Christmas

We had a wonderful Christmas! We still have to celebrate with my Mom & Dad tomorrow evening. Mom wasn't feeling well last week, so we post-poned it. We had a couple of real life Angels that made the kids' Christmas a spectacular one! They had so much stuff to open and it was everything that they love and needed (clothing, socks, undies). They really made out!
After the kids opened their presents here, we went to Stephanie's and had Christmas with them and Mom & Dad Plaster. And again, the kids made out huge! I think Benjamin paid Santa off, 'cause he had a humongous pile of gifts!! We had a great time over there.
While we were getting everything packed up and ready to leave, Matt's dad fell outside, on the ice. He hit his knee on the car, when he slipped, which made him hit his hip, which threw him totally off balance and he landed flat on his back, hitting his head on the bricks. Luckily he had his cell phone handy and called to let us know he'd fallen and needed help. Matt & his sister ran out to get him and helped him inside. We checked his head, there was no gash or bump or anything. He was just really sore. And his ego was bruised, a bit. But we didn't care about that. We just wanted to make sure he was ok.
So once we were sure he was indeed fine, Matt, the kids and I left and headed to my Dad's and Sandy's for Christmas. We got there about 8pm. And again, the kids got a bunch of cool stuff! We opened some of the presents for Amanda so she could play while Matt & I visited. The boys hung out with my brother Matt, playing video games. We stayed until just after 11pm. It was a long day, but we had  a good time with everyone.
Getting ready to do it again tomorrow night and then we'll be done until next year! I'll post a few pics of the kids opening presents.

Our Christmas Eve Tradition...

So Matt & I are terrible parents. We have major organizational issues that have always plagued us. I'm telling you now...next year when anyone asks us what we want for Christmas or birthday's...I'll be telling them storage tubs and organization stations!!!!
Every year, Matt & I end up staying up, literally, all night, wrapping presents and cleaning the living room (it doesn't matter WHERE we live) and getting the tree up or finished decorating. And here we are, back at it. It's after midnight and we're trying to get this place in order so that when the kids get up in the morning, it looks like a HOME rather than a mess.
(Random side note: Amanda's in her play pen humming to "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas", awwwww.)
So Matt & I will be up all night, again this Christmas Eve, to make the house the way it should be for the kids. Which means tomorrow we'll be exhausted and running on empty while visiting everyone. Which means Matt will be grumpy and I will be irritable with one another. Sigh.
Will we ever learn?? Sometimes I don't think we will, but then I think, but there's next year, to make the necessary changes! And then next year rolls around and we're in the same position as previous years.
Soooo....back to work I go! Have a Merry Christmas everyone! Be safe and enjoy the time you have with loved ones. Blessings!

Updates

Wow, I cannot believe how much time has passed, since my last entry! Bad blogger!! So here's some quick updates!
Peanut has entered 4th grade and is now 10 yrs. old!! Yes! TEN! I can't believe it! This is his last year in elementary school! He will be in middle school next year, and that just seems so unreal to me. He's doing really well in 4th grade, though. He's still at the same school as last year and has many friends. A few of them even live in our immediate neighborhood, so he got to attend his first non-family birthday party this past weekend. He was so psyched about it!
Peanut continues to be a skinny lil thing. He's cold all the time because of it, lol. He's always got a sweatshirt or jacket on. He has developed, over the last couple of years, an aversion to eating in front of others. If he's with just us, he's fine. He'll eat whatever and however much he's hungry for. But when it's a larger gathering, even with family, he gets freaked out and feels like everyone's watching him, so he doesn't eat or eats like a bird. I had the same issues when I was younger, but I was a teenager before these social anxiety issues came about. Peanut's only 10, so it bugs me. But I just make sure he eats before or after the event we're involved in, so that he's still be nurished.
He continues to be an awesome big brother to Ben & Amanda. He just adores Amanda still. He doesn't hesitate to pick her up if she's crying, or get her something to eat or drink, or to sit and play with her. He's very protective of her. He's like a little Mr. Mom. It's so cute, and I'm so glad I could finally have a girl so that HE could enjoy being her big protector. He's an amazing kid and I just love him so much!

