The first post of the new year, my last night of an 11 day break, the start of a new week. My 11 day break was a great one, it did start off a little rough and it did end a little rough, but in between was very nice, relaxing, and fun.
I had to work a 1/2 day on Wednesday, Dec. 22. When I got home I ate lunch and went out to play in the snow with the girls. After a two and a half hour adventure outside, I came in to rest while the girls played for a little bit. All of the sudden Ally & Olivia came downstairs from playing nicely in their rooms and were talking about Ally's nose hurting her. Come to find out, Ally had stuck a Barbie salt shaker up her right nostril of her nose. Unfortunately it was too big and too far up for me to get it out...so off to the Urgent Care center her and I went. I'm pretty sure she learned her lesson. From there things just got better.
Christmas Eve we went to my mom's for dinner and Christmas with her and Bob, and Paul and Amy. It was very nice.
Christmas morning Ally was the first one up at 7:00 wanting to open presents, but being the mean mom I am, I made her wait until the girls woke up (never wake a sleeping baby!), so I took a shower and right after that the girls woke up. We opened presents and Lauren was the only one who wasn't happy with some of her presents, but she got over it. Around 10:00 Jerry's mom and Ken, and my mom and Bob came over for brunch. After we ate, the girls opened their presents from Judy and Ken. It was a very nice and relaxing day at home.
After the Christmas festivities were over we cleaned up the house, organized a little bit, and spent time with family and friends. My cousin Kristi and her family came for a visit from North Carolina. It's always a fun time when they come for a visit. We try to see them as much as possible since they only visit twice a year. The week was filled with some much needed family time which included Chuck E Cheese and ice skating.
New Years Eve we spent at our house, Kristi & her family, Julie (Kristi's sister) & her family, Patti (their mom), my mom & Bob, and Paul & Amy all came over for a total of 20 people at our house. We ate, the kids played, the adults drank, laughed, and caught up. Memories were made!
The the rough ending started....I woke up around 3:30 am on New Year's day and got sick...not the kind from drinking too much. It was not fun! After sleeping in until 10:00, I got up feeling about 80% better than I did, but still wasn't feeling 100%. Later in the evening, Olivia started crying. She was complaining about her ear hurting. She cried for about a 1/2 hour then I gave her some ear drops and then she fell asleep on me. She took a 2 hour nap and thought that was good enough...she was up until about 11:30 last night. Today she seems much better, but her eye is a little goopey and she's had a cough for just over a week now. We might be calling the pediatrician tomorrow.
So today brought on a weird thought. Six years ago today, Sunday, January 2, 2005, Paul, Jerry, and I were at dinner with my dad...the last dinner that we ever had together. I actually had a very sad moment today about it, but it was literally that, a moment. This time of year is very weird for me. I always get nervous that something's going to happen to someone I love, because it happened once and it could happen again. It's the weirdest feeling and I can't explain it, but it is always a happy time going back to work the day after holiday break because I know things are ok and everyone I love is ok too. In a couple days things will hit me and I'm sure I'll have a break down at some point during the day, but I will be ok. These past couple months I have thought about my dad more than normal. I am still angry with him for not taking care of himself better when he was alive but I think his death is finally hitting me. I'm not sure what's provoking it, but I have been thinking about him, crying about him, and missing him more and more all of the sudden. This week is going to be a hard one because the dates and the days are the same as they were six years ago when the event happened. Please say a prayer for my family, including my aunts, my uncle, and my brother.
Happy New Year to you and yours!
