Better Late Than Never

Ok, It's finally time to start posting some of our Christmas stuff! It has been so busy and/or tiring here, but we have had fun holidays so far.

Here is our tree. We love all of the ornaments, and tell the stories behind them each year as they are put on the tree. The tree itself is just a small, cheap, fake one that we got for the apartment we had a couple of years ago. We were considering getting a new one in the post-holiday sales, but then when it snowed, Nutmeg started chewing on the branches (as a substitute for eating grass?). So, as long as we have a strange dog who eats artificial trees, no need to spend money on a new one!

Blake thought it would be great to make our gingerbread house from scratch this year. So, when I went shopping the day after Thanksgiving, I bought a kit, because making it from scratch seemed like a lot of work, and difficult, too. We finally completed it on December 23, and the final results show that we are not ready to make one from scratch. Here is what it looked like on the box:

We have named ours "The Gingerbread House of Horrors". Blake thought that the icing I made was too thick (it was). So I told him to make the next batch. Too thin. Way too thin. Everything just dripped off. Blake added the final touch by putting the disembodied gingerbread man's head by the only semi-cute part.

We celebrated Christmas at our house on the 24th. Santa was so great to make a special trip a day early to fill our stockings and bring James a new tricycle!

Then on the 25th, we drove to KC (and back in the evening) to celebrate with Blake's family. First with everyone at his grandparent's house, then at his parent's house. I am still trying to figure out where to put all of James' new toys (I'm not even going to try to post pictures of them all). He LOVES his new train set from Granddad Larry and Grandma Debbie. And we love the DVD player from Grandma Janice, which made our trip much more pleasant!

Our holidays aren't over yet: my mom comes up on Sunday for a few days, and I'm looking forward to her visit.

We really have had a good season, even though we haven't done a lot of the fun things we'd planned. Blake has had a sinus infection for the past week, and James and I were sick before. So that has been frustrating. BUT, I really enjoyed going to Columbia to see my friends, Blake went to his work party, and we all had a good time in Kansas City. And the lights at the zoo, the Santas in St. Charles, etc. will all be there for us next year!

Catching Up (a little)

Things are finally starting to get a little back to normal here. It has been so busy. But, now the things like grocery shopping, last minute Christmas shopping, and another trip to the post office are done.

Some fun things that we (mostly me) did recently . . . I went to 7 hours of the 12 hour crop that I won from my local scrapbook store. Only 4 of us made it, since it snowed all day, but it was fun and a good chance to talk and get a few pages done. At the rate I'm going, I'll get the Italy album done sometime in 2009. While I was gone, James and Blake played at home. Blake took a cute picture of James tucked in with his friends to watch Mickey Mouse.

On Monday, we waited in line for a looooong time to see Santa. I have been coaching James for a while to ask Santa for a tricycle, because I think that's what Santa would like to bring him. Plus, we want for him to be excited for Santa, as he cried last year and earlier this year at a party. So, every time I asked him what he wanted for Santa to bring him, he said "a cookie". Just before we turned the corner to see Santa, I reminded him to ask Santa for a cookie or a tricycle. And, as soon as he saw him, he started crying and crying and wouldn't stop until we were gone. It's a pretty funny picture. I'm having problems getting the photo from my computer, but hope to post it soon.

Then on Tuesday I went to Columbia for a party with some of my former co-workers. It is a fun party each year, and it always ends with a white elephant gift exchange. Sometimes the gifts are pretty good, but I usually get something pretty awful. This year was the jackpot! A dancing Christmas penguin that sings Ice, Ice Baby. I recognize that this is silly, but it is also fun, and James has really had fun with it. He plays with it A LOT, and takes it around to kiss all of his other toys. He also dances with it. He doesn't, however, really dance with it when I try to take a video, so this one at breakfast is the best I could get. After the first 15 to 20 seconds it's not really very interesting, but I was unable to edit it. Of course, reading my camera manual was one of my goals for this year . . . and I recognize a theme in this post: Heather is not tech savvy.

Joey March ?, 1996 - December 13, 2007

OK, this is about the saddest thing we've experienced. And we would like to take a little time to talk about Joey, the sweetest, most loyal, devoted dog. In 1996, my friends Tracy and Jen had a stray wander to them, but they already had 2 dogs, who were not welcoming of an intruder. So, they asked if I would like another dog. I said no, because Nutmeg was plenty, but that I'd take a look at him, anyway. Sucker. As soon as I saw him, I was a goner. He was too sweet and adorable to resist. I don't know what kind of dog Joey is, but my favorite guess that anyone ever made was "lab/chihuahua".


