Ah The Holidays

Every year the build up to the holidays is as much as a process as the actual celebration itself. What with all of the christmas programs, present purchasing, and in our case this year, new car shopping we've just been running around in circles it seems...
Indulge me while I catch you all up on the goings on at the Swanny household in the past week or so.

We celebrated Christmas with my Dad, my stepmom and my sister and her family the Friday before Christmas. When you have 4 sets of grandparents, Christmas really becomes a month-long affair. Throw in a Christmas-time birthday and you've got yourself a regular circus.

We were so glad that this year my sister and her family were able to join us from Idaho for a week. Here are our 2 (Peanut age 4 minus 4 days) and Swanny Jr. (nearly 7 months) and her kiddos, J-Bug (age 6 1/2), Missy (age 4), and Tank (age 18 months). What a fun time the cousins had playing together! The noise was spectacular, but as my dad said, he couldn't think of a better noise to have in the house!

After Christmas celebration at Grandpas, it was hurry home to be to dance class in time....that's right, parent day at dance class. You may have already seen Peanut's dance video debut on her birthday post, here is another shot of her showing her moves off to us.

She twirled, boogied, carwheeled, skipped and even did the splits for us. Glad to know that monthly check I write to the dance studio is paying off!

The next day, Peanut co-starred in her very first Christmas play. The Sunday School kids at Church put together a wonderful play that helped spread the message about what Christmas is REALLY all about. Peanut sang Away in the Manger and Joy to the World at the top of her lungs. In between she had a few lines and got to sit and look cute.

or lay down and appear bored....


We left church that day and headed home to prepare to welcome the birthday party guests. Despite the frigid temperatures and near blizzard conditions, we had a decent turnout for the celebration. We were sad that a few guests were unable to make it due to the bad weather, but we were able to visit and celebrate with them later in the week.

This is pretty much what Peanut looked like all week: wearing her t-shirt that proudly proclaims the age she has achieved and unwrapping some gift or another. While I'm certain this year she is able to tell the difference between her birthday and christmas, she was unable to specify a favorite birthday gift to the doctor yesterday at her well-visit...they've all run together in her mind, I'm sure.

The kids both enjoyed Christmas. Peanut was happiest about her new Light Saber and her Ponyville Amusement Park. When she saw Santa had left it for her she proclaimed that it was "what I've been wanting my whole life." Swanny Jr was as I predicted just as content with the boxes and wrapping paper as he was with the gifts themselves.


Leia was just exhausted....she's still not feeling all that well....poor thing.


We celebrated Christmas over the course of the week with all of the grandparents and were so glad to get to see them all. Too bad Grammy Maru had the fluand was out of commission when we were in the Q.C over the weekend...thankfully she had her witts enough about her to fish my car keys out of the trash after $40 to a locksmith to open my car only to find they were not in there and nearly an hour of frantic searching. Yeah, we'll be talking about that one for a while.

In other randomness, Swanny Jr. is now the proud eater of finger foods. Crackers, veggie puffs, bread, and in this picture, Biter Biscuits. YUM. He now becomes frantic if he is within spitting distance of food someone else is eating and realizes he has none of his own...



And to tease you for the next post from Swanny.

He picked up his new car on Saturday.....

To a Four-Year-Old

Peanut,

Happy birthday kiddo. You make me laugh, smile, play, dress-up, pretend, learn, slow down, create, and imagine. You have obviously changed since the day you came home with us from the hospital, but you have also changed so much in just the past year. You are more independent. Your sense of humor is coming out full force (what do you call what I've been doing all day?!). You reason and rationalize, even to avoid napping or other non-desirable tasks. You read stories to yourself and to others. You have found a love of dancing. You can ride a bike. You started pre-school. You have become quite the big helper around the house and have really grown into the role of BIG SISTER in a wonderful way.

Peanut, you are a teacher. You teach me every day about patience: with you, with me and with life. Life is not something that can be planned out moment by moment, and you help me accept that (especially when it takes 20 minutes to get dressed because you want to pick out your clothes and put them on all by yourself). You teach me how to find the fun in pretending again (mommy--you be the Prince and I'll be Cinderella!). You remind me of the priorities in life (mommy--my jaw hurts because I need a snack). You have taught Swanny Jr. how to laugh, scream, squeal, and pull hair. He adores you and will ALWAYS look up to you I know.

The color you bring to our lives is something Swanny and I treasure every day. Not a single day goes by that we don't laugh about somehting you say to us or some wonderfully cute thing you've done. Your personality is coming out now: humorous, empathetic, intelligent, witty, logical, fun-loving, eager to please, bossy, black & white with rules, energetic, caring, loyal, and friendly.

I think of you last year:

And now this year.

What a change in just a year. I can't wait to enjoy what 4-years old brings and find what awaits us beyond.

I love you Peanut. Happy Birthday!

9 staples and a new car

For curious blog-followers out there interested in the wreckage from Swanny's accident Friday, here are some pics he snapped of his poor Rav 4 on Monday. Again, all I can say is how greatful I am that Swanny wasn't hurt any worse than he was and also that the children were not in the car...

