Took these of Gwendolyn today. She's pulling herself up on everything like crazy



When I wouldn't open the gate, she started rattling it, just like big brother does!



Finally, when I did open it, she had to show off by going one-handed :)



I forgot to mention yesterday that Ethan shoplifted. I'll have to get a picture for his baby book :) While Jason was in the electronics department buying a Nintendo DS, Ethan grabbed a CD and the plastic sorter and popped them into the bag. Jason didn't realize it was there until we got home. The CD is some super-hardcore gangster rap. Pretty funny. I'll be taking it back next time I get to the store!

Had kind of a stressful night tonight. Kids didn't nap hardly at all in the afternoon and got cranky. I got cranky because they hadn't slept so Jason decided that eating out was in order. We ordered Chinese and had it delivered. Pretty decent. Ethan totally digs General Tao Chicken (I think that's what its called).

Oh, this morning Gwennie, Ethan and I had our first communal meal. We all ate oatmeal together. Gwen LOVED it. She ate so much. Then tonight we gave her rice and she wolfed that down too. She's been getting impatient with spoon feeding and smooth foods. She wants to feed herself and she wants interesting stuff! Poor thing... I wish she'd get some teeth already so we could get her started on some really good eats.

Went on a walk today. Could tell that its been a few days since I went. Felt winded and sore before I'd hit the end of the street. I don't know how I got so lucky, but I've gained NO weight over the holidays and have in fact lost. Either this walking is really effective, or my cold is effective, or them working together has been effective because I'm consistently losing even when I fall off the diet wagon for a few days.

I didn't mention it before, but last Thursday my Mom brought over a pregnancy test she had left over from her scare for me to take. She felt that I might be preg since this fatigue and nausea has been around so long. It was negative, which is fine with me. I want another child, but oh my goodness, not right now!

A couple more pics tonight... I've realized that we very much like bath pictures. We have hundreds!




We still do not feel recovered from Christmas. We all suffered through sugar withdrawal today and had bouts of crankiness. Gwen didn't nap at all, but hopefully she'll sleep through the night.

We had pulled pork sandwiches tonight with homemade bbq sauce. They were really really good.

Gwen can now officially pull herself to standing on ANYTHING! Her favorite place is on the kitchen gate... so now I have two little faces staring at me while I'm trying to cook. I just cannot wait until she's able to complain at me too ;)

I took some cute video of Gwen playing peek-a-boo tonight and Ethan running around naked :) I'm editing it as we speak (8:50 pm) so it should be up by the time most of ya'll read this. Just click on that, "Check out our videos" link up on the right.

Merry Christmas everyone!

I will keep this short as we are all pretty tired.

Ethan and Gwen received so many cool gifts. I don't even know where to start naming them... Jason got Ethan a tool workbench that is so cool... I got Ethan a tunnel/cube set that he went bonkers over. Gwennie got a ball spitting toy that is so fun that the adults played with it more than the kids... They both got adorable outfits and towel sets. Trucks, dolls, a toy chainsaw that is totally awesome... gosh, I know I'm forgetting tons of stuff! It was great.

Jason was overly generous with me! I got a Sonicare toothbrush, a high-tech kitchen scale, SimCity4, and a triple digit gift card to Old Navy. Wow! I got him the complete Calvin & Hobbes bound set, a shirt, and an Atari game stick. As you can see, he WAY outdid me :) I got two pizza stones and a Kelly Clarkson CD (yeah, thats right) from my Dad. Jason got a magnetic screwdriver set, subscription to Sports Illustrated and a book from my Mom. I know I'm missing stuff, but my brain is too tired to remember everything!

In any case, we've had a marvelous day. After everyone left here, the kids napped and when they woke we headed out to my Moms for dinner. The food was good, the company even better.

My Grandpa read one of Shelly's stories, based loosely on some of our Lake Chelan experiences. It was very good, as are all of Shelly's works. It captured that elusive and indescribable feeling that one experiences when visiting the cabin. Its hard to explain to someone who doesn't have ages of memories there, but seeing the cabin from across the lake, then walking through the property, on the beach, through the house arouses millions of different memories and stories of others memories. Its a powerful place.

I just brushed my teeth with that Sonicare and WOW. It tickled my teeth and tongue. I can't say those parts have ever been tickled, but that's the only word for what happened. It was strange! However, my teeth feel super clean. The booklet does say that one will feel tickling until you get used to it. Hope I get used to it soon as its not really a comfortable feeling!

