Another late update Happy New Year!

I know I am not very good at this, and I will not lie I probably will not get better at the updates so what you get is what you get.

Well we will start off with the oven update. Still don't have one. The contractor will plans to start on Jan. 14th. I can not wait. So no oven no Christmas Cookies. Well Ella and I spent the day at my Mom's to go some of the baking. Ella and Grandma make Gingerbread cookies.

While we were there we also got our tree. My Mom has some on her property. Of course I pick a huge tree and Mom and I have to tackle it.

Once we got it home it needed some trimming. Well a lot of trimming. Like the whole back side so that it would fit in the corner and not take up the whole living room. Ella helped Daddy with this.

Then the decorating last year Ella really did not want to help well not the case this year. She was very into it.

Then on to Christmas at Grandma Fran's house. It took two present opening sessions for it to be all taken care of. Ella received many wonderful gifts as did we. It was very nice to be with everyone.

This is Ella opening the Disney Princess Cash Register which was the first thing on her list. She was so excited. That day for the first time I say what pure joy really is. My sister, Mom, and I were all crying.

Thank you Grandma Fran!!!!!!

Then it was time for fun with the Aunties and Uncles.

So this was how she looked at the end of the day. I believe that the princess was quite tired out and we had not even gotten to Christmas Day yet.

Then on to Christmas Eve. We were very busy. We had to set out cookies, carrots, an apple, and cocoa. Then we had to sprinkle the magic glitter on the front lawn. Then we had to check the Santa tracker. So we had a lot to do. We got it all done though.

The next morning Ella had both of her Grandmas and her Grandpa there to enjoy the holiday. It was very nice. Santa brought Ella her next thing on her list. A piano.

Doesn't she look like a lounge singer. Thanks for the outfit Auntie Autumn and all. She will be playing at the Holiday Inn on Thursdays and Fridays at 6 p.m.

That night we went to the large light display in Syracuse called Lights on the Lake.

We had a great Holiday. Thank you to everyone for the wonderful gifts.

As end 2007 I have much to be thankful for... my family, friends, health and life. I look forward to 2008 and all that it will bring. There are many wishes and prayers for the new year and here's hoping they all come true.

At this time of year there are a few people who are not with our family and they have not been forgotten. I love you and will always remember you.

Christmas Concert

Well I do not have any good pictures from the concert, but I do have a good story. So Ella did not want to sing at the concert, but wanted to conduct the concert. She started off pretty good. She did sing the first couple of songs. Then she got a little antsy. Well the little girl next to her did not like that Ella kept standing up so she would push her back into her seat. Well after about three or four times of this Ella hits her and then they have a girl cat fight.

That ends and then the girl on the other side of Ella kept moving her chair up and Ella kept trying to push it back. She could not move it though because she was sitting in it. Well she stood up to sing a song and Ella moved her chair back, then when the little girl went to sit down she ended up on the floor.

The concert ended with a visit from Santa. When he walked in the door she started to cry and could not stop. We ended up having to take her out of the gym and to her classroom. There we had a snack and then come home.

All I can say it Americas Funniest Home Videos here we come.

Letter to Santa

I know I sent this out in an e-mail, but I thought it was worth posting.

Dear Santa,

I've been a good Mom all year. I've fed, cleaned and cuddled my children on demand, visited the doctor's office more than my doctor and sold sixty-two cases of candy bars to raise money to plant a shade tree on the school playground. I was hoping you could spread my list out over several Christmases, since I had to write this letter with my son's red crayon, on the back of a receipt in the laundry room between cycles, and who knows when I'll find anymore free time in the next 18 years.

Here are my Christmas wishes:I'd like a pair of legs that don't ache (in any color, except purple, which I already have) and arms that don't hurt or flap in the breeze, but are strong enough to pull my screaming child out of the candy aisle in the grocery store.I'd also like a waist, since I lost mine somewhere in the seventh month of my last pregnancy.

If you're hauling big ticket items this year I'd like fingerprint resistant windows and a radio that only plays adult music, a television that doesn't broadcast any programs containing talking animals, and a refrigerator with a secret compartment behind the crisper where I can hide to talk on the phone.

On the practical side, I could use a talking doll that says, "Yes, Mommy" to boost my parental confidence, along with two kids who don't fight and three pairs of jeans that will zip all the way up without the use of power tools.

I could also use a recording of Tibetan monks chanting "Don't eat in the living room" and "Take your hands off your brother," because my voice seems to be just out of my children's hearing range and can only be heard by the dog.

If it's too late to find any of these products, I'd settle for enough time to brush my teeth and comb my hair in the same morning, or the luxury of eating food warmer than room temperature without it being served in a Styrofoam container.

If you don't mind, I could also use a few Christmas miracles to brighten the holiday season. Would it be too much trouble to declare ketchup a vegetable? It will clear my conscience immensely. It would be helpful if you could coerce my children to help around the house without demanding payment as if they were the bosses of an organized crime family.

