Are we about to get another one?

Tooth, that is? So I noticed a rather large bulge on Tatum's upper right gums this evening. Perhaps her fussiness and general discomfort this weekend was due to the process of trying to get another tooth? I guess we shall see...but it looks pretty close - at least what little bit she would let me see.

I'll keep you posted.

I would have lost SO much money...

Tatum does NOT have an ear infection...but apparently some "virus" - she's not running a fever, is congested, and the doctor says just to keep Tyenol in her for her comfort. I'm really hoping that the "virus" doesn't turn INTO an ear infection...and now I'll be second guessing myself about it since her ears have gotten an "all clear" from the doc.

And Kellen's sweetness today:
I dropped him off in his classroom, and he gave me the "I love you" sign, then wanted to give me another hug (he was across the room from me). Instead, I told him to blow me a kiss, which he did. I "grabbed" it from the air and put it in my pocket, telling him that I would save it for later in the day when I needed a Kellen-kiss. He proceeded to tell me that he still wanted to give me another hug, so he ran to me, hugged me, then looked at me very seriously and said, "Mommy, you can't wash your pants."

"Why can't I wash my pants, Kellen?"

"Because my kiss is still in your pocket and you can't wash your pants with my kiss in there."

Now isn't that just the most adorable thing? My heart just melted...

Days of our Lives

Yes, I'm a fan...and I've been keeping up as much as possible without watching on a daily basis in part to the generosity of Maw Maw's Soap Opera Digest hand-me downs (thanks!). But I have some issues with some of the storylines...And I'll just name a few...

--Belle has slept with Phillip (and is/has lusted for him) when she didn't even love him when they were married. What's with THAT?

--Max and Stephanie...I do not care that they are uncle/neice by adoption only...THEY WERE RAISED AS FAMILY AND THIS IS JUST WRONG!!!

--Phillip fighting tooth and nail for Claire, but then just handing over his ACTUAL BIOLOGICAL CHILD...Really? And Victor is ok with this? I'm thinking NOT!

--The whole rape storyline....Does everyone seem to forget that Stephanie was a TOUGH racing chick??? One that could fix her own car and probably kick ANY guys tail who was trying to do anything to her? Yet she's at the mercy of some frat guy? I think NOT!

--Virtually EVERYONE recognizing Phillip. Seriously? Doesn't ANYONE remember the story where he had reconstructive surgery? On his FACE?????

--The Colleen storyline...really and truly...If she were alive all these years, she would have found the Bradys before now.

--John presumed dead, but alive - AGAIN? (This whole scenario getting old to anyone but me?)

--John lost his memory, AGAIN? Ditto to the above commentary.

I do love the show...and have been watching for years...But every once in a while you have to just call it like you see it, right?

That's all for now...:)

Basketball

So we watched quite a bit of basketball this week...the Harlem globetrotters on Wednesday night and then the womens game vs tu yesterday morning. Both were a lot of fun! I'll have to post pictures when I have a little more time, but Kellen had a really good time at the Globetrotters, and was asking to go back and watch them again!

We got to visit with Aunt Boo yesterday, and went to the game with her, then spent the rest of the day just hanging out, taking naps, and playing games...What fun!

Now today...wow...So Tatum has been the epitimy of fussiness today...(and she is SO not like that). She's putting her fingers (and anything else small enough that fits until I catch her) into her ears (uh huh) and is happy when I'm holding or nursing her...and only moderately happy at that...I'm thinking ear infection - ug! I guess I'll call in the morning to UPA and take her in first thing to get her checked out...If I had to guess, I would say a double ear infection.

I tested her just a bit ago and put her down in various places - well within reach of me and FUN toys, and she wasn't having ANY of it...again - not like her. She doesn't feel warm, but I know that she's miserable, so I gave her some Tylenol, which she gobbled down.

Fun stuff, right?

And here we are...

Medical update:
They aren't bigger...and I don't have more of them...

So........surgery isn't a MUST, just one of my three options, which include:

1. Continue to do nothing
2. Switch to an estrogen-based birth control pill to try and dissipate/alleviate the cysts
3. Surgery

At this point in time, after MANY discussions with the doctors office, insurance, Matt, other friends that have had the surgery, etc...I'm going to try the birth control switch to see how I feel on that. We'll give that a week or so and if I don't see a significant improvement on the pain scale, then we'll probably go the surgery route.

I take it back!

Lord, if I've ever asked for patience in the past, it must have been a mistake. I take it back! I don't really want to deal with a million things to learn that fruit of the spirit...I'll take some of the other fruit, really.

I don't want to wait on the doctor to figure out if I have to have surgery...I just want to stop hurting...I want to be able to concentrate on a task and get it completed, not get sidetracked because I'm just trying to make it through the day. I don't want to answer the question, "So how are you, Rebecca?" with a tough smile and a generic, "I'll be fine," because virtually anything else feels like a lie. I want to be able to enjoy spending time with my beautiful children, not try to explain to Kellen that Mommy's tummy hurts (again) and that the doctor is going to take a picture to find out how to make it better. And to try to convince him that I'm really going to be ok - because I AM going to be ok - sooner or later. But can't it just be sooner?

In Jesus name...Amen.

For those of you reading this that don't have a clue as to what I'm referring to - sorry! I'm dealing with some wonderful issues over here in the way of ovarian cysts - at last count, a total of 6 spread over both ovaries (varying sizes). I wanted to be able to nurse Tatum for the full year that I pre-determined I was going to, so I have chosen not to treat them up until this point because the treatment option would require that I stop nursing (at least a 99% guarantee that I wouldn't be able to continue nursing her). And when I was diagnosed with this over two months ago, that simply wasn't ok with me - at all. So I've been simply managing them...and have actually been doing ok until the past three weeks or so. Well, the pain got worse - quite a bit worse, so we're doing another ultrasound on Thursday to determine our next course of action - surgery or medication.

We shall see. But I'm fairly sure at some point in time I must have prayed for the Lord to give me patience...so I have to go through things to acquire that patience, right? He knows what I need. There is a reason that I'm going through this, and so I will continue to trust Him.

Cloth Chronicles - Part 4

Well, I've been washing the diapers every day because I still haven't gotten a wetbag to store the diapers...so it's been a necessity thing. I need to take some time and get a big one for the house and another medium size one for daycare...On my to-do for later on tonight and/or tomorrow. And I still need to look at some "thinner" solutions for her inserts...she's still pretty bulky.

Onto other things...So Tatum visited the Guppy room yesterday and today...I told her current teachers and the morning Guppy teachers that I only wanted her to have milk - no juice at all (offered during the 3 PM snack - when she gets her bottle of milk)...Matt picked up the kids today - he got a walk in one of his classes - and I see her chart...they offered her 5 oz of juice and she drank 2 1/2 oz! BEFORE HER BOTTLE! Which means that she didn't drink all of her bottle (most, but not all)...and along with the snack they offered her a CUPCAKE!

Kellen didn't have sweets until his birthday party. And we were going for the same thing with her...It was so nice to be able to watch him as he experienced that at his birthday party for the very first time...now that's gone for Tatum.

Ug...I called up to daycare before they closed, talked with the assistant director and after she consulted with the afternoon teacher, she called me back and confirmed that they did actually give her juice. However, I was told that after the initial taste, she threw her cupcake on the floor. That makes me feel a little better. So does the fact that they took the vast majority of the icing off of the cupcakes and cut them in half before giving them to the kids for snacks. It was someone's birthday and they were celebrating, which I don't mind at all - but Tatum just doesn't need juice or cupcakes yet!

...I'm just aggravated......it was just a lack of communication between the morning and afternoon teacher in the new class...one that is being/has been resolved because the assistant director wrote a note immediately after I got off of the phone with her on the board in the other room. It's just a transition...it's not going to kill her (neither the juice nor the cupcake)...it's just something to frustrate me this week and for me to pick at because I'm still getting used to the fact that this is her last week as an official Angelfish.

