Sorry I have been absent:

We just have been really busy around here this past week, with Eric having most of last week off, finishing up the stuff for Christmas, and the kids all home from school.  I have to work the next couple of days, but I should be on to blog about the holidays, complete with pictures, before the turn of the "decade."  We had a wonderful Christmas, and hope to have a fun New Year as well!

Happy Birthday Mom!  And Happy 5th Anniversary to Tony and Andrea!  What a memorable date this is!

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas!

Big sigh of relief!  It is finally starting to look and feel like Christmas around here!  Eric and I spent the day "power shopping" and we have all the "to be mailed out" gifts done.  Now comes the fun of wrapping everything and sending it out (heeheehee).  There are still a few things that need to be purchased for our kids, but we know what we are doing for them, so we are set.  Eric is planning to get the tree started for me today, so that the kids and I can decorate tonight, and then I will start putting stuff out/under the tree.  Liisa and I coordinated on our computers last night with webcam stuff so I can see Christmas Eve at my mom's, and I am excited for that too.  Because some of the other stuff is done, I can perhaps do some baking next week, with the kids home and on their winter break.  Aurora will be headed to her mom's on Saturday, which is somewhat frustrating because we should be able to have her through Saturday (7 days for that part of the winter break--last I heard, the week runs Sunday to Saturday), but as her mom will be transporting her both ways, I guess there isn't much we can do about it.  It is disappointing though that this can't be discussed.  Aurora wanted to be here for her full Christmas week off, but it isn't going to happen that way.

I am feeling better, although I do wish the cough would let go--it is still naggingly there.  So far the furniture is doing wonderful, although Eric's freshly shampooed carpet has blood spots everywhere on it.  Leina has a cut above her dew claw on her right back leg, and she keeps worrying it, and bleeding all over everything!  It isn't a huge cut, but when irritated bleeds profusely.  The kids tried wrapping it in an ace bandage to hold a gauze pad on, but she wasn't having any part of that.  It is better today, but now we have many places that need "spot cleaning".  It never ends!

My next order of business is figuring out Christmas cards.  Perhaps I can get a good picture and do it that way over the next few days and send something out between Christmas and New Years...  My good intentions from last year went out the window and I never did get any sent out.  Hmmmm. 

The neighbor's dog had puppies yesterday, 4 teensy weensy teacup sized puppies, and our girls are enamoured.  Eric and I have firmly said NO, but the begging halfheartedly continues.  These little ones don't have much for fur, and their eyes are not even close to being opened (duh, they are just hours old), but as Eric says, they would be snacks for our dogs and cats here if ithey were brought in. 

Anyhow, that is the update for today.  Hopefully the next entry will have pics again!

Doing better today!

I called the clinic yesterday morning, and was able to be fitted in yesterday afternoon.  I have bronchitis and a sinus infection.  I have been put on 10 days worth of Augmentin, and already this morning I can feel a small difference.  I also got some decent rest yesterday/last night and that helped too, although I am feeling a bit guilty: I didn't go to the holiday concert at the high school, despite Patrick and Aurora both performing in it.  I just honestly felt too crummy to be there and didn't want to be an interruption with my coughing.  I did run multiple trips back and forth as mom's taxi though. (For that matter, I also missed my sewing machine class, but I called them and can retake that particular class at a later date--the classes are free and can be taken as many times as needed to master the machine). 

I am still struggling a bit to get into the Christmas spirit.  The "plan" had been for Eric to spend the weekend getting the tree and lights organized so we could decorate; the reality was that "other things" got in the way, and while the carpet in the living room got shampooed, the furniture etc. is not back in place, nor has the tree been even hauled out of the garage.  I hate being so far behind!  Christmas is 10 days away and nothing is even looking "christmasy" around here!  I worked all weekend, on top of being sick, so I didn't do more than was necessary myself, and yeah...  Now Eric is on his long week of work, and we have very little time to do anything other than deal with his schedule/work around it.  Hopefully by the time his days off roll up we will be getting back on track for things to get done.  I know it's important for us to develop our own traditions and interactions now that we are a family, and I know these things develop over time.  We had a wonderful "party" on new year's eve last year celebrating "our" Christmas; I'm sure we will figure this one out too.  I just need to let go of all the "musts" and "shoulds" and do what I can with what I have. 

