A manly stroller...

We have missed so much church the last few weeks because of the flu and nasty colds. I can't wait to be back worshipping with our Creekside family Sunday, Lord willing.

Last Sunday, Kip was a few days into treating his flu with Tamiflu & was feeling a little better. So we headed outside to stave off cabin fever. I got Kip bundled up, even though it wasn't cold, and sent him out with Eric. I headed out front a little later and didn't see them right away. I looked up the street and saw Eric pushing the wheel barrel with Kip loaded inside. It was so cute, I started chuckling right away. I told Eric we have a stroller. He was like this is more fun & it's pretty good exercise too. :)

Oh, and I *finally* got Eric to take the outdoor Christmas lights down...yes, I KNOW it's Feb.  Please don't judge...*sigh*

Kory, the make up artist...

Has a few things to learn.

The other day after homework & chores were done, Kory asked if she could put make up on. This is what emerged from her room a while later. Teeheehee. :)

The Super K's

Kip had me read 'Potty time with Elmo' the other evening. He noticed the towel Elmo has on as a cape at the end & kept pointing it out saying "cowel". I figured he meant towel, so I got a blanket & tied on him.

He was beyond thrilled.

I'm sure this is the first of many cape adventures for this little boy. He was having so much fun, sister got in on the action, too. :)

Kip says GOODBYE, FLU

Today I had my boy back 100%. 

He started the day off eating & eating & eating.

We played, HE played (w/o me!!), we played.

He amazed us...he counted to 10 completely without any assistance. He's been able to mostly do it, just leaving out one number or saying 18, 19 instead of 8 & 9.  But tonight he got it completely right, completely unassisted, & unsolicited. Then he repeated it over & over because we all went over the top praising him. :)

Just another February day...

Well not really...it was 80 degrees here today. Kip & I have been closed up in this house, other than to go to the doctor or pick Kory up from school, for almost 3 weeks. Today we both were feeling MUCH better, so after we got Kory from school, we headed to the park.

I don't like this park for Kip because there aren't really toddler friendly jungle gyms, but it's the closest to the house & was nice to just get outside!!

Since there wasn't much there for Kip, he mostly ran around looking for Kory or just running after her. "Kory? Kory?". So sweet :)

Kory's words when we got there, not surprisingly, were, "I'm gonna make some new friends!". She wasn't too interested in baby brother slowing her down. She did take a few time outs for him, though.

Mad Gab

Ever feel like you're playing a game of Mad Gab when you're trying to understand your toddler?

Kip has a pretty big vocabulary for his age, even if no one besides our family ever hears it. He's like his daddy in that he's pretty quiet around others but talks nonstop at home with us. 

He of course copies so many words we say throughout the day. But he also adds new words/phrases to his vocabulary every.single.day...it really amazes me!!

Since I'm with Kip 24/7, I understand him better than anyone.  I know the code words he uses for things or can piece together bits of conversation to figure out new words he's saying.  I can usually figure out what he's saying pretty quickly but if I can't he gets pretty frustrated. I try to get him to show me, but sometimes that doesn't work either.

Poor Eric tries to understand, but a lot of times he's way off. Mostly because he doesn't observe the surrounding situation and just reflects what HE wants onto what Kip is saying.  :)

Kory's the worst though. She completely makes up what Kip says...all.the.time. The other day after I picked her up from school Kip was saying something to her and getting frustrated because she didn't understand. I couldn't really hear him and couldn't turn around to help out. Next thing I know, Kory says, "He's saying, 'down low you're too slow'". Ummmm...pretty sure he's not.  He'd never heard that before. Lol.

Today in the bathroom he was hanging onto the tie of my robe and swinging. It was hanging on a hook; I wasn't wearing it. ;)  He kept repeating something over and over, a phrase not just a word.  It sounded like this "mommy, ookame." He said it over and over. I just kind of chuckled in response. Then it hit me, he's saying, "Mommy, look at me!".  So I repeated it and he smiled and continued swinging from my robe tie and saying "ookame".

Score 1 for mommy on today's round of Mad Gab!!

