Sick Bay!

Growing up, my dad always referred to our house as "Sick Bay" when anyone was sick. I guess Sick Bay is a mild statement. It's Sick, Miserable Bay!

Myles started last Sunday night with a fever and not sleeping. We went to the doctor Monday and she said it was a virus. (I hate this...no other explanation.) On Tuesday, Myles was on fire with bright red cheeks. He did not sleep at all and was inactive. Sean and I decided to just take Myles back to the doctor where he told us Myles had an ear infection and pneumonia. He gave us a prescription for good ol' Omnicef (given to those allergic to penicillin).

So everyday Myles has had a fever and has gotten little sleep. Of course we could not miss out on Christmas so we went to GJ and Papa's on Christmas. I was sick too, so it was not the best of times for us. We stayed up too late and of course paid the price...

All of the McDaniel clan was here and we celebrated on Friday and Saturday nights. Myles was miserable, but we parents were too selfish to stay home. It was fun to be with all of them, but I think most of the McDaniels are now sick too!

Last night was the worst night so far. When poor Mylesie coughs so much, he throws up. Needless-to-say we have done lots of laundry. Not one wink of sleep was had by Myles today, so we hope he will sleep tonight. I've got my fingers crossed...he has been in bed for about an hour.

I hate to be such a downer! I told Sean I am such a baby, but I hate that we have had such a miserable holiday. I've missed out on shopping and spending time with my family. (I know, I am being selfish!)

Luckily the boys were pretty good Christmas morning and loved their race track and cars from Santa. It has not gotten much use, but I am hoping Myles is better and able to play soon.

On another positive note, we did get many wonderful gifts. Sean gave me a pretty light green amethyst ring. I really do need to stop complaining...

A Few New Pictures

Okay, here are a few cute pictures that are sure to make you smile. They are not centered or cropped, but they are precious anyway!

Santa

We went to Bass Pro Shop to see Santa Claus. Each day we take the boys to and from school, we pass Bass Pro. (AKA Fish store) Max and Myles love to go to see the fish, bear, fox, turkeys, etc. They love to go. This year, Santa is there. We waited in a short line and received a free picture. Both boys were thrilled to sit on his lap and loved the candy cane he gave them before we left. Correction: Santa gave the boys each a candy cane and Daddy received a "broken" one. For some reason Santa didn't bother to give me one. Boo hoo. I guess he's waiting to give me my BIG presents on Christmas day!!
Max and Myles love to ride on the four wheelers. I believe they tested each and everyone!

By the way, we parked in the front parking space with Sean's handicapped pass. I guess it's the only perk to having a cast on your foot. (I'll have to take pictures to post soon.)

Great Friends!

This is an amazing group of women. Seriously. These are teachers who have all taught at Ascension at some point. Most of them are no longer there, but we still stay in touch. We meet once a month and in December we have a Christmas brunch and gift exchange. This year was intense. Many gifts were stolen. One thing is for sure: I am blessed to call of these gals my friends!!

I love this time of year!

I have wonderful Christmas memories. This time of year is my favorite--not the gift giving, but the preparing. It was perfect weather for putting up a tree yesterday. It was rainy outside and very snuggly inside!

Daddy was such a trooper to help haul the tree up from the basement, and then put it up for us---even with his sore foot!! While the boys took a nap, I decorated the tree. I kept their "kid friendly" ornaments for them to put on the tree themselves. They loved it and wanted more!


I was really excited to put on the newest ornaments I received from my grandma last year. These crocheted snowflakes are the best part, and they make the tree look so great. There are a variety of shapes and sizes, and I just love they Gramie made them! Max and Myles really like them too. They call them spiderwebs!
It's nearly impossible to get these guys to stand still to take pictures. You can see Max was trying to corral Myles for me!

It's my wish that both Max and Myles will treasure Christmas memories like I do. I'm not worried about them remembering gifts--I want them to remember the cherished time we spent together!

Johnny's Birthday Party

Johnny is turning 40 on December 8, so we celebrated with him tonight. It was lots of fun to go to his house and meet his mom and dad. Johnny is always with us celebrating birthdays for the kids, so this time the party was for him. He loves carrot cake, so my mom made it. It was really yummy!!



Johnny's mom made eggrolls and crab rangoon. They were awesome!!

Thanksgiving: Part 2

We ate our "second" Thanksgiving dinner on Friday with Papa Tim, Grandma Judy, Aunt Monique, and Eddie. We ate tacos and spent some time with Grandma Judy who lives in Dodge City. Unfortunately our time was short together, but we are sure glad she made the long trip!

Thanksgiving: Part 1

I never thought we would ever have a blow up figure like this one...One day the boys went to the "blue" hardware store with Daddy, and they came home with this. Apparently they went crazy when they saw it. It is really cute.

However, putting it up was not such a good experience for Daddy. He was the only one home when he was putting it up. As he was getting down off the roof and onto the ladder for the umpteenth time, the ladder slipped, and Daddy fell. He has scrapes and bruises, but worse, he has a very swollen foot. He went to the doctor on Friday, they took x-rays, and told him he has a very bad sprain. He's been icing it, and trying to take it easy. I've kept him kind of busy...





As Daddy was fixing mashed potatoes and sweet potatoes, the boys helped in their own way. I just love that they were reading! Notice they dumped the rest of the box of Fruit Loops in the pan. They stirred them up and poured them into dump trucks. They had tons of fun, and ended up eating them all!
Both Max and Myles have loved playing without clothes on in the mornings over this long weekend.
Max was the only one who would pose as a pilgrim for me. The boys made these hats and Native American headbands. They were darling. The kids at school had a Thanksgiving parade a feast.