In the meantime, there are gifts to finish up on, and presents to purchase; there are chores to be done, and errands to be run.  I think it's time I start making my lists and checking them twice to be sure I don't forget anything important!

This won't be a very long post

I have very little voice at the moment, and am still so congested I feel like hell...  I went to bed at like 5:30 last night and I am feeling rested, but still not much better.  I really needed the sleep though.  Between getting the last of my assignments done and posted, and worrying about Rei's appointment at Children's, I didn't get much sleep on Thursday night--was after 4 before I dozed off, and it wasn't really very restful sleep at that.

The appointment was long, but I really like his cardiologist, and I also was pleased to see we had the same tech doing the tests as last year--he is just a hoot!  When he put the electrodes on Rei's chest for the EKG Rei was afraid he was gonna get shocked, and the tech implied that "it's easier if you don't know it's coming!" We saw the fistula on the screen and it still is amazing to me how clear some of these things can be seen.  The cardiologist was somewhat concerned because he saw something he wasn't sure about; he was concerned that perhaps Rei's right coronary artery was not getting proper blood flow to his left ventricle, but after consulting with a few other people, he called me back late yesterday afternoon and said that they think it is ok, and that they won't do extra tests at this time after all.  I am so relieved, and so grateful they are being careful.  Rei is still my baby, for all that he is 6 feet tall, and I don't want anything to happen to him.

Brie is still enroute home.  She left NC around noonish yesterday, but elected to pull over at a hotel for the night (good call on her part).  She should be home sometime this afternoon.  She had a wonderful time, and she is really into this guy she went to see.  It is nice to see her happy. I just hope she uses some common sense and doesn't do anything too foolish (though who am I to talk? I married a man I met online, moved 600 miles south, and changed my entire life around in the course of a year's time... And I couldn't be happier!!!!)

Eric took the kids to bowling this morning (Aurora and Rei, anyhow. Patrick had to be at the school to sort fruit for band. Aurora has the afternoon shift).  I am hoping he will take some time today to get the decorating stuff started, as he wanted to work on the lights for the tree etc.  If he doesn't get to it, I will focus on it next week.  I work all this weekend.  I got some wonderful bargins at Joann's yesterday: saved $243 on my purchases (got a doubled employee discount). I spent the bulk of what I bought on a dressmaker's form--I have always wanted one, and this one I can adjust to fit my bust and hips--makes it easier to fit things if I can do it on "someone" else, and at the moment no one down here sews like Liisa and I do, so I don't have much help for me.  It was originally $199, on sale for $99, and I got 30% off of that--I couldn't pass up the opportunity, and Eric was fully supportive of it.  I also got some small things to give for gifts, and overall, what I spent was still way less than the cost of what the dressmaker's form would have been full price (ok, honesty time: I spent $163--but for what I got, and what I saved over the "real prices"--cuz I got the discount on the total purchase, sale prices and all) I couldn't go wrong!

I got the email notice that I got approved to take my integrative project, so I will be writing my masters thesis starting in January.  I am really excited about doing this, and have my topic already in my head.  I just need to do the research and start the process.  I am doing a literature review on Reactive Attachment Disorder, and hope to have a well-rounded presentation on neurobiological causes, emotional disorder representations/manifestations, and treatment options.  I am very excited about it because this is a topic I find fascinating, having worked with many kids with this diagnosis over the years.

That is all for right now. Not sure if I will be posting at all this weekend; I am gonna try to get in to the clinic on Monday and hopefully get an antibiotic.  I am convinced I need one, but the office is closed on the weekends.

