Well, I was beginning to wonder if I had ruined things the way I blogged about the job I interviewed for looking "probable" last week. However, today I got the call- and the offer. So relieved and excited. And, ready. It's time. And- truthfully- it's kind of an ideal job for the point I'm at in my life. After orientation, I will be working one day a week- and replacement as necessary- in an allergy clinic. I'm pretty excited for this opportunity- there will be a lot to learn. And, one day a week? Perfect. Couldn't have asked for a better job to literally fall into my hands right now. With my husband busy on afternoons, I was holding out for something that would be low-stress and work with our current chaos... Uh, schedule I mean. For the most part. And it looks as though I've found it. Sa-weet!

So. Lots to do this week to prepare. Sitter schedule to figure out, next week's appointments to reschedule, school to notify about bussing, and, uh, some clothes to buy. The bonus is- we don't wear scrubs there. So that means I get to go shopping for some new dress clothes because... I've become quite comfy in t-shirts and jeans around here in the past few years. Good excuse to get a couple new things. Too bad we don't have much for decent shopping around here.

I told my kids about it- started explaining how things are going to be a little different around here for a month or so (because I'm starting out at 2.5 days a week until I'm somewhat trained in). They just kind of looked at me and said, "Oh", and went back to their coloring. Apparently it's not a real high concern to them. Hopefully we all adjust okay. We have before, we will again. It's life.

Upstairs, J & H are having a "sleepover" on their floor. We have hardwood floors up there and I guess it's more fun to unroll their sleeping bags on the floor than sleep in their beds as they like to do this quite often. I'm hearing a lot of little thumps and crashes right now, though, so it's probably time to get off the computer and go investigate.

Random Updates

Spent many days last week laying on the couch or huddled on the chair. Whining about my mouth. Wondering why I was such a wimp.
Saturday, day 5? 6? after having my wisdom teeth out I was still having a really hard time eating.
Sunday I tried to pretend I my mouth wasn't throbbing and that the pain in my temple was just my imagination.
Sunday evening I looked inside my mouth and discovered a nice open hole in my gums. Huh. Pretty sure I wasn't supposed to see my jaw bone through the hole. Or the hole, period. Gee, perhaps that's why I felt like the side of my face was going to explode every time I drank/ate/talked/breathed???
Monday morning I went in and- yes, it had developed into a dry socket.
Had it irrigated and packed and it started to feel better immediately.
Will have it packed. And repacked. And repacked. Until it heals- maybe two weeks? maybe more?
Kind of grossed out at the fact that there's gauze stuffed into a hole in my mouth for three days at a time.
So I thought I'd gross you out too.
Because I'm so generous like that and I love to share.
I mean, I've seen big nasty decubitus ulcers packed, but somehow when I relate that to myself... Eew.
Gross.
This morning I woke up at 6 a.m. and interviewed for a job at 8.
This afternoon I went back to "interview" with the nurses.
This evening we went to Lydia's gymnastics and then visiting.
Tonight... I'm feeling excited/nervous/excited/nervous at the possibility of going to work.
Yet, it's only still a possibility. But a kind of good one.
Tonight, I am feeling only a minimal ache in my mouth- Hello! I ate pizza for supper! Good-bye chocolate meal shakes! And yogurt, you were my friend until we became a little too friendly for a week straight so let's just go on a little break, shall we?
Tonight, all of my children are sleeping in their own beds for the first time since we switched the rooms around a few weeks ago.
Crossing my fingers they all stay there too.
Because tonight... I think I'm ready for a really good night's sleep.

The age of Innocence. Or, uh, feigned Innocence.

I'm pretty sure my two year old believes in her mind she's mastered the art of conviction. She really gets into it- drawing out her response to any accusation with a "Nooooo! Nottt mee-eee!" Like for example, this afternoon. (Not taking into account that I, in all my laziness, didn't pick up the pieces of ham and cheese sandwich that had been tossed from the high chair by the babes. Hey. She likes to eat everything off the floor anyways- why not have something somewhat nutritious, right? I didn't just write that. You're imagining it. Like I would do that. Ahem. OK, seriously- what's worse- that I think ham & cheese on white bread is nutritious or the fact that I let my baby eat it off the floor after she's tossed it there at lunch? There's no recovering from the point of life I have reached, folks. This is just. The way. It is.)

