Eyes and Ears

Having a wonderful child, well- children, is such a blessing. And then at times, it can be a curse.

Saturday, Alec and I concluded there must be something going on with Hewy. He seemed fine, no fever, no other symptoms, but he had been up all night. When I would ask if he had "an ouch" sometimes he would say no, sometimes he would say "eye," sometimes he would say "ear," others he would say "head." I thought he was making it all up he was being so random!

Then he did have a small, maybe green, goop in the corner of one eye. So we took him in the after-hours Pediatrics. Not usually the ones to fret over small things with our kids, he just seemed off.

As the doctor examined the sleeping Hewy in Alec's arms, it was discovered that he has flaming red ear infections in both ears and eye infections in both eyes. See what I meant by the curse of good children? So I have thought a lot about the last couple days, just how long has he been sick? He has been very loud and aggressive this week. I thought that was because he was the youngest and two. He has asked to be held, "hold you" is what he says as he reaches his arms up. I thankfully held him most of the time, knowing when he is seven and nine he won't be asking for such things. Perhaps a little more whiny and certainly more demanding of his Dad this week. "Daddy, HOME, Now!" he would yell into the phone. Or from the bottom of the stairs, "Daddy!" and he would refuse to go or down the stairs at all by himself if Alec was home.

I tend to think of fevers, runny noses, no appetite and sleepless nights as the clues to ear infections. I guess Hew is demanding and likes to be held.

Luck of the Wii

I started saying more than 8 months ago that I wanted a Nintendo Wii (said "we") for Christmas. I wanted because they sounded really cool and like something I would enjoy, but also, I wanted it so that when the family played I was in charge! (insert evil laugh here)

Then Christmastime came, and it was hard to get your hands on one. So I didn't get one.

Until yesterday.

Yesterday at the conclusion of our mid-day Saturday date we were ending our date in the usual manner, we were buying milk. It's so nice to hit the stores without kids that I take full advantage of having a sitter and we buy milk just about every week as part of our date. Yesterday we were leaving Costco, where everyone knows my children's names because we are there too often, as we walked out we were chatting with some friends we ran into, just like always, and as I handed the guy at the door my receipt to prove I had paid for my milk, I saw in a glance a women entering the store with a Nintendo Wii. I assumed the only reason someone would walk into Costco with a Wii would be to return it. So I pointed it out to Alec.

Now you have to understand if you don't already, these magic little electronic boxes have been quite difficult to come by. And they are tons of fun - that's why everyone from Grandpa and Grandma's to three and four year olds are playing with it. Here in San Antonio every time any stores get a shipment in, they arrive on Sunday. They start handing out tickets at 7a.m. and if you have ticket 52 and they only get in 51 you don't get one. Add in the fact that it was always a Sunday, and we don't shop on Sunday unless it is medicine or some other immediate need, we chose not to get a Wii for Christmas.

Alec went to the lady with the Wii and asked if she was indeed returning it and if it worked. No use in buying a broken anything, let alone a Wii. So, as soon as she returned it, he bought it. LOVE THAT MAN!

So last night as a family we each created our Mii's, even a little H-y one. And then we played sports together as a family. Tennis, Bowling, Golf, Boxing, Baseball. Until it was bed time.

This morning Noble came to me and said, "Seeings how the Wii is new and it really isn't a violent game, except the boxing, can we play the Wii today?" See, I told you it was fun.

Nintendo DS's

Santa's bells rang right around 7 o'clock (that is the signal they can get out of bed) and we met at the top of the stairs and knelt for family prayer. The boys went downstairs and discovered their treasures. They played with a few things and emptied their stockings. I put the pull-a-part bread I had made the night before in the oven. We then started to open presents. More wonderful gifts were received. Everyone was happy. We know because we asked them. We ate the pull-a-part bread (or monkey bread, or pluck it, or whatever we call it). I fixed the Breakfast casserole for brunch later. We went to the quiet room and started to clean up wrapping paper and boxes when we discovered, whatyaknow, a card in the Christmas tree to Noble and Liam. It took them on a scavenger hunt through the house until they found a box in the study labeled to them from Mom and Dad. Inside were four gifts each, wrapped and numbered. They opened them in order; the first was something they determined to be a lunch box (really a travel case for some electronic item), the second was a travel kit that had car chargers and ear buds, and the third, oh the blissful third packages contained Nintendo DS's, red for Liam and black for Noble, the fourth packages were to share and totaled four new games for the new DS's. The rest of Christmas was spent with this small electronic in their hands. 9+ hours.


