To children all snug in their beds

I couldn't let this day pass without writing something! Everyone is asleep except for me. I feel like a kid in a candy store. No one is grabbing my leg or calling my name. They are all snug in their beds for now. Christmas is such a crazy, wonderful time all by itself. We have enjoyed so many different activities this year, but mostly we have enjoyed each other. Don't get me wrong, there have been fights and messes galore. But at the end of the day my children have slept in the same room each night whispering as they went to sleep.

We are so blessed to have our children, grandparents, and a great grandparent with us this evening! Our life is not perfect, far from it, but it is ours and we love it.

I received what will probably be my favorite gift this morning...My little Snoop wagged his tail for the first time in many weeks! (FYI-it is not a good gift because I have spent mucho dollars on him, it is because I love him dearly, Seriously.)

Merry Christmas to all!

Snoop Update

Yes, Snoop is still with us, and no he is not walking. Well, not on all four legs. I swear that little maniac may be faster with only his front two working! Yesterday, I caught him with the cat pinned down on the floor just like old times.

A couple of weeks ago I said to Chris, "I will do the surgery, but I will not go to dog physical therapy." We had our second session today, along with acupuncture. Not kidding.

We are still hoping that he will walk again, and that he doesn't have one of those roller things. But, never say never. We are definitely suckers! Please don't make fun of us.

NYC

Ok, New York City was Fuuuuunnnnnnn! The kids were great. Yes, Zac did get pretty close to the street a few times, Chris and Abby might have gotten stuck without a subway card and I might have had to beg a police officer to let them in anyway, we definitely ate way too many pieces of pizza and Magnolia Bakery cupcakes, but oh well.

Hanna loved it. She went from morning to night. We stayed in Times Square, so we could shop whenever we wanted. And yes, our baby girl came face to face with Justin Bieber. See:

Will was a trooper. He went to NYC with strep throat and left with some kind of coughing thing. No, it wasn't Whooping Cough.The first three times we passed the NBA store, it was closed; which was not good! Finally, he got to go in! We made it worth the wait.

 Here he is, doing what he does best, hiding from my camera:

Zac-i-poo (he says it's ok, that I call him this) was so good! He was a trooper. He was on his best behavior MOST of the time. He had one very short, but memorable fit in the entrance of Bobby Flay's restaurant. His very favorite place was the Toys R Us store. See why?:

Do I look freaky in this picture? Do you want to know why? I waited for 11 years to try that cupcake, and yes it was good!

Chris did lots of fun things in New York. One of the most important was transporting and guiding our children all over the city! Here is one mode of transportation:

Yes, I know he has a paci in his mouth, but it is now gone. Left in NYC forever.

Abby turned 1 on Thanksgiving Day. Can you believe it? Neither can I! See her beautiful cake...It just might have pushed one of our children over the edge and into Vomitville. Guess who?

One post cannot do justice to our whirlwind trip to New York. This is just the appetizer!

Being present

In the past week, I have been struck by the differences in each of our children. They are amazing individuals. Each of their needs are very different and require us to meet them in different places at different times (add a paralyzed dog to the mix, and you have true craziness!).

Sometimes, we don't know exactly what is going on, or if something has happened. Are they tired, did they eat too much junk (this is my standard answer for everything that goes wrong! Clearly, not the problem usually, darn.), is someone bullying them at school, are they bullying? The list goes on and on and changes from year to year.

I worry, silently. I pray. I read. The child usually comes clean and we work through it. The consistent technique that works for me is being present. Present in mind and body. Ok, this sounds really hokie. I am not a self-help guru, nor do I want to be. HOWEVER, we all know this is a very busy time of year!!!!

So, I would like to challenge you and myself to be present in our lives and the lives of our children.

Cheers, and please funny stories come my way today! No more weird thoughts or philosophical posts for a while!

Living life today

I had an unsettling dream, not quite awake thought last night. You know, when you wake up in the middle of the night and immediately start stressing about something? Well, my thought was "you are 10 years away from 50." I know it's kooky, but that is what I thought.

That feels old to me. Kind of scared me. I realized that life is now, not 5 years from now, or when everyone is out of diapers, it's NOW. By the way,  I can't believe I'm 39 and still saying out of diapers. Wow.

So, instead of waiting to eat all the healthy foods I'm supposed to, I'm eating them now. Instead of waiting to watch "Love Actually" (my favorite Christmas movie!!!!) until I have a 2+ hour block of time, I watched it over two nights. Instead of stressing about how much Christmas costs, I'm going to enjoy it. You spend the money whether you stress about it or not.

I realize I most likely have many years to go, but they go fast as we all know.

I want to savor my life and my families, and make sure I live it each day! Cheers and remember to live the  life you want today.

Welcome Home Snoop Dogg

Snoop is home. He is resting and happy. His ears perked when I said, "Snack." Yeah Snoop! We are so thankful to have our sweet, little puppy dog home. Just so you know, before the accident, he really wasn't a dog I would describe as sweet. He was more crazy, wild, infuriating at times but we LOVE him.

His legs aren't moving at all, yet. We are still hoping and praying for the swelling to go down and his legs to regain feeling. Join us, please.