So, kids are sick. Again. Or still. I can't remember the last time I blogged. Woody was up last night, Cassie was up last night...I'm a little sleep deprived today. Chase just has a sinus infection and is feeling alright but Cassie isn't sleeping well and is rather snotty. Ugh. Jamie heads out on a week-long hunting expedition tomorrow w/his Dad while I'm here w/the two sick kids. Um, who deserves some big bling bling for Christmas? That would be me!

I got my hair chopped off yesterday. I had to do something to deal w/all the lovely post-partnum shedding and subsequent regrowth. I got the Posh, otherwise known as Victoria Beckham's cut. I suppose she'll be updating soon, b/c God knows when midwestern housewives start sporting your 'do, it's so over. Jamie's been very diplomatic (I mentioned the hunting trip, didn't I?) but Chase hates it. He actually said, "Mom--why would you do that? Your hair should be long! That is too short!" I'm still trying to figure out how much Jamie paid him to say that. Grrrr.

We're having cable issues w/the HD/digital cable. Again. The cable company is going to be here between 2-6. I have a room mother meeting at 2:45pm, I'm going to try to do it via phone. Last time it was just two of us anyway, so I don't see why we can't do a phone convo instead of an acutal meeting. Plus, I don't feel like hauling Cass around in the arctic air if I don't have to. Did you know that my Grandma was right about getting sick and not wearing a coat? Studies have shown that it is harder for your body to fight off infections/viruses if you're cold. Something about the blood vessels constricting. Next thing you know, wet heads really will cause pneumonia.

Cassie is awake. And not very happy from the sounds coming across the baby monitor. Ah well, now the laundry won't get put away. Too bad. I'm off...

Mean and Moronic Mommy Me

So Chase is sick again. But it's not strep. Well, he may have strep, too, but right now the primary cause of misery is a sinus infection. Given his father's and my respective histories of sinus issues--I'd say he's pretty much screwed. On the way home from the ped I was thinking about calling the chiropractor and seeing if she would do acupuncture on his sinuses (b/c that's kept me infection free for the last year and a half), but I doubt he'd deal with that well. Too many needles. So we've got another 10 days of antibiotics ahead of us.
I did send the little guy to school--hence the mean mommy title-- I spoke w/his teacher when I dropped him off and she promised to call if he wasn't feeling well. I haven't heard from her, so I'm guessing he did alright. Which is good, b/c I don't want Chase thinking life stops for the sniffles. But mean, b/c I told him last night when I thought the strep was back that he would be staying home today.
Now for the moronic mommy moment. Cassie fell asleep in her carseat as I was getting her out of the car. I decided to move her to her crib so she'd sleep better. Instead, she woke up and refused to sleep for the next hour and a half. She never really got fussy or crabby (I really can't believe how easy going she is) and sat contently in her swing watching me while I did two miles on the treadmill. I guess that wore her out, b/c she fell asleep shortly after that. Nonetheless, I've learned a valuable lesson--if she falls asleep in the car, leave her in the seat or screw up her nap schedule for the rest of the day.
Tomorrow is an early release day. Chase's best friend Dylan is coming over. His mother and I have started trading early release days and since there are 1-2 of those a month, it works out rather well. Dylan is just the sweetest kid and so well mannered, I really enjoy having him around. It's going to be a busy morning though--I've got to pick up Cass's 4 mth pics and schedule her 5 mth sitting and I've got to squeeze a Target/Wal Mart run in there at some point as well. At least I've made progress on my Christmas shopping the last two days...I'm breathing a little easier!
I'm off to meet the bus!

CAKE! CAKE! CAKE!