Well, Santa, the buzzer on the dryer is calling and my son saw my feet under the laundry room door. I think he wants his crayon back. Have a safe trip and remember to leave your wet boots by the door and come in and dry off so you don't catch cold.Help yourself to cookies on the table but don't eat too many or leave crumbs on the carpet.

Yours Always,MOM...

P.S. One more thing...you can cancel all my requests if you can keep my children young enough to believe in Santa.

*Santa has asked that this gets passed on to all the mommies you know

Quick update and a funny

Well the rest of Ella's blood work came back and she does not have celiac. GOOD NEWS!!!!!

Now for the funny.
This morning I was getting Ella dressed for school. Well I get her totally naked and she has to go to the bathroom. She takes off running for the bathroom. She runs into the Christmas tree with her bum. She says the tree bit my bum. Just a little Christmas funny.

Gingerbread, Snowmen, and Fun

Well school had a gingerbread night. Unfortunately I had to work, but Luke was able to go with her. He said she had more fun eating the marshmallow then making the house. Here are a few pictures of the festivities.

Yes that is a face on her gingerbread house.

Today we went outside and built snowmen, not just any snowmen, but a princess one in the front yard and a prince one in the backyard.

Action shot of putting the carrot on the snowman.

The princess snowwoman

The prince snowman.

Then also today Ella had two of her friends over for daycare. They played Santa and his reindeer.

Ella seems to be feeling better. We have had some success with the medicine. The blood work came back normal. We are just waiting on the Celiac panel to come back next week. This weekend we are off to Grandma Fran's to get a tree and to bake. Yes, still no oven, but the work should start after the first of the year.

Too much

OK. So here we go. For the past few weeks Ella has been have bowel problems. On Tuesday night I had had enough of it. Lets just say I had to help her. So off to the doctor we go today. I explain to him that I am not going to let her go through this anymore and that we need to do something. So because I am and we thing Luke is Lactose intolerant she is going on lactose free milk, and cutting down to only two cups of milk a day. Then they ordered blood work and a stomach x-ray for her. Fun to be had by all. The blood work is for a full work up along with a check for ceilac and thyroid. The x-ray was to see just how backed up she is. Well of the the hospital we go. In central registration is where the crying started. She would not let them, put the id bracelet on her.

Next on too x-ray. Ella is not fond of strange men. Well we walk into the dimly lit room and there are two guys and a big machine. Crying again. She had to put on a gown. She did not want to. I told her it was a princess dress. She says "I am not a princess today." Well this is going good. We do get through the x-rays.

Off for blood work, now this is the real fun. Her first question was "Are they going to take all of my blood" the next one was "Are they going to put blood all over my body" I reassured her that they only needed a little bit and it would be over quick. Into the room we go. I find out that they need to get five viales full. So much for a little. I was not even sure if she had that much in her. Well it was not happening with out some help. They had to call someone in to help hold her. While they were drawing the blood she kept saying I want to go home. I told her that we would go home as soon as we were done. She then tells me "If you do not take me home now I am going to fire you" well at this point that sounds great.

So we get home and anyone who knows Ella knows that a very small boo boo is a big thing. She would not move her are to do anything. This lasted for awhile. They gave her a stuffed toy at the lab. She picks Crusty the clown from The Simpsons.

Just as we walked in the door the doctors office was calling. They had gotten the x-rays back and she is moderately backed up. Nothing to worry about, but she does need medicine. So they put her on some Miralax powder.

So no pun intended well maybe a little. We just have to wait to see how it comes out in the end.

Christmas Stuff

Well on Saturday we had our annual Christmas Party. It was a lot of fun. It is always so nice to see everyone. Ella of course was in full party mode. As seen by the pictures.

Also here are the pictures of our outside decorations as promised.

It is hard to see but in the big round one it is like a snow globe and there is a penguin inside of it.

Daddy is home

On Monday while he was gone Ella and I had chocolate for night time snack. It was really good. It was from one of those big 2 1/2 lbs. boxes. Growing up my family always got one for Christmas. Every night we would each get to pick a piece to have. I would always find the box and eat more, and crack them open to see what kind they were this was before the map that they now include. Of course I would get in trouble every time. I just could not figure out how they knew it was me. Well Ella really like them.

With catching and early flight, but with delays Luke was able to get home safe and sound. Ella meet him at security with this.

Before leaving for the airport I dressed up a little bit. I figured that sweats and a t-shirt were not appropriate. Ella tells me that I look a little bit fashionable. I thank her for the comment and she adds, well not as fashionable as me but a little bit fashionable.

We are glad to have him home.

Just random busy update

Some of you have already heard about this, but it is worth posting. On Friday Ella decided to put me through my paces. She threw such a fit. It latest on and off for about two hours. Just let me say that she did not have a nap that day, that is the first problem. Not my fault she would just not sleep. Well the short story is that she got so made she tried to pull her "big piggy toe off" her words not mine, and it just went down hill from there. The night ended with her in bed by 7 p.m. and me with three glasses of wine and a CAMMIE. If you know what that is you can understand. If not then lets just say a complete breakdown. Well enough about Friday.

