Churchy tales

I've touched on this before, but I'm at it again...
When Parker prays, we never know what we are going to get.

At the very least, big smiles are a given.

Or if you are me and apparently lack self control, you are trying your hardest to not fall over laughing and are quickly trying to wipe away your laugh tears upon the "Amen" before P-Man notices.
I know.
Such a bad example and completely irreverent but I really do try. Really.
& for the record, he doesn't know I am laughing at him.
It takes all my might, but I am discreet.

Often times he and Emmie fight over who is saying it, which results in a simultaneous outloud prayer offered by the two.
I am torn when this practice arises, because when trying to reinforce the correct way, the result is often much screaming by Emmie. & let's be honest.
That's not setting the best tone for the prayer.
Okay and I might be a bit lazy. But even moreso hungry. I just want to eat dinner without a ten minute delay due to technical difficulties & get these kids bathed & off to bed so that I can have five minutes to myself for the first time in the day. 
I like honesty.
So sometimes simultaneous prayers are just what we do at our house.
 Double the prayer = double the blessings, right?
That's what I try and tell myself anyways. :)

The thing is, Parker's prayers are so heartfelt and genuine.

 He's not trying to be funny or come up with peculiar things to pray about. They are straight from his heart and that intricate brain of his &

that's what makes them so good.

Here is an example of a small portion of his prayer the other night - not even one of his very funny ones but one that I quickly wrote down when he was finished...

Heavenly Father,

We're grateful for good moms and dads.

Grateful for good brothers and sisters.

Grateful for good cats and dogs.

Grateful we could eat our dinner fast so we could get treats.

Grateful that we don't play with matches.

Grateful that we don't die from bugs.

Grateful we didn't get kidnapped.

Grateful that we can play the Wii, but not on Sundays.

In the name of Jesus Christ,

Amen.

Grateful that we don't die from bugs or play with matches??

Where he comes up with some of this stuff, don't ask me.  

But I'm grateful that he is grateful. Especially about the matches.

What a guy.

& while I'm at it, here are few more classic church tales as of late to add to the history book of Parker H.....

P-Man has a hard time sitting still.

Okay so that might be a complete understatement.

He has a really, really, really hard time sitting still.

Like last Sunday night at a family party at my Dad's, Kylie and Steven challenged him to see how long he could sit still. He sat there, unmoving for several minutes.

Several minutes.

That is by far his record.

I was amazed.

And proud.

But I digress.

At church last Sunday, he was his usual wiggle-bug self pacing in front of me as we tried to listen to the speakers. I asked him to please sit and be reverent and he responded,

 "But Mo-om. I just have so much ENERGY in the day."

This answer struck me as funny.

Because I'm a witness to that truth firsthand.

How could I argue with that?

PB please....

Parker refuses to eat bread.

Except for peanut butter and honey sandwiches.

This doesn't work out so well for when the sacrament tray of bread comes around.

He's never taken it.

He's 4 1/2.

Today as it came around he asked, "Mom, do you think that we can let that Deacon know to let the other Deacons know that I only like my bread with peanut butter so that the next time they'll send mine with peanut butter?"

Hmmm. Never heard of that but maybe for kicks I will put in the request.

I wonder if it would it be inappropriate if I whipped out a jar of Jiffy during Sacrament meeting....?

When I try to explain to him that we take the sacrament to help us remember Jesus, he replies in a bored, "duh"-like tone,

"But Mo-om, I don't NEED to take the sacrament to remember Jesus.

I remember him everyday! I'm a smart kid, remember?"

& once again, how do I argue with that? 

Michelle on Ellen

Don't get all excited.

 I wasn't on Ellen.

Supermodel, CRAZY, Bachelor MICHELLE was on Ellen.

Just in case you didn't catch her...Here ya go!

I have to admit - I was a little sad to see her go. NOT because I wanted her to end up with B-Rad, but because I wanted to see her on the hometown date in good old Utah.

Awww well we can't have everything. 

 Brad made a good choice.

I knew he'd come through...

Chantal though - she's turning into the next nut. She needs to go!

& that beach date...! Seriously! Those are the moments that give our show a bad rap. It was plain embarrassing.

As for predictions...

 I think it's pretty obvious he's all about Emily... just not sure she's all about him...

what do you think?

Hometown date week is my fave....YAY for next Monday night!



From our cutest Valentines

HaPpY VaLenTiNeS DaY!

