Julie Sings

As Steve and I were taking Julie to school yesterday morning, she started singing a song. It went something like this:

I broke it, I broke it, I'm so sorry
Mommy said, "Don't break it, don't break it. I'm so mad."
I said, "I'm sorry, I'm sorry. I'll fix it with hot gluuuuuuuue."
then I think there was something about gluing it together, but I'm not sure
I fixed it, I fixed it and Mommy said, "Thank you, honey."
La, la, la. each "la" was very short, as if to say "the end."

We were in the front seat trying so hard not to laugh because the song was hilarious. If she thought we were reacting in any way to the song, she would have stopped. She sings stuff like this all the time - what a talent we have.

The Girls' New Jewelry

Here are a couple of overdue pics of the girls with their earrings.

Julie's B-day

We've had a great day today. It started early when I heard the cat meowing constantly. It worried me because her usual waking-up-the-people meows are spaced a few seconds apart to allow for the grogginess of the human awakening process. I got up, a little alarmed and followed my ears to the laundry room, where I saw Caleb petting a meowing Gray Cat. Mystery solved. She's happiest when petted. It was in the neighborhood of 6 a.m., so I told Caleb to go back to his room and read for a while.

Over the next hour or so the girls woke up and the kids ate a little snack breakfast while we drifted in and out of sleep.

At 9, we were at the local coffee shop, The Coffee Booth, for Julie's requested b-day breakfast of a cinnamon roll and Sprite. We stuck candles in the cinnamon roll and she was thrilled. Terry & Gwen and their girls met us there for breakfast. Here's a picture of all the kids after Jules opened her gifts:
We spent the afternoon just goofing off around the house. The kids have been saving money to buy new handheld gaming systems. They wanted Nintendo DSs, but we figured that, at $150+ each, it was too much electronics for them. So we compromised and let them shop ebay for Gameboy Advances. Audrey found a pink one and Caleb found one with extra games. I see the beginning of an ebay trend with these 2.

Because we got in late last night, we made all the kids lay down for naps. C & A slept, but J just wallered around for a while. She's going to bed early tonight.

But during naptime a new toy arrived - a digital camera! No, it's not for Julie. It's for me. And it's sweet. I think it's way more camera than we will ever need, but at least I have something to learn when I use it. I'll start taking more pics and uploading them.

So last night - here's the scoop. We got to Glorieta at 5 p.m. and went straight to rehearsal in Holcomb Hall (the BIG one). After working out a few minor not-so-minor kinks, we felt confident. We ate a quick pizza dinner, met the composer of the music (who signed everybody's VBS t-shirts), and took the stage.

The kids were awesome! They rocked! The drama and choir were equally strong. We watched a video today of the performance, and it was awesome. Another family videoed it, so we're going to try to get hold of their tape because Julie was shaking the camera pretty much the whole time trying to watch us through it. A bit distracting. The audience was a good one - full of energy and very vocal. I'm glad we made it through the last 4 months of working on this. There were times I wasn't sure how it would come together, but it was super. I can say it was truly God.

I'm signing off now. Time to play with my camera some more.

I Hate 3 a.m.

Especially when 3 different critters feel the need to come into our room and talk to us 4 different times.

1 - 3:04 a.m. - Audrey: "Mommy, I had another bad dream." Me: thinking very slowly...don't want her in bed with me..."I'll walk you to your room, tuck you in, and we'll pray that the bad dreams don't return."

That done, I return to bed.

2 - 3:06 a.m. - Gray Cat: "Meow. Meeeoooow. Rowr." sharpens claws on our box springs to make sure she has our attention "Meeeeooooww." Me: "Steve, it's your turn." Steve: "What does she want?" Me: "Probably outside. The cat door is closed."

That done, Steve returns to bed.

