The Saturday 7

1. I read a couple books this week. I don't know what got into me! One was The Bookshop on the Corner by Jenny Colgan. It was recommended on the Modern Mrs. Darcy blog and sounded like something I would enjoy, so I placed it on hold at the library. It was cute and a fun read. Perfect for sitting in front of the Christmas tree with a cup of coffee.

The second book was back to my good old inspirational fiction: Lady of Milkweed Manor. It was kind of heart-wrenching. I actually put the book down at one point because I didn't think I could read it. But then I had to see what happened, so I flipped past a few pages, skipping over the part where she has to give up her newborn. It was set in the 1800s and had a lot to do with wet nurses - something I've heard of, but haven't read much about. It was very interesting. But I wasn't thrilled with the ending.

2. We did a few fun Advent activities this week. We went to Five Below as a family on Tuesday so the girls could buy each other presents. We read Christmas books in front of the Christmas tree and drank hot chocolate:

We went to Lucy's Christmas concert at school last night.

Pre-program picture. I don't even attempt to take pictures of the actual concert in the dark, crowded gym. Lucy was in the last row of the risers, we were in the very back of the room and could only see the top of her head anyway. Haha.

Tonight we went to a special showing of the Polar Express at the theater. It was a Flick's Family Film, so the kids were free and adult tickets were just $5 each. The girls love going to the theater, even though they're both scared of the loud noises. Lucy ate her weight in popcorn and Lena guzzled a blue slushie.

Dark theater pic

3. On Wednesday all 3 kids got to open their "special ornament." I buy them each an ornament every year that chronicles a milestone or interest they had that year.

This year, Lucy got a Hello Kitty Reading ornament . . . not because she's particularly into Hello Kitty. It was just one of the few ornaments I could find that had books on it. Lucy's reading skills skyrocketed this year and she's discovered a love of books.

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Lena got a Big Sister ornament since she became a big sister this year. It was surprisingly hard to find! I ended up with this one from Amazon:

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And of course Levi got "Baby's First Christmas." This one was on sale at Kohl's, so it's what he got. Haha.

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The girls were awesome when they opened their ornaments. They squealed in delight, jumped up and down, declared, "It's so cute! I love it! Thank you, Mommy!" and gave me big hugs. I seriously can't wait for Christmas if some silly little ornaments elicited that kind of response. They're getting a pretty exciting gift this year and I sure hope to see that kind of enthusiasm again when they open it. (And no, it is not another brother or sister. Calm yourselves.)

4. We all still have our stupid, awful, never-ending colds. My parents both have it now too. So far, the only one who has stayed healthy is Justin. The rest of us are hacking our guts out and going through box after box of Kleenex. Just when I felt like Lena and I were getting over the coughing, it started anew for both of us. Mine is very rattly and all in my chest, so I'm pretty sure I'm dying of pneumonia. And Lena's is just non-stop. The poor girl is miserable. Her upper lip is chapped from wiping her nose so much, she can't breathe, she can't stop coughing, and then last night her ear started hurting. She was up all night crying, so I knew it must be infected. For the first time in my 6+ years of parenting, I took a kid to Urgent Care today. (Lucy's been to the ER twice, but this is only the second ear infection any of my kids has ever gotten!) Lena did great, and was indeed diagnosed with an ear infection (complete with some kind of fluid filled balloon on her ear drum which could cause it to burst??).

She was not very cooperative when the doctor tried to listen to her lungs (she did not grasp the concept of "deep breaths"). He said he's pretty sure she doesn't have pneumonia, but the antibiotic he prescribed for her ears will knock out anything going on in her chest too, if necessary. I wanted to say, "Can you listen to my chest real quick, too?" but I'm a chicken and I didn't.

5. I can not believe Christmas is only 15 days away!! December is flying by! I have two more presents to buy . . . and they might just be gift cards if I'm not struck with some last minute inspiration. Almost everything is wrapped. I even have most of my stocking stuffers bought! I love Christmas so much.

6. Well this is long, so I'll wrap it up with a few more pictures that haven't been on facebook: