November Blur...

I cannot believe that it's December already! It seems like just last week that Robert's Mom was here and we were celebrating his birthday, but we've had Halloween, cub scouts, a computer death, a field trip, growth spurts, my birthday, a bad fall, Thanksgiving parties, notice of impending move, a mini-vacation, Thanksgiving, house-looking, and illness since then! SO much has happened that it's kind of a blur.

Computer Death:
Our server computer has died. It was sounding kind of weird before it happened, and then it was gone. The hard drive has given its all, but alas, it is dead. The new one is on its way. The only way this really impacts me is that I can't access our pictures until the server computer is up and running. Don't ask me why. I don't speak geek.

Field Trip:
Toph's class got to go see The Sound of Music. I was able to join them at the last minute, and we totally enjoyed ourselves. We got to dress for the theater and enjoy a wonderful performance. It was doubly fun for us, because we knew 4 cast members. AWESOME! We got back to school at lunchtime, and I got to take my favorite boy out to lunch too.

My Birthday:
Anyone who knows me knows that I LOVE birthdays. Not just mine. It's your personal holiday, and I like to celebrate these special days. This is also the year that I stop aging. This year it was on a Sunday, and I was whining that I hated having a birthday on a Sunday. I think I was wrong. WAY wrong! Since my special day was on a Sunday, I got to celebrate for 3 days in a row. Robert and I went on a DATE and went out to dinner on Saturday. My friend, Carmen, cooked a marvelous dinner for our family on Sunday. And I went to lunch with my girlfriends on Monday. I highly recommend the Sunday birthday now. The only part of my birthday weekend that I didn't like was that Hannah woke us up at 3:30 AM and DID NOT go back to sleep!

Bad Fall:
I'm a klutz--I'll be the first to admit it. Toph has a loft bed, and I frequently climb onto a high stool (big wooden box type of stool, about 24 inches high) to kiss my boy goodnight. That night was just like tons of others, except that when I backed down off of the stool, my left foot hit something on the floor and I lost my footing. I ended up landing on my behind and the back of my head--OUCH! I also ended up hitting the front of my head--big dent and goose egg. I don't think I lost consciousness, I wasn't nauseated, I wasn't altered, and I was only mildly dizzy, so I elected to NOT go to the doctor. We did head trauma with Toph when he landed on his head in May (Mother-Son Dance post), so I knew the questions they'd ask. I sported a slightly dizzy head for 2 days, a NICE headache for 4 days, and I've still got the bruise. Probably had a slight concussion--NOT something I recommend!

Thanksgiving Feast Kindergarten Style:
I was in charge of Hannah's Thanksgiving party. One of the other Moms, Terri, came to my rescue. I asked if she knew anyone who could give us a discount on the grocery store meals (that's what the teacher suggested), and Terri got all of the other parents to sign up to bring food instead. By the time I got to the classroom, she'd pretty much assigned out all of the food. I had to get the paper goods, make the tongue depressor picture frames, and paint them. That's a good thing, considering I took my header the night before the party. The other Moms rallied and we had a lovely time. Quite a delicious spread for our adorable kiddos! My darling was a pilgrim, and she was SO Cute!!! I'll post pictures when the computer isn't dead.

Mini-Vacation:
In September my sister, Aimee, called and asked if I'd ever be willing to meet her in Anaheim on a Sunday--uh, YEAH! Her family was taking a Disney vacation, and I totally invited us along! We decided to keep it a secret from our kids though. They had NO idea until Sunday morning that we were even going anywhere. We made our first stop at the Discovery Science Museum near Disneyland. The kids didn't know where we were, and then my sister and oldest niece came around the corner, and they asked me, "Mom, are we in Fresno?" So funny! Along the way they discovered that we'd be going to Disneyland for 2 days, and they were so excited. It was WAY fun to see our cousins, our grandparents, and our cousins' cousins. We had a great time. Our family split from "the group" a lot and kind of did our own thing. We tend to take the park at a more sedate pace--since we live closer and go more often. Everyone had a fantastic time, and we all came home with sore feet. The parks were really quite crowded--more than they've been any other time we've gone. I highly recommend the week AFTER Thanksgiving. Despite the crowds, we had an excellent time. Thanks Aimee for letting us crash your vacation!

Thanksgiving:
We had a very QUIET Thanksgiving--just the 4 of us. Just what I wanted for this year. We were invited to hang out with friends, but after having been at Disneyland, I was going to be craving some quiet time. It was perfect. The day after, Robert helped his office mate move in the morning and our family got together with some friends for playing and gaming and some crafting. We had a great time! No crazy Black Friday shopping in this house!

House-Looking:
We got to go look at a cute house on the day before Thanksgiving. It's slightly smaller than the one we're in now. It's close to where we live now, on a cul-de-sac close to the school we already attend, we know some of the neighbors, there's plenty of kids our kids' ages, and the back yard is beautiful. The owner is hoping to do a long-term lease (yippee!), which would be very beneficial to us, as we won't be in a position to purchase a house any time in the real near future.

Illness:
Of course, what holiday would be complete without illness?! The kids had the cough virus in September or October, and we got it AGAIN in November. Hannah had it before we left on our trip, Toph hacked a bit, and on Saturday I got it! Now, when the kids had "it," they were FINE except for the cough. They were tired, because instead of sleeping they were coughing, but they could still function and play in the day. This stuff knocked me on my rear. I stayed in bed ALL weekend. I wish you could burn calories just by coughing, because I'd only weigh 89 pounds if that was the case. My guts are sore from so much hacking, and I'm not finished yet! My lungs still feel like an elephant is living on my chest and I can feel the junk rattling around. I have a bit more energy today, but I still don't feel great. I'm impatient to be back to "normal." While Mommy was down sick, the kiddos watched tons of movies, played on the computer, and Daddy and Toph had a Lego Batman Marathon. Over the weekend, they played for about 8 hours each day--and I didn't care, because I felt too gross to suggest an alternate activity. They had a blast, and we all enjoyed having the whole week to spend together.

So that about sums up the month of November. It has been CRAZY busy, but I guess that's the theme of our lives right now. We're doing well. We're happy. Most of us are healthy, and we're enjoying living in paradise.