Remembering 2009

I can't believe we are approaching 2010. Seems like yesterday we were panicking over Y2k!

Some wonderful things happened in 2009, although January, February and March were fairly quiet (we had some birthdays and an anniversary in there, but nothing so grand I need to recap it!) BUT...

In April, Lefty received a City Scholar Award. That was a proud moment for all of us!

In May, my sister and her family came to visit. We had lots of fun with them!

In June, another sister came to visit me and we had great times with her too! She left the sweetest present for me!

For my birthday in July, sweet little ol' Spirit took me to lunch with his own money (well most of his own money...)

In August we took a 4,300 mile road trip. It was a ton of fun!

September was "sick month" in our house. I got sick. Then Lefty. Pretty soon Spirit caught it. It was horrible and I seriously was bleaching like a mad fool!

October was a great month for building forts out of leaves!

Two of my favorite blog posts from November are this one about Lady Bug and this one about the teacher gift.

December was filled with parties, Disney on Ice, baking, and crafting. But a momentous event happened also! Phew! That was a big one conquered! And let us not forget the horrible root canal I had!

*Crafting part 1 - Snowglobe soaps
*Crafting part 2 - Personalized Totebag
*Crafting part 3 - Silhouette Ornaments
*Crafting part 4 - 4-pack carrier candy holder
*Crafting part 5 - Family Yahtzee
*Crafting part 6 - Handmade Coasters
*Crafting part 7 - Stocking stuffer

I hope you all had a great 2009 and I wish everyone the best for 2010.

New Year's Eve

I think I have mentioned our friend, "MF", who is unable to have children of her own and so she "borrows" my kids when she needs a "kid fix". She used to babysit my kids while Mr. Man and I worked during the day. So every day from 7:00 am until 6:00 pm she watched Spirit (from birth until he was almost 5), Lefty (from birth until almost 4) and Lady Bug (from birth until she was 9 months old). They just adore MF. She adores them too! Periodically she will call me up and ask to take them to a play place, or Chuck E Cheese. Sometimes she wants to keep them overnight and they watch movies and party all night. She is super good with them and they look forward to being with her.

Every year for as long as I can remember, she has taken the kids over the New Year's Eve holiday weekend and that is when she exchanges Christmas presents with them. So this is usually when Mr. Man and I have a little date night. Sometimes we go out to dinner and maybe a movie. Sometimes we just go out to eat at a place the kids hate. But in any event we enjoy spending time together and being able to regroup from the Christmas holiday and plan ahead for the next year.

This year MF is picking up the kids on New Year's Eve and keeping them all weekend. There is a restaraunt we have been dying to try, but aren't sure the kids will like, so we will probably go there for dinner on New Year's Eve and then home to relax in front of the fire and maybe watch a movie. On New Year's Day we are going with some friends to see a comedy show and out to dinner. Nothing too extravagent but will be a good time nonetheless. As for the rest of the weekend we will probably take down Christmas decorations and clean house. Pretty boring stuff.

I am looking forward to regrouping and getting ready for the new year!

HAPPY 2010 to you!

Tooth update:

My dentist's office called me back and said to just continue taking the antibiotic and pain pills and he'd see me in a week. They told me that the numbness would go away in about a week. I wasn't all to comfortable with that answer so I called another dentist who came recommended by a friend and I explained the situation and they said unfortunately this can happen. They called it "temporary paralysis" can happen, especially with a lower root canal like I had and that the "temporary paralysis" can go away in a couple days or it may take months to clear up. Months?? Yikes! They also said that the tool breaking off in the tooth is also common. They offered to see me and look at my x-rays to give me a 2nd opinion of sorts. So I have a call into the dentist's office and I will try to get my x-rays somehow and just get someone else to look, just to ease my mind.

This morning I woke up still in some pain, but it doe appear to be getting better. The numbness, or paralysis, is still about the same.

Our handmade Christmas gifts - Part 7

I know Christmas has come and gone, but here is a little thing I made for the kids stockings and I didn't get it done and photographed in time to post before Christmas!

Part 7 in the handmade Christmas postings is a personalized activity book.

I wanted to buy them an activity book for their stocking, but before I bought it I had a night where I couldn't sleep so I got on the computer. I decided with all the websites with downloads and the printable color and activity pages I could easily make each kid a customized coloring/activity book.

I printed off the pages and then I covered them in a scrapbook paper cover. I just two-hole punched the tops and tied string to hold the pages together, but I am sure there are a million other clever and pretty ways to attach all the pages together.

Here are some of the websites I really liked for printing pages from:

Crayola

Activity Village

Patterns for coloring - mosiacs

These Alphabet coloring pages are wonderfully detailed from this website I also printed some mazes and a few more coloring pages

ABC Teach has great crosswords and other printable activity sheets

TLS Books has tons of options for worksheets and coloring pages

This site has tons of coloring pages

If I'm a little quiet...

If I am a little quiet, please understand. Last week I ended up needing a root canal (great timing!). This is my first major dental issues...ever! Well the doctor gives me a numbing shot, then after a bit he starts working. I stop him because I can feel it!!! He gives me a 2nd shot which causes my cheek and eye to swell.

THEN, while he is filing out the root his file BROKE INSIDE MY TOOTH. He finished up his work and THEN told me about it. So I have a piece of a file stuck down inside my tooth. I am thinking, "Ok. No big deal, right?" Wrong. Two days after the root canal I wake up at 4:30 am writhing in pain. My face is throbbing, throbbing and I want to cry. When we get up Christmas morning, yes Christmas morning, my face is a little swollen, I am in hoards of pain and I can hardly speak and the scariest thing is that my face is numb and tingly. So I start pumping Advil and manage to get through the day. I tried to put on a happy face for the family, but inside all I wanted to do was go to bed. I was really freaked out about the numbness. THAT can not be normal.

Saturday morning my face is more swollen and I am still in pain so Mr. Man calls the dentist office and they end up calling in an antibiotic and some pain pills for me. I lived on those all weekend and today I am sitting here waiting for dentist office to call me back. My face is still numb and tingly. If I talk too much then my tooth hurts so I just try to stay quiet... which is hard for me to do. I'm sure my husband is enjoying the quiet!

So bare with me if I don't post much this week. I may be in and out of dental offices (and maybe a lawyer's office too!)

Meal Plan - December 26, 2009 - January 1, 2010

Can you believe 2010 is right around the corner? eek! Here is this week's meal plan for my family

SATURDAY:
Breakfast - Country brunch skillet
Lunch - Quesadillas
Dinner - Lasagna and garlic bread

SUNDAY:
Breakfast - cereal
Lunch - Cheesy potato topped meatloaf
Dinner - Grilled cheese

MONDAY:
Breakfast - cereal
Lunch - Left overs
Dinner - Left over lasagna / fresh salad / garlic toast

TUESDAY:
Breakfast - cereal
Lunch - Sandwich / chips / fruit
Dinner - Hamburger rice skillet

WEDNESDAY:
Breakfast - cereal
Lunch - Left overs
Dinner - Au Gratin Sausage skillet

THURSDAY:
Breakfast - cereal
Lunch - Left overs
Dinner - eating out

FRIDAY:
Breakfast - cereal
Lunch - Sandwich / chips / fruit
Dinner - take out with a movie in!

Merry Christmas!!

MERRY CHRISTMAS EVERYONE!!!

Hope everyone has a great day!