A FINAL LOVE THURSDAY --
Ahhhhhh, some reflections to finish up blogging 2009.....
the much asked question --- where were you 10 years ago?

Let's see; I was about 33 weeks pregnant with Sean; couldn't breathe easy much less enjoy a New Year's. I had 19mo. old Maggie and we were anticipating closing escrow on our first home. WOW!!!! Look how much time has flown

Little did I imagine that my bouncing, baby boy that would be born in Feb. 2000 (first grandson on both sides of the family!) would become such a cool little athlete that I just love to pieces [when he isn't making me bonkers]

Now, 10 years later I can tell you that I would have NEVER imagined I would be a Mom of four children, but I can't imagine my life without them. My dear sweet Amanda.....my smallest baby/ little sweet pea/ colic newborn that I thought would do me in. There has always been 'something about Amanda' that everyone loves, and given our medical scare this year, it has just added to the fact that she is simply precious to us

And, then there is our family caboose -- my good luck charm, Ian. When I found out I was pregnant with him, I just wanted to cry. How was I going to survive having four children under six years old? Sure, many mothers have survived it, but this was Me. Holy cow! I was nervous. But once I met this sweet little guy all my nerves were calmed

The days of high chairs, Mom's Club, and preschool have come and gone. It seems unreal that it has been 10 years since the Y2K madness and all that the new millenium was to bring. For now, I'll make a resolution to treasure these days while my kids are little because before I blink it will be turning 2020.

Why wait for spring cleaning? Join me in my insane adventures. (if I didn't know better I'd think I was pregnant and nesting big time, I'm N.O.T.!!!)

It all started the day after Christmas. I had to shuffle some old toys out of the way to have a place for the new ones (in hopes that the boys would actually put them where they belong -- hey, a girl can dream). And it's been all If You Give A Mouse A Cookie style cleaning since then. I wound up completely gutting the boys' room; then my bathroom; then the hallway bathroom; then I vacuumed all upstairs; then I de-funked and prepped the fish tank for more fish; then I started Maggie's room (note: started, b/c it's going to take a while).......tomorrow is more for Maggie, the family room, and the downstairs floors.

What is wrong with me???? Normally, if I keep up laundry and dishes I count my blessings.

It DOES feel great to be getting all of this done. My plan is to conquer closets too before I run out of steam. Like I said, A GIRL CAN DREAM.

Holy Cow.......has it really been almost a month since I blogged? Really? Well, it must be that the blog posts are written in my head and I can't sit down long enough to actually type them out. Anyway, here I am.

Let's see -- Amanda Update: she had a g-tube placed on 11/30/09; used it for about five days and then started eating like a champ. Seriously, think George Foreman! The girl can eat! It was very frustrating to see that her eating would take off once the ng-tube was pulled, but we had no way of knowing. She did have to have some help learning to swallow, but it didn't take long. Her speech has also taken off; but she will get evaluations for additional assistance with that. She came home on Friday, 12/11/09. She doesn't really use her walker at home anymore but we keep that and her wheelchair handy for outings b/c she tires easily. After a bout of the stomach flu last Sunday, her g-tube came out unexpectedly. I hurried her off to the doc. to make sure there were no issues with the early (& hasty) removal and she is FINE :) A blessing in disguise --- she is tube free and medication free --- not even two months after major brain surgery. Our Christmas Miracle!

It is sooooo nice to be home. I was able to take Amanda to her classroom holiday party and that was nice; she enjoyed every minute. We've enjoyed shopping, wrapping, and all that the holidays bring. Including a bit of chaos -- Our 10ft. tree did fall down out of nowhere, but we only lost a few ornaments and no one was hurt. Four of us had the stomach flu AT ONCE; truly an ugly, nasty circus of buckets and beach towels...shudder.... Collin wrecked his truck today, but it was single vehicle and no one was hurt. I truly have to find the silver lining in most of what life is throwing us these days because I am ever so thankful to have my precious daughter HERE and healthy. She still has a long road of recovery but she has us helping her on that road.

I have more recent pictures to post but I'll save those for my next post. I promise it won't take me a month.

I hope you had a very Merry Christmas!