Three Thought Thursday: Week 52!

1. Week fifty-two! Yea! Which means we made it to the end of the year. Wasn't the end of 2009 just a month or so ago!?! Sure seems like it to me. 2010 has just flown by. And what a fun, challenging, transitional year. Loved it. And loved Christmas too. We just returned from our trip to Houston on Tuesday and are still busy recovering. Mounds of laundry, un-packing all the "stuff" we didn't know we'd be coming home with, oh, and auditing our existing "stuff" to see what can go to other little boys and girls in order to make room for the new "stuff." That little procedure always has to take place while the boys are sleeping or it would be endless emotional meltdown. Our entire family was immensely blessed this Christmas season and loved getting to spend so much time with the huge Hefferly clan. We came home with lots of new books, cool new toys and movies, and a few new maternity items my mom picked up for my first summertime pregnancy. (my existing stuff is all winter wear!) Of course all the memories we made are just as valuable, if not more so. And man, it was so nice to have two boys at Pinkie and Pa's house instead of two babies/toddlers. I shutter to remember the past few visits when the boys required constant supervision or something would be broken, misplaced, eaten, ruined, etc. They're both finally to the age where they don't require constant supervision. Heck, they can both even man the staircase, up and down, on their own. And even better, they were so eager to go do things with their uncles like play at the park or pull out all the old action figures and not demand that mom be a part of the action at all times. Certainly gave me a much needed break! Guess I better enjoy it. Back to baby mode by next Christmas season. Yes, 2011 is certain to bring a lot of new changes to the Asmussen Family. Hey, we're the Asmussens! We're always changing or going through something, right? A new baby, a "baby" turning into a big brother, a new car ('cause the Camry ain't gonna cut it with three), and a new job. As I mentioned a few weeks ago, we are going through lots of changes, right now, the biggest being that Mark is now pursuing a new job. It's a long story but a good decision for Mark and our family, and no worries, nothing bad went on...just need to find the right fit for all parties included. Guaranteed to be many blessings in the new year to come!

2. So like I said, we just returned from The Woodlands on Tuesday. And man, was that trek home a long one! On the way there, we broke the trip into two days by stopping in Austin making it really not that bad of a trip. But the way home was a nine-and-a-half hour, hair pulling out, slamming my head against the dashboard disaster. Not even kidding when I say that we had stopped five times for Kolbe to pee before we even got to the outskirts of Dallas. He's a classic case of "once you break the seal..." I'm convinced that the element that made it so "enjoyable" was the fact that the boys never managed to fall asleep at the same time. Rudy fell asleep for about forty-five minutes in the morning; Kolbe fell asleep for about an hour and half during normal nap time (while Rudy wailed and pulled on the straps of his car seat, begging me to take him out); Kolbe woke up just in time for Rudy to wear himself out and sleep another hour or so. You wouldn't think this would be that big of a deal, but with one of them awake at all times, it gave Mark and me absolutely not reprieve from one or the other constantly begging for something. Oh yeah, and it rained for a chunk of the trip too. Good times. Other trips we've made have been better. And heck, others have even been longer. But sometimes they just don't run as smoothly as you'd hope for. Luckily when I take the two boys back in February for Kolbe's Shriners check-up, it will be on a plane.

3. As I said, we endured a solid nine-and-a-half hours of noise from the boys. And both of them have entered new stages of communication that added to the mayhem. But I'll drop the car ride issue and try my best to focus on their newly acquired skills. Kolbe really didn't start talking much until he turned two, so we weren't really worried when Rudy still wasn't saying much. Sure enough, at twenty-two-months, he's all of a sudden taken off with his talking. Previously he just made lots of grunting and groaning sounds...as if he truly had something to say but just didn't know how to open his mouth and get the words out. But now he's entered a phase of constant labelling. Everything he sees that draws his interest gets named.
"Cause!" (Clause...for Santa Clause)
"Bus!"
"Ocks!" (Socks)
"Up!" (cup...when he wants a drink)
He's also develop a repertoire of commands including:
"Go. Go." (he says this whenever we're out somewhere and he's ready to go home.)
"No, no, buh!" (no, no, brother....I'm sure you can figure that one out. Sure beats his previous method which was simply attempting to bite Kolbe.)
"Poo. Poo." (yes, technically a noun, but he uses it as a command. As in "I've just gone poo, now change me, lady!" Lord willing, this will turn into him telling me he needs to go on the potty soon.)