XOXO

Rewind

Being sick for weeks leading into Month #1 of 2011

+ (PLUS)

my 2 most-looked-forward-to shows of the year premiering in January

(American Idol + The Bachelor)

+

Finally giving in and reading Breaking Dawn

=ed very little time for blogging last month.

(except for a few posts on an obsessed-over show...publicly outting my patheticness...)

So sad, I know.

So... surprise surprise....I continue to play the catch up game.

Here is our oh-so-exciting January in a nutshell:

It's official.

Little P-Man started his CTR class in Primary.

This status awards one with the honored kelly-green CTR ring. He was very proud of his new bling.

Little Sis was happy for him and stood by in support.

& no she didn't sport her Jessie boots to church.

Although it wouldn't have been the worst fashion choice she's made...not by a longshot.

We combined b-day celebrations for my Dad and Chris. This method of birthday parties is becoming a necessity for both my side of the fam and Chris'. Otherwise we would spend every Sunday at a party. Love parties and love family but that would be no good. One (or 2) a month is plenty for us.
I made Chris Ali's lemon cake from Lemon Poppy Inc. It was quite delish if I do say so myself and I will definitely be making it again!

My Mom stopped by on her way to a nursing board meeting in Salt Lake. She gave Emmie her anticipated manicure and pedicures and also brought this amazing quilt she made for me.

When my brother passed away we found a rainbow of bright colored silk shirts filling his closet. He was the Vice President of a well known computer franchise here in UT (also known for their crazy & dare I say obnoxious commercials) and one of his signature marks was to sport these bold shirts with his designer suits. My Mom took all the shirts and has made us all quilts out of them. She made red, black and white ones for my fanatical UTE fan Dad and little brother with U of U insignia on the back.

Yes your eyes don't fool - mine is hot pink (& black & silver).

That's right. He was a confident man and proudly wore HOT PINK.

 They turned out beautiful and I cherish the sentimentality this blanket holds.

It will always be special to me.

Thanks Mom!

Parker learned about the human body.

Have a related question, and he will tell you it's function.

I love that he retains information so well.

 THIS little girl continues to drink what does a body good in excessive amounts...

DANIMALS!

She is a bit obsessed with them & since she doesn't drink milk, I let her drink away. I hoard them when they go on sale because that is the only way I'll buy them.

P-Man was able to officially start back up with full-blown playgroup this month. Doctors didn't want him going back until January after his (Sept) accident so it's been great to be with his buddies again. We feel so lucky to have so many wonderful kids his age right on our street. ( 2 were absent this day)

I went to another fabulous Favorite Things Party 2010. I walked away with lots of awesome goodies, ideas, tips, & recipes....all the while indulging on some fabulous food! Some of my faves included vintage dessert glasses with lots of recipes to go in them, homemade granola, homemade laundry detergent + recipe, CUTE homemade magnets, great eye makeup remover, fun websites to explore.... the list goes on. What a fun party! I was excited to be invited again this year.

And we ended the month much like we started it - SICK! We spent the last weekend of the month accompanied by much throw up and pretty remarkable fevers.

Does it ever end?!

I have never missed so much church in my life.

On a whimsical note, I finally found pillows for our charcoal gray couch in the basement. It's only taken me a year to find something I love and thankfully Chris gave me a Target gift card for Christmas that enabled me to purchase my yellow flower pillows.

Aren't they cute?

I don't even like yellow.

But I like these.

They make me happy.

Mormon mommy blogs

I ran into THIS article a few weeks back about a big city business woman who can't stop reading Mormon mommy blogs.

She admits,

 "I'm a young, feminist atheist who can't bake a cupcake. Why am I addicted to the shiny, happy lives of these women?".

I found the article to be pretty fascinating and thought ya'll might like it too! I definitely have my opinions on it and if I weren't so  tired and brain dead at the moment I would share them with you.:)
Darn, I know.
 HOWEV, if you have a minute, it's totally a worthwhile read (not so sure I can, in good conscience, recommend the comments though) and while I was there I found a few "Mormom Mommy blogs" that are fun as well.
Gotta love multitasking.

If only I had all day to spend reading them! :)

Happy reading & Happy Superbowl!

Anyone know whose playing? ;)

My totally awesome Bachelor analysis - 2 days late

This is for you, Meliss! ...& all you friends who indulge in this my most guilty pleasure.
Even all you closet Bachelor fans - I know you're out there.
Reveal yourselves immediately. :)

Here we go...