Cloth Chronicles - Part 3

Well, the weekend is virtually over, and we made it! I'm washing the second load of soiled diapers right now. She doesn't seem to mind, she hasn't had any leaks, and we're truckin' right along with this cloth diapering! Matt hasn't changed any yet, but no biggie...the changing part isn't any different than disposables, so when he does, it shouldn't be a big deal.

I ordered some more diapers from a mom online at a diaper trading site, and those should be getting shipped out either Monday or Tuesday...they're in fun hot and light pink colors. :)

I still need to figure out some additional insert stuff and a nighttime solution - she's just so bulky at night! But we'll get there.

As for today, we had a great family day...just hanging out, spending time together, enjoying our weekend!

Cloth Chronicles - Part 2

So, another whole day of cloth diapering under our belt and we're still truckin' along! I didn't wash tonight, but have the pockets here from last night that I need to stuff...and then I need to reorganize her changing table - taking away the disposables and inserting the cloth.

I ordered some more diapers today in fun colors...hot and light pink. I can't wait for those to come in! I think with that purchase, we'll probably have all the diapers we'll need for our rotation save a possible larger size at night. We'll need to look at some other insert solutions so that Tatum isn't quite so bulky, both during the day and at night, look at wetbags for daycare and a storage solution for the dirty diapers between washings for at the house. But, I guess...so far, so good!

Unfortunately, little Tatum fell today (from an elevated position) and hit her head on concrete - not so fun. I was trying to have Kellen ride his bike and watch her at the same time...and she's just too quick...trying to save Kellen from getting his leg caught in the bike and falling over off the bike onto the road and catching her...I just didn't have enough hands or quick enough reflexes. *Insert incredibly horrified and sad Mommy face here*

Other than the slight abrasion and red spot on her head, she seems just fine. She didn't eat much of her dinner (considering it was pasta, that was unusual for her), but nursed well and just wanted to go to bed a little early ~ 30 minutes). I'm not too concerned about her wanting to go to bed early tonight because we worked on moving her schedule to more of a "Guppy" schedule today. Translation: she only had one nap and it was after lunch. She slept well; though, from noon until almost 3 PM, so yay for that! She wasn't lethargic or anything like that after the fall - she was still talking and walking around and being her normal little self, albeit a slightly fussier version.

I can't say that I blame her.

Back to the riding of the bike. Kellen asked to ride his bike today, and considering that the weather was somewhat cooperative for that particular activity, we went outside and he rode his bike.

Yes, I typed that correctly. He RODE HIS BIKE! Pedaled himself and everything! Now, he's having a difficult time when he's having the pedal toward inclines, but he's still getting used to actually pedaling and not having someone push him. (And, at the time, we thought that push bar was such a good idea....) He initially got frustrated, but mean ole Mommy wouldn't let him quit. I actually made him put his helmet and pads back on, go back outside, and ride some more so that he wouldn't end up frustrated...and he rode all the way down the street and back!

Then, after Tatum went to bed and we finished eating dinner (which he actually ate, by the way - pizza pasta casserole - imagine that!) I got inspired to "help" him clean up his room. We went through all of this stuffed animals, his hard toys, and his bookshelf and he got rid of 37 items and I took out the clothes that he had outgrown. For those of you wondering, No, I didn't force him to give away these items...I asked him to go into his room and look at the things that he didn't play with and wanted to get rid of so other little boys and girls could play with them. So he put a few things in a pile for Tatum (3 stuffed animals and 1 baby toy that somehow found its way into his room) and the rest in a pile to get rid of altogether).

Let me just say...His room looks GREAT! And we didn't even tackle his actual toy box OR the blue tub under his bed.

Buzz Lightyear Superman

I just had to share...this is what Kellen decided he wanted to do and how he wanted to play on Monday morning...

He wasn't just Buzz Lightyear...oh no....He was Buzz Lightyear Superman - notice the cape!

He is just so imaginative!

Cloth Chronicles, Part 1

So I found a GREAT deal on some Fuzzi bunz (In case you want to check them out, although I didn't order them from that site - pocket style cloth diapers) from a local mom, got them ready for Tatum, and we tried them out last night. I put two inserts in the diaper (and realized that I will probably need some size larges for nighttime in the process), and went for it!

