not so lucky

The sick bug has hit us all. All of the cleaning and sanitizing just to do it all over again today. Chad came home Monday after work saying that he didn't feel so well. About an hour later, he was running to the bathroom. I asked mom to keep Gabe one more night just to keep him away, but she called at about 10pm saying that he had just gotten sick. I felt so bad that I wasn't there to comfort him. She brought him home a little before 6am on Tuesday, and he got sick as soon as he walked into the door. He finally laid down and rested all day. Then it hit me. Wow, I was out all day yesterday, and I am still not feeling 100% today. Chad just left to go back to work, and I am hoping the boys keep bouncing back the way they have.



I am bummed that I think we are going to have to miss out on any New Year's Eve festivities with family tonight, but I haven't even been 24 hours symptom free yet. It looks like we will be spending it at home with the BRAT diet.

A sick bug

A nasty tummy bug has hit Graedon, and we have been busy washing towels and sanitizing as well as praying that this thing doesn't get to all of us. So far we have been lucky, but now it is just a wait and see game. Luckily, he was only bad for about 8 hours, and he is now his snack-eating, happy little guy self. Gabe is at my mom's, and he enjoyed a "Bolt" movie date with her yesterday. Chad is back to work, and Graedon and I are catching some more "Little Einstein" shows today. I will also be trying to finish up some non-sick laundry and getting the house back in order. Sorry I haven't been able to get my Christmas posts up yet, but it is on my to-do list for this week. Have a great day!

mErRy ChRiStMaS eVe

MERRY CHRISTMAS EVE, and yes I was yelling that! I know I have been absent from the blogging world for a few days, but I have been caught up in the hustle and bustle of the season; shopping, get-togethers with friends and family, wrapping, and just spending some time with the family. We started last Sunday by having Christmas with my dad, and he got us as a family and Wii! The boys love it, especially Gabe. We just played a few rounds of tennis. I can't wait to get Mario Kart.

We stayed the night last night at my in-laws, and we all opened presents together this morning. There are 4 grandsons-Bryce (age 8), Gabe (age 5), Isaiah (age 4), and Graedon (age 2). It was a very energized group of little boys, but it was so much fun. I have to make a mental note to get a picture of all of them with their Mamaw and Papaw tomorrow while we are there for Christmas dinner.

We are packing up now to head to my mom's to have Christmas with my mom, Aunt Darla, and my brother and his family. It is so great to be close with family and to get this time to spend it with them. Merry Christmas everyone, and I promise to be back with a great picture post soon!

SnOw DaY!!

Today is our first snow day, or maybe it should really be called an ice day today. No school for Gabe, and I think we are just going to settle in and stay in our jammies and drink hot cocoa. I will probably do some wifely and motherly things like laundry and tidying up around the house as well. Bah humbug to that!

I have so much left to do to prepare for the Christmas holiday. I am still not done with my shopping, and it is getting harder to find the time to get it done. And then there is all the wrapping that is goin to consume my nights in the next few days. Oh well, that is part of the season and I love it!

Here's wishing everyone that has a snow day today, "Happy Snow Day!"

Happy Birthday Mom!

Today is my mom's 47th birthday! I have been blessed with a great relationship with my mom. We are very close, and she is probably the only person besides my hubby that I talk to or want to talk to on a daily basis. I can count on her for anything, and I know she will always be there for me. It is so hard sometimes to put into words what she means to me. I just know that I cannot imagine a day without her in it. I love you mom!

Say Cheese

This is the best face ever, chocolate dirtied and all. This is Graedon's "cheese" face, and I think he uses it in every photo I have of him. Well, maybe not every photo, but pretty darn close. He is all personality, and I love it. His daddy would say that he gets his "cheese" face honestly from his mommy. ;-)

Side Note: We made another Starbuck's hot chocolate run this evening after dinner. It just makes me happy to see them drinking some warm goodness from a red cup with a lid. They look like little men.

I LURVE my scrappy friends

Just a quick note to say "I love you girls!" I had a great night with a group of my really good friends who came over tonight for our Christmas Scrap. They are an awesome bunch of gals, and I am so very thankful to have them in my life. Thank you for your friendship!! Love you all!

OuR FiRsT GiNgErBrEaD HoUsE

Sorry the pics are out of order, but here is our unveiling of our first gingerbread house ever! They had so much fun making the house and of course eating all of the candy. Below is Gabe with the finished product. I would have to say he spent the most time decorating it, Graedon spent the most time eating the candy, and Taylor was done after the first 10 minutes.