Moving on. So, there's ham and cheese smeared across the floor and in this scenario, let's just say I hadn't gotten done cleaning up lunch just yet (like it was moments ago if that makes you feel better). So I notice Hannah's socks have a piece of cheese plastered to the bottom of them with a few stray chunks of ham attached to the sides. "Did you do do that?" I ask in one of those dumb moments when you know the answer, but you just ask the question to waste your own time. Like you're going to teach them a lesson on honesty or something equally profound. Like it might actually stick and they might get what you're getting at. I should know better: at this age it's best to just let them do what they want and clean up the mess when they're four. Or fourteen. Or moved out?

Anyways- she looks at me all astonished with her sparkling eyes and says, "Noooo! Not Mee-eeeeee!" So I bend down and pick the mess off her sock. Really, then...? What's this? She looks at it all confused like she has no idea what I'm even talking about. Oh, how she has this innocence-thing down.

She also pulls of the I'm-not-doing-anything-act real well. The other day I went into the bathroom where she was standing next to the sink looking rather guilty and suspicious, although I couldn't really see anything out of the ordinary. She turns her back to me and says, "Go back in the kitchen, now, Mom." This happens quite regularly. Often it's "Close your eyes, Mom." Like somehow she might be able to squirt out all the toothpaste all over the sink without me knowing as long as my eyes aren't open.

She's always got something going on. When we do at last put an end to her charades and tell her she's not allowed to do something, she pulls out the dramatics and slumps her shoulders while she walks away. Like we're so mean and she's so deprived.

Oh, life would be dull without two year olds!

House cleaning, Teeth pulling, & other January news

Well, we made the trek to get my wisdom teeth yanked yesterday and much to my happiness I survived. Turns out everyone was right- it was not nearly as bad as I had envisioned. And whatever it is they give to sedate you... well, that stuff is pretty sweet. Didn't feel a single thing and felt like I was swimming on a cloud.

Then, after sleeping away the entire day I woke up to a bit of soreness and swelling this morning, but nothing too major. Just growing kind of annoyed at these instant meal shakes, however. What I wouldn't give for a piece of pizza right now. Or a Danwhich. Or even a salad. Mm. Yeah. These shakes sure don't measure up. Oh, and did I mention I haven't drank coffee since Sunday? I can have it if it's lukewarm, but that just sounds cruel. But soon, folks, soon I will be moving on to better things like mashed potatoes and noodles. Can hardly control my excitement.

Other than that- I spent a long weekend in MN with just the baby. It was such a fun getaway as the baby was an easy traveler. Finally got to meet my newest niece out there too and she's not even such a brand new baby anymore! Time flies, and I'm so grateful I got to see her now rather than in a few more months because she's already almost four months old. The only problem was- the weekend went by too quick. Of course. Yet we enjoyed every minute of it.

Seems everyone in this family has taken a turn being sick since I left. And last night it was the baby's turn- poor little girl didn't know what was going on, but handled it so well. And woke up seemingly fine. So the only one left is me and I'm pretty sure I paid my dues in December, so I think I get to skip out of this bug, right? It's only fair.

So far, January has been off to a pretty good start. I got some major cleaning and organizing done in parts of the upstairs before I left for MN and I hope to continue that this week or next. It always surprises me how out of control I can let things become- especially around the holidays. Standing in the upstairs bathroom/laundry room last week, my husband said, "Huh. I forgot what this floor looked like!" Well. Pretty close. And then there's the craft room/storage room/dumping ground for any miscellaneous items. I'm working on that. Hoping to actually convert it back to it's original purpose- a place for me to scrapbook & sew & paint & such. Instead of using the kitchen table as my all-purpose crafting area.

