Bloggers Anonymous

A MESSAGE TO MY SUPPORT TEAM:

I have fallen off the wagon. I let my blogging slip away in the days leading up to Christmas, then my two dear sons got consecutive cases of the (complete, total, violent and dehydrating) stomach flu. It's a full time job to take care of little ones with these maladies, provided you don't want various fluids soaking into your carpet or on your other loved ones.

Lots of Lysol, lots of laundry :)

I look at my blogger friends' renditions of their Christmases and I'm intimidated. I didn't get as many pictures as I would've wanted, I didn't make fantastic meals or present immaculate gifts. Nobody could play in the beautiful snow. No one's tummy was well enough for peppermint hot chocolate.

I know people don't think of it that way, but I'm browsing around and thinking...hmm...I don't have the detailed account I would've liked to share. My memory is fuzzy - lots of late nights, early mornings, and hours in the bathroom. My poor kids... :( I can't get the Christmas card uploaded for all to see because our printer no longer recognizes Caleb's work computer...ha! So, it's hard for me to get back on the bus right now.

I'll tell you what I did have, though.

I had 5-7 days of near lockdown with three incredibly precious children.

I had a wonderful Christmas celebration with my amazing husband, who, coincidentally (thank you, Lord) had a few days off before Christmas to help with round one of flu, and picked up my slack throughout the holiday :)

I was able to surprise said husband on his 30th birthday with a party at his fave guy restaurant, complete with friends and cake. My amazing Mom stayed home with the ailing (i.e. nothing staying in his stomach, for even 5 minutes) 1-year-old, and my mom- and dad-in-law loved on Cameron and Elly while I whisked him to the "big city" for our celebration. More on that later.

We were able to attend Christmases with both sides of the family, where we laughed, ate, loved, and our babies received PRAYER from the entire family for a complete recovery. Truly awesome...

I got to dress up my daughter in sparkly dresses, shoes, barrettes, and all sorts of ridiculous Christmas garb for 3 consecutive days. We both loved it :)

Because we were sick, we got to spend Sunday morning together at home. All day in PJs, relaxing, opening stockings and gifts at a snail's pace and enjoying every moment.

I heard more questions, quotations, and ponderings from my children regarding Christmas than I could've imagined...most made me laugh out loud. More on that later, too :)

I remembered how thankful I am for a warm home, health insurance, loving family, an amazing job for my husband, the privilege it is to stay home with my children, and my SAVIOR - my Jesus - born on that Christmas Day.

I got to spend much, much more time cuddling with my 4-year-old, 2.5-year-old, and 1-year-old talking, rocking, watching Christmas movies and reading books than I would've in any other situation, I'm sure of it. Time was made to spend so near to them. I must confess...I loved that part of it. We loved and prayed a lot. And they will never be 4, 2, and 1 on Christmas again. Time was set aside (albeit by a gross sickness) to cherish.

And despite what I don't have...

...I sure do have an awful lot to be thankful for.

Very merry, very belated Christmas to you all! I'm doing my best to stay in the game!! :)

The Reason...

Still my favorite Christmas song, just for the record.

Why must they play it on DISH radio while I am at my most emotional point of the day? Tears me up every time.

Only ONE king did this for me.

Christmas Card Outtakes

Insert your own captions...or read mine :)

Elly, under her breath, disguised by a smile,

"Bennett...if you don't stop pulling on my skirt, I will SCREAM."

He knows the seriousness of these promises.

A little too constipated-looking for the holidays?

Even better (worse?) than kissing cousins...kissing sibs!

Turn down the cheese, Cam.
Please disregard Bennett's navy socks.
Thank you :)


Cam = unstoppable Christmas smile.
Bennett & Elly = reindeer in the headlights.


Saying cheese and hugging at the same time...
Losing enthusiasm...
MAYDAY...MAYDAY...

Let's all cry like Bennett!

And...that's pretty much a wrap!

2010 CraSieh Christmas cards, coming soon!! :)

Comin' To Town

Santa Claus came to our hometown (and to Daddy's work at the bank) last Friday. The kiddos took early naps and we ventured in to visit him. I wondered what reactions would be...but I must say there was no hesitation (even from the recently clingy Bennett) to sit on the jolly man's lap. He was quite a wonderful Santa, might I add. Warm, welcoming and genuine :)

Elly cheesing it up for the camera, of course :)

Cam looks nervous, but I think he was in the middle of telling Santa about his birthday party the night before.

