Santa's Brain

The strangest thing happened today (today meaning Christmas Eve... silly blog didn't post it till much later!)... I felt like I could just read Santa's mind.  Weird.  We musta had a brain connection or something.  A temporary psychic experience. 

I could tell Santa felt like he was mostly done, ready to go, but little things were still looming.  No big deal, right?  That's what the elves are for!  Lucky Santa. Lucky to have all those helpers.  

And then, Santa had the feeling that he was so good at hiding things, that he might've lost a few.  Aww.  Poor Santa.  Poor guy.  I'm sure it'll all work out.  It's not like it happens like that every year, right?  Or maybe it does.  

Santa tries not to be stressed out, I mean it's so close to the best day of the year, right?  It says so right in the song.  But he is stressed.  Just a tad.  Have an extra cup of coffee, Santa, my man.  Not like you'll be sleeping tonight anyway. But no worries, 'cuz you're Magic.  And Magic doesn't need to sleep, does it?

And speaking of sleep... and I could REALLY feel this one....I guess I was wrong about Magic and sleep... ... Santa was just so darn tired he wanted to curl up in nice warm blankets and take a long nap.  Not the long winter's nap like in the story (that's a bunch of crap anyway, I definitely felt that thought), but just a nap.  A regular one.  But naps are like fantasy land for Santa.  Keep movin,' Santa.  Keep movin.'  No rest for the weary.  

So Santa, he's magical, right, but he's also just like a normal person.  So he made a list.  Not THAT list... stop thinking of books and stories!  So anyway, he made a list, just of things to do today and tonight... and hopefully that will keep him on track.  And then he felt a little better.  And I was happy to know that Santa felt a little better.  'Cause no one needs Santa being stressed out at Christmas time, right? Definitely not.  

So after that I tried to use that brain connection in reverse... just send a little love and support... and tell Santa that he's done a good job, that everything's gonna work out fine.  Children will be happy and Merry, family will be loving as always and Christmas 2013 will be the Best Day Ever! 

And hopefully when it's all said and done maybe he can get that nap.  Good luck, Santa!!

The Countdown to Christmas!

Even Chase is asking why Time is moving so fast... 

We are mostly ready.  We didn't put outside lights up, but ours have been not quite right for two years anyway.  Eventually we'll pick something new.  We thought we loved what we called the "Snoopy lights" as they looked like what is on Snoopy's doghouse, but it turns out they just weren't designed well and the house doesn't look so festive when half the lights aren't working.  Santa seems mostly set and the Tricker the Elf goes back nightly to report all that he sees.  

We've got a new nephew/cousin, un-named as of yet but cute as a button and doing well.  His mama had a wonderful Mother's intuition and told me on the phone yesterday that even though her doctors had scheduled her for an induction this Monday at 41 weeks + 2, she would be having this baby tomorrow (which meant today).  She said it very matter-of-factly.  And there was no reason to doubt her.  Except apparently if you're a doctor.  Honestly, with some of the things her practice of doctors was coming up with, I was beginning to think they were doctors of philosophy instead of anything to do with babies or a woman's body.   

So here's some highlights and happenings: 

Falls asleep reading as usual. 

The Rogers resting together.  

RJ's favorite game. 

Riley as her preschool holiday program. 

Close up of our tree.  We do not have a matching-ornament tree, a store-display pretty tree, an expensive-ornament tree or a "show" tree of any sort.  Each ornament of ours has a story.  We know where it came from, who gifted it, who made it or why we have it.  Most of our ornaments have been clustered up high for years, due to little curious hands.  Our lights are uneven because a child placed them on the tree.  Because of all these things, our tree is beyond perfect and representative of our family and our values.

Mom's Club holiday party.  RJ smiles on purpose now when you ask him to for the camera.  We had lots of head bumps this day as you can see. 

RJ also loves to put the pieces in Connect4.  There is not much that keeps him occupied for more than 5 minutes! 

Bring On the Snow

Not really sure where the week went, but it went!  We've had snow twice more since my last post a week ago, but it's been more like snow, then rain and melt.  Then turn nighttime and get icy, then slush.  Pretty disappointing if you're a kid and pretty disgusting and messy if you're an adult.  Yesterday's storm was wicked icy for a few hours until 10:30 at night when it strangely warmed up about 4 degrees and starting to rain, washing away the ice and allowing people like my DJ'ing husband to drive home safely.  Chase got a brief lesson in something all Pennsylvanians (and anyone North of us) need to know how to do - push a stuck car out of a snowy rut and get it moving again.  I always love to see how crappy weather can bring random people together to help someone out.  We happened to see a car or two slip and slide on our road and get stuck right outside of our house so I put my coat on and went out to join the fun.  My awesome neighbor Howie was also there to push as well as another couple who stopped their car to lend a hand.  Everyone knows what to do, jumps right in, takes a role and gets it done.  No intro, no goodbyes.  Sometimes a "thanks" but never necessary.  It's a part of the winters here like putting on a coat to go outside.  

Saturday we knew the snow was coming and so had no grand plan.  Most of us stayed in pajamas (or the interesting tank top/sweatpants/knee socks/leg warmers combination that I was rocking) all day.  The snow started and stopped for the better part of morning and afternoon and didn't get rolling until about 4:30.  The kids went out for a little but were rather unimpressed with the icy/fluff combination, not suitable for snowballs OR sledding.  Bummer.  

But our day was filled with lots of fun, and few expectations.  

After breakfast we played Restaurant.  Chase cooked, Indigo was our waitress and Riley and I were paying customers.  RJ helped by stealing food and running it back and forth across the room while giggling like a madman. Yes, Indy is wearing G.I. Joe PJ's!

Indy writes the menu on the chalkboard wall. 

Riley traced her bubble letters and then turned them into Letter Animals

Indy got to choose what we did next - make Popsicle Stick Puppets!  They were so creative, Indy made people and Chase made a Gorilla and two Army Tanks.  

We grabbed an empty box for a small stage and the kids performed their Puppet Shows.  Chase is a regular stage comedian.  

Riley played Fishing for Sight Words and thought she was being slick by telling me which ones to fish for.

Sunday morning outside their were still beautiful icy trees on the opposite side of the street.  We get hit with the sun all day so most of ours was melted.  

Weekly View

Ry and her "Sun Snack" while working on patterns, or "patt-er-ins" as she calls them

Homemade Hot Cocoa (click here for the recipe we used) on Friday night while we (finally!) put our decorations on the tree after acquiring new lights

RJ puts something on the tree.  Then takes it back off again.  Then puts it on again.  Repeat. 

All Done! 

Indy

Rog and I went to the Valley Forge Beerfest on Saturday to check out craft brews from local and afar and be social with people taller than 5 feet.  We found one or two beers worth talking about and ran into a few friends.

Sunday brought snow, which I wasn't really expecting.  We got about 3 inches, more fluffy than packing snow.  Sleddable tho, as you can see.  We thought RJ would not want to stay out long but he lasted for an hour and a half, mostly sledding, before going up and knocking on the front door.

Those Alpaca mittens sure kept those little hands warm... thanks Avia! 

Giving Thanks... for Railings!

This Thanksgiving we kept it simple.  We brought a few side dishes up to my moms, where 5 other adult family members joined us and had a lovely dinner.  Chase helped me make the sweet potato and green bean casseroles and was in shock at how much time it takes to cook something start to finish, without using anything pre-made or out of a can.  It all came out delicious tho and we had a great time.  

The boys reading early Thanksgiving Morning

A rowdy game of Battleship (with grapes in the center) after our return home

Roger decided that since he was home that morning, it was a grand time to start on the stair railing for the upper stairs, one that we've lived without for nearly 3 years now.  The kids are all so well-trained to "hold the wall!" that they still don't use the railing now that it's there.  

BEFORE - Good for little monkeys to swing on 

AFTER - "Aww Dad, now I can't swing on it anymore!"

Friday, when masses of people were out trampling each other for the best deal on something they probably don't need anyway, we cleaned up and got out our Christmas decorations.  Since we live very close to one of the biggest malls in this country, we choose to stay in and not go near any of the roads.  

The kids were chomping at the bit to get the tree up.  But I explained that FIRST we had clean up the toys in the living room.  Every one.  Not just some.  THEN we had to pull out the furniture and find the OTHER toys that were hiding back there, along with Dust Bunnies, random socks and one lonely lollipop wrapper.  NEXT we had to sweep and mop the floors.  AFTER THAT we had to decide where the tree was going.  AND THEN, ONLY THEN, could the tree come down from the attic.  

So we did all that.  Roger was out working and the rest of stayed in our PJ's and did all that in order.  'Till we got to the part about where the tree was going.  I just could not decide.  So the kids, poor kids, patient kids - they helped me move the couches this way and that.  They sat with their little eyes wide open while I pondered and "hmmm'd."  They humored me when I had them move things AGAIN.  And finally I said, "We're moving the TV."  

And now THAT took about an hour, there were even more Lost Pets back there, Dust Bunnies triple the size of the ones under the couch, because who really has time to clean behind the speaker that's behind the TV?  So we recovered that area, wrapped up all the random cords that went nowhere and used wire-ties to make everything neat and orderly.  Then we moved the TV, which is bolted to the cabinet (because of me) and connected (because Roger is Roger) to 2 side-speakers and a giant sub-woofer thingie. 

