The Tapeler

A lot of fun things happening around here. Vic and David are out of school and I'm really enjoying just playing in the house every day with them. We can just relax and not keep a schedule. Vic had her ballet recital and 4k graduation. Her recital was really sweet and she took it very seriously. I can't wait to scrapbook the photos. Her graduation ceremony was fun as well. There were about 6 4k classes at her school. She got to walk across the stage when her name was called. She got a diploma rolled up and she was very proud of it. We went to Johnny Rockets to celebrate and then a bakery for treats. Later that afternoon, I found Vic working very hard rolling up pieces of paper and rubber banding them closed. She lined up all the kid chairs in the family room and set her dolls on them. Apparently she had set up a graduation for her dolls. She called each by name,shook their hands and gave them a diploma. I can't wait to scrapbook those photos too.

David turned 3 earlier this month. We celebrated with his favorite: Pizza and a Curious George cake. It was fun to watch David. He is not an attention seeker so he got really shy when everyone sang to him.

Pregnancy is going well. I did get shingles....not fun but that is all fine now and I am enjoying the last bit before the baby comes. I still have lots of closets to organize. Willy surprised me last week with an early birthday gift...An electric golf cart. I drove it for hours over the weekend. I love it!

The Tapeler---what is it? It is a combo tape dispencer/stapler. Isn't that cool? I'm such an office gadget geek. My uncle sent one to us this week. He is a pharm sales rep and sometimes sends little gadgets like that to us. This is my favorite so far. Tapeler....it's just fun to say and I always need them both and can't find one of them.

Fun things David is saying:
"Luff Mommy"---my personal favorite
"Luff Lammy"
He askes me often to "Go to beach, play goofy golf, see dolphins?"
"Nuggle Mommy" (Snuggle with Mommy)
If you ever ask David what he wants to eat the answer is always the same.."Cookies!"

Seeing

My mom reminded me of a saying yesterday. "There are none so blind as those who will not see." We talked about Helen Keller and how she couldn't see or hear but her heart was open to see and isn't it amazing at all she accomplished. Are there things in our lives we should change but we choose not to "see" them?

On that note, Victoria got glasses today. I was on the phone with Johanna when I went to the mailbox and opened the package. I put the glasses on Vic and she said with a gasp, "Mommy, I can see you now!" She ran around the room dancing and cheering, "I can see to run now!" I had no idea that her vision was that bad. She never mentioned headaches or any other problems. It wasn't until her 5 yr old check up that the dr. did a vision screening. She didn't do very well so we got an appointment with a pediatric eye dr. I'm thankful we have this under control before kindergarten starts. She looks so grown up.

Activities

I wanted to join the optimist club but I didn't think I would make it.

Isn't that funny? I can't take credit for that. Someone said it to me once about 15 years ago and I still laugh at it. Will blog and update soon.

Went to BOW (Becoming an Outdoor Woman) and had a fabulous weekend. Morning sickness is so much better and I'm looking forward to spring.

The Flu

I have the flu! UGG! I started feeling tired on Wednesday and thought it was the pregnancy. I felt really tired on Thursday. I went on a field trip with Victoria's class and thought I didn't have the energy to drive home afterwards. By Thursday night, I was in full blown aches and pains. Got a positive flu test yesterday. Say a prayer for us. We need it.

Almost February

I have been horrible with the blog. I have good reason. I have been the happiest "sick" person you have ever met. I am 15 weeks pregnant and super sick. After losing three pregnancies, I am very happy to have a healthy one and it makes the morning sickness tolerable. I got to hear the heartbeat last dr. visit. My doctor asked me how I was feeling and I told him "horrible" but so much better after hearing the heartbeat! It makes it all worth it. I lost 7 pounds the first few months and now I'm back to my regular weight. I am craving hot and sour soup. I can't get enough of it. It's a good thing we have a Chinese rest. in the shopping center next to the neighborhood.

Victoria and David are excited about the baby. Victoria wants to share a room with the baby. I don't think that is such a good idea. We have enough rooms for everyone so I think we will stick with that for now. David has no clue how this is going to change his life. Hopefully, this will be an easy baby like David. Baby is due is July right before the start of school.

Willy is keeping busy with his new project. www.prudentnews.com He has started a news website for "news you can use" and seems to be enjoying it. He has received a lot of positive feedback. It is a learning process so I'm sure the site will grow as he learns more about the process.

Victoria funny:
Me: "Victoria, we are going to the cheesecake factory for dinner."
Victoria: "When are we going to the cream cheese factory?"

