So PrOuD...

I am so proud of my sweet little boy. I shouldn't say little. He is almost 11. We started homeschooling him in November, and he is LOVING it. So am I. He really is doing well with working hard to get his work done. I have very little complaints from him! I am so happy he is finally happy! I know we made the right decision for him. That was only made through a lot of prayer.

ThUmBs Up?

Well, nooooo. I finally found out what is going on with my left thumb. Turns out, on the 4th opinion (an orthopedic surgeon), it is NOT tendinitis, it is NOT a torn ligament which = no surgery, but instead it is a sprain in the lower joint of my thumb, down by the palm of my hand. Every time I hurt it, it is re-injuring it. So the solution is a 3 week stint with a new brace and if that doesn't work, I get a cast. :Op

HoW dO yOu FeEL?

This is me. I feel about as out of steam as one could get. Don't worry, the van wont run out of gas. I just filled it. I wish it were as easy to do that for me!

TuEsDaY TrEaTs...

Are coming a day early this week! Seems that DH has an over night business trip this week, so he cant take them on his usual day, but he can a day early! He (and others at the hospital) have really come to look forward to the "treats" that are coming their way on Wednesdays! LOL! I guess if it is making people feel happy and it pleases them, then I have done my job!

This week I made Pecan Tarts. Normally these are just strictly Christmas time treats, but one guy that Jeff works with really loves them and put in his request. LOL! Isn't that a hoot? So that is what Jeff is taking tomorrow. Pecan Tarts. The only variation I made with this recipe is the size of the tarts. I make them as Mini Tarts because the bigger cupcake size is almost too much tart. So I used the mini-muffin pan and get lots of little ones. So good and bite size!

I am glad that hubby likes this new tradition.

BoOm!

I heard the loudest boom! I even jumped! Not long after the boom, I hear a cry. My heart jumped as I recognized that as an injured baby cry. Miss Madison fell out of bed and hit the table next to her bed. Poor baby!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Thankfully she was not injured, just a little mad.

ThE InViSiBLe WoMaN...

Pause the music at the bottom of the page before playing the video!

I know I have shared on here before about how I often feel invisible. My dearest friend sent me this. Wow, does it put things in perspective for me!

UnUsUaL ArGuMeNtS...

Lately, our family has been experiencing some unusual arguments. The kids are fighting over who gets to say prayer, or help with scripture study (we have been doing it every night, I know, huh!!!). So I ca

me up with a cute little chart to PRE-DECIDE who gets to do what. That will save on A LOT of arguments in our house. Oh to have something WORTHY of arguments!!!! My chart is laminated and I have different markers for different seasons or holidays. Or, if we choose, a dry erase marker works wonderfully! I think I will start a chore chart too.....

FuN sTuFf...

We have had a really crazy week and it isn't going to get better until next weekend! This week has been full of Dr. appts for several of us. The girlies have been sick with what we THOUGHT was pink eye and a cold. Turns out that it WASN'T pink eye, rather, just a cold in their eyes. THANKFULLY! I felt disgusting thinking we had pink eye around. So, one of the many appts we had this week was to have Bethanie and Madison's eyes looked at because they just didn't seem to be getting any better. So off to the optometrist we go. It was great luck and timing because we had to go anyway because Bethanie had an eye exam. She is getting glasses and she cant be happy enough about it! These are the frames she chose:

Aren't they way cute? She is so excited because her best friend just got new glasses and she has wanted them for a long time. Fortunately for her, they really will just be for reading or school-type things, computer, tv, reading, writing, coloring, that type of thing.

We had another appt. for Bethanie today. I had to take her to an audiologist. She has been having some troubles in school and we wanted to make sure that she is hearing things and seeing things correctly, and her hearing is excellent! YAY! On to figuring out the other issues....this was us, she and I went to eat at Spangles (It just tastes better). It was fun spending this time with JUST Bethanie. We had a great time-Girl bonding time!!! I just love her so much! I wanted to go to the mall with her and shop. But, alas, demands were upon us and we had to get back. We were an hour away from home.

TuEsDaY TrEaTs...

I love doing this for my husband! He is so excited about this and looks forward to it. He had a hard time trying to decide what he wanted me to make. He said, "You know, Tuesday Treats dont always have to be desserts, how about BEAN DIP or 7-Layer Dip?" LOL! So I decided to make the 7-layer dip. The recipe is in Ladysam's Recipe Box. Dont forget the chips!

It's Official...

I am waging an all out war on winter. I am so done with it. The kids cant go out to play because there is so much snow and ice out there, and mud underneath it. We cant get out of the house, so we are all sick, passing bugs around, and today I slipped on the ice coming in from taking Bethanie to school. I was carrying Madison. I went down hard on my right tushie and elbow. Good thing Madison had plenty of cushion because she landed in top of me (thankfully). I will feel it tomorrow.

LoNg WeEk!