Cute little fella is growing up. Can't believe he'll be two in just six weeks! Kolbe's new phase is the question phase, loathed by parents world-wide. You know...where everything is a question. Really, I don't mind when it's something he truly wants to know because he's learning. Questions like:
"Why is urs vein blue?"
"Where does that squirrel live?"
"Is this way yeft (left) or is that way yeft?"
"Is this shoe on the right foot?"
The ones that get me are the ones I can't really answer or that he can't seem to understand the answer to. Here's a few scenarios:
(In the car, about four hours into our car trip...)
Kolbe: Mama, where's Pinkie and Pa's house?
Me: Oh, about four hours back in the other direction.
Kolbe: What direction?
Me: Behind us. We've driving this way now, but Pinkie and Pa's house is the other way.
(Ten minutes later...)
Kolbe: Mama, where's Pinkie and Pa's house?
(This continued for the duration of the trip. Mark even attempted to flip the script on him and ask him where Pinkie and Pa's house was...he simply decided to ask me to answer Dada for him.)

(While our whole family is driving to a party, trying to find the house that it's at...)
Me: (to Mark) I think you'll probably take a right up at this corner.
Kolbe: (from the back...eavesdropping) Mama, what's at that corner?
Me: Nothing. I was just telling Dada he should turn there.
Kolbe: What's there?
Me: There's nothing there. Just a stop sign and some grass.
Kolbe: Why turn at that corner? To go by the grass?
Me: No, just  because I think their house is this way.
Kolbe: Is it on the corner?
(and on and on.....and on.)

Love both of these boys so much. Love being their mom. Love getting to stay home and take care of them. Love not missing any of these endless, often mind-numbing but often oh-so-cute questions. Love that somehow God thought I would be good for them. They're just growing and changing. Becoming real people. Love that I get to be a part of it. This year and hopefully for many more to come.

Three Thought Thursday: Episode 51

1. First and foremost, Merry Christmas to you and yours! I hope your holiday week has been filled with lots of smiles, lots of family, lots of good food, and lots of laughter. Just like ours! We finally made it down to The Woodlands yesterday and have been enjoying lots of fun and relaxation ever since. The relaxation parts are usually induced by food comas, but hey, prior to this week, I hadn't gained any weight at all with this pregnancy. Quasi-dreading what the scale is going to say when I return to Lubbock. But then again, I'm nearing the end of my first trimester so it's just about to get to the time where a pound or two won't be such a bad thing. Bring on the chocolate dipped, peanut butter lined Ritz crackers! The boys sure are loving Christmas, just as I dreamed they would in my mind. Man, it is so much fun to see Christmas through their eyes! All the excitement at the massive decorations they see out and about the town, the mere anticipation of getting to open the endless presents under Pinkie and Pa's tree....not to mention the fact that both Kolbe and Rudy are totally aware of "Santa Claus" this year. Kolbe gets the whole idea. Rudy is just well aware of who the character is. Meaning everywhere we go that he sees a picture of Santa he excitedly exclaims "Cause! Cause!" So precious! Another thing that just continues to make my heart smile is how the boys beam with pride and wide-spread smiles each night at dinner when we sing "O Come, O Come Emmanuel." And are eager to go to mass each week to see them light a new candle on the wreath, knowing they'll get to light theirs that night too. They love it. And I love that they love it. I really has made my holidays. I hope there's been something special, whether small or big, that has made your holidays as well.