 So Monday night's episode wore. me. out.
Am I the only one?
All those womanly emotions -aka -tears and drama - drained me! No WONDER Brad was losing his patience (and mind) by Rose Ceremony night!

A few profound thoughts for my girls (& some good advice for Mr. Womack):

Dear Ashley S - see ya!
Wait. What?!
I thought you were cute and deserved more of a chance but B-Rad set you up against your own best friend and then tossed you to the curb.
Brutal. 
(Um hi - was that the lamest match off for that date? Why not Ali and an Ashley or one of the unknowns like Marissa? ( is that even a girl?))

Whatever. That date was painful. & awkward. And did I mention awkward? I'm sorry, girl.

Dear Dentist Ashley - You are lucky he kept you. You really need to work to redeem yourself after last week's shenanigans. Yep, I am still holding a grudge. For the record, as of right now, I'm still not back on board with you, Dentist Ashley.  

 Dear Chantal... whaa whaa whaa! All my hopes for you just kind of washed down the drain. You're shooting herself in the foot, Sweetheart with all the tears and ridiculous focus on the Emily date! Can't you see that it's draining for Braddy Boy to have to constantly console all these crying woman one after the next? Apparently not.
"Don't cry, Baby".... Gag me.


Michelle Michelle Michelle....I'm really a nice person so I hate to talk bad about you - but when I come across a really... ahem - *exceptional* human being I somehow feel justified letting go of some of the nice factor. But no worries, I will make this as *nice* as possible. :)...

 I'm sorry to be the one to have to break this to you Sweets, but your empty one liners are extremely unimpressive.
Do you think them up on the spot?
Just wondered.
In all niceness you definitely rock a bikini girlfriend, there is no denying that.
 So that is a fabulous thing you have going for yourself.
Especially since according to a man's scorebook that accounts for 85% of most men's draw to a woman... er at least when you're on the Bachelor. (& let's be real - even in real life it's not that far off...) Remember Jake? Yah, Jake. I thought B-Rad was a little bit smarter than him. But after saying,
"I am only keeping girls around that I can genuinely picture as my wife"
and then calling the dreaded word, "Michelle" during the rose ceremony, he really threw us all off!
What a serious trickster! 
I mean, he really caused an uproar.
Apparently he isn't envisioning many conversations in his future marriage? Hmmm. Just goes to show the baffling power of a bikini...

Dear Brad, I still have faith in you.
In case you didn't catch the memo - don't pick Michelle!

Dear Shawntel! SO I didn't love you at first. Let's be honest, the fact that you're a mortician is a little freaky, but you're genuine and real and can be a knockout when you want to be. & Brad is  comfortable around you.
Congratulations! I really have come to like you and
I think you may have moved up to the final four last Monday night. I am not kidding!
Just between us though,  I wouldn't blame Brad if he's creeped out by the thought of having a girlfriend/wife who spends her days cutting open and draining blood from corpses.... 
but on a positive note, if it doesn't work out with you and Brad, I think that you and that Dracula girl, Madison, might have tremendous success with some highly attractive men from the Cullen family.
Remember them?

Dear Jackie and Britt...it's just not fair! He needs to take the time to get to know you! You seem true and genuine and I'm cheering you on to see what could develop there. Hang in there, cute girls!


Dear Emily...It was SO mean - what the producers did to you! Sending you on a Nascar date when that was the career of your dead fiance?  MEAN! But Em, listen. B-Rad really digs you and you have tons of potential with him so don't go sabotaging it, (darlin') or he's going to have to choose another highway. I'm tellin' ya, he's YOURS if ya don't go messin' it all up. (But really, I'm afraid you're gonna mess it all up...)

Good luck next week, ladies! Huge thanks for making January such an entertaining month!
It just wouldn't be the same without the quality television you provide.

Sincerely,
(the good) Michelle

A good prayer

 

Parker's Prayer Tonight:

Heavy Fader,


Thank you for all the good things that we share.
Thank you for all the good things that we have...and... all the good things. & thank you for everything good. And help us to be good....and sometimes not mean. &...
please help us not to be kidnapped.
In the name of Jesus Christ,
AMEN

Well, I'm glad he's seeking after "goodness".
And it's totally normal for kids to pray on a regular basis that they won't be kidnapped, right?

THE BACHELOR

Sooo.... I can't keep my mouth shut.

