Kailin up to get a tiny pumpkin out of the wagon, Colby took the reins of the wagon and Kailin came unglued when she discovered it. We tried distracting her first by having her help get our big pumpkin (we're carving one just to let the kids get in the goop for the first time), and then by helping me pick a green pumpkin (some Australian variety that is tasty eaten or works as a decoration), but it was to no avail. Steve ended up hauling her off to the car. Colby and I

finished up getting some pie pumpkins and I let him pick a few little gourds for himself and Kailin. He helped me pull the wagon and was his cute little self - until I deigned to stop for 4.5 seconds and then he, too, pitched a fit. I made a beeline for the checkout and just as I finished, Steve and Kailin reappeared. She apologized and was in a much better state of mind. I got her to smile for a few pictures and then both kids helped push the wagon to the car and we headed for home. NOT the farm trip I intended, but you know, it was a memorable one for certain! I guess I should thank God that I have kids who have a mind of their own - someday it will serve them well!! ha ha ha. More pictures are up on our Shutterfly site - if you need the password, email me and I'll send it to you. The pictures actually were intended to tell a story, but I can't get them arranged and decided in the end that it was a more apropos picture of the whole event in it's chaotic glory.

Carbuncle

Well I see now that this picture doesn't give you any idea of the carbuncle (okay, it's not really a carbuncle) on Kailin's left eye. I'll have to get a close up tomorrow for posterity. She's had a sty (I thought) for almost a month now. We finally made an appointment to see a pediatric ophthalmologist. It's a plugged oil gland and it won't go away on it's own. So... Kailin's going to have some very minor surgery to have it drained. We're hoping that they'll work us in next Tuesday, but I'll keep you posted.



The good news, though, is that she doesn't need glasses. A neighbor of mine told me that kids who have mono at a young age frequently need glasses. One of the other girls in Kailin's group tested positive for having had mono shortly before she came home. I've always wondered if Kailin had it too and is the one who gave it to me.



The eye test was nothing short of hysterical. Kailin was wowed by riding up in the chair and then by the "spoon" she held over her eye. She was thrilled to point out her letters and did so with enthusiasm. "There is a K! and also a L!!" One row had a D an O and a G. She read them all as O (which is apparently acceptable at her age). "There is an O!... There is ANUDDER O!!!..... AND ANUDDER ONE!!!!" Then she wanted me to tell her all about the headrest and the footrest and what all of the machines did. She dug the weird glasses she wore to test her depth of field. Then Maria ushered us across the hall to wait for the Dr.



No sooner does the Dr. come in and Kailin loudly announces that "my tummy hurts and I NEED TO POOP!!!!!!!" Luckily the Dr is a mom three times over and didn't mind a bit as we trucked off down the hall to the ladies room.

Kailin did a great job at the eye doctor and was really cooperative, and she made me proud.



While I was trying to take the carbuncle picture tonight, Colby plopped down next to his sister and I got a shot of both of them smiling. I thought I'd take advantage and post it as proof that they aren't always fighting. ha ha!

The Peace Game!

Anyone who knows me well knows that I dislike strongly (avoiding the h word) being touched by people other than my family and close friends. I know it's ridiculous. That doesn't seem to help. Most people look forward to a massage and yet I feel like I would leave more stressed than when I walked in!



My worst nightmare as a kid was "giving the peace" at church. My childhood church did it every other Sunday and I dreaded the peace Sundays like nothing else. As an adult, I love my church home, and am not at all bothered by the peace.

I did find it quite humorous, though, that my daughter has taken a real shine to "the peace game" as she calls it. She's just recently consented to sharing the peace at church and either as a result or as a coincidence, she's now gleefully sharing the peace at home! Too bad her brother doesn't understand what she's doing as she's pumping his hand yelling "Colba, you HAVE to say GOD'S PEACE!!!!" Let's just say it's not really very peaceful. Ha ha.

This picture has nothing to do with the peace. I just thought my kids were cute in their hats and mittens yesterday and I'm unashamedly posting it here for all to see.