2. I'm convinced my three-year-old has a sleeping disorder. For real. There's got to be something not right! In fact, I'll be honest. Though I won't "publish" this till the morning, I'm admittedly writing it at 10:30pm Wednesday evening because I don't know what's going on the morning but with something like fourteen people staying at my parents' house, I'm not so sure I'll have time to write my post. Anyway, I'm sitting here typing away while said three-year-old flails around on the bed, refusing to sleep. I know. I know. Part of it is all the excitement of being at Pinkie and Pa's house. Part of it is the wonder of knowing that everyone all the cool aunts and uncles are in the other room and he just has to know what's going on. But really, part of it has got to be some weird sleep thing because really, this goes on at home every night too! I'm really at my boiling point with the whole thing. You know, the point where the bottle of Benadryl is tightly clenched in my fist with my rosary in the other as I try to convince God to help me make a good decision not to medicate my child merely for the purpose of sleep. (man, he slept well when his allergies were completely out of whack and it was the only we could use to get his sneezing to stop!) The scenario is simple: we do our best to tucker him out, making him as active as possible, and then put him in bed at appropriate times. You know, a nap and bed time. We do the same for his little brother. Only his little brother is a professional sleeper. Sure, he may take five or ten minutes to nod off into peaceful dreams, but he goes to sleep and sleeps well every nap and every bedtime. Not Kolbe. The fights he puts up last usually from forty-five minutes to two and half hours. Not even kidding. Like I said, I'm writing this post at 10:30pm while I wait for him to fall asleep. Nap time isn't nearly as bad as bed time. Usually I put Rudy down for his nap first and then spend some quality one-on-one time with Kolbe, going over letters, reading books, or playing a board game. That's enough to make him drowsy and he often falls asleep quickly. (only when at home, though) Bed time is a whole different ball of wax. It's endless getting out of bed, making loud noises in his bed, basically anything but sleep. We recently tried shortening his nap and have thus far found it to only make things worse. He sleeps less making him horribly grumpy in the afternoon which usually results in at least one or more melt down. Then he proceeds to dwell on the fact that he knows he's tired and forces himself to stay up late, even though his nap was short and he's completely exhausted. I just don't get it. He has the sleep pattern of a college freshman at the age of three. And yes, I know people write books on stuff like this. And I've read them. And I suppose I'm just going to have to keep trying out all the endless tactics that the obviously more intelligent parents than me suggest. Bottom line is: I'm tired. I want to sleep. Even if I lay with him, he doesn't sleep. Must get child to sleep so I can sleep. The end.

3. I can't believe that this is episode fifty-one. As in next week is the last week! I really can't believe it! I created a new year's resolution and actually stuck to it. Didn't miss a single Thursday. Man, time flies. And for my holiday reading, I really am going to go back through all the weeks of this past year and re-read some of the things I've written. I'm fully expecting to laugh at some of my ridiculousness, cry at some of the long gone emotional moments, smile at some of the bits and pieces that may not be the same now as is months gone by, and appreciate all that has happened in my life over the past fifty-two weeks. I'm not sure what I'll do next. I haven't decided just yet. Continue Three Thought Thursday? Change it up and try something different? Give it a rest all together? I doubt I'll choose the last option, because man, if anything this has been a huge outlet for my sometimes completely closed off world that I live in. Sometimes I wonder, if not for my weekly post, did I really say anything to any adults other than my husband this week? You know, other than "What aisle are the almonds on?" Who knows. Maybe Three Thought Thursday Volume Two. Or maybe something new. I've got a week or so to decide!

