It's been since 'Nam

Yeah, I've been slacking on the posting. I apologize. I have way less free time when I'm home with the kids than I do when I'm working! That's an anomaly, isn't it?

Christmas was very nice. I have no memory of most of it. Wait, I do remember a few highlights...
First, mom's cell phone present was fun but the unveiling didn't quite go off like I'd hoped! I put her phone in the box (first mistake) and set the ringtone to a song. So when we were done opening presents and there was one bag left on the coffee table, I called her phone. Well, you really couldn't hear it because it was in the box. So I had to shush everybody (not easy with two kids screaming over a Tonka truck) and then I basically had to show her what it was. But she liked it! And now she's learning how to be a texting fool like the rest of us.

Neil got me a really cool cruiser bike for Christmas. I took the boys out for a ride yesterday and it was really fun. Now I'll be able to ride up to Bread Company for breakfast. My legs were protesting the entire trip, but that's ok.

Cooper's favorite presents were the two tents he got. He got one camping tent from us, complete with backpack, flashlight and waterbottle. It was $20. And he got a super cool huge shark shaped tent from Brett & Jericia. That one was awesome! So we could have saved hundreds of dollars and not gotten anything else, because Griffin really only wants to play with whatever Cooper is playing with, and Cooper only wanted to play with his tents. He napped in them two days in a row. Two hour naps.

Let's see.....Griffin got sick on Christmas Day. He started with diarrhea and then threw up in the night. Then we took them both to the ENT on Friday, who proclaimed "yeah, he's sick" (they get paid a lot of money to make these diagnoses, you know) and scheduled his ear tubes surgery for Monday, the 5th.

So the diarrhea. The diarrhea. It lasted until today. Seriously, every. single. diaper. was diarrhea for five straight days. I was pumping the kid full of pedialyte whenever I could. You see, Griffin doesn't so much have veins as not have veins (we think he's a spider). There is no way anyone would be able to find a vein in that child to rehydrate him if he were to be admitted for dehydration.

I finally gave up yesterday and took him to the pediatrician so she could make sure he wasn't dehydrated. He wasn't. In fact, there is something about actually giving up and calling the doctor that make all illnesses suddenly go away. The last poopy diaper he had was at the pediatrician's office. The downside is I had to take both kids and expose them to the petri dish of germs that is a pediatrician's office. I could have taken them to the Public Health Department on TB screening Day. It would've been about the same.

So, that brings us to today. I'm desperately trying to organize and put away Christmas. It doesn't help that I went to Target with the boys this morning, and all Christmas was 75% off! I bought the LED village, house, and river scene, an LED teddy bear snowman, and an LED train. Next year, Christmas is going to be awesome! I think the most expensive one was originally $59.99 and I paid $14.99 for it! I bought a really darling little pottery nativity scene that'll be nice on a bathroom vanity. I bought two potted trees with clear lights that would be great on a front step. So now all we need is the house!

I can't even bring myself to talk about the housing situation right now. Maybe later today. Maybe on New Year's Day, although I hate to bring that negativity into the New Year.

This has been quite a year, I'll tell you that! On New Year's Day, 2008, Neil woke up to Binnie having pooped on the bed. He put his hand in it. It's been downhill since then. 2009 is going to better. Or else.