Long time, no write...

Sorry it's been so long since I've posted anything. There are a few reasons.....
#1 My laptop croaked out on me Valentines weekend. We sent it away to be repaired on Thursday. (Please hurry, HP!) Our desktop lives in our freezing cold basement and I just haven't been that motivated to write. I'll keep taking pictures and post them when our laptop is back up and running again.
#2 The kids are still sick! I know, I know how can that be possible? We haven't been to church or MOPS or playgroup in two weeks. I threw away their toothbrushes and bought new ones. I completely disinfected and bought a new filter for our humidifier. When we have gone out to essential places like Wal-mart and the grocery I have used the cart seat cover and bathed the kid's hands in sanitizer. We had one day of nice weather in between the worst of our illnesses so I took the kids to the park, thinking an outdoor place is less germy. There was one other kid at the park playing nicely in the sand with his very pregnant mom. Rylan promptly waltzes over to him and introduces himself with the nice manners I have taught him. "Hi, I am Rylan and I'm sick. I have a fever and a runny nose and an ear infection and wax in my ears." I can't believe that poor woman didn't grab her kid and run for the mountains. For the record, on that day at least, Rylan only had wax in his ears. I don't know why he felt the need to exagerate. Maybe it was sympathy for his sister. Sometimes I listen in on his pretend phone conversations and he has been sighing and saying "Yes, the kids are sick..." to Grammy or Nana or whomever he is talking to at the moment.
Rylan had a terrible cough over Valentines weekend and Charlton was up with him a lot during Saturday night. They ended up sleeping on the couch. By Thursday, Caroline was running a fever, coughing, and boycotting her naps. Friday, she woke up from her nap, ate her snack, and then cried non-stop until I put her in the car to go get pizza. Then she was miraculously happy. I admit I drove home a little more slowly than I had to, just to enjoy the peace and quiet. I had been crying along with her at one point, totally discouraged. I had hoped our "extreme quarantine" would work so I could remember what it was like enjoy being a mom to happy, healthy kids. Caroline seemed to have more energy today, but still has twin rivers running non-stop from her nose. (We have gone through three big boxes of kleenexes this month, by the way. Thank you, Sams Club.) So, the verdict is still out for MOPS on Tuesday. Our speaker will be talking about loving and disciplining your children, something I would really, really like to hear. Maybe next week..... We will be going back to the doctor on Friday for Caroline's 15 month "well" visit. Ha! That should give her just about enough time to incubate a raging ear infection, don't ya think?
#3 I now have a part-time job. Well, I haven't actually started working part-time hours yet, but I am preparing myself. My job interview was a stressful disaster of mis-communication. I won't go into all the details, but I actually missed the interview because I didn't have anyone to watch the kids. The nurse manager hired me over the phone anyway because she already knows me and we had an informal interview when I first started working at this hospital 1 1/2 years ago. I sure was thanking God for grace that day. Not surprisingly, I've had to do some extra paper work and make some phone calls to make sure everything is on track. I attend hospital orientation on March 1, and the best part is that we will have better insurance! Yay!
#4 Charlton gave me a Kitchen Aid mixer for Valentines Day and as a "thank you" for being willing to work more. I absolutely love it! It sure beats the socks off my old Sunbeam Mixmaster. I can't believe how much easier it is to make larger recipes and bread doughs. I made some cinnamon swirl bread, chocolate cake balls, and of course, Charlton's birthday cake. Now I need to find some time to exercise....
#5 I've been busy planning Charlton's birthday party which would have happened on Saturday if three out of the four guys who RSVP'd hadn't gotten sick. So, we had to cancel that morning with 5 lbs. of pork cooking in the crockpot, a huge potato casserole ready to go in the oven, and a whole birthday cake sitting on the counter. We have eaten well this weekend. Charlton wants to re-schedule the party. I am going to need a while to work up the energy to do this all over again....
#6 My sewing machine has been humming lately. I have stockpiled lots of nursing covers in a variety of patterns. Still trying to get my hands on a particular blue and brown fabric perfect for baby boys. I have also been sewing some pillow case dresses and feel like each one gets better than the last as I work on my technique. I have been playing around with fabric appliques and having fun with the zig-zag stitch. I bought some cute Debbie Mumm Easter fabric and made a dress for Caroline. I also am selling one just like it on Etsy, but felt maybe it was too plain, so I designed another version that turned out even cuter than I expected. I can't wait to post some pictures. Another reason my computer needs to be fixed fast.

I will leave you on a funny note:
Last weekend I was busy sewing and Charlton asked me if I was cooking something. "No," I responded, puzzled at why he would ask me this in the middle of the afternoon when I wasn't even in the kitchen. "Oh," he replied, "I guess it must be Caroline's diaper, then."

Thank goodness I know he loves me and my cooking...