Three Thought Thursday: Episode 50

1. We're taking off on the long trek to Houston on Monday so this week has essentially been crunch time for all things Christmas. I'm just about done with shopping...just one little outstanding item that I'll probably pick up in Houston considering we won't celebrate Christmas with the recipient until after we get back to Lubbock. But truthfully, I haven't wrapped a single thing. Lord willing, that will all go down this weekend. Hopefully with the assistance of my dear husband, considering Friday is his last day of work for a while. 'Cause really, instead of wrapping, I've been busy baking all week. Primarily for Mark's co-workers. Believe me-- trying to come up with a suitable gift for people who have everything is difficult! You want it to be heartfelt but if definitely can't break the bank! So I did come up with a few "gift gifts" but also decided on lots of home-baked goods. Who doesn't love that at Christmas!?! As long as I get the royal icing done on the sugar cookies today and everything packaged up tonight, everything should be ready to head to work with Mark tomorrow!

2. The balance of "things" have been kind of tumultuous in the Asmussen family lately. Can't really expound on things now but we definitely could use as many prayers as possible. Don't worry...we're all safe and healthy...including Baby Three. And God has always, always, always provided for us, taken care of us, and led us in the right direction when needed, time after time in the crazy history of our little family. So we have faith that now will be no exception. Really. No worries! Hopefully by next week I'll be able to explain a little better.

3. Tomorrow marks the eleventh anniversary of the day I was diagnosed with active lupus.

Eleven years.

Kind of getting to the point where I don't remember what it's like to not have it. And there's so much I hate about it. I hate that I've been on steroids for eleven years. I hate that I can't do lists and lists of the physical things I was capable of as a child. I hate that I see someone do a cartwheel and feel jealous. I hate that my boys find my arm braces around the house and wear them around to "be like Mama." I hate that some mornings Kolbe will ask, "Do you feel bad today, Mama?" I hate that they'll always know me as sick in some way or another. I hate feeling unstoppable in my mind and so limited physically. And really, I hate the pain. I can't even describe it but it happens so often that I don't know any different. And I'll probably spend the rest of my life feeling this way.

But I have to tell you--I really don't hate everything about having lupus. I don't. I think of all the things in my life that would be different if I didn't have it. What would I be doing? Where would I be? Really. Where? Because I was diagnosed mid-way through my senior year of high school and at the time I had equal scholarships to Tech, Auburn, and Alabama. My parents were moving back to Texas and all my extended family was in Lubbock. So my sickness kind of made the choice for me. Lord knows I would have never found Mark in Alabama. And while I have something that no one would want, I also have many things that tons of people yearn for. So many things. Everything happens for a reason. And most of all, I have so much of my relationship with God to thank lupus for. I need him so much. Going through all I have experienced would have been... and will continue to be impossible without God.

So it's a trade off. Some days I'm bitter...and I guess it gets worse around the ol' anniversary...but on most days, I wouldn't completely give it away if I had the option. Ironically, as "off balanced" as it makes me feel, it really keeps me balanced. God knows what he's doing. Now and always. And I'll continue to trust him with my health--hoping for the best and knowing that anything is possible.

Sorry for all the heaviness this week! Next week will be much happier! Promise!

Three Thought Thursday: Episode 49

1. Monday was the feast day of St. Nicholas. When I was a child, we had a tradition of putting our shoes outside our bedroom doors in hopes that St. Nick would leave us our favorite candy. And not a lump of coal, of course. The whole shoe thing was very European of us, but we did live in Germany when I was a little girl. So it was fitting at the time. And it's a tradition I still want to carry on with our family. Don't get me wrong. I love Christmas. But it's fun to celebrate the actual feast day of St. Nicholas too. So I set out with lofty goals in my mind of having the boys set their shoes out beside their door and explaining the tradition along with more about who Saint Nicholas was, coloring pictures, etc.

That was until I decided to pick up the stomach bug and couldn't peel myself away from the toilet, the couch, or a bed for the entire night and day. So none of what I planned happened. Instead, the boys were really, really good for me, pulled out every toy and book in the entire house, tried not to get in any squabbles and were very understanding of the fact that Mama was sick. I spent the whole day thanking God that I don't get morning sickness. There's nothing worse than throwing up! I just can't take it! When Mark gets sick, he does his business and feels better right after. Not me. I feel better for like three minutes and then it starts building up again. Ugh. Glad it's just a twenty-four hour bug!