They were so excited to start decorating the house. It was the perfect project for them to work on to keep them entertained while mom and I were busy making candies.

Christmas Candy

I will first start off by saying that I know I missed posting yesterday. I have a good excuse. It was Chad's work Christmas party, and we had my mom watch the boys, and Chad and I enjoyed a quiet evening at home together. It was nice. Now, I will let you know that I will post twice today to make up for it! :-)

I am getting ready to head to my mom's to participate in a Christmas tradition that we have had for awhile now. We are making Christmas candies and cookies today. I am even going to start a new tradition as well. I am going to have the boys make a gingerbread house. I am really excited, and I cannot wait to take my first bite of the glorious peanut butter fudge that we make. In the words of Rachael Ray, "Yum-O!" I will post pics of our freshly made goodies later on tonight, and hopefully that will include a picture of a completed gingerbread house!

Current Faves

I thought I would post a bit about what my boys' current obsessions are at the moment. It is so easy to forget these type of things, so it is nice to have them written down, even if it is in a cyber world.

gRaEdon~currently 2 years and 3 months old

*gummi snacks (Fruit Roll-ups, Gushers, etc)

*pizza and marianara sauce

*He loves Little Einsteins. He will sing the theme song at the top of his lungs.

*He is a fan of "night night stars."

*He likes going to Grandma's house.

*He has picked up saying, "Hi, how are you?"

*He is very polite.

*He is a lover of Mickey Mouse and most things Disney.

GaBe~currently 5 years and almost 4 months old

*crafts-cutting paper, using tape, making things with paper, if it involves paper, he loves it

*playing games especially BINGO

*He has an obsession with wanting to make things out of boxes.

*His daddy is his BFF. I don't think he can get enough daddy time.

*He has started to play video games a little more, and he really likes it if daddy is playing with him.

*He really enjoys school especially BINGO day and sharing day.

*He is an Indianapolis Colts fan. He will even watch the games.

Sorry, I fell asleep

Last night I had every intention of posting, but I fell asleep on the couch next to my laptop, and I woke up at 4:30am to finally climb into bed. Needless to say I didn't make my daily or nightly post.

We go to my mom's every Sunday for "Sunday Dinner." We started doing that when my grandma was living with my mom because she was sick with pancreatic cancer. That was over 5 years ago, and the tradition has stuck, even after she passed away. I love that we have continued this, and it is great to catch up with everyone every week. I love that we are a close family.

My mom kept the boys Saturday night, and when we arrived at my mom's, I was greeted immediately by a big hug from Graedon. It was such a warm welcome. I just don't seem to get those too often because I am the one always with them. It is nice for when they miss me. Daddy usually gets that attention, and it was great to be the one that was the center of Graedon's world for that moment. Thanks littl guy!

I need ideas

The woe of Christmas shopping. I am at a lost as to what to get everyone on my Christmas list. I love always getting a unique or fun gift that seems to really fit the person that I am buying for, and it is just kind of hard this year. I don't want to seem that I am complaining, because that is not the case. I feel very lucky the my family and myself included are doing well during these strained economic times that we don't want for anything. It is just hard to be creative this year or to just find that present that you say, "So and so will really like that." It is even like that for my oldest son Gabe. Part of the problem is that he doesn't have that one special present that he wants Santa to bring him. He likes all kinds of stuff, but he just doesn't have that one present that he talks about all the time that he wants.

I really love to go Christmas shopping, but it is hard to do that when you don't have a clear direction as to what you want to get for anyone. Does anyone have any fun and unique ideas that you would like to share! I would love to hear them!

One a side note.~ The boys had a fun day with daddy today. They rode in his truck out to their Mamaw and Papaw's house. They love spending time with their daddy. Gabe says daddy is pretty cool, but it made me feel pretty good that they wanted to call me not even 5 minutes after they left. I guess I am missed when I am not with them. :-)

Nothing at all

Today we did nothing at all. We didn't even leave the house.
It was just a quiet day at home. I finished getting the decorations out and about the house. I even did a little outside decorating on our front porch. It was just a nice day to lounge around and just catch up on enjoying being home. Sometimes we need these type of days to recoup and reenergize, especially after a busy week.

One highlight of the day included day 5 of our advent calendar. Today was a "do something" day. It actually had more to do with tonight. It was a sleepover night. A sleepover night in our house consists airing up the air mattress and all of us sleeping on it downstairs. Gabe actually calls it camping out, but the boys love it, and it is nice for us all to sleep in the same room. It's a little hard to get the boys to sleep at a decent hour. Actually it is pretty impossible, but it is the thought that we are making memories for the boys that counts. We've left the Christmas tree lights on and we are going to sleep by the light of the tree tonight. I am really liking this advent calendar thing. It makes me follow through with fun activities for the boys and me too!