Oh, the roast was good, but there is TONS of it left. Tons! I think we'll do pulled pork sandwiches tomorrow, then split pea soup, then maybe tacos. Will probably have to freeze a large portion of it for later because there is just so much!

Ha, so much for keeping it short. Well anyone who knows me knows that I can talk a persons ear off without even trying so going long when I said I'd be short is no surprise!

Loves to all of you.

Some quick pics


Isn't this adorable?


Ethan playing with his new tunnel set. He went crazy with this thing!


Ethan, who is quite the ham, had us all in stiches when he kept trying to put his toy drill up his nose!

I suppose I should make note of what you see below... It is the pork that I'm making for Christmas dinner. I made a paste of garlic, red chilies, ginger, rice vinegar and olive oil. I scored the skin of the pork, then rubbed the mixture all over. Into the oven for 24 hours it goes!



Its filled our house with a lovely porky smell. Mmmmm

Have stuff I could write but so dead tired. I'm getting lots of sleep, but can't get over this extreme fatigue. Today I read about how raw garlic can get you over a cold fast and so I've eaten 4 raw cloves (pressed through a garlic press into oil, then bread dipped in it). I smell dreadful, but it will be well worth it if I wake up feeling normal again tomorrow.

It saddens me that because of this darn cold I haven't made any christmas cookies or had much christmas spirit :( I started a few times but the nausea would hit me and I couldn't follow through.

Can barely keep eyes open... Nighty night!

Today was full of bumps and bruises.

This morning I was trying to be responsible and put away my laundry BEFORE my Mom came over (poor thing ends up putting away all my laundry every single Thursday) and Ethan was on the bed playing. He needed to get down, so I was helping him but our hands slipped and he knocked his head on the bed rails. He hit right in the corner of his right eye, which now has a big bruise around it.

Later, when Gwen woke up from her morning nap I went in there to get her and noticed that she had pulled herself up to her knees against the side of the bassinet insert and had one leg up... she was nearly standing. As the bassinet insert leaves maybe 4-6 inches from the top of the pen, she could have easily toppled out. I grabbed her and made a mental note to remove the bassinet portion before her next nap.

Well, of course I forgot. Hence during her second nap, right after I put her down, she stood up and fell out. Poor thing! Jason had just got home and needless to say he was not pleased with my forgetfulness! Luckily she was ok and we took out the bassinet and all is good :)

Despite the rain, we went walking today. Or at least did a little walking. As I was putting the kids in the stroller, I noticed a white car rolling slowly down the street. I thought it odd, but didn't give it much thought. As we walked down to the mailbox, I saw the white car idling in the street. Not in front of any particular house, just in the street. As I came into view, they sped away. So this made me a little uncomfortable. It was just odd. The car circled around again, slowly. I told myself if I saw it again I would turn around and go home because it was just weird. Well, as I started down the next street, I saw the car coming slowly towards us. I stopped, the car stopped, and I turned right around and headed back to our house. The car turned around and drove away. Don't know... could be just a strange fluke but I always want to trust my instincts when it comes to thing like that. Which reminds me, I want some Mace! Situations like the above are exactly why I've been so reluctant to walk around the neighborhood by myself.

I had bad nausea during the afternoon and didn't eat much all day. We had mac & cheese (blech) which I did eat some of, just because I had to have something in my tummy or I'd get a headache. I wish whatever is causing me these bouts of sickness would just go away!

Well well well... what a day!

It started off nicely enough with the kids sleeping in till 7:30. I hope they keep it up... Finally I'm catching up with some sleep!

After laying the kids down, I was in the bathroom getting ready for the day when there was a knock upon the door. I figured it was a delivery person, and as I had not yet changed from my nightclothes, I ignored it. Well, there was a second round of knocking and this time it was quite loud and insistent. The dogs were going absolutely bonkers, which they don't do for normal delivery people. This got me worried.

I tiptoed into our bedroom, found some pants and came out only to see a county sheriff at the door. All I could think of was "What did our bitchy no-good neighbor complain about now that would bring a policeman out?". After opening the door, the officer told me that they had received a 911 call from our home and was everything ok. I said it was and it must have been my son who had called (he was playing with the phone earlier), but the officer pressed me for many details, such as who was in the house, the ages of the kids, was my husband home, where did he work, over and over he'd say, "And everything is ok?". It wasn't until after he left that I realized he was asking all that because he thought I might have been told to say that everything was ok as a cover-up. All the while he was peeking in my kitchen window and through the door. He even had his nightstick out (maybe to fight back the dogs? hehe).