But don't they look happy!

Hewy's Christmas

Hew was PRIME foor Christmas this year. He loved it all!

He loved his "Cars" cars.
And his trike.

He loved his Disney Crocs

He loved Daddy's massager, brothers lightsabers and the scooter Grandpa and Grandmama gave him.

Liam's Christmas

Liam was most excited about the spring action lightsaber, heelies and art kit.

Noble's Christmas

Things Noble was most excited about: Costumes, High School musical ticket, church pants "that fit."

Before and after

I always take a picture of the tree before I go to bed Christmas Eve and then of the aftermath the next morning. Part of the joy of Christmas!

Christmas PJ's

Another Christmas Eve tradition is PJ's and new sheets. This years Christmas PJ's were just cute cute cute!

The Blond Boys

Henry and Hewy are cousins but the could pass for brothers. People are always commenting on their blond hair. When Dell and Anna moved to San Antonio people in our ward thought the Hewy was theirs! We have enjoyed having Henry around as "cousining" make everything more fun.
This is the two of them dancing on the table Christmas eve.

This was Christmas Eve too. It turned out blurry, but it is still cute.

This is Christmas day. They were both attacking Noble wanting to see him play his Nintendo DS.

Reindeer Food

One of our favorite Christmas Eve traditions is to make Reindeer food to leave out for the Reindeer that pull Santa's sleigh. We mix individual bowls, each boys choosing how much of what to put in. Oatmeal, carrots and glitter. They then leave it in the fireplace or on the front porch and by morning it's gone. Sometimes there is even a little tracked into the house! What! The reindeer are supposed to stay outside! The boys love it.


Another Christmas Eve tradition is to read Twas the Night Before Christmas. This year Noble played the song on the piano and then he read the story. Same tradition, minor adjustments.

Always near by

I have been wondering for awhile now why I take so many pictures of Hewy. I came to the realization that it's because he is always near by. The two older boys go off on their own and do their own thing 90% of the time, but Hewy is almost always near by. He goes off and plays with his brothers quite a bit, but really he is with me more than I realized he was. I am thankful for this time with him and know there will be a day when he spends more time away with me than with me. Better appreciate it while it lasts.


This day, for whatever reason, Hew was laying on the counter and drinking water from a medicine cup. I think just about everything this kid does is cute!

I am also come to the conclusion that Hew is the toughest kid, at least two year old, that I know. He bonks, and falls, and slams, and pinches fingers, and all he does is is cry for a few seconds and then he is up and going. And that is if he cries at all. Tough kid!

Grandmama and Grandpa

Grandmama and Grandpa came in Sunday night and stayed through Christmas with us. It was delightful to have them here and sharing all the memories with us.


Hanging Out

Christmas Morning

Hew is always close by.

Merry Christmas

Make a free ecard - it's easy!

Essential

I had not realized just how ESSENTIAL it was, until it was gone! I use Ron Clark's Essential 55 for our homeschool rules each week. I have the whole year planned out and each week has one of the rules assigned to it. Then each Monday I read to the kids from the book, Mr. Clark's words and reasons for having that rule in his classroom. The boys enjoy his quick wit and he explains things so much better than I can on the spot. But then a couple weeks ago - I turned to get it off the shelf and GASP! It was gone! I looked everywhere, okay not everywhere like Hawaii and other fly-away places, but everywhere that I usually leave books. I try and keep all the homeschool books in the homeschool room (smart, I know) on a certain shelf. But I also have been known to put them on the table that gets buried in stuff or in the plastic box on top of the piano where I keep useful things at hand, like the hole punch. But it was not to be found. So I checked the piled desk in the kitchen. Nope. I checked next to my bed. Nadda. I checked next to the green couch downstairs. Zip. Magazine rack. No. Book box and book shelves in the family room. Zero. Library book totes. Empty. Book basket in my bedroom. Other forgotten favorites, but no 55. Oh, the horror! I flew by the seat of my pants the past couple weeks and did without Mr. Clark, but I rechecked all of the above places in case the House Elves had borrowed it and mysteriously replaced it since I looked last. This was a big deal. I just about bought another one, two in fact. Losing it this once, was that big of deal. Better to be prepared and have two. Like storing water for the last days. One stay-at-home-Mom-homeschooler needs two Mr. Clark books. But I didn't buy another one, I almost felt like I was betraying the other lost book, giving up hope, accepting that it was gone along with my notes int he margins.