However, there's one thing he used to say all the time that none of us could ever figure out. Now it's just become a joke between us. Sometimes he'll just say, "Mommy, upitall.". Then we both laugh because we don't know what it means. If he's fussy or getting restless in the car I'll say, "Kip, upitall.". And he starts giggling. I'll be interested to know if we ever figure out what he meant when he first started saying "upitall". :)

Sicky Kippy

I tried to post this the other day but had technical difficulties.

Thursday I took Kip to the doctor...he has the flu, double ear infection, sinus infection & bronchitis. :(

Two weeks ago he had lots of congestion. I assumed it was allergies or at the worst a cold. I treated his congestion and wiped, wiped, wiped his nose throughout the week and last Sunday his nose stopped running and congestion was almost completely gone. I thought we were in the clear.  Then...

Just before bed he coughed a little, twice....

During the night it turned "barky" so I knew we had a case of croup. Monday morning he had a low grade fever for just a very short time. I decided to monitor him, give him his inhaler regularly, and push fluids.  As is typical with croup, his cough wasn't bad during the day but got worse at night. So for the next couple of nights, he and I didn't get any sleep. He was so miserably congested he couldn't breathe comfortably. Every night I'd countdown the hours til I could call the doctor to get him an appt. Then he'd wake up in a good mood, wanting to play, and not coughing. So I'd change my mind and add some tricks to his med regimine.  Then...

Wednesday his cough sounded more wet and heading to his chest.rather than the barky croup cough. And he started running a low grade fever in the afternoon. So I called the doctor and got an appt for the next morning.  Then...

He slept restlessly the first half of the night but slept better the second half. When he woke up, he was of course in a great mood. He was telling his knock knock joke and playing with Eric. I almost cancelled his appt, almost. 

As Eric was getting him dressed, he coughed a couple of times. Coughs scare me because they can get bad so fast in little ones. That's why I kept his appt, to get his cough checked before the weekend. And I'm so glad I did!!

Flu, double ear infection, sinus infection and bronchitis!!

I was thinking to myself how did I miss all of that?!

We got some meds and his pedi gave me a prescription for tamiflu for myself just in case.

Kip screams when we go to the doctor. He's all fine until we go back with the nurse. He screams when they weigh him, he screams when they take his temp, he cries when they take his pulse ox, he screams when they check his ears, he screams when they run any tests...you get the point.

He did find 2 things delightful there today though. His first sucker experience and playing with the rolling stool.

An example for the inquiring mind...

People ask me all the time if I ever have a hard time understanding Eric with his accent. For the most part, I find it easy to understand him. But every now and then I have to get him to repeat, repeat, repeat before I catch on. The conversation usually ends in laughter because of what I "thought" he was saying.

Of course, I can never remember an example when people ask me, so I'm going to document this one so I'll remember it.

The other night I was watching Oprah interview Drew Barrymore when Eric walked into the living room:
E: is that Demi Moore?
Me: (sarcastically). Demi Moore? Yeah, Eric, that's Demi Moore.
E: Oh...(taking a better look and knowing it's not Demi)...what is her name?
Me: Drew Barrymore.
E: yeah, that's it. She looked just like any other hokey mom. You know a hokey mom?
Me: a hokey mom??!! No, I don't know what a hokey mom is. (Thinking it's an African saying)
E: you know, like Sarah Palin.
Me: like who?
E: Sarah Palin.
Me: oh! A HOCKEY mom!!

To his credit, he was saying HOCKEY the whole time, but I was hearing HOKEY. I told him it threw me off because we're in the south and use "soccer mom" more than "hockey mom".

:)

Happy Birthday, Cierra!

Today is my niece, Cierra's birthday!! She was my first January birthday buddy. We used to have our family birthday parties together every year...fun memories :)

The night my sister, DeAnne, went into labor is not a fun memory, though. It was about 6 weeks before her due date and her dad was working out of town. It was a Wednesday night and I had been home sick from school that day. Just as DeAnne and another sister Candace were getting ready to take Cassie and Dani (My nieces/Cierra's older sisters) to church, DeAnne's water broke. So Candace took Cassie and Dani to church and my mom and I took DeAnne to the hospital. I was too young to stay home by myself, 4th or 5th grade, and since I'd been sick, I couldn't go to church. I remember being so scared for my sister and for Cierra.

