January 01, 2015 at 12:21AM

"Mom, I was looking out my window and in the air there are like these tiny as small as I can see orange dots and they're moving just like airplanes. " [S.S. all in one breath, and in a most concerned voice] [Me, the deflator of fantastical imaginations after bedtime]: "Then they're probably airplanes." "Oh." via Facebook

December 31, 2014 at 09:17AM

Apparently I needed more sleep yesterday. I think I was awake for a total of 5 hours! Feel much more awake now, though :) via Facebook

December 27, 2014 at 02:39PM

Somewhere in the dark, coldness of the night there was a bit of excitement. One girl came to tell me her sister was hurting and needed help. Long story short, there was a pretty nasty anxiety attack in process. Lucky for her, I'm a pro at those ;) so it eventually wound down just fine. I asked her to go back to her bed, finally, and to remember to let her sister know she was okay, and thank her for the help in the middle of the night. Her response? "Mom, it's not the middle of the night, it's, like, 7am." Okay, kid. First of all, it was totally 6:15, NOT 7. And second of all, don't you try claiming that either 6:15 OR 7am ISN'T the middle of the night! ;) via Facebook

December 26, 2014 at 07:58PM

We've been watching a whole lot of random food shows off Netflix today -- having finished off all the available episodes of Cupcake Wars and Cutthroat Kitchen. The girls tried pulling up Kitchen Nightmares and we had to change it almost immediately. We liked the concept, but we were shocked by the amount of extremely strong language. Bummer, since it seemed to have a solid concept. I'd have been content with standard tv editing, and was disappointed that that doesn't seem to be available. Up next: Chopped. We're running out of food shows, then we're going to have to find another theme to help us decide what to watch ;) Any suggestions or family-friendly episodic shows you've enjoyed? via Facebook

December 26, 2014 at 07:28PM

Michael really does work with some of the best people ever :) Michael sent an email to everyone at work so they'd know what's up since they usually go to him with problems. People from there contacted me within minutes to make sure we have everything we need. Another contacted us to see if we needed help getting the walks shoveled from the snow we've had today and came over to take care of that, then later brought dinner. We are extremely grateful that he works with such great people. It makes a difference in our lives to have such uplifting surroundings everywhere. via Facebook

December 26, 2014 at 12:19PM

What a... unique... Christmas we had yesterday! We managed to have both parents awake enough to open presents, though it was broken into two turns. We did breakfast, stockings, and a few presents before Michael and I both HAD to go back to sleep. Then, a couple of hours later we managed to get the rest of the presents open and had a delicious dinner my mom made and my brother/sil brought over. All in all it was a nice day. I think I managed to stay awake for a whole 5 hours (spread out) during the day. Definitely not what I was hoping for... but we do what we have to. The girls were excellent sports and seemed to enjoy the day. Michael is getting into that period post-surgery when it gets more uncomfortable, especially his throat, since they shoved things around to get back to his spine through the front. Really, sleep is the best option. We're extremely grateful for a friend who texted Michael this morning to see if our walks had been cleared. Since they hadn't, he came over and took care of it! A very thoughtful thing to do. All in all, it was a good Christmas indeed. Sabrina seems to be on the mend, though she seems to still run a fever a night and is still coughing, Lizzie is improving but probably a couple of days in recovery behind Sabrina, of course, but Kate is now wiped out on the couch with a temp over 101. We're glad we're used to low key ;) If we were used to running around and doing lots of things every day we'd be going nuts by now! Instead, we're enjoying a quiet day with some Cupcake Wars on TV :) via Facebook

December 24, 2014 at 10:44PM

When I was considering that I'd have to do all the Santa stuff alone this year I neglected some of the details. I do 95% of it anyway, so no biggie, right? Yeah... except that now I have to haul everything that has been salted away in the closet and in the shed to the living areas. That is the part that I usually have help with, has become vital that I have help with it, and that Michael isn't allowed to do, even if he could stay awake to do so. No lifting more than 15 lbs for probably 20 years (or maybe 2 weeks? who knows, every single person we talked to for information gave different instructions -- which is a totally different rant that I've worked hard to suppress) and no bending/lifting for the first bit unless absolutely necessary. Yes, I'm on shoe-tying duty. (I don't even wear tie shoes on my own feet so I don't have to do that! If that part has to continue then I don't care what anybody says, the man will be wearing Crocs. But I'm wandering into rant territory again.) So.... awesome. Now I'm wishing Santa had brought each child a single stuffed animal! Maybe I can turn Christmas into some sort of scavenger hunt!! ;) via Facebook