3 - 3:14 a.m. - Caleb: "Mom, I'm hungry." Me: thinking a bit more clearly now...he needs some food because he threw up twice yesterday afternoon and fell asleep without supper "Ok. Come with me." Oyster crackers and Sprite. Me: "Eat these slowly. Drink this slowly. Turn the light off when you're done."

That done, I return to bed.

4 - 3:17 a.m. - Audrey: "Mommy, my nose is stuffed up on both sides." Me: "Get a tissue and blow." thinking...I don't want to get out of bed to get her more medicine. I wonder if she can reach it up on the kitchen counter. She can if she drags a chair over there. But what if she makes enough noise to wake up Julie? Audrey: "I blew but nothing came out." Me: "Come on. I'll get you some medicine."

Medicine administered, I tell Caleb not to eat all the salt left over at the end of the oyster crackers, he says he's finished, I send the kids back to bed, turn off the lights, and I return to bed.

So when the alarm goes off at 6 a.m., I think it's 4 a.m. and turn it off. I wake up 40 minutes later and Steve gets into the shower. Don't worry - he wasn't late for work.

Jules

How about a picture for this Monday morning?


Yes, that's Julie - on her potty, in front of the fireplace. It tickled Steve, so he took the picture.

Friday Night, Part 2

Audrey beat Caleb at Battleship.

Last night when I went to check on the kids at 11 p.m., I saw this on Audrey's floor. Mind you, it was mostly dark - just a few night lights here and there, so you can probably imagine what I thought when I saw this.
If you click on the picture, you'll see that it's not the cat poo or puke that I thought it was, but a plastic pretzel from a play food set Audrey got for Christmas. You can even see the little trains of salt. But last night it stopped me in my tracks and gave me a brief moment of panic. Who wants to clean up something nasty in the middle of the night?

So thanks, Grannie, Polly, and Mary, for my minor heart attack last night. :)

Friday Night, Nolen Style

We just finished a dinner of biscuits and shrimp. Steve, Audrey, and Caleb wanted shrimp but Julie and I didn't, so we had biscuits. Everyone was happy.

Now I'm watching the 2 big kids play Sorry Sliders on the Wii. Just a video game version of a board game. It's nice because nobody can cheat. Julie is on the floor playing with a little white stuffed kitty. A minute ago she slithered out of a chair and announced, "I'm an iguana." She is one-of-a-kind.

So next Friday is a relatively big day for 3 of the 5 Nolens. Back in the summer our church was asked to participate in one of three VBS preview/training conferences for 2009. Tonight is the first conference at Ridgecrest in NC, next week is ours at Glorieta, and the following week is the final one in Nashville. So I have jokingly said that we were asked to present the VBS musical for the "West Coast Premiere." More or less.

I wish I hadn't agreed to do this. It's been a HUGE pain. But it's a week away. It consists of a choir of 15-ish kids singing the VBS songs in between scenes of a drama. There are 4 kids and one adult in the drama. And the adult is me. I wish I had found someone else to either lead this thing or be in the drama. I go back and forth between being stressed about the logistics of it all and being stressed about learning my lines. But in a week from right now, we'll be taking the stage and this thing will be DONE. Until June, when we will do it for our church. But that's much easier.

So now Audrey and Caleb are getting ready to play Battleship. Caleb is setting up his ships and Audrey is standing here watching me so that she doesn't see Caleb's stuff. Now they've switched places. This video game is great. Again, no cheating.

We're getting ready (sorta) for Julie's b-day next Saturday. I can't believe she's already 3. She wants a princess party. That surprised me. I was expecting Dora, puppies, pink poodles, Diego, but not princesses. Good thing, though, because they actually have princess plates and napkins at our grocery store - so I don't have to go anywhere special or order anything for her party. And she's already figured out 2 of her 3 guests. The kids get to invite one guest for every year old they are. It's a system that's worked well so far. It won't work this year for Caleb's party. Wanna know why? I'm sure you're just dying to know.

