Half Way

The Mask You Live In - Trailer

This goes right along with a previous post.  I don't like how boys are treated and expected to act in society as we have made it.  It is wrong.  And something needs to change.

Wrapping Paper

I know a lot of people do it but, using all the same wrapping paper on all the presents makes my head want to explode!  For some reason it just doesn't compute.  And then you can't tell where one present ends and the other begins.  It  is just another one of "those things" that make me the Crazy Colista that I am.  Okay, end rant. 

More of Today

Jeremy still isn't home from his Hannibal job today.  He left at 9:30 am and it is now 8:43pm.  I'm losing my mind.  I cannot settle at night until he is home.  This is the busiest he has ever been.  I think it might be time to hire more people and expand or something.  I will not tolerate my husband being gone.  He hates it just as much, if not more, than I do.  We aren't cut out for a "not home at night" lifestyle.  No thank you.  I don't care how much money he made today, it is still not worth it to us. (But, I bet he did make good money today!) 
The doctor went well today, I guess.  My blood pressure was a tad high, nothing to worry about, just higher than normal.  He wants me to take it easy.  HA!  Yeah, right.  During the holidays with 6 kids and one on the way....I have NOTHING to do at all, right????  Anyway, he wants to see me in three weeks, just like last time.  And he explained the ultrasound in Peoria a little more.  It's for high risk pregnancies.  Nothing to worry about though. 

OMG!

So, Jeremy just called me and asked if I had left yet for my doctor's appointment.  I said no, it's not until 1:30.  He said he thought it was at 10:15am.  Looked in my planner, yep, it was at 10:15 which is in 7 minutes!!  Crap a Dog!  I got it mixed up with one of Eden's appointments!  Ugh!  I feel so stupid.  See, I said my brain didn't work, LOL!  I called and they said they actually had an opening at 1:30 anyway, ahahaha!  So, I will be going then anyway! Which is great because I am waiting on clothes to dry so I have something to wear!

The Hustle and Bustle

I feel absolutely FRIED.  I have never been so busy in my life and no one seems to get it.  They just keep throwing more crap on my plate.  Whatever.  Something is gonna have to give.  This month alone I have been to 8 doctor appointments for myself or kids.  Next month I have 8 scheduled and more to come.  And most of them are in Quincy, Peoria, Springfield, or St. Louis. We have had Christmas programs, baking days, Scout Court of Honors and Christmas parties.  Jeremy is SLAMMED at work.  Shopping to do, presents to wrap, house to  clean, snow to shovel (I nearly killed myself), kids running amuck, elf on a shelf, advent calendar, skating parties, laundry (a crap ton), it's just crazy!!!  I had to bake cookies for the PRe-K Christmas program and two dishes for the scout party and cook for the family at home....for some reason they want to eat!?
Besides the fact that we drive all over the place just to give our kids the dang education that we want.  And the three schools (Carthage Middle, Carthage Primary, and Nauvoo Elementary) have been doing their own Christmas fun that parents have to take part in every.single.day.  Nauvoo only did it for five days but, Carthage has done it for 12.  So, every day the kids have to flippin' WEAR a Christmas item like a stocking, Christmas card, bells, snowflake,etc.  This wouldn't be as bad but how the heck to you have your child WEAR Rudolph the Red nosed reindeer!?!??!  And all three schools require the kids to wear something different every day instead of coordinating......and by that I mean that the two Carthage schools have different stuff each day.  Like the Primary school kids will have to wear a candy cane while the middle school will have to wear wrapping paper!!!!! GAH!!! It is mind numbing and annoying!  And at the Carthage schools they draw 12 names each day and if you are wearing your Christmas item, then you get a prize.  Tristan and Liam have each won twice....so I guess my hassle is worth it for them, lol!
And now, we are to get another big winter storm just in time for Kelley Christmas so that we may not be able to make it there.  My kids will mutiny if that is the case!  Snow.....ice.....bleh!
Today is another doc appointment for me at Dr. Jones.  I am so beat that I just don't want to go.  I haven't been able to sleep recently. My brain won't shut off even when I am dead tired and I can't sleep right anymore because of my belly. 
I might be the busiest, most under-appreciated person on the planet.  No one cares all that I have going on ever.  Or all that is on my mind or anything.  I just want to forget it all and focus on Christmas and my family.  That is what is important.