Anyway, I was mortified and will now make sure that Ethan has no contact with that phone... EVER! Not even 2 years old and he's already called the police on me! :)

Shelly came just after 12 and babysat while I did some errands. I went to JoAnnes and got my yarn which is totally lovely. I'm not going to say what I'm making as its experimental. You'll just have to wait and see if it works out ;)

After that I went to Pal-Do World which was an enormous disappointment. I'd expected something like Uwajimaya or Central Market... something upscale. However, it was quite the opposite. There were boxed goods laying EVERYWHERE. Many of the shelves were bare, and the meat case was abysmally empty. In the pork section, they had slices of pork shoulder. That was all. In the beef section, there were slices of flank steak. That was all. The produce looked ample and smelled good and a wide variety of exotic ingredients was available, but overall the experience was completely lacking. I won't go back.

After that I hit a few more stores looking for the elusive cut of pork I need for Christmas. Of all places, I hit the jackpot at Safeway! There was only one of these babies... a huge 20lb pieces of pig. Its beautiful. There is something (I believe I've noted this before) very appealing, exciting and luxurious about cooking a gignormous slab of meat. It cost a fortune, but not really when you think about how many it will feed with leftovers too! I'm over the top happy I found it! While I was there, I picked up a few other items I needed for the dish... red hot peppers, ginger and garlic which will be made into a paste and rubbed into the pork.

We ended up having Honey and Soy Glazed Salmon with thyme flavored rice and braised cabbage for dinner. Jason hates this meal, which is rare. Usually he likes everything I cook. Ethan and I loved it. Yum!

I've posted an adorable little clip of Ethan dancing. He's soooo cute! Was only about to get 1 1/2 minutes of footage because the camera was full.

I'll type more later, but here is a pic of Ethan with his beloved sleeping bag he got from Les & Karen.



And here are two pics of the poncho I made for Gwen. Came out really good, though my seaming still needs a good amount of work.





Later, at 8:45pm

I'm still struggling with this nasty bug. My congestion level improves each day, but I have these crazy bouts of overwhelming nausea and my stomach aches from time to time. Sorta feel like I may have a touch of the flu. Hope it clears up by Christmas because I want to eat and play with freedom!

Today was slow and restless day. Both kids slept all through the night last night which was great. Didn't even have to get them up till 7:40, although we were all awake before that.

I haven't walked since Thursday as I felt too sick. I miss it and the time it took out of our day... our afternoons seem longer without the walk.

For dinner we had a potato and cheese soup with salad and bread. It was ok. I don't know if it was me being congested or what, but it tasted rather bland.

Ethan has been smothering poor Gwen with love lately. He hugs her, he flops on her, he kisses her. Just tonight, we were cuddling on the floor together and he wanted Gwen to join us, so he went over there and tried to pull her across the floor. As you can imagine, she did not enjoy this attempt!

We've also introduced Ethan to the joy of "Ring around the rosie" which he wants to repeat over and over again. Be warned, any who start this activity with him!

Gwen can now pull herself to a stand and is doing it all over the place. In cribs, on toys, everywhere! She is also saying Mama and seems to identify Ethan as Baba. Her creeping is amazingly fast and any day she'll get those knees underneath and be off.

Shelly is coming tomorrow to watch the kids while I take a quick sanity break. Gonna run to Michaels or JoAnnes and get some yarn for my next project and check out Pal-Do World (huge Asian food market in Lynnwood) to see about finding my roast for Christmas. I'm thinking of doing 24 hour pork which is fantabulous if you can find the right kind of meat which is hard to do because everyone wants lean, bland, flavorless pork these days. I recall looking for this cut a couple years ago with two of my co-workers in tow. I swear we hit every single supermarket and gourmet foods place in Queen Anne with NO luck. Good times.

Anyway, should scurry off to bed.

Grr... still sick. At times I feel a lot better, but then I have other times where I feel much worse. I'm sick and tired of being sick and tired!

Yesterday Les and Karen came up from Oregon for a visit. We had a good time and they brought the kids the coolest gifts! A set of cute clothing for each of them, then lots of awesome toys that even I can't keep my hands off. Really fun stuff. I'll try and get some pics up tonight.

The kids have been sleeping well the last few nights. Ethan not waking at all and Gwennie only once. I'm so thankful because I need that sleep to feel human with this cold.

Thursday I got a crib from a second hand store. It converts into a toddler bed and also into a full size bed, just like Ethans crib. I put it together on Friday and it looks really good. We just have to get a mattress and then we'll be ready to try room sharing again.