As promised, here are pics of the kids today. Quite honestly, I couldn't pick just one to sum up the day--we had a blast! I love the pic of Brady after he sampled a bit of stuffing, cranberry sauce, and everyone's favorite--Aunt Christi's Pumpkin Gooey Butter Cake--particularly since it contrasts so well w/the not-yet-eating-solid-food Cassie. In fact, that picture is a really good arguement for the always OCD Aunt Christi to hold off a bit longer on that whole solid food thing.... The second pic was the attempt to get a pic of all the kids together. Hopefully Mikki was more successful at getting a decent pic (OCD Aunt Christi was cleaning the high chair tray while Jamie played photog)! Obviously that was after the meal--hence why Brady was almost naked. Despite the five year age gap, he and Chase are going to play quite well together--Hayden has really taught him to hold his own w/the big kids.

Shortly after my sister and the kids went down for their nap (Mikki is working the holiday weekend), we left and came home. We put the Christmas tree up. The tree is a hand me down from my sister, who got a prelit tree last year. It's lovely, but much wider than our previous tree. B/c of it's width, I felt it needed to be a bit taller. So lucky Jamie got to craft a stand for our new tree to sit upon. It's perfect and thankfully Cassie isn't mobile yet--next year we'll have to childproof the Christmas decs. I'll finish decorating tomorrow--can't do that when Chase is sleeping! He loves to help.

I'm off to read a magazine. It's snowing and while I should read the Black Friday ads--I've decided it is too cold and crazy to brave the stores tomorrow. There is nothing I want badly enough to get up before dawn to buy it. Not even $40 cashmere at Old Navy will get me out of bed before dawn. Unless Cassie wakes me up for a feeding, then it's a sign from God (and Chase gave God quite a history lesson during Grace this afternoon, BTW). Perhaps I will go peruse those ads...

Thanksgiving

I should do a cheesy "What I'm Thankful For..." post today in light of the lovely turkey proudly posted on my refridgerator door. I am thankful for a lot of things: my healthy, beautiful children; my adoring husband; my active and healthy father; my dog who really tries to pee outside despite his advancing age; my extended family and friends who love me in spite of myself; I could go and on. I'll spare you. I know I have much to be grateful for and I am appropriately thankful.

It is unseasonably warm right now. Chase is outside playing (per my instructions) taking advantage of one last warm day. Cassie and I took Woody for a walk this afternoon, then we hung the Christmas wreaths outside. Apparently that overwhelmed her b/c she's down for her third nap of the day. Woody is also napping right now. I'm going to head outside to toss the football to my future Cowboys QB while there is still enough light for us to play by.

That is Sarah, Ryan, Bennett, Chase and Cassie. Bennett is 51 weeks older than Chase, Chase is 15 months older than Ryan, and Sarah is 15 months older than Cassie. It's nice that the cousins are all so close in age! The boys love to play together and if the lovefest today is any indication at all, Sarah and Cassie are shaping up to be best buds as well.

I'm really tired tonight and have to get up early to cook 18.5lbs of turkey for the church potluck tomorrow afternoon, so I'll leave you with this. My sister officially a celebrity, b/c she made You Tube.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8UCfKavTj3E Check it out.
And while you're at You Tube, check out my buddy Aga. She competed in the Ballroom Dancing Pro Am a few weeks ago:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LQX_PCRxy8w That's her jive. And here is her ChaCha http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eDMaupbKj48 . She's the pretty blonde in the neon yellow. How cool is that? I think she should audition for Dancing With The Stars...she rocks! I'll throw some videoes of the kiddos on You Tube one of these days when I figure out how. In the meantime, enjoy my more technologically advanced family and friends...

Feeling better

Chase has recovered quite nicely from the strep, he's feeling well and back to normal. Cassie is still stuffed up, she's having a little trouble sleeping b/c of the congestion but all things considered, it's not too bad. Daddy did her bath all by himself tonight, it was practice for Sunday night when I'm in Fulton to help the sorority w/their elections. I thought it best for him to do it once by himself, but w/me available, in case he had any questions. And before you think, "Christi is such a control freak...." Keep in mind that b/c of her eczema, Cassie's bath is quite a to-do. She can only use a certain shampoo, certain soap, has to have a certain mixture of ointments post-bath (and has to be patted, not rubbed dry). As Jamie said, "It's not rocket science, but it's not your typical bath, either." He did fine, and I think Cassie really enjoyed splashing and soaking Daddy. While Jamie bathed the baby, Chase helped me vacuum. Hey, as Aunt Amy said tonight, "Those kids may look like Jamie on the outside, but on the inside, they are all Mommy." Chase likes to vacuum with me. So now the house is clean (YAY!) and I got to hang w/Chase while Jamie got to hang w/Cass. Since that's the opposite of how we usually tag team the kids, it was really nice.