Advent-Popcorn Tin

Every year we get a popcorn tin.  I am annoyed with myself that I didn't get a picture of it because it was a really cute old style Mickey Mouse one.  We tossed it when we were done though because I am sick of clutter.  The kids of come to expect one each year, which is fine with me!

Advent- Ice Cream Sundaes

 They were UBER excited when they found this is the advent calendar!  We had all kinds of toppings and they went all out!  Chocolate syrup, hot fudge, caramel, sprinkles, whipped cream, cherries (those were the hit of the night!), and more!  

Advent- Christmas movie

No other pics but, we watched The Santa Clause and had popcorn and root beer floats!  My kids get totally stoked about root beer floats so this one was really liked!!

Advent- Letters To Santa

 This night we wrote letters to Santa to ensure that he knew what each kid would really like for Christmas this year.  Not everyone would pose for a picture.  Oh well.  We had fun writing the letters and decorating with stickers! 

Advent-Frozen

Every day after school the kids rush to see what is in the advent calendar for the day.  One day we decided to surprise them by taking them all (minus Eden) to the Keokuk movie theater to see the new Disney movie, Frozen!! They were so excited!  Eden went to Grandma's house.  We all piled in the car and away we went!  Everyone got a drink, popcorn, and candy.  We let the big boys sit by themselves a few rows behind us and Jeremy, myself, Asher and Cullen all sat together.  It was such a good movie!! Best Disney movie we have seen in awhile!  All the kids loved it and Jeremy said we should go see it again by ourselves, haha!! It is super funny too!  

After the movie we drove through the City of Lights and listened to Christmas music.  

It was a really nice family evening together just like the holidays should be.  

Perfect. 

 

Cullen's Cuteness

 Cullen ADORES Pre-K in Nauvoo with Mrs. McConnell.  She had Tristan years ago and then her and Mrs. Fink (the real Mrs. Fink not the new one that used to be Mrs. White, lol) had Cedric too.  But, since then none of my kids have lucked out in having her.  I knew Cullen needed to have Mrs. McConnell.  She is the BEST!! Cullen made this Indian headdress and a Pilgrim hat around Thanksgiving.  That same day they also had a Thanksgiving dinner at school in the cafeteria.  He wore this hat for two or three days straight and even wore it back to school the next day!

Mrs. McConnell sent me this note on facebook:

"Too funny Colista. I have a funny story to tell you about Cullen, it has nothing to do with the creepy elf, but I just remembered and wanted to share. We made Pilgrim hats & Native American Indian headdresses for our Thanksgiving feast at school. We wore them to the cafeteria and someone said, "I like your hats" Cullen replied, "We are idiots" (He meant Indians LOL) This cracked us all up!!!"

He is so funny!!  And he always talks about Mrs. McConnell and Mrs. Reinhardt (the teacher's aide) and how much he loves them!  It makes me so happy that he loves his teachers!  

Mrs. McConnell and I message back and forth on facebook and this is the message I had this morning:

"LOL! He's such a shy guy until he gets to know you, so not sure he will sing at program, but he does when we practice. I bribe them with M&M's and Skittles. It's amazing what they will do for 1 M&M LOL! We weren't successful in getting him to a try a bagel for breakfast or chili for lunch today though. Cullen is the sweetest boy, Michele and I just love him. Randomly, someone will come up behind me and give me a hug, when I turn around it's usually Cullen! The other day he gave me a hug and said I love you! It melted my heart He is the sweetest boy and so happy that I got the chance to be another one of your children's first teachers!"

We are trying to decide just how far we want to go with the remodel.  I change my mind everyday.  Some days I want to go all out and other days I just want to remodel the existing garage and sell immediately so that we can get to Nauvoo.  The problem we face when we sell is finding a house that is big enough for us or nice enough.  I will not get into another fixer-upper.  Ever.  Ugh, another problem is, I LOVE the Nauvoo elementary but, really dislike the Nauvoo Jr. High.  And I don't know what to think about shipping the kids to Warsaw. Anyway, this was supposed to be about Cullen's cuteness....he is so stinking cute and sweet!! Don't know what we would do without him!! 

