Let's see if this works....

This should be a Picasa album slideshow with 11 photos from December.

1. Annie looking pitiful in front of the Christmas tree.
2. Okay...so she finally gave us a smile
3. Elizabeth and Katherine "help" Annie open her birthday gift. Annie did NOT appreciate the help - trust me.
   
4. The things we'll do for our children. Mom got the snowglobe for Elizabeth's 4th birthday - got a killer after-Christmas deal on it. Brad kept putting off setting it up, until finally he relented on December 22. We wish we'd put it up earlier. It was cute (and with the lights on the roof was the only decoration outside our house) and the girls LOVED it. Brad actually said it was pretty cute, too.
   
5. The girls in their Christmas dresses before church on 12/23
6. Another sweet photo of Annie in front of the tree.
   
7. What our "yard art"/snowglobe will NEVER morph into - this is the RIGHT side of my mom's next-door neighbor's yard
8. And this is the LEFT side of the yard. Getting it all in one photo didn't do justice to just how bad it really looks. I mean, this stuff can be fun, but reign it in, people!!!
9. Meet Sophie. She's Mom and Dad's new puppy and she is such a cutie!
10. Annie, singing in her sister's High School Musical microphone. Loudly. Also, please notice the marker all over her fingers! What you can't see is the black marker all over her TEETH and mouth. (I give up with this child eating markers!!!)
11. Elizabeth and Katherine in a loving moment. Literally seconds later, they were rolling around on the floor screaming and fighting. Lovely.
    

That was rough....

With each of my pregnancies I've had a stomach virus. Something about the two seem to "go together" for me. Until yesterday, the latest I've ever been sick, was 16 weeks (with Annie). Yesterday morning it hit - hard. And Harrison did not appreciate it one iota. It's always hard to have a stomach virus (I hate them!) but having every muscle in my abdomen trying to press around a 32-week fetus who fights back I think makes it even worse!

Thankfully we only dealt with that once. The nurse told me to take Phenergan and sleep as much as I could. She didn't have to encourage me twice. I did just that.

Now I'm feeling better - still dizzy and weak but definitely better. I'm just praying Elizabeth doesn't get it next. Her birthday is Thursday and I really don't want this stuff to ruin her day!

Well, it started off as a good Christmas...

...and quickly went downhill from 2:00p.m. on. I'm still waiting on it to get better. We had a wonderful time opening gifts here, a great breakfast at my parents, a fun time opening gifts there and even a wonderful, very simple lunch (Petit Jean bacon sandwiches...yummo!). On the way home at 2:00p.m., just as we turned onto the interstate, the vomiting started. Poor Annie.

Initially we thought it was the consequences of sneaking into my mom's pantry and eating junk food (she's done that more than once) but as it continued into the evening we quickly realized it was a stomach virus.

On Wednesday, she kept down bananas for several hours but then did great keeping down a very light lunch and dinner. On Thursday, she kept down breakfast, lunch AND a snack. I was going to give her applesauce for dinner since diarrhea had started but was over-ruled and she got mac and cheese. Um, cheese...after a stomach virus. Not good. She started throwing up at 11:15 and threw up every 10 minutes until 1:00a.m. It was horrible because she would freak out when she started getting sick. And when she was dry heaving rather than actually vomiting...it was even worse.

Brad was sick (stomach virus) from 7-10 last night. Now he's mainly dealing with weakness.

I was just about to put Annie in her bed at 1:15 this morning when Katherine came up the hall, wailing. She stopped, threw up a little on the carpet as I ushered her into the bathroom saying, "Throw up in the sink or potty! I'll be right there." I basically tossed poor little Annie into her bed (she was out cold) and ran into the bathroom. Brad woke up and came in to check on her. She said, "But I don't need to throw up any more." Any more? Huh?? "Katherine, have you already thrown up?" She nodded, "All over my floor." Oh great. Brad went into their room and soon came back to the bathroom, "Let me take care of her." With the way he said it, I could tell that meant "I'm not cleaning the mess, you do it."

Why is it that everyone had to get sick at the same time??? Everyone is going to bed early tonight. I'm exhausted.

The birds and the bees and almost-five-year-olds

One day last week we're driving to preschool and from the back of the van Elizabeth asks, "Mommy, how did our baby get in your tummy?"

Oh. My. She did NOT just ask me that! And on the way to school, no less!!!! So, I said, "You know what, Elizabeth, I will be happy to answer that question; but on the way to preschool is not the time for us to talk about it. I'll answer it later, okay? I promise." She was fine with that.

