Caleb's way of doing things.....

Caleb's way of getting into the pencils

Caleb's way of getting into our homeschool stuff

Caleb's way of getting the basketball

Caleb's way of winning friends and influencing
girls....completely ignore them


(the baby girl is Kaitryn Eckert...Jen Eckert's baby
who is three days younger than Caleb) Elliot Proffit
is the baby in the background
And no, I don't keep Caleb in his PJs all the time.
It's just that his most ornery time of day
is right after his bath!

The infirmary will officially be closed tomorrow...

This nurse is "sick" of the infirmary and is leaving town. Yeah...I know. You thought I already left. Well, I've been busy caring for the sick, having a Pampered Chef party, shopping, etc. Chris was in sunny Orlando suffering for GBS with a few other guys for a few days last week. His one request several weeks prior? "Get the 'dumb Pampered Chef party' over with before I get home." (said all in good humor, of course) You can tell it's his favorite of my yearly events. :) Lanee' Marshall is the consultant and has done a show for me the last three years. Also while Chris was gone, I enjoyed getting lots of extra work done, staying up late working on projects, and the night of the party, staying up talking to my dear friend Lanee' till almost 3AM!
As for an infirmary update, we are on the tail-end of our illnesses, I hope. Michael just has a cough left at this point. Caleb is still in the runny nose stage just before the cough hits. Anyway, I've had enough of sickness to last me a long time. I'm sure the PediaCare, Vicks, and Tylenol people all love us dearly by now. By the way, did you know that Pedia Care sells Popsicles for coughs? Lauren and Michael LOVED them and they have the same active ingredient just like their cough syrup. They must have really tasted good because neither kid knew they were taking medicine!
Anyway, for Valentines Day and my birthday combined, Chris wanted all of us to get away to Pigeon Forge for a few days. We have rented a cabin and will be gone all this week. (I know, I know. try not to cry) So, I promise lots of pictures and details following my return. I better run and get more packing done. I forgot how much "loot" is required when traveling with a baby! :)

Welcome to my world....the infirmary

Just thought I should grab a few quiet moments to let you know we're still alive......I'm too busy with the sick at the infirmary @1904 Young St. to blog these days. It all started with Michael having the stomach flu about 10 days ago. Right around the same time, Lauren came down with a pretty bad cold and cough. Well, just about the time Michael was feeling better, Caleb came down with the stomach flu. I've changed more nasty diapers and been puked on more times than I care to recall. Lauren's cold got worse over the weekend, so I kept her and Caleb both home from church. Then yesterday, Caleb was showing some signs of early dehydration. So, I called a babysitter to come watch Lauren and Michael and took Caleb up to Children's Hosp. ER. Of course, while I was there, he downed a whole bottle of Pedialyte, and kept it down. So, there I was, looking like a bit of a paranoid Mom. And by the way, why do they ask you 4 or 5 times the whole illness history? Is it cross-examination or what? The only person to enter our exam room and not make me go through the whole story was the cleaning lady. Wow....was she ever a welcome sight! :) Like: when were all the times he threw up, when was his last solid food, when was his last bottle, when did he last have water, when .....on and on. Here I am, very sleep-deprived and hardly able to tell you what day it is....
Well, the good news is that Caleb is better. He slept through the night....mostly. And while he slept, Michael got up several times complaining of a hurting belly. All day today, Michael has laid around and eaten nothing.....
Hope you all are having a good Tuesday! Maybe one of these days I will have my healthy children back. Really, I shouldn't complain. If I remember correctly, this is the first time Lauren and Michael have been sick since last summer. Stay away from us and stay healthy! :) (That last statement was NOT for those planning on attending my Pampered Chef party Thursday night.!!!)

Saturday.....Kids Blog Day

Michael wanted to blog today about
the Car Expo his Daddy and Uncle Craig
took him to. He got to sit on the
police motorcycle.