God watched over all involved though and after a scary labor, she was born. I remember her being soooo cute as she grew and had some of the most talked about hair at church!!

Cierra is on a new adventure this year, living out in NM with an uncle of her's on her dad's side. From what I hear she is loving it and I'm sooooo glad!! Maybe one day soon we'll get her here to TX for a visit.

Love you, Cierra and happy birthday.

Rewind...

Friday afternoon the kids helped me "clean up" after making Kory's birthday cupcakes.

Cupcakes for Kory and kissy-lips for mommy!!

Tic Tac Toe, Three in a Row...Birthdays that is! January Birthday #2 - Kory

Sunday January 20 was Kory's 7th birthday.

Since it was her weekend to go to her mom's, we celebrated her birthday Friday night. She chose to have a sleepover with the girls from her Sunday school class. This was her first sleepover and boy was she excited!!

The night consisted of making pizza, eating cupcakes, making bead jewelry, opening presents, making sand art, *loud* karaoke "singing", eating popcorn, watching movies, *very* little sleeping, and *lots* of playing, playing, playing. The girls seemed to have so much fun and it was really fun watching and listening to them. We're so blessed to have some great Christian friends to raise our kids with!! I know these little ladies are forming lifelong friendships. :)

All the girls were so sweet to Kip, too. They didn't mind and even enjoyed having him tag right along with them. Such sweeties!!

*Since I didn't get permission to share these photos online, I'm going to blur the girls' faces to respect their privacy.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, SWEET KORYAHNA!!
We love you very much and you bring so much joy and pride to our lives!!

Don't forget to shut the door!! Scary parent moment #4,398

Eric was headed off to work this morning when he decided to run in to use the restroom really quickly.

As you enter our house from the garage you pass through the laundry room into a hallway and the bathroom is directly across it.

Kip and I were in the living room. I was looking through grocery sales papers while Kip was trying to destroy them. Eric heard me fussing at Kip, so he thought he was with me...which he was. Until he saw Eric go into the restroom. I saw Eric too and saw Kip run off in that direction. I took the opportunity to quickly glance through the rest of the papers then proceeded to clean them up and get on about my to do's. I figured Kip was in the bathroom with Eric, because let's keep it real, when you have a little one, you ALWAYS have a potty partner. :)

As Eric headed back out, I heard him in the laundry room and called out to him to grab his SPARK I'd made him. Before he could respond, I hear him say, "Kip! What is Kip doing outside?!" I of course run in to find Eric holding him. I'm confused because there are 2 doors between the hall and the garage that stay shut and one of them has a baby proof handle.

Eric had left BOTH doors open as he ran in to use the restroom. As Kip headed to visit him in the bathroom, he noticed the doors open and headed left rather than right. Eric DID close the bathroom door though, so he never even saw Kip over that way.

No big deal, it's just the garage, right?? The garage door was up. At first we were glad he had just stepped into the garage, because that's where Eric saw him. But when I reached for him, his pants were wet and his feet cold and muddy.

That's right, our 16 month old was out in the drive way roaming around without us even knowing he was missing!!

It scares me to death to think what could have happened to him, even in that short amount of time.

Sooooo thankful that God was watching over him, then and always, as we struggle to do our best!!

Happy Birthday Braydon!

Today is my nephew Braydon's birthday!! I remember the day he was born like it was yesterday...but it was actually 19 years ago...WOW! I feel old!! I was playing Super Mario Bros 3 on my Nintendo (not DS or Wii, just Nintendo, as in the original) and I was on level 7 when they called to say he was born.

Braydon hasn't had a very easy time. He's been dealt some rotten circumstances at times and honestly some crummy genetics (mostly from his dad's side). He isn't where he wants to be, but he is a hard worker and I know that he has some great things that will come to him in his future.

Happy Birthday, Braydon, we love you!!

And happy 16 months to this little guy...

First Snow of 2013

I Know What the Teachers Must Have Thought When They Saw Her!

Have you ever wanted to ask your kids, "who are you??!!" or "where have you been the last __ years as I've been raising you and training you??!!" I'm sure it's a daily occurrence when they hit the teen years.

