The Last Post of the Year

I am wanting to turn this blog into a book. I was going to use the website www.blurb.com to make it into a book, but somewhere between July and December, they quit being able to support the Blogger platform. I am now in search of another site here on the internet who can do it and I am confident I will get this published into a book. On another note, the site had the number of postings topped out at 500. Since I am almost at 400, I thought I should just wrap this year up and start a new blog, with a new name. I have been thinking of the name (OK, I had a few different names thought up) for the blog, but did not know if it would be available. After much ado, I lucked out and got my first choice! YEAH! Here is the name of my new blog:

www.WelcomeToMyLoudLife.blogspot.com

It really needs no explanation. However, on the first blog posting for it, I did touch on the appropriateness of the title. I am very excited to start anew and begin writing a new book! (And hopefully find a publisher for this one!)

What I Have Learned/Reaffirmed this Year

*I do not like blanket apologies.

*I could always be a better listener.

* I need to acquire more patience.

* I really like having my toes painted.

*Timeouts are just as stressful on the parent as the child sitting there.

* I will always be busy. No matter what.

* Men cannot multi-task.

* Carpooling is a good deal.

* 2 kids are exponentially easier than 3.

* I love queso.

*The house is usually very quiet after 10pm.

*I can get a LOT of things done after 10pm.

* I love to read good books.

*I am very blessed to have 3 healthy kids.

* I cannot stand to do laundry every day.

* I realize that I will NEVER be completely caught up with laundry!

* I love Facebook.

*It really hurts to be hit with anything thrown from the back seat of the SUV.

* I cannot please everyone, no matter how hard I try.

* Having friends is a necessity.

*Having GOOD friends is a blessing!

* It is not necessary to have a playdate if you do not enjoy the company.

*It takes a village when it comes to kids.

* I LOVE MY MOM!

* Your gall bladder can be a painful organ if it is not functioning correctly.

* I love living in Texas because wearing shorts in December is fun.

* 3 year olds still need naps.

*36 year olds still need naps.

* I feel really bad when I totally miss someone's birthday.

* Being in pain can really put you in a foul mood.

*6 year olds can ask smoe very intuitive questions.

*Some people will never be happy, while there are others who will always be filled with joy despite the circumstances that they are facing.

*4 year old little girls are capable of 3-4 emotional fits a day. Or none at all.

* I have a really wonderful husband who loves me and cares for me.

* A miserable job = miserable mood.

* I should have bought stock in Dinosaur Chicken Nuggets years ago. (Natalie's consumption alone has driven their stock up 3 points.)

*3 year old boys are capable of mass destruction if they are left alone for more than 90 seconds. Sometimes less than that.

*Gnomes are fun. When you carry one around, you get asked a LOT of questions. People generally LIKE gnomes.

* A root canal is not so bad if you have a great oral surgeon.

* God really does care about me and my life. Even the small things, He cares.

2008 in Review

Timeline of Major World Events in 2008

January

*Primaries in the US Presidential election begin. President-elect Barack Obama races to an early lead in Iowa. Later in the month, Democrat candidate John Edwards, and Republican candidate Rudolph Giuliani drop out of the race, after failing to win a selection in any state so far.

*Bush Proposes $145 Billion Stimulus Package. (Jan. 24): The Bush administration and the House hash out a $146 billion stimulus package that gives rebates of $300-$600 for individuals earning up to $75,000 and to couples with incomes up to $150,000. Families will be eligible for up to $300 in rebates for each child. Responding to a crisis in the housing market and rising oil prices, president says a combination of tax cuts for individuals and businesses will "provide a shot in the arm" to the economy. His plan, which is vague, is intended to stimulate spending.

*Markets Plunge Around the World. Responding to fears that the U.S. is headed for an imminent recession, stock markets fall drastically in Frankfurt, Mumbai, Hong Kong, Paris, London, and other major cities in Europe and Asia.
*Federal Reserve Slashes Interest Rates.In response to the plunge in markets around the world, the Federal Reserve bank cuts interest rates by .75%, the largest single-day reduction in the bank's history.

February

*John McCain emerges as the big Republican winner from Super Tuesday primaries, while the battle for the Democratic nomination remains too close to call. Republican Mitt Romney officially drops out of the race.

*Castro resigns as President of Cuba, ending a five-decade reign. The former dictator's health had been in question since 2006, when he underwent surgery on his intestine. Castro was succeeded by his brother, Raul.

