Christmas!!!!... It's Over Already?????

Well, as you can see from the lack of posts this past month, it has been a busy one!!! It sure is a lot of work for a holiday that takes a good month or two to prepare for, only to have it over in a matter of about 10 minutes! But I am glad it is done! Maybe now we can get on with the "regular" chaos of our lives!!!
We celebrated Christmas over at Jenny's house on Sunday evening with her family. Mom came up to Sioux City for the weekend and since Derek was unable to get off work and come home for Christmas, we just did our gift exchange on Sunday night. It took a good while to open gifts since we took turns opening. There were six children and 5 adults. We had a nice time! Brianna got the Bratz movie doll she wanted and Zach got a PS2 game that he had been wanting (a basketball one, of course!). I got a shirt and some perfume from my mom and a cookbook, socks, and some B&B lotion from Matt. CJ got some Adidas track pants and slippers from Jenny and a shirt and some gift certificates from Mom.
We stayed home for Christmas Eve and Christmas Day... it was really nice not to have to load up gifts and travel anywhere. I had to work all day on Christmas Eve, so I fixed a nice dinner of roast beef, mashed potatoes, gravy and corn when I got home. I thought of making a pie, but we had all those cookies, bread, and chocolate... that was good enough for dessert. After supper and dishes, we opened our presents from each other. Brianna got a Barbie Girl MP3 player and clothes, Zach got another PS2 game and a Colombia coat, CJ got a billfold, an LSU chain, an LSU frosted pilsner glass, some more track pants and a Terrell Owens Dallas football jersey. I got some B&B body wash, a wallet, a purse, a really soft, thick blanket, and the camcorder I have been wanting! We watched a movie after presents and went to bed to wait for Santa Claus.
On Christmas morning, Brianna got up about 8:00 am and we woke everyone up to do the Santa presents! I put an egg casserole in the oven for breakfast so it could cook while the kids opened presents. Brianna got her Nintendo DS that she has been wanting for a year and a half now!! She was really happy!! She also got some DS games, clothes, Barbie stuff, the High School Musical 2 DVD and the Hanna Montana CD. Zach got his Guitar Hero 3, accessories for his cell phone, and IPod Docking station, and a gift certificate to the mall. They both were quite happy!! Since it was just the four of us, I didn't really feel like making a big meal and spending the day in the kitchen cooking and cleaning. We had gotten some pizza, cheesy bread, and cinnamon sticks from Papa Murphy's the day before, and this is what we fixed for dinner/supper! It was really nice... the kids played with all their new presents and CJ and I got to sit around and relax all day.
Mom is having a Christmas get-together at her house this weekend for her side of the family. Weather permitting, we will be going home for that! It will be nice to see our relatives and visit. At least we won't have to drag any presents anywhere! MERRY CHRISTMAS EVERYONE AND I HOPE YOU HAVE A WONDERFUL NEW YEAR!!!!

Christmas is Coming!!

Brianna and I put up the Christmas tree the other night! I wasn't sure I wanted to do it, since I was tired from working, but she convinced me! We thought we would post a picture since Brianna decorated it so beautifully! She is pretty proud of it!!!

Turkey Dinner Is Done... Let's Go Shopping??!

We had a wonderful Thanksgiving... spent it at my mother's house with my sister and her family and one of my uncles! As always, we gorged ourselves with too much food and drink, which made for a very long and tiring trip home that evening!!! And of course it was late when we got home... CJ's Dallas Cowboys were playing, so we couldn't leave until that game was over! We got home about 9:30 pm. By the time we put everything away and got every one to bed, it was almost 11:00. Not good when we were going to get up a few hours later to go shopping...

