Just This and That...

So just to catch up on the happenings at the Edmonds household. Starting with Abbigail, as the Last shall be First.

Abby: I often tell Abby it's a good thing she's cute. I also tell her if she'd been my first kid, she'd have been my last. Please don't think I'm mean. I love her very dearly. She's beautiful and a blessing and I'm so thankful she's mine. That being said, she's a fussy, needy kid. Nana says it's just because we have spoiled her. I don't recall specific dates and times said spoiling occured, though. What does Nana know, anyway. Pffff. *eye roll* Moving on. Abby has just recently cut two of her lower molars, which makes teeth numbers 7 and 8. Twelve to go. And she's progressed quite rapidly from walking to running. ("From then on, whenever I went somewhere, I was run-ing".) Which would be fine, except she's about as coordinated as I am. Luckily, she's a tough little cookie. It's a good thing....which brings us to

Arabella: My Bella-boo. My punkin-head. Bella is growing both in stature and the ability to facilitate mood swings. One minute she is my sweet, adoring three year old, I blink and she's giving me tween attitude. Talk to the hand, sister, not in my house! So we are working on various methods of discouraging that. I find for now the best is to explain (calmly!) that certain behaviour is not acceptable. She usually gets the point. We are working (both of us!) on using our "nice" voices, and also on manners. Like saying, "Can I have chocolate milk please?" instead of "Get me chocolate milk!" Oh dear Lord, if they made a cow that produced chocolate milk straight from the teat (I really hope that's what it's called) I give my right kidney for it. Chocolate milk is like crack to her. Sheesh. Anyway, we completed our fall semester of homeschool co-op and will be starting back up in February. I have taken a break from home lessons over the holidays be expect to start back up next week. My plans are to begin a more structured program with her in the fall, using Saxon Math and a reading program recommended to me by several moms. I like both of these because they are simple, scripted, and require very little planning ahead.

Dad (K): The hubby is good. He has begun his new job at Eastman Chemical and we are adjusting to his crazy schedule. They work 12 hour swing shifts. So for instance, he has worked third the past three nights. Now he has three days off. Then works four days, then has seven off. Etc. and so on. I bought a big dry-erase calendar for the kitchen to help us keep track. So far he is liking it a lot. And when the schedule falls so that he is off when I am working, he has been keeping the girls. So they are getting lots of quality time. So much so that some days when I come in he has that semi-crazed look in his eye and I know he's thinking, "A twelve hour shift is nothing compared to this!" Just kidding. K is a wonderful dad.

Mom: Oh, mother of pearl. Now me. Lets see...oh, I am going to be working at ETSU this spring, helping instruct the dental hygiene students in their clinicals. I'm really excited about that. What do they say? Those who can't do, teach! I am just trying to keep up with these little girls and be half the mother my mom is! It's hard! Being a great mom would be so much easier without the kids! ;-) I love my punkin-head and my Baby Precious, and I am so blessed to have them. I am looking forward to what the new year holds.

Calorie Rich and Battery Poor...otherwise known as Christmas

This Christmas was, as is usually the case with holidays, a mixture of fun, excitement....and yes, stress! Since K worked Christmas Eve and Christmas Day, it was up to me to get food, gifts, and kids to all our holiday parties. We managed to get everywhere on time and not forget any gifts, so to me that was a success.

It really felt like Abbigails first Christmas, even though she was here last year. She was three weeks old and pretty much comatose the entire holiday. This year she was wide open. She ran around, she climbed on things, she ate stuff (edible and not!). It was fun. The good thing about holiday parties is there are plently of people around to help keep and eye on her. Although if Aunt Rachel is anywhere in the vicinity, thats who Abby wants!

And Bella got a plethora of new toys, games, books, etc. I know it is fun for little kids but I am kind of wondering how you keep them from feeling entitled. For two or three days you are going from house to house and they get several gifts each time. Bella got to the point where she would open one, look at it a second, then grab another. If anyone has any suggestions on how to help little kids stop and appreciate their presents, I'd love to hear them! I want my kids to realize that some people don't get all these presents and blessings at Christmas!

Anyway, the holiday came and went, leaving my house looking like a Christmas party had thrown up here. Last night K and I un-decorated the tree (is that a word?) and this morning I started putting away new toys, washing new clothes, etc. I got a new vacuum from the parentals which should come in handy once I can actually see the floor again. And a new Keurig coffee maker from K, which will be nice when I lose stamina...which will probably be before we find a way to get this huge tree out of our living room. It was bad enough getting it in when it was all tied up. Hmmm...between K's new skilsaw and the new vacuum, we should be able to work something out... Would anyone think I am a grinch if I said I'm glad the holidays are over?

Here are some pics from our holiday. Remember, K was working, it's not that I wouldn't photograph him. (He is very handsome.)



