Embracing Life

Why pose for Christmas card pictures when you can kick the wall instead?

Dear Santa, I wanted to tell you what a good girl I've been all year. But I see you noticed it yourself. And as a treat for me, for being such a good girl, you gave me pleurisy . What better gift to give a working mom of three kids ages 3 and under, but an inflammation of the lining of my right lung. My favorite part is the piercing pain I feel in my chest every time I cough or sneeze. Thank you especially for blessing me with this four days before Christmas. Because, as you can imagine, I've got nothing else going on in my life right now. I will start thinking of my Christmas wish for next year as soon as I can. One of my friends has strep and she thinks it's a blast, so perhaps something like that can grace my stocking next December. Merry Christmas to you Santa! Sarah

My husband thinks something is wrong with me. He feels that I do not remember things the way that I used to. I've tried explaining to him that I've got a lot going on, that he can't expect me to remember every little thing he says to me (because a lot of what he talks about lately is carpet and sanding and tile for the new bathroom/family room remodel project and frankly I find all that talk boring anyway...) I was thinking this morning about how Keith keeps making comments about how I don't remember things anymore. Let's get this straight - it's not like I forget that the stove is on or drive away without shutting the garage door (and I've never driven around the block to make sure that the door is, in fact, shut). But it's little things that apparently bother him. He's been talking about carpet for like a week now. We need to re-carpet our family room. But do I really care about the density or nylon vs. polyester? No. I just want pretty c...

Today I read a cool post with a ghost story over at Confessions From A Working Mom . It got me thinking about the ghost stories I have enjoyed reading over time. During my grade school years, I would constantly have a book with me. If it wasn't a classic (...ahhh The Catcher in the Rye and Little Women were favories), it was a ghost story. One of my favorite books has always been Rebecca , by Daphne Du Maurier. Now that isn't a traditional ghost story, like perhaps Dickens' A Christmas Carol or Straub's Ghost Story . But it was a haunting tale of life and love lost. I read this book at least once a year. Something I don't tell a lot of people - I could read in kindergarten. Full sentences. No one else could, and the teacher made a big deal about it, so I lied and said I had the book at home and read it with my mom a lot. Total lie. It was the first time I had seen the book. But my love affair with books had begun. I devoured anything I could, and usually read ab...

Monday Connor - double ear infection, sinus infection, gross sinus crap leaking from eyes Colin - had a high fever (lie 104-105) for days after getting over an ear infection. Broke out in a rash on Sunday. Diagnosis: viral infection. (Now that the fever is gone, he is stuck with lots of teething pain too.) Tuesday Me - after suffering from a bad cough for 4 days (co-workers were telling me how awful I sounded) and being up all night coughing, I finally went to the doc. Severe enough to get put on THREE medicines. Wednesday Keira - ear infection Now it's Thursday. We paid enough money in doctor's appointments and prescriptions that I am really hoping Keith stays healthy. Because my birthday is on Sunday and I'd like the household to have one non-sick day!

Scene: The twins are fighting over a bag used to store all the Little People we have. Afraid someone might bite her brother, I place the bag in a time out. Connor goes and picks up the bag. Connor: I give the bag to the babies. Me: No, they don't get the bag right now because they were fighting over it. Connor: They not fighting, they sharing. They want the bag. They love it. ************* Me: Connor do you want to help me put the ornaments on the tree or watch your new Mickey Christmas movie? Connor: Mickey Christmas! Me: Ok, while you watch it, I'm going to put the ornaments on the tree. Connor: But Mommy, I want to do it. We do it together, okay? ************* Me: Connor, once the ornaments are on the tree, we don't touch them. Connor: But Mommy, I love them. ************* And my favorite conversation: (Let me say that Connor is currently suffering from a double ear infection and a sinus infection, which is causing a bunch of gross sinus crap to seep out his eyes. ...

I don't know which one of them got me sick. Probably the cute little one that sneezed all over my arm and then stuck his pacifier in my mouth. Or the one who sucks her thumb and then rubs my face and hair. Or the other one who loves to give kisses now, but sometimes doesn't realize that he needs to stop the kiss and cover his mouth before coughing in my face. My cough is getting worse. Not to mention the cough medicine I took last night had a funny taste. When I said something to the hubby about it, he looked at the bottle and said, "It expired 14 months ago." Needless to say, it didn't help with the cough too much.