He turns 8 this year, right? The problem is that themed party supplies (plates and cups in particular) come in sets of 8. So 8 guests plus Caleb equals too many people to have themed plates. I told him that he could either invite 7 guests and get themed plates or invite 8 guests and get solid color plates. I don't think he's decided yet. Better get on that, Son. You only have 4 months!

Steve is in here now giving Audrey his nautical advice for Battleship. Audrey has sunk Caleb's 3-holer, but Caleb has sunk Audrey's 5-holer and her 2-holer. So he's winning.

I'm going to go now. Audrey needs some moral support.

I'm Back

How about if I start with an adorable Julie story?

Tonight she was sitting facing the couch petting the cat's front paw. She started singing an original song about the activity. Here's how part of it went:

People don't has paws
They have hands and feet
And they are so soft and fuzzy

I assume that last line was about Gray Cat's paws and not people's hands and feet. The song was wonderful. She likes to make up songs and they're usually that cute.

It was 16 degrees this morning around 7 a.m. when I was out to clear the snow off the driveway. Good thing I had a toasty warm underlayer somebody gifted me at Christmas. (Thanks, Dad.) Not much snow - about 2 or 3 inches - but there was a layer of ice underneath. I got everything cleared off and by 11:30, all the ice had melted off. By the time I picked up big kids from school, the sidewalks were dry. Thank you, Mr. Sunshine.

Over Christmas, I gained 4 pounds. Unlike last year, I wasn't surprised. I knew, with every bite, that I was overeating and that the scales would show me an ugly number when I got home. But it wasn't too bad. By the time we'd been home a day, I'd already lost 2 pounds, and I've lost one more since then. I was hoping this would happen. Plus I'm back on track with my food. That's always a good thing.

Changing subjects again...I ordered a cord of wood before Christmas and we've been enjoying our fireplace for the past few weeks. The kids enjoy telling me when I've failed as a fire steward. "Mommy! The flames are gone!"

That's it for now. I've been watching "The Office" on Netflix. Too addictive and too easy to watch multiple episodes for hours on end.

A Little Holiday Whine

Who needs vino when you have me for some hearty whine?

Julie threw up several times last night - the first of which was at our Sunday school party. That was fun. Then she did it again on the way home. Then a couple more times when we got home before her tummy was empty and she could sleep.

Then she woke up this morning, ate some oyster crackers and sprite, then threw up again. Several more times. Not fun.

So I got her to come lay down with me in my room. We slept for a couple of hours. At least that's what I'm guessing because I didn't look at the clock when we laid down. When she woke up she felt better but I felt awful.

I've totally slacked off this afternoon because I feel yucky. Plus my head hurts and my kids are doing things that are just rubbing me the wrong way. And I have issues. Too many to get into here, so I won't. Plus you don't want to hear me whine some more.

I just thought I'd leave you with this lovely picture:
This is me, not feeling good.

Thought I'd Spruce the Place Up

How do you like it?

What Audrey's Been Up To, Since I Neglected Her in the Previous Post

This is the new dress from Gigi. I dressed up for our annual Christmas church banquet. I also straightened my hair. I felt very pretty.


Julie insisted on being in the picture with us. I didn't think she'd actually be in the frame because Audrey took the shot.
A few little humorous tidbits for your enjoyment:

1 - Yesterday Steve took the kids to school in his truck. On the way to school, Audrey looked out the window and proclaimed, "Daddy, I can see the shadow of your hiccup!"

2 - After he took the big kids, he and I took Julie to school, also in the truck. She ran inside and told her friends and teachers, "I got to ride in the trunk!"

3 - I found my 35-year-old doll, Baby Ann, yesterday. I brought her inside from her box in the storage shed. Julie was mildly impressed, but when Audrey saw her, she said "Where'd that ugly baby come from?" But she quickly came around when I told her that I had a dress I used to wear that matched Baby Ann's. My mom made the dresses. Here is my beautiful daughter with the "ugly baby."Dad - you'll be happy to see that years of storage with a bonnet on her head made her hair lay down and look normal for the most part.