Benjamin is 4 1/2 yrs. old now. He was in preschool again but we started having the same separation issues as before. So for the remainder of the year, he will be attending every Friday and just meeting one-on-one with the speech therapist. I don't think he'll be going to kindergarten in the fall. We have the option of holding him back and putting him in preschool for one more school year and it seems that's what we'll have to do with him. He's just not ready for 5 full days of school. He can't even get thru 4 half days a week.
He's still my little comedian. The kid comes up with the funniest stuff, I swear! For the most part, he's a very good kid. But he has his normal-toddler sized tantrums now & then. Some days more often than others, lol. He definitely keeps us on our toes! And I have to say, he's a pretty awesome big brother to Amanda, as well! He likes to sit & play with her and talk to her. He tries to show her how to do things. He doesn't fully understand that she's not quite able to do a lot of things he can yet, lol. But it's the thought that counts!

And as for our little Princess!!! Miss Amanda is now 17 months old and a whopping (LOL) 18.4 lbs! Yes, another small baby for the Plaster household. Matt found some photos of the boys from when they were right around Amanda's age now and it's unreal how much alike they all 3 looked. There is NO denying these 3 kiddos are siblings! The only major difference is Amanda's hair is a good 2-3 shades lighter than the boys' hair color was. I expect she'll darken up a bit, later, maybe. She seems to have my lighter toned hair, though, so maybe not. We can pull her hair into one tiny pony tail on top of her head. The back isn't anywhere near long enough for that as of yet. If we didn't dress her in pinks and purples and put bows in her hair, she'd look like a boy, lol.
And she's probably going to be a tomboy. She's not a huge fan of dolls or stuffed animals yet. She'd rather have balls and cars! lol Her & Ben take their cars and trucks in the kitchen and run them all over the place. Mandy is walking, however she's still pretty unstable. She likes to hold on to things and cruise along them better than walking alone. And even better than cruising, she prefers to crawl because it's much quicker for her. She finds a way to get around, though. She has 4 teeth fully 'out' and 4 more on the way. The 4 that are fully out, are two on top, two on bottom. The other 4 that are coming in are on the top, 2 on either side of the full middle ones. They're so stinking cute! SHE is so stinking cute, all the way around! She's such a joyful, happy little girl! I can't imagine life without her. She just lights up our lives.
She's starting to say some words, but you have to be around her all the time, like us, to decipher them, lol. In her own way, she says "Love you", "Hi", "Please". She waves, signs "thank you" and sometimes signs "please". If prompted, she will sign "more" and "eat". And if these ways of communication fail, she grunts and points. As soo as she sees food, whether it's time to eat or not, she starts "mmm, Mmmm Mmmm mmmmmMMmm"ing lol. She is DEFINITELY our good eater. She will eat ANYTHING you sit in front of her. Which is nice! No picky eaters in our family...except for Matthew! lol And, really, the only thing I won't eat is olives, pickles and raw onions.
So the family is doing wonderful!