*New York Giants quarterback Eli Manning evades three tackles and fires a 32-yard pass to wide receiver David Tyree for the winning touchdown in Super Bowl XLII against the New England Patriots. The last-minute touchdown seals a 17-14 win for the Giants and prevents the Patriots from becoming the first NFL side to go 19-0 for the season.

March

*John McCain secures the Republican nomination, after winning enough primaries to knock out opponent Mike Huckabee.

*Tibetan monks engage in a protest against Chinese rule of the country to commemorate the failed uprising of 1959. China acts swiftly to suppress the demonstrations, with Tibetans saying Chinese authorities have acted heavy-handedly. International attention turns to Tibet, just months before the Beijing Olympics.

*Several Are Killed in Crane Collapse. Seven people die and dozens are wounded when a construction crane collapses in Manhattan and destroys a town house and damages other buildings.

April

*Austrian man Josef Fritzl admits to imprisoning and raping his daughter Elisabeth in an underground cellar for 24-years. The 73-year old had fathered 7 children by Elisabeth, one of whom died. Fritzl faces charges of rape, incest, kidnap, slavery and false imprisonment, as well as one count of murder over the death of his infant son.

*Olympic Torch Relay Draws Protests. Dozens of human rights protesters are arrested in London after they clash with police who line the route of the Olympic torch relay. The torch is extinguished several times during the Paris leg of the relay.

*Woman Wins Indy Race. Danica Patrick wins the Indy Japan 300, becoming the first woman to win an IndyCar race.

May

*Cyclone Nargis rips through the Irrawaddy Delta and Rangoon in Burma, killing up to146,000 people and leaving hundreds of thousands more homeless. Burma's military junta is heavily criticized for its handling of the disaster, after restricting the access of international aid organizations.

*An earthquake measuring 7.9 on the Richter scale hits China's Sichuan province, killing nearly 72,000 people. Many of those killed were students, housed in shoddily-build school structures. The quake was the 19th most deadly of all time, with major aftershocks continuing for days.

June

*Barack Obama secures the Democratic Party's nomination, after a long and bitter battle with former First Lady Hillary Clinton. Clinton initially refuses to concede defeat, but eventually endorses Obama for President.

*Tiger Woods, battling crippling pain in his left knee, defeats fellow American Rocco Mediate in the first sudden-death hole of a US Open play-off. He takes the remainder of the year off after undergoing reconstructive surgery.

*California Begins Performing Same-Sex Marriages. A month after the state supreme court struck down laws prohibiting gay marriage, couples flood into city halls all over the state to get married. California is the second state, behind Massachusetts, to legalize same-sex marriage. However, the future of gay marriage is in doubt; a referendum set for November seeks to define marriage as a union between “a man and a woman.”

*Hundreds Are Killed by Typhoon in the Philippines. More than 800 people die when a ferry is struck by Typhoon Fengshen. About 500 other people die during the storm.

*Gates Ends Day-to-Day Work at Microsoft. Bill Gates remains chairman of the software giant, but he will no longer work at the company full time. Instead, he will devote more time to the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.

July

*Colombian troops rescue Ingrid Betancourt, three American military contractors, and 11 other hostages who were being held by Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) guerrillas. With the help of U.S. intelligence, equipment, and training advice, Colombian military agents, in a carefully planned ruse, trick the rebels into handing over the captives without a shot being fired. Betancourt, a Colombian politician who was kidnapped in 2002 while campaigning for the presidency, was the most prominent of hundreds of hostages held by FARC.

*California Bans Trans Fats in Restaurants. Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger signs a law that prohibits the use of hydrogenated oils in the state's 88,000 restaurants. The law goes into effect in 2010.

August

*After much anticipation, the Beijing Olympics open to great fanfare.

*Despite its best efforts, questions surrounding China's handling of the Games refuse to dissipate, and international journalists and broadcasters become critical of authorities' handling of the media.

*Barack Obama selects Joe Biden as his Vice-Presidential running mate, just days before the Democratic National Convention opens in Denver, Colorado. Republican candidate John McCain chooses little-known Alaskan Governor Sarah Palin as his running mate, stealing some of the limelight away from the Democratic Convention.

*Hurricanes Fay and Gustav cause massive devastation in the Caribbean and southern parts of the United States through August and September. In September, Hurricane Ike makes landfall in Haiti, killing at least 75 people.

*A spectacular opening ceremony in the futuristic Bird's Nest stadium precedes an immaculately organized Beijing Olympics.