I think this is also a testimony to how well the passenger area of a Toyota Rav 4 can withstand a crash at highway speed. Word from the accident adjuster is that the wrecker would be out today...RIP Swanny's wheels. Guess we will be in the market for new wheels in the next week here.

Swanny by the way is reporting to me that he feels much better and has made an appointment to have his hardware removed on Saturday morning with the family physician.

Drive safe in the ice tomorrow everyone!!

Oh my head...

A funny thing happened on the way to work yesterday. Of couse, it's not funny "Ha-Ha", it's more funny "Uh-oh".

Around 1:30 in the afternoon, I was traveling on I-80, heading to the mall where my bookstore is located. I passed a couple of signs noting, "Be prepared to stop" and "right lane closed 3 miles". Since construction sites are very familiar to anyone who travels I-80 in Illinois, I was not caught off guard when, after passing these signs, I soon reached a spot where traffic was slowed nearly to a stop and I moved into the left lane.

As I was braking, I noticed a car coming up fast from behind. I flashed my brakes to let this person know that traffic was coming to a halt, but to no avail. Looking in my rearview mirror, I could tell that the driver wasn't slowing down. I checked the right lane to see if I could move out of the way. Seeing that it was clear, I started to pull into the other lane, but I didn't make it.

The driver who wasn't slowing down, finally reached me and crushed the cargo area of my Rav-4. I felt the impact and watched in awe as the landscape flew by my windows while I being spun into the ditch on right hand side of the road. After my car came to a halt, I tried my best to remain calm and I called 911 and then thanks to Rikki, I was able to reach Jen. Several very kind people were there to make sure that I was okay, offering me towels for the laceration on my head and keeping my talking so I could stay focused despite what was going on around me.

EMTs soon arrived and took me to the Emergency Room, where they took xrays of my neck, chest, and torso, and performed a CT scan of my head. Fortuneatly, I wasn't seriously injured (I was wearing my seatbelt and didn't hit the windshield). I'm a little sore, I've got a hell of a bruise on my left thigh from my steering wheel, and my left arm is bruised from being slammed into my door. As I mentioned the worst of my injuries was a laceration on the top of my head, which required 9 staples to close up.

Granted, I disappointed that my car is most likely totalled, but at least I was able to walk away.


It could've been a lot worse.

13 days and counting...

I'm particularly proud of one of the gifts I've picked up for Jen this Christmas. My only problem is, I don't want to wait to give it to her. So to keep myself entertained, I'm going to leave some hints right here. Guesses are welcome, but of course, I can't give away the surprise until Christmas.

Enjoy.

Which is more fun?

The presents that arrived in the mail yesterday from Auntie and the crew out in Idaho....

Or the bubble wrap that the presents arrived in?

I think that settles it.

(Sorry so dark! You get the idea though.)

Tissues, huh? I Never Made the Connection

Peanut and nap time are a hit and miss situation....Rikki can give an Amen to that. Some days she passes right out, others she'll keep herself ticking by flopping around or trying to engage you in conversation. At roughly 1:30 this afternoon, Peanut was deposited to her bed, story read, and Christmas tree lit in her room. Swanny Jr. followed suit and was sleeping before 2.

Ahhhh. You can hear mommy's sigh at the thought of an hour or if I'm **lucky** two hours of kid free time to get some sh-- done! I had just settled in, Bears game on, laptop in hand to type a couple of Early Intervention evaluations that have been calling my name, when I hear, "Mommy!".

I go upstairs to find Peanut holding an ornament sitting on her bed-side table. "Don't forget," she says to me, "that you need to bring a hook up here to put this ornament on my tree".
"Thanks Peanut," I say. "Now lay down and take your nap."

Back to work. I hear a bump upstairs and return to peek in on Peanut, who is now standing on her bed, looking into her mirror (that says "The Princess Sleeps Here") and carrying out some dramatic play scenario. "Peanut--time to rest. Lay down, or I'll have to unplug your Christmas tree and turn off your sleeping music."
"Okay Mommy," she says.

Back to work, again. About 10 minutes later, she hollers for me. Again, back up to her room. "What is it Peanut?"
"Well," she starts, "there are some yuckies on my bed." With this she gestures to the bars that make the headboard of her bed.

"Well we'll deal with the yuckies after your nap. You are supposed to be resting right now," was my automatic response without really looking at the so-called, "yuckies." Upon my glance at the blemish on the bed frame, it really caught my attention. I entered the room and saw (to my horror) what looked to be (sorry to gross you out) some snot and a medium sized booger.

"What is this?!" I ask.

"Well," says Peanut studying the mess on the bed rail, "I think that someone may have wiped their boogers on my bed!"

I then ask with as much calm as I could muster (though disgusted, I saw the humor), "Who do you think may have done that?"

Peanut, bringing her finger to tap on her cheek in a pondering fashion, then says, "Well, I think it was me." She points to herself as she confesses, just to be clear.

A discussion followed about why there is a box of tissues next to her bed and what proper booger-ridding-procedure is in our house.

She never did nap.