I'm back - do you remember me? I'm not sure if you do because it's been so long

Yeah, I've been a blogging slacker. Seems like this was much easier to keep up with in England because I didn't have a life over there. Not that I'm complaining. I loved it over there. Anyway, here are some pictures for you:

Caleb in his scout uniform (without his neckerchief).

Julie (2nd from L) at a princess pedicure party. They were watching "Sleeping Beauty" while their feet soaked.

After she fell asleep peacefully IN her bed, we discovered her two hours later UNDER it.


Caleb was being Johnny Appleseed for a classroom play. He looks like he's trying to ward off aliens with that aluminum-covered colander on his head.

I don't really have anything else interesting to report. It's cold here and my nose is freezing.

Oh, and I got a new pair of pants (size 13/14) yesterday and they make my tummy look FLAT. That's big news for this 3-time mommy.

The State of Things Today

Wanna know what's up here?

Steve is out of town again. He left yesterday and will come back Friday in time for dinner. He's in Austin at a conference. His flight gets him back in time to get BBQ for us for at Rudy's. But the yucky part is that he has strep. He was feeling yucky Friday so he came home from work early, went to urgent care, got diagnosed, got meds and is now feeling better.

This morning, Julie came in my room at 3-ish a.m. and said she was cold. It sounds like "Mommy, I cold" and it's too cute. Anyway, she crawled in bed with me and proceeded to sleep perpendicular to me for the next few hours. Usually she stays parallel to me, so I wasn't too surprised that she was acting weird after we all got up and moving around. Turns out she has strep, too.

When Audrey found out we weren't going to church this morning, she was crushed, so I called the Adams and made arrangements for her to go with them. Caleb was excited about no church (hmmm...) but when he found out he could sit with his friend's family, he wanted to go. So after I got myself showered, I got the big kids delivered and headed to the doctor's office, only to be reminded that I needed to call the Children's Clinic first to make sure somebody would meet me there. Turns out, since Steve already tested positive for strep and Julie had the symptoms, the doctor called in a prescription without needing to see her. Nice of him.

So we're all at home now, the kids are watching "Kung Fu Panda" for the 4th or 5th time before I return it, and I'm watching "Eureka" on the internet. I like that show. Just discovered it.

Anyway, I'm officially flaking out on the 50,000 words by the end of November. I don't have 10,000 yet. I'm not giving up on my book, I'm just not going to break my neck trying to get it done NOW. Probably wimpy of me, but that's my choice.

Hey - just thought about this - I'm having a party next Monday (the 24th). It's a combination Scentsy and Tastefully Simple party. Scentsy is a "no burn" candle company and Tastefully Simple sells mixes, sauces, and salsas. They also have blue corn sesame chips (yummy). Anyway, look at the websites and let me know if you want to order anything.

http://www.scentsy.net/
http://www.tastefullysimple.com/Cultures/en-US/

I got the coolest thing in the mail yesterday - an outfit from my Gigi (grandmother). She called me last week and asked if I was interested in an outfit she bought but that didn't fit her quite right. I thought, Sure - I'll give it a shot. So she mailed it and I got it yesterday. Not only does it fit, but it looks fabulous! It's a two-piece outfit - a red belted mandarin-collar jacket and a below-the-knee black and red swishy skirt. Makes me look like I lost 5 more pounds. I have 2 Christmas parties I'll be wearing it to next month. Not that it's too dressy for church, but I want to save its debut for those events. :) Thanks, Gigi!

So here I am rambling...what to say now?

I am almost finished with another sweater. I thought I'd finished it last night, but the sleeve/armpit area isn't quite what I want it to be, so I'm going to take it apart and rework the upper sleeves and pits. Pictures to follow when it's fixed and done.