 We moved it to this corner, then that corner, then the middle of the outer wall, then to another corner.  Still the kids were patient.  Each time we moved the TV, I put the couches in a different spot.  The living room is not that big.  It's just a square with 2 sets of doors.  You would think there are not that many options for all of this. We had to consider certain things tho, like not leaving open access to the bay window, as one tiny hand could probably pull down our entire nutcracker collection that sits on a wooden structure on top of our fake snow.  But finally, we got it.  According to Chase, we had to move the TV "19 times."  

And then we put our tree up.  Only to realize that last year's lights had burnt out last year and we hadn't replaced them yet.  Aaaargh. 

2 little elves take a break from couch-moving to draw a picture.

Riley concentrates hard as she fluffs out each tree limb and hands it to Chase. 

Chase adds the top piece.  

RJ could care less about the tree.  He spent the whole time pressing the button on the vacuum, which I borrowed every 3 pieces or so to clean up the needles that were underfoot.

In other news, the Farmhouse got a new roof!  It looks great and makes the rest of the house look terrible - lol.  Now we can finalize our layout for the inside and get started on electrical and plumbing.  

Bare front.

Bare back.  Here's the addition, except we're moving the 2nd story windows now after changing the layout a thousand times. 

Here's our Sunday night, on the 3rd floor, framing out a window so the roof can get shingled on Monday.  

I had no other choice except to bring RJ up in his carseat.  He enjoyed the noise of the saw and the nailgun, but other that, he was not entirely happy with us.

Nice new roof!  

Totally random and exciting - 

My Christmas Cactus is in bloom!  More flowers than ever - so pretty! It seems that all my indoor plants thrive in the master bathroom, where no guests will ever see them.... bah.  

Speaking of...

.... doctors and such, the entire house is ill at the moment, but no, we don't need any doctors.  

RJ started crapping juice last Friday, starting projecting vomit at awesome speed all day Saturday, continued both through the weekend, busted a fever on Monday and has still got the Hershey Squirts today.  He smells perpetually like AD&D and Balmex and has been a needy, whiny sort these last few days but at least he got his energy back today to start climbing on the oven door and such things again.  

Riley started pooping every hour on Monday but it didn't turn bad and although we expected the horfing to start too, it never did.  She did run a low-grade fever yesterday and today but isn't out of sorts. 

The big 2 popped fevers this morning, with Indy as usual running higher than everybody else.  If the rest are low-grade, she's usually floating around 101, which is where she's at today.  Didn't seem to bother them though and we all drank extra water to help flush it out and stay hydrated.  We don't give medicine unless absolutely necessary (which is very rare thankfully), we allow the body to use the fever to fight the infection, essentially we don't treat any of this, except with rest, downtime, water & a few tricks listed below. 

Other tricks we use:

-  We sprinkle extra black pepper on our food to help drain the sinuses (great recipe here for Killer Chicken Soup - works wonders and tastes great too!)
- We all get to gargle with warm salt water (boiled first in the tea pot and cooled).  
- Everyone older than the baby rinses their noses with the warm salt water (the Neti Pot without the pot - use baby medicine droppers to squirt it up your nostril) - the theory here being that if you can break up the mucus and get it out, it won't gather, run down your throat or get into your chest.  You can basically stop the virus or bacterial cold in it's tracks before it cycles from your sinuses to your chest.  
- A cheater way to do this for an adult is to take a Claritin when you start getting the snots - an antihistamine that will dry up your sinuses and also thwart the cold from spreading.  I try not to use this way since it involves a med, but it actually does work well.    

So it's been a fun week.  I got jack done around the house and finally made it out to the grocery store TODAY, along with everyone and their mother and uncles, to get what I needed to make food for tomorrow.  

Now off to bed to get MY rest... our Elf returns tomorrow.  And he's known for making messes... 

On Doctors, On Dancer, On Prancer, On Vixen...

Ok, fine... this is just On Doctors.  Generally speaking, of course. 

So basically what I'm gonna say here is... don't just take your Doctor's advice without asking for alternatives, for options, for second opinions even.  It's your right.  Your obligation.  Your (or your child's) health.  It's all in your hands.  Speak up, and make sure the job gets done right.  And call me if they give you trouble, I'll tell 'em how it is!  Too many doctors are quick to recommend a drug or an antibiotic to fix something simple that your body can handle on it's own and be stronger for later.  Too many doctors are quick to give a "standard" response, slap you with a bill and tell you to follow up every few months for them to tell you the same thing and keep money rolling in their door.  And they will keep on doing it if people let them.  