It's been a trying year for us though, because Matt has been unemployed since March. We get his unemployment but that's all. He's put in applications everywhere, from photo studios to factories to restaurants to stores (Walmart, Target, Kohls, etc.), all to no avail. I've been a few applications out there, as well. But let's face it, I am the primary care-giver, even with Matthew at home. Amanda is still nursing 3-4 times a day and that's just not something Matt can take over, no matter how much we try, LOL. And it has nothing to do with the milk itself...she drinks cow's milk from a sippy cup just fine. It's the actual act of breastfeeding and being close to mommy that Amanda still craves and thrives on. So I'm not about to rip that from her. I don't care what others think. This is about what's best for her and I'm her mommy so there! lol So that's that!
But we've been very blessed this year, through friends, family and our church family (even though we've been far from faithful in our church attendance). We've not gone without, despite Matt's meager unemployment checks. And for that, we are extremely grateful and thankful! We will never be able to repay all the kindness and help we've received over the past several months. We could never say "Thank You" enough to those who have been there for us. I just hope that one day (soon) we will be able to pay the kindness forward to others in need.
Well, that's all for tonight. I'll see about adding a few pictures of the kids and then I'm going to catch a few Zzzzz's before getting up again and finishing our Christmas preparations! Christmas! Already! But that's another blog for another day! Good night (or morning, depending on how you'd like to look at it) Blog World!

This was in November.

This was on Mandy's 1st birthday.

First day of school in August.

Trick or Treating.

My little Tinkerbelle.

My vampire Peanut, megatron Ben and Tinkerbelle Manda.

Peanut, Manda and Spongebob in July.

Ornery Ben! Just look at that grin!

Amanda in her cute outfit in October.

Peanut just a few days after his 10th birthday, in Oct.

Mommy & Angelgirl kissing, in October.

Some Photos of my babies

So Amanda's schedule is all backwards. It has been for about 2 weeks now. Matt & I are totally exhausted from this. We try to grab naps throughout the day, if we can, but it's not helping. We're all screwed up and I don't see a light at the end of the tunnel. It started when we all got sick, and she's still got a pretty congested nose issue going on. No fever, but the NP at our doctor's office thinks it's a case of teething syndrome. I feel bad for the poor little girl. It interferes with nursing, cause she can't breathe. Then we're also dealing with what seems to be nightmares or something. She just suddenly wakes in the night, or even during daytime sleep, screaming her little head off. It's a horrible sound! Most times she's not consolable and it just breaks my heart!

I've missed church so much, and I really miss going. Every week I have the intention of going, and then either I'm sick, Amanda's sick, or I've been up all night with her. There are so many new people at church now, that I kinda feel like a stranger when I *do* get to go! That's one thing I liked about our church so much, when I was the secretary, was that I was involved on the front lines and I knew everyone. Now I feel like the newbie! Speaking of being the secretary...I miss that job soooo much! I told Matt last week that it made me feel needed. Not just at the church, but as a woman. It gave me a different identity from just "mommy". Now I'm back to just "mommy" and feeling lost in the shuffle. Don't get me wrong!! I LOVE being a SAHM!! But I found out that I also love being of need in a different capacity.
Perhaps when Amanda's weaned I will look for a part time job. I just don't think I'll find as much satisfaction in just any part time job, as I found at the church. I was surrounded by upstanding, loving, encouraging men & women every day. If I was having an off day, it was ok, I had a prayer partner near by, ready to lend a hand. I felt more at peace when at the church.
I know all things come to an end. And perhaps there's something else out there for me. I just know that I thoroughly enjoyed my time at the church and hope that I can find something else like that some day, when the timing is right.

Just feeling nostalgic, I guess! And missing good friends!! Well, it's about time for me to get Nathaniel up for school. Just another Monday morning! Blessings!

I'm Baaaack!

Holy freaking moly! Okay, so a LOT has happened since my last entry. And there's a VERY good reason for my long absence. We moved last June, and I haven't had internet service until very recently. Now that I'm back online, I tried to access my Blogger account and couldn't remember my password, ugh! So I had to do the whole reset thing with that. But here I am!

Soooo....Since my last post, we've moved to the other side of town. We like where we are. We don't like renting again but it's what we have to do to rebuild our credit. Peanut's in 3rd grade, in a new school. He's had a pretty good school year. He's doing well, and looking forward to summer vacation coming up really soon already!! He was reading a book to me the other day and I was so impressed with his tone and inflection when he reads. Also with the fact that he knew words like "familiar" with no problem! He & I have a standing date every two weeks together, with our local library. We go every 2 weeks and we both check out books. He reads them for his reading program through school and I read for pleasure. He even checks books out for Ben! He's such a great big brother! We're going to be more involved with our library in the future! We've been really enjoying spending time there. And it's so nice for just the two of us to spend that time together!!

