Thanksgiving fun--Navy Pier

There was tons of fun to be had Thanksgiving day:

(Eating/games/eating/talking/munching/napping/eating/eating....I could go on but I won't)

and on Friday:

(shooooooooooooooooopppppppppppppppppiiiiiiiiiiinnnnnnnnnnnggggggggg!!)

but (boohoo) not too many pictures from those days, so I will share our

adventures from Saturday!


We took a family trek downtown to Navy Pier, and we went

to the wonderful indoor garden and fountain area.

The boys were fascinated by the fountains

Shane and his brothers, Jason (left) and Roger (middle)

(both much, much older than he is) *giggle*

Daddy with each of his boys

E had to touch the fountain (followed then, of course, by the other two boys)

Awww, I really like these next two for some reason....

....maybe cause the love of my life is in them with me?

My brothers and sisters-in-law and their families:

Roger, Aimee, and Luke and Olivia

Karie, Jason, Callen and Reese

And our family!

As soon as we got inside of Navy Pier, some genius had set up this Thomas the Train ride-on choo choo. Guess who just had to take a ride?

Waiting in line
Col and E rode together.....

....as did Reese and Cameron!

Cami liked the lion

Then, we had some fun at lunch. I snapped a few shots of Cameron being a *gasp* ham...

...no, not my Cameron...

Olivia kept peeking at me over her Daddy's shoulder--I finally caught her in the act

HA! These next pics of E crack me up. Ethan loves, loves, loves french fries. I mean, he would pick them over any other food. The fries we got that day were more like curly fries--

and you could tell he knew that they just weren't quite right...

That boy wanted some regular-ol' fries....and he let us all know about!

He simply did not want to hear me saying that those were the only fries we had, and he could either eat them or not--so, he did what he could to not hear me.

And then, the plugging-the-ear thing became a game.

In, out, in, out....
After lunch, we discovered that the 2-man stroller still fits all 3 of our little men....

....and it was a good thing, 'cause we were gonna need it....

Up next: The Children's Museum!

How does a Mommy makes time for blogging? *Child labor*

{They dry dishes....}

{....they vacuum the living room....}

{....they dust....}

{....even behind all the pictures...}

{...they vacuum the kitchen and dining room...}

And, you should see them work that toilet brush.
HA! Not really but I'm workin' on it.
I'm just training them up in the way they should go...
Can I get an amen, all you busy Mommies?

Toy recommendation

Cameron got this really neat toy for his birthday this year, and I thought I would share in case you might be in need of a cool gift idea for a child.


Oh, and.....this isn't Cameron, by the way. Just another happy little boy whose cool Aunt got him this neat dinosaur playset, too.


You know. Just in case you thought you missed something.






This is a neat little mat that has four zippers, and you unzip to form a flat playmat, and then re-zip to form a neat and tidy storage box to keep your son's 57 dinosaurs all the set pieces inside!


A place for everything, and everything in it's place, I always say. Well....I always say it, but seldom does it ever work around here. I strive towards it anyway.


I digress.



There are tons of sizes, designs (from princess to train to dinosaurs to farms) and prices available. (Our set sells on the website for $25, but if you find an actual store that sells them, they are a bit cheaper.) And, should you need, the set folds up and stores in next to no space--as big as the size of the lid.



As for a parental review, let me just say that this toy is AWESOME! Cameron is slightly over-the-moon about dinosaurs right now, so that particular set was obviously a wonderful choice for him--but I am sure the quality of the pieces and mat in each set is the same. The material wipes clean of whatever junk may get spilled on it (not that my three compulsive spillers we've ever needed that) and the zippers seem very heavy duty. Well.....that is to say they've been yanked hard more than once and are still attached--so they've passed my test, anyway.


The play mat is really tough, too, and the box--which has strong fabric handles, two sections of velcro to keep the lid closed, and a plastic cover for a label (be still my heart) on the outside--has held up through multiple *ahem* crashes. I would highly recommend this toy for any child.

Here is the website where you can order all things Zip-Bin! Let me know what you think!