Let me just say this here, when I take people to Doctors, I tend to show up complete with a general..... basic.... detailed, very detailed history of whatever the issue at hand is.  Typed, bullet-pointed and formatted in MS Word.  I know, I have a problem! But it sure saves time when they just read the sheet instead of starting with open-ended questions...

Last year, I "fired" Chase's GI doctor because I felt like she didn't know my kid at all, wasn't listening to what his Dad and I had to say at the visits and was just putting him on more and more medicine without checking to see if there really was even a problem.  Long story short, I became "Dr. Mom," took him off all his meds, made some nutritional changes and voila! The problem was gone.  When I pulled his file from the Doctor's office (and boy does that copy machine work slow when you tell them you're taking your business elsewhere...) and took him to a different doctor after 3 months on my plan, the new Doc sent us home as there was no longer a problem. Score one for mom.  

I was definitely feeling more empowered in regards to my family and their health decisions. 

So then, I decided that Roger's heart Doc wasn't giving us... well, any answers, really.  So I canned him, found another Doc and ordered repeats of all of his testing from 2009.  I think, to be honest, after the guy got done reading Roger's 2 page history (which included why I canned the last guy), he wasn't going to even try to say "No" to the testing I wanted.  

Sure enough, testing went afoul again (although this time I had pre-warned them about the results and told them NOT to try to call an ambulance) but they did bring in a Specialist of the Specialist that we already were at... at least it was something new, something that the last guy hadn't mentioned, bothered with, seemed concerned about.  And this guy was a good listener, a great explainer (he even used his hands to mimic the heart) and he gave us our options straight, no BS, no sugar-coating, just Facts.  I think I love him.  As a Doctor, of course.  

I was feeling the high of Making the Right Decisions about Doctors.


So, naturally, I then "fired" Riley's allergist and took her somewhere else too.  I got a similar answer to the first guy, but I also got a full explanation, an in-office test where the breathing tests were performed and data collected before and after a breathing treatment to show proof that it worked, a full pro's and con's list of the medicine and a written action plan for when she does have an issue.  In essence, I feel like I got my money's worth out of this Doc.  Like I always say, I'm a "hard-answers" girl.  I don't like maybe's and if's and possibly's so much, especially when it comes to my family and their health.  It takes a little bit of work, for sure, but it's worth it in the end when you get real answers and see results.  

Random Picture Updates to follow:

Starting the addition at the Farmhouse

Coming right along

The existing front, before we add the porch

Daddy reading to kiddos

Why must we get IN the Little People bus?  WHY?

I'm guessing she tried really hard to stay awake for this one...

Fun with Sight Words

If you don't get it, read them in order... tee hee hee.

My Favorite Color of the Rainbow

Intelligent. Nice. Determined. Imaginative. Generous. Outgoing. 

Happy.  Social. Thoughtful. Creative.  Musical.  Girly.  

Great Big Sister.  Little Miss Helpful.  

My Indigo

The beginning - Due September 18th.  Swore I wouldn't "let" this one be late.  Didn't show till 4.5 months.  Measured small all along.  Lots (and lots) of extra ultrasounds due to my belly measuring small, but she was always 50th percentile.  Hot, hot, hot summer that year.  I would run my t-shirts under cold water and wear them soaking wet to stay cool.  The 18th came and went.  No sign of labor but at dinnertime on the 22nd I knew.  I checked my bags and went to bed early.  Contractions started 11:30PM.  Didn't want to get sent home like with Chase so I waited extra long to call the birth center.  Arrived at 4:30AM at 6cm.  Labored in tub.  Ready to push at 6AM.  I'm a pro at this, back up, I got it, there will be no wasted contractions while in the pushing stage! 

 5 days late, Friday, September 23rd, 2005 at 6:29AM.  6lbs, 14.5oz, 20 inches long.  Skinny little chicken leg girl. 

One Day Old

Baby Indy was a dream baby.  Ate, slept, cried very little, except when her big brother would throw tennis balls to Mom and Mom would miss.  Poor little head.  She only fit in preemie clothes for the first month.  Excellent nurser.  Slept through the night at 6 weeks.  Sat at 4 months.  I have no idea when she crawled but she walked 2 days before her 1st birthday.  She did however start talking at 8 months and by her birthday, was talking in sentences.  It was creepy and strange to see this little thing speaking so properly, barely walking, still a baby, really, but she was talking.  And she was grammatically correct.  Which creeped people out even more and astounded them at the same time.  7 years later, I might even think my memory was off, except I recently sat and watched old videos of her ON her birthday and in the months following.  Videos of her telling full JOKES.  Videos of her describing to my grandmother what we did at the library or the YMCA that day.  Videos of her talking about her toys in the bath, descriptively.  