Speaking of tag team--apparently in gym class today the teacher was playing "Whoomp There It Is" (Tag team back again....) while the kids hula hooped. While I don't have a problem with this (hey--I love me some 90s dance music), my son seems to think the lyrics are "Whoomp, bad ass!" Despite Jamie, Aunt Amy and me repeatedly assuring him that he is dead wrong (like the school would play a song for kindergarteners w/those lyrics), he's convinced we're naive. Yes, we're the naive ones. Nonetheless, the prospect of a mouthful of soap (if Aunt Judy is reading this, she's remembering the last time he got a mouthful of soap and laughing) has him singing the proper lyrics.

We're off to Cuba tomorrow for Thanksgiving w/the extended family. I did a bit of cooking today and will finish up tomorrow when we get to Grandpa Jim and Grandma Mary Ann's house. I'm particularly excited about my pumpkin gooey butter cake, I got quite a sweet tooth during my pg w/Chase and it got worse during Cassie's pg. Combining two of my favorite desserts (gooey butter cake and pumpkin pie) has me very excited. I'll share since I swiped the recipe from Paula Deen and http://www.foodnetwork.com/:

Pumpkin Gooey Butter Cake
Cake: 1 (18 1/4-ounce) package yellow cake mix 1 egg 8 tablespoons butter, melted Filling: 1 (8-ounce) package cream cheese, softened 1 (15-ounce) can pumpkin 3 eggs 1 teaspoon vanilla 8 tablespoons butter, melted 1 (16-ounce) box powdered sugar 1 teaspoon cinnamon 1 teaspoon nutmeg
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
Combine the cake mix, egg, and butter and mix well with an electric mixer. Pat the mixture into the bottom of a lightly greased 13 by 9-inch baking pan.
To make the filling: In a large bowl, beat the cream cheese and pumpkin until smooth. Add the eggs, vanilla, and butter, and beat together. Next, add the powdered sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, and mix well. Spread pumpkin mixture over cake batter and bake for 40 to 50 minutes. Make sure not to overbake as the center should be a little gooey.
Variations: For a Pineapple Gooey Cake: Instead of the pumpkin, add a drained 20-ounce can of crushed pineapple to the cream cheese filling. Proceed as directed above.
For a Banana Gooey Cake: Prepare cream cheese filling as directed, beating in 2 ripe bananas instead of the pumpkin. Proceed as directed above.
For a Peanut Butter Gooey Cake: Use a chocolate cake mix. Add 1 cup creamy peanut butter to the cream cheese filling instead of the pumpkin. Proceed as directed above.

I'm so making the peanut butter version at some point. Yum-o! I'm still trying to find a recipe for gooey butter cookies, but honestly, it's probably best if I can't make those...

When it rains, it pours...

Cass has her first cold. It isn't too bad, but she's a bit cranky. And Chase has his first bout of strep. Major props to Aunt Jenny who came over tonight to stay w/Cass while I took Chase to urgent care. He complained of an earache while swallowing. His ears looked clear, but b/c he's complained of a sore throat upon waking the last few mornings and the whole "swallowing" thing, the dr. ran a strep test. He was stunned when it came back positive, and honestly, so was I. I've had strep--it HURTS! And yet, save for a bit of complaining, Chase has been fine.

No school for him tomorrow. Amoxicillian for 10 days and hopefully he'll be as good as new. And hopefully the rest of us stay strep-free...

I'm off to bed, who knows what the rest of the night will bring...