The Crud Has Hit

Not a whole lot to blog about this week. We have been sort of house-bound for the most part because Carter has been sick. We took him to the doctor Monday night and they tested him for whooping cough, but now he is much better since all his meds.

Last night around 1am... Ella Claire came in our room with croup...so we are skipping church today...hopefully hers will be short-lived. They have their first Thanksgiving meal at school this week and I would hate for her to miss it.

We had a clean-up learning time this week. On Thursday, we went to the play room and I had a large container for each of them. We went through all their toys and they had to decide what to keep and what to give away to kids that don't have much. Carter must have a giving spirit because he wanted to give just about everything away. Ella Claire was much more attached to her things and it took some convincing to get her started but once she did, she was right there with us. Just today she found a necklace that is too little for her to dress up with her she headed straigh to her give away box and put it in.

Yesterday Lance went to church to help out with our Do Unto These projects for the community, so the kids and I decided to decorate their Christmas trees in their rooms. We had gone last week and let them pick out their ornaments. As soon as Carter saw a blue and silver star he wanted it...Dallas Cowboys! He also wanted "colorful" lights...I do not favor muli-colored lights, but it is their tree and I have mine, so to each his own. They sang, "Oh Christmas Tree" while they helped me arrange the branches and then they went to town decorateing their own tree.

After we were done, Lance came home and we were going to eat lunch. I guess Ella Claire was in the decorating mood and she took some of her necklaces and magic wands and decorated each of our chairs at the table for our lunch!

The plan is to decorate the rest of the house today. We are excited to be in our new home for our first Christmas!

Where to even begin....

It seems there is never a dull moment in our household. It is 10:25 pm on Monday night and I am so ready for the weekend...already. We ended up taking Carter to the doctor tonight. He's been coughing for a week or two and I was just treating him with OTC medicine, but it got worse over the weekend. He threw up a couple of times the cough was so severe. Little did I know that whooping cough is making itself an epidemic in Gaston County. He was tested for it, but we won't get the results for a week, but the doctor put him out of preschool all week to be safe. On the way to the doctor tonight, he started a coughing spell and threw up as we drove down the road...Lance pulls the van over and when I open the van door, all I see if red puke all over Carter and his car seat. I had just fed him pancakes for dinner, so I could not figure out what the red was from and then it hit me...he had a red cupcake at Grandmommy and PawPaw's this afternoon. I had to take his coat off and wipe him down while I gagged myself! It was lovely! When we get to the doctor, I had an extra coat in the van...but it was pink...but he had to wear it..he had on short sleeves and my daddy would have a coronary thinking that kid was outside with no coat on! To test for whooping cough, they stick this metal probe in his nose about 4 inches on both sides. It took me and the nurse to hold him down, but he did not like it one bit...and cried so hard...I had to stop and get him some french fries on the way home and of course all is right in Carter's world tonight! Back-tracking over the weekend...We took the kids out Friday night to fill their Operation Christmas Child shoeboxes. This was the first year we've done the boxes because they are at an age to understand what it means. At dinner we explained that we were going to buy toys for some other kids that don't have much money or don't have parents to buy them things and that tonight, Ella and Carter don't get to pick anything out for themselves...just for another little boy and another little girl. As we sat in McAlister's Deli they were all excited and couldn't wait to get to the Dollar Store and Target, but boy was it a different story once the choosing process started. We had to remind them SEVERAL times that tonight was about helping other kids, not them. After shopping we came home and sat in the living room floor and packed our boxes and they each held their box and we all prayed for the little boy and little girl that would get these gifts for Christmas. This is a tradition that we hope to continue each year. I got an email last week from the editor of Parenting Life...a Christian magazine for parents raising small children. I had submitted the story of Carter saying the Lord's Prayer and ending it with the pledge of allegiance. He made the cut...his story will be in their June 2009 issue and he is being paid $20...the first member of our family to be published...unless you count his Uncle Brian, but Medical Journals are really that important...HA! On Friday, we were home all day and it was raining outside, so it was a good day to stay in our pajamas. We were upstairs playing and after a while, I came to check my email and they wondered downstairs. I then heard the bathroom door shut and then silence....never a good sign. I go down and they are in our bathroom with the door shut. I open the door and Ella Claire is in the tub with the bottle of soap and has poured it every bit out into the rinse cup we use for their baths and was she has her shampoo bottle squeezing the "pink stuff" into the cup as well. They looked like two deer caught in headlights...but I just laughed and told them the bathtub is not somewhere to play, and we cleaned up and went on about our day! I am waiting for the day that I can't find them and Carter has cut Ella Claire's hair....it happened to Kim and Brent...he chopped her bangs right off once and told our mom...."doesn't she look pewty?" We have a knight in shining armor among us. In Sunday School yesterday, there was a new little boy in their classroom that apparently had some "issues" according to the teacher. For some reason he singled Ella Claire out and picked on her most of the morning. She would ask him to stop and the teachers would move him away, but he was relentless they said. Carter had had enough....the next time the little boy touched Ella Claire, they said Carter hit the boy and said..."you leave my sista alone." Now Carter is a honest as the day is long, so on the way home we were talking to them about it and he says..."Mommy...I was mean to that boy." He may have been mean, but we were proud of him standing up for his "big" sister! Finally, we put up two Christmas trees on the front porch this weekend....I am in an early Christmas mood this year and couldn't wait. Our inside tree is not up yet, but probably will be this weekend. We also have a nativity set we bought last year, just for them to play with. They have had the best time with that scene. I am amazed at how much they have played with it. Tonight while I was giving Carter all his medicine, Ella Claire was working intently with the toys and at the same time singing..."Ah, Ah, Ah, Gloria...in excelsis deo..." I stopped Lance as he was walking in the kitchen and we just stood and watched her little mind take it all in. When I sat down with her she had all the wise men bending over and looking at baby Jesus...she said..."they are worshipping him mama....and giving him their presents"