Other than that- we finally got bedrooms switched around last week as I mentioned via facebook. Seems to be working really well... Except that my nearly one year old wails like I've abandoned her forever whenever we try to put her in her new room. She'd rather stay in her tiny little pack-n-play where she's just an arm's reach away from me. Argh. I've never waited this long to transfer a kid to their own room- and now I know why. Problem is- she's not the greatest sleeper in the world as it is- and I'm finding it a whole lot easier to just keep sticking her in our room rather than making her suffer it out in the other room. We tried a few whole nights- she was up every half hour. I gave in after a few hours of it. I'm an enabler. Ah, well. Not the worst thing in the world to be so loved, right? Anyways- any advice on this situation would be appreciated.

And, that is it from this house at the moment. Hope your January is going well!

For auld lang syne

It's late and I should be asleep. Instead, I find myself alternately browsing between websites- searching for a fabulous turtle cheesecake recipe for tomorrow night and then switching back to the the site where I've ordered about half of my cloth diapers from in the past- trying to decide how to spend my gift certificate. Yep. Yours truly actually won something for what just might be the first time ever. Not kidding (about the certificate or about never winning.) I mean- some people claim they never win anything, but for real! I never do. Until now. Last week, I won a $25 gift certificate to their store. The best part is, the babes doesn't need any diapers right now and they carry plenty of other things besides diapers. PLUS- they have free shipping on everything all the time. So I don't have to feel like I'm wasting half of it just to get it here. Which makes the decision incredibly hard. Blow it all on an adorable set of sweet little socks or be responsible and buy something like laundry detergent? Ah, it's so hard to decide. But, I'll carry on. Much of the fun lies in the browsing.

As far as the cheesecake goes- I'm dreaming of something rich and gooey and chocolaty with toasted pecans. Mmm. I think I might have found a recipe on allrecipes.com, but I may have to alter it a bit. My hubby works tomorrow evening so I assumed I'd be sitting home, but my dear sister felt pity on me and invited me over. I'm giddy with excitement. I just love when I have somewhere to go in the evenings. The afternoon shift can sometimes get long. Ah, who am I kidding? The afternoon shift always gets long. Thankful, so very, very thankful for his job... But not so crazy about the 3 to 11 shift. But we make do. We make it work the best we can. And, we were so glad to have him home for Thanksgiving and Christmas this year (he actually had a four day break surrounding Christmas!) So, anyways, I'm anticipating getting out tomorrow night- even if it is just the kids and I.

My track record for blogging has been sporadic at best these past months. Four days in a row... and then nothing for four weeks straight. I've been debating about making this blog private. I get self-conscious, if you will, about what I post here, how it might be interpreted, and so on and so forth. And I think- no one wants to read this anyways! But then I waver. See, people have different opinions about the Internet. Some are paranoid about having their identities stolen, about the bad information that's out there- and with every right reason to be. It's a crazy world. One can never be too safe. But then, I look at this blog, other's blogs, and facebook as a way to connect in a way I otherwise would not be able to. I've gotten to know friends and relatives who live states away better through the Internet. It's not going anywhere- embrace it for what it is. So there I sit- back at the starting block- continue blogging for all the world to see (potentially- not literally- I'm well aware my meager audience does not encompass such massive populations) or make it private and continue this for what it was always meant to be- a record for my children. I think I've debated this before. I think with the new year now would be a time to make a decision.

Anyways. I hope you enjoyed your Christmas; we spent ours happily surrounded by family, good food, fun surprise gifts given and received in anticipation. And now, looking forward to 2011 I'm trying to wonder if I have any resolutions this year. I love to make resolutions- I love to make lists- it comes with the territory. The key is (or so I've read) is to make attainable resolutions. Hm. I think I'll need to ponder this one a bit. I will be sure to let you know, though.

And lastly, after years of listening to it played over the radio at midnight on New Years Eve, I finally looked up the lyrics to Auld Lang Syne and discovered it means literally "days long since" or days gone by... or the good old days... So with a reflective look at the days passed and a hope for those to come... Happy New Year! Ring it in with joy & laughter for a beautiful 2011!

