Santa Cometh...And Santa Goeth Away

Another Christmas has come and gone. Whew. I had no idea that Christmas with a 2 1/2 year old would be as exhilarating and as exhausting as it was. But, yes - it was fun and wonderful and this will be a LONG post...a lot has happened in just 2 days.

We left for Hot Springs on Tuesday morning after spending Monday running those last minute errands. When we left home Tuesday morning, our area was under a "winter weather advisory." Nothing was falling from the sky and it was well over freezing, so we headed out as planned. It was a good thing we left when we did. Apparently, we hit the right spots at just the right times. It started to rain shortly after we left home. By the time we got to Mountainburg, it was 28 degrees and the roads were starting to get a little slick. Rudy made the wise decision to take I-40 to Little Rock and then go from there to Hot Springs. We've tried to travel Hwy 71 from Ft. Smith to Y City and Hwy 270 from Y City Hot Springs in inclement weather before and it was a disaster. We weren't willing to take any chances this year. The roads were a little slick off and on and we passed by a couple of sand/salt trucks on the way. We were listening to the radio and heard that after we passed through, it got really nasty on 540. With some steady and smart driving and a cup of Starbucks coffee, Rudy got us to Hot Springs without the slightest mishap.

When we got to Hot Springs, we were all pretty wiped out. I took a nap. Everyone else visited and Caleb played. I enjoyed some glorious "Mama's house sleep." The absence of responsibility just put me right on out.

On Christmas Eve (Wednesday), Aunt Harolyn stopped by to see us (read: Caleb). Then we somehow got Caleb down for a nap. After his nap, we opened our Christmas presents. Mom and Mr. L. gave me a great assortment of things that I can use: socks, razor cartridges, hair products, a scarf, some gloves, a Chick-Fil-A card, my annual snowbaby, a cool art print of a giraffe, a vegetable chopper and some much-appreciated money. Rudy got some socks, some workout clothes, some PJ's, a bottle of cologne, a season set of The Office, a Chick-Fil-A card and also some much-appreciated money. They also gave us a sign for our house that says ARKANSAS - Home is where your story begins. Caleb opened gift after gift! In addition to the easel that was delivered to our house, he got some clothes, a Cars case, a build-a-book, some trucks, a doctor kit and a cooking kit. Mr. L's sister, Joyce, also gave him a puzzle and a hand-crafted wooden helicopter. We gave Mom a food processor (she asked for it!) and I gave her the Mamma Mia DVD. We gave Mr. L. a big frying pan and a meat thermometer. Caleb gave Pops a framed picture from their fun time at deer camp. We also gave them (and all of Caleb's grandparents and great-grandparents) the 3rd annual photobook of Caleb's year.

Once the gifts were opened and the thank-you hugs given, we all got ready to go to the Lockes for what has now become known as "the good food." Our annual Christmas dinner at Pepapa and Anna Joyce's is amazing. We always have prime rib with mushrooms, twice baked potatoes, green bean bundles and AJ's amazing ice cream with hot fudge dessert. This year, Caleb decided that he REALLY liked his Aunt Kim and wanted to sit near her. So - we moved his new Cars table into the dining room where he could join the "big people" and be near Kim. Rudy , Julie, Chris and I stayed in the kitchen at the "kids' table." With Caleb in the other room, Rudy and I managed to enjoy every bite of our food completely. With exceptionally full tummies, we moved into the living room after dinner to open gifts. Caleb got a movie, 3 books and a limited series framed print for his room from Aunt Harolyn. Jimmy and Kim gave him a "super fast race car" (Caleb's words, not mine). Julie and Chris gave him a personalized CD and some candy. Pepapa and Anna Joyce gave him the Cars table and chairs set, a big stuffed frog and an awesome puzzle case with some puzzles in it. They also gave Rudy and I some money and I got a very cool purse for Razorback games! Aunt Harolyn cracked me up this year by giving me one of my old books - a Family Circus book. In it, I had practiced writing my name in cursive and dated it 1983. I was seven. We don't exchange gifts between the adults at the Locke family Christmas, but we do play Dirty Santa. As usual, that was the source of some laughs! Surprisingly, most everyone was on their best behavior this year. There weren't a lot of steals. We had a great time seeing everyone at Christmas. We really missed the Spencers and look forward to seeing them next year...hopefully. Also - it was an especially joyous Christmas this year, because Kim's cancer is GONE! Last year, she was just dealing with her diagnosis and the past year has been an exceptionally trying one for her and all of us who love her. We are so very blessed to know that she is healthy this year...and despite what she would tell you - her hair is growing back very cute! Praise be to God for Kim and for all of our family!

