The Moral of the Story is...

"stay home and cook - like we did back in the day." That's what my wise Aunt Jane conveyed to me in an email. Then I wouldn't have been out and about for that accident. Such sage advice! Now I need your help ladies! I am someone who doesn't mind cooking for the family but needs assistance. I have lots of my mom's recipes but am looking for some good ones for the freezer as well as tips for freezing food for later. I know I should have this info but it's one of those things that I never thought much about until my mom wasn't around to ask. SO - if you have something tasty that freezes well, please pass it along! Thanks for the love!

What a Week!

So I know that mentioned I would have some snow photos/videos from our awesome trip. We had a (everyone is ok) little accident on Monday that threw me for a loop. I was taking the kids for lunch and then to the park when a guy ran a red light going about 35 mph and ran right into my door. Fortunately I "had" a very reliable and safe vehicle which, although totaled, kept the kids and me safe. My head hit the window and other than some minor head pain this week I escaped mostly pain free. Thank God! We DEFINITELY had our share of angels to keep us safe. Obviously the incident brought up a lot with my sister/brother's accident as well as my mom not being here. Then I struggled with feeling as though the accident was my fault. I couldn't remember all the details and doubted myself since I had the kids in the car. I don't know what I would do if something would have happened to them. I don't know how my mom managed for so long. They were all with us on Monday though. The accident didn't traumatize the kids but it certainly scared them. Noah has been very clingy with his "I love you's" as well as his hugs. He told me tonight that he was scared of the truck that hit us. :o( They both tell people that my car is at the doctor being fixed. They remember the firemen getting their car seats out of the car and putting them in daddy's car, too. Hopefully it will quickly pass. I had the kids checked by my chiropractor and she didn't see any issues so that was a big relief. I will have my neck/back scanned in two weeks to compare it to this week's scans and I'm hoping all remains healthy.





So... with all of that out of the way, I happened to find a woman on Craigslist who was selling 5 preschool board games for $5. I only paid attention to a few of the titles and thought for $5 - how can I turn it down! So I picked them up today after I had picked up the accident report from the police station. I got home and started to go through the games only to notice one game is called, "Let's Go To McDonald's". Nothing too exciting about that except that is where I was headed with the kids the day we had our accident. It also says, "Anything can happen on your way." Umm... FREAKY!!





Another weird happening was the day of the accident. Kevin took me to the doctor to have my noggin checked. On our way home, he stopped to get some food since I hadn't eaten anything and it was already 3pm. As we pulled into our driveway with KFC in hand, I happened to remember back to Kevin's car accident - which was about 6 years ago. He was on his way home from picking up KFC when a lady ran a red light and smashed right into him. (It was a block from my accident.) We obviously didn't get to eat our KFC that night since I took him to the ER to be checked. How weird that we ended up with KFC all these years later and after another accident.





So, here are a couple of snow pics. There are more on the Kodak site and I will be uploading snow videos this weekend. Again, we are all doing well and are bracing for the "buying a new car" process as well as dealing with the other guy's insurance company. He was in a company vehicle so hopefully it will be a smooth deal. Take care and we are sending extra hugs this week!

Those Crazy Kids

So we just got back from the kids' first trip to the snow. We had a FANTASTIC time! Sleding, snowballs, and snowmen. I'll post more details and pictures later on this evening.

I did want to share a few funny moments compliments of the kids.

TJ needed her night diaper put on before bed last week but didn't want Kevin to do it. When he persisted, TJ started to do that lovely cry/fake cry that kids do. He said, "TJ, I'm going to put your diaper on whether you like it or not. You can just keep crying."
TJ said, while crying, "but I don't want to cry."

Friday TJ said, "Mommy, look at me. Do you see my tricks? Pretty cool, huh?"
I replied, "Yes, TJ it was! That was pretty fly for a white gal!" (I know, silly. Don't ask. :o)
Noah was running around and I said, "Noah, are you pretty fly for a white guy?"
He said as serious as can be, "no, for a brown guy."


Saturday night Kevin and I were getting the kids ready for bed and we were all being silly. I asked Noah, "hey, who is cuter - mommy or daddy?"
After much serious thought he said, "me. Noah is. I'm cuter, mom."
*Can't argue with that can you?!

Duct Tape? We Don't Need No Stinkin' Duct Tape!

According to Noah, all one needs in life is Vaseline and batteries. If he bumps into something, he will ask for Vaseline. If he has any type of ouchie - Vaseline. If anybody trips, is bleeding, etc. - yep, Vaseline. If a toy stops working for ANY reason - batteries. Kevin amasses quite a collection of toys in his office on a weekly if not daily basis that are just waiting for batteries.