This girl?:

Completely crazy!

Am I the only one whose noticed?

Because apparently Brad hasn't caught on to the fact that she's not only totally psycho and talks about beating up the other girls while demonstrating just how to to the camera (in a very lack-luster, non-impressive but definitely looney bin way), but even around him she's completely self-centered and lacks - HELLO! - a personality! Brad's completely swindled by the fact that she is gorgeous. (Okay, so we all are until she opens her mouth) Poor, poor Brad! I'm hoping he doesn't waste much more time on her or he will be extremely disappointed to find out that the real Michelle is not at all what he is signing up for.  I shouldn't gossip but go ahead and google Michelle Money & Jazz player Carlos Boozer...she hasn't done great things for some marriages around the UT valley! Research it yourself. :)

Not only does the crazy girl of the show have to be from UTAH but she also shares my name. Fantastic. :) (Note that I'm being totally sarcastic here:)

Oh, and one more thing. I think she actually might be TRYING to be the villian for attention and publicity. Some of her stunts last night seemed like really, really bad acting. She has a movie coming out in Utah next week...she has some ulterior motives that are highly suspect if you ask me. Meanwhile - poor Brad - he might be taking her to the final four! YIKES!

Onto our next crazy...:

ASHLEY H.

I liked her at first but I'm sorry, I don't have much patience for overly needy, caddy, drama queen women. I AM impressed that she's a dentist. But she lost big time points in my book last night for her whiney little stints. I have a hard time believing that she could have been all that appealing to Brad last night either but he keeps reassuring her how much he digs her so she's kind of up in the air for me right now.

Set those two aside... and overall, this is a revolutionary season on the Bachelor in my opinion, because for once - I think that there are a LOT of great, quality girls to choose from! Ex out those top two and the rest I think are really all-around cute girls!

Like this one:

JACKIE

SO sweet and genuine. So pretty and I just want to be her friend.

Not sure that she'll open up enough for Brad but meanwhile I like her.

Next up--

CHANTAL!

I think I kind of love her! She's (once again) beautiful, fun, NOT CADDY and I think that they have great chemistry. Mark my words... she will be in the TOP 3!

EMILY:

Who doesn't love supermodel (not really but REALLY), yet Southern Belle Emily? She is drop dead gorgeous, so sweet, so dainty and nice as can be. What's not to love?! I think Brad is REALLY hoping for a love connection but honestly I just don't think she has enough personality for him. She's darling (okay stunning) but she's missing that fun factor & I think she's holding back a lot. I feel compassion for her with losing her fiance in a plane crash and I want her to find love and hi - looking like that - she WILL (!), but I am not so convinced it will be with Brad. I think she'll be in the FINAL FOUR though for sure.

ASHLEY:

I love her! I think she's the complete package. If I were Brad, I would pick her. Or Chantal. :) Needless to say, I think she'll be in the TOP FOUR   - even the TOP 2. And this 26 yr old has definite future Bachelorette potential if she and Brad don't make it. :)

BRITT:

I really liked her last night! I think she's totally the girl next door and so down to earth. Maybe a little too shy for him though? I think Brad's nature is to be more subdued as well, so in my opinion he needs someone to push his limits a bit which wouldn't make Britt his best match.We'll see.......!

(I also like Alli - I think she's adorable but for some reason her picture didn't want to post)

What can I say?

 I LOVE Monday nights!

 Feel free to comment and tell me that I'm not the only crazy out there who watches!
Really. I'll feel better about life and not so pathetic. :)

Birthday #33

Chris turned the big 33 on 1-11-11!

We've had ongoing celebrations for him for the last 2 weeks and here is the rundown...

The Saturday before his big day, my little brother and my sis in law were nice to babysit the kiddos while we did something we rarely get to do - hit a movie! We saw True Grit & even though I can't deny it was good, I'm still not exactly sure how I felt about it. I walked away a bit disturbed! I mean I guess it was cool if you like watching people get shot in the face, fingers cut off and rotting corpses hanging from trees...let's just say I was covering my face for a good portion of it. It was nice though to be away just the two of us. Without kids. It's funny how much freedom you can feel doing something that was once (pre-kid life) so commonplace but now just a couple of hours of not dragging kids around and only worrying about YOU for a minute becomes quite the refresher!

