Christmas -

Don't get me wrong, I love the Christmas season and celebrating the birth of Jesus but I am glad it's finally over! Things just seem to start earlier every year and I get tired of all of the hullabullu. Next year things are going to be different. Simple. Like my blog template!

We had a very nice time this year, dispite not seeing family that we usually see at this time of the year. We spent the day at home with my mom and John. Bob had to work at 4 so we had everything done by 3 for him to leave so we had the afternoon to just relax and the kids played with their new toys.

Luke's favorite toy, I think, was his handcuffs. He has had a couple of pairs from the dollar store that break within days of bringing them home. So he was excited to have some metal ones that he could "cuff up" his sister with! It was either that or the video game plug-n-play thing I got for him. The spent pretty much all day in front of the tv with it the day after Christmas and thankfully got it pretty much out of their system. I think they have only played with it like 2 times since then!

Jozie's favorite, without a doubt, was the baby doll and set that we got her. It came with a pack-n-play, swing, car seat, and high chair, among other various little peices. She even had to go shopping for clothes for him at the Salvation Army and spent part of her money from her Grandparents there. She named him Alex and it's so cute to see her be such a good little "mommy"! :)

We spent Christmas Eve at church where I FINALLY got my "good Christmas picture"! :) Luke is sporting his new hairdo and tie...he just loves both and thougth he was pretty hot stuff that night! Jozie is wearing her favorite dress. EVERY Sunday for the past year she has asked if she can wear it to church! She was so thrilled to wear it she walked around like a little princess all night in it...holding it on the sides so she didn't step on it (not that it's that long, she just does that little prissy thing!)! I'm pretty sure I saw her walk on her tiptoes more than once too! She is such a girly girl!

Today is my dads birthday!!!

mas gift this year!HAPPY BIRTHDAY DAD!!!

I think he's 58 today!

Tonight we have a NewYears Eve service at church but because my kids were up late last night (it was like 11 when they finally went to bed), and they were crabby all day today, I decided that the best thing for my sanity and their wellbeing was that we stay home, took a bath, and go to bed EARLY tonight...that way mom can enjoy NewYears Eve with the grown-ups (I think the youth pastor and his wife are coming over tonight to celebrate with us) and not have to deal with them! :) I am aiming for a 7:00 bedtime but I'm sure it will be closer to 7:30 or 8...which will hopefully have them asleep by 9! :)

On a final note, I must tell you about MY favorite Christmas gift...our family got some pretty scarey news back in Sept. from the new doctor that we took the kids too, the first one since we moved here too IN. I asked her what this white stuff was on Jozie's hair and she said that it was lice! After she gave it a quick disgusted glance! Didn't touch it to look closer or look for bugs, just declaired it like it was fact and at that point the visit was over! I was so horrified! How had my child gotten lice?! When we were in school, it was like the worst thing that could happen to you! I bathe her at least everyother day and more than that in the summer because of the heat and dirt! There was only one place that I could trace it back to but at this time that is irrelevant... I went DIRECTLY to Wal Mart and purchased enough of that lice shampoo, spray, and gel to treat an army then went home and vaccuumed, swept, and sprayed every cleanable peice of floor, furniture, and bed that was in the basement. I spent at least 2 hours in the bathroom treating and combing Jozie's hair and then Lukes. Kristin and I both treated our hair and we washed EVERYBODY'S bedding in Hot water and then dried it in the hottest dryer setting. I was pretty conifdent when we went to bed that there was no way they could survive this treatment. I spent the next couple of weeks itchy and crawly and nausiated at the fact STILL and watching Jozie for any motion of itching in her head. Things finally seemed to taper off and after daily checking and picking here and there, I was glad to see that I was gone. Then, about 2 weeks ago, I find the little white things there again! This time, instead of freaking out, I went online to research things and find a guarnteed treatment. I found it - at like $40 a shot! That seemed a little rediculous to me, seeing that nobody else even had it - that in itself was a mystery since Jozie and I share brushes and hair ties, she sleeps with Sami often or is watching TV in her or my mom's room on their beds. I actually brought home some home remedies (listerine and shaving cream for starters) and was ready to use them but got a peice of VERY helpful literture in the mail the other day that confirmed what I had hoped all along - she NEVER HAD lice!!! She has what is called Hair Casts. They are thin, elongated cylinder-shaped segments of dandruff which encircle the hair and slide off easily. I NEVER saw any bugs - which have to be there in order to get the nits (lice eggs) that the dr. said she had - and I spent literally HOURS searching her hair! Nits are little yellowish or graish-white oval-shaped eggs that are "glued" at an angle to that side of the hair shaft. There were pictures along with the descriptions which further confirmed that what she had wasn't lice! No wonder nobody else got it! I was overjoyed and this, I must say, was my best Christmas gift this year!