We spent Thanksgiving day with the Brambles. It was fun, and too much food was eaten by all!!

Adorable!

It happened.

When I picked Max and Myles up from school today, Max had a "bad hair day". He's had quite a few, but today was the day I decided it was time. The whole haircut idea was hardest on me.

Our first trip to our Jack's Barber Shop, our friends own it, was not successful. It was busy, and we waited for about 2 hours. The boys were hungry and exhausted when it was finally our turn. Both threw a fit and were terrified, so we left.

Tonight I told Sean we needed a different atmosphere and he suggested Sports Clips. Both boys were very interested in the scenery and were unaware of what was to take place.

Myles started in the chair with Daddy, but screamed bloody murder for Mommy. (Gotta love it!) So I sat in the chair with him and literally held him down. He was so afraid of the cape and every thing. The young gal cut his quickly while he screamed and cried the entire time. It was much harder on me though. I saw the darling bleach-blonde curls fall and my stomach sank. Luckily we saved some. Myles looks darling, and unfortunately no pictures were taken since I was holding him down.


Max was a true gentleman. He sat on Daddy's lap and did just what he was told to do. I do think the young gal cutting his took off WAY too much, so he does not really have much left to curl. He needed the haircut the worst, and he certainly got one. He looks like a little man. My dad said his hair looks like a "college kid's".

I've decided it will all grow back, but it's darling. They are adorable any way you put it!

Halloween Part 2: The Costumes

Can you say darling? I just love this picture. When I put Myles' costume on him, he informed me he did not want to fasten the mask under his chin.
Our superheroes!
Check out Myles' eyes in this picture. Too funny!
I love this picture of my 3 favorite boys.
Lala went trick-or-treating with us. Although we did not last real long, we had lots of fun! We are glad she was with us!!
Here is Pocahontas (Libby) and Hannah Montana (Molly). When the Schwabauers rang the doorbell at GJ and Papa's, Max and Myles had no idea who was standing at the door. See the pictures below...

Dog and Beth...Dog the Bounty Hunter and his wife Beth. They are on A&E channel if you are not familiar. Beth has gigantic boobs, so Kelly used balloons. They looked great, and headed to their neighborhood adult party.

Halloween Part 1: Pumpkin Carving

GJ and Papa picked Max and Myles up from school, so they could be part of Papa's annual pumpkin carving experience. One problem: Papa and GJ could not find a pumpkin to buy! So Daddy came through and bought one at a church close to our house. I think the $12 was worth it!
We decided it would be much easier to take the shirts off so they would not get messy. I guess I did not realize how white trash it would look in pictures. Needless-to-say, the boys are still darling with or without a shirt!
Max and Myles were not real crazy about reaching in to pull out the seeds. Max found two small decorative knives of GJ's, so they were more interested in cutting like Papa!
If you know my dad, you know he is a perfectionist with certain things. It's usually his jack-o-lantern, but this year he had help. It turned out darling.
GJ insisted on lighting the candle. I'm not sure the candle was big enough, but it worked.
Here's the finished product. Both boys wanted to take the top off and blow out the candle. It was fun!

Priceless

I have to post a picture of these precious pumpkins. Max and Myles made them at school last week. I told Miss Kristi, the director, I had some concern about Myles' visual perception. She told me not to worry. Right now, at this age, the idea is the process not the product.

There are actually days I leave school feeling like Myles' pumpkin!!

We Built A Great Third Birthday Party!

Max and Myles love anything to do with trucks, cars, tools, lawn tools, and the garage. So we found it fitting to "Build them a party". The McDaniel Construction site was where all the fun took place on the 18th. For not knowing much about boys, I'm starting to get the hang of it...


This cake was perfect. The lady who helps us with cakes for special occasions is an artist and a cake decorator. I simply told her the theme and she went to town.
Notice the "rocks" that are chocolate covered marshmallows. They were so realistic!
Max and Myles had their own little orange construction cones with a blue 3 on it. It's so fitting because Myles' favorite color is orange and Max's is blue.



Uncle Doug, Molly and Libby arrived ready to construct. Everyone built his own fajita for dinner. As many of you know, I love Mexican, and I try to incorporate it whenever possible!!
Papa Denny and GJ arrived with their very own construction hats. The invitation said hard hats and tool belts were required. Our special guests received yellow hard hats and Home Depot tool belts.
Check out Daddy's shirt. It was quite an experience for me, but eventually I figured out how to print and transfer images onto shirts. (Thanks to Lala!)

Lala told us she was the K-State white trash construction worker. My dad told her he hoped she would not get stopped by the police on the way home. (She had on quite the boots!)
Here is Great-Aunt Jackey, Great-Uncle Don, Papa Tim, and Great-Aunt Bonni. (They are all from Sean's side of the family.) We were glad they could join us.
Eddie and Aunt Monique. They really looked too fashionable to wear a hard hat, but they joined in with the tool belts.

Max and Myles were blessed to receive so many neat gifts. Aunt Kelly and Uncle Doug bought them new winter coats, hats and mittens. They put them on immediately, and I hope to get pictures from them to post on here. It was darling!! Lala spoiled them with a sleeping bag, lots of clothes and very stylish Nike tennis shoes. (They are red, white and blue for USA and NOT KU!) Papa Tim gave them a darling dump truck shirt and sweatshirt. They were more than thrilled to wear it last week. Myles told Max he was the construction worker!! Aunt Monique and Eddie gave the boys darling shirts from the Gap with a musical card. We have heard "Who Let the Dogs Out" quite a bit. They have loved opening the card!! Many other gifts were given including a darling outfit from my grandparents who never forget us and sent it in the mail.

One thing is for sure, Max and Myles have very special relatives who love them and spoil them. We are so grateful!