Like the other day when I picked Kory up and she had something red all down the front of her. As I suspected, it was ketchup from lunch. It was all raised and crusty, as if it hasn't even been wiped. When I asked her if she had used her napkin to wipe it off, she replied, "I didn't think of that." Ugh! Really??!!

Then today when we got home and she took her hood off, I noticed that one of her "poofs" had fallen. This has happened before while she's been at school so I asked her when during the day it had happened. She thought for a minute then proceeded to tell me that when she woke up this morning it was like that. WHAT??? You WENT to school like that??? Now, let me explain how she got by me without me noticing.

Since Kip still doesn't sleep through the night and you never know how much or how long he'll be up during the night, Eric does the morning with Kory - making sure she's up, getting ready on time and drops her off at school. Kip and i usually get up just before they leave to drop her off.

A few months into the school year, Kory was not having time to get ready and to school in time for breakfast. This was a result of Eric oversleeping and Kory piddling. So I set up her alarm and a morning 'To Do' list and she was thrilled to have some independence. Kory doesn't have trouble getting up in the morning, especially for school...she LOVES school!! So this plan has been working out well, except for the couple of times we've forgotten to turn the alarm on (usually Mondays of course!).

On her morning list, when it says "hair" she is supposed to go to Eric and have him FIX her hair. Usually it just requires applying some product for frizz and maybe pulling it back again. I do the most part of fixing it when I wash it, so in the morning it's just "touch up".

Anyway, this morning when I got up, she was already ready to go with her jacket on and her hood on her head. I told her to put her heavier coat on since it had snowed and to wear her penguin Anita had given her. She went into her room, out of my sight, and did just that. When I saw her again as she had her penguin hat AND coat hood on...therefore, I never saw her hair this morning.

She admitted that she just skipped the step of fix hair on her list...UGH!

But another question I have is, how did she get past Eric, who is supervising her morning routine, without him noticing?? ;)

Almost...

have all of the Christmas stuff packed up and ready for the attic!! Then there's the issue of the lights still on the front of the house, in the bushes and down the sidewalk...errr.

Tic Tac Toe, Three in a Row...Birthdays that is! January Birthday #1 - Eric

Today's post could really fall into my 'Series of Unfortunate Events' posts (I DON'T mean bc it's Eric's bday!), but I'll spare you the details of more car drama we had this morning that caused us to miss church and made me wonder if we'd get to leave the house at all today, this week, or this month ;) and skip straight to the fun part...

it's Eric's bday!

Eric, growing up in Kenya, doesn't really get worked up or celebrate or even really acknowledge birthdays. As I've grown up I've noticed birthdays mean different things in different families. But for the most part, they are at least acknowledged in most American families. My family always had a small family celebration with a specially requested dinner, a few gifts and maybe your parents came to school to eat lunch with you. Nothing over the top but enough for it to make you feel special on your special day. With MUCH reminding and training, I've finally gotten Eric to acknowledge birthdays and other holidays, i.e. valentine's day, Mother's Day, etc. and usually do something a little special or meaningful for them.

So, the kids and I got Eric a couple of small gifts and wrapped them and Kory made her daddy a very sweet card from all of us and that was it. I figured we'd go to the restaurant of his choice for lunch today and I'd make some cupcakes but yesterday we had some good friends invite us to come to their house for lunch today so we planned to do that. Now, their invite was completely unrelated to Eric's bday and just coincidental, but it turned out to be a nice time of fellowship with some great friends...fun was had by all!!

Eric's Split Pants

I was gathering laundry and picked up Eric's work pants to add to the basket. Then I noticed, they were split right down the front!!

Friday Night Fun

When Eric was in Kenya this past November, the kids and I started a Friday night tradition. We make pizza and watch a movie while we eat. Usually it also involves making cookies or brownies for dessert, too.

Tonight we resumed our tradition since we got "off track" during the holidays.

Kip is in the middle of saying, "iPad" in one picture because he thinks if the iPad is within sight, it should be in his possession. And then in the next picture he's screaming because I'm taking pictures with it rather than giving it to him. We have a tech junkie on our hands!!

Daddy's Home!

I love to see the excitement when Eric comes in...everyone from the dog, to the kids, to mommy are glad when this guy gets home!!