Benjamin turns 4 in two weeks! I know!! Already!! He has grown in leaps and bounds!! Not so much physically...he's still on the small side. He's only 28 lbs. But his speech has gotten so much better! You can have a conversation with him and understand all of it, with the occasional issue of a word he doesn't quite know how to pronounce. That's still normal at his age. He is such a little ball of comedy, I'll tell ya! He comes up with the funniest things to say.
His latest thing is when he gets upset or mad, he tells you (in a very stern voice) that he's going to turn into the Master. Then he does this boxing thing with his hands. Then a while later he looks down at his chest and says "Turn back to Ben". That's him "talking to himself". LOL It is the funniest thing. He was having some behaviour issues a few weeks ago and Matt told him..."You'd better tell yourself to be good!" Ben looks down at himself and says "Ben, be good!" LOL Goofy kid!

Then there's our newest addition...Miss Amanda Lynn-Marie (aka Mandy, Mandy Lynn, Amanda Panda, Tootie, Angel, Bunkabunk). Amanda made her entry into this world on Tuesday, June 22nd, 2009. She was my biggest baby, tipping the scales at 8lb.s 7 oz. and 21 inches long. She was born healthy and perfect!! There were no residual side effects for her (or me) from my gestational diabetes, thank the Lord! She nursed for the first time while I was in the recovery room, it was unreal! She had NO issues at all. She latched on the first time with no trouble whatsoever. No pain to me AT ALL and has continued that way all this time. She's still breastfeeding and doing well with it. She's up to 1 meal a day, of a fruit or veggie with rice cereal. She's now 8 months old and thriving and happy and healthy! She's started crawling backwards over the weekend! Go Love Bug go! She's mommy's little Angel! She is just SO happy ALL the time (with the exception of when she's tired or hungry)!! She's always got a smile for you and they just light up her entire face!! I can sit for hours watching her smile and laugh and just being happy.

The boys just adore her. I knew Peanut would. It was Ben we were worried about, but he adjusted beautifully! We have been so proud of him! And we recognize how truly blessed we are, to have 3 beautiful children, who are healthy, happy, loved, and they love each other. The boys play so well together. They often play video games together, play cars with each other, color together, etc. Peanut's a good teacher to Ben.

We haven't been involved with church much, since Amanda's birth, purely because of circumstances. At first (even still sometimes), it's because of me being exhausted from being up with Amanda at night. Then we've had vehicle issues. Our car started taking a turn for the worse. Matt was the only one driving it, deeming it unsafe for me to drive around with the kids in the car. Then he was involved in an accident, nothing life-threatening, but it certainly didn't help the car any. A few weeks later, it just totally died all together. So we went quite a few weeks with no vehicle at all. Our neighbors and Matt's dad took him back & forth to work during that time.

We now have 2 vans, woohoo! Mine is awesome, they're used, older, but I love my van! They're in good condition and should last us the next several years. So we've been trying to get re-involved with church but then we've all been sick, off & on since Februrary! I cannot wait for summer weather to kick all this back & forth weather out of here for good!!

On a more personal note, Matt got me the Wii Fit Plus and I have been using it to work out with. I haven't lost weight yet, but I am loving the workouts!! I can workout as much, or as little, as I want. It keeps track of everything for me, including my weight & bmi. I have a goal in mind and am working towards it. I can't wait to start working out again...I've had to take a break during being sick because of this stupid cough. It doesn't take anything to get me into a coughing fit that lasts for a good deal of time. So I'm hoping to be able to update on that on a regular basis!

So for now, that's all. It's late and I need a few hours of sleep before I get Peanut up for school. Until next time!