Thursday night we went to that Christmas festival, which was really cool. I think the kids were still too young to fully appreciate it, but next year should be a blast. The lights are amazingly done. There were these huge draft horses pulling a wagon for rides, pony rides, petting zoo, food, carolers, fires burning here and there to warm yourself at, etc. Very nice. It was FREEZING cold though. When we arrived it was like 27 degrees according to the car thermometer, but it felt colder. It had to be one of the coldest days of the year so far and here we were tramping about.

Well, better go. Have to go get dressed and ready for the day. Jenni will be here in a bit, hanging out until Dad can pick her up.

So I'm finally getting around to editing this post to say what these pics are about...

This is from the snowfall we had a few weeks ago.



Not much explanation needed here... A bath pic!


This is from the Christmas festival we went to in Stanwood. There were all sorts of cool animals to pet, but Ethan was only interested in the bunny who nibbled on his glove. He loved that bunny!

Edit: Its fixed, but I have to re-upload so it will be a few minutes before its active :)

There is a small problem with the videos I uploaded. I should be able to have 5 minute clips (since we're paying) but they're still limiting me to 2 minutes. Thus, the video up there is cut off before Gwen begins the real action. I've contacted customer service and hopefully it will be fixed soon.

Just a quick note:

I have two videos of Gwennie creeping that I just uploaded. Click on the link on the right. They are dark for some reason, but if you can download them you can adjust the brightness on your player.

Everyone is mostly over the sickness except me. I still have it and bad. My entire body aches, even down to my fingertips.

All for now... kids are fussing.

Two blogs in one day, wow.

I feel like a colossal failure. The children are back in their original rooms. The second nap went horribly, I lost my temper in a tremendous fashion and acted like a dreadful Mother. It just wasn't meant to be today.

Jason brought home dinner as I was too upset to make any. I cried on his shoulder for a bit and felt better. Being sick and trying to make such a big change was a big mistake. Everyone was a mess, but after bath we were able to salvage the evening and the kids went easily and quietly to bed. Not surprising since Gwen didn't have any naps today and Ethan only an hour. I'm itching for bed myself now.

Hopefully tomorrow will be better. I have a cooking class, which I may ditch depending on how I feel. Must go grocery shopping though, and will be stopping at another second-hand store to find a crib. No point in buying a new one when she'll be able to use Ethans soon. Later that evening we're going with the Guthries, grandparents, Mom & Jenni to some big Christmas thing up in Warm Beach. It looks like a really huge deal. They have tons of food, petting zoo, enormous light displays, etc. Should be fun.

Off to sleep away this disappointing day.

Ok, it is now the kids second nap sleeping together. The first nap was a complete disaster. After 15 min of quiet, they both started crying and Gwen ended up not sleeping at all (I eventually just got her up) and Ethan only got an hour.

They are both still awake, but fairly quiet in there. I don't care if they're awake. I just need them to be quiet.

My Mom was right in asking why I was doing this while I was still under the weather, as my patience to endure a major change is probably not very high... well, I just felt like it HAD to be done now and I'm the type that will rush things through even if its going to be harder if I feel that they have to be done immediately.

So I've been walking every day for like a week now and not ONCE have I ran into another person. Well, today I ran into 3... and two of them were mothers with babies. Of course, this is the day that I took no care of my looks. My hair is dirty and carelessly pulled back, not a spot of makeup, long sleeve tee, jeans and sneakers. I have dark circles under my eyes from lack of sleep and I'm pale as a ghost from being sick. Of course I would have to meet other mothers on this day! They were all bundled up from head to toe and I'm out there in a tshirt and jeans (for some reason I've been constantly overheated lately) and my kids are whiny with runny noses. I'm sure we looked like lovely play date companions :)

I'm thinking that tonight we'll have something with pork chops, if I can summon enough enthusiasm for cooking. The house is messy and I feel so darn behind on everything.

Great! Gwen is now fussing. I'm not sure how to handle it, because I go in there, Ethan will get all riled up. Ugh. If only we had another free bedroom we wouldn't have to go through this! Its enough for me to allow Jason to put his computer in the front room and free up his office for a bedroom.

When will I feel like things are under control again?

Well yesterday I said that this cold wasn't too bothersome. Today it became bothersome!

I slept restlessly and woke with a high fever and raging headache. Jason, bless his heart, stayed home from work to help me with the kids. I slept through their first nap and felt a lot better.