Yesterday Noble broke away from his blissful hypnotised state of no-limit video gaming and came running down the stairs, "Mom! Mom! Mom!" He was shouting. Is something on fire, I wondered? I didn't hear any crashing or deathly falling or brotherly thumping, what has made my mono-toned pre-tween boy respond like this? Perhaps he saw an ad for something super-out-of-this world-cool? (or is it radical or awesome these days) or maybe Star Wars Characters magically popped out of the gamecube and were invading our house for real. 32 seconds of curiosity was how long it took him to fly down the stairs and find me wondering what had him in a tither when he came to a halt in front of the pantry - he held up a familiar green book, waving it in the air, gasping for air, jumping up and down and smiling as wide as the grand canyon.

I matched his enthusiasm and shouted for joy. Mr. Clark had been found! behind the gameroom couch. What a lonely place to be lost. Maybe not the house elves, but perhaps the Christmas Mice. (Just kidding we don't really have mice! or sadly, house elves.)

Was Noble's excitement for me, the book or himself? I don't know. But it was fun to see him respond like that. And I have my book back! On a safe place, on the homeschool shelves! Maybe now it's safe to buy a sencond, just in case.

'Lil helpers

I had some great help in the kitchen today. Hew always likes to help me, so that's not a surprise, but we had Chloe Tobler and Mary Candland over today and they got in on the action too! It was darling to have these little people come over to me and ask if they could help. Who knew 2 and 3 year olds liked to cook!? We were making Rosemary Cashews and the little ones didn't seem to mind at all that they were using Cayenne Pepper. They each took turns stirring the nuts and sprinkling on the seasonings. We made six batches total and they didn't tire of the work! They stayed right there the whole time and helped me. So what if this batch has extra sugar or the next one has extra Rosemary? What a fun day with little kids.

okay, I love the tongue of concentration.

Looks like a confident cook doesn't he?

Now that's Christmas!

This has got to be part of what Christmas is all about to little kids. Hewy was helping me make fudge today! Or was this the chocolate to the homemade peppermint patties? Either way, he had asked for "some" and I had given him a spoonful of yummy melted chocolate. It's Christmas, everyone should experience a spoonful of yummy goodness!


Pure, 100% Joy!

Snow in San Antonio?

The finale to the fun was a snow storm! yes, right here in the heart of San Antonio, SNOW! (Okay, okay, Liam insists that I say it was fake snow! and he is using a grumpy voice) Liam wasn't so grumpy during the storm though as you can see.


With all the kids running crazy and the snow falling, it was hard to get good pictures, but this one of Noble is actually kind of fun!

H-y wasn't so sure about it at first, but once the crowd cleared... he was all over in it! By then it was just mostly soapy bubbles but he had fun all the same.


Like, I said, it was crazy with people kids running all over, ruining my picture moments! This one is pretty cute, but we got a little of someone's head in the corner there. Still cute though.


So, as I said at some point, I was there without my Sweetheart. Once we were inside lined up to get cookies and Wassail I realized... GASP I had dropped the keys to the van! Luckily I was able to find them outside in the "snow." (I didn't have pockets, I was holding three kid's bells, the keys and snapping pictures. It happens.)

Legendary Holiday

This was at the Westin Resort at La Cantera here in San Antonio. This fine Cowboy's name is Makin' Dust. He told Christmas Stories, Sang Cowboy Songs and Christmas Songs and led us in a good ol' time. Everyone got a bell to ring and to bring home.



The bells were a hit with the all the kids, the trick was getting to stop so he could talk again.

This is Dell and Liam holding up a tree! :-)
Alec has been working nights so we were Daddy-less for this event, however, we were not Uncle-less, or Auntie-less or even Cousin-less!



I spy a Noble.
I spy a Liam.
Hidden in that Cowboy picture.

Another Christmas Activity

This is our third Christmas in San Antonio. Could that really be? AND the good news is, that I feel (FINALLY) this year that we at least kind of know what is going on. We are slowly building our Texas Christmas traditions.
Today we went to La Cantera Resort and had a Legendary Holiday. We first arrived at the resort and hung out in the well decorated lobby. Then we went outside for Christmas Songs and Texas Cowboy Legends. (See above) I am thankful Texas is feeling like home so and that we finding great Christmas Traditions to fill the warm days with!

There was a Grand Piano in the Lobby of the Resort and Noble was brave enough to play a Christmas carol in front of all those kids (and their parents) Hooray for Noble!