I'll Be Home For Christmas

I guess I actually forgot to record anything about Christmas - just the dismal aftermath :) As Sadie likes to say, "Baby Jesus is born!" and that's what I should be remembering instead of all the throwing up! So here goes:

Sadie sweet-talked Papaw into taking her to the "cook on the table place" for dinner, and the girls both ate like little Japanese pigs (although Josie kind of freaked out when the chef lit the grill on fire - "Ahhh!!! My eyes! Cover my eyes!") and then they made friends with another little girl at our table. Daddy thought it was funny that they were comparing all of their red painted fingernails as they discussed the fish in the pond together. It WAS cute to see a 2, 3, and 4 year old with their fingers stuck out, chattering like little old ladies.

Christmas Eve was like it usually is in NC... crazy, crowded, loud, boisterous, fun, and exhausting. The girls did a LOT of playing with their cousins... blowing bubbles with Josh outside (it was pretty warm down there), going nuts in the pack-n-play (Josie's bed a.k.a. the Lion's Den), and chasing around Bryce, Carson, Grayson, and Lauren at our Christmas dinner. Their other cousins were there too, but they weren't quite as sociable, heehee! They were having a rough night. We felt sorry for Josie for the first time that I can remember because her cousin Lauren kind of took up with Sadie and Josie felt a little bit left out. She kept trying to introduce herself, "I'm Josie! Hey! I'm Josie!" but Lauren didn't really care. Oh well... that's how it goes with 3 year olds! They had fun anyway, banging on the piano and crawling around on the floor under the food tables. Then, pandemonium ensued when we got to Great Grandma's house... as usual! The strange thing about it is that though loud, cramped, crowded places usually drive me crazy, when it's my family, especially at Christmas, I absolutely love it. Adam took all the kids outside to look for Rudolph's nose, which they still haven't stopped talking about.

We all somehow piled into Great Grandma's house for 5 days... Sadie ended up on the couch with Mama, Josie in the extra room, Grandma in her chair, and Jesse and I in the other bedroom, crammed into a double bed. From a king to a double is a rough transition, let me tell you!

We made the big announcement - Yes, we are expecting once again - well, I guess I should say that Sadie made the big announcement. She spilled the beans before I had a chance to tell everyone all at once... that was okay, except I knew that once ANYONE in town knew, EVERYONE else would know the next day. That's how it is down there. So I had to tell Daddy early (I wanted him and Sylvia to open the ultrasound picture as their special present on Christmas morning) so someone on his mail route wouldn't tell him the next day :)

We did have fun... we got to spend a little bit of time with Brian, whom Jesse hadn't seen since LAST Christmas, and we had a good time - it was almost like the good old days! My wonderful girlfriends rearranged all of their schedules so I would actually get to come to our Christmas lunch, and we had a blast, as usual. I think everyone assumed we were drunk, but we were just high on each other's company. :) All in all, it was a good trip.

The No Good, Very Bad Day(s)

We came home from NC on Tuesday night. We got here in record time (Jesse drove the whole way) and everything SEEMED to be fine. We all went to bed. We prepared for the coming of Santa. We awoke to cries of "Mommy!!! MY EAR HURTS!" from Sadie standing next to our bed and loud coughing from the baby monitor in Josie's room. Great. The morning's Santa festivities were a wee bit anti-climactic due to a coughing, tired Josie and a lethargic Sadie who refused to get up off the couch. SOoooo... nobody slept all day, everyone cried and yelled "Mommy HOLD me!" "MY EAR HURTS!" "I need you!" ALL day long. I developed cramps and stiff arms from holding both hands over both of Sadie's ears because that was all she seemed to think would help the pain. Heating pad? WORK OF THE DEVIL. Ear drops? HA! I think not! Sheesh. Additionally, there was much throwing up. The best part of the day had to be when Sadie's fever reached 102 degrees and she was sitting on the bed whimpering and Josie, on the other side of the bed, spewed chicken noodle soup EVERYWHERE. All over the bed, all over herself, and all over ME. Do you remember the pie-eating contest scene in Stand By Me? That's what happened. Sadie started crying so hard that she threw up because she was scared because Josie was sick. I threw up because there is nothing more disgusting than half-digested chicken noodle soup all over you, especially when your gag reflex is hypersensitive anyway. Ugh.