We came home from the Lockes and nearly crashed into the bed. Rudy slept with Caleb. Mom and I got everything ready for Christmas morning. (wink, wink) I had a hard time sleeping that night. I was so afraid I would miss seeing Caleb wake up to find Santa's gifts. I ended up getting up way before him. Finally, I woke he and Rudy up. Initially, Caleb had a hard time waking up. Then I said, "Santa came to see you." He popped up out of that bed like burnt toast! Once I got him out of bed, he ran to the Christmas tree and was so excited to find his presents from Santa! He got the Buzz Lightyear and Woody dolls that he asked for as well as a talking Lightning McQueen, a Cars case that launches the cars across the floor and a magnetic letter puzzle. He was so excited! He was a little confused about why Santa wasn't still there but got over it pretty quickly. After the excitement of the Santa gifts waned a little, we ate a wonderful breakfast and then got ready to drive to Sherwood.

We made it to Memmie and Poppie's mid-morning on Christmas Day. Memmie and Poppie have lived in their house longer than I have been alive. It has been a LONG time since I have seen that many people there. Roll call: Memmie, Poppie, Mary, Ron, Hannah, Chris, Rebecca, Beth, Tomoe, Rudy, Haley, Caleb. Plus - we had the added fun of seeing Dewey! (Hannah and Chris brought him with them from Louisville.) At first, Caleb was his usual reserved self, then he came out of his shell and had a blast! He loved playing on the Wii and quickly took to Beth, calling her his friend. Anytime he couldn't see her, he asked, "Where my friend?" After an amazingly good traditional Christmas lunch, we all sat around and visited for a while. We haven't seen Mary and Ron's family since I was pregnant with Caleb! When Caleb started getting a little restless with all of the chatting, we moved into the living room to open yet another round of Christmas presents. Memmie and Poppie had asked me to get a gift for Caleb from them, so I got him a scooter. I made sure to bring his helmet, so he could try it out while we were there. He loved it! they gave us a very generous gift of money as well. We gave them an electronic indoor/outdoor thermometer. They are just so hard to buy for!!! Mary and Ron and the girls also gifted us with homemade stockings (Hannah-the-seamstress!), books, paint-your-own dinosaurs, a Diego backpack, a beautiful piece of pottery, a Razorback hat (for me!) and a Razorback magic 8 ball (for Rudy). Caleb started getting very tired and very cranky earlier than we expected. We decided that before he could meltdown, we'd say our goodbyes and head for Hot Springs. It takes a while to say goodbye to that many people, but we managed and headed out the door. Once we got back to the house, the crankiness continued until Caleb finally said, "I want to go night night." I took that cue quickly and he and I headed for bed.

Once we were snuggled up in the bed, Caleb decided that he wanted to talk to me. I thoroughly enjoyed my Christmas night conversation with my sweet little boy. He talked all about everything that we had done and seen and all of the people he loves. It was a time that I will treasure for a very long time. I thought a lot of how Mary must have felt looking at her little boy on Christmas night and wondering what the world had in store for Him. I cannot imagine her joy or her pain. It is amazing that mothers see the miracle that their child is and can be, but hers was even so much more. What an amazing way for me to spend a little part of Christmas night.