Sick and tired of feeling sick and tired...

A month ago I got sick with a bad cough, about the same time Rei had swine flu.  I thought I was getting over it, but it continued to be a nagging in my chest.  Then, on Tuesday, I woke up with a sore throat and sinus drainage/gunk...  No fever at all, but a few body aches. I feel like such a hypochondriac~ I don't feel totally miserable, but I am not "well" either.  I probably should go in and get it looked at, but it seems like a lot of fuss for something that's more an annoyance than being "ill".  So instead, I just whine.  And carry around a tissue box, and a bottle of hand sanitizer.  I work this weekend, and if it isn't better by Monday then maybe I will make an appointment.

I am probably jinxing myself by saying it aloud, but so far the dogs, cats, and kids have been respectful of the new furniture.  And I have to say, I am loving being curled up at the moment in "my" chair, with my school stuff on the ottoman, a cup of coffee on the lamp table, and a blanket over my lap.  It is so cozy in here now, and I love it.

I am dragging things out with regard to finishing up my last couple of assignments for class.  I have really enjoyed this term and there is a part of me that is glad it's over, while there is another part of me that is gonna miss it.  I am waiting on approval still for my integrative project (new name for "Master's thesis"); I guess I have til January 10th for that to be approved/denied before it's an issue.  Not much I can do otherwise though, so I guess I will just wait patiently.  In the meantime, I really need to get these last few things written up, but my drive is so ambivalent at the moment.  I am really trying to do things one step at a time though, and once these assignments are done (by tomorrow), then I can focus on the holidays.

I had really, seriously toyed with the idea of going home to Minneapolis for Christmas, even to the point of checking out plane fares so we could bring Eric north with us for a couple of days, then fly him back to Mascoutah for his shifts on that Wednesday night and Christmas eve (with the plan that the kids and I would drive back Christmas day).  But I am scheduled to teach a few teen glasses that week, and I don't know if I have any takers or not, not to mention that the work schedule is not terribly flexible right now...  I don't know if I could take time off without penalty, seeing as I didn't ask early on.  It's just not feeling like the holidays around here much.  Perhaps that will change once I have the tree up and start wrapping presents and such.  Rei really wants to make Christmas cookies too.  I miss baking.  I don't know.  I am just frustrated with myself for some of my own ambivalence to get into the holiday spirit!  I am not sure where the joy went, but it feels out of my reach for the moment.  Maybe it is the assignments hanging over me, none of which are huge or onerous.  Maybe it's working in retail...  The sappiness of the carols on the PA and the consumerism, although where I am at, people are creating more gifts, so there is meaning attached.  Lots of fleece tie blankets this year!  I have this week to finish up the gifts for Minneapolis and get them mailed out, and I have a few things left to shop for; we still need to figure out what we are doing for our kids too...

I heard some sad news today: my wonderful in-law's elderly dog passed away.  She had congestive heart failure, and the cold has been too much for her.  I am so sad for them though. She was a much loved member of the family and she will be greatly missed!  I am sorry I never got a chance to meet her.  There are days I wonder how much longer we will have Midnight.  Some days he still acts like a puppy and is all bouncy and excited, whereas most days, he just lays and sleeps.  He has taken to following me around the house and laying whereever I am, and he even sleeps on the floor near my feet at night when Eric isn't home.  For all that he is a crochety old guy, I have become attached to him, and despite my occasional frustrations with him, I like him best of all the dogs.  He is definitely a character.

Rei goes tomorrow for his cardiology appointment.  We have to be at children's at 10:30.  I am taking him on my own because Eric needs to sleep, and I am ok with it.  I am fairly confident that they will find no significant changes from last year and will continue to monitor him as he grows.  As with all moms though, I do have that niggling anxiety in the back of my heart that won't quiet until after we see the doctor.  I will update you tomorrow after we get home on what we find out.

