A couple of photos

Finally, I have the time to post a few recent photos...


This is our house, all lit up for Christmas....

Here is the family on Christmas Eve.

Here is Gracie, the princess, with her Christmas gift. She'll carry this bone around for days before she decides to chew on it.

Well, they haven't hog-tied me and locked me in the closet...

Yep. It's time for a sleepover for the boys. Each boy has a friend over, and since DH is at work, I am severely outnumbered! But, as long as I throw some food down the stairs once in a while, they will leave me alone. Actually, they are being very good. I am wondering, though, where I stand on the good mommy/bad mommy scale:

Good mommy points:
*let them have a sleep-over
*let them play their new PS2
*fed them a healthy, yummy dinner

Bad Mommy points:
*let them play too much PS2
*served them salad with their dinner (but 3 out of 4 boys ate it)


So, guess it depends on the perspective. Anyway, I am enjoying the relative peace and quiet upstairs. I am slowly dismantling the Christmas decorations. Thre ornaments are off the tree, most of the kitchen stuff is boxed up, and I still have the village houses to pack up. I'll have to save those for when DH or the boys can help me.

Pray for me....that the boys will sleep tonight....

Christmas Eve

It's been a quiet day around here. Just cleaning the house to get ready for my parents to visit tomorrow. The boys have been good all day. Wonder if they are trying to get in one last good day before Santa comes? According to NORAD, Santa is well on his way, so the little buggers better go to sleep soon!

We opened our gifts this afternoon, since we are on our own for Christmas Eve this year. No family staying with us means a bit more laid back approach. The boys were very excited about their PS2. I keep thinking, I should go down to the basement and try it out since they are in bed. I am sitting here in my new jammies (which have dogs on them), enjoying the scent of my new perfume (Euphoria by Calvin Klein), realizing that I am a little sad. Christmas is just not "all that" for me anymore. I enjoy surprising the boys and DH with gifts, but I am just not getting into the typical Christmas mood. I sure hope this isn't something more than a passing thing.

Christmas Eve service was nice. Our church is pretty casual, so seeing everyone all dressed up is fun. I interpreted part of the service, which means I get a bird's eye view of everyone. Usually, I get a chance to see who dozes off at church. Tonight's view was a little different. I had an up front view of some poor girl vomitting in the front row during the sermon. She was late teens or early twenties. Before church began, she and an older lady had hurried out of the room. Shortly after, they returned. I thought no more of it until her hand flew to her mouth about half way through the sermon. That's when she began to vomit. She and a family member ran out of the room, while the surrounding people tried not to look. Poor thing, how humiliating! Especially on Christmas Eve when the church is packed (over 500 people) and in the front row, too. I sure hope she is feeling better.

I'd better get to bed soon so that Santa can come. Good night to all!

Is this your first time?

This is the question I was asked yesterday by my new massage therapist as he led me into a dimmed room. My first time at what?!?!? There was a "table" in the middle, covered in sheets. Soft, soothing music was playing. There were plants, beautiful wallpaper, in fact, it looked a lot like a luxury hotel room. I couldn't help thinking, "I feel like I have entered the place of business of a high-priced gigalo!" I stifled my giggles and climbed on the table.

Seriously, he asked about my medical history, any areas of pain or discomfort, and my goals for the session. It was so incredibly relaxing that I felt the need to take a nap when he was done. It was definately the best hour I have spent in a long time. He was an absolute professional, and I hope to be able to go back again.

Ahhhhhhhhhh........

Do you hear that? That is the sound of one tired teacher relaxing on her first night of Christmas break! Yeah, I know, the school calls it Winter Break, but, please, if it weren't for Christmas, there would be no break. So, I am celebrating Christ's birth, with a little "me" time.

I spent part of the evening scrapping at a friend's house. She's one of those friends who you can "let it all hang out" with. I got a lot done, and now am inspired to scrap even more!

I completed my vestibular/hearing assessment today. The doctor does not have a definitive answer as to why I have a hearing loss and dizziness. The dizziness is resulting from one side of the vestibular system not reacting to vestibular input to the same degree as the other side, which gives the brain conflicting information. Why is this happening? No idea. The doctor feels that the hearing loss looks like a noise induced loss. I can't imagine why that would happen, but there's nothing that can be done to reverse it. Now it is just a matter of monitoring the loss to make sure it does not get worse.

I get a month off from wearing my student hat. Just got my grades today....yep, got an A!

I am so excited to get to wear my mommy hat for a while. Jake was home sick Tuesday and Wednesday this week with diarrhea. He seems to be fine now. Bad mommy confession time: While I would never wish for my child to be sick, I was secretly happy I got to stay home from work on Tuesday.

Tomorrow I am finally going to get a professional massage. DH and the boys got me a gift certificate for one for Mother's Day, but I have never taken the time to use it. I can't wait!

Really, I do need to post some pics soon. Maybe I will sometime this week :)

Candlestick Lane Opening

What a day! Actually, it has been a busy week. I took my final on Tuesday, then it was time to prepare for our Candlestick Lane Open House. Candlestick Lane is a long running tradition here in Urbana. The street we live on changes names for about two weeks in December. It becomes Candlestick Lane, where almost every house on the block puts out incredible light displays. This is our second Christmas here, and I was elected chairperson. I had the pleasure of reading the Mayor's proclamation and leading the processional down the street. I also was interviewed for the local news.

Our Open House was a big hit! We had a great turnout and lots of food and fun was had by all. The favorite activity, by far, was karoake time. Seems to be a theme at our parties (remember pirate karoake?) I have to say a huge thanks to my mother in law, who was an incredible help getting things ready. She's awesome!

When I get a chance, I will try to post some pics.

Surgery Observation

I had the most amazing experience yesterday. As a requirement for my master's practicum, I had to observe a cochlear implant surgery. So, yesterday was the day. I stood right by the surgeon as he implanted the device into an 8 month old little girl. I have been teaching deaf and hard of hearing children for years, but now I have finally seen the inner workings of the ear. The surgeon allowed me to look through the microscope several times. Half way through, the little girl's oxygen saturation dropped, so there were about ten minutes when things got a little tense. After re-intubating, things went back to normal. Prayers were definately answered.

Dr. Novak at Carle, along with the audiologists, were wonderfully gracious hosts and provided me with an incredible experience!

Just an update....

My student hat:
*only two more classes till the end of the semester!
*my practicum is finally taking off. Thursday I get to observe a cochlear implant surgery.
*I received my grade on my research paper.....100%

My mommy hat:
*Christmas preperations are coming along, with invitations for our open house sent and shopping coming along nicely.
*the boys are finished with basketball clinics, and the regular season starts next week. They will have the same coach Jake has had the past two years ! Yeah! He's a great guy and the boys are familiar with him.

My teacher hat:
*my kiddos are doing well. Two of them finally have received their FM systems for school, which means that they will be able to use what hearing they have left.

My "me" hat
*I am fighting some sort cold...yuck :(
*I have my vestibular and hearing assessments later this month. I'll update when I get more information.
*My scrap space is finally ready in the basement. Hopefully by Christmas I'll be able to actually use it.