So later that day I told her that we would talk after Nin went to bed - we'd have some Mommy and Elizabeth time. After Nin went to sleep, E came up to me and said, "Okay, NinNin is asleep. Let's talk now, okay?"

I talked to her about what we believe about God's design for a family and that as a Mommy and a Daddy we have been given a special gift to show how much we love each other and sometimes God uses our love for each other to create a baby. "Is that when you snuggle and want to have Mommy and Daddy time?" I've *never* said that she can't come in our room to sleep because we want to "snuggle" I've always said that sometimes Daddy and I want to have private time with no children in our room and that she needs to stay in her room. How she picked up on the "snuggle" thing, I have no idea. In response to that question I said, "Sometimes it is. And sometimes Daddy and I just want to talk without having kids around."

I knew this day was coming but had no idea it was going to be last week!

Some day I'll return to this point...

I love all the cookies and candies Alexis Stewart made for people and how she packaged them (as seen here). I managed to make two different kinds of biscotti and some hot cocoa mix in a jar one year for Christmas. I also stamped all of my Christmas cards that year. Yes, this was before children; but if I could get my act together...I could do this again. There's no reason I couldn't! Maybe next year, I'll set aside a weekend day in October, one in November and once in December to bake & freeze, package and decorate.

I think it's time for my family (or at least for *me*) to return to Family Christmas Craft Days and possibly include some baking on those days!

Christmas Quiz

Kim and Becky did it...I'm feeling blog-peer-pressure (okay, not really, but it looked fun!)

1. Wrapping paper or gift bags? I love wrapped gifts with lots of curling ribbon - lots and lots of curling ribbon! Wrapped gifts are more fun to open, don't you think?
   
2. Real tree or artificial? We have to have artificial because I'm allergic to real trees. In 1992 I was having to see the doctor once a week and get a shot for my allergies. We couldn't figure out what was going on - until I kept his boys one night at our apartment. He walked in, took one look at our tree and said, "Well, there is the reason I'm giving you a shot in the backside every week! You're allergic to your Christmas tree." :( Though, next year we are going to go to the tree farm and get a small real tree to put on our front porch - Brad misses having a "real" tree. And I'm sure the kids will get such a kick out of choosing a tree!
   
3. When do you put up your tree? Brad usually puts the tree up on Black Friday while I'm out shopping. Then I spend the rest of the weekend decorating it. This year, though, he didn't get it put up until the Monday after Thanksgiving and then it took us over a week to decorate it!
   
4. When do you take your tree down? I want my space back...I start undecorating the tree on Christmas night. I want it down and OUT by December 27th. The only time it hasn't been down by then was in 2005...when I had a baby three days before Christmas. The tree didn't get undecorated until the first week of January.
   
5. Do you like eggnog? Not at all. I prefer hot chocolate with a splash of peppermint schnapps (though not this year)
6. Favorite gift received as a child? Barbie United Friend Ship - the airplane. I loved that thing and wish I still had it!
   
7. Do you have a Nativity scene? We have many! I have one carved from olive wood that my friend got for me when she went to Israel for many weeks on a tour. It stays out all year long. I bought the Willow Tree Nativity starter set for myself last year and want to add pieces to it. I have a white bisque porcelain nativity that hasn't seen the light of day in about four years (since I had a toddler in the house!!!). We have two of the Little People nativities - one "basic" and one "deluxe" (star lights and it plays "Away in a Manger", it has a few extra animals and pieces) They are so sweet, I have to say they are my favorite! And the girls *love* to play with them!
   
8. Hardest person to buy for? Thankfully the difficult people to buy for are no longer on my list. :)
   
9. Easiest person to buy for? Really, everyone in my family is pretty easy to buy for since Mom *requires* a list from everyone and so we've all come to expect lists from one another. My kids, obviously, are super easy to buy for because I know them so well.
   
10. Worst gift ever received? I really can't think of anything at the moment!
    
11. Mail or email Christmas cards? For the record - emailed cards, while nice, aren't REAL cards. I mail mine and have finally, in the past couple of years, trimmed my list to under 100.
    
12. Favorite Christmas movie? A Christmas Story totally cracks me up. And we never miss the claymation version of Rudolph, the Red-Nosed Reindeer. Brad loves that one. And Holiday Inn -- another of Brad's absolute favorites.
    
13. When do you start shopping for Christmas? Usually sometime in October but I get really serious about it on Black Friday and get most of it done that day.
    