Normally, I try to avoid "Black Friday" shopping!! There doesn't seem to be much sense in freezing your buns off at 4:00 am while waiting in a LONG line for the stores to open. Then you have to push your way through people to get to what you came there for... However, upon looking at the ads on Thanksgiving Day, we saw several items that were really good deals so we thought we would try this "shopping frenzy". Wal-Mart was one place I needed to go and their doorbusters started at 5am. Since we have three Super Wal-Marts that are open 24 hours here, I decided to go to the one clear on the opposite end of town, away from the mall and shopping centers! It was great! I got there about 4:40 am and parked right up at the front of the store!! I was able to go inside since they are open 24 hours... they have their "doorbuster" items on pallets in the aisles and wrapped in black plastic so you can't see what it is. There is a Wal-Mart employee standing at each pallet to make sure no one tries to rip these open before 5:00 am. Because everyone was out at the Wal-Mart by the mall, closer to the shopping areas, there was not very many people here at the one I was at! I was able to get everything I came for (which I can not list here since they are Christmas gifts... someone might read this!), I didn't even have to wait in line to check out, and I was out of the store by 5:05am!!! It was GREAT!!! I can't say the same about Target, though! They are located over with the shopping centers and the mall!! BUSY, BUSY, BUSY!!!! After I finished at Wal-Mart, I took my purchases home. CJ was going to go to Target, but since I got done quickly and made it back home before he left, we went together. Our first mistake was the time... we didn't get there soon enough! We arrived about 10 minutes before the store opened.... BAD!!!! This is a Super Target with two separate entrances on the front. There were lines formed from both doors and going back around the corners to the back of the building... on both sides!!! We saw Shannon Ewart, whose son played baseball with Zach this summer. She was about a third of the way back in line, and she said she had gotten there at 5:00am and had been waiting in line for an hour outside already!! Well, CJ and I didn't think we were going to get what we wanted at this store, but we were there, right?! Might as well get in line and see what happens!!! Well, we didn' t have to wait outside in the cold very long... once 6:00am came and the doors opened, the lines moved very quickly. But we aure didn't get what we wanted! By the time we got to the shelf where it was, they were sold out of them!!! So we pushed through the maze of people in there and headed out! It actually took us longer to get out of the parking lot than anything!! CJ went home and went back to bed, while I took off to work. I was still pleased with my Wal-Mart purchases, though! Note for next year: Plan ahead and leave the house earlier!!! :)

Johnny Appleseed Play

Brianna's 2nd grade class put on a play this afternoon, called "Johnny Appleseed". She played a little Native American indian girl named "Young Wolf"!!! The class really did a great job of "acting" it out -- they were quite entertaining!! I had to work today, but I was able to get off early to go see this!

Tonight, Brianna is leaving for another Girl Scout overnite. CJ and I are going to Zach's scrimmage game at the middle school... the 8th grade boys vs. the 8th grade girls!!! I guess it is just a little practice before the basketball tournament starts tomorrow. Zach sprained his ankle last weekend while he was shooting baskets at the neighbor's house (he stepped back to take a shot and his foot slipped off the concrete edge of the court, which is raised above the ground a few inches) so hopefully he will be able to play okay this weekend. I will update the blog with more later...

A Busy Weekend

This past weekend was just another busy weekend for us! We didn't have any sporting events to attend, but we started doing things around the house to get ready for winter... I keep hoping that by putting it off, maybe winter won't ever come! (Yeah, right...) We took advantage of the nice weather to get up on the roof and clean out the gutters, etc. CJ also got up all the leaves in the yard by mowing them with the lawn mower! The lawn mower just sucked them up in the bag along with the cut grass, so this was even easier than old-fashioned raking!!! In the afternoon, we went down to the basement just to clean out a small corner by the furnace where CJ had been accumulation "various items" (aka JUNK). Well, that small task turned into cleaning the whole utility/laundry room area! We took up old rugs and bought new ones, bought a shelf for towels to put by the shower, etc. The shower also had a small drip coming from the cold faucet, so we also fixed that while we were down there! It was supper time by the time we got done, and we didn't feel like cooking, so Brianna suggested going to Red Robin for supper! Judging from the empty plates at the table when we were done eating, everyone worked up quite an appetite cleaning!! Too bad, the "cleanliness" never just stays that way... Oh well, one room done, only 5 more to go!!!

Halloween -- Come and Gone

First I want to apologize for not getting this posted on Halloween! And also for not getting the pictures out yet either!!! Brianna and I carved a pumpkin on the Thursday night before Halloween, but it was pretty "withered" by the time Halloween got here! So, I didn't get any pictures of that either.