Oh my goodness! This week has dragged on and on! Bethanie has been out of school since Wednesday last week, she has had this weird sinus cold thing going on....and Pink Eye. Yep! Disgusting, isn't it? She picked it up from White Grandma, and who knows where SHE picked it up with. She had it twice in a row so hopefully Bethanie wont get it twice. Madison has the same crud minus the pink eye, thankfully. Let us hope it stays that way because I don't know how she will handle eye drops that many times a day. Matthew, remarkably, is SUPER HEALHY! That is a first ever. He is usually the one to catch everything. I suppose with him being home, he has less chance to catch the germs that is at school. Poor girlies though. They cough cough cough almost constantly. :O(

Dancing!

If you cant hear the video, you can pause the music at the bottom of the blog. Look for the media player and click pause.

I just cant get enough of watching my little girls have fun! Last night was Madison's 2nd night of dance. She did very well. When she was getting ready to go (2 hours before she had to be there) she wanted me to do her hair. She wanted it BIG like MAE's (Bethanie). Bethanie has L O N G hair. Madison doesn't, partly because Bethanie hacked it off last May. So it just isn't growing very fast! So we did manage to get it in a pony tail (PURPLE) and that seemed to make her quite happy! She danced and danced! She is already becoming familiar with some of the songs! Madison is the one in the purple and pink next to the teacher. Arent these sweet things so precious!?!?!? Oh, didnt you love me talking on the phone while I was videoing? I am a multi-tasker. :O)

TuEsDaY tReAtS...

A dear friend of mine had a WONDERFUL idea (her name is Linda). I have admired this quality in her to be so loving to her husband, and showing him how much she loves him by this little act of kindness tradition she started. She calls it "Cup Cake Thursday". She makes cupcakes on Thursdays and sends them to work with her husband on Friday's!

I told her the other day that I wanted to "steal" this idea from her, but I would have to modify it a bit since my husband doesn't work most Fridays. So, after I asked her permission, which she gladly gave, I came up with TuEsDaY tReAtS.

Each Tuesday I will make treats and send them to work with my husband on Wednesdays. It works perfectly because not only does it sound fun, I am certain his executive team will love having treats during their meetings!

Today I made mini cupcakes! I used my new cake decorator tool! I am FAR from good at it, though I am hoping to improve my cake decorating skills. :O) For the recipe, check ladysam's recipe box!

SoMeThInG fUn!

Calling all those who want to help out a little boy!

A friend of ours has asked if we would help out with a school project for his little boy. If you are interested, please let me know if you will do this for him.

What he is wanting is to have a Valentine's Day card sent to his sons school. Apparently they are trying to get cards from as many of the states as they can. I know that there are several of you from Utah, California, Arizona, Nebraska that might be interested! If so, please help this little guy out! I think it would be fun for him to have these (and the sooner the better).

If you can do this, please send a V-Day card to this address:

Zach Fabris
Mrs. Cox's Class
106 Unique Drive
Guyton, GA
31312

Thank you!!!

Thumbs up! Confused!!!

So, I found out today that my thumb is not likely suffering from tendinitis (the inflammation in the tendon). It is likely a torn ligament. However, we don't know yet. How frustrating. I found out through some tests also that my left hand is naturally about half as strong as my right hand. I knew it is mostly for balance and decoration (my left arm) but this is ridiculous! So, with a few more OT sessions on my thumb I will likely have to see a hand specialist. Unfortunately if it IS a torn ligament (lets pray its not) only surgery will fix it. *JOY* HAPPY FLIPPING NEW YEAR! I think it is just residuals from last year. I hate last year. :OP

Brrrr....

OY! This cold snap has GOT TO GO AWAY! I can hardly move! It is killing my fibromialgia! Good thing I have an appointment on Friday. Oh they are working on my thumb that day too. :O) I need my thumb. It is one of the top ten fingers I prefer. :O)

New Year, New Things...

So funny! Madison has waited SO LONG to turn three! She could'nt wait to be just like her sissy and start dance class! I wanted a good "before" picture of her and she was so excited about being there last night that she couldnt even hold still! She bounced and bounced! I love the expression on her face!

In the video, you could see better what they were doing. They were doing an obsticle course where they had to jump over a pylon, do a ballet spin and run and jump over another pylon. She was [im]patiently waiting her turn. She is second from the left in the yep, PURPLE.

These two are literally joined at the hip. Usually there isnt one without the other! This was at the hotel we stayed at in Kansas City when we went to spend Christmas time with Jeff's side of the family.

Like I said, joined at the hip! LOL!

Madison's first day of dance! She did really well, despite her total excitement!

**GASP**!!!

I actually got to stay @ church today, through ALL my meetings AND I didn't get interrupted once! I am in shock. :O)

NaKeD...

We took down Christmas today. I have to say, the house nearly echo's because it feels so empty! I am sad to see all the warm twinkling lights gone, all the pretty ball ornaments put away, the cute musical Christmas decorations are no longer out. I KNOW that I will get used to it. It does seem more wide open and not crowding in on me. Nonetheless, I still miss having it around.

I look forward to the new year. I look forward to school starting back again so we can get on with our routine. The kids seem to be getting a bit more cranky. I think they are also looking forward to being back on track. I WONT be glad to see DH being gone as much. I kind of got used to him being around a little extra this holiday season, which is a bit different. With him at his new job, he gets to be a lot more flexible on what days he takes off or not. That makes it nice. Finally for once, he spent EVERY ONE of the holidays with his this year. That has never happened!