Joey was a smart dog, and very devoted. We were so impressed with how he was always right next to me throughout my difficult pregnancy. For the 3 months that I didn't sleep well at home, neither did Joey. In pretty much every picture we have of him, he is either looking at the person taking the camera, or at one of us in the room. He lived for attention from us. He also lived for food that was accidentally dropped. He wasn't a big fan of James, once James got big enough to move around and chase him, but he sure liked that kid at mealtimes, when James would feed him.


Joey was very easy-going. Blake liked to dress him up -- for holidays, in t-shirts, towels, whatever. I considered this a great indignity. But, Joey loved it.


If Joey were bred or cloned, he would be extremely popular. He was popular with us, and we will miss him so much. We love you, Joey.

For those of you whom have never had an indoor dog having a dog like Joey will change your life. Joey was so loving and we will miss him.

(If you knew Joey and are reading this, we'd love it if you'd leave a comment. Or even if you didn't know him. He was a very special dog.)

Home and looking pathetic

Joey is home, lying on his bed. Nutmeg isn't a very good friend, because she's basically ignoring him. Don't really know what was wrong, except that he probably ate something he shouldn't have, so we can't let him run around in the back yard anymore, and have to make sure James doesn't feed him. And, the vet bill was kinda scary -- almost as much as Nutmeg's surgery was. It is frustrating. I know if he were a human, the cost would have been outrageous, but for a dog, this was a lot. It would help if dogs could talk. So we'd know if hospitalization, IV, injections, tests, etc. were necessary.

But, I'm glad he's getting better. He is a very sweet, loyal dog. And we love him.

Is this some sort of bad karma thing?

First James gets sick, and Nutmeg has to have surgery. Then I get sick. (The three of us are much better, just a little slower than usual). Now Joey (the tan dog) has been at the vet overnight, with an IV and meds, as he keeps vomiting and has become very dehydrated, with a fever. We're still waiting to hear when he can come home. And waiting to hear how much this is going to cost. And now, Blake is coming down with the cold. Arrrggh!

Good news, sort of, though: Despite the ice storm, we really weren't hit very hard this time, and never lost power. And, I really think that the ice is so beautiful, as long as services aren't disrupted and I don't have to drive anywhere!

That's all of the news for now. Keep your fingers crossed for Joey. He's almost 12 years old, and these things start getting a little more concerning.

It was inevitable, I suppose

I got James' cold. I hope Blake stays healthy. And James is starting to feel better. I feel like this blog is looking very boring, with no pictures, and not much exciting to post, so here's are a couple of old pictures of the dogs. The photos are old, from our apartment, but, as Nutmeg and Joey are also old, all of their photos are starting to look similar -- them just lying there, occasionally with a 2-year-old hanging off of Nutmeg.

Doctors and Doors

James' cold has become worse, so we spent a couple of hours at the doctor's office yesterday. He's been sick for 2 weeks, and it has only gotten worse. He's on medicine now, but at least it hasn't made it to his chest, so he didn't need antibiotics. He still has a nasty cough, which kept pretty much everyone awake a couple of days ago, but it is getting a little less frequent. Poor kid. So, we missed going to Santa's House with playgroup, and Blake will be on his own for his work Christmas party tomorrow.

The good news is that we finally have our new doors (which we have been trying to get since August!). Blake now has a door on his office, the bathroom door now swings out so I can get all the way in AND turn around, and James' bathroom doorknob works! So everybody is happy!

On another note, Lori sent me this link quite a while ago, and it is a GREAT site. You answer a few questions on your opinions on political issues, as well as how strongly you hold these beliefs, and it tells you which candidate is the best match. What I found as interesting as who was my best match, was looking at who were the candidates that are definitely NOT for me! http://www.wqad.com/Global/link.asp?L=259460

We Lost

Bad. On to basketball.

Toddlers Don't Really Follow Rules

James and I went to the Christmas party/activity put on by our Parents as Teachers. It was a lot of fun for James, but I will have to say EXHAUSTING for me! Fortunately, I ran into some friends from playgroup who all felt the same way. Kerry actually warned me as soon as I got there. She and Carson were on their way out. There were so many activities there, and about 5o kids under age 5 at any one time. Running. All over. One thing that struck me is how young the kids really do divide up -- the shoveling "snow" activity was full of boys, and the dress the snowman activity was all girls! We patiently waited while a couple of little girls and ther moms were taking pictures here. Then it was James' turn, and almost as soon as he sat down, a couple of other boys came in and started taking the chair. One example of toddlers not following accepted rules.
For more examples, here is James sitting ON, not next to, the coloring area. He then proceeded to take all of the crayons out of the basket, then put all the crayons in the basket. Then take all of the crayons out of the basket . . . No coloring took place. At home, we really only have 4 crayons at any one time.
He enjoyed the throwing "snowballs" activity, too, which actually kept him occupied long enough for me to get a rest.