So Jules is sitting with me in the dining room, and we're both watching a show on the computer. She's grumpy and a bit clingy, and I'm hoping she'll go to sleep as I hold her. We'll see.

Halloween

Here's my sad excuse for a picture of the kids on Halloween. It's from my camera phone.

Audrey

Just some pictures for your enjoyment. She dressed up for a fashion show on Saturday.

Halloween

Halloween was fun. We ended up with TWELVE pounds of candy. We officially outgrew the large pink candy bowl that has served us well for three years. I had to dump the kids' candy into an empty diaper box. We got an obscene amount of chocolate. I foresee much running in my future...
I forgot to take our camera when we went trick or treating, but a friend got some shots. I also took some pics with my camera phone. We'll see how good those are.

I have more pictures of different things, but I'm going to put them in other posts because I can't move things around like I want. Grr.

Front Porch Pictures

Audrey made some paper jack o'lanterns to go with our pumpkins that we have on the porch. I took the picture of Audrey, then the kids took the rest. Enjoy.

Catching Up

Here's the scoop on what's been going on at our house lately.

1 - Audrey is sick. She has a tummy bug that's laid waste to the population of her elementary school. The worst part is that she feels fine - she just has nasty symptoms. I'm pretty sure I have it, too, and that Julie is next on the hit list. So far Caleb, with his sensitive gut, hasn't' shown any symptoms. But my tummy sounds like a garbage disposal after I eat anything. Eww.

2 - Steve was out of town last week for 7 days. Sunday through Saturday. It was hard, but we didn't have any major issues.

3 - Last night I dropped a full gallon of milk and the carton SPLIT open. By the time I got it picked up, there was a healthy puddle of the stuff on the kitchen floor. While I was pouring the milk into another container, the kids gleefully threw clean kitchen towels on the mess. But since the milk went under the fridge, I felt a compulsion to pull it out and clean underneath. I've been meaning to do that for 4 years, but have never gotten around to it. Until last night. Today I can rest in the fact that the only part of my kitchen floor that's clean is the 4X4 area under the fridge.

4 - My ambitious goal of writing 50,000 words (or thereabouts) in the month of November is about to begin. The National Novel Writing Month (or NaNoWriMo) begins on Saturday. I have to write 1667 words per day in order to be on track to hit the 50K goal. I've been thinking about my story and doing some background reading on one aspect of the story, so I'm getting ready. I'm cracking my mental knuckles.

My tummy hurts now. I think I'm going to change out of these jeans (size 14s, thank you very much!) into some stretchy knit pants.

-A

P.S. I haven't been running in over 10 days. I'm ready to hit the road, but have to wait for healthy children or the time change. I don't mind running at 5-ish a.m. as long as it's not pitch dark. That's a bit creepy.

Thank you notes

Just for you, Nana and dc!











I really need to upgrade my video camera.

Good Morning

So it's Saturday morning. We have a relatively busy morning ahead of us. Steve is leaving in a couple of minutes to go uptown to pick up a bunch of breakfast burritos to bring back down here to church for a deacon's meeting with the youth pastor candidate that's here for the weekend. The kids and I are going to go to a resale sponsored by a local daycare. Poor Caleb needs new pants. He looks like he's wearing little man-capris in his current pants. The kids have some of their own money and I know there will be toys, so I told them they could shop.

Then we're meeting with the rest of the youth pastor search committee and the candidate for lunch. And then our relatively busy morning ends. But then I need to go grocery shopping and we need to bathe stinky kids.

I ran 6 miles yesterday. It was tough. And I ran 5 miles on Wednesday and 4 on Monday. I went to bed at 8:45 last night because I was so tired.

Anyway - here's a picture of Caleb. He's lost some more teeth and he's cute. And Steve got his braces off and looks fabulous, so here's a picture of him, too.

Stupid computer stuff. The pictures are supposed to be at the bottom instead of the top. When we wiped the hard drive, we changed a few things, including my web browser. So things are a bit different. I'll get used to it.