I would be remiss not to mention that Rudy turned 33 on Christmas Day! It is always so important to me to make sure that his birthday doesn't go unnoticed. I love birthdays so much and his often gets pushed to the back burner because everyone is wrapped up in Christmas. Rudy asked for tickets to see one of his favorite comedians, so that's what I gave him for his birthday. He is always so humble about his birthday and graciously accepts everyone's wishes with, "Thank you and Merry Christmas to you." I don't know that I could be so gracious. So...HAPPY BIRTHDAY RUDY! Thank you for unselfishly spending your special day with my family. I love you.

This morning, when we woke up, Rudy and Mr. L. were gone to deer camp. They will be back on Sunday. Rudy looks forward to this every year. He can put away his thoughts of work and anything else and just sit around the fire with the guys, hope for a deer and relax.

Mom, Caleb and I went to Little Rock today in search of some new bedding for Caleb. When we get home, we're taking the front rail off of Caleb's bed. We searched high and low and couldn't find anything short of buying a whole crib set. No thanks and no way! The trip was a bust, other than our fantastic (and slightly nostalgic) lunch at Buffalo Grill. By the time we left our last store, Caleb was falling out in the floor throwing a fit. He was tired and wanted to go home. If you see me on the news sometime soon, don't be surprised. I swatted Caleb's rear-end in the parking lot of Burlington Coat Factory in front of God and everybody. Yep - sure did. There was nothing that 1-2-3 Magic was going to do to adjust that child's attitude at that point and there weren't enough M&M's in the whole city of Little Rock to bribe him to behave. I was pleased as punch when he asked to watch a movie on the way home. He didn't say a single word from Markham St. to Mom's house. Hallelujah!

When we got home, Mom called a lady who has made several things for her in the past and asked her how quickly she could make a comforter for a crib. She said if we got the material to her tomorrow, she can have it by the time we leave on Monday. I left immediately for Hobby Lobby and picked out some great fabric. Mom is taking it over there in the morning! Again...hallelujah! When I got home from Hobby Lobby, Caleb met me at the door and said, "LaLa made me cry." I looked at Mom expecting her to say that she had to get on to him and he melted down again. She said, "No, Caleb, you made LaLa cry." Uh-oh. Come to find out, he pushed his limits quite a few times while I was gone. Through a series of events, Mom eventually pretended that she was crying. She said it didn't phase the little stinker. I'm sure glad we have a few days at home before we have to go back to school/work. It's going to take an act of Congress to get this kid back in his routine and back to his usual easygoing self. I put him to bed tonight and when I went in to check on him, he was laying flat on his back, arms out and he was honest-to-goodness snoring - not breathing heavy - SNORING. I just laughed and covered him up, hoping he'll get a good night's sleep.

Oh...speaking of Caleb crying - he fell this morning and smacked his cheekbone on (get ready...) the toilet. He had a fight with the toilet and the toilet won! He looks like he took a good left hook to his right cheek. He has a complete circle right on the apple of his cheek that is bright red and is about the size of a silver dollar. I hope he doesn't wake up in the morning with a black eye.

We have no more big plans for our trip to Hot Springs. We're expecting some visitors tomorrow here at the house and planning to stay in and relax as much as we can. We don't want a repeat of today - the little monster needs to rest.

So, Santa, thanks for everything. You've done your job for the year. Now, go away and let us get back to normal. Well, almost...we can certainly hold off on going back to work!

Taking Roll 'Cause I'm Curious

I look at the Feedjit list of where everyone is coming from when they arrive here at my little piece of the web, but I'm so curious about who is actually reading what I write. I'd love to know who is reading, so if you don't mind...leave a comment on this post, or send me an e-mail: haleyvillines@gmail.com

Edit 12/26 - Thanks to everyone who has commented! If you haven't commented or e-mailed yet, it's not too late. An author really should know her audience...HA!

Christmas begins...