Today, they felt better, thank the Lord. I, however, was exhausted from not sleeping and from a gigantic headache. I took them to the doctor (he thinks it's probably the onset of the flu. Joy.). I did get to take a glorious 45 minute nap. After that, Jesse came home and I went to the grocery store. Nice getaway, right? Well, think again! As I stood there minding my own business while going through the checkout line, the little boy cashier (who couldn't have been more than 17) looked at me and said, "Hey... you used to be a teenager a long time ago, right?" A LONG TIME AGO, he said. Ack!!! Unsure of whether to laugh or cry, I called a friend for backup... she laughed her head off, so I decided to round up the old hormones.

Then I went to another store to see if I could find a bra that would not cut me in half. There, I locked my keys in the car. Not fun in the freezing Ohio cold. Of course, I came to this realization at 8:55pm, right before the store closed, so I couldn't stay inside the store until Jesse got there. I would not be surprised if I was the next one in the family who comes down with the flu.

Mary and Jophus

I can't believe that Christmas is only 10 days away... things have been in a whirlwind around here, so I haven't had time to write anything! But, here goes:

The girls have both learned to wrap presents... Josie has "tape issues," but Sadie's getting pretty proficient at the whole thing. She likes trying to make the triangles at the ends of the packages. They both like picking out the nametags and sticking them on.

We had a giant cookie party at Grandma's house last week with practically the whole family. They both got to roll, cut out, and decorate their own cookies (while wearing their very own aprons) with Grandma, Aunt Becky, Aunt Lydia, Deanna, Aunt Cindy, and Sarah, and they had a BLAST.

Josie has decided that Mary was married to a guy named "Jo-phus." No matter how many times we say "Jo-SEPH," she grins and says, "Yeah, Jo-phus." It's driving Jesse crazy, but I think it's funny that Jesus was born in a stable surrounded by shepherds, angels, donkeys, and Mary and Jo-phus.

Sadie thinks that Santa is "cute" because he has a little "nose like a cherry."

Daddy took them Christmas shopping at the mall last night, and I've been informed that "we know what your presents are but it's a SECRET. Don't ask me cause I CAN'T TELL YOU."

We went to a Christmas party this afternoon, and they are both so hopped up on sugar that bedtime is nowhere in sight. For them at least... I may collapse at any moment. :)

The Best Time of the Year

We put up our tree last week... Jesse and Sadie put it together and put the lights on (she followed him around holding the "tail" of the lights while he placed them on the tree) and then the girls, my mom and I decorated it. Well, at least Sadie did. Once Josie saw my Russian nesting dolls - a set of 5 that fit inside each other - she wanted nothing to do with the tree OR us. She just wanted to figure out how to get all the other dolls inside the biggest "Mommy" doll. Sadie, on the other hand, went a little bonkers with the decorating. Both girls have a little tree in their rooms, and Sadie ran back and forth, back and forth, swiping decorations to put on HER tree. When we finished, I was surprised to see what a good job she had done! You wouldn't think a 3 year old could decorate a tree that well. Anyway, the whole time we were putting up the tree, she kept singing, "Have a holly, jolly Christmas... it's the best time of the year! Have a holly, jolly Christmas... it's the best time of the year! Have a holly, jolly Christmas... it's the best... " Well, you get the picture. I made it a point to teach her some more words to that particular song over the weekend! Josie's favorite song this year is "Jingle Bells." She likes to "Sing it REALLY LOUD!!!" They are having fun with the season so far... wearing their jingley, elfy socks, pretending to be Mary and Joseph, visiting Santa at the mall (Sadie asked for a purple scooter and a puppet theater and Josie asked for a Muffler - a little thing to put her hands in to keep warm) and telling him, "Feliz Navidad!" We also made cookies this week, and they decorated them with red and green sprinkles. Well, I should say that they decorated the KITCHEN with red and green sprinkles. Oh well... It IS the best time of the year, right?