I confess, I did actually buy these fairy wings before we confirmed she was a girl...

Little Ar-teest! 

We joke and say that Indy must've been a bard in a previous life, someone who's job it was to travel around the countryside and sing the news and tales of all happenings.  .  She sings.  Always has.  It came as soon as she could talk.  She sings her life.  Songs about cars passing by.  Which parts to wash in the shower.  Soap bubbles.  Friends.  TV shows and books.  Everything is subject matter for Indy's songs.  She doesn't know it, but I have a significant amount of video that includes just a standing shot of the sink in the bathroom, because I was recording her singing in the shower without her knowing it and without recording the shower cuz that's illegal.  At 8, she obviously showers herself now, but I went up the other day to see if she was done, and stood in the bathroom to listen to what the song sounds like now.  

She still sings.  And I love it.

Preschool years:  Dolls, trucks, purses and shoes.  So many Moms out there "push" their little girls to be girly, putting them in frilly little outfits with sparkly shoes.  I was fine with Indy wearing Chase's hand-me-down camo.  By 18 months, we'd pass the shoe section in a store and she'd stick her feet out and say, "Shoes for me please."  She'd always pick the sparkliest thing there was.  It made me barf in my mouth a little bit, but I'd get it for her.  She had a purse collection of fancy bags.  I still used my Army green slingover bag.  She wasn't getting this girly thing from me.  Accessories.  She had to have barrettes, bows, clips, bracelets, necklaces, rings, etc.

18 months

My First Tattoo

Wildwood Beach, NJ, age 2

3rd Birthday

Age 3

Boating on the Schuylkill River

Indy and Mom-Mom in 2009, age 4

Age 5-7:  First day of kindergarten, she came home and said, "I got my best friend."  Sure, ok.  Kids say funny things.  3 days later we met her best friend's parents, who said their daughter came home day 1 and said the same thing.  They are still in the same class and still BFF's.  But in the 3 years of school, these two girls have expanded their group.  They have a gaggle now, 7 girls who all hang together.  I call them the "Vowel Crowd" because they all have names that start with vowels, all 7 of them, except no one starts with "U!"  Indy excelled in K and 1st, getting high marks and flawless test grades.  Teachers say she always helps others and is a joy to have in class.  We tried soccer and dance, she liked the practice but not the game or performance.  She'd rather sit and watch Chase play.  

XMas '09

A new baby sis in 2010

First Day of Kindergarten

BFF's

6th Birthday

Epcot 2012

Meeting Mickey, age 6

XMas 2012, age 7

And now, age 8! - On her birthday, we had magical plans.  We'd get homework done and meet Dad and Avia up at Sweet N' Sassy to get her ears pierced (totally missed the boat when she was a baby!).  Then off for a special dinner of..... pizza.  Hey, it's her day.  Except the bus came, and the kid I babysit got off by himself.  What?? 

 "Where's Indigo?"  

"She didn't get off the bus."  

"WHAT?"  

Yeah, so apparently sometimes she's SO social, that she forgets to pay attention to what's going on around her.  After some phone calls, the bus driver came back around and dropped off a tearful little Indigo.  The bus driver even gave her a flashlight out of his bag so she "could always find her way home..."  And THEN we did homework, went to Sweet N' Sassy, got ears pierced, ate pizza and sang "Happy Birthday" over an ice cream sandwich.  A very magical evening indeed.  

Indy also took some friends to BounceU to celebrate her big 8 and they had ice cream cake later at the house. 

Currently:  Took violin for a year with the Suzuki method, a fast learner making beautiful music.  Just getting into baton.  We thought we sent her to a week of dance camp but it turned out to be actually Baton Twirling camp, and she loved it!  Picked it up like a rock star and now she's thinking about joining a competitive team.  Always planning playdates.  Loves being outside.  Earned the nickname "The Little Lawyer" from Mom as she always sticks up for her big brother no matter what and tries to make a plea deal with Mom to lesson his punishment, even if she is the one who got the raw end of the deal from him to begin with.  Plays "Mom" to the littles, always directing and meddling.  She's learning (slowly) to let them be themselves, make their own decisions, not to carry the baby around all the time (for this, he bites her).  

She has a contagious smile, a girly giggle, a stubborn streak.  Would sleep in every day if she could.  Reads all the time.  Always crafting.  Can do Rainbow Loom like she invented it.  Will do anything for her friends and family.  A fine daughter, indeed! 

Before ear piercing...

....And After!