On Friday, I got to go to Caleb's daycare Christmas party. It was hilarious! There were 12 kids, a slew of adults and a whole lot of new toys for the classroom. Those kids were on those presents like lions on a baby wildebeest. Initially when the gifts were open, Caleb played with the dumptrucks and cars. Then, he saw present that he most wanted to get his hands on: the princess dress-up trunk. He stalked the little boy who was wearing one of the dresses and as soon as it was available - he jumped on it. He ended up with this lovely ensemble for the rest of the party: I think the rosettes and the purple high heels add the perfect touch, don't you?

When the party was over, Caleb and his classmates changed into their angel costumes for the Christmas program. We had been practicing Caleb's song for weeks! He knew the whole thing...including the hand motions. Everybody sing along now...(to the tune of Wheels on the Bus): The angels bells went ding-dong-ding, ding-dong,ding, ding-dong-ding; The angels bells went ding-dong-ding, the day that Christ was born (The angels horns went toot-toot-toot & the angels drums went rat-a-tat-tat...) Really, it was very creative and we were quite excited. Jerry, Sherry and Rebecca arranged their travel so that they could be at the church for the program. Rudy hustled home from work so he wouldn't miss Caleb's debut performance. We endured the singing of 2 other classes and finally, it was time. The angels marched in, holding their line-up rope, escorted by their teachers. They climbed the steps and stood on the stage. The music started. Caleb put 2 fingers in his mouth and froze like a deer in headlights. He seemed to be looking around for me, probably because I told him I'd be there to watch him. He didn't sing a single word. (Here's the best video I could manage. We're hoping to invest in a real video camera soon. Caleb is on the far right, towards the bottom.)

Regardless of the freeze-up, he was a very cute little angel.

After the program, we went into the foyer for cupcakes and punch. Santa was there, so we got a few more shots with him...and Caleb got in one more plug for Buzz, Woody and some cars. We also made sure to tell Santa that we would be at LaLa's for Christmas morning. Just in case he didn't already know.

After the hoopla was over, we said farewell to daycare for 2 whole weeks! We headed home and met Rudy, Jerry, Sherry and Rebecca. We all hung out at the house for a little while before heading to Las Palmas for dinner. YUM!

Saturday morning, we hit the ground running to get ready for the Villines family Christmas dinner at our house. Rudy baked a ham and we made hashbrown casserole, green bean bundles, creamed corn, rolls and deviled eggs. It was quite an undertaking for our first holiday hosting experience! Caleb asked all day about when his "Cousin Elle" would be getting there, so he was excited when Rudy picked up Todd, Tammy and Elle at the airport and made it back here just in time to eat. We hosted Jerry, Sherry, Rebecca, Tom, Alan, Terry, Steve, Todd, Tammy and Elle. Whew - that's a houseful of people! We had a great time, though! The kids loved playing together and everyone had a chance to visit and catch up. Jerry, Sherry and Rebecca gave Caleb a big tractor-trailer truck that is a case for his cars. He LOVES it! We are grateful to have a home where we can host a family meal and grateful to have a family to host. I think we'll definitely do it again!

When the last of the Villines family trickled out into the bitter cold night, Rudy, Caleb and I all but crashed into bed. We were pretty tired! Caleb's cough got to him in the middle of the night, so he ended up in bed with me and slept until almost 9:00! Yeah!!!

We went to Ft. Smith today for Christmas with Jan, Grandma, Chris, Todd, Tammy and Elle. Again, the kids had a blast playing together. Jan prepared a fantastic meal for us and Caleb received some fun gifts: 2 dinosaur books, Happy Feet (movie), a Curious George book and stuffed animal, a tabletop sandbox, Fridge Phonics, a tractor and a doctor's kit. He's modeling parts of the doctor's kit here: After dinner, it was evident that Caleb was starting to meltdown. He had missed his nap and been so overstimulated by the events of the past two days - it's a wonder he didn't just collapse in the floor. Being the trooper he is, though - he managed to keep it together until almost the very end. He said some tearful goodbyes, then fell asleep in the car about 30 minutes after we left Jan's.