Rainy Days

Warning: As I typed this post, I became aware that it is very boring. I probably shouldn't post it, but I made a resolution to post something everyday...even if it is junk :). And I would take the time to type a new post but I want to be done and go to bed before Kip wakes up. Don't feel obligated to read any further...I warned you...

As a little girl I remember hating rain. I even vocalized that I wished God would just make it sunny all the time. And as much as I hated rain, I was TERRIFIED of storms and spent them with my ears covered, eyes closed, and curled up next to my mom. In fact, I would squeeze my ears and eyes so tight and so long they would hurt by the time the storm was over. That whole, "thunder can't hurt you" and the scientific explanation behind it, was of no comfort to me.

Well, yesterday and today have been rainy and dreary and I've loved it! I never thought these feelings were possible until I moved to Texas. The first summer I moved here, it rained the week I moved then went what seemed like forever without dropping one millimeter of precipitation from the sky. The joke was that it never rained in Garland because there would be rain shower right by in Plano or Richardson but remain bone dry in Garland. I remember saying to people, "I wish it would rain." Words that my lips had never before uttered.

Then back in October of 2009, I remember it raining, what seemed like, the whole month. I remember this because I had just moved into my house and was commuting almost an hour to and from school in the downpour. My hateful feelings toward rain returned as I navigated through crazy DFW drivers that are even crazier when it rains. Also, the house didn't have gutters so I soon had a moat surrounding the house...very princess like ;). (Side note: we still don't have gutters, so if you ever come to our house, you might need snorkeling gear to make it to our front door.)

ANYWAY, all that to say, I've enjoyed the last two days. Many times now when it rains I feel like there is a cleansing that is happening. I like the way I have to turn the lamps on in the middle of the day in the living room, I like to wear my rain boots, and I like the sound just outside the window.

If you hung in there to the end of this post, you deserve a reward. So, let's talk about some fun rainy day activities...reading, watching movies, organizing closets/drawers, cleaning, taking goofy pics on the iPad like these (I have a ton more of these and as I scrolled through them, it appears the person in our family that likes to play with this app most is...me!! :). Also, I have several other family members' crazy pics I could share, but I don't have their permission so I'll spare them the embarrassment...this time!)...

Broken THINGS, but a thankful HEART!

It seems that it's a rule or law of sorts...when one thing breaks, many things break.

Since the freezing of our car and the subsequent hose/parts breaking, it seems I've called Eric everyday while he's working with news of something else breaking or not working correctly. Just from Sunday through today (Tuesday) here's our To Fix list: tire on our "spare car"(yes, the one I'm having to drive while my car is waiting to be repaired), garage door, laundry room light, garbage disposal, and guest bathroom toilet. Eric's probably afraid to answer the phone when he sees it's me!!

Now, other than the car issues, theses aren't costly repairs, thank goodness. And if you know my husband, he'd call them "simple" fixes. So what's the problem?? TIME. Take a guy that runs his own business, is trying to catch up on work missed during Christmas vacation, is putting together a quote for a new job, and is trying to finish up work projects so he can start the new job, there is no time for him to fix such mundane items at home...sigh.

So for now, I turn the hall light on to see in the laundry room, throw food in the trash can, stop the garage door just before it gets all the way down, and we all use the master bathroom toilet...

And I'm THANKFUL that these are merely inconveniences, not life-threatening situations or illnesses that so many are dealing with right now. I'm THANKFUL that my husband desires to provide for his family and has a way of doing that as so many are out of work and can't find jobs. I'm THANKFUL that I get to be at home, with the broken stuff ;), taking care of our kiddos, not missing a minute or milestone. :)

Cutie Patootie Penguins!

My SIL, Anita, got these for my kiddos. These pics are not very good quality and don't show the full cuteness of the hats, but you get the idea.

Back to reality...

Kory is home (yay!) and school starts back tomorrow (boo!). Good thing is, she's excited to be going back. Even though I'm not looking forward to early mornings, car line, homework, rushed dinners, early bedtimes, and too little "fun" time, I know it will be good for us to get back into a routine.