Not pictured: James with Santa. We waited in the line. Well, I waited and he ran around while one of the Parent Educators chased him. We got to the front of the line. He saw Santa. He did not like Santa. Screams, cries, grabbing Mommy. Oh, well. Maybe at the mall . . .

After that tiring morning, it is a good time to say how much I appreciate Blake working from home most days. I am SO lucky to be able to run errands while James naps!

This weekend we are all planning to relax. We're going to make our gingerbread house and tonight is the Mizzou football game! We play for the national championship if we can beat Oklahoma today. Go, Tigers!!!

Kansas City Thanksgiving

Last Saturday we drove to Kansas City for Thanksgiving at Blake's grandparents' house. As you can see, it was a big meal with lots of family there. I appreciate this picture of my back, because it is about the only one Larry took of me where you can't see me with a mouth full of food! It was all delicious!
While we were there, Blake's Aunt Mary Jo brought horses by. Landon, who will be 3 at the end of December was SO excited, because he really likes to ride horses. This was James' first time on a horse and he really seemed to have fun!
He also had fun running around and playing in the leaves. It was a really nice day and we enjoyed the chance to relax and visit.

Nutmeg had surgery on Monday, as she had a big growth in her mouth that was moving her teeth. The surgery went well, and they didn't have to cut into the bone like they thought. Just gums, and she lost a couple of teeth. But, she is eating fine now and is enjoying all the cheese she gets when I am sneaking medicine into her. And Joey enjoys the cheese he gets because if Nutmeg gets cheese . . . Although, Monday was a rough day for Joey. When we went to KC, we took Amos, the loaner cat, back to Danielle's family, because he kept running out the garage. So, on Saturday, Joey sees us put Amos in the car, and we come home without the cat. Then, 2 days later, I put Nutmeg in the car and come home without her. Joey seemed to be laying low and keeping his distance from me that day, until Nutmeg came home.

James is finally getting over his runny nose, but I don't like the sound of his cough. Grrr. But, we go to get his flu vaccine tomorrow. I've been feeling off and on yucky, but am good now.

James and I met with his Parents as Teachers educator yesterday. That is always nice and helpful. She was pleased with how well he's doing, and now that he's over 2 we don't have to adjust for prematurity anymore. He's where he should be, with the possible exception of the fact that he really drools a lot. The runny nose isn't helping.

Well, that's the news!

I am thankful for . . .

DIERBERGS! Since the family Thanksgiving isn't being held until Saturday, we still wanted the festive food without all of the leftovers. So, I ordered a meal from the store: 1 1/2 lbs. of turkey with gravy, an extra pound of gravy, 8 rolls, and 3 sides (I chose stuffing, artichoke and spinach casserole, and sweet potatoes) for $34.99. They said it served 4. They are so wrong. Or they are serving 4 NBA players. Blake made green bean casserole, and I made pumpkin pie and mashed potatoes. We had so much food left over. It's not even all shown here. I love Thanksgiving.

Of course, I am thankful for much more than Dierberg's. That's just the least corny, mushy and sentimental thing to write about. (And it was seriously a lot of good food!)

The Birthday Weekend

Blake and his brother-in-law, Shawn, have birthdays that are one day apart. So, this year, they celebrated together at the Mizzou-Kansas State football game. Danielle works at Kansas State now, but everyone still cheered for Mizzou. But, to get there, we had to drive from St. Louis to Manhattan, KS. It took much longer than mapquest said, but mostly because we gave James some play breaks.First, we stopped in Columbia to let him play at Cosmo Park. It was so much fun there! I can't believe how many times I used the trail on this park when I lived here and didn't realize that the playground was so great. But, I didn't have a child then . . . so why would I know that? And wasn't this tree beautiful?
James climbed these stairs all by himself more than once. I was nervously watching at the bottom, and Blake was standing right by him. James loved these long slides. I wish it hadn't been a weekday and that I'd known we'd be there so I could have met up with a friend or two.
We haven't taken a car trip with James since last Christmas. There is a reason for that -- he screamed all the way from St. Louis to Kansas City and back. So, we were extremely relieved when he fell asleep on this trip. It wasn't a long nap, but he did sleep, and he was never fussy on the trip. Yeah!!!
We enjoyed getting to see where Danielle works. It was such a nice campus! We also got to meet several of the people she works with. They understood that we were cheering for Mizzou.
No birthday candles, so Blake and Shawn blew out votives. Still festive, and the cake was good. And all of the other food. I wasn't exactly on my wellness plan during the trip . . .