Now, we're home again for a quick turnaround before leaving for Hot Springs on Tuesday morning. As I write this, the laundry machines are humming and I'm enjoying my last few moments of our Christmas tree. I'll take it down shortly after we get home next week. The boys are both sound asleep (vision of sugarplums dancing in their heads?) Tomorrow is packing and last minute errands for Christmas.

I realize that gifts aren't the important thing about Christmas, but to keep a record and to keep me honest on thank you notes, I'll also add that Caleb has gotten a Toys R Us giftcard from Doug & Lisa and an electronic bowling game from Todd, Tammy and Elle.

12/22 Edit: We opened gifts here at home tonight before leaving for Hot Springs tomorrow. Strictly for the sake of the scrapbook and my memory, Rudy and I gave Caleb: some Cars figurines, a WonderPets search and find book, a doctor dress-up set, a cowboy dress-up set, some play food with pots and pans, some football PJ's, a sweatshirt with a bulldog on it, a camo vest, a recorder, an echo microphone and some play-doh. He quickly retreated to his room to introduce the new cars to the old ones and played "racecar" for quite a while before coming back out to make a big mess in the living room with the toy food. It was over an hour later that he decided to venture into the dress-up stuff. The cowboy suit didn't go over too well. He didn't like the bandana and that was the end of that. The doctor set only had a lab coat to wear, but he paired that with his other new doctor playset and I got a thorough physical. He's all kinds of excited about going to see LaLa and Pops tomorrow. He must have asked me a hundred times tonight if I was "packing up" then threw a holy fit when I told him it was time to go to bed. He seemed to think we were leaving tonight. Oops. He's asleep now. We'd better hit the ground running tomorrow morning or he's going to come unglued!

And so Christmas begins...

Croup

I'm thinking of changing the title of this blog. How does "Infirmary Report" sound? Catchy, huh?


Fayetteville schools were closed on Monday, so Rudy took Caleb to the pediatrician to try to get something to stop the cough that developed on Sunday. Also - Caleb had some strange welts show up on his arms and his face on Saturday night. We think maybe they were related to the massive amounts of LaLa's banana bread that he ate over the course of 2 days. The bread has pecans in it and he's never had pecans. That was the only thing we could figure out that was different that might have caused welts. (Side story: Caleb was riding home from school in his carseat and found the bag that had his leftover banana bread from breakfast. He asked me what it was and I told him. He then ate it and said, "Mama, I want more 'nana toast." I thought that was pretty funny!) Anyway...the doctor prescribed allergy medicine. Our pediatrician has prescribed allergy medicine approximately 80% of the times that we have gone to see him. The allergy medicine never does anything and we end up going back 3-4 days later, seeing a different doctor and finding out that Caleb has either a bad respiratory infection, an ear infection, pneumonia or our new one...croup. We tried the allergy medicine and whaddyaknow...it didn't work. Caleb's teacher told Rudy that he couldn't sleep yesterday at naptime because of his cough. He "slept" with me last night because he was awake from approximately 1:00-3:00 coughing his head off. I called the pediatric clinic this morning to try to see a different pediatrician but everyone was booked solid. We ended up at not-so-convenient care again, like we usually do. When we finally got in to see a doctor, she listened to him and said that he probably had croup. She wrote a prescription for a steroid (not orapred) and put him back on albuterol. We came home with a Happy Meal and Caleb is now in bed. I can hear him coughing and it breaks my heart. He's coughing so hard that I'm afraid he's going to throw up. I wish I could make it better. I hope the medicine helps...fast.

Tomorrow is Caleb's Christmas program at school. I'm hoping to get some video of it and (of course) a bunch of pictures. I found out today that they have costumes. He's going to be wearing angel wings. Mrs. Natalie said that he doesn't like them. Figures. He does know his song and the motions that go with it. Should be interesting.