Brianne is supposed to be driving home from North Carolina tomorrow. She was going to head back today, but decided to stay til tomorrow because her friend had a company (military) Christmas party tonight and she is attending with him.  We really haven't spoken much, beyond text messages and facebook updates, but it seems like she is having fun.  I hope she takes it slow and easy coming back tomorrow though.  At least most of the bad weather is over with.

Anyhow, that is all I have for today!  Stay warm all, and those of you in MN, enjoy your snow!

Windy blustery day!

I couldn't believe the weather today!  We had blowing snow, although none of it stuck, and the wind was so strong it blew the neighbor's trampoline from three doors south of us, through the backyards, and landed vertically against the side of the house to the north of us!  Our heavy black grill got dumped over on its side next to the back door, and the outdoor chairs all got blown over as well.  Even my big bird feeder ended up in the grass and not on the hook where it belongs.  As I drove to work today the van was shuddering against the wind, and I "white knuckled" it all the way to work.   It wasn't as bad on the drive home, but was definately cold!

I continue to work on the last of my assignments for this term.  I have not found an internship site as yet, and I have sent the appropriate emails to my university about it.  I asked if they could forward me some suggestions, and I have also needed to ask for permission to do my "integrative project" out of sequence (before the internship) so I don't lose ground.  One step at a time!  That's all I can do.

Not much else to really chat about tonight.  Things are going fine here, and we are just trying to get ready for the holidays.  I cannot believe how fast the days go by sometimes!  It seems like November just flew past, and December isn't slowing down much either...

New furniture and other things

This is my new couch.  It is soft, and cushy, and oh so comfortable.  The old stuff is behind in the kitchen, and that is Eric running the vaccuum cleaner behind where the old couch had sat.  I am so thrilled to have it.

This is the chair and a half and ottoman (it's called that because it is bigger than a regular chair). I love that I can sit in it all cross-legged and be cozy.  The ottoman is also comfortable.

Here I am holding the sold sign that was on the chair when they brought it in.  Don't look too closely at me: I have the crud again (nasal drainage, sore throat, cough, etc) and I hadn't yet showered or put on makeup...

Last of all, this is the love seat.  So far the plan is having the couch along the carpet line with the back facing the kitchen, the loveseat is centered along the middle of the long wall facing the windows, and the chair and ottoman will be slightly angled towards the tv, next to the lamp table, right by the window closest to the back door.  We are going to get rid of the kennel by the door as the dog doesn't use it anyway, and we will be putting the tree in the corner by the window and entertainment center, probably this weekend.

I work tomorrow, and I work from 1 til 8 on Saturday.  Eric works the overnights Wednesday and Thursday, and he has his third class on Wednesday mornings, so we will both be gone tomorrow morning.  I am not sure what the plans will all entail for the weekend, but doing the tree is at the top of the list.  Kristi sent a huge package of gifts to us that arrived today (I hate her--she is already done with shopping and wrapping...  I have about half the shopping done, but none of the wrapping or mailing...)  With regard to the living room, we are thinking we are going to need to still get some end tables (for setting glasses on etc.) and we would also like to get another chair, maybe a recliner/rocker combo.  But for now, we are very satisfied with how it looks and how it is coming together.

Eric is at bowling tonight. Aurora was gonna go with him and practice after her tournament today, but she was unhappy with how she bowled tonight, so she came home instead.  Patrick is working, and Rei is doing homework.  I actually should be doing homework too at the moment, but I wanted to write here first.  Brie made it safely to North Carolina, and she seems to be having a good time from what we have heard (which isn't much).  She said she would be home on Friday. 

I wanted to add that I am doing better since I added prozac into my daily regime.  Things feel brighter again and not as heavy to deal with.  My ability to cope is improving and I am feeling better.  Anyhow, I just wanted to say thanks for the support and encouragement.  It has been a blessing to me.

Now, I am back to studying!