14. Have you ever recycled a Christmas gift? I can't remember, but I don't think so - not a Christmas gift.
    
15. Favorite things to eat at Christmas? Hershey's Candy Cane Kisses. I love those things!
    
16. Clear lights or colored on the tree? Clear - the tree is prelit. We have clear red and clear (alternating on the strand) outside. I can't wait to get a little tree for the front porch and put red and white lights on it...it'll be so cute! And the tree for our room (which we've not put up in a couple of years) is blue and white with blue and white pearlized lights.
17. Favorite Christmas song? I blogged about it last year. It's Kathy Mattea's song "Christ Child Lullaby" it's a beautiful song and her CD is my favorite Christmas CD. I have several other CDs that I really like. The Carpenter's Christmas Portrait, Steve Tyrell This Time of Year, Tony Bennett Snowfall, Michael Card The Life, Josh Groban Noel (if you don't have this one...GET IT...man, can this guy SING - my girls love it!), Harry Connick, Jr. When My Heart Finds Christmas, Kenny G Miracles and Faith (I like Miracles better of the two). I can't remember what other Christmas CDs I have in the van at the moment. Oh...what we lovingly in our house call Have Yourself a Murray Little Christmas it's Todd's Christmas album from several years ago and since the front of the CD jewel case has disappeared, I can't remember the name of it (Todd is our Worship Pastor).
    
18. Travel at Christmas or stay at home? We stay in central Arkansas. Christmas morning gifts here and then we go to my parents' for breakfast and opening gifts with my parents, siblings and their families.
    
19. Can you name all of Santa's reindeer? You know Dasher and Dancer and Prancer and Vixen, Comet and Cupid and Donner and Blitzen...but do you recall, the most famous reindeer of all...Rudolph the red-nosed reindeer...and I'll stop singing now. ;)
    
20. Angel on the tree or a star? Pressed tin, painted and distressed star at the very top of the tree that I found at Target a few years ago and love. All of my angel and nativity ornaments hang at the top of my tree, too.
    
21. Open presents Christmas Eve or Christmas morning? Christmas morning
    
22. Most annoying thing this time of year? The traffic in certain areas of Little Rock. Thankfully since I've left the corporate world, our outside commitments are pretty much nil! I love that!
    
23. What is the "corniest" family tradition you do as a family, or miss doing? We love putting the girls in their PJs and driving around to look at lights.
    
24. Ugliest Christmas decoration ever invented? I'm sure I have an opinion of something, it's just escaping me at the moment. I *do* hate people who put a ton of junk in their yard, though (like my mom's next-door-neighbor). Even the inflatable snowglobes are okay...I can deal with those. But you don't need more than ONE. (says the woman who is going to have one in her yard next week...as soon as the rain stops)
    
25. Which looks best, themed trees or homey trees? I like both. Our tree is more on the "homey" side unless you consider "Mostly-Hallmark-Ornaments" a theme of it's own.
    
26. What does Christmas mean to you? Exactly what we put on our Christmas card every year:
    
    And when we give each other Christmas gifts in His name, let us remember that He has given us the sun and the moon and the stars, and the earth with its forests and mountains and oceans – and all that lives and moves upon them. He has given us all green things and everything that blossoms and bears fruit; and all that we quarrel about and all that we have misused – and to save us from our own foolishness, from all our sins, He came down to earth and gave us Himself. ~~Sigrid Undset

Turtle ideas

Elizabeth is having a turtle-themed birthday party and it's her first "friends" party so she's very excited about it. Initially it was going to be sea turtles and dolphins - so we were going to do a beach thing - she'd chosen this cake and we were going to add some turtles to it and eliminate some of the fish:

But, she's since chosen another cake (no photo on the Wilton website since it's a cake in their 2008 Yearbook) and the craft/favor she's chosen isn't beach-related either. It's a very, very cute little paint-your-own ceramic turtle bank.

So, now I'm searching for wording for her invitations. Any ideas? I'm completely drawing a blank!!

Christmas card and letter

It's that time of year...

Wow, what a year 2007 has been for the Eggs! And yes, I know I say that every. Single. Year. But, every year it rings more and more true!

