HAPPY NEW YEAR!!

Alright, I know I never updated from Christmas, but I have been working like crazy and we have my brother, his fiancee and kids in town, so as you can see I have been extremely busy. I just wanted to wish everyone a very Happy New Year and I hope you enjoy your great 2008. I will update in the new year, when things slow down. God bless!

MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!!!!

Well, seeing as I work all day tomorrow and today is laundry day, I thought I would wish you all a very MERRY CHRISTMAS! I hope you all enjoy your day filled with fun, excitement and laughter. Please do remember the TRUE reason for the season though...JESUS' BIRTH! MERRY CHRISTMAS EVERYONE!!!

Science Spectrum

Anna and I had the chance to go to the Science Spectrum free of charge on Monday, so we went. We would have been crazy not to. They are featuring a classic toy exhibit right now, so Anna got to see a alot of classic toys and even get to play with some of them. She enjoyed that, then we were allowed to go to the regular part of the museum. She had a blast bouncing from one place to another. It was very difficult for me to keep up. She absolutely loved this place and loved that she was allowed to touch almost anything she wanted to and explore how it worked. It was a lot of fun. Here are some pictures from the day:

Playing with Colorforms:

Anna's Magnetic Potato Head Creation:

Electricity Hand:

Large Circular Xylophone:

Anna's Favorite, the floor piano:

This was a great field trip for our day. We did go with a homeschool group, so we were technically in school, weren't we? LOL! There was a school there as well, so I think we are safe.

Santa Land

Ok, so we spent Sunday night freezing our bottoms off at Santa Land. Why on earth would anyone else stand in line for an hour and a half, in sub freezing temperatures, to see Santa? To keep their children happy and to get that picture to remember for years to come. We stood in line outside with a bunch of other crazy lunatics like myself to get a picture with Santa. Our visit lasted all of 2 minutes, and by then I didn't really want to go and look anything else. I was cold! Thats it, just downright cold!! Here are a few pictures of the evening. Like I said, it was COLD!!

Here is Anna waiting patiently:

That coveted picture, my version(not to bad if I do say so myself):

Pictures with Clifford (I was too cold to do much else by then):

Five minutes after getting in the car, she was like this:

Laws of Children

Here is a law of children that I never thought of before...

When it is 34 degrees outside and cold, wet, and very drizzly, with a wind chill of 28, that is when your six year old will inevitably ask to go to the park. UGH!!

Alright, I know it is icy and colder elsewhere, but it down right cold for us being in Texas and my darling daughter is begging me to go to the park. I have side-tracked her with wrapping Daddy's gifts, (No dear, you will NOT find out for 10 more days what you are getting...and NO bugging Anna to find out.) watched the Barbie Nutcracker movie, read a book, finished school, washed dishes, cleaned the stove, etc, etc. She STILL insists on going to the park. Sorry kiddo, but not in this lifetime. I love you very, very much. But I am not going to freeze my behind off in freezing temperatures to watch you play at the park. Sorry!

Any other hints to side-track her will be greatly appreciated.

The Nutcracker

Well, I prayed hard yesterday. Anna was looking forward to the ballet, and I was determined to take her. By the time it came to leave, I was showered and dressed and had not thrown up for about 9 hours, so even if I was still achey, I was taking my daughter to the ballet. We went and she had a GREAT time. It was very nicely done and she really liked watching the ballerina's dance. We even got some souvenirs to bring home, although only the small ones as they were rather expensive. Anyhow, here are some pictures from last night.

Waiting for the show to start:

Intermission Time:

Picture with a very tall nutcracker:

As you can see we had a good time. Sorry, no pictures of me. it was a very crowded place and I didn't feel well, remember! LOL! I am very glad I took her though as it is an experience she will never forget.

Flu?

I am sick. No doubt about it, but did it have to be today? Anna and I had plans to go see the Nutcracker ballet tonight. So far I have thrown up twice, with a 5 hour break in between. It stinks. I hate being sick. I had Jeremy call his mom this morning to come take Anna, so hopefully she will not get it. Thanks so much for her being available. Jeremy can't be off, unless he gets a doctors note, due to it being finals week. I am about to try eating some soup or crackers in a little bit. Prayerfully I can keep it down. I want to feel better. UGH! Oh and obviously there is NO SCHOOL today for us.

Monkeys?!

What does this railing:

On this bed:

And these two little girls (I know old picture, but it was handy):


Have to do with my sweet little girl ending up like this:

Here is a song that might jog your memory:

Five little monkeys jumping on the bed,
One fell off and hit her head,
Momma called the doctor and the doctor said,
"No more monkeys jumping on the bed!"

Alright, you get the picture! My darling daughter and niece have been told over and over and over again to not jump on the bed. Well, since they are only 5 and 6, and jumping on the bed is soooo much fun, one of them was bound to get hurt eventually. Anna fell on the piled up blankets and smacked her eye into the railing. (No, they are not in the picture. We had the extra bed from underneath rolled out over the weekend for niece to sleep over.) This was on Sunday and today, her eye still looks like this. It is really bad to look at, and the stares of people when we go out...ugh! She is just fine and you would think she learned a lesson, but nope. Today she was still playing on the bed. LOL! She rolled off ours today. I guess some of us have to learn the hard way. Does she have to take after me SO much?! LOL!

Great Opportunity

Well, last night at work I was offered a GREAT opportunity, but I am afraid I will be turning it down. My boss at work offered me a department head position, if I will go back to full-time (we had toyed with this idea some already). After some thought and much debate, we have determined that it is not in the best interest of our family at this current moment. With Anna being homeschooled, (and that is not something we are willing to give up) and our current family status, we decided it is not something we can do at the moment. Yes, I would absolutely LOVE to be department head, but I can not guarantee that I will have the childcare arrangements necessary for Anna, especially not with homeschooling. Anna really enjoys the homeschool and so do I. Maybe at another time. We figured in the costs of childcare of some sort, and then with the bit more I would be making, it would all be gone to childcare. I think the best thing for our family is for me to say thanks for the offer, but at this time I can not guarantee a commitment (which he wanted) and it is not in our families best interest at the current moment. As much as I wanted to go full-time, that is not a schedule that will work for us right now.

Happy December

Alright, so we are now 3 days inot December and I have no clue what to type, but there are only 22 days till Christmas. Anna did her last gymnastics class of the season today and we have the last ballet class on Wednesday. She likes those two classes, but I think she will like them better in January, when she is with bigger kids.

Nothing new here, just work and work and clean. I am sure every working, or even stay at home mom knows that. I am trying to finish off my Christmas shopping and then just keep sane. I hope everyone is doing okay. Take care and God bless. I promise to try and do a better post later.