Ho Ho HO!

Kind of late. But our Christmas was a good one. A super one. A magical one. Just like they should be!

The kiddos had their own Advent Calendars, of the 99 cent Trader Joe's variety! Don't judge me. One of these years(only been saying that for 9 now) I will fill up one of those super cute fancy ones with a super cute fun activity to do each day and seal it with loooove. Pfft. Like when I have grandchildren, maybe. Sorry offspring, but until then you're just going to have to settle for a piece of chocolate and a hug during the 24day countdown to Christmas. :)

We made(the kids made) a lovely Gingerbread House, and didn't kill each other in the process. Photographic proof...









We attended the Kelly Karnival at Greg's school. The kids had super fun noshing on pancakes and other breakfast fare. Followed by some fun crafts, but you can definitely tell G probably won't be asking to attend next year. Plus he said my pancakes were way "tighter" than the ones at the school. OOoh, score one for THIS betterthanschool's pancake-makin mama!



Caught!



And then trying to act innocent...



Again!




Can you tell the decorate your own cookie table was a big hit with my kiddos? I swear I feed them regularly at home...




My lovies.


We made our annual trip to Sloughhouse and picked out a rather plump tree. Then the kiddos helped decorate. And, of course, willingly posed next to the tree while doing so. Promises of m & m's played no part, swear...













And inbetween all the madness, gifts were wrapped, lights were seen, homemade hot cocoa w/marshmallows was consumed, MANY many times(by the kids, of course), baked goodies were made and delivered, and so on. Finally, it arrived. Christmas Eve. Which also happens to be my most wonderful hubba hubby's birthday! I won't disclose his age, men at his stage of the game really don't appreciate such acts. So we traveled out to Lincoln to visit Greg's side of the family and celebrate the birthday's(it is also Greg''s stepfather's birthday on Christmas Eve) We ate a most delicious dinner made by Carol, visited, played games. Then the time came for the mini's to put out cookies for Santa and his reindeer and get their shut eye on! I didn't stay up that much longer, just long enough to help Santa fill the stockings and put out the Santa Gifts. In the morning we woke up, Mama Carol made a very yummy breakfast, hubby came back from work(he's on the graveyard shift, total lameness :() and we all opened gifts. The kids made out like bandits, like they always do, and were so happy and thankful for each gift they opened. Greg and I also received some very nice and thoughtful gifts.































Later that day we came home and had the second and third round of gifts. These kids are SPOILED! :) All in all it was a really great Christmas, the ONLY thing that would of made it better would of been husband not having to work and the whole time. But this is what he does for his family, and I am forever thankful to him for ALL that he does. I am one very lucky wifey/mama. :)

And just a few more photos, for those still with me on this one...

So Much I Am Thankful For

Thanksgiving was fantastic. Husband was home(a rarity on any given holiday), MY BROTHER CAME HOME for a two day visit from his TEMPORARY home in Montana, Ava ATE her first Thanksgiving meal(as well as MANY many snacks), I made a very fantastic and delicious turkey, as well as some yummy sides, Gbo and LilG played football outside while Ava and I collected and studied many various leaves, great day indeed! :) Hope all my friends and family had an equally wonderful Thanksgiving and remembered to be thankful for what you have!

Don't have all that many photos, too busy enjoying the fam to really whip out the camera, but here are a few of the many daily blessings I am thankful for, otherwise known as my kiddos/mini monsters...

Fit for a Princess...

So thanks to the amazing group we are a part of, Hearts of Hope, we were offered free tickets to attend the Disney Princess on Ice show a few months ago. Ava was sooo excited! Even more so because our favorite Heart Mommy/Daughter duo, Michelle and Maddie, were also going! Hooray! We carpooled it out to Arco, bought the girlies some ridiculously priced, but absolutely necessary, princess memorabilia(specifically a light up tiara(that broke a couple of weeks later) and a cinderella wand(that didn't even make it home). We then took our seats, took a few photos of the super cute heart bff's, and enjoyed the show. Or, enjoyed watching the girls enjoy watching the show. I am sure Michelle can feel me on this one. ;) Ava was in Disney Princess HEAVEN! So glad we were able to go, especially with such great friends. Thanks Valerie, and thanks Michelle and Maddie! <3

A few photos, as always....

Halloweenie goodness

Halloween with the kids was great this year! G says that he is too old for the traditional store bought costumes and instead opted to just wear his baseball uniform, okay by me! His dad and I certainly didn't mind saving about $80 on a costume for him. Though it's just another sign of how fast he is growing up, which makes me :(

I showed Ava some costumes online and let her pick out her most favorite. Which was of course a Purple Fairy Princess getup. One that was VERY similar to a costume she wore a couple of years ago, probably because it was purchased at the same children's store, gymboree. Anyway, she made a super duper cute flower fairy princess and enjoyed the dressup aspect of Halloween very much, no surprise there. The walking from door to door and asking complete strangers for candy...not so much! She was okay with it for probably 6 or so houses, then she was DONE. Which is exactly how Gregory always was and still is. Kind of crazy, because husband and I can remember BEGGING our parents to take us to "just one more house/street/block/etc" we could have trick or treated into the wee hours of the night. Idk, I guess I should be thankful they aren't so grubby over candy, but they are sorta fuddy duddyish about it. ;)

So here are a few photos of the night, as well as a couple from the Kelly Karnival Gregory's school holds each year, we didn't make it to Ava's carnival this year...