Thanksgiving fun--Jump Zone

While in for Chicago for what I affectionately call "Thanksgiving Week", we had loads of fun, as usual. On Wednesday, we took all the kids (seven of them under 5 years old) to this wonderful place called Jump Zone. It is this ginormous room that is filled with nothing but giant inflatables, and the kids (and the big boys) had the best time!

Luke flying down the slide so fast that the camera couldn't even focus!

Reese all ready to get her jump on

Colin begging me, "Can I puh-lease go in Mommy?"

Uncle Jay's best side *giggle*

....followed in by Colin....


.....and moments later, tumbling out, came little Ethan

My sweetie of a nephew, Callen

Uncle Rog and Ethan having some cuddle time (this, I will have you know, was actually initiated by Ethan....I could hardly believe my eyes!) My shy little guy not being so shy.

Me and my niece Olivia

Colin zooming down one of the huge slides


This was the best shot I got all day of Cameron. That child would not hold still for one instant to let me get a good picture. Grrrr.

Uncle Jay thought it would be a great idea to take Callen down the mega-slide. Afterward, it seemed as though Callen had really liked it....right up to the part where, about 6 1/2 minutes later, he puked all over his poor mommy Karie.

Oh, yes, for now it's all smiles....

Everyone had a blast that afternoon--and there was still so much fun to come!

To be continued.....

Thank you Aunt Karie....Thank you Aunt Aimee....

....for Cameron's new train set (which we all love).....
See?


.....and for our Creepy Crawlers....


.... which have gotten loads of playtime....

.....and Daddy's Colin's favorite new toy--the racer!!

We love our Christmas presents!!

I heart QVC

I am so excited. I love, love, LOVE to cook, and my pots and pans have finally bit the dust.

You may think that is an odd thing to be excited about, but here's the deal.

My mother is a QVC junkie. It's okay, don't worry--she knows it, and she would freely say the same thing. She has, in turn, turned me into a QVC junkie. (That is, I was a junkie until we moved into this new house two years ago and decided NOT to get cable.....that nipped my junkie-ness in the bud. But don't think I don't check the website everyday to find out what the Today's Special Value is. Just in case.)

Rewind about eight years ago to when my mom bought me my very first set of cookware--a 10-piece, non-stick set of Cook's Essentials with all the pieces a girl could need to cook some terribly burnt yummy and delicious first meals for her never complaining new hubby. The pieces, mind you, are guaranteed for LIFE by QVC. If you ever experience any problems--with the enamel coating, the non-stick, the handles, the lids, anything--you can send the set (or just the individual pan, whatever you are having the problem with) back to QVC and they will replace them with your same pan or an upgrade, if your specific piece is no longer available. Now that's a guarantee.

Fast forward to about a month ago, and you would find that my non-stick pieces are currently not-so-non-stick, and are looking less than desirable after eight years of serious use.

I decided that I was going to cash in on QVC's guarantee. After borrowing a few miscellaneous pieces to get me through until I got my new ones, I sent the entire set of pots and pans back to be replaced with brand-spankin' new ones.

Fast forward to a couple of days ago, and I get a call from a QVC customer service rep, saying that they got my old pans back and were ready to send out my replacement set; however, they no longer had my same set in stock; and would I please call them to give the okay for this new set that they wanted to replace mine with?

Fortunately for me, I couldn't okay the set they were offering me. It had all the same pieces that my old set did, except one very important piece--a 12" chicken fryer that I used tons. I expressed my concern to the representative about needing this pan in whatever new set I got, and then, she proceeded to tell me:

"Well, why don't you browse around on the site, find a set that you like, and give us a call with the item number."

HUH?

"You mean, I can get whatever set I want?"

"As long as it's comparable to your set, you sure can."

Boy, that's something they don't tell ya when you buy the pans! I knew the guarantee was good, but sheesh!

Unfortunately for them, I didn't find a set within the regular Cook's Essentials line that had all of my same pans. I did, however, find a set in the Technique line--their mac-daddy, all new-and-improved, hard anodized, oven-safe-up-to-5oo-degrees line.