Elly gave Santa the complete once-over, telling him she liked his hat, his coat, his mittens, and proceeding to reach down the gap in his belt *gasp* and tell him that he had a pocket!

Again, he was wonderful :)

Bennett was perhaps still a bit tired from his nap. Santa was nice and snuggly, and he burrowed right in. :) I think we won the award for filling Santa's lap with the most children...

A fun visit! We even left with some "candy cans."
:)

My Oh-So-Quotable Son

Cameron, to Elly, when he saw the new book she got as a reward for her 98.5% potty trained-ness, "Elly, where did you get that book? Did you get it from Mexico or from high school?" (???)

Cameron, to the incredibly precious story hour volunteer who was exceedingly patient and wonderful with my children's antics this afternoon, "I like your silly fingers! Watch my silly feet, they can tap dance." (In his defense, she had done several fantastic finger plays for the kids. But the tap dancing was a bit ADD) :)

Cameron, to me, "Mommy, let's have a baby sister and name her Brown Brown."

Cameron, to me, after being asked what he wanted from Santa Claus, "Just some candy cans." (He calls candy canes "candy cans.")

While practicing Away in A Manger for the church Christmas play, "...the staaaars in the sky look down to the crib," He KNOWS it's supposed to be "look down where He lay," but apparently insists that baby Jesus needs a crib. Again, ???

Cameron, each day, almost hourly, "Mommy, you're so beautiful, and so precious. And you're such a good cooker." ♥

Have to share these things before they escape my ever-fleeting memory. There is no doubt in my mind that this precious little boy's imagination is larger than life and that his love language is words of affirmation. Love my Cameron-boy.

"Pregnancy Cravings"

Let's start out with the title of this post. If you know me, you know I have an extreme disdain for inappropriate, misplaced, and/or overused quotation marks. You know, like, "Congratulations" on your graduation! What, are you mocking me?! Is it a false salutation, or are you quoting a friend??

My natural tendency to notice these things coupled with my journalism studies in college puts me into somewhat of an overdrive. It gets pretty complicated. My mom and I actually text each other pictures of signs and etc. that misuse quotes...yeah...I am easily amused these days :)

All that to say, the reason I am using quotation marks in this post is that I want to share with you the select foods and drinks I've been devouring lately. I'm calling them pregnancy cravings, but if I tell the truth, it's not much of a compulsion (the way I've felt it before) to eat anything specific. It's just because they taste good on my tongue and feel good in my tummy.

Blame it on the baby. So...these are my current "pregnancy cravings" :)

Clementine Oranges
Such a perfect little snack, all wrapped up and ready to transport. And from nature (not a lot of my - ahem - cravings are that close to nature right now). All 3 kids love them and they make the house smell delicious. We're on our third box in two weeks.

Texas Toast Croutons
I know, I know. I have professed my love for these little bites of heaven on this blog before. But I cannot stay away. You must find them and try them immediately. They will change your outlook on salad forever, and then you will start eating them by the handful. Then by the bagful. Then buying them several bags at a time. Ok...maybe you won't. But I might have...

Egg Nog
The perfect ending to my day. Don't need a lot of it, just a swig. Like ice cream in a glass. And, on a related note, what is lite egg nog? I don't acknowledge its significance in the realm of holiday drinks. Not a viable alternative. Duct tape over the nutrition facts on the full fat nog is sufficient.

Cranberry Juice
100 percent. No cocktails, no cran-raspberry, cran-grape, or cran-mango tango. Straight, borderline bitter, cranberry juice. A great pick-me-up to be enjoyed in trimesters 1 & 2 when heartburn is not in play :)

Shrimp Cocktail
No need to call your friendly neighborhood OB - I know I cannot have massive amounts of seafood while pregnant. And I would say that this "craving" is the closest I have to an actual craving at this point. I have only eaten shrimp cocktail once this holiday season, and I only consume cocktail from trusted sources. But yum...I think about eating it a lot. What nutritional value does shrimp contain? Need some more of it in my diet...

White Rice
(with soy sauce and whatever else presents itself)
Why hello, Carby McCarberson. Could there be anything more full of carbohydrates and water-retaining sodium than white rice and soy sauce? YUM. Yes, there are usually protein and veggie sources involved in my recipes...but I'll eat rice with anything. My favorite? My sister-in-law's Costa Rican pasta salad (will share another day), rice and black beans...oh my.

That about wraps it up. My stomach is growling now, and pretty sure I can find one of these tasty treats just around the corner in the kitchen. "For baby," of course ;)