2. It's official. I absolutely hate doing laundry in the winter. It's so demoralizing! In the summer time, when clothes were half the size of what they are in the winter, I was able to get all of our laundry done in one day. Mine, Mark's, Kolbe's, and Rudy's. Now, no matter how hard I try, it always over-flows into a second day. Or third. 'Cause see, on day one, I'm energetic and bound and determined to get it all done. When the morning of day two rolls around, I'm offended that it didn't happen and usually turn a blind eye to the piles and piles on our couch. By the afternoon I decided I better go ahead and finish it off but by then I've underestimated how much was left and realize that finishing on day two isn't going to happen either. By day three I'm just annoyed that when I peer into the closet, the hamper is already nearly full again. It never ends! Really, I don't think I would hate it as much if there was somewhere to process and store it all. I end up folding it on our couch, the same way my mother always did, and building stacks along the top edge of the couch. I suppose I could put each stack away after folding each load, but can you imagine how much time that would add to the whole process!?! In an ideal world, laundry rooms would all come with processing centers where the folding and stacking could go down without being in the way. And washing machines would be big enough to hold a whole week's worth of a family's dirty clothes. I'm just saying.

3. Mark's office Christmas party was last night at a steakhouse here in Lubbock called Las Brisas. We're not used to having a date night in the middle of the week. (ok, really, we're not used to having a date night ever...) But I wasn't going to pass on a chance to get a steak from there. A free steak. Have I ever mentioned that steak is my favorite meal? Really, there's nothing better in my books than a well-cooked steak, caesar salad, a baked potato, rolls, and a good margarita. I know. I sound like a man. Other than the margarita part. This restaurant was a little more up-scale so the rolls and baked potato were replaced with steamed asparagus, some type of cheese and garlic mashed potato dish and a lobster tail. But man, the steak was fabulous. I resisted the urge to ask for ketchup, my usual topping of choice for steak. Yes, steak. And I passed on the margarita in exchange for a virgin strawberry daiquiri. Really classy, I know. But it was fun to get out in middle of the week with Mark. Sometimes with his high-stress job it seems like it's hard for us to connect during the week. This was a nice little chance to do that. Not to mention that I got to meet lots of his co-workers. The boys stayed with Mark's mom and had a blast as usual. Now if I could just figure out a way to sneak a visit to that restaurant into our budget before it's free again next Christmas....

WIWW: Early Maternity Clothing Rut

I'm really not sure how she does it. Lindsey from The Pleated Poppy, that is. When she's not busy running her own home-based, online store, posting to her blog, or homeschooling her three adorable kids, she manages to keep up with what she wears basically every single day. In an effort to keep herself out of the rut of comfy pants and a sweatshirt for daily attire. She does a great job of explaining her purpose behind this project in her post this week.

Believe me as a stay-at-home mom, it would be more than easy to go with the sweats ensemble on a daily basis. In fact, it's a selection I've been going with a lot lately. Partially because it's cold and fleece pants and a cropped sweatshirt are warm. And partially because the first trimester of pregnancy has got to be the sleepiest time ever. All. day. long. Zombie-style. Even sleepier than the first months of having a newborn baby at home! At least then you have all those new mommy hormones going. Right now it's the new-baby-growing hormones and they're begging me to go back to bed.

I've participated in Lindsey's weekly What I Wore Wednesday post once before and realized just how crazy organized she and all the participants must be for being able to keep up with their photos each week. Heck, I can hardly remember if I've put on deodorant yet or not each morning! But I decided I'd give it another shot to encourage myself to get out of my early maternity clothing rut after my youngest brother stopped by for a visit and asked me if I had started wearing maternity clothes yet. Uh, no, punk! I haven't gained any weight! I suppose he couldn't tell under the sweats.