*In the pool, Michael Phelps wins an unprecedented eight gold medals, including seven world records, to better the record set by fellow American Mark Spitz 36 years earlier.

*On the track, Bolt breaks the world 100 and 200 metres marks in the greatest exhibition of sprinting witnessed at an Olympics.

*China head the medals table, with 51 golds, ahead of the United States.

September

*Hurricane Gustav mars the opening of the Republican National Convention, held in Minneapolis.

*Governor Palin, who is widely praised for her opening speech, announces her unwed teenage daughter is pregnant.

*McCain and Palin both officially accept their party's nomination.

*Mortgage giants Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae collapse, just days before investment bank Lehman Brothers follows suit. Global markets plunge as a result of the news.

*Thousands of children in China are affected by milk products tainted by melamine. The scandal spreads beyond mainland China, and several products are pulled from shelves across the globe. By the end of November, authorities revise the number to nearly 300,000 affected by the scandal, 52,000 of whom were hospitalized.

*Seven-time Tour de France champion Lance Armstrong announces he is coming out of retirement and plans to race in the 2009 Tour.

October

*The US senate approves a $700 billion bailout package to help curb the affects of the global financial crisis. The package allows Treasury to buy a number of troubled assets, as well as invest in some of the US's largest banks.

*John McCain and Barack Obama embark on a series of presidential debates, but are overshadowed by their two deputies, Sarah Palin and Joe Biden, whose one and only debate in November receives extraordinarily high ratings.

November

*Barack Obama wins a victory against rival John McCain in the US Presidential election, becoming the first African-American elected to the position. Over the next few weeks Obama announces who will be part of his administration, including one-time rival Hillary Clinton as Secretary of State.

*California Votes to Outlaw Same-Sex Marriage. Voters narrowly pass a ballot measure, Proposition 8, that overturns the May 15, 2008, California Supreme Court decision that said same-sex couples have a constitutional right to marry.

*Pirates Hijack Oil Tanker. The Saudi oil tanker, anchored about 480 miles off the coast of Somalia, is loaded with some two million barrels of oil, worth about $100 million. It is the first time pirates have seized an oil tanker.

December

*Journalist Throws Shoes at Bush At a news conference in Baghdad, a reporter for Al Baghdadia, a Cairo-based satellite television network, hurls his shoes at President Bush and calls him a "dog." The shoes narrowly miss Bush's head.

*Blackwater Security Guards Are Charged. Five employees of Blackwater Worldwide are charged with 14 counts of manslaughter and 20 counts of attempted manslaughter. They were involved in the September 2007 shooting of 17 Iraqi civilians in Baghdad's Nisoor Square. The incident strained the relationship between the governments of Iraq and the U.S.

*Organizers of Sept. 11 Attacks Say They Will Plead Guilty. Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, suspected of being the mastermind of the attacks, and four co-defendants tell the military judge at Guantanamo Bay that they want to confess to all charges of murder and war crimes. The judge, Col. Stephen Henley, tells prosecutors that they must report back on whether the suspects can be sentenced to death without being found guilty by a military jury.

*Illinois Governor Accused of Selling Obama's Senate Seat. In several phone conversations with advisers that were recorded by the FBI since the Nov. 4, 2008, election, Rod Blagojevich, a Democrat, plotted ways to benefit financially from his duty to fill Chicago's senate seat that was vacated by President-elect Barack Obama.

**I compiled this list from 4 lists that I found when I 'googled' 2008/events/review.**

Mary's Last Party of the Year

Mary has had a New Year's Eve Party the last 2 years, with just a small group of us. (John could not come last year because we did not have a babysitter and then this year volunteered to stay home as well so I could go.) We played Jenga (with Jerry of course!) and had an unbelievable amount of fun pulling little blocks out of a tower. After that game lasted just shy of forever, we played Apples to Apples. I have never played that game before, but it was pretty fun. Especially some people's interpretation of certain words. We decided that there would be a real winner (who got the card) and a secondary winner, who just had the funniest answer, even though it may not have been applicable. After that, it was time for the ball to drop! They replayed the New York /Times Square ball dropping and we all toasted to a New Year in Mary's fancy media room!

What a great way to ring in the New Year!

The Sign of a Good Doctor

How to know if you have a good doctor:

* Are they a good listener?

* Do they ask YOU questions and wait for the answers?

* Does he/she spend time with you and not make you feel rushed?

* Do they write a lot while you are talking or wait until you are done?