"I like the car show and I loved it." (Michael just typed that)

Post- Valentine's Day News

This is where we celebrated our Valentine's Day...a day late.
The choice of babysitters (from GBS) was very limited on
Valentines Day, so we went out one day later. This is a
fresh seafood restaurant downtown Cincy. Their menu changes
daily depending on what kinds of seafood they get in fresh. And guess what I had?
A steak. I love steak when we go out. Chris got Idaho Rainbow Trout.
It was candlelit...as I'm sure you can gather from the pictures.
As I said to Chris over dinner, I love going out with him, but
every bit as enjoyable is the adult conversation and
the lack of phrases such as "Mommy, can you
cut this for me?" "Oooo (or yuck) ...what IS this?" "Mommy. he made a
mean face at me" and so on!!! The funny thing is,
by the time the date is over, I miss the kids like crazy
and am just thrilled to come back home. I
guess that is a good thing, isn't it?!

My three special Valentines.
Lauren is in the nightgown that I just COULD NOT resist at
The Children's Place. I'm not sure if you can
tell or not, but it's a Valentine's Day nightgown with conversation
hearts. It even had a matching scrunchie. She loved it.
The kids made us Valentines. They wrapped up candy
(Jolly Ranchers from their stashes) in Kleenex tissues. They
were secured with hair rubber bands, and other assortments
of strings, ribbons, etc. (Mostly they raided
Lauren's hair accessory collection) I even
received an itty bitty box with two pennies
in it "so I could go to Christopher and Banks"! I'll REALLY
have to scout for bargains next time....

Happy Valentine's Day, Nancy!

For the wonderful woman I married:

I wonder if you really know
what a wonderful woman you are.
I've told you far less often than I should.
It's hard to find the words to say
all the things you deserve to hear--
if I could say them perfectly,
I would...

I'd tell you just how much it means
to be given the gift of your love
and how much that love has changed me for the better.
I'd say it takes a wife like you
to reveal the soul of a man--
if he can open up enough to let her...

It may be that there are no words
to thank you for all that you've done
to support me and create the life we share...
But should you ever feel unsure
of the love I have for you,
just look into my eyes. You'll find it there.

Happy Valentine's Day!
With my love always!

Chris

P.S. I know your password. Ha!

Winter Wonderland

My favorite campus tree. It's beautiful in the fall
and SO GORGEOUS with all the ice.

Trees in front of the chapel

By the Ad Building

A cheery campus friend
(believe it or not, it was raining. Now just
who has the goofiest scarf is any body's guess)


I wanted to share the beautiful scenery I enjoyed
while walking over to supper tonight. I normally
fix supper here, but really wanted to get the kids
out of the house for a while. OK I'll
admit it. I REALLY needed a Diet Coke. At any rate,
I was glad I ventured out. It was raining pretty hard, but I still
managed to get a few pictures. I love ice storms....it looks
like a fairy land.

The Aquarium Fieldtrip

Lauren pets a starfish

The starfish

Caleb just has fun splashing in the Starfish' water

An old turtle (Supposedly they live to 150 yrs. old Didn't
have to stretch our imagination for that one!)

Some snakes that had recently shed their skins

Baby alligators

Chris feeding the birds at Lorakeet Landing. The two
birds he had were really fiesty and fought continually over the food.
They ended up spilling most of it. Lauren commented
on the wasted $1. Where does she get that, Grandma?

I decided it looked fun. However, I got an ornory bird that
grabbed the edge of the cup and dumped it
all over the sleeve of my sweater!
Lauren once again commented on another dollar
just wasted.

Lauren and Michael both enjoyed weighing in this sling and
then seeing what kind of shark had the same weight.
To anyone in our area, I highly recommend the Newport Aquarium. We
felt it was a VERY educational experience.
They are running a winter special right now...
2 kids get in free with the purchase of an adult
ticket. (Kids reg. admission is around $12.)
Then they also give each child a coupon
to get a free meal at Bob Evans. Great deal
and lots of fun!

Look out....here comes trouble!

Having fun with a favorite toy

And yes....he gets into EVERYTHING! One of his favorite places
of mischief is the cupboard where I keep
the cleaning supplies. Maybe this is a sign he will help
me clean someday. lol. Yeah...and the reason he is in a turtleneck
that doesn't match his outfit is because he already
had a shirt change and a good scouring...he was up to his
favorite mischief of all....splashing in the potty. (This
is becoming a daily occurrence) I try to keep the bathroom doors closed at all
times, but with two forgetful children and two separate bathrooms
I'm not always able to accomplish that! Yes...he's
FULL of mischief, but I wouldn't trade him for the whole world!
On a sweeter note, Lauren told me today, "Mommy, you think you
know how much I love you. But I love you 31 million more
times than that. " As Michael was getting ready for
his bath tonight, he informed me, "Mommy, I love bathtubs....but I love you more."
As for Chris, he came home with a box of my favorite cookies.....iced cookies
from Busken. He definitely knows what I like and knows they only have
50 mg sodium per cookie! I'm working on my 3rd one. Oh well,
I LOVE my life and I wouldn't change a thing! Just thought
you'd like to know :)

Come on it's lovely weather for a sleighride.......

