11.30

OK, so I guess you pros call this "guest-blogging"? Jaime said she's sick of writing, so I had no choice. In hopes of lowering your expectations, I'll have you know that creative writing is not a requirement for engineers, but just jotting down a few things about our day shouldn't be too hard, right?

Well, like usual Sunday mornings after our crazy Saturdays, it took about 4 snoozes before I was actually awake enough to realize we needed to get out of bed. 3 snoozes later, I was able to convince Jaime that we HAD to rise and shine. We figure if we get to Church nursery a little late, that would be OK because Dave and Mel will be there on time to open up. As we are walking up the steps, we greet Dave and Mel on their way in as well :). Everything still got set-up on-time, and we were ready for the kiddos. As a friend is dropping off their little one, they asked for their Purdue B-ball parking pass back, which was in the van...no problem, I'll have it for you after church. Mid-way through 1st service, I venture to the van to grab the pass. After searching for 20 minutes, I decide hmmmm, must be at home. I drive home only to spend 1.5 hours turning the house upside down, searching high-and-low. I give up and arrive back at nursery to help close up after the last service. Jaime had seen them in the hall, so mentioned it was at home and we'd have it for them. They'll be here Tuesday to get it. Tried calling them 3 times today but wasn't able to connect. Hopefully I'll get ahold of them tomorrow morning before they drop by my blog.

Had lunch after church. We were thinking ahead enough yesterday to pick up some cheese from Meijer for lunch. Grilled cheeses just aren't as tasty without it. After playing Little People, puzzles, more Little People, and blocks, all 4 went down for naps. Woke up around 4:30. More Little People, more puzzles, more Little People (I think). I decided it was time to go play in the snow. Bundled up the 3 little ones, and went out and built Woo-Woo (true Cubs fans might get that one!):

Don't ask about the tarantula right-eye, not sure what happened there. And Cameron didn't grow a mustache, that's Woo-Woo's left arm. Anyways, they were very proud of him. We woke mom up to snap some pics, but it was too cold out for her so I had to use my photography skills. Nolan was getting chilly and his cheeks were rosy, so he came in. Cameron, Gavin and I threw snow balls at each other for about 45 minutes until Gavin got whacked in the face. That always seems to end a good snow-ball fight. Really I was just getting cold and I knew that was the only way to come in without being called a wimp. j/k

Jaime prepared us some hot chocolate. After Cameron's first sip his taste-buds were gone so Gavin got 2 cups; he was pretty excited. He thought it was a good trade for taking a snow ball to the left cheek.

Dinner was some delicious Dream Dinners (some tasty spicy chicken stuff). Then we had some popcorn while watching The Amazing Race. Kids finally went to bed about 9:45. Hopefully Gavin will wake up for school tomorrow.

All-in-all, a great day!!

11.29

Darn...I didn't get more than a few days and I already messed this up!

Nolan was feverish and restless most of Wednesday night. He woke about 10ish and we went ahead and gave his tylenol. He went to bed around 12 and woke up fever free. I felt a little queasy and tired too, so we sat around most of Thursday with the intention of just 'wait and see' Nolan never fevered again and I felt better in the afternoon. We made the call around 5 to eat here and head up after dinner. Jason threw together our feast. "Feast" as in ham, potatoes and green beans. But it was good none-the-less and was fun to sit around as a family and talk about what Thanksgiving really is meant for and what we have to be thankful for. Then we were off....

We didn't make it to my sis's house until about 9:30. The kids feel asleep in the car so when we got there, they were ready to go in and play! Jason and I had this bright idea (ok, I had this bright idea) to head to an outlet mall 1 hour from my sis's house to do shop. The sale started at 12 midnight (yes, that is 12am on Black Friday)! My intention was to go there, do a little Christmas shopping and be back in bed by 3:30 at the latest. This particular outlet has a Stride Right and Cameron needed new shoes. They were also having a great sale that would make that this trip worth it if the shoes where the only think we bought! Plus, it was a free night with Jason. My kids would be sleeping and me and Jason would have some alone time.

I really didn't expect the outlet center to be so busy. We arrived about 12:30ish and there wasn't a parking spot to be found! It was insane. I should have known better. We didn't dress for the weather either. It was cold and we expected to be able to drive from one store to the other. We should have seen all the cars and ran the other way...I know Jason probably wanted too! Some stores even had lines to get in because they had reached their maximum capacity. The shoe store ended up being pretty slow and we were able to find some shoes and get in and out within 20 minutes. The other stores that we ventured into had such long lines that we ended up leaving without even looking at much merchandise. We ended up at the Gymboree outlet to find that their deals were too good to pass up. Outlet store prices, plus an additional 25% off the entire store= Tons to cute clothes for super cheap. Jason was smart and started to stand in line before I was done shopping. the line was only about 40 people deep, but it took 2 hours to get through!!! Needless to say, if I knew then what I know now.....

Poor husbands were being left while their wife went to different stores and would come back amazed that they moved so little. It was bad.... It wasn't the people it was their computers that were so slow!!! Needless to say. we didn't get back to bed till 6am. It made for a long day with the kids. But hey, Cameron has some new (cheap!) kicks and me and Jason will know better next time.

After that whole excursion on Friday, we took it easy. Nolan was still fussy and did not sleep well Friday night. Sleep as in NO sleeping for us either! We were able to catch up on some sleep today between naps and sleeping in. But, we are VERY thankful to be home.

On a fun side....we received these from a local Freecycler! It's all baseball cards. If you don't know what freecycle is, check it out here. This is a once in a life time sort of gift! It was her husband's and he didn't want it anymore. There are some great cards in there too! He spent most of the night looking through them. Now, where to store them...his collection has now almost doubled!