Me and my beautiful snow angels, the day after Christmas.

Me and the girls, at my moms on Christmas Eve.

Abby's 'camera face'. Cute.

Ashy, Rach, Memmie, Me, Bella.

A Little Sticky...A Lot of Sap...

This year I decided that no only did I NOT want to use our puny artificial tree, I did NOT want an overpriced, dehydrated tree from a roadside stand. I wanted a real, honest-to-goodness fresh cut pine tree. I wanted the whole experience.

So my husband, who is usually very accomodating when I get these wild hairs, loaded us up last Saturday and we drove to Madison County, North Kakalacka. It was beautiful. It was sunny. It was freezing. And so began our Christmas Tree Adventure.

We found the tree farm that one of my coworkers had told me about, and a friendly Mexican worker directed us to the first field on the right. The first field on the right happened to be on the side of a mountain. In mud. Really deep mud. We got turned around and parked facing down hill and bundled up the kids. There were trees as far as the eye could see. And several men walking around with chain saws, which I have to admit was a tiny bit disconcerting, despite the circumstances.

Here is my wonderful husband, foraging for a tree and carrying
the baby. Yep, he's a keeper. (The big stick he's holding is used
to measure the trees by)

Bella shows off our perfect tree!

Once we found the tree, we flagged down a couple of men to cut it and

haul it down the hill for us. They wrapped it up and tied it on top of my

Forerunner, we gave them $35, and headed for home.

Then the tree went easily in the tree stand, the end. Yeah, right. Of course, the

tree stand was missing a piece, which I pointed out to my husband after several

minutes of effort. He continued to try really hard to make it work, then said to

me, "There's a piece missing." At this point you say, "Oh, really?" like it's news you

you.

$20, thirty minutes, and a new tree stand later:

At this point we were starting to realize a crucial fact to remember when

purchasing a tree at a tree farm: When at the tree farm, remember that any tree you

pick out will be two to three times bigger than you think it is once you get it in your living

room. Luckily, we have a big living room.

Bella and her daddy decorating the tree:

Our mostly decorated tree- I strung some beads on

later. The thing is over seven feet tall, and I think six

feet wide. She's a beaut, Clark!

Happy Birthday, Baby Precious!

I must be living in a time warp. Because just two or three days ago I gave birth to a sweet baby girl...and now she is already a year old! A year! And even though first birthdays are the best, I hated to see it creeping closer and closer on the calendar.

Even though Abby's actual birthday is Dec 2, we celebrated on Nov 27th because of Kenneth's work schedule. So at one o'clock we gathered with a house full of family and friends to celebrate the birth of Abbigail Skye.


Abby's cakes, the big one for our guests and
the little one for her to destroy! (I made them both!)
Abby trying to decide which part of the frosting
to eat next.

Me and Baby Precious.

One of her favorite gifts....big sis Bella loves it too!!!!

Pass the fried turkey!

So, a brief synopsis of our Turkey Day: We had a little chaos getting everyone dressed and out the door (although from the picture below you can tell I didn't spend any time on my hair- what can I say, I'm low maintenance!). My sweet potato casserole was DE-licious. My bro-in-law's fried turkey was soooo yummy. Memmie Renfro coudn't stand it and once again tried to wash the kitchen floor while we were all standing on it. (Apparently the 'cleaning' gene skipped my generation). I ate so much I didn't have room for dessert. The end.


Me and my family on Memmie's side porch.
Abby and Auntie Rachel

After dinner we went up to see some of my sisters' horses. Bella loved it.

I am not in this picture because I am so allergic to horses I can sneeze just

thinking about one. I kept a safe distance and tried not to breathe.

Halloween 2010

Halloween this year wasn't just any old Halloween, it was also Abbigails first Halloween. So I was super excited to dress her up.

Bella was an Elephant this year. Why? Well, because my niece Ashlyn was an Elephant last year, and we get her hand-me-downs. And as long as Bella doesn't mind wearing used costumes, that's what we're gonna due! I know in a year or two she will probably start wanting to pick out a particular costume. Until that day comes, I'm going cheap!

As for Abby, well, she lucked in to being born at a different time of year than her big sis and cousin, so she got her very own brand-new costume. With her dark hair and brown eyes, I knew from the start who she had to be...


Bella-Ellaphant and Princess Snow White.
Bella in action on Main Street in Erwin!

Abby visits Memmie Miller

Halloween was lots of fun this year. We made our usual family rounds, and met up with my sister, Aunt, and cousin for some trick-or-treating in down town Erwin. Abby got tired a little earlier than the big girls, so we headed back in early.

We had a great time and got a ridiculous amount of candy. And I tried my very best to help my children eat all their Reese's cups. It's hard being a mom, sometimes!