On Saturday Ella wrote her letter to Santa, and then we took it to the mall. I was a little worried about taking to to him, because of the last visit, but she handed it right to him and even let him touch her on the head. Progress.

Sunday was spent getting Luke ready for his trip. He left today for Chicago for work. The last time he went on a trip and I was not with him was 9 years ago. When he came home he proposed to me. So I wonder what will happen when he comes home this time? HAHAHAHAH just kidding. Well needless to say Ella and I do not handle it well when he is gone. I have trouble sleeping and well just don't like it. So the plan is to keep as busy as possible. I will be cleaning the house and then putting up the inside decorations the outside ones have been put up already. I will take pictures tonight and then post them later.

The weather here is pretty bad. Today we are supposed to get 2 - 5 inches of snow by 7 p.m. and then another 5 - 10 overnight. Fun to be had by all. Well with Luke gone the snow is a problem. I can not leave Ella in the house to shovel, but need to have all of the exits and walkways cleared for the daycare. I will probably have to get up early to do the shoveling. If the weather passes soon enough Ella and I are going to the airport to pick Luke up. I will keep this anonymous, but there was a suggestion to have her hold a sign that read "Are You My Daddy" or "Whose Your Daddy."

So that is all of the random stuff I have for now.

Thanksgiving

I know that I am behind in doing this, but did not want to let the holiday go by with out acknowledging it. Since last thanksgiving I have had a lot to work through. It was a very long year of first that I will be honest were not easy, but I made it. It also was a year of loss for me and my family. We lost my Grandmother, cousin and a friend. They are all remembered fondly. Now on to the good. This year we had a wonderful family gathering at Edna's wedding. What a blast. We are blessed to have Edna and Fred back home in New York now. Luke and I are blessed with Ella and all of her fun. He have a home to live in and food on the table and clothes on our backs. Luke and I have a love for each other that will never die. We have great family and friends who we love deeply. All in all we have so much to be thankful for. We do not always see it so it is nice to take a moment to remind ourselves of this every once in awhile.

More updates

Well here is the next installment of updates. Ella went to see Santa arrive at the mall a few weeks ago. Now every year we have gone to see Santa and every year it does not go so well. Here is this years attempt.

We also spent a day at the Strong National Museum of Play. They had a very large Bob the Builder exhibit there. We went with Grandma Fran, Auntie Edna, and Uncle Fred.

When Ella got a chance to meet Bob she did not want to go neat him. They had a sing and dance along party with him. Everyone got to dress up and sing and dance. Well Ella got all dressed up and they right up front with to sing, and that is all she did stand. She would not sing or dance.

Of course there was a train ride with Uncle Freddy.

Now on the Thanksgiving. Ella had a feast at school and Luke and I were able to join her. It was fun. Of course she did not eat hardly any of the food.

Then Ella got a belated birthday gift. I will not reveal the sender. HA HA

The pictures explains it all.

Also Daddy had to try the wig on.

We also have a house guest for the Holidays. His name is Dukie. He is one of Santa's elves. Dukie is here to watch Ella and then report back to Santa. We can not touch Dukie or his magic will go away. Every night after Ella goes to bed, Dukie flies to the North Pole and reports to Santa how she was for the day and then he comes back each night. Every night he hides in a new spot and Ella has to find him in the morning. Dukie can not talk to us, but we can talk to him and he will tell Santa our wishes. So welcome to our home Dukie.

Major catch up

So I have been very slow at updating my blog. I have no excuses for it except that, well we are all tired. So sit down with a cup of something and get ready for the wild ride.

I took a Wilton cake decorating class this fall. It was a lot of work, but a lot of fun. Here are the pictures of my cake is succession. They are well you are always hardest on yourself.

Now on to Halloween. Of course there is decorating to be done. This includes playing in the leaves.

We had to rake up a lot of leaves. Let me tell you. We started off with just enough to do the spider and pumpkins and then a few weeks later we did the rest. A total of about 20 bags. The best part of all is that we do not have a tree on our property. Gotta love that.

The pumpkins were a lot of fun. Uncle Howard grew a very large 100lbs. pumpkin for Ella. Ella was not a fan of the pumpkin guts. She had to use a spoon and wear a rubber glove.

Ella choose to be a purple witch who was good. She was very excited about it. The make up did not last very long. We only wore it to one party and the rest of them we went with out it. She went to a parade at the mall, a party at the YMCA, her party at school, and then trick or treating on Halloween. We certainly did get our use out of the costume.

And of course this is Central New York so we now head right into the first snow. Ella came running into our room telling us that it had "snowded" She had to go right out side. As Luke and I are getting her coat and hat and boots, we turn around to find her taking her pjs off and putting on her outer wear. She knew we were not suppose to wear a pjs outside so she was taking them off. We had her put them back on and out we went you can not see the snow but it was falling.

Ella received a gift from a friend of mine at Wegmans. He recently lost his wife to Lung cancer also. He gave Ella a dancing Santa and Mrs. Claus. She loves to dance to the music also. And no one is to be left out anyone who comes into the house has to dance to the music.

Well I think that is enough for now. I will try to be better.