Should auld acquaintance be forgot,

and never brought to mind?

Should auld acquaintance be forgot

and days of auld lang syne?

For auld lang syne, my dear...

For auld lang syne!

We'll take a cup of kindness, yet

For auld lang syne!...

-Robert Burns

Merry Christmas!

With only a few days to go before Christmas, this house has about maxed out on the excitement level. We've already gone to two of our family parties with two more we've yet to attend.

I love this time of year. I love the get togethers, the visits with family and friends we don't see sometimes for an entire year at a time. I love the Christmas cards in the mail every day, the kind hearted way a complete stranger in the store wished me a Merry Christmas after I almost ran him over with my cart while lost in shopping-list-trance.

I love the way the children count down with a paper chain until Santa arrives, the decorating cookies, the kitchen warm and our faces flushed from all day baking that produces our favorites: truffles, and ginger snaps, and iced sugar cookies. I love the excitement, the tree glowing in the corner, the way my two year old points out each and every house that has lights with such enthusiasm you would think each one she sees is the very first.

I love remembering often why we celebrate Christmas and hearing that message spoken by the little children at their Sunday School program. I love gathering close with my family on Christmas Eve- all of us crowding into my parent's house because moving that party to a larger place just wouldn't feel quite right. I love singing carols, hearing the children hum along over the parts they don't know yet, and just feeling content and blessed in my heart.

I love all the moments I've put into the little presents I'm making for my children, imagining the delight on their faces when they tear open the paper on Christmas Eve. I love the traditions we are creating and building upon in our own little family while continuing with the traditions we've been brought up on for as long as we can remember.

So, wherever you are this season and in whatever way you are carrying out your own traditions, my wish for you is a wonderfully happy Christmas and joy in great abundance.

Merry Christmas!

Six years old

We had a celebration of the six year old sort this afternoon at hour house. I really can't help making birthdays kind of a big deal. Looking back at my own childhood there were two days of the year- every year- that stood out from the rest: the first was Christmas, the second was my birthday. Birthdays for children should be one of the very most exciting days of the year. It's a day of celebrating a new milestone reached- one more year older, two hands needed to hold up your age instead of just one. As she said, "Yesterday I was just five and now, today I am six!" So we had a party, and what a fun one it turned out to be.

Five of her friends came over after school for the party- an event that was looked forward to and counted down to for weeks by Lydia. I adore this kindergarten age so much! The girls are all so expressive, growing up so much, and still so sweetly little.

Yesterday, after school Lydia was the only kid home and she went out to play in the snow by herself. I was rushing around the house doing the infamous dash between the washing machine and the kitchen sink when I paused by the window at the top of the stairs to check on her. There she was- chatting away to herself, playing in the little mound of snow by the side of the drive, busy and content in a world of her own. It was one of those moments in life that sends your mind on a little slide show of days passed, while you stand frozen watching and marveling at real life.

Six. Six years ago on a Wednesday evening before Thanksgiving, I was sitting in the hospital holding a sweet little baby girl. Our Thanksgiving plans were quickly changed in the best possible way. And, standing there watching her  yesterday I was brought back all those years and wondering how it could be she was already so big.

I've written her some thoughts, but I'm not sharing them here this year. Instead, they're for her alone. What I will say is, Happy Birthday, Lydia! I'm so glad you had a fun day.

Oh, and because I mentioned I was working on finishing this for her birthday, here it is: proof that it's finished. I put the final stitches on it yesterday. Whew!

This turned out to be such a fun project! I've never attempted putting together a quilt before this one, so everything was just an experiment. I never worried about the final outcome, or the little mistakes made along the way- just had fun with each step. Her doll has a matching one.

And now, I'm going to help myself to a bowl of birthday cake ice cream. Have you tried this stuff? WOW! It's like the best parts of childhood mixed into ice cream (and still so enjoyed by this, ahem, adult).

ETA: The instructions for this quilt can be found at the Old Red Barn Co. This was from a quilt-along she posted last summer. Very easy to follow and lots of great pictures to make everything visual.