Merry Merry

Here's the obligatory Christmas morning post. I know you'll all just skip the witty commentary for the pictures, so have at it.





We had Michelle and her kids here the night we set up the tree. They loved the dog, and had I known we'd be moving in a week after this picture was taken, I would have gladly wrapped up that dog and sent her home with them.


Um, okay. He does like the Bears, can you tell? And bears like trees, so I guess this is acceptable behavior.


Hope yours was as Merry as ours.

12 Years

Well, my wedding dress is officially wwaaayyy out of style, my body has gone to Hell, and my mind is crazy with voices and stresses of everyday life.

But 12 years ago Sean agreed to love me no matter what.

Sucker.

Love you, Sugar Daddy.

Don't worry, there will be no divorce papers today.

That Creepy Fat Guy That Breaks In Every Year

He arrived, left his booty, and disappeared into the night.

Pictures to follow.

When What To My Wondering Eyes Should Appear

Well, not much if you're Sugar Daddy.

He's having some trouble.

Not the whole unemployment, moving in 2 weeks, 4 days post-op, kind of trouble, either.

It's more serious than that. He's been having some trouble with his vision for the last few weeks. Okay, a few months, but he used to have a job that kept him busy 12 hours a day, thereby hindering the time he had to see a doctor about it.

Do I sound bitter? I'm not. I promise.

So he saw a doctor to get new glasses. He told her about his light sensitivity and his blurry spots. She didn't care enough to "see" anything, and sent him on his merry way. Three days later, he was still fed up, and got a referral to an ophthalmologist, one he had seen before for an eye infection. After seeing him yesterday, the new doc made him an immediate appointment to a cornea specialist in Chicago. I was worried. I still am.

Turns out, what that first doctor didn't "see" could have cost Sean his sight. He still needs to undergo a battery of tests to figure out just exactly what is going on, but for now it's some sort of Keratitis. He has blood vessels growing through his cornea, and that's not good, folks.

So amidst all of our upheaval and challenges, we have this to deal with, too. Because you know, we needed one more thing to worry about.

Merry Christmas.

Twas the night before the night before Christmas

My kids are currently watching the Battle of the Nutcrackers on Ovation TV.

I've never even heard of Ovation TV until tonight.

When I saw the Bolshoi Ballet Nutcracker was on, I turned it on just to show the kids how beautiful the ballet is. Now they're hooked. They're on their third version, currently with the Royal Ballet's version. It is a beautiful, if a little creepy, story, regardless of which ballet is performing it.

I'm just glad I can rest easy tonight knowing my kids have had some sort of culture, other than listening to dad order from Taco Bell in Spanish.

Christmas Spirit

Well, today has been a good day. I realize I've been MIA the last few days, but there has been a lot going on .

I'll recap.

Sean had surgery yesterday, and for those of you that follow me on Facebook, you understand when I tell you all is back to normal. Wink, wink. His hernia is hereby fixed, and he is in good spirits, and moving around like a regular person.

We have started finalizing our move to Utah. Luckily, most of our stuff was in boxes. Unluckily, most of the stuff in boxes needs to be reorganized as store/do not store stuff. A totally different way of packing. But Sean has had lots of free time on his hands, so he made a very decent dent in that situation.

Gretta had her 3 year check up. She's 30 pounds, and smart as a whip. In fact, the doctor said she's so smart, she's too smart for diapers. Gretta took this to heart, and when she woke up the next morning, she refused to put on a diaper, because she's "too mart, mom". So she's potty trained. Seriously, like 1 day, and it was done. Who knew?

It snowed pretty good today. The good kind of snow where it's not too cold outside, and the kids want to go out and play. We went to the local sledding hill, after buying an extra sled for $30! I'm sooooo tempted to return it now that we're done with it. Would that be dishonest? Yeah, I thought so too. So we sledded, and the kids had a blast. Then we went to Liz's house, and met the elusive husband. He works evening shifts, and so none of us have ever met him. We started doubting his existence at all. But I'll bear witness, he does exist, and he's very nice. We approve, Liz. ;)

Christmas is knocking at the door, and I can't believe it! I hope we're ready. I think we are, but you know how the doubt starts seeping in when it gets down the wire? Yeah, I'm at that stage. I plan on starting wrapping tonight, so we'll see if I'm in full blown crazy mom mode tomorrow, or if I can just sit back and relax.

I've been pondering a lot on the things I'll miss about Illinois. There are so many things, that I think I'll have to do a bunch of separate posts just for them individually. I'm sure that will be so boring for most of you, but I need to write it down so I don't forget this time we've spent here. It dawned on us the other day that we'll most likely be driving back to Utah 2 years to the day from when we left. It's like we had a little mission out here. I think that warrants a homecoming party, don't you?

So that's all for now. I'll be writing more this week as Christmas nears, and my anxiety peaks at code red.

Daily Update

Well, I have to say, I think I have the bestest readers in the world. I received so many positive emails and comments, I think I may just make it through all this.

But I should probably give a little update so you all know what's going on in this head of mine.

First, Sean is scheduled to have his hernia surgery on Monday. The 21st. Like 4 days before Christmas. Sounds like bad timing, but it's a blessing really. Pray that it all goes well, and that he recovers quickly.

Second, despite looking for a job here in Illinois, there is this gaping hole on Sugar Daddy's resume. See, he never finished college. I know! But he was too busy working is way up through the company, and now here we are. So thanks to the help of our families, he will be starting school in January or March, depending on...

Third, we will be moving back to Utah as soon as Sean is healed and ready. He'll be starting school full time there. We're shooting for just after the New Year, but we'll see how that goes. His health and safety are most important, so that is the determining factor.

Fourth, there was a big post coming about our new house, with pictures and everything, but now that we'll be moving, it doesn't seem post-worthy. It's too bad, too, because we really love it. But it's just a thing, and things come and go.

So there you have it. Pretty much our life in a nutshell for today. I'm so grateful for the positive and uplifting thoughts and prayers. We truly know how blessed we are. I'll be posting daily, and hopefully not just about this, but mostly about this, because this is my life, and I have to write this stuff down, or my brain hurts.