* Is their staff nice? (There is nothing better than having a nurse you are on a first-name basis with!) Are they consistently there or is it a high turnover?

* Does he/she ALWAYS give you a medication? Or sometimes suggest behavior modifications?

* Do you like him/her as a person?

I have a doctor that I ADORE. I mean I really, really like him. I respect him immensely. He is a D.O., so he can do adjustments if I need them in addition to being a medical doctor. He is everything listed above and more. He is a GREAT listener: he asks me questions about my life and circumstances. He listens to my responses and may even ask a follow up question before he starts writing on his computer. He spends so much time with me, I sometimes feel guilty. He calls me his healthiest patient (though I would question that right now with all the issues that I have had this month). His staff is very nice and accommodating. We do not take advantage of this, but being on a first name basis with his nurse does have it's advantages! He knows that I do not want a medication unless I really need it, so he will suggest alternatives if available. If I do need a med, he will give me the lowest therapeutic dose to accomplish what needs to be accomplished. Most of all I like him and RESPECT him as a person. He practices what he preaches and does not ask me to do anything that he would not do himself. I adore my doctor and am so glad that I found a good one!

Cooper the Bike Rider

Cooper is getting so good on his bike! I LOVE it that he can ride on just 2 wheels these days. Today a friend invited us out to the park and she was bringing her son's bike for him to ride. Well, ME TOO! I tossed Cooper's bike in the back and we headed off to the park. He rides like a pro! No longer is it a huge ordeal for him to get the pedals in the right place and start pedaling. Nope, he can just go now: on the side walk, on the grass, on the basketball court, you name it. I am so proud of my not-so-little boy growing up!

(Cooper and his bike-riding buddy!)

An Extra Child

When you have 3 kids, what is one extra? Not too much different since I always have 4 car seats in my car Monday - Friday (carpool necessity). I took Brooke with us today and adding her into the mix is really like subtracting one. She is so quiet (which is an anomaly with this group of kids) and when she does say something it is in such a small, petite voice. She is Cooper's age and speaks very eloquently. Sometimes you shake your head and think, did she really just say that? How can a six year old have such incredible incite? She is a great little addition to our playgroup, because every child LOVES her.

Cooper adores her because they are on the same intellect level and communicate with each other so easily. Natalie loves her because she says and does such fun girlie things. And Luke cannot get enough of her because she showers him with lots of attention. It is really nice to have her with us because she is such a delight!

Jumping Party - Take 2

We went to Jumping Party again today. I purchased a 6 month membership (for $60, what a deal!), so I wanted to start getting my money's worth. I took all 3 kiddos, plus my girlfriend Jamie's daughter, Brooke. We all packed a lunch and met one of Cooper's friends out there (who happens to have a brother Luke's age). This way EVERYONE had a play partner, even though it constantly shifted as to who was playing with who.

There is no better way to wear out all these kids at once than this place. Having them jump their hearts out, eat some lunch, then jump some more! It is a huge facility, so there is lots of running from inflatable to inflatable, plus they were racing each other on the 2 obstacle course ones. They are all pretty competitive, so eventually someone ends up crying because they did not win OR because someone cheated. (That requires a small discussion on my part with the offender.) Cooper wanted to play hide and go seek, so I let him hide. Problem was I forgot I was supposed to be seeking. After 5-10 minutes I abruptly remembered and set out to find him. Thank goodness he just thought he had done an exceptional job of hiding! I love being a MOM!

Catching the Wind

Luke received a kite from Ms. Mary as a gift. Every since he saw the wind gauge on it, he has been obsessed trying out the wind gauge. He will say he wants to 'catch the wind' with it. I do not know how he came up with that particular phrase, but it actually makes sense. From the 3 year old!

When we got home from church today, we decided that we would try to go catch the wind. We went to Veteran's Park, where there is a big open field to try out all the kites. Ms. Mary got Cooper a macaw one, Luke a dragon one and Natalie a box-type kite that was a Princess theme. They all came in these huge triangular clear cases and had minimal putting together steps. (This is always a plus, especially when the kids want to fly it RIGHT NOW!) John put Cooper together first and got it flying pretty quick. However, the wind was not so hip on staying around, so JUST when he had it going good enough to hand off to Cooper, the wind would die down. The poor macaw made many a crash landings! Since Luke was the instigator of motivating us to fly the kites, John put his together next. He did not have so much luck and Luke was not so keen on following the directions of 'do not let any more string out, do not let any more string out!' I think he just wanted to hold the string dispenser and unravel it all.