Zach and his friends decided not to go trick or treating this year... instead, his friend Andy invited a bunch of kids over to his house to "hang out", meaning sit around and talk and listen to music and play video games! He had a good time out and was home before 9:30 since it was a school night.

Brianna was a cute witch for Halloween this year. She had to take her costume to school because they were having a Halloween parade in the afternoon. Parents were invited to come up and stand out on the school playground and all the kids came "parading" out in their costumes to show them off! Even the teachers were decked out! After the parade, they had Halloween parties in their individual classrooms until school got out. Parents could stay for this also, but I had to leave to pick up Zach from school. After an early supper, Brianna put her witch costume back on, and we proceeded to walk the neighborhood streets. We only did four streets, but she filled her bag twice, so she got plenty of candy!! We got home just before 8:00, so she got her pajamas on and had two pieces of her candy. It wasn't long before she was asleep on the couch... she didn't even make it to her bed!!

Once Brianna went to bed, I went out to meet my friend, Marla, from high school. We don't get to see each other very often, so we decided to get together for a drink or two. I met her downtown, and when i proceeded to get out of my vehicle, I decided to lock my doors with the button on the door instead of using the "device" on the keychain! As soon as I shut my door, I realized the keys were in one of the cupholders up front instead of my coat pocket!!! So, I had to call CJ... when Zach got home from his party, CJ came down with the other set of keys and unlocked the door and got my keys and brought them in to me! And all I had to do was buy him a beer!! Cheapest locksmith I have ever heard of!!! He stayed and visited with Marla and I while he drank his beer, then he left. Marla and I stayed until almost midnight!!! I couldn't believe what time it was... time goes so fast when you're having fun, visiting with friends, etc. I would have stayed longer if I didn't have to get up at 5:00 am to get ready for work in the morning!!! Next time, we will have to meet earlier, or go out when I don't have to work the next day!!!

Girl Scout Overnight!!

Brianna has an overnight trip for Girl Scouts tonight!! It is being held at the Long Lines Family Center downtown (formerly known as the Auditorium). Many troops in Sioux City will be participating. They will be playing games, doing crafts, watching movies, having pizza and snacks, but the highlight of the whole event is they get to climb the rock wall!!! Brianna's troop has gone and done this before, but Brianna missed it the first time because we were out of town for a funeral. So she is really excited to get to do it this time!!! We drop her off at 7:00 tonight and then go back tomorrow morning to pick her up at... 5:45AM!!! (UGH!!!) The girls probably won't get much sleep, so I am hoping that she goes back to sleep when we get home!!

Happy Birthday, CJ!!

I know I should have gotten this posted last Friday, but things were a little busy at home and work that day!! CJ had the day off since it was his birthday, (Tyson gives them a paid day off for a birthday, but yet they have to work other certain holidays of the year... make no sense!!) so he got the kids to and from school. When I got home, I got the barrage of questions... What's for supper??? Can I go to the game tonight?? Can I spend the night at Laura's house tonight??? Needless to say, we had roast beef and potatoes for supper, gave CJ his presents ( he got a couple sweatshirts and a flashlight from the kids, a chain saw from me!) then Zach, CJ, and I went to the East High School football game while Brianna went to spend the night at her friend's house! This seems to be a weekly "weekend ritual"... one of the kids has been gone overnite every weekend since school started! The game was a cold one, but it was good to see our team win the final home game of the season!! On Saturday, Brianna came home and Zach watched her while CJ and I went shopping all afternoon. We even bought a couple Christmas presents! Since we have a tradition of a birthday supper in our house, CJ chose to go to Bob Roe's Point After, which is a sports bar/pizza joint -- very popular place here in Sioux City and always busy!!! We were surprised because we thought he was going to pick Sneaky's Chicken since that is his favorite place! They have the best broasted chicken!!! Of course, he still got broasted chicken for his birthday!!! After supper, we all went home and watched a movie, but I don't think anyone made it all the way through... we were all "pooped"... it had been a busy day!!

Zach Is Fourteen Today!

