In a blog rut

I have to apologize for the lack of updates. I have a slew of pictures on my camera just waiting to be downloaded onto the computer for blog upload. There's Maggie's holiday program at school, pictures from Christmas and misc. other cute pics I'm sure you'd all enjoy. I just can't seem to get motivated to do anything with them. I'm not sure what my deal is. Perhaps it's that I am at a computer for the majority of my day and just can't make myself go sit in front of it at home. No, that's not it because I seem to be able to find hours at a time to cyber-stalk friends new and old on Facebook. Of course I can do that from my iPhone so that's different. (Not bragging. I'm just saying.) And if you are not on Facebook (and if you are then chances are I've found you, but if not send me a friend request!) you should get on it because it's so much fun catching up with old classmates and friends. Seriously, it's like crack (or how I would imagine crack would be). I even had to quit sleeping with my iPhone charging next to the bed because, no lie, I would wake up in the middle of the night and check and see if I had any new friend requests. What does that say about me? Guess I just like to be liked.

When it rains...

After running fever off and on for a few days and coughing to the point of vomiting for a third time, on Sunday we took Maggie to one of those acute child care afterhours clinics to be checked out. Turns out the poor, tiny thing has pneumonia. When it was all said and done she had been poked, prodded, x-rayed and given an antibiotic shot, that is apparently the consistency of maple syrup, in both legs. She was not a happy girl. We followed up with her pediatrician on Monday and he confirmed the diagnosis and we've been pumping her up with antibiotics ever since. I am happy to report that she is feeling much better and is about 95% back to normal.

As if MagB's being sick was not enough stress, on Monday as I was going to pick up her prescription, I failed to let the garage door open all they way before proceeding to back out and - for the 2nd time in as many years - I managed to knock the garage door off its tracks. Now one might think I would have learned my lesson having done this before - and I have. Really. After the first incident I learned that I need to open the garage door before I even get into the car - and that is what I do most days. It's just that on Monday it was freezing - like in the 2os or something ridiculous - and I had sick Maggie with me so I had bundled her up and decided that I should get her into the car before I opened the garage door and was met with the wintry blast of air. So imagine my surprise when, as I am backing out, I hear a nasty metal on metal crunchy, grinding noise. Oops. I realized immediately what I had done (having heard that noise before) so I pulled forward and got out to inspect the damage. It was not good. So I sat for a minute and debated what my next move should be. I knew I needed to call the garage door fixing people. Lucky for me I had the number. Stuck right there on the garage wall next to the opener - where the repairman left it after the last time he came out. But I also needed to get Maggie's antibiotics. Then there was the dreaded task of calling Michael to tell him what I had done. I knew he would not be near as tickled as I was by my 0-for-2 stat at the game of garage door limbo. (I mean really, who does this more than once?!) So I decided to go ahead and make the quick trip to the store and just leave the garage door hanging off its tracks. So I backed out and heard the crunchy, grinding noise again and realized that I was trapped in the garage as the door was hanging down too low to let me out. O.k. - call the repairman then... So I made the call and explained the situation and they sent someone out. I must say that these folks are good. Both times I have done this I could not imagine anyway in the world that someone would be able to fix what I had managed to do, yet somehow they did - and it took him less than 30 minutes. Amazing. Then I made the call to Michael, who being in a sick-indcuded haze of something, took the news quite well. Even more amazing. I am hoping for a more uneventful rest of the week!

I promise to post pics of Maggie's school holiday program soon! Love to all!

Giving Thanks

As we approach this Thanksgiving holiday, I wanted to take some time to reflect on the things I am thankful for. God has blessed us tremendously and I am grateful and humbled by his goodness.

I am thankful for Michael and Maggie and our little family. I can not even begin to scratch the surface of gratitude I have for being blessed with such a precious little girl. Maggie has brought so much love and joy into our lives. I just never knew it was possible to love someone so much. I am so blessed to be her mother and I think God every day for the privilege. I am also so very thankful for Michael. I am blessed to have such a wonderful husband and friend. I am thankful for his love for me and Maggie. He is a great daddy!

I am thankful for our families. We are both blessed to have such great families who love and support us and provide such great christian examples for us. It is my prayer that we can provide the kind of Christ-centered home for Maggie that our families provided for us. We love you all.

I am thankful for our friends. We have been blessed with many great friends - both old and new! We thank you for your friendship and for loving us just as we are!

I am thankful for our jobs. Especially in a time when so many are being let go from theirs. I am especially thankful that I have a job that I enjoy. And I pray that Michael will enjoy his new job as much as I do mine!

And above all I am thankful for our Lord, Jesus Christ without whom none of the above would be possible! I am thankful for his grace that surpasses all understanding and for his unending love for us, in spite of ourselves. I am proud to call him a savior and a friend. God is good. All the time.
Hope you all have a Happy Thanksgiving!