Love This

My Girls and My Boys

I am over the moon to have TWO little girls!! I always say that a girl needs a sister and a boy needs a brother.  At least one of each.  It's complete for us.  I can't believe that it is seriously complete!  I am grateful on so many levels.  What a blessing my children are!  I am so excited to get baby girl #2 here now!  I have started shopping and got my baby list made.  It is still rather short but, sweet!  Zulily is going to be getting a crap ton of my business, haha!  We have some names popping out and are narrowing the field down.  With as fast as this first half of pregnancy has gone, I'm sure the second half will fly by especially with remodeling and other projects going on.
Anyway, as excited as I am about having another girl, I do LOVE, LOVE, LOVE my boys.  Boys are extra special too.  I have issues with people who seem to think that if a boy is not doing certain things then they are not "boy" enough and get called names or stereotypes.  I know parents who ram sports and anything "boy" related down their kids throats whether or not the kid is even half way interested.  I let me boys chose their own course and follow THEIR own interests.  I want them to grow up creative, compassionate, caring, righteous, confident, and following their dreams....These are some GREAT memes I found that pertain to the ridiculous stereotypes that society and even parents give their children.

Nothing irritates me more than when I hear people say to little boys:

"You scream like a little girl."

"sissy"

Or calling them girl versions of their names.  It makes my blood boil.  I also hate the excuse that married men can watch porn or go to strip clubs "because they are men".  Whatever.  I want my boys to grow up respecting women. Not treating them like objects or sexualizing them every chance they get.  

And my girls don't have to be "girly" either.  Eden loves trains and blocks just as much as she does her Minnie Mouse toys. 

I love that my boys are sweet to Eden.  They love her so much!! Cullen came up to me while I was typing this and randomly said to me:"Mom, I am ready for my new baby sister to be here."  Awwww, isn't he cute??? I told him that she had to grow some more but, that she is excited to meet him too! 

Driving

Today I was supposed to drive to Peoria by myself and get the ultrasound and Toys R Us knocked out then head home.  But, Eden had me up from from 2am on.  Also the neighbor's house caught on fire.  The yucky ones.  I think they ended up with smoke damage but, can't be for sure.  The fire trucks with the lights and all were out there for a while making my bedroom light up like a disco ball.  Anyway, Jeremy was not comfortable letting me drive alone.  He thought for sure I would fall asleep.  So, he decided to go with. Which ended up being great because boy is that drive ever boring.  I definitely wanted to doze!  And I am glad he ended up being there since baby girl was so active.  It was seriously the cutest thing ever! We were done with the ultrasound by a little after 11.  We hit Toys R Us for about an hour.  Then we grabbed Five Guys for lunch.  OMG, SO GOOD.  Totally not good for me but, I decided since I am already getting bigger, then why the heck not ;)
When we got back we had to make a quick trip to Nauvoo to get Asher, Cullen and Eden.  Trisha had baked sugar cookies with Eden and Chase!  I think Eden had a lot of fun!  I really appreciate the help, Trisha!!  

IT's A Girl....For Sure!!!

 I had to run to Peoria to return some things to Toys R Us and it was a good excuse to have another ultrasound to verify the gender of Baby #7.  Trisha offered to keep Eden for me which was awesome because last time she was not very cooperative. This ended up being one of the best ultrasounds ever.  I had been saying to Jeremy earlier that I feel this baby move ALL the time and have been for a few weeks now.  A lot of women don't even feel their babies move until about 20 weeks or so.  But, I have read that the more kids you have had the earlier you can feel it.  Anyway, this baby is Active with a capital A.  When we got there we literally walked right in.  They are awesome there.  She remembered us and was so, so nice and gave us some 3D time as well!!  They usually wait until the babies are a little further along before doing the 3D because they are still forming at this point and a little alien-esque.  But, whatever.  Pretty much as soon as she started the ultrasound she said yep, still a girl!  Woot!  Then it was so hard to get a still image of her because she would not stop moving!! haha!  She waved , sucked her thumb, hid her eyes, rolled, kicked, everything.  I don't remember any other baby moving SO much during and ultrasound.  As a result, some of the 3D images are blurry or look like she has two heads because she would not hold still for us!  The lady there printed out a crap ton of pictures for us and gave us a disc too, loaded with all these images.  Enjoy!