• Because Annie was born so close to Christmas, it seems we’re always about to celebrate her birthday as we’re preparing to send out our Christmas notes. So, in order to be fair to our Bittiest Bug, I need to tell you about her first birthday party!. We had a pink and black polka-dot shindig complete with pink and black invitations, a cake decorated with pink and black polka-dots and a birthday girl dressed in a sweater with pink and black polka-dots.
• In January we celebrated Elizabeth’s 4^th birthday three times! Once at preschool on her actual birthday where she got to wear a special crown that she made with Ms. Janet, blow out candles on a pretend cake and bring a special snack. Then, we had a special family dinner on her birthday – at her favorite place to eat, IHOP. Strawberry pancakes are a must! Boop joined us for coffee while we were there. We had a Hello Kitty party that weekend with family and friends; turning 4 was quite an event.
• In February Annie officially became a toddler! Her big sisters were such an encouragement to her as she learned to take those first steps. They cheered and cheered.
• In March, Brad and I celebrated the 21^st anniversary of our first date, the 18^th anniversary of our engagement and our 17^th wedding anniversary. We’ve been together over half of our lives. It’s amazing how much we’ve grown together and how much we’ve been blessed.
• In April we took the girls to see Disney on Ice: Princess Wishes. We had front row seats and it was so much fun! After the show, we changed everyone into PJs and drove all night to Grammie & PawPaw’s house. We went to the Aquarium where, once again, Elizabeth’s favorite things to see were the turtles. Katherine loved the seahorse exhibit and seeing “Nemo and Dory”. Annie loved petting the corn snake and seeing the parrots. Grammie thought she’d died and gone to heaven in the butterfly room.
• In May, we celebrated Nin’s 3^rd birthday along with cousin Sam’s 10^th birthday. We had a party at Boop & Paw’s house. The girls learned to play badminton and loved it! Nin chose Strawberry Shortcake as her theme and at the last minute Wal-Mart saved my sanity by having a Strawberry Shortcake cake kit for a sheet cake. I spent a few days at Portofino Bay Resort at Universal Orlando in mid-May. I had a great time but was glad to come home!
• In June. . . oh June! Well, Happy Father’s Day, Brad! Brad’s Father’s Day gift was. . . a positive pregnancy test. Yes. We are expecting again! This is a huge surprise. Huge. God is the giver of all good gifts, and most gifts are surprises, right? J It was difficult to tell some people, knowing they wouldn’t be excited for us at all. It was a joy to tell others, knowing they would rejoice with us. Telling the girls was the best thing ever. Elizabeth had been praying for God to give us a new baby. She was overjoyed at the news and danced around after we told her. Katherine cheered. Annie, well, she doesn’t get it. . .yet. She will in February, though!
• In July we celebrated Brad’s birthday and tried to stay cool! We also got Elizabeth and Katherine registered for preschool. Nin is so excited about it. She thinks she is going to learn to read this year. Who knows, maybe she will!
• In August, again we tried to stay cool as we welcomed many days of over 100-degree weather. I spent the majority of July and August losing weight thanks to never-ending morning sickness (the kind that lasts all day and all night). Brad was a prince among men as he parented the girls and did housework while I worshipped at the porcelain altar or took medicine and went to bed.
• In September, just after my birthday, the big girls headed off for preschool. What a great adventure. Elizabeth goes every morning and Nin goes on Monday, Wednesday and Friday mornings. They both love it. Annie misses her big sisters but loves having some one-on-one time with Mommy three mornings a week. The big girls also started AWANA at church – Nin in 3-year-old Cubbies and Elizabeth in 4-year-old Cubbies. They love the Scripture memory and Bible story time. I am so glad they have this opportunity at our church!
• In October, we learned that we will be welcoming Thomas Harrison into our family in February! Yes, a BOY!! Boy, oh boy! Are things going to change around here!! I’m still wondering what that’s going to be like, but am so excited and thrilled at the opportunity to parent a son. The girls are thrilled that Harrison will be coming soon and are already trying to make sense of just when February is.
• In November, we took another trip to Grammie & PawPaw’s house. We love going over there. There are so many fun things to do – the Aquarium, the Children’s Museum, the Carousel and Park. It really is a fun trip that we look forward to making.
• And we’re back to December – where we look forward to celebrating Annie’s 2^nd birthday with the traditional “Egg girl 2^nd birthday party” – Dora the Explorer. Annie loves Dor-doo!

So yes, 2007 was an exciting and incredible year for us. We look forward to welcoming Harrison about six weeks after Christmas – we’ll let you know when he’s here!

About the broken ornament

Someone jokingly said to me...and it made me howl...I know the secret Snow White needed to tell Cinderella! "Pssst, Cindy, watch out for Katherine. She'll bite your head off. Literally." I doubled over laughing. Well, as doubled over as I can get these days.

So far I've had to glue (or attempt to glue) the following broken ornaments: At the Ball (pictured in the other post -- oh, and Annie broke off Prince Philip just because she could); Part of Your World; Frosty Friends Winterfest; a snowman that I got on Black Friday because I bought 2 ornaments (Hooked on Hallmark doesn't seem to have a picture of it); Sweet Christmas Smackerels; and there's one other I've had to glue - but it escapes me at the moment. The only one where gluing has not been successful is At the Ball - Snow White and Prince Philip are just too small for the glue to work. The joys of precocious preschoolers at Christmas time...