The next day (Sunday) we headed to the Hansens for a birthday dinner and to celebrate. Instead of a cake we had these cookie thingys (Skookies?) that you eat with vanilla icecream. Chris' Dad had us write down 2 things that Chris exemplifies and Lance read them out loud and Chris had to guess who wrote them. Aunt B helped Parker with his and I thought it was cute that in addition to saying "smart" and "fun", that he put that he was his "best friend". I think that I wrote that he is selfless and hardworking. Chris was offended that I didn't say something shallow like "smokin' hot" or "sexy" so if you want me to be shallow Honey, I can be shallow. You can add those two to my list.:)

The following Tuesday was his actual birthday. I ditched the Young Women activity I would normally have gone to and after looking over the not-so-appealing movie choices, we decided that the best use of our time would be to go to the temple. The Hansens watched our kids and we had a great evening! We also just had a joint b-day party on Friday for my Dad and Chris but I haven't uploaded those pics yet...soon though! I'm hoping to get back on top of blogging by February!

HaPpY BiRtHdAy, Chris!

33. That just sounds old! ...& it kinda freaks me out that I'm not so far behind him... :)

xoxo

Hansen Family Christmas Take II

One week after Christmas, the Hansens were sweet and did a Christmas Part II for us since we missed out on the actual Christmas Day festivities due to illness. They had a full on feast and all - which is no big surprise since I am lucky enough to have Betty Crocker (just change the Betty to Becky) as my Mother-In-Law. She is definitely talented in the kitchen! YUM!

Can you see their excitment? We had been cooped up sick in the house for the ten days prior to this so they were thrilled to finally go do something fun!

Have I mentioned that they LOOOOVE their Aunties and Uncles!?

ATTENTION ATTENTION ATTENTION is definitely a perk for the first grandchildren in a large family! There is no lack thereof when they go to Grandma and Grandpa Hansen's house and they love every minute of it.

Gma and Gpa Hansen presented Emmie with her first chest of dress up gowns and you better believe that she was transformed into a princess for the remainder of the night! Grandpa H taught her how to "dance" and Emmie was in heaven - just note her big grins. Now whenever she puts on her "pimpess" dresses as she calls them, she holds up the sides of her dress, starts swaying back and forth, hums a song, and exclaims, "Dance with me mommy! Dance!". This little girl is so animated and the such the performer. :) I am considering not buying her spring clothes this year since since she likes to wear these dresses everyday anyways. She is an expert at putting them on by herself, too. Simplicity is something I am striving for this year so it works out perfect!:)

Parker got some fun games and they both got cute bags made by Grandma Hansen that contained Pillow Pets and fleece blankies for sleepovers. Parker got a Wii game from Uncle Z and Toy Story legos from Aunt B, wo also gave Emmie some cute beads to make her own jewelry! I was thrilled to get my most-hoped for gift of the year - a Shark Steamer mop, and Chris got an awesome compresser that he's wanted for years to help him with projects around the house.

Thanks everyone for the fun night and the re-creation of Christmas!

Belated Christmas celebrations

On the night of January 2nd we went over to my Grandma's to celebrate Christmas with she and my Dad and that side of the fam. I was still feeling awful going from Influenza straight into a bad sinus infection but we had already pushed back "Christmas" far enough and didn't want to cancel. I felt as terrible as I looked hence no pictures but you can get an idea of my loveliness by viewing the Hansen fam picture from the party the night before. (Don't look, really.) Ughh. Back to the party. We are always completely spoiled by my Dad and cute Grandma and I think it took us over a good hour to get through all the present opening. Among the many gifts I got several pairs of boots I wanted, several generous gift cards for shopping and dinner (yay!), and some really nice serving dishes and some cute cardstock for cards and craftiness. Chris got some work shirts, DVDs, & honestly I was so out of it I am not completely sure what else! Parker got lots of fun Toy Story toys including a TS art kit that he loves, and the coolest night light turtle that shines the solar system on his ceiling at night and even changes colors. He LOVES it!

Emmie got the cutest Little People treehouse, a darling Baby Alive doll, Sleeping Beauty, a bathtime doll, darling jams, a fun princess magnet book among lots of other fun toys!

Needless to say, I think we are set on toys for the next 5 years! REALLY! Maybe just bikes this spring.... :) & I already have Emmie's waiting in the storage room from the sweet deal I found on Amazon so we just need P-Man's and we are set! I think we will just add to their college funds for their birthdays and go do something fun!

Set aside the gifts... that's not what makes Christmas for me. It's just nice to be with family to celebrate the holidays. We're grateful that we were able to get together - belated as it was and all!