Life Lessons....

We had a very fun and full weekend to say the least. Saturday morning we headed out to run some errands and we ended up at the "Bob and Larry Store." For those of you that are confused...that would be Lifeway Bookstore to anyone over the age of 10...but that's what it is called in our family. The kids were just in awe at all the Christmas things that were on display. We kept reminding them to look only, no touching. We can all imagine the curiosity of a kid when you say "no touching..." what are they going to do..."TOUCH!!!" Ella Claire was going on and on about how lovely and beautiful everything was and then we hear..crack... and I was afraid to turn around. Sure enough...a big, breakable, expensive Christmas something was broken on the floor. She didn't know what to do...she just stood there frozen. Lance was so wonderful with her. He got down on her level and explained that was the reason we had asked her not to touch. They picked it up and brought it to the counter and we tried to pay for it, but they were nice enough to let it slide. Lance did have her apologize to the lady, but mostly she stood there and her tongue wiggled in her mouth at a very rapid pace...she finally whispered as I held her hand..."I'm sorry." I felt so sorry for her, but hopefully she'll remember it next time we are in that store or any other store with "untouchables."

When we got back in Saturday afternoon it was nap time and we were all tired. We have a basket in the foyer for their shoes and I asked them to put their shoes in the basket and go pee pee. I looked around and Carter was standing at the shoe basket, pants down, peeing on the basket. I yelled.."NO" and he stopped mid-stream and was so embarrassed. I guess all he heard was basket and pee. It got all over the back of the door and the window, but we all had a good hug out of it!

Saturday night we went to a place in Hickory called Sims BBQ...we went with our SS class from church. You drive way, way, way out in the country...so far, most of the roads do not have road signs...thank goodness for a GPS! We get there and it is a big barn and they serve all you can eat, chicken, pork and beef BBQ. As you are eating there is a live bluegrass band playing and young girls clogging. After everyone finished eating all the kids got to go down front and dance as well. Ella Claire was a little apprehensive at first, but Carter was full force on the dance floor. He did inherit his daddy's moves....and you can imagine what that looks like if you've ever seen Lance dance...it ain't pretty! Carter's dancing is a combo of break dancing and gymnastics flipping. They did have all the kids come out and the parents and we did a square dance, which he loved. By the end of the night, there wasn't a dry hair on his head and his face was blood red...but the boy had a good time.