Anyway, I decided to attempt this again before the kids decided to pick up the stomach bug and donate it ever so kindly to me too. So I have three usable pictures. Instead of the six or seven I aimed for. Really, you don't want to see what I looked like on the other days of either the boys tossing their cookies or me tossing my cookies. But at least I tried! (I suppose it's all only payback for no morning sickness!?!)

sweater: WalMart...loooong time ago. For like $5.
tank: Kohls
jeans: Target...they're the thin "trouser" kind. Unfortunately I've worn them too many times and they're now completely unflattering on me.
socks: Old Navy. Surely I didn't wear just these all day!?!

ugh. I think I'm starting to look sickly in this pic.
green top: Old Navy
sweater: Old Navy...I would have bought this in every color five years ago if I'd have known how much I'd love it
jeans: SteinMart
Birkenstocks: the PX in at the naval base in Pensacola

I promised this looked cuter in the morning. And did include shoes. By 4pm when I remembered to take the pic it had turned into this.
white T: Old Navy
sweater: Old Navy. New. So comfy and I love it. Kinda makes me look like I'm trying when I really don't feel like it. Bet my mom would hate it.
jeans: Old Navy. Need to be retired. Badly!

Maybe I'll check back in as the belly gets bigger and I do start wearing maternity clothes! Still got a long way to go!

Upcoming CSN Stores Product Review

Don't you love when a little sunshine comes after the rain? After a long a weekend of the stomach bug and recovering from the stomach bug (lots of laundry!), I received a little something fun in my email inbox. I was contacted by CSN stores to review one of the thousands of products they offer on their site. From luggage stores to lighting stores to lunch boxes, they literally have a little bit of everything for everyone. CSN Stores is uniquely made up of a many different stores that offer essentially all of the products we search for and buy every day.

Can't wait to scour their site for just the right item and try it out here at our home! Check back in the next few weeks to get the low-down on what I chose and what I think of it.

Christmas Stockings

So I have to be honest and come clean. My struggle with the daily grind of being a stay-at-home mom has been due to more than just two little boys and their endless shenanigans. But it could, quite possibly be due to THREE little boys!...or two little boys and a little girl! Yes, Asmussen #3 is on the way (due July 15th) and I'm dragging my tired self through the middle of the first trimester. I have to admit that I am a little spoiled in that I don't suffer with morning sickness. Never have. But I do have major exhaustion. Seriously, I absolutely have to lay down and take at least a thirty minute nap while the boys are sleeping or I just can't make it through the day!

That's why these little Christmas fancies have taken longer than I expected to complete. Back in October I decided I wanted to make Mark's mom stockings for Christmas. She invested in a new house a few years back, got a new Christmas tree last year, and is gradually adding Christmas decorations to her collection. Now that she's adding grandbabies as well, I thought it would be fun to make stockings for each grandchild as they come along.

The stockings were super easy to make. I just took an old cheapy stocking that we had, traced it to create a pattern, cut out pieces of fabric, lining, and batting (to make them thicker and have a quilted feel) and sewed them together. I couldn't pass on the vintage Santy (as Kolbe calls him) fabric for the body of the stockings!

Not wanting them to be too plain, I used a little gold ric rac I had left over from an old Halloween costume to embellish the border and then hand blanket stitched felt cut-outs of the kids' initials for the top.

I had to try them out on our mantle for size, though their permanent home will be at Miss Lora's house with the cute stocking hangers I found at Target to complete her gift.

 

As for the third stocking, I opted not to stitch down the question mark. Hey, we've already used the middle name "Mark" once! (haha!) Can't wait to find out what initials will adorn this stocking next year!

And while we're at it, I just thought I'd share a few pictures of the stockings that do hang from our mantle. I have mentioned several times before that my mom has crazy sewing skills. These are the stockings that she made for the boys. All by hand, none-the-less.



I love the dimension that the characters have, and all the hand-stitched details! Each tiny sequin holds a bead on top. I just don't have the patience! But hopefully (*hint hint*) we'll have an adorable third stocking hanging from the mantle next year!