This evening, Kip was quite the entertainer. He was jibber jabbering and dancing and laughing. At one point he was climbing up on Eric's legs while holding onto the coffee table then letting go and balancing. I was not a fan of this activity as I foresaw a bloody face being the end result, but we noticed he was counting as he let go. At first he was just saying a few numbers, in the correct order. But then he said, "1,2,4,5,6,8,9,10". We were pretty impressed, and shocked, at how close he was to counting 1-10 correctly. He amazes me EVERY day. I love being that sweet little guy's mommy!!

Missing her...

Can't wait for this sweet girl to get home tomorrow!!

Oh what a night...

Kip decided to party through the night. After going to bed a little after 9pm, he woke up at midnight. Now everyone knows he's not a great sleeper, so when he woke up, it wasn't anything unusual. But, after going through our normal routine, he was not going back to sleep. So I rocked, patted etc. for about an hour trying to determine if his mouth/ears/tummy were bothering him. He started fussing and seemed hungry so I offered him chicken to which he replied his adorable, "ok." (If you've heard it, you know how precious it is). Anyway, after eating some of his chicken, he agreed to go to sleep. But something just kept bothering him....he was NOT going to sleep. Finally at 3:30, yes, 3 1/2 hours after waking up, I was losing my patience and getting a headache. I needed help so I called in back up, aka Eric. Kip didn't approve of this and let us know, plus Eric was suffering from a sore throat. Sooooo, we all three ended up in the living room with Dino Dan on Nick, jr., Kip talking like crazy/dancing/ jumping/laughing, and Eric and I on the couches trying to doze while supervising ;). Kip of course noticed the second I closed my eyes and would quickly address me with, "mommy, patty cake, mommy, poke (hokey pokey), mommy..."

How long did this party last you ask? Well finally a little after 5AM, Kip agreed he was ready to sleep. Oh, he must have zonked out, right??? Nope! He slept fitfully til about 7ish, then crankily got up for the day around 10:45. After a fussy start to the morning, we headed to the church building to work on my classroom, where he had off and on spells of playing well and fussy-mommy-must-hold-me-and-no-one-else-should-look-at-me-touch-me-or-speak-to-me fits. On our way home he did ZONK out. Of course, it's really too late for a long nap so I took the long way home and now I'm sitting in the car blogging before I wake him up.

Ok, I guess it's time now...wish me luck!

Kip-sized Mail

Kip received some mail today. This cute little card came from one of his favorite ladies, Mrs. Susie. She is one of his Bible school teachers and she just loves on Kip as if he were her own and Kip loves him some Mrs. Susie! We are very thankful for the way our church puts so much emphasis on and love into our children!!

I'm a sucker for his kisses...

Today as I was cleaning up one of his many, many messes, Kip was standing by as I fussed that we don't crush our crackers onto the couch, no, no, no. When I turned around there was Kip...

offering me a kiss...so what did I do, stopped fussing and quickly accepted that precious pucker...*sigh*

A Series of Unfortunate New Year Events (continued)

When we arrived at DFW airport back on Christmas Eve, the parking was CRAZY. Both remote south and remote north parking were full, so Eric received a coupon to park in the terminal for a discount. 

As we were nearing the toll booth to pay for parking and exit the airport, Eric said, "Boy, the oil sure is smelling.  Is that us or that bus?" I, from the passenger seat, glanced at the temperature guage and saw it was as high as it could go...NOT good.  We proceeded to the toll booth where there was an issue with the coupon we had. We waited and waited for the guy to get confirmation that we did in fact receive a discount. Eric has turned the car off while we waited. We hoped the temp would go down, but it didn't. He decided to pull over on the shoulder immediately after exiting the toll.  Then the car started indicating low coolant...yeah, smart car, we knew that. He figured out that the water in the car only had had a small amount of coolant and froze in the cold temperatures while we were away.  He also discovered a pipe broke, so filling it enough to get us home wasn't an option. In the process of getting down on the ground to check everything out, fire ants attacked his head and neck. 

While we were trying to figure out a plan of action, an airport police officer stopped.  Eric got out of the car and they chatted for a bit about the problem. Then he called a taxi for us. It seemed like forever before it got there.  We were really starting to get cold at this point.