It has been a nice, uneventful week. February and march are going to be full. My mom asked me Sunday night what I had planned for the week and all I could tell her was that the "Lost" season premier was Thursday night. I didn't have any dr. appts,meetings,or anything else I HAD to do. NICE! Next week is another story!

I will admit that I'm "out of the loop" in the pop culture world. I don't have cable so I miss a lot of reality series and music videos. I didn't think I would like being so unplugged from the media but it has been rather nice. I recently heard a song that has been out for over a year and I just love it. It's the "Cupid Shuffle" and even though it is very different than my Rockapella favorites, I love it. Check it out and the dance that goes along with it if you haven't already. I can't get it out of my head.

Ear Muvs

Victoria always says something that is close but not right. She was asking about "ear muvs" the other day and I thought it was cute. Yes, the socks are still "peepted" around here too. Don't even get me started on the ballet tights. Those are "peepted" all over.

We had a fun Halloween. I'm not a big Halloween type of girl. I really don't get excited about it even if it means fun photos to scrapbook. I did get a pumpkin at Wal-Mart and it was so much fun to carve it and roast the seeds. It was the first time we did that with the children. It reminded me of my preschool students back before I had my own children. The church festival was great too. It was bigger and better than ever and it was fun watching everyone have fun. Our favorite was the cake walk. I told my parents and Willy that we were all going to walk to win. I don't think my dad was really going but he did and HE WON!!! He got a big plate of double fudge brownies and that just made his night. Vic and David both won a bag of cookies. Dad shared his brownies with me and we were all happy!

Listening to Rockapella's Christmas CD. Getting in the Christmas frame of mind!

Vic had her first spend the night friend last night. Reagan stayed over and the girls had a blast. Reagan is 3 and did a great job staying over in a new bed and different room. She is a joy. When I tuck Victoria into bed I sing a song and say a prayer. I went to Reagan's bed and she didn't want a song so I just said a prayer. I thanked the Lord for this "Sweet little girl" and she quickly spoke up right then and said, "Big girl!" I held back my giggle and started over to thank the Lord for Reagan who is such a big girl! We made brownies today and painted hands on canvas for Christmas decorations. I have little pictures drying in my dining room that I can't wait to give to Wendy. It was fun. I ordered a great book with hand print ideas. I have a feeling it will be one of our favorites for gift ideas.

That is the excitement around here. Hopefully, it will be a great day tomorrow. We will just have to see how the football games turn out.

BOW-October-It's all peept-ed

I had the best girl trip ever! I went to an outdoor program called BOW-Becoming an Outdoor Woman. I took classes on reading the woods, rock climbing, dutch oven cooking, and deer hunting. I went with Stacey and Sarah and let me say that I haven't laughed that hard in a long time. They are two of the funniest women I have ever met. They kept me laughing so hard I actually fell on the ground and had to let out a good belly laugh more than once. By the end of the weekend, I think Sarah knew exactly how to press my giggle button. Stacey's dry subtle comments are what kept me going too. It reminded me of 8th grade science class when Wendy G. would get me laughing. You know the kind of friend that will get you to laugh at all the wrong times like in class, church, etc. Thanks ladies! My sides hurt for days!
I am happy to say my Dad has been blessed with an awesome job opportunity. It is going to be better in every way possible for him and just a God thing that he even found out about the job. Chris was looking through some Internet listings and came across a job that sounded like Dad. He told Dad to apply and the rest is history. Dad wasn't even looking for a job change. He was offered the job on Chris' birthday which gave us even more reason to celebrate!!! Congratulations!

Vic-Chick is 5! My little baby girl is five! When did she grow up? I was looking at a baby in the mall today that was two weeks old. It took me back to holding Victoria this time about five years ago. It is a blur to me now. The sleepless nights make the time all seem to run together. I'm glad that I scrapbooked it all! It's fun to look back. Happy Birthday Baby Girl!

Victoria has a new saying for when her socks are crunched around her toes. "MY SOCKS ARE PEEPT-ED!!" I don't know how to spell the words. There is a definite "T" sound after the "peep" and strong "ED" sound at the end so I wanted to make sure it came across correctly. I don't know where she got this phrase. Willy and I have adopted this term for our own use. When things are not quite right for any reason....they are "peepted" and let me say that Victoria doesn't like our incorrect usage. It did come in handy when David had a stomach virus. I was trying to describe dehydration to Victoria and why David was so sick. I just told her he didn't have enough water so it made his skin "peepted" and she understood.

My migraines have been a lot better lately. I did have a bad one on Thursday but it only lasted a day. I average one every two weeks instead of two migraines or more every week! Thank you Lord!