I was hesitant to have our first cloth diapering experience be an overnight one, but hey...why not jump right on into this? If I'm going to do it, just do it...and the nighttime would probably be the biggest worrisome challenge...so there we went.

So....I go in this morning, and there were NO leaks. However, she did have a nice, HUGE poopy waiting for me. What a great first cloth experience, huh? :) Seriously, it wasn't all that big of a deal.

Anyway, I took a stack to daycare today to have them try them out on her as well. Success! Although, I must admit that she was nicer to them than she was to me...no poopies at school today, but another one for Mommy just as soon as we got home! Fun stuff, right?

So, I am currently in the process of washing our first load of soiled diapers. For my own reference, I'll include my version of washing instructions here:

Washing:
1. Dump the dump (optional)

2. Rinse cycle on COLD (no detergent or anything added to the washer)

3. Wash cycle on HOT wash with COLD rinse with detergent added - half as much as normal (I have All Free and Clear, Can also use 4 TBSP of Dawn in place of the laundry detergent and/or add ~ 1/2 cup baking soda to the wash cycle in addition to the detergent/soap); Note: not supposed to use Clorox bleach or any fabric softener)

4. Second rinse cycle (Add ~ 1/4 - 1/2 cup vinegar to this IF using baking soda in the wash cycle)

5. Dryer (NO Dryer Sheet)

Now I just need to figure out the wetbag issue for both the house and daycare, and probably get both some larger size diapers for nighttime and some thinner inserts as well. She's a little bulky - but looks just adorable waddling around!

I think we're getting there. The true test will be after about a week or so, I think.

I'll keep you posted on this front.

In other news...she visited the Guppy classroom today for 2 whole hours....had lunch with them and everything! Then she went back to "her" class (I can say that for one more week) and I came to see her at lunch, then she had a GREAT nap (almost 2 whole hours, which is wonderful for her). We're going to have to work on her naps...trying to transition her from small catnaps or an early morning nap to one long nap immediately after lunch.

We'll work on that this weekend, I guess.

In other news, Kellen is still loving his Little Dragons class, and is paying attention more and more each lesson. He's actually doing really well! I'm amazed at what he's able to comprehend and "show" us later! He's like a little sponge!





Matt worked with him yesterday morning a little bit on the first step in tying his shoe. So he proceeded to show me what Daddy had taught him this morning - and did it correctly. I guess that's one more thing we'll start working on with him, too.

On the way home from school today, he asked to read one of the books that we keep in the car. Well, he began to point out all of the letters and pictures, then started telling me what letters the words/pictures started with. I guess he's officially in the pre-reading stage now.

Where did my babies go?

Long weekend...

Today is the last day of my long weekend...It sure was nice! Grandpa Gerren came yesterday morning for a visit, and was greeted by Kellen asking, "Grandpa, are you going to make pancakes?"

Can you tell that pancakes (and other breakfast foods, for that matter) are Grandpa's specialty? He made a big batch of pancakes and both of the kids enjoyed them (2 pancakes each, actually!). We had a great time just hanging out and playing yesterday with Grandpa...we never even left the house!

Today was more of the same, although Grandpa did have to leave early this morning (Kellen was disappointed that he didn't get another big, fresh breakfast). However, Daddy made it home from work fairly early, so both kids enjoyed quite a bit of playtime with him today. He and Kellen even ran quite a few errands and got a lot of things accomplished this afternoon. So much so that I guess it isn't that big of a deal that Matt completely forgot to take him to his Little Dragon's class. LOL

I need to have more of these types of weekends and days with the kids...Oh wait...that's taking a day off of work and actually using it for play, isn't it? Do people really do that? :)

Going green(er)

So I've been thinking about switching to cloth diapers for a few weeks now...for many reasons. Primarily, once you get over the initial start-up cost, they're cheaper (you just have the expense of washing them); they're better on Tatum's little bottom (and man-oh-man have we been getting some doosies in the diaper rash department!); and of course the less waste going into the landfill reason. I sound crunchy, I know.

I'm ready to take the plunge. Wish us luck!

Guppy time...