Natalie was patient throughout the flying of the boys' kites and was ready to get her kite in the air once John put it together. It was pretty neat to see it soar straight up into the sky on the first time. Once it got to a certain height one of the rods popped out and it came down so fast I almost hit the deck for cover! I found the renegade rod and put it back together and she was ready to go. This time Cooper thought he could toss it up to get it going, but by then we were out of wind again.

At this point all the kids are all out of patients for getting their kites up and they wanted to play. Could not blame them on that account. I took them over to play while John kept flying the kites. FOR 30 MINUTES! Yes, I think the kites that Mary got for the kids were enjoyed by John the most!

THANK YOU Ms. MARY for the afternoon of entertainment! I am sure we will have many other afternoons of fun like this with our kites!

Big Church with Natalie

They did not have children's programming for children older than 3 years old last week and this week. I asked John to take Luke and Cooper and I would take Natalie. That meant that she would sit in big church with me. She has two responses to church: completely enthralled or completely disengaged. I had a little pep talk with her before we got there, to ensure that she would NOT ask me when it would be over. Not even once. She agreed. And guess what? She did not ask me once when church would be over. I could tell that she had checked out of the listening part, but at least she was quiet and content. I brought 2 books for her to practice her alphabet and to practice concepts in a workbook. That kept her busy, thank goodness. She did a little singing and signing, but for the most part looked like she was just suffering through it. Oh well, maybe some of it will sink in...

Jason's Deli

I took Natalie and Cooper to Target (as a treat) and let each of them pick 1 thing from the dollar spot. Then, it was time to head home OR go out to eat. They wanted to go home. Now it is rare for me to have them by themselves and have the time to take them out to eat. (Besides Chik*Fil*A) No, they wanted to go home. I could not believe I had to talk them into going out to eat! Finally I came up with a clincher. Hey guys, do ya'll want to go to Jason's Deli, where they give you ice cream as dessert? SOLD! I had them hooked at that point. They were all over the fact that ice cream was a guarantee for dessert.

It is sad to say that I paid $2.59 for a serving of mac-n-cheese and $2.59 for a personal size cheese pizza, but it was all worth it for the fact that I got Black Currant Tea to drink. I do not know why I have started to like that kind of tea, but I have. That along with a turkey wrap and I was as happy as the kids were. After they had (relatively) good behavior, I went to get them their ice cream. With a choice of chocolate, vanilla or swirl, which flavor do you think they went with? VANILLA! Can you believe? Cooper and Natalie are both VANILLA! I really thought Cooper would go for swirl, because that sounds like fun, but no, vanilla it was.

They both are pretty funny in how they eat ice cream off of a cone. Inevitably it ends up on their nose or as a beard at some point. I should not laugh, but it is really cute when they are not even trying to be funny. Here are some pictures of their cuteness:

The Angst of Bed-time

1) Where did we go wrong?

2) What did we do wrong?

3) When did it get this out of control?

This is what we ask ourselves most nights at bed-time. There was once a time in our short parenting careers that we did not have an issue with this particular part of the evening. We took it for granted that the kids went to sleep without a 1-2 hour battle. We took it for granted that they went to sleep without threats or bribes. Woe be the night that we do not have to bribe or threaten one, two or all 3 kids. That would be a cause for celebration, for sure.

Right now I am listening to Natalie sob with all her heart about the unfairness of sleeping in the guest room. Why? Because Cooper cannot NOT talk to her, she cannot NOT talk back to him, and all this talking leads to him convincing her it is OK to: a) jump on her bed, b) turn the light on, or c) hang on the bunk bed, or d) find some other mischief to get her in trouble or e) all of the above. Hence she does what he suggests and gets in all sorts of trouble and he lies back and relishes in the fact that he is NOT in trouble for once.


The techniques that we have tried:

1) Staggered bedtimes. Problem? No one goes to sleep the moment that they are put into bed. (Wouldn't that be nice!) They all seem to wind down whether you put them to bed at the same time or 15 minutes apart. Sometimes the wind down period is 10 minutes, sometimes it is 2 hours. You never know what kind of struggle it will be.



2) Quiet time 30 minutes before bed, reading 3 books, singing songs, telling a nice long story and saying prayers. You would think after all this quiet down time they would start to unwind and be ready to lie their sleepy heads down for a long night's rest, right? No such luck. It does not matter if you read 3 books or 6 books or the whole library collection in their room. They just store up all that energy while they are siting still and unleash it as soon as the lights go out!