A pick me up

Today was one of those days that made me want to get away and escape. No, it wasn't the kids. They were actually pretty awesome today. It was my dog. We have a 130+lb boxer who has separation anxiety issues. So, when I leave to take Gabe to preschool, I lock him in the basement for 3 hours until I return home. I know he chews on the door and he barks while we are gone, but he has found a new past time. He can open the door now. So, we come home today from preschool and guess who greets us at the front door? None other than Tax the escape artist. Now, it wouldn't have been that big of a deal. Who really cares that he eats the kids' leftovers from breakfast or lunch or that he gets on the furniture. I would actually say that I do, except today he reached a new level. I continue to open the front door, the kids run in, I am struggling to get my keys out of the door, and then I see it. I see it on the floor......I see our fully decorated and lighted Christmas tree completely on its side with ornaments strewn all over! Our dog knocked over our Christmas tree because he was trying to look out the window that it was in front of!

Oh, it wasn't a good thing to come home to. Poor Gabe was so upset. Here he is, a 5 year old coming home to find his Christmas tree that he helped decorate all over the floor. I was upset, but after I threw the dog outside, I inspected it. Luckily, my thoughts of having to take $200 to buy a new tree turned into relief that we just needed a new base. So, I packed the boys back up and headed out to Menards. Nope, no tree base. They told me to try Big Lots. Nope, no tree base. I talk to the husband. He goes to Lowes....you guessed it, no tree base. Finally, he tries Wal-Mart. I think I heard the angels sing when he called and said that they had tree bases! Only $7.50 fixed our tree, well at least allowed it to stand up again. It looks out of whack with crunched up branches and ornaments out of place, but at least it is standing.

After all of the excitement, I was trying to relax when Gabe asked me what was wrong. I just told him that I was having a bad day. Next thing I knew, he brought me the above picture to cheer me up. It instantly made my day so much better! How can you be in a bad mood when you have the love of a 5 year old who draws you pictures of Santa and 2 reindeer flying over our house? I am so very lucky!

Starbucks anyone?

I have an advent calendar going of little boxes with numbers on them, and everyday the boys get to open the box to either find a candy treat or some sort of paper with a fun surprise for them to do or recieve. Today was to venture out and get a hot chocolate together and sit inside and enjoy it. Then later we were all to watch Rudolph the Red-Nose Reindeer on tv tonight. I ended up taking them to Starbucks because I wanted to enjoy a decaf (I'm trying to be good) peppermint mocha, and they had kid's size hot chocolates. They loved it, and I really enjoyed just hanging out with them. They were very well behaved.

I like having traditions. I like having things I am trying to instill in my boys that they will remember when they are older. I want them to have warm fuzzies one day when they think remember their childhood times. Tonight we read another story from an advent book that I started reading to them last year. Gabe even remembered a story last year about the monster and the cookies. Sure enough, I looked in the table of contents, and there it was. A story about a monster and cookies. I like that he is remembering, and I like that we are starting something-we are starting traditions. Gosh, I love being a mom.

December One

The holiday season is officially upon us. I guess it has been upon us for a little bit, but there is just something about the first day of December marking the start of the Christmas hustle and bustle. It was even more special today when I awoke to it snowing outside. It really did feel like Christmas outside and inside. We've been busy decorating our Christmas tree and getting our decorations out around the house. I still have 2 totes to go through and the outside to finish up, but it truly is beginning to look a lot like Christmas here at the Killion house.

I hope everyone truly had a wonderful Thanksgiving weekend. Ours was not what we had expected. Chad and were actually sick, but I was able to make it to my family's dinner an hour late. Chad stayed at home on the couch. I felt really bad for him. He had been talking about Thanksgiving and what he was going to eat for weeks, and then he ends up sick and misses the meal! I have bought a turkey breast, and I will make a small Thanksgiving dinner here for us this week. I know it won't make up for what he missed, but it is at least something.

We are now on the countdown until the man in the big red coat arrives, and I am so looking forward to new traditions and memories to start with the boys. We have holiday parties, birthdays, Christmas programs, great food and awesome family time to look forward to. I can't wait to make hot chocolate, watch Christmas shows with the boys and drive around to look at Christmas lights together. This is such a magical time of the year, and I hope it just slows down a bit for me to savor every moment!