Santa still comes, even when you're sick

Like I mentioned before, thankfully Santa (with zero help from the Mrs) did brave stopping at our Influenza-filled home on Christmas Eve so as not to disappoint the kiddos. What a guy that Santa is! Here is what he pulled off:

Waiting to go downstairs to check out the goods...

Sick & all, they were excited. Super duper ridiculous sick as I was, I forced myself out of bed to watch their Christmas morning magic... I was not going to miss it, as miserable as I felt. I only lasted about 20 minutes but hey I was there and I was thankful not to miss out on their huge grins and shrieks of excitement that Santa had come. And he did not disappoint.

Parker got his wished for Leapster 2 and three games to go with it, and Emmie got her "kitty" via a mini Furreal Zhu Zhu pet thingy (?!) with the accompanying track. Santa also brought them a mini couch to go in their playroom. A few of their other loved items were their Buzz and Jessie dolls found in their stockings, Toy Story 3 and Beauty and the Beast Blurays, Emmie's laptop along with her Cinderella shoes and the Little People home, new MegaBloks and duplo legos for Parker as well as a pirate ship, Zingo, books,....the list goes on!

It was a fun 20 minutes while it lasted but unfortunately our Christmas day ended there! Thankfully my kids are at an age where they didn't realize the continued festivities they were missing out on. Heck they had a room full of new toys to get aquainted with!

The missed Christmas Day parties with family were made up for, however, a week later.

More on them to come! :)

Merry Influenza A

I've tried writing this post a good four or five times, but...

1) I've been so sick I can hardly think straight,

2) I hate to sound like such a "Debbie Downer" in posting about our terrible X-mas, but hey - it's inevitable! I have come to the conclusion that it is what it is and that I shouldn't sugar coat it, &

3) my aversion to walking among the living combined with my loss of appetite have spilled over into blogging resulting in zero desire to even open my computer, admit to our pathetic holidays, and my non-desire to have to read about other's more cheerful and exciting ones of what could have/should have been...

BUT

I am ready to get it done, to move on, and hope for better luck next year! So in an attempt to continue this so-called journal of my life through 2011 and with an attempt to 'keep it real' - as pathetic and down-trodden as it may be - here I go.

WARNING: Due to the sheer length of this post I don't expect anyone to read this, and probably don't recommend it! I'm posting simply to record our reality for my own keepsake. This will likely be a depressing post but it's honest and I've decided I'd rather remember this Christmas like it has been and not journal a fraudulent, sugar-coated "story". The following is reality - it stinks, will not be uplifting and therefore you may just want to catch us on the next post and save your time! But be my guest if you are at all intrigued....:)

So if you haven't picked up on it already, this has NOT been our brightest Christmas. In fact, the title of this post is deceiving as our Christmas was anything but MERRY - in fact it was quite the opposite! The Wednesday before Christmas started out with Emmie's fever of 104.8 and a trip to the pediatrician. Upon our visit we were sent directly to the hospital for additional testing and a possibility of Croupe, but a positive test resulted in my feared findings of Influenza A. Needless to say, the next few days Emmie was horribly ill, and I was a nervous wreck monitoring her breathing and wondering if my baby was going to end up a hospital patient for Christmas. She slept for the next 6 nights by my side in bed, her little body those first couple of days unresponsive and listless as she moaned in misery. Her fever - one of her many symptoms -was stubborn and was near impossible to bring down. By Thursday Parker had developed a fever as well and the throw up started in for him just as it had for his sister. We knew he had it too but this time we were armed with Tamiflu and were able to start it in a timely manner so the little guy ended up not being hit nearly as hard as his mom and sis. That's right, by Thursday night I was getting quite sick and Friday - Christmas Eve was the day that I thought might be my last. Fever, EXTREME headache, the worst nausea EVER accompanied with violent bouts of vomit, horrible body aches including a lower back ache that was comparable to pre-epidural contractions, an excrutiating sore throat... you get the picture. Words however cannot describe how awful I felt! On Christmas Eve I sat rolled in a ball in the corner of the URGENT Care office awaiting my nose culture results and verdict from the doc wondering how I could go on in such immense pain. I couldn't keep a thing down so pain medicine wasn't a reality at that point, but my ridiculous nausea made the idea of taking meds anyhow a ludicrous thought as I didn't think I could go on with worse stomach pain than what I was currently experiencing and meds would certainly aggravate it. The result of course came back positive for Influenza A. As he sympathetically stared at my patheticness the doctor mentioned his surprise because he hadn't yet seen this nasty bug this season. Leave it to my family to be the first lucky victims, and victims we were!