Has it come to this already? This is my reward for raising a child that is advanced, huh? I embarked on my normal lunchtime outing...to daycare to feed Tatum...and it turned my world upside down today. Sigh.

So I walk in her classroom, and the lead teacher, whom I absolutely adore, starts off with, 'Um...they're wanting to move Tatum to the Guppy room on February 4th.'

"Say wha' huh?" was my very eloquent response to this statment. I was mighty proud of myself for that one, let me tell you.

She then proceeds to tell me that the director of the daycare was covering for another teacher in Tatum's class this morning and got to witness just how truly advanced my little 10-month old actually is developmentally. There are two other kids in her class that are older than her, and they normally "graduate" children to the next class based on chronological age, not developmental progress. However, Kellen "jumped" someone to graduate to the Guppies and it appears that his sister will beat him by jumping two people. The current oldest little girl has yet to crawl - yes, I'm serious, and she's right at a month older than Tatum. The second is unfortunately having to undergo two different surgeries that will immobilize her very soon, so they'll graduate her once she's completed the healing from those.

They had previously told me that they wouldn't have Tatum jump anyone because of developmental issues, but I think at the time they told me that (about a month or so ago) they really thought that little girl #1 would start moving, which she has not yet done. Poor Carolyn, she was given the job of "breaking the ice" with me about this topic today. They hadn't (at least at lunchtime) talked with the mom of little girl #1 about not moving up, but I think that she was already really hesitant about the change because of the lack of movement. Historically, there have at times been a combination of kids in the Guppy room at both walking and crawling stages; however, currently ALL of the kids in there are completely mobile and walking. So if she doesn't get moving within the next two weeks, she is quite literally going to get run over.

Bless Carolyn's heart! She and the other teacher know that I'm desperately trying to make it to a year with nursing, and that this will REALLY put a crimp into that plan because it will take away one whole nursing session (my lunchtime session).

Oh yes, did I mention that I will no longer be able to go and nurse her at lunch? The Guppy class eats lunch from 11:00 - 11:30 AM and then goes down for their nap. So if I came at lunch, she would (hopefully) be asleep - unless I restructured my lunchtime. Oh, and they don't really like for the kids in this room to have bottles...so we'll have to work to get her used to a sippy cup so that she can take her 9 AM and 3 PM milk from a sippy cup instead of a bottle. In two weeks. So we spent a little time talking about ways to transition and things of the such during lunch today.

Sigh.

I know that this is coming across as oh-so-much more negative than it really is. She is READY to go to the Guppy room - socially, physically, emotionally, etc. I have no doubt that she'll do great there and that she is ready to move up.

I'm just not ready for her to be ready to move up. She's my baby, and she won't be in the baby room anymore. And that just makes me want to cry.

Speaking of not being a baby.................

I told Kellen at dinnertime that Tatum was going to be a Guppy. His response, a very emphatic, "I KNOW!"

Kellen: Maybe we can shrink Tatum.
Mommy: Why would we want to shrink Tatum?
Kellen: So that she'll stay small. I don't want her to get big. I want to ALWAYS have a baby.
Mommy: You know what Kellen, Mommy feels the same way sometimes. I don't want you or Tatum to get big. But you will. Does that mean you want another baby?
Kellen: No. We can't have another baby.
Mommy: We can't?
Kellen: No. God can't make another baby.
Mommy (laughing at this point in time): Oh yes he can, buddy.

Gonna be a bear

Oatmeal

For the record, I have never liked oatmeal for breakfast, much to my parents dismay. However, in an attempt to convince Kellen that oatmeal was yummy for breakfast, I actually managed to EAT AN ENTIRE BOWL OF OATMEAL this morning for breakfast.

I still don't like oatmeal.

Kellen; however, ate his whole initial bowl and then asked for seconds, so my ruse must have worked.

Sure, buddy!

Today was Matt's first day of classes....I've heard from him at various points throughout the day, but I can't wait to hear about his day when he gets home tonight from his last class!

Back to school

Well, Matt submitted his application yesterday and reapplied to Blinn for the spring semester. We met with the director of the program that he had been pursuing before the Christmas break, and there was a question about one requirement that the director was going to look into, but other than that, Matt needs 10 hours to complete his associates in this program. So we decided that he's going to go back to school this semester and take those 10 hours.