When the taxi arrived, the kids, carseats, luggage & I got in.  Kip, who with a lot of coaxing had gone to sleep in the car, was now awake and screaming. 

Eric handed me his card to pay with and we were off. I'm certain the taxi driver took the longest route possible, but I bet he regretted it less than 5 min in...Kip screamed the entire way...ENTIRE way. And as I expected, he started throwing up.  At first it was just a little, but then a lot. At one point it appeared he was choking and I lost Eric's credit card while trying to deal with him. I finally found it when we reached the house and were able to turn the light on in the taxi.

I don't think I've ever been so happy to see home as I was when we pulled up that night.  Well, except maybe after our crazy travel ordeal in August...I'm seeing a trend here.  Maybe I'll post about that on a slow news day ;)

Anyway, I managed to drag the luggage and carseats into our packed-full-of-junk garage and left them for Eric to take care of the rest of the way.  Remember, I was still in pain from my chiropractor emergency.  I got the kids in bed then dug around in the luggage for a charger because my
phone was completely dead. Once it started up, I called to check on Eric. He'd gotten ahold of a friend that came to keep him company and let him sit in his heated car...thank, Martin!!  The tow truck had just confirmed with him that they would arrive in about 20 min. They lied...they showed up at 3am.  Eric finally made it home a little after 4 and got in bed around 6.

Needless to say, we were all exhausted New Year's Day!!

I chuckle to myself when I think about that taxi driver. Of all the things he thought he would encounter on New Year's Eve, it probably wasn't a scream-til-he-pukes-and-we-all-go-deaf 15 month old.

Happy New Year from the Kibors! :)

A Series of Unfortunate New Year Events...

Well, I've already broken my New Year Resolution.  It doesn't deal with eating, exercise, or earnings...although I do have some goals involving awesome Advocare for this year. More about that in a later post. My ONE resolution was to post something, whether it be a picture; a word; or a full story, to our blog everyday. Today is Jan 2 and there is no post dated for Jan 1.  Maybe I'll post 2 today to make up for my failure...maybe.

There's so much that I haven't blogged about and the overwhelming task of trying to catch up is mostly what has kept me from jumping back on the blog. So I decided that I'm just going to start from today, well actually from the past couple of days, and continue on. When there is a "slow" day or I  can't think of what to blog about, I'll do a recap of something that has been skipped over.

So...New Year's Eve...we were scheduled to fly out of Tri-cities at 5:17pm.  We had a connecting flight in Charlotte and would arrive at DFW a little after 10:00pm.  I woke up Monday morning ready to tackle the task of stuffing all of our belongings into the three checked bags and couple of carry-ons.  Realize, we had accumulated an extra small toy box full of toys as we were there for Christmas.  So I knew we wouldn't be able to fit everything, but the goal was to fit as much as possible in order to cut down on the cost of shipping. While I woke up ready to accomplish this mission with my mad packing skills, I also had a faint nagging pain in my shoulder/back/neck. Something I'm used to, seeing as my giant baby loves to be held/carried/picked up. No big deal, I thought I would just schedule an adjustment with Dr. Pittmon, our amazing chiropractor, when I got home.  After our final "family" breakfast for the year, I returned downstairs to get ready. Quickly my pain changed and I wasn't able turn my head or look up and down...something crucial for packing and traveling, especially with a 15 month old ACTIVE lap infant that is going through a "mom only" phase.

Through work from my daddy & momma, I was able to get in to see Dr. Connie Fulmer, a chiropractor in Gray...she was great and worked with me until I was able to move.  I still had pain but it was tolerable.

When I returned to my parents' house, my dear hubby had attempted packing.  His packing consists of just throwing everything into the suitcase with little regard to size, position, item, etc. As much as it pained me, I joined him because we had less than 2 hrs before we had to leave for the airport.  We were finished packing in less than 30 min but non of the Christmas toys made it in.  It'll be like Christmas again when they arrive via UPS in a few days!!

We made it to the airport with a lot of time to spare, which is how I like it because I'm a nervous traveller.  BUT, I discovered I left my phone at the house. So my mom ran back and got it, returned, and we still had time to spare. :)

Our flights went well, my pain was bearable, and we gathered our baggage without a hitch...then...