Jerry, Sherry and Rebecca are coming to see us tomorrow. They are hoping to get here in time for the Christmas program. We're going to go out to dinner tomorrow night. Saturday afternoon, we're hosting the Villines family for Christmas. There will be approximately 12 people at our house Saturday night for dinner. Rudy is baking a ham and I'm making hashbrown casserole, green bean bundles and deviled eggs. We're also having rolls, corn and a couple of pies. Rudy and I are excited about this. We've never hosted a Holiday meal before. Fingers crossed...

Santa

We did it! We got a good Santa picture this year! Whew - just one of those things you hope for every year and feel pretty fortunate if it happens.

I haven't written anything since I had strep throat. Yes - I am feeling better. My throat cleared up about 24 hours after starting antibiotics...as promised by the doctor. I was back at work on Tuesday and we rolled through the rest of last week as usual.

We were excited to have an extended visit from Mom this week. She came up on Thursday afternoon and stayed until this morning. She spent Friday visiting some Rogers school and getting some information about year-round schooling. She met me at Westside after school and went with me to get Caleb from school.

Once Rudy got home, we went to the Promenade to see Santa. We got there when he was on "feeding his reindeer" so we had to wait about 25 minutes, but we were first in line when he got back and Caleb did awesome! Before we went, we started talking about what he would tell Santa. With a little coaching from one of Santa's helpers (AKA: me), Caleb practiced asking Santa for some things that just happen to be hiding in our guest closet. As soon as he got the go-ahead, he climbed in Santa's lap and said, "I want Woody and Buzz Lightyear and cars." The boy knows what he wants in life and I guess he's not afraid to ask for it. I couldn't hear the other things he said to Santa, but we managed to coax him into looking in the direction of the camera and got the money shot! $15 later (Thanks, LaLa!), we left the food court headed for MiMi's to eat dinner. Once we got in the car and drove away, Caleb started asking about his toys. I guess he thought he was going to get the toys when he visited Santa. I never even thought to prepare him for that. So - we talked about Santa having to go back to the workshop and how we have to wait until Christmas. Then we talked about how Santa is going to come see us this year at LaLa and Pops' house. He seems to be okay with that, but he did ask me again today if he could go see Santa again today.

Caleb's behavior at dinner was less than stellar, so by the time we were finished eating, we were ready to go home! He wasn't behaving badly - he was just so busy and we were just so tired from the week. We had planned to go to Fayetteville to see the Lights of the Ozarks, but we scratched that plan and went home to put on our PJ's.

Saturday was a lazy day. We sat around all day, playing with Caleb and visiting with Mom. Rudy cooked a fantastic dinner for us and then he and I went to Stacy and Donald's Christmas party. When we told Caleb we were going to a party and he was going to stay with LaLa, he decided that they would have a party too - a Lightning McQueen party to be exact. He immediately started asking for cake. When we left for the party, he and Mom were in the process of making a cake. They ended up having a party in the living room. Mom said that they were having a great time, then Caleb said, "We got no balloons, LaLa!" She assured him that the next time they have a party, they will have balloons. It's funny what kids associate with a party. I guess for Caleb, it's cake and balloons.

When it came time to wind down for bed, Mom was trying to turn on our TV and she told Caleb that she couldn't figure it out. He said, "I show you, LaLa!" and went over and pushed the power button. Mom said it was a little embarrassing that her 2 year old grandson had to help her turn on the TV, but she saw the humor in it too!

I woke up during the night feeling queasy and have had tummy troubles all day. I'm starting to think that my body is rebelling against Sundays. I seem to be sick every Sunday. It's ridiculous!

Rudy played in the Christmas musical at FBC Springdale today. He came home between services and took Caleb to the park while I took a nap. After the evening service, the two of them went to eat at Red Robin.

Tonight, we're looking at the possibility of some crazy weather - including some ice and snow. Of course, we're hopeful for a snow day, but not holding our collective breath...

Oh Holy Night...

I have to hear this every year to know it's really Christmas. I laugh every single time. I swear, it'll bring a tear to a glass eye.