Oh, I haven't mentioned yet that it's chemistry 1411 (NOT cowboy chem), Engligh 2311 and an arson investigation class.

And he's still working his normal job(s) in Houston and at the hospital.

We really feel like this is where God is leading us, because we calculated that these 10 hours were going to cost just under $1000 - extra money that we didn't have just sitting around (who does, right?). Well, I received a departmental staff award yesterday that came with a stipend...in that amount.

However, based on his work schedule, we need VERY specific sections of chemistry and English, and he's already been told that he'll be forced into the arson investigation course. Please pray that when he registers that he'll be able to get into those specific sections - either on his own or through forcing.

It almost goes without saying that this will be hard both on Matt and our family. Without belaboring that point, I'll just ask that you guys please pray for Matt while he's taking these classes and for our family as we're trying to cope with additional pressures on his time that impact us as a family.

When did he become so grown up?

At what point in time did Kellen become such a grown up little kid? I got to school to pick him up and he was coloring...in the lines and beautifully, I might add - and he wanted to stay to finish his picture. Ok.

Then we talked about his day all the way home...he helped me with Tatum (i.e. ate his own dinner and played while I fed her and got her to bed), then we finished working on the cupcakes we started a couple of nights ago. Icing and sprinkles...yummy! We had intended to make Christmas cupcakes - white icing with red and green sprinkles, so we just kept with the original plan. He did ALL of the icing and "decorating" himself - helped me clean up, you name it!

Where did my little-boy Kellen go? I'm going to be asking that question for the rest of my life, aren't I?

It's the 3rd

It's the 3rd...that means that Tatum is officially 10 months old today. Oh goodness gracious, where has the time gone? She's walking now...at least when she wants to. Well, let's just say that she's capable of it anyway...she can walk halfway across the room if the mood strikes her, but just not when you're trying to show someone that she can do it! LOL

Kellen made the comment the other day that, "Tatum can walk now, that means she can be a Guppy."

I just about cried.

To explain what that means to those of you unfamiliar with their daycare, Tatum is in the Angelfish classroom, and the next class up is the Guppy class. Typically, the kids "graduate" to the Guppy class when they're around a year old, and when another space is needed in the Angelfish classroom. The Guppy room holds the kids until they're about 18 months old or so. They try to wait until the Angels are mobile and walking before they graduate them, but not always. Well, his comment just kind of hit me.

She could now be a Guppy.

Oh me, oh my.

Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas all! Yes, I'm late...but we had 5 Christmas celebrations in 3 days...so I'm a little beat!


Let me rewind, and I'll start on Christmas Eve morning...Matt got off of work and headed home, and when we were ready to have our Christmas, I had him go and play with Kellen in Kellen's room while I set out all of the presents for he and Tatum. Then Matt came out to video Kellen's reaction to the gifts, and we called him out into the living room...it was GREAT! He was so surprised, because we hadn't told him that we were going to be opening any presents. Tatum just played and played with her LeapFrog table, and Kellen was a big helper to her, opening all of her presents for her. :) She just hasn't and didn't figure out the opening presents thing, so I guess it was good that she had some help, huh? Kellen played all morning with his LeapFrog reading writing system and his Sit N Spin, and begged and begged to watch Shrek the Third. Then we got ready to leave for Matt's aunt and uncle's house in Houston for our Christmas Eve celebration there, and were delayed slightly in our departure due to a lovely garbage disposal issue. Despite being told I can, my mantra is now, "I will not put potato skins down the disposal. I will not put potato skins down the disposal."