We had fun visiting with everyone: Danielle, Shawn, Cameron, Landon, Larry, Debbie, and I got to meet their friend Gustavo, from Brazil. He was in the states for a few weeks and joined us for the weekend. He rode with us back to Kansas City and tried to teach James a little Portuguese. On the way home, we stopped by Les Bourgeois Bistro to look around (it was closed). This was the site of our first date, and is a prime contender for wedding location. If the weather is good, the wedding would be outside here on this path overlooking the river. The biggest down side is that they really don't have a good place for the wedding party to get ready. And I like space! But, everything else is just about perfect for us. What do you think?

29 Years Ago Today . . .

Blake was born!!! Happy Birthday, Sweetie!

Why has it been so busy?

This week has been long, and busy. Not quite sure why it has been so busy, but I know part of it was because I spent 2 1/2 hours at Lowe's STILL trying to get a couple of doors put in our house. Blake has been working on this with them for months now. I am really developing a fondness for Home Depot. Because Lowe's has REALLY worn down my patients. The week was also partly busy because we had to get our heater fixed. But now we know what not to do to break it next time! And I found a good company to come out, unlike the plumbers I called before who made me nervous to be in the house with, and the handyman who drilled through our cabinets. And the week was busy partly because my workouts have become longer since I've started my wellness class. I'm really liking it. In addition to wellness assignments, there are also scrapbook layout assignments. For the first week, it was about fitness and fitness goals. Here are mine.



Now just follows a few random things about the past week.



Among the cheap post-Halloween bargains I found was this wig. So, here is what James would look like if he were a girl. And a devil.

We took the dogs to the dog park. They had fun, but it was a lot of work to get them to run around. Nutmeg, being part greyhound, looks so pretty when she runs. But she is old, so mostly she just huddled near us. Joey enjoyed going around sniffing and peeing on everything.

At the same park is a paved trail that I really like. It's only about 3 miles long, but it is quite hilly, and I get a really good workout there, even when I don't go very far. So, as Blake, James and the dogs loaded up in the car to go to the other side of the park for a playground, I took the trail over to meet them.

Here they are, coming down the slide. We all had so much fun there.

It was such a nice day, and the previous weekend had been affected by our colds, that we took the dogs home and then went to Augusta to Balducci Vineyards. The drive and the trees were pretty, and Blake got another opportunity to fly his kite.


I enjoyed the wine and cheese. And, of course, both photos of me during the day show me with a mouth full of cheese and crackers. Thanks, Blake.

Those are all of the adventures I will share for now. Things seem relatively calm at the moment, so I think I will take a break, watch a movie, and work on Christmas presents!

Elmo Begs for Candy

James had so much fun trick-or-treating, and so did we! He quickly learned what to do, although he had to make some adjustments -- He learned to go knock on the door to get candy, but when a family was sitting on their porch handing out the candy, he took it, then tried to knock on the door for more!

He was a WILD child later that night, though. Running around at full speed for at least an hour. He hadn't had much candy, so we think it was just a lot of excitement. I tried to take a video of it, but as soon as I was distracted with the camera, he grabbed a pen and started stabbing poor Nutmeg. I had to intervene.

I went shopping today to buy cheap Halloween decorations for next year. Tried to buy costumes, too, so James could play dress-up, but they were gone.

Happy Halloween!

Today, James and I went out to decorate the front porch with sidewalk chalk to help welcome Trick or Treaters.

Maybe THIS will give me some motivation (and willpower)

It's not baby weight. I really didn't gain too much during the pregnancy. And James is 2 now, anyway. It's being less active, not having the same lifestyle I used to, and not being in sole control over what food is in the house. Basically, it's a lack of willpower. I do well for a while, but have not been able to lose the weight that I want to. So, when I found the Big Picture Scrapbooking class on Wellness, I thought I would give it a try. Maybe if I'm in a class with others (including Sue, who I met on the CC message board) AND it involves scrapbooking . . . maybe it will be more motivating! The class starts tomorrow, and here are the pre-class assignments I've done. Most of the products used are from Coordinates Collections, primarily the Jane Austen kit. Don't those pretty papers look motivating?

So, wish me luck, everyone. I don't know what the class will involve, but I plan to post more. Feel free to ask me how I'm doing to keep me honest!