3) Bribes and Threats. Neither really work. They only remember the treat that was offered in the form of a bribe. They wake up the next morning, can I have my piece of gum? I went to sleep. Yes, you sure did, after I told you to the 58th time!!! They only remember that they did exactly what we asked, they slept. They do not remember the small war they waged before they finally dozed off. Threats really do not work well either, because after you remove whatever object that you threatened to remove, they cry so loud that you end up bribing them to be quiet by giving it back. Does not seem so effective except making them upset (which ruins the evening for everyone).

I am sure. No, I am positive that this WILL get better. There will come an evening that we will figure it all out and the kids will miraculously go to sleep without fuss. I just know it. They may be teenagers by then and I may have a complete head of gray hair, but I am POSITIVE that it will happen. I just know it.

How About THAT?!?

MP3 Player Lights Rescuers' Way to Missing Skiers

Sat Dec 27, 9:34 am ET

SAVOGNIN, Switzerland – Swiss rescue officials say they have found two missing skiers after spotting the light from their MP3 music player.

The Swiss air rescue association Rega says it received a distress call from the French tourists late Friday but the skiers' phone battery went dead before they could be reached.

Rega spokesman Gery Baumann says the two men were eventually found after midnight in steep, wooded terrain by a helicopter crew that spotted the light from their digital music player.
Baumann said Saturday that the two 22-year-olds suffered only mild hypothermia despite enduring temperatures as low as 5 degrees Fahrenheit (minus 15 degrees Celsius).

The incident happened near the town of Savognin in southeastern Switzerland.

Making Cupcakes with Natalie

Natalie got a cupcake making set for Christmas. That meant that someone was going to have to sit down and make cupcakes with her. Natalie has asked every day, so I decided to run point on the making of the cupcakes today. Really I did 95% percent of it, but she got to sit on the countertop and watch me. She did stir the whisk a few times so I could take a picture. Other than that, it was all me making the cupcakes. They were pining for 12 minutes until the cupcakes were ready. I must say they turned out pretty good. I have never made anything with those silicone pans and was a bit fearful to put it into the oven at 350 degrees. No worries, though. Nothing melted and they came out just fine. I was the Mom of the Day for letting Natalie and Luke both have 3 cupcakes before nap. Yea me!

Luke's Jumping Party

John took Natalie and Cooper to his office today so I had to find a way to entertain Luke AND wear him out for nap. I'm still feeling not-so-good and very afraid of hurting my incisions, so I am kind of limited to the activities that I can partake in. I decided to take Luke to the Jumping Party place and let him run, jump and play his little heart out. I knew I needed to take someone who could keep up with him and play with him. My neighbors' 12 year old was just perfect for that job. She is young enough to enjoy playing and jumping plus I could see how she interacts with him for future babysitting opportunities. Well, she did GREAT. He absolutely loved playing with her and she appeared to be having fun too.

It's funny, she is at an age where she can act like a kid when appropriate, yet carry on an adult conversation when appropriate. We had a great talk all the way out there. She is so well-spoken and also quite humorous. She answers questions in complete sentences and says yes and no vs. yea and uh-uh. She got her braces off a few months ago and since then it is like she has morphed into an almost teenager (in a good way) from being a little girl. It is so fun to see her growing up literally before my very eyes...

John Takes the Kids to Work

John used to work 15 minutes away, in the same city that we live in. We would go visit him at his office quite regularly. Now he works 43 miles away. Not close AT ALL. So, once a year John takes the kids to his office. He took them last year the day after Christmas and ever since then that is all they can talk about. When do we get to go to Daddy's office? And the other one would reply, the day after Christmas (as if everyone knew that)!

Today was the day. Natalie (of course) woke up early to start packing her (new) Hello Kitty backpack with all the essentials that she would need at Daddy's office. You know, a puzzle, a video, 4 coloring books, 52 crayons, 16 markers, 1 Hello Kitty, 2 changes of outfits for the Hello Kittys, a photo album book, a book to read and lots more that I did not get to inventory. Cooper gathered up all that HE needed: his humming dog, a DVD, 2 books, a puzzle and 2 little trinkets from his treasure box. I finally convinced him to use a backpack after he dropped the third item on the way to the front door. You would have thought that they were going to an amusement park with the excitement that filled the car as they got in. Whoo-hoo, an hour to Dad's office, alright!!!