Ended up going to Other Mothers with J and the kids later in the day to see about a crib for Gwen (they didn't have any). When we got home, for some reason I felt like I HAD to take my daily walk for fear that I'd break what is becoming a habit. Well, we did the walk but it took a lot out of me. We measured it and its a full mile... add to that being feverish and congested and pushing like 70lbs of kids/stroller weight and its pretty rough.

Didn't have too much enthusiasm for cooking tonight, so we had tomato soup and Ethan had grilled cheese.

The kids are doing better with their colds and I feel like I'm on the upswing now. Hopefully we'll get better soon now.

Tomorrow I have plans to put Gwen in with Ethan cold-turkey and just deal with it. Sleeping in the living room has gotten very old.

We are still alive, but just barely. Still slogging through this seemingly endless cold. I finally succumbed to it a few days ago. Its not too bothersome for me, but today I've had that tightness in the chest that makes even breathing painful. Ugh.

Today we went for our daily walk, but I reversed my normal direction which means fairly steep hill at the beginning, long gradual downhill section then another steep hill section at the end. It was worlds harder than the way I had been doing it... two downhills and a long gradual incline. I don't' know if it was the cold or the walk, but I was sore from head to toe late this afternoon.

Gwen is scooting around like crazy. She's pretty darn fast too. Today she actually cruised a bit... from my leg to the couch, so she's getting those legs used to walking!

Ethan's vocabulary is continuing to explode. He repeats much of what I say (gotta watch myself now!) and is always pointing out things. His first words book is barely holding together from all the use he's giving it.

He woke up super cranky from his afternoon nap and dinner only made it worse. He screamed all through bath (unheard of for him!) and we had to do two time-outs for throwing and screaming fits. Finally we were able to distract him and he rolled around with Daddy on the air mattresses for a long time. He ended the night happily... asking US to put him to bed. Gotta love that!

Jason just returned home from getting us some McFlurries. Yum. Its dreadful that I have such an addiction to them, but after a stressful night with Ethan, ice cream seemed like the only solution.

For dinner, we had a tasty pasta and sausage dish... Called simply enough, "Sausage Pasta". I didn't have the frozen spinach it called for (strange, because I always have frozen spinach!) so I used a bag of frozen bell pepper strips, that I cut into bite size pieces. Fast, filling and better than fast food.

Seems like nearly everyone is sick. Becki, grandparents, us. 'Tis the season

Jason left early for work today and the kids and I struggled through. We had a rough night (I stopped counting how many times I was getting up after the 4th time) and I was dead on my feet. After morning naps, we headed over to Mom's. Becki was there and we all had a good time visiting. I brought over all the spare change in the house and we rolled it... ended up with $125. Woo hoo! This money is going into my "meeting my babies message board ladies in Vegas" fund for next September. Its nice that I can put money into that fund from pocket change... doesn't seem like such a big deal that way.

I ate like a total pig today. Leftover pizza for breakfast, McFlurry for lunch (my reasoning was that it would soothe my sore throat, which it did) and eggrolls at Mom's for dinner. I had finally broken through a weight plateau I'd been stuck on for awhile but I suspect that I might have recrossed that mark today. Blah.

Jason is still not home yet. He called a bit ago and said he'd be home around 10 or so. I hate being home alone. For one, I'm often overwhelmed by the children. Secondly, my overactive imagination kicks into high gear once it gets dark and I feel very vunerable, although crime is hugely low in this area. Just can't relax when I'm home alone after dark.

Unfortunately, the cold hit me too. Not as bad as the others, but I have a sore throat, minor congestion and that cloudy head feeling. I think I might also have an ear infection as my right ear is hurting quite a bit.

Jason is working late tonight and all weekend. Since the kids have been sick, they haven't been sleeping well at all. Today Gwen did not nap for more than 30 min the entire day. I'm so worn out! She's so over-tired right now that you just look at her wrong and she starts fussing. I wish he was here right now to help out. Its like I'm on my last little bit of sanity. Tomorrow we're going to go out to my Mom's and maybe I can catch a nap there while everyone plays with the kids.

Yesterday Mom was here to babysit and cleaned the house super-thoroughly. It is SOOO nice! I got 98% of my Christmas shopping done yesterday, and finished the last bit up today. Big relief off my back. Now I have tons of stuff to wrap, but I actually enjoy that :)

Far too tired to cook tonight, so our pizza will be here any minute. Kinda negates the good that my walk did today (around the block again), but I can hardly muster up the energy to care very much. At least Ethan will eat it. He loves pizza.