California Dreaming

The weather here has taken a wonderful turn for the better! It has been absolutely beautiful here! We took a little family trip to the park and the kids had a terrific time!!

Mommy's Boy? Daddy's Boy?

So on any given day, Noah is ALL ABOUT the mommy. (I definitely LOVE it!) But whenever Kevin goes out of town, Noah is just a mess. This past week, Kevin was gone* for 3 days and Noah woke up between 4-6am each morning!! YUCK for me! At 4am, the day Kevin was coming home, Noah woke up screaming, "I want to get on a plane! I want to get on the plane!" It was just the cutest thing ever! Much better that he went back to sleep too! :o)

*Kevin was down in LA for a music video shoot. He is a top 10 finalist for a contest featuring Cadillac. The top 5 videos will be shown during The Grammys!! Now, THAT would be fantastic if something came out of that!! Keeping those fingers, and toes, crossed!

Celebrations!

We are so excited to announce that TJ is no longer eligible to receive services from the county! WAHOOOO!! She actually could have been exited 6 months ago if we had pushed for it but since Noah is still eligible, why not include her as well! Made it much easier for me and their OT since she was there with Noah. She is eligible to attend Sensory Gym as a sibling so that will be helpful. Noah will no longer receive services once he turns 3 - which is in 2 months! HOW CRAZY IS THAT?! They will be 3 in a few months?! Here is what they looked like at birth. What a long and I mean LONG way they have come!

Here Noah & TJ were 7 weeks old. They came home from the hospital a few days after this picture was taken. TJ was almost 4 pounds and Noah was about 6 pounds.

On the left side of the picture is Noah with Kevin's wedding ring up to his shoulder at a few weeks old. On the right, Noah has his ring on and he is a little over 1 1/2 years old.

TJ is also a few weeks old on the left and 1 1/2 on the right.

Pinwheel Drama!

Tonight Noah was in his "I am so hyper because I am really so tired but I don't want to go to bed because I want to run around" mood and he accidentally hit TJ with his pinwheel. She of course played her "Scarlett O'Hara" card and acted as if she would keel over and die any second.

She said to Noah, "Hey, Noah! You just hit me. I don't like it!"

He responded with, "TJ. I'm sorry TJ. It was an accident."

He then hugged her and said, "I'm sorry TJ. I love you."

Then he kissed her hand and hugged her again. TJ then jumped up and down and yelled out, "my brother just kissed me cuz he loves me, mom."

Awwwww!

Dr. TJ

Photo Sharing - Video Sharing - Photo Printing

Dr. TJ

So TJ received a doctor kit from Santa and now refers to herself as "Dr. TJ." Whenever anyone bumps into something or has a pain, she comes running and says, "I'll fix you. I'm Dr. TJ!" So today when I went to get Noah some medicine, TJ pushed me aside and said, "I'm Dr. TJ and I'll fix him mom. Come sit down, Noah. Noah, come sit down." I of course grabbed the camera and at first thought that she was going to perform an ob/gyn check-up! She actually said, "Noah spread your legs." It's kind of hard to hear. She follows that up with, "Noah spread your butt." Not sure where THAT came from but it's funny. Right? :o) I've included a guide to the video to help you better understand the dialogue if need the help.
I love how Noah just lays there. LOL
"Ok Noah I've got my stesop---- (stethoscope). I'm a doctor. I'm going to fix you.
**Long pause as she 'gets ready.'** "It's going to tickle."
Noah - "thank you TJ.' Then she puts her hand on his back as she checks out his ear. She doesn't get to check the other ear though as he has to 'get the air out.' Not sure what that's about but it's important apparently! There's also a part 2 that you shouldn't miss. It's at the "movie" link to the right.
*Video SHOULD be here but it's too large so you can either look to the above post where it "should" be visible from another source. Otherwise, you'll have to click on the 'movie' link at the right. Sorry! I'm still learning this technology stuff!

A Boy After Daddy's Own Heart

Noah possibly following in his daddy's advertising footsteps? I can't tell you how many times he asked to watch this commercial. (*hint - it was a lot!) You should be able to hear him loud and clear joining the animals in their screaming. He has pretty good pitch too!

Bad Hair Day

So unless you have someone in your house under the age of 6, you probably haven't heard of "The Imagination Movers." It's a great kids' show that incorporates music and life lessons for kids. Noah & TJ LOVE the show and often request them on the ipod in their playroom. One episode had to do with one of the movers who was having a bad hair day. Noah and TJ wanted to have a "bad/crazy" hair day so that's what we did.