Twas the night before Christmas.....

....or should I say the night before New Year's Eve! Better late than never, right?

Purpose....

Just in case you hadn't noticed, I haven't been blogging much lately. I can explain it in one or ten thousand ways. It is what it is. A dry season? A season of reflection? A step back? No good reason at all???

Whatever the case, that's the reality of it. I have a million things to share, but struggle with what will inspire, entertain, inform, or simply bore you out of your mind. I've prayed about my intentions, examined my actions, reflected on my beliefs. I've committed to the relationships that matter the most. Given my all to this thing called life. This life that God has given me. Somehow, the blog has taken a back seat. G0 figure!

But I'm ready to find the balance again....to share what I feel I need to share. I feel a responsibility to chronicle this thing called life. My one chance to get it right. I want to look back and see what I was doing on a cold day in the middle of winter. What we ate for dinner on a warm summer night back in 2011. When my baby lost her first tooth or when my oldest had his first date. I want this to be the place where I measure the moments. Where I share the minutia. The chance to share something that might possibly help someone....that might possibly change a life (more on that later...)

So, I'm back. Are you ready?

A trip to meet Santa....

....this is as close as I'm gettin'!

Nursemaids Elbow? A Do It Yourself, Fix-it Lesson!: A Re-Post!

About once a month, I get a random comment on a quite popular post from way back in the summer. Every time I get the email notification that there is a new comment, it makes me smile. :) I LOVE that something I have posted has HELPED a friend in need! How awesome is that!?

It seems my blog post on Nursemaids Elbow is a top hit on google....go figure! So, since I'm not the greatest at posting something new on the blog lately, how 'bout a re-post! Maybe it'll save you (or a loved one) an ER visit one day!

P.S. I had the opportunity to perform this maneuver again on Greer just recently. We were in the car with our friends, and their 3 year old reached over and grabbed Greer's arm, pulling it out of place. Thankfully, I wasn't driving, and I was able to pop it back in place right away.....I think my girlfriend was a little shocked! 30 seconds of screaming and good as new!

Click here to read the full post!

The Unexpected....

Well, today didn't turn out exactly how I had planned....

...but, does it ever? One thing I've learned since being a parent is that you've always gotta be ready for the unexpected. Amen?

I had a long (and quite busy) weekend at work. Working 24 out of 48 hours gets harder and harder (but is more and more rewarding) as the years go by. Most of the time, Labor and Delivery is fairly slow on the weekends. NOT this time! I didn't notice if it was a full moon or not, but lots of Mamas were having babies these days. And I mean LOTS!

As my Sunday was coming to an end, I posted this on my facebook status:

"Looking forward to my "Saturday" tomorrow....it's been a busy weekend at work! I miss my own babies!"

If I believed in luck, I'd bet that this status update jinxed me for the night....what do you think?! All kidding aside, it is pretty funny, don't you think?

I had the perfect evening/day planned. I would come home from work, throw in a load of laundry, kiss my babies goodnight and pack their bags for another busy week at school! I would load them on the bus around 7 am, drop Greer off in carpool at Mother's Day Out, and enjoy a few hours to myself. A few hours to shop, organize, shower in silence. A few moments to ready myself for all the business of the week and to get my house in order.

Yeah, that didn't happen.

When I got home from work, Chris told me that Reeves had had a tumble at a birthday party earlier in the day. He was coming down an inflatable slide (head first), crashed into the end, and hyper-extended his neck. Reeves was in terrible pain (and stiffness) by the time I got home and I knew that he needed to have it checked out. After a quick call to my parents, we decided that it was best to call the after hours service....Reeves just wasn't himself.

Much to my surprise, they recommended that we call 911 and have the paramedics come out to evaluate him before heading downtown to the hospital. They said that neck injuries are nothing to mess with (go figure) and that we should make sure he didn't need a c-collar before we drove him in. May I just say.....Reeves thought it was pretty cool that the firetruck and policeman made a visit to his house! (Making lemonade, friends!) Thank you to my sweet neighbors, the Holdens and Elrods, for checking in on us. Chris was happy to snuff out any neighborhood drama by explaining that it was NOT any sort of domestic incident...

...thanks for clearing that up, Chris. I know they were worried! :) JK!

So, the good guys at the Hoover Fire Department arrived in record time, gave us the Ok and and sent us on to Children's Hospital.

Where we waited.

and waited.

and waited some more.....

...poor Reeves was passed out by the time we were finally seen (and we were in the higher priority category.....I felt sorry for all those other children waiting to be seen!). The verdict? Bad strain/hyper-extension. Heavy doses of anti-inflammatory meds, limited physical activity for a while, rest, and TLC.