Three Thought Thursday: Episode 48

1. Usually I have my Thursday post up first thing Thursday morning. But usually I don't have the kind of week I've had. Or the kind of morning I've had. Ugh! It's been a mess. Let's just begin by saying that Mark has been on call for the whole week. And most days, we've seen him for no more than 30 minutes. So in other words, when he's on call, I'm on call. 'Round the clock. Mark has been on call a few other weeks so far in his brief career, but those times have seemed to run more smoothly. This time, it's been a case of if-it-can-go-wrong-it-will-go-wrong. Simple things like letting Kolbe help me run the vacuum cleaner turn in to events that end with the whole house smelling like electrical fire and a trip to the vacuum cleaner replacement parts store. Vacuums and Christmas tree skirts don't mix well. And right now I'm typing away on our laptop while sitting on a couch that, despite the hours worth of scrubbing, still smells like vomit. Why? Because kind little motherly me decided to give her sweet little Rudy a bite of her English muffin. And he just happened to decided to swallow it at the very same moment he decided to start a coughing fit. Gobs of previously eaten yogurt, banana, and milk later, the electrical fire scent has been replaced by something far more intestinal. Really. I'm half tempted to get the car seats out of the car (you know, since they have the safer five point harness instead of just the lap belt that their kitchen booster seats have), install them on our kitchen chairs, strap the kids in and sit and stare at each other until the week is over. Surely that will keep anything else catastrophic from happening, right? This should be grounds for getting take out or going out to eat for the rest of the week since obviously turning on my stove would be a major risk.

2. Another event from our fabulous week deserved a paragraph all of it's own. And a picture.

Who ever said that mascara couldn't be fashionable when used to write in Chinese all over one's face!?! Certainly not Rudy. Yes, my lovely child decided to do this just minutes before loading the car up to leave for mass. I was frantically trying to finish putting my make-up on when I went to throw a cotton ball in the bathroom trash can. Finding it full, I rushed it to the kitchen trash can to empty it. Of course, this caused the kitchen trash can to fill up so I'd tied off that bag, threw it in the big can in the backyard, put a new bag in and.....
Returned to the bathroom to find this little face. Kolbe cheering all the while. Some thanks I get for not putting things off. But thank God I had a full bottle of eye make-up remover on stand-by. The worst part was the large clump that was up in hair. You can't really see it in this picture. Even with all the scrubbing the front chunk of his 'do was definitely darker than normal.

3. On a positive note, it's so exciting to see the boys, Kolbe especially, get in to Christmas this year. This past Sunday began the first week of advent. Back on the day before Thanksgiving when I got all the other Christmas decorations set up, I got out our advent wreath and set it up too. At mass on Sunday I showed Kolbe the church's advent wreath and he was so excited to make the connection to the one we have at home. Even though, with Mark away at work, we've been having pathetic meals like grilled cheese sandwiches for dinner, I've still been lighting the advent wreath each night and singing "O Come, O Come, Emmanuel" to the boys before eating. Literally within just a few nights they're both already singing along--Rudy mainly humming and Kolbe usually one or two words behind me. Despite all the fascination with Santa Claus, snowmen, and such, it makes me so happy to see that Kolbe really understands this year that the reason we are celebrating Christmas is to celebrate the birth of Christ. I asked him at dinner last night:
"Kolbe, what is Christmas?"
He replied, "Jesus' birthday!"
"That's right!" I said.
"Mama, Christmas is Jesus' birthday but then we still get presents too."
"Well, yes, we do exchange gifts with each other to celebrate Jesus' birthday, but we need to give gifts to Jesus too. Like being a good boy for Mama. I think Jesus would like that very much."
(after some hesitation) "No, I think he would like to ride my new scooter instead."

At least we're somewhat on the right track! I'm bound and determined to have one of my Christmas crafty works-in-progress finished today. Hopefully I'll have some pictures up tomorrow!