Radio Silence.

You're right.  I said I had ALL sorts of time on my hands.

Then kids got sick, I got sick, birthdays happened, Holden got REALLY sick, and I had to finish Christmas prep.  (i.e. waiting in line at the post office).  As Christmas approached, I was not on the computer as much, I spent the time enjoying the Holiday with the boys.  They're becoming pretty cool people and I really enjoy hanging with them.

I'll blog a lot of the events as they happened, but for now I'll leave you with our "Christmas card".
I was pretty sick/still having a hard time with my ankle and wasn't able to stage our annual family pic.  In the new year, I promise. 

Too much time on my hands...

With entirely too much time on my hands last week, (Kenny is in school full day now - as he turned five last week),  plus receiving the depressing news of having to delay school - I decided to bring cheer to my house.

Christmas cheer, that is.

So, thanks to Ikea and some free printables, I decorated two walls for about $50.

Here are the final results:

Not Ikea... or a free printable.
But the boys have been begging for a nutcracker
And this guy got me in the right frame of mind.
Uhm... yes.  That is B's inhaler. What? Don't you decorate for Christmas with albuterol?  
The boys named this guy "Mr. Sweet". 

The boys and I made snowflakes...
Not all of them turned out well. 

I redeemed myself, I think. 

Free "Let it snow" printables, in three different styles.
(Yes, I could have made all of those myself.  Interwebbing it was easier.)
Ikea silver frames.
Foil snowflake wrapping paper to cover the mats.
Cut out snowflakes.
Unamused husband.
It's not super flashy, I know, but it fills the giant blue wall, and I
love that it is more winter-y rather than Christmassy,
that way if I get lazy I can leave it up and not freak people out... too much. 

Crappy pictures, I know.
This is at the top of our first stairwell.
Four more Ikea frames
Four more free printables.
What you can't see is that the colors all coordinate.
The other 8x10 is Linus' speech from "Merry Christmas, Charlie Brown". 

I've done more, but these were things I did while vegetating on the couch. They may not be the coolest thing ever, but, I'm proud of them.  I'm not so great at the decorating side of life - so this is a pretty big deal.




**Side note**
In an answer to a much asked question, there is no problem with our dog and our pig - because we no longer have our dog.

We haven't spoken of it much, because we were very sad.  Back in August, she woke from a bad dream and charged Holdeezy.  She grabbed his face (There were also teeth marks under his chin.). We got very lucky that she didn't grab his eye and that essentially all that happened was that he got scratched.  Since the attack was unprovoked by Holden, and we are not sure what triggered it - she went back to the rescue society to be rehomed to a family with no kids.

It's not nap time yet...

But I'll blog anyway.

Now that I'm here, I'm not sure how to start...

I'll go with this:

1. Five weeks ago, I snapped my leg in half.
Last week, I started putting weight back onto it and today I drove the kids to school for the first time in over a month. OI!
But a good oi.  It's nice to be gaining a little control back over my own life.  It's very humbling to have to rely on so many for so much.
I cannot express how thankful I am, truly.  Hubband and I are blessed. 

So with what is the end of the worst of the leg saga, (I'm sure I'll complain once or twice about physio...), I'll leave you with my x-ray.

The only part that didn't break was the titanium reinforced ankle area...
Leg bones, broken. Foot bones, broken.
Ankle? Not broken. 

2. I am currently registered for a full course load at the local college.  I have been pretty stoked about the idea of returning to school.
Unfortunately, a snafu with the program I'm using to pay, it looks like I'll have to delay.  Again.
A very difficult concept.  To be so close, and yet so far - as they say.
So, I am sad. Very, very, sad.


3.  On a happy note - we brought home a new family member.  We call her Lola.

This is an extra small dog bed.
She is TINY. 

Weren't expecting porcine... were you? 

So far, she is fantastic.  She is already litter box trained, is unfazed by the noise my circus can create, and is not afraid of the vacuum.  Oh, and she's adorable.
Both of her parents are under 11 inches tall, weigh about 35 lbs and she will be about the same at the end of her growing period - in two/three years.  Not exactly huge.
It feels good to have a pet in the house.  I'll also not lie, and tell you that bringing home a little girl - even if it is a little girl pig - was FANTASTIC.

So thats our life the last five weeks.
It's amazing what can happen in that time period, isn't it?

Big happenings.

And hopefully this week, during nap time, I'll post about them.

But I really wanted to say - HOW IS IT DECEMBER ALREADY??????


With that, I hope this season is merry and bright for all of you.

I know that I've gotten bitten by the bug a little stronger than normal, thanks to my couch sojourn.
That will be posted, too.

For now, just enjoy these guys.
I'm a sucker for acapella groups...