We got there for our annual venison chili and cold-cuts dinner (yes, it seemed strange to me, too...but I married into it and now it just seems normal), and Kellen played with his cousin's rugby wheelchair...he had a BLAST running into the curbs and flying down the driveway into the street. Wait, that sounds bad...it's a cul-de-sac and there were adults present, so it was supervised fun, really! The kids were really well behaved, save for Kellen's continual attempt to get the dog to let him pet her...we tried to tell Kellen that when she went into her crate, that was her telling him to LEAVE HER ALONE...and that the growling was her way of telling him that. I think he got it, but he continued to try to pet her (outside of the crate) all night long. I don't think it ever worked. Lots of fun was had by all there, then we loaded up and went to Maw Maw and Paw Paw's. We opened just a couple of gifts there from family friends, and the adults PJ's (Matt, Brenna and I all got new PJ's to wear for Christmas Eve...the kids had already worn theirs the night before because we had already started their celebrations), then called it a night.

Christmas morning was just lots of fun. Luckily for us, both of the kids slept in because it had been such a long day on Christmas Eve. Fortunately, they're BOTH doing the "catching up" sleep thing that they've NEVER done before. Let me just say that it's really nice...We opened up the presents, and Kellen's favorite - by far - was the pirate ship from the VeggieTales Pirates who Don't do Anything. Ohmygosh...He was so excited - thrilled - about that present it's almost indescribable. I got a new digital camera...that is SO nice! Now I just have to figure out how to use all of the various functions...It even has a manual fuction, which is something that I've really been wanting so that I can experiment more with pictures of the kids. Yay!! I get to play around with it now...Matt's big present he had already gotten - tires for his Trailblazer. He's thrilled about it - I guess it's a guy thing? LOL We then had a big lunch there, which was just wonderful, and then the kids went down for their naps.

Afterwards, we loaded everything up and went down into Houston for the other side of Matt's family...more family, more presents, both kids are STILL behaving remarkably well for having two full days of this intense action. Tatum just charmed everyone...and is walking better and better by the day (why am I encouraging this again? I forget...) We stayed down at Gary and Glenda's for quite a while, and didn't leave there until 10PM...got back home shortly before midnight, then got the kids down in bed, finished unpacking from that trip and getting things ready for the next and final Christmas celebration....for my side of the family on Wednesday.

I made two pot roasts in the crock pot (two crock pots, actually), with potatos, carrots, and mushrooms, and let that cook all night long. Wednesday morning we slept in until a little after 8AM (yay again for the kids sleeping in!) and Grandma and Grandpa got here shortly after 9. Most everything was ready for this group, so I finished up the last of the gifts, got lunch ready, and Michael, Jonathan, Tammy, Joey and Allyssa got here shortly after noon. Dad and Matt had run to finish up a couple of the gifts and get some things from the store (darn that missing sugar!) and made it here shortly after the rest of the gang arrived..It was almost perfect timing...I think they had to wait about 15 minutes on the green beans, corn and noodles to finish up before we were able to eat. We ate lunch...lots of lunch, and then opened presents. Kellen and Allyssa (and Joey - although he was more like a babysitter) played a LOT in their room. It eventually looked like a tornado had gone through there, but man...they were having fun!

So today has been a rest day...we ALL lounged in our PJ's until about noon...Tatum was the first to get changed out of hers just because she was getting frustrated while trying to crawl and/or walk in PJ's that were too long (18 month PJ's fit her really well except for being too long...12 month PJ's are getting too tight in her legs - my big girl...), Kellen stayed in his all the way through naptime, and I showered while they were both napping after lunch. It was a GREAT day today...both kids were well behaved, Kellen colored and played with his sticker books, played with his toys and Tatum, plus HER toys (they must be more fun for him now that he's older...dunno...). After we all woke up from naps (unfortunately, mine was just a short cat-nap on the chair), we ran errands in town. A trip to Once Upon a Child to sell some outgrown clothes and toys landed up just enough money to buy the large Shrek and Donkey stuffed toys and a Shrek 2 puzzle they had there for Kellen...I think I made 50 cents or something...but since Kellen is currently sleeping with the Shrek and Donkey and put the puzzle together all by himself almost as soon as we got home, I think it was well worth it.

Maybe tomorrow we'll get more done around the house, but it was really fun just to play with the kids today. Tatum decided that she wanted to walk - really walk. I think I lost count of the number of steps she took...if I had been counting, I guess. I was in shock that I couldn't really get my brain to count steps! Our highest outside of today had been 4 steps...I think this was at least 8...