The kids and Jason have been sick. First it was Gwen and Jason, then as they started to get better, Ethan got it, and got it much much worse. Poor little guy. His nose is constantly running and he had a fever of 102 last night.

It doesn't seem to be slowing him down too much, but he's a major crab.

We went walking around yesterday again and the poor little guy zonked out in the stroller. I tried to push him back so he would lay down on the seat, but every time I did that he'd wake up and yell at me :) So there he was, leaning forward against the straps, fast asleep. Finally he did relax down and got a 15 min nap while we walked.

Gwennie is soooo wiggly now. Last night she was ranging all over the couch, over J and I and Ethan. She rolls, she scoots, she grabs. She's a danger! Her and Ethan have started mixing it up a bit. He tries to take her toys and now she's old enough that she won't just let go. So they have a little tug of war, with both of them yelling. Obviously Ethan eventually wins, but then Gwen lunges after him. So the sharing wars begin :)

I started a new knitting project... I'm making Gwen a little poncho. So cute!

Gwennie has started creeping! She's been threatening to do it for what seems like months now and she finally did it yesterday. I'm very glad as the sooner she crawls the better... The better for Ethan and Gwen to entertain each other!

Ethan has been developed a problem with throwing things in peoples faces and hitting. Poor Gwen has been the recipient of remote controls, bottles, cups, toys, game controllers, and anything else you can think of thrown on her. The only thing that has given her any injury was the XBox game controller than Ethan got her with today. Once she starts crying, Ethan usually feels quite a bit of guilt and immediately comes to hug and comfort her. Of course Gwen is upset by him and so she tries to push him away :)

Today Jason ran out of gas on his way to work so the kids and I had to go rescue him. Luckily, he was just around the corner!

Mom came over to babysit today (filling in for Grammy, who was sick) so that I could go to the dentist. I just got a cleaning done. Ouch, my poor gums hurt now! No cavities though. We also discussed having my wisdom teeth removed soon and my dream of having braces. Wisdom teeth will definitely happen, but braces will not likely happen soon as it would cost a fortune and that money should probably go towards us getting a better house.

While I was gone Gwen had TWO bottles of breastmilk... 6 oz! That's like, unheard of.

After Mom left, I put the kids in the stroller and went to get the mail.... and kept on going. I ended up walking around the block, which is about 1/2-3/4 of a mile. Felt good.

Last night I put up lights in our bushes and trees. Looks quite festive.

I'm feeling so frustrated and angry right now over things that I'm simply too exhausted to write about. It was just a really rotten day.

I have so much to write about but hardly any energy to do so :)

Yesterday I woke with a scorching headache. I took prescription stuff, 3 tylenols and chased it with a huge coffee. Eventually it eased so that I could see clearly and have some cognizant thought. However, I could feel it just lurking, waiting for the migraine meds to wear off.

We had planned to do our family pictures yesterday and I'm glad that I was able to get through the headache to get them done. It took a lot of work to get a time and get there so I wouldn't have wanted to try again. The kids were cranky, the lady was new and I was high on drugs, so after about 45 min we got only 4 decent pics.





After these were taken, we tried to get a holiday pic of just the kids but it was so not gonna happen. The kids started crying and didn't want to sit still.

After we got home I put the kids down, but Gwennie wouldn't sleep. While I was dealing with her, my headache came screaming back all of a sudden. I had to leave the room and lay down immediately. Imagine someone ripping your brain apart and that's what it felt like. Ouch. Luckily Jason was able to care for the kids and went out and got dinner while I slept. I probably slept almost 2 hours, then got up to handle the kids then went back to bed.

Today I felt much better, thankfully. My Mom came over at 11 to babysit while I did shopping. I hit Costco first and spent a unholy amount of money, though in my defense 1/4 of the cost went to one of Jason's Christmas presents. I did also buy the softest sweater ever created (I lurve it!) and a blazer that will go back cuz it just doesn't look right. After I was done there I headed to Fred Meyer to pick up the few things I couldn't get at Costco.

While I was out it started snowing and kept up pretty heavily. By the time I got home it was accumulating slowly on the grass, though the roads were still clear. Jenni and I unloaded the car, then Mom help me put away all the stuff. We got a call from Grammy & Grandpa who wanted to stop by since they were in the area. Mom left soon after they arrived as she was nervous about driving in the snow.

For dinner we had pork chops in a mustard sauce with twice baked potatoes and spinach. Mucho yummo.