11.26

Nolan has a fever, won't eat, and it very restless.

Maybe we won't be traveling tomorrow afterall....

11.25

We painted 8,000 pieces of trim today....or at least it felt that way. All primed and ready for their final coat of white. All 1900 sf of trim is white. It just took 2 years and 6 months!

11.24

Date night! Me and Jason went out tonight sans kids. We did a little Christmas 'looking' for the kids. Our problem is that we really hate to buy them something just to get them something. Take Nolan...what in the world does he need/want?!?

It was so nice to run in and out of stores without the extra 'weight' and to have dinner without interruptions. The kids had a blast too, they didn't want to come home!

We still haven't put the spare room back together, but picked up the rest of the needed supplies tonight. Maybe after MOPS tomorrow morning, we will make a dent in the room. Jason did brave the cold for more than an hour this afternoon and put away all the porch furniture and kid toys from the yard. We were dragging our feet...mainly me...hoping for a spike in temps so that we could sit out on the porch one last time! My flower beds are so dreary and dead now. I am starting to question not planting any bushes!

We're headed up north on Thursday and looking forward to spending some time with family...and maybe some friends we haven't hung out with lately!

11.23

It's Sunday...and Sunday's are always busy...and relaxing in the Brown household. We're at church by 9am to set up for Nursery. That means that everyone, including myself, needs to be up and around by 7:45ish to be on time....ugh. Poor Jason has to drag be out of bed! I hate mornings. After church it's lunch and off to naps for the boys. Today, that included Jason. So I had two whole hours of peace to do whatever I wanted. I should have been doing laundry, but instead, I was lusting after this....

We went to the Faith's annual stewardship banquet tonight. It our church's wrap up of stewardship month. The theme was gratefulness for God's provision. Our church has been blessed tremendously this year with the community center and Vison of Hope but we have also experience many blessing in our own family. Thank you all for helping us along the way! It reminds me so much of where I started and where I am today. God has been so good!! The speaker tonight talked about how important it is for us to show appreciation to not only God, but also to others. I see how I fail so miserably at that. I know how special a hand written note means to me, and yet, I often fail to recognize someone else generosity.

Will you try to thank someone this week that has helped you in some small way?? I will.

And I leave you with these,

My toothless wonder:Mini-me

11.22

Three days running...whoohoo! Try not to get too excited :)

We were pretty lazy most of the morning. Jason helped set up Living Nativity at church this morning. If you haven't ever been with us, you should come this year! It's a reenactment of the bible, mainly focusing on Christ and His reason for coming to earth. I think we have about 15 or so sets around the church campus and you can either walk thru or drive. There are live actors at each set to help tell the story and make it 'real' It takes hundreds of volunteers to pull it off. Definitely worth it, though! The kids always love the live animals. Plus, it's free! This year it's Dec. 12-14 and Dec. 19-21. Plan a trip, will ya?

I finished this collage and they picked it up today. It is a Christmas gift for her mother-in-law who loves Purdue. I also wrapped up a business card design that I am working on.

Gavin attended a b-day party for a friend. Don't you remember how cool and exciting going to a friend's b-day party was? He was so excited ALL morning!

We were out doing errands this afternoon and the kids were being pistols. So, we stopped at our favorite local park...a really quiet one even in the summer...and made the kids get out and spend some energy. It was like 20 out there, but they were so excited! Too bad we stayed in the car and watched :) It lasted less than 10 minutes, but really made a difference. They were better when we went to CVS and stocked up on batteries. They had a great deal going on, but the lady was clearly annoyed. Now I have enough batteries to last us through Christmas ;)

Jason was so kind to go to the grocery store tonight for me. I secretly think he wanted to get away from the madness! I appreciate it anyways. Nolan has been really fussy lately. He gets so mad and is starting to throw little tantrums. I think he might be cutting his molars, but usually not even Tylenol helps. Poor guy. Pray that it's just a teething issue and we're not overlooking something else.

11.21

I took pics this morning for a girlfriend. Her kids are the cutest. Next, I am working on her first birthday announcements.

I stole one of Cam while I was at it :)

Our bible study meets tonight and we decided to have dinner together. So after I pick up Gavin from school, it's off to Meijer for some fixins'. The kids don't care...they get free cheese as their reward. It a small form of bribery.

Jason if off for the next 9 days...hopefully we can get our spare room put back together so I can reclaim my hallway and laundry area.

We have offically taken over the nursery at Faith and with the new 8 am service starting up on the 1st of January, we have some serious recruitment issues. I have a long list of calls that need to be made in the coming days...

Now, I am off to TRY to catch up on laundry before the weekend.

A post a day?

I know that I don't post as often as I should....so for the rest of the year....gasp!...I am going to try to post one thing a day. This might get really boring, but at least you'll know what I have been up to when you call me for the 100th time and I still don't call ya back :)

11.20

I had the pleasure of hosting a play group for some mommy friends this morning. 8 mommies and 24 kiddos! I think it's so much fun to have everyone over for lunch and playtime.

Nolan and Cameron took super long naps (no suprise) so I got lots of emails caught up from the last few weeks of scarce internet connectivity. It's all good now!

I have picked up some 'freelance' work designing a full page brochure and business cards for a friend. I have also begun christmas card designing.

Gavin lost his 3rd tooth in about a week this afternoon. His response, "tic tack toe, three in a row" The tooth fairy is about to go broke if he keeps this up.

See ya tomorrow!