My little Eskimo baby!

Poor Fed Ex man, spinning all the way up Young St.

Hobe Sound may have sun, but we've got the snow!!!!

A friendly campus sledder

Another poor soul can't make it up
the hill!! (I thought I'd at least be
useful and take his picture!)

Esther Byer goes airborne!
Yes, we've got snow and I'M LOVIN' IT!!!!!

Monday's Memory

Wedding Party
of
Michelle Elsey & Jason Hopkins
(for some reason I can only remember
the bridesmaids, but none of the groomsmen)
Bridesmaids were: Leanna Englund, Sarah Burkett,
Mary Hollenbock and Lynette Hopkins

Lauren was the flower girl
Michael was the Bible - bearer

They were married in June, 2004
Lauren was almost 4 and Michael had just turned 2
His little tux was a 2T. So cute. I had
never seen one so little! She had an evening wedding,
so the kids were able to get in good naps at
the motel before the wedding, so they both did their
parts just wonderful.....MUCH to my relief.

Michelle asked Lauren and Michael
to be in her wedding because she
was their babysitter while Chris and I went on
dates or while I was in class (working on my degree)
She has remained one of their favorite babysitters.





One of my favorite pictures
of Lauren. Just captures that
excited little girl look. She immensely enjoys being
in weddings, going to weddings, looking
at pictures of weddings....wonder
where she gets that????

The best part of the wedding (to the kids) was
getting to blow bubbles. The groomsmen even
had bubbles guns. We brought two of the guns home
but they only lasted for two days :(
Like the kids and I always say "must have come
from Walmart" haha

My Week of Bargains

Don't you just LOVE a good bargain? I've often thought even if I were very rich(haha SO unlikely) I'm pretty sure I'd still love to bargain hunt. There's something very thrilling and satisfying about landing a good bargain. Anyway, last week at Meijer I found a small (but fun, just the same)bargain. They were selling Plug-Ins for just $.30 a box AND they were the bonus packs AND it was in one of my favorite scents. Needless to say, I bought all they had. If any of you come over, at least you know my house is going to smell like Apple Cinnamon!
OK. Now for this week. To put it in the words of Squanto's wife (who was a bargain trader) "me hit-em jack-um pot." (Did Squanto have a wife?) While browsing the mall, I happened into "The Children's Place". They were having their monster sale. Most items were already 50% regular price, then you got to take ANOTHER 50% off. Well, between Lauren (who is currently in bargain training) and I, we found loads of things for next winter. Now here's the really good part...I happened to have an extra 20% off coupon with me. And then, for opening a credit card with them, you got to take another 10% off. When all was said and done, I figured up I had gotten $191. worth of clothes, for ................$43. Very fun. And do you think I could just leave it at that and leave the store like any decent human being would do? No. I had to go grab a few more pairs of tights, socks....well, you get the picture. To make it even worse, I had just been in Gymboree buying clearance items. (Who can beat their tights at $1.99 a pair?) Well, after all that, I decided I needed to buy SOMETHING for me. So I ran into Hallmark and grabbed the new Josh Groban CD, which produced the biggest smile of all! It was on sale for $7.99, but I had a $10 Gold Crown certificate, so I got it for free. Oh, and just thought you ought to know, to celebrate all the bargains, me and the kids went to the food court and shared the biggest plate of rice and Bourbon chicken! All in all, it was a very fun day.(Till I got home and had to face my husband! :) Just kidding! He knows I have to bargain hunt every now and then....it's very necessary to my survival! (By the way, I don't behave this way all the time...most days I don't have enough energy to go to the mall. So when I go, I have to make up for lost time!)
Oh and by the way, does anyone know what they use to flavor bourbon chicken. Is it really bourbon or is that just a nod to Bourbon street in Louisiana? I get it at China Max, so maybe it's a Chinese thing.(?) Maybe I don't want to know! lol!