SNAFU Weekend - Strep Throat

First, let me say that Poppie is home from the hospital and recuperating well. Praise the Lord and thank you Baptist Hospital!

Last week was a pretty normal week for us. We worked and played and carried on with our routines. On Friday afternoon, I picked up Caleb and took him to buy a new coat. We were hoping to go to the Lights of the Ozarks on Saturday night and maybe even go see Santa. While we were out shopping, I started feeling a little jittery. We finished up our shopping and headed home. I felt really tired all night and just couldn't get warm. At one point, I was in the floor by the fireplace, wrapped up in a blanket. Anyone who knows me well knows that I don't usually get cold. I'm the first to wear short sleeves in the winter because I typically run warm...and I get cranky when I'm hot. So, me sitting by the fire with a blanket is out of the ordinary. When Rudy put Caleb to bed at 8:00, I went too. I slept like a rock all night and most of Saturday morning. I got up on Saturday and did laundry, but had to sit down between loads and ended up taking a nap. My throat was sore and splotchy with huge tonsils, but I wasn't running fever, so I discounted the idea of strep. I thought it was just tonsillitis.

Rudy and Caleb played all day on Saturday and I loved listening to them laugh and have fun - even while I was feeling crummy. I just wished I could join them! They went out for pizza on Saturday night and brought the leftovers home to me. I could hardly swallow the pizza, but it tasted so good. Shortly before bedtime, Caleb told us he didn't feel good. This was the first time he's ever done that, so I wasn't sure if he was serious or if he was saying it because he knew that I didn't feel good. Again, Caleb and I went to bed around 8:00 and I was out like a light quickly! At 2:30, I woke up to the sound of Caleb crying from the other end of the house. I shot out of bed and went to his room. I didn't even have to turn the light on to know that he had thrown up. The smell was awful! I picked him up out of his bed and took him to the bathroom to clean up. Rudy was hot on my heels and took the unpleasant job of cleaning up the bed. He actually had a t-shirt tied around his mouth and nose. If it weren't the middle of the night and if our child wasn't sick, the whole scene might have been a little bit funny. But - it wasn't. Caleb never threw up again. I put a folded sheet on our bed (just in case) and put him in bed with me. Rudy slept on the couch. We woke up Sunday morning and Caleb was fine. He watched cartoons in bed with me for a while and then I took him to Rudy. I was feeling absolutely horrible. My throat was almost completely swollen shut and both of my tonsils were totally white. Ugh. I went back to bed and Rudy and Caleb alternated between playing and watching TV most of the morning. I alternated between sleeping and finishing laundry the rest of the day. Rudy cooked a wonderful dinner that I could hardly eat and we called it a night early.

This morning, I woke up still feeling gross. I went on to work because I'm already starting to run short on sick days. When I got there, I went straight to the nurse's office. I asked her to take a look at my throat and told her I hadn't had any fever, but was worried that it might be more than tonsillitis since it was still hanging around. She told me I needed to go straight to the doctor for a strep test. I gathered some things from work and went to the walk-in clinic. The doctor there took one look at me and said that there wasn't even any reason to do a strep test. She could tell me by looking in my mouth and listening to my symptoms that I had it. She prescribed an antibiotic and sent me on my way. After an hour and a half wait at WalMart for my prescription, I stopped at McDonald's for a milkshake and some lunch. The milkshake was wonderful, but I couldn't swallow the lunch, so I threw it away. Do you know how hard it is to throw away hot McDonald's fries???? I came home and got in the bed - goofing around on the computer for a while before falling asleep for the majority of the afternoon. Now, I'm going to try to get some work done and maybe get started addressing the Christmas cards. The doctor said 24 hours on antibiotics and I should be good to go back to work. That's a good thing because I have a crazy schedule this week!

Last Year's Santa Picture

Does anyone think we can possibly beat the Santa picture (complete with obscene gesture) from last year?

Maybe we'll give it a shot this weekend. Short of Hooters girls and a keg, how much worse could it get and still be legal?