To bad it was more than double the price my original set was.

But....*sniff*..... it was the only set that had all my pieces! (Read terribly whiny)

I'm going to do it. I'm going to call them and see if they will let me get this set instead. There's no way on earth they will....this set certainly could not be considered 'comparable'....but it is sure worth a try.....

I am still in shock, still can not believe the great blessing God bestowed on me that day, and still can not believe that I am now the proud owner of this beautiful new set, complete with all of my same old pieces (except they are 100 times better) and a new square pan that I have totally coveted desired for years now!!

MAY I PRESENT TO YOU MY NEW COOKWARE!

*sigh*

I heart QVC.

I've never taught him fractions....

Mommy to Cameron and Colin at nap time: "Does anyone need to go potty before rest today?"

Colin: "I do!"

Mommy follows Colin into the bathroom, to expedite the process--otherwise, going peepee might take 10-12 minutes....

It has become routine at our house to beg to get out of bed at night or at rest because "I have to go paaaaaahhhtteeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!"

So, I have begun trying to ward off this process by threatening telling the boys that they better really have to go when they get up, or they will be in trouble for telling Mommy something that wasn't true just to get out of bed.

I'm sure that was on his mind when Colin said: "I might only have to go a little bit, Mommy."

Mommy: "That's okay. Just go what you can."

He proceeds to lift up the lid and go......and go some more.....

As he is going he says, "Oh! There is more in there than I thought."

.....and go some more.....

And then he says, "Well, I guess I went more than a little bit. But, I didn't go full. I just went about three quarters."

Wha?!

Ho Ho Ho and Ha Ha *Hide me*

Oh, discreetness.....won't you quickly come to my children?

****************************************************************************************************************

Last night, the boys, Grandma MJ and I all headed out to do a little shopping. We were at Target--I took Cameron in my cart, and Grandma MJ took Col and Ethan with her.

We split up for a little while to each get what we needed, and Cameron and I were having a great ol' time together. *Side note: don't you love when you get to spend time with your kids, even if just a few minutes, one-on-one?*

Cameron and I were talking and laughing, and looking around at all the pretty decorations in the store (we were back in the Christmas section), when I noticed that Cameron's attention was suddenly and decisively elsewhere.

His eyes were absolutely locked on something. I followed his gaze right around the corner, where there was an older gentleman with glasses and a short white beard. He was standing next to one of those light-up grapevine reindeer.

I knew it was coming.

I immediately flung the cart around, and began walking walking quickly speed walking running at full force moving away from this man as quickly as I could without looking terribly conspicuous.

At the same time, I was watching Cameron--he was trying his best to move to side-to-side so that he could look around me at the man, and I was doing my best (also swaying side-to-side) to stay in front of him so he couldn't see around me.

We must have looked a bit ridiculous to the throng of people in the Christmas section.

I thought I had succeeded. We were almost out of earshot.

C'mon, c'mon....we can make it.....almost there.....

But that little stinker totally juked me out. He faked right but went left, got around my shoulders, spotted the older man and hollered,

"SANTA!"

The episode--and my embarrassment level, to boot--was reminiscent of our grocery-shopping-pirate day....

....Lord, help me as I raise these three boys

not to die of embarrassment before it is all over....

Bleh

I'm in a funk.

I know it....now you know it, too. If, you know, you hadn't already suspected that something was up due to my lack of blogging.

I knew it would happen. It's almost as if I've been waiting on it.

It usually hits me on the ride home from my in-laws house after Thanksgiving. We always have such a wonderful time, and it always goes too quickly. Before you know it, the mini-vacation is over and done, and we are in the car headed back home--a home that is over two hours from our nearest relatives, and almost 10 hours from the others.

I get all teary, and cry for a while about the family that I won't see again for another whole year. My niece and nephew especially, who will be so much older and may not even remember me next time they see me.

It is reminiscent of my younger days, when I was a teenager, and I would get on a plane and leave my Dad and family in New Jersey after a summer visit to come back home to my Mom in Illinois, and knowing that when I saw my brother and sister again, they would be so much different, in so many ways.