School Days

Maggie graduated to the toddler class this week at school. I must admit that I have been struggling with this transition since I got the notice from her school. When did our MagB become a Toddler? Yes, I realize that by standard definitions she is in fact a toddler. But to me she is still a little bittty baby. My little bitty baby. She's far too small to be taking a nap on a mat on the floor, and she's far too small to have to wear a uniform to school! But apparently some toddler, somewhere wore gang colors, or other inappropriate clothing, to day care one day making uniforms a necessity starting at 17 months. Whatever the cause I find it a little ridicaloo. But she does look so sweet don't you think? I just love the first picture. As I was snapping the pictures this morning (and fighting back tears looking at my grown-up girl) I would tell her to "Say Cheese" and she would say: "Sheese." I look at that picture and I can just see her saying "Sheese." So. Darn. Cute.

Today was the Turkey Feast Extravaganza at work. I am stuffed. In all honesty, I was stuffed by about 10 a.m. when we started snacking on Mexican Fudge and Artichoke Dip and Oreo Balls. It's the same thing every year - we just eat all day, until we are sick. We always have a ridiculus amount of food - and good food at that. Not a whole lotta work gets done on Turkey Feast Extravaganza day. Ahhh, and I get to do it all over again next week! I just love this time of year - starting with Thanksgiving and through New Years - it just seems that everyone perks up a little more during the holidays. Perhaps it's the knowledge that Santa is watching, or the festive holiday music playing everywhere. There's just something magical about the holidays.

That's all for now. Food coma setting in....

Trick or Treat

Maggie had her first trick or treating experience this Halloween. Here are some pics:

Here are some picks from Maggie's Fall Festival at school. She had so much fun just running around and playing. She LOVES to be outside.

Here she lays out all of the treasures (in this case, wood chips from the playground) she has collected while playing. She likes to collect things. When we go for a walk outside she will have her hands full of acorns and rocks and leaves and whatever else that catches her eye and she will carry them the entire way and when we get home she will put her newfound treasures in her toy shopping cart for safe keeping.

This was at the Fall Festival our neighboorhood had. It was unseasonable warm that day so we decide to forgo the costume for Mags. Here she is with daddy watching the critters.

And here is just random cuteness of our punkin with the pumpkins....

While we were at The Oaks this weekend for the game we celebrated Kate's mom's birthday on Saturday night at the Anderle homestead. Kate put Maggie at the piano and I snapped some photos of our budding musician. Now I don't want to brag, but I am quite certain that we may have a child prodigy on our hands. It would not be unusual as there are several talented musicians on Michael's side of the family. (Not to say that my side of the fam does not have any talents...they're just different talents :-)) Seriously, I was really taken by how she seemed to know just what to do. She did not bang on the keys like you would expect a small child to do (heck, I still do that!) but she had the whole one finger on the key thing down. She seemed to know what she was doing. Here are some pics:

And lastly, 'tis the season for tights! Hooray!!

Hope you all have a great weekend.

I Believe!

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Tag - I'm apparently it.

My sister Karrie blog-tagged me and I am supposed to write about 6 quirky (quirk, noun, a peculiarity of action, behavior, or personality; mannerism) things about myself and then tag 6 other bloggers. While I had to think long and hard (about 2 seconds) to come up with any quirks I possess, here goes:

1. I have a nervous habit of picking my eyelashes. No kidding - I am usually sporting at least one eyelash bald spot at all times.

2. I have to walk around the house every morning before I leave for work and say aloud as I check each socket: "Curling iron unplugged", "Iron unplugged" (whether I have used it or not that morning) to feel confident that the house will not burn down while I am away. (Nevermind the fact that both my curling iron and iron have auto shutoff features (a must-have in an OCD household)).

3. Along the same lines as #2 above, at least 3 of the 5 work days I have to turn around to go back and check that I have indeed closed the garage door - even though I know I have because I have audibly verbalized to Maggie "Garage door closed" as I watched it go down. (At 15 months, could Maggie already think her mom is a little loony? She might be right.)

4. I like corn as a whole, just not floating in my soup or hanging out in my rice as an individual kernal.

5. I prefer to write with a fine point Sharpie - perhaps this has something to do with my subconscious inner celebrity. I don't know.

6. According to my husband, I look at life through rose-colored glasses. Is this a bad thing?

7. Bonus quirk: I love to eat Macaroni and Cheese mixed with ketchup. Much yum. Try it.

So there it is - the stuff that makes me me. So now it's my turn to tag and I tag: (in no particular order)

Kylie
Jessica
Jenny
Dana
Kym
Maria
Riggins

Here are the rules: Link the person who tagged you. Mention rules on your blog. Tell about 6 quirks of yours. Tag 6 fellow bloggers to do the same. Leave a comment to let them know.

Enjoy!