I was crushed as our much anticipated ride on the Polar Express train in Heber Valley with Grandma and Grandpa Hansen passed us by on the 23rd and went without our accompaniment. Emmie had spent the weeks prior talking about the upcoming "choo choo train ride" with her cousin Atticus, and shouting "ALL ABOARD" had become one of her most common phrases in anticipation of the venture. POLAR EXPRESS RIDE - missed. I felt as though my cute kids were getting jipped as Christmas Eve festivities were not only missed but skipped over completely as I was the sickest I think I've ever been and laid miserable in bed. And as Christmas morning approached.... well, Santa did work his magic for the kiddos so I watched them open their gifts but 20 minutes later collapsed right back into bed with my 104 fever and lovely Influenza gift package of some of the most painful flu symptoms I have ever experienced and that I wouldn't wish upon my least favorite person. (not that I have one -- do I??) Christmas completely passed us by-- our first on record of having missed out on ALL family Christmas festivities. And yes, it wouldn't have been so bad if we could have at least recreated our own fun at home but I could hardly open my eyes to watch the TV Chris had brought up to the bedroom, let alone enjoy any sort of activity with my kids and husband.

By Sunday both P and E's fevers were gone. Emmie was still obviously not feeling great, but definitely on the upswing. I waited anxiously for my upswing, but the days went by, the fever continued and I wondered how it was possible that I could carry the misery I was feeling for so long. Meanwhile the kids - THANKFULLY - were doing better. The answer when comparing the recoveries is that the KIDS had had their Flu shots back in September. (I didn't know it was possible they could still catch such a bug with the shots, but I am told to think of how much WORSE they would have been had they not had them!) Me on the other hand, had all intentions of getting the shot but with our crazy Fall it somehow got skipped. I will NEVER miss getting the Flu shot again in my life! Lesson learned there!

It is January 5th today and I am STILL sick! I was finally feeling a little better by New Years Eve weekend when I must have caught Chris' sinus infection and have spent the last few days back in bed - fever and all! How long can a person be sick!? Seriously. I am normally NOT a sickly person but let's just say that 2010 has not been my healthiest year.

So as I wish I could post all of our fun Christmas pictures...well they simply don't exist. I still have all my Christmas stuff up (obviously I've been too "under the weather" to take it down) and whenever Emmie opens up this cute Christmas book that sings Christmas songs, for a fleeting moment I get that giddy feeling of anticipation that Christmas is coming, just to remember seconds later that it already came and passed us by. We missed it! Another 355 days to go...So sad. :(

Chris' carfully planned 5 days off of work that were supposed to be filled with pre-Christmas buildup and post-Christmas play, turned into... well, more WORK, just in another form as he gained his latest title - Nurse Chris. How fun for him. He (and myself) didn't open a single gift until the Wednesday after Christmas -- I was just too sick. Not that Christmas is about the gifts anyhow but his magical expectations of the special holiday were crushed just like the rest of ours. He was however such a good sport about it and took on taking care of the kids(and myself) full time and single handedly for days. He brought me flowers to put on my nightstand as my Christmas gift and cheer since I was unable to open any real ones. I am blessed to have such a good husband!

Another silver lining, if you will, was having my sweet Emmie sleep next to me. Yes, I missed my husband sleeping there but he was voluntarily banished to the basement in fear of catching the nasty bug himself. Understandable! Back to Emmie.... I have had the rare and uncommon opportunity this last few months to sleep a number of nights next to each of my kids. First, with Parker in the hospital back in September. The nurses allowed me to sleep next to him each night snuggled up in his hospital bed with him. It was such a comforting thing to both he and myself after experiencing such a traumatizing accident. Amidst a horrible situation, I cherished those nights of sleeping next to my sweet little boy as I reflected on how tragic the outcome could have been, and how blessed our family has been by his precious life this last four years. Flash forward to the week of Christmas - sleeping with Emmie as she was so sick reminded me of those nights with Parker. And once again amidst not the best of circumstances, the gratitude I felt for my beautiful children was overwhelming. Forget Christmas presents - they - my kids, are the best gifts I have ever received and this last year has certainly been a reminder that life is so fragile, and to cherish all the moments we have because we don't know which will be our last! I got to the point of feeling so sick that my heart ached at the possibility of what if I were to leave this life early and not be able to experience the joy of raising my children here on earth? How heartbroken I would be to miss out on this amazing experience of MOTHERHOOD. Amidst my dramatic and tragic "what if" thoughts while I wallowed in my misery, I felt such a sense of gratitude for all that I have been blessed with and a renewed desire to focus my life more on what truly matters and embrace the moments that I have with my family.