Wow!!! Can you believe it??!! Zach turned 14 years old today... look out!! Since we are all gone from the house in the morning when he gets up for school, I called him to wish him a "Happy Birthday" before he went to school. When everyone was home tonight, we gave him his gifts. He opened his cards and then his gift, which was a movie (Delta Farce with Larry the CableGuy) and a driving manual to study for his permit!! What he really wanted for his birthday was an iPod nano, but it wasn't in the box!!! He never said a word, though!!! Of course I bought it for him, but I thought we would have a little fun with it!! Brianna and I set the iPod on the counter behind him to see how long it would take for him to notice it... we should have known we would have to practically smack him in the face with it!!! For his birthday cake, he wanted Scotcheroos, so that is what I made. When it came time to cut the bars, I asked him to get a knife (which is in a drawer located directly below the counter that the iPod was sitting on!) He didn't even see it!! Brianna is doing all kinds of things trying to get him to look over there, such as pointing in that direction, etc. but he still doesn't catch on. She even asked him for a paper towel, which was directly above the iPod... still didn't see it!!! When I finally told him to do the dishes before we went out to eat for his birthday, he finally took a look at the counter and noticed the iPod!!! His face lit up like Christmas!!! He even had to go and download the songs off the iPod Shuffle he already has and put them on his new iPod! Brianna loved it because he told her she could have the iPod Shuffle!!! We went out to eat for supper, and the tradition in our house is that the birthday person gets to pick anywhere they want to go for supper. Zach picked Buffalo Wild Wings, which is like a sports bar for those of you who might not be familiar with this place. We all ate and got stuffed and came back home to get ready for bed. Zach really wanted to get the iPod Shuffle ready for his sister, so he went down on the computer after we got home and deleted all his songs off of it and put songs on that Brianna wanted on there! Of course, that would be every High School Musical song, anything sung by Hannah Montana, etc. She is so excited to have her own iPod now!!! Now everyone is in bed and I am sitting here still trying to get over the shock that my first born turned 14 years old today... WOW... it sure doesn't seem like he has been in this world that long! Once the shock wears off, he will probably be asking me to take him to the drivers license station to get his permit... Oh, God!! Can we just keep them young??!!! I don't know how parents do it... dealing with this stuff!! I guess I am about to find out... anyway, "HAPPY 14TH BIRTHDAY, ZACH!!!" LOVE YOU!!!

Symptom-Free!!!

Brianna is symptom free today!! YEAH!! For those of you who may not know, Brianna has been fighting a problem since the beginning of August. She was sick with an upper respiratory infection, but during one of the tests, the doctors noticed blood in her urine. She was put on an antibiotic for the respiratory infection, so they hoped this would take care of any infection "down there" also. She never had any symptoms for a urinary tract infection, so when she finished the antibiotic and seemed fine, CJ and I thought she was okay. Within two weeks, she started showing symptoms of a urinary tract infection, so I took her back to the doctor. There was blood in her urine, but her doctor didn't know if it was still there from before, or if this was a new infection. She prescribed a stronger antibiotic and wanted us to come back after Brianna had been off the antiobiotics for a week or so. She wanted to run another urine sample to check for blood. If the blood was still there, she was going to have Brianna go for a kidney sonogram to see if there was a problem there. Well, we went today and her urine sample is blood-free!!!! She is in the clear!!! Must have just been one stubborn infection... hopefully it stays away! Now if we can just do something about the colds...

To Blog Or Not To Blog...

That is the real question!!! After "talking" about setting up a blog for over a year now, I have finally sat down and created one! I just love being able to keep up with the "goings on" of every one this way! I read Heather and Shannon's quite a bit! Life is hectic most days when you work and then have two children in every extra-curricular activity possible! CJ and I spend most of our evenings running to practices, games, Brownie meetings, etc. Our son, Zach, is in the 8th grade and soon will be turning 14 years old (YIKES!!!) in just a few weeks. He keeps us busy with football, basketball, and baseball. Our daughter, Brianna, is 7 years old and in the 2nd grade. She is involved in Brownies, soccer, T-Ball, and she has also decided to give basketball a try this year! Now that I have created this blog, I will try to keep everyone up to date with our lives. Please be sure to check back occasionally and read our postings and let us know what you think! Happy Blogging!!!