Knowing you are losing precious time with people you love.....it's hard.

This year, it's all that.....and more.

This year, when we put the tree up and got all the ornaments out, there wasn't a new first ornament for the tree like there was supposed to have been.

This year, the family ornament that I will buy will only have five people represented, and not six like I thought there was going to be.

This year, when all of our family got together at Thanksgiving, there were only two new babies, instead of the three new ones we all thought there would be last year at this time.

The roller coaster of emotions of hitting this one year mark.....it's just hard for me.

I've been expecting this to hit me, and I've been trying to semi-prepare myself for it, but it didn't really work. I can hide it pretty well, and did so in front of everyone last week (for the most part, anyway). But I just sort of feel like an emotional wreck. I cry for no reason.....one minute I can be okay, the next minute I am dissolved into the 'ugly' cry, and then the very next minute I can be okay again. I just have those moments.

And, by the way, it's not just the 'baby' thing. There are other things, too, that I'm dealing with right now. I am sort-of in the middle of this wrestling match with God. How dumb is that, right? I know HE wins, every time, but my three-year-old mindset still likes to throw the occasional temper tantrum every once in a blue moon. Someday, I hope to move past that.....

No, the baby is not the only thing....but it ranks right up there at the top of the list as the toughest to deal with.

The most wonderful thing I got after we lost our baby last year was this miniature tricycle. My mom gave it to me, instead of flowers--so we would always have something visual to remind us of the baby. It has winter foliage (like pine branches) on it, that are flocked with fake snow, and red holly berries. It also has miniature lights, that Shane hooked up to a small touch-pad light switch. You can touch it and the trike lights up. It is the most beautiful thing, and ever since I got in on December 14th of last year, it has sat in it's special spot in the bookcases Shane built.

I've never told anyone this, not even Shane (although, he certainly will read it later) and I don't even know why I am saying this now, except that I feel like all this 'letting it out' is making me feel somewhat better. The touch-pad on the trike has four levels, and you can adjust how bright you want the lights to shine. It's a really neat feature....but I have, for the last almost 365 days, used those lights as something a bit different.

They are my grief gage.

When I am having a good day, I leave the lights off. Alternatively, when I am having a particularly rough day, I keep the lights all the way up. I turn them on, and every time I walk in the living room, they are ablaze in their special spot. I can't put my finger of why, but seeing that makes me feel a bit better. Like there is a part of my baby that is still here with us.

The lights have been full blast since coming home Sunday night.

I don't anticipate turning them off at all until after the holidays.

It all goes back to the losing precious time with the ones you love aspect.

I got 13 weeks with my baby....that was it. I took for granted that there was going to be so much more than that, but there wasn't. I lost so much precious time that I had anticipated having. All the birthdays, all the holidays, all the fun stuff we were going to do together. And then, all of a sudden, our baby was gone, and now I didn't get any more time.

Wham. Gone. Just like that.

On these hard days, I feel that I was robbed of the greatest gift God ever gives us. Robbed of the good times, the bad times, the traditions, the everything. Just robbed.

Even still a year later, that hurts.

I'm not writing this to make you feel sorry for me. Please, don't. Grief is what it is--and it is different things to different people. You may be reading this and thinking, "Sheesh....it's been a year. Isn't she over this already?" or you may be thinking, "I know exactly how she feels". This is just about what my grief is to me right now, and I just needed to let it out.

I know all of the truths. I know that God is the giver of all life, and He can freely do with that life whatever He so chooses. He gives, and He takes away--and His name is to be praised in either case. I believe that and respect the choice He made for me. I know that that 'reality' of having my baby here for all those moments really wasn't MY reality to begin with--it was never meant to be for me.

I can see all of the good that has come out of what happened, and for everything I have learned, I am so grateful. I believe that now, even hurting as I am, I can truly say--knowing that my God only wants the very best for me, and that He will work out everything that happens to me to be for my greater good--that this was the very best thing for me at this time in my life.

But, there are still hard days--some, like today, very, very hard.

Bleh.