Life goes on and there will be more Christmases - and much better ones at that! I will see better days eventually and hopefully in no time will be back to operating at 100% rather than the current 70 I am at. 2010 has been an interesting and trying year! But I'm grateful that we have made it through and for the many ways we were blessed along the way.

May 2011 be filled with love, joy and moments that matter!

Could I get any cheesier? I'm glad most of you stopped reading at paragraph 1. :)

I hope all of YOU had a Merry Christmas... and I might just have to live vicariously through your blogs and check out your fun-filled holidays with a wishful heart of a similar Christmas for my own family for next year!

HAPPY 2011!

Pre-Christmas activities

Parker had his darling Preschool Christmas Program on the 6th of December. All of his in-town grandparents attended so he had a good little fan-base going for him in the audience.

He once again did great and sang his little heart out. He also (once again) refused to wear his hat.

See him in the big group picture? He's on the far right... not hard to pick out. Yep, the only one without his Santa cap. Oh well, we were just glad to see him up there participating. :)
Afterwards we took advantage of one of Chris' scarce nights off and headed over to Thanksgiving Point with Grandma and Grandpa Hansen to see the Thanksgiving Point lights and Santa's Reindeer. Always a fun outting - especially when Grandma treats to yummy cookies inside the Emporium!

In going down our list of "Must Do's" for Christmas we also of course hit the mall for a visit with Santa...My kids have never cried for their annual lap sitting with the Big Man. I thought this year would be the year that Emmie might freak, but she not only willingly but happily sat on his lap and let him know that she wants a kitty for Christmas (not a real kitty, Santa).

& Parker was all smiles and proudly let Santa know that he would like "one of those vidoe game thingy's that you hold"...(aka a Leapster, please, Santa).

& they walked away with candy canes... Oh wait --no-- big chocolate suckers. Apparently Santa gave up the candy canes for large, messy brown suckers that drip brown goup all over visitor's carefully chosen Santa outfits....but in exchange for those big grins what mom could mind? (As long as she's armed with a plethora of wipes that is...)

...& these two (three I should say) have been loving the build up to Christmas. A few activities included have been: tearing apart the Christmas trees to which I have given up on fixing, singing "Jeen-ju-bells" as Emmie calls it & "Once there was a Snowman", watching the old-school version of the "Grinch" and "Rudolph" and never missing a day of their much anticipated chocolate advent calendars (thanks Gpa Todd).

Merry Christmas!

Get your Lemon Poppy Goodness

I don't know about you but I actually get really excited about cooking when I have a great recipe to create from! I was thrilled to find out a few months back that my cute friend Ali whom I know from my historic high school days (12 years ago if you can believe it!) was publishing some cook books. If you know Ali you know that anything she is involved in is done amazingly well and with impecable detail. She comes from a long line of artistic and talented women and it shows in everything she puts her hand at. She is such a hard worker and just has a way of making dreams come to fruition. She was that way back in high school as our Senior Class President and I am not surprised at all that she is still creating magic at her every turn. She is truly an inspiration! I recently bought her THREE fabulous recipe books (at great prices!) & I just love them! I have made a bunch of her recipes including THESE delicious soft molasses ginger cookies last week and her recipes never disappoint! I was really excited to see that another option to ordering her books online is to purchase them at TAIPAN TRADING - one of Utah's most fabulous stores! Way to go Ali! How EXCITING! If you can't get to the store then you can purchase her books online HERE for a beyond reasonable price (under $9) and shipping is only $1! Perfect Christmas gifts, birthday gifts, wedding gifts, shower gifts... you can't go wrong!

I apologize - I know I tend to sound like an informercial but when I come across something great I like to shout it from the rooftops. These books are definitely worthy of the rooftop holla! You can read Ali's inspiring story as to how she made her dream her reality HERE (it's a great read--she is also a very talented writer!) and check her yummy blog HERE.

HAPPY COOKING!