Turkey Pox

Monday morning we awoke to find our little lady had come down with a case of chicken pox.  On top of that the rest of us came down with head colds.  So, we have had to spend the week in exile. It has been a long long week. Our family has a hard time sitting around the house.  We tried to make the most of it and had some fun doing a few crafts.

Gram Andrea sent us these to put together.  Hudson was so excited to have a Christmas tree, it is amazing the things that he seems to remember from last year.  Hudson said that he little ginger bread character was named "Ginjo" and we have been hearing short stories about Ginjo and his ginger bread house. The activity really helped us get through an afternoon trapped inside. 

We tried to make a few trips to the park and go on walks everyday, but the kids didn't ever last very long. The combination of sickness and cold limited the amount they could handle.

We were sad to have to cancel Thanksgiving dinner plans with friends, but we made the most of the Holiday by making and eating enough food to feed five families.

Ellie learned the word "BITE" today.  When she spotted pie she would go crazy demanding "bite, bite, bite."

The longer you are trapped in the house with a bunch of sick people, the more you begin to scramble for things to entertain you.  I was strangely excited to make pilgrim and Indian costumes out of scraps around the house.  Jake was instantly sent back in time to 4th grade and was sweet to indulge my crazy by making Ellie and my Indian costumes.  

We have so much to be thankful for...

Simple Joys





Love




Little Things



Entrapment

     As I was cleaning up breakfast, Hudson devised his plan. It all started with the sound of Ellie crying in her room. Upon closer inspection, I found her inside her room with the door locked. All of the doors in our house have locks, and the locks cannot be unlocked from the outside. There is no way to push a pointy object into the end to release it; and the trim around the door eliminates the possibility of accessing the lock with a credit card. So, that left the task of using a screw driver to very slowly remove the entire door knob from the door. Add a screaming baby to the time consuming task and let’s just say I was less then pleased. So once Ellie was freed I got her dressed and ready to go. I headed for my room to get myself put together for the day, only to discover, my own room locked from the inside. Yea!
      About halfway through the first screw, Hudson notifies me that he needs to go potty, and guess what…..ITS LOCKED TOO! Heavenly Father decided to cut me a break and I was able to gain entry before Hudson created another mess for me to clean up. I’m sure you wont be the least surprised to hear that when I went to open Hudson’s door, it was locked as well. Now, this is the not the first time that he has locked one of the doors from the inside, however, this is the first time he has locked ALL of the doors! So, today as I removed each of the door knobs and reversed them all so that the locks are now on the outside of the door, I must tell you that I have a renewed sense of joy and peace with in me that only another enslaved parent could understand. However, it’s very quiet at the moment and I fear that can only mean one thing….Hudson is planning something.

      Sadly, the funniest and most shameful part of this story is that not two hours later, I happened to be vacuuming in Ellie’s room; when I heard the door slam and giggles echoing down the hall. I didn’t even have to try the knob. I knew I was trapped with no cell phone and no screw driver. I forgot to mention that Ellie’s door has a child’s lock on the outside door knob so that Hudson had no way to open it when she naps. Thirty minutes later I still had found no way to pick the lock and the window was not an option either. I ended up pleading with Hudson through the door to go get a neighbor to rescue me. Asking this of a three year old is just about as reliable as Timmy sending Lassie for help, but I had no other choice. Thankfully Hudson proved to be just as reliable as the famous collie, when he and a neighbor did in fact come to my rescue. I guess I have to chalk this up as another win for Hudson.

 
    This week, the kids got to go to the doctor and get shots.  Ellie had to have SIX and it hardly seemed to bother her. Hudson had ONE and he got so upset he puked all over the doctors office, and then he spent the next three days walking with a limp!  He is such a funny boy.  Speaking of being a boy, since we moved here all of his friends are girls.  We got to go to one of their birthday parties and Hudson was very excited. The only problem is that it was a princes themed party. Just look what happens when you are the only boy at a princess party...

                                                            What mom wouldn't be proud!
 
      I'm excited to say Jake and I finally finished our family tree project. I'm really excited about it, because Hudson loves to see the pictures. He loves to tell me who each person is and then we end up talking about stories he remembers from each person. 

     
 
 
     I took some pictures at the play group we go to at the library.  They really enjoy it. Ellie loves to climb anything she can find.  She is all over the place these days.   Of coarse when  Hudson isn't planning my demise he is playing with trains.  The boy is obsessed. Ellie is even learning to play them with him.  We taught him to pretend she is a dinosaur who is attacking the station so that its a game when she messes up the track.  We call her Elliezilla.  The crazy thing is that is actually works!
 

 
 

Thanks to these two, my life is never dull!

Its fun to go to the YMCA

   This week I decided to broaden my horizons a bit by taking up a new hobby.  Three days a week I wake up at five thirty A.M. to spend about an hour recreating with some sweet senior citizen women from our community. Now, before you start thinking that I'm some sweet "good doer", let me explain. 
   We recently joined the local YMCA near our home.  Along with our membership they offer a wide variety of classes. I signed Hudson up for a Gymnastics and swimming class, and he is loving it! He is the youngest kid in the class and it is truly hilarious to watch him participate. He definitely wins the prize for the most enthusiasm.  I'm sure every kid and observing mother knows his name already due to the fact that his teachers are constantly saying it, in a effort to keep him on task. He is such a funny guy!
    As for myself, I signed up for a class called cardio dance, thinking it would be a fun way to get some exercise.  When I showed up for the first class I found that I was about two generations younger then all of my classmates.  I stood there worried that I had made the mistake of signing up for a class that was going to be well below even my low level of fitness.  Imagine my surprise when hip hop music started blasting through the gym speakers.  We immediately dove right into the first of a dozen choreographed dances set to modern music. So, imagine me dancing with a dozen women the age of my grandmother to hip hop music. Now imagine that I am the one who is red faced and stumbling over my own feet, because although I'm ashamed to admit it, that is the reality. The old gals can really move! They are really sweet and even take time to offer me tips and bits of encouragement like, "your doing great honey, don't worry you'll figure it out."  The grandmas have to encourage me!!! It is a lot of fun, challenging, and very humbling!

Aside from the YMCA, the kids have been really happy and good.  We have even had some nice warm days at the park......



It all started out so innocent.




Things took a turn for the worse.



Eventually I gave up on her clothes all together.

She fell face fist into the mud.

 

 This is what Ellie's bad influence can do.