We got home so late Saturday night, that the kids got baths Sunday morning before church. Lance was helping give Ella Claire a bath and that is a great time to have one on one time with them and really talk and see what's going on in their world. They were talking about things and she looked and realized she had a scratch on her finger. She told Lance.."I have a boo boo on my finger and God hasn't healed it yet." Lance explained that sometimes it takes a little while and her response was.."I guess He is asleep." He then explained that God never sleeps and is always awake to talk to us and one day in Heaven we'll never sleep or get tired or even get boo, boo's. He said she was quiet for a minute and you could see the wheels turning and then she said..."God doesn't sleep even if he plays for a long, long time?" and "We won't get tired in Heaven even if we play for a long, long time?" Wouldn't it be great to go back and have the simplicity of the world through those eyes???

To round out the festivities, Monday night was Carter's soccer banquet and he received his first trophy of many more to come. He is so proud of his trophy. The only time it has left his grip is to sleep and bathe. I had to explain that he couldn't take it to school today, so it stayed in the van waiting on him!

Mexican Jumping Beans....

We have had a crazy week. Preschool has been closed so the teachers could go to training, so I've been gone way more than I like to be from the kids this week. Lance has worked late...so late, that yesterday he clocked 18 straight hours at the hospital. Came home at 2:30am, slept for 4 hours and back at it until 5pm today. So, we went out to eat tonight....who would guess...yes, to eat Mexican. That is our favorite cuisine....our first date was Mexican....ate it at least once a week dating...went to Mexico as part of our honeymoon...and ate it all the time during my pregnancy. Needless to say...we now have two true Mexican jumping beans on our hands. The kids love cheese quesadillas. It was probably a year and a half ago that we were eating somewhere and Ella Claire told the waiter she wanted a quesadilla and said it correctly....we just looked at each other, laughed and shook our heads. Carter knows to ask the waiter if the salsa is regular or mild and the boy can put away some chips and salsa. We are looking forward to a relaxing weekend together. Last weekend was packed with non-family things, so we didn't get to see each other a lot. Lance had to teach Sunday School on Sunday, so that takes up a lot of his time to prepare...so we are planning on spending a lot of family time together. Tomorrow night we are going with our Sunday School class to a place in Hickory that serves BBQ outside with live bluegrass music.....can't wait to show you pictures.

It's Just a Costume....

So, Friday night was Halloween as you all know. I went on the town with the two cutest McKids around. Carter was a carton of McDonald's french fries, which is appropriate. That boy could eat french fries...specifically from McDonald's....for every meal of every day. Ella Claire was a McDonald's chocolate milkshake...which again is appropriate. The girl loves chocolate....of any kind...she is being raise right!

We started off by going to see Granny at her work...it is tradition to take them and let all her coworkers see her pride and joy. Then it was on to the hospital to let Lance see them and his coworkers as well. We then loaded up and headed to our church carnival. This was our first year doing trunk or treat. Each car we would come to, they would make a comment on the kid's costumes. Most people would ask for a french fry because they were so hungry and a sip because they were so thirsty. Carter's immediate response each time was..."It's just a costume..." He is one literal child. He can't deviate from routine or the norm...it's just not in him.

We left the church and headed to McDonald's to eat in the hopes of getting some free food with the 2 cutest commercials they had ever seen. No suck luck...it is Gastonia after all.

We rounded out the night with a stop at Grandmommy and PawPaw's and then to aunt Lea Ann's. These kids got more candy than they could carry. It has all since been eaten...all the chocolate anyway. Boy...do those kids eat a lot of candy....Lance and I didn't get one piece! (If you believe that, I feel sorry for you.)

Lance has already decided that Luke and Leah will make their grand entrance for Halloween 2009...we'll see! He also wanted to name them Luke and Leah...but it was vetoed!!!!