I can handle that.

So, we got home around 2:30. Crashed. Slept in. Ate a good breakfast. Drank coffee and hot chocolate. Watched Elf. Followed up with our pediatrician. Skipped school. Stayed in our pajamas all day. Were all-around lazy.

So maybe the weekend was crazy, and last night was not very fun....

.....but today is what memories are made of! I love any excuse to stay at home in my pajamas with my babies!

Jesus and Football

Join us at a2 Church tomorrow as we celebrate the great gift

of Jesus Christ.....

....and let me hear a Big Rooooollllllll, TIDE, ROLL!

We southerners have our priorities straight!

Clever Stocking Stuffers

Santa has promised me that he'll be a bit more creative this year when it comes to stuffing my kid's stockings. In the past, he's gone with the cheap, last minute leftovers mixed in with the standard chocolate and peppermint sticks. You know what I'm talking about, right? The kind of stuff that you find at the check-out counter at Target or Walmart? Yeah....I told Santa that he better plan ahead this year! I have begged him to find some things that they would really enjoy (and maybe a couple of things that they could really use). Here is what he's come up with so far.....

Bookmarks that have a built-in timer.

Candy wrapper headbands like these....Santa actually

found some made from Smarties and M&M wrappers (Lucy's Favs!)

Cool little robotic bugs for Reeves....these things

are addictive to play with.

Now, my question for you....

....got any more clever/useful/fun ideas? I, ahem, Santa would LOVE to know!

What has a hold on you?

It's that time of year when (along with all the gifts under the tree) we tend to get all wrapped up. Consumed by what we need want (steam washers and new clothes and the perfect tree and flatscreen tvs and the most beautiful decorations for our house and the cute holiday outfits for our kids and the list goes on and on and on). It's so easy to do....no matter how hard we try to contain ourselves.

And I am guilty. I confess that I am the world's worst when it comes to this attitude. I want and want and want some more. The sales and the shopping frenzy and the hustle and bustle get a hold of me and I am overcome (don't worry Chris, if you are reading this. I have NOT done anything crazy). I have friends whose kids have lists a mile long....who live for the biggest and best on Christmas morning. I was that way.....I remember revising my list over and over till I got it just right. It's something I have struggled with my whole life.

Why then, have I been blessed with such unassuming children? Sure, they have an idea of what they would like to find under the tree come Christmas morning, but I know they will love whatever they get. They've never asked me, "Is that all?" and they genuinely appreciate the gifts they receive. Sure, they have hopes and desires, but I know that if we could only get them a couple of very small gifts, they would still say they had a magical Christmas. They've always been pretty grounded like that.....I sure hope it lasts.

You see, my children are way more thrilled by the antics of their silly little elf than they are by how many gifts they will get from Santa. They could care less if our Christmas card is picture perfect or if the decorations will impress the neighbors.....they just want to drive around and look for lit up manger scenes and inflatable Grinches. My kids want to buy gifts for a little child who won't get anything for Christmas and hang ornaments on our tree.

They want to sip hot chocolate with extra marshmallows and a peppermint stick stirrer and sleep in for a couple of weeks. They want to tear off the paper rings and count down the days till their stockings are filled with chocolate. They want me to sit and tell them the story of the night Jesus was born (again and again and again) by acting it out with their little toy nativity scene. They want to bake cookies and visit family and watch Christmas movies in their pajamas. Hoping for Christmas Carolers to knock on our door.

Isn't all that the good stuff? The things that we remember loving about the holiday season? I remember singing Christmas songs in church and cookie swaps and live Nativity scenes and the taste of the Christmas turkey. I remember waking up before sunrise and leaving cookies for Santa. I remember the smell of the holiday candles and praying for snow to fall on Christmas eve. Curling up in one cozy bed with my sisters and our animals....

I couldn't tell you what I unwrapped on my 9th Christmas or who all gave me presents when I was 5. Most of it was quickly forgotten or broken or taken for granted. Only a few things were treasures that stood the test of time.....and most of those weren't really expensive gifts. They were things that meant something.

So, you wanna know what I want most this year? I want the spirit of Christmas that has a hold on my children.....that really stirs my soul. What about you?

Fresh Holiday Design...

....isn't it beautiful?!

Thanks so much Danielle!!!

Check out all her fun and cute Holiday Designs! I have the candy cane screen saver and have entered a few of her fun giveaways....I love her style (and her sweet spirit....she is amazing y'all!).

The best part?

I am motivated now....new posts coming soon!