Time to play catch up

Hi all,

It has been SO super long since I have updated Little Miss' blog. Sorry. :( So much has happened in the last few months with many changes, nothing major really. Just enough to keep me utterly scatterbrained. More so than usual. ;)

So I will try to pump out a Halloween, Thanksgiving and Christmas blog today. Look for them later!


Heart Hugs Always,
Jen

Pumpkin Patch Time!

Well, we finally made it out to the pumpkin patch this year! No, it wasn't our usual Bishop's Pumpkin Farm trip, and it was a VERY short visit, no thanks to the wind and Ava as well as myself still getting over the flu bug, but the kids had fun non the less and we came home with some great pumpkins. :)

We visited a lil place off Old Auburn Blvd called The Pumpkin Farm(though it truthfully doesn't look like they even grow anything other than CORN there...) on a recommendation from a friend. Plus, it was a LOT closer than Bishop's, which is out in Wheatland, almost an hour away.

Anyhow, The Pumpkin Farm is cute, it has the hay rides and the train and all that other stuff, though we didn't partake in much other than the petting zoo(ick, yes I have a serious aversion to petting farms, always have) and pumpkin picking. The kiddos had a blast picking out pumpkins and petting those darn animals. The wind was seriously kicking that day, though. We soon found out that lil miss has the same disdain for the wind that she has always had...bummer. Not as bad as it used to be, though. Ava used to do this odd thing where she would gasp and kinda laugh but also kinda...not breathe in a gust of wind. Yeah...odd. She doesn't do that anymore, this was an infant thing, but she still really isn't a fan of wind. Who can blame her though!

A few photos from our trip...

The "F" Word.

So last week Ava finally caught it, the FLU! As much as we were dreading this and doing the best we could to prevent it, we still knew it was coming. Not ONLY because Ava is now enrolled in Preschool and exposed to that many more dirty, germy little hands, but because this is the first year of her life that she is NOT receiving the synagis(RSV) shot every month through the flu season. I was terrified, because very often, as many of us heart mommies know, FLU, or even just a common cold can result in a not so fab ER trip/hospitalization. BUT, I can't keep this girl in a bubble, as much as that thought sometimes appeals to me, so you just have to be ready, for anything.

So, Ava was complaining of tummy aches and had some serious mudbutt going on(TMI, I know, I know. But many of us ARE parents, and is there even such thing as TMI once you are a parent?!) for a few days before she spiked a 104 temp. Before the fever broke Ava was running around like the usual, lovable little maniac she is. Once that fever spiked though, she was sleeping all day, had no appetite and had a little accompanying cough. It took everything out of her. Her eyes got droopy, though she never once complained, and after her very loooong naps, she would often wake up and instantly start doing her usual dance and singing into a microphone(either her wand, hand or blanket), though that wouldn't last longer than 5 minutes and was followed by another nap. Always in good spirits though, that's my lil diva girl! :) I didn't get too terribly worried though(HAH, right...) until I noticed her breathing started getting just a little bit faster. We put her cardiologist on alert, and dusted off the good old oximeter machine, stats were "good" not great, but not bad either, thank goodness.

Husband and I went back and forth and back and forth weighing the pros and cons of keeping her home and monitoring VERY closely vs taking her into the ER and risking her catching something possibly worse. In the end we decided that as long as she wasn't at ALL showing any signs of distress, we needed to keep her home and as comfortable as possible. After 3 heart catheterizations just this year, Ava has serious anxiety any time we even pull up to the UCD parking lot, and who can blame her. She is terrified now anytime we go to any Dr, where before she had no qualms and trusted them all, she wakes up at night and needs reassurance that we are right there and she is safe, none of this was a problem before the multiple hospital visits this year. It's pretty heartbreaking and definitely will play a part in my decision making about whether to expose her to any unnecessary hospital and even Dr visits from now on.

Anyhow, Ava's fever broke a few nights ago, the following day her temp was running just a little low, the lowest it got was about 96.5, but it shot back up by night's end and has been in the normal, non-temp range since then. Ava is still super lethargic, sort of pale, a bit weak, and doesn't have her full appetite back just yet, though. :( I am just hoping this is the last I have to hear of the flu for the rest of the season! We are done with you, flu. Be gone.

How a Diva Finger Paints...a photo post...

There are no real updates/news in the world of Ava, so enjoy the photos. :)