Happy 10th Birthday!

Happy Birthday, my precious precious boy. I cannot believe you are DOUBLE DIGITS!!! Where has the time gone? The first time I laid eyes on you, I had no idea what a blessing you would be. You are smart, funny, handsome, kind, and loving. You make me proud every day. Ten years have gone by in a flash! Ten years ago tonight, I sat on my hospital bed and held you in my arms. I had no idea how much work it would be nor how much I would love being your mom. What an awesome kid you have become! I love you! Happy 10th Birthday, Landon Slade Smart!

And Still Sick

And after I posted about the flu this morning, I ran some errands and went to the mall a few hours alone(mainly for my sanity). When I got home, Finley was running 102 fever and I ran her up to the Kids Clinic. Yep, now she's got strep throat. Geez!!! The Smarts need some immune boosters!!!

Sicky Sicky

I had every intention of getting all my Christmas photos and Gunnar's bday pics blogged and then it happened.............

The FLU! It arrived just in time to ruin our week!!! I've been doing alot of holding this boy all week. It's not been the best of times this week at our house. Here's the story. All last weekend Finley ran fever and laid around. She said nothing hurt but she was just cold and tired. No other symptoms besides fever, so I figured she caught a cold. On Sunday night, Gunnar started running fever. I thought he caught Finley's cold. We didn't have school on Monday, so the baby I keep(have I mentioned I keep a baby on M/W/F?) came and I had a house full of kids. Monday night, we woke up to Gunnar running 103 and we finally got it to go down by about 6 that morning. Of course, I couldn't send him to school (sadly, bc momma needs a break) but Slade and Fin got ready and went. Finley at this point is still dragging, but no fever and just is tired. I called my drs office and made G an appointment because I figured he needed his ears checked just to make sure we weren't sitting around with ear infections. At this point, he still only has fever, nothing else. At the drs office, she wanted to swab him for the flu and I was thinking that he doesn't have flu, but whatever. Well......ten minutes later she comes back and tells me he has the flu AND rsv. WHAT?!?! That is crazy! We figured that Finley also had the flu that weekend and probably passed it to Gunnar. Super. Another week in the house!!! And the baby was exposed on Monday and she couldn't come Wednesday or Friday.

None of us have ever had the flu. So I rushed to the health food store. We've been taking Oscillococcinum.

 Poor Gunnar has been on this and Tylenol and Motrin every three hours.

 I've also got the entire family on these.

 And some of this. Yes, I have germ issues. But I really don't want the rest of us to get sick.

 Night time and nap time has been a nightmare. Gunnar looks like a baby in this photo-funny! As miserable as it has been, I'm so thankful that he and Fin only had fever symptoms. And as far as the rsv, he hasn't coughed at all. Very strange!?! He's just been a grump.

 I felt horrible that I didn't know Finley had the flu. She came home from school on Tuesday and Wednesday, worn out. She fell asleep Wednesday and slept several hours, which is very NOT like her. So I decided to keep her home with Gunnar on Thursday and let her rest. They both haven't had an appetite and are so tired.  Fin stayed in her jammies all day on Thursday.

I'm pretty sure Gunnar has lived on chocolate milk the past two weeks. I'm hoping his appetite will return soon! He's on the last day of his meds while I continue to clean, spray, and pump us full of vitamins!!! And as far as myself, I have been with a child/children since December 21st and it's starting to  wear me down. I really, really need a day to run errands and frankly just get out of this darn house!!!! House arrest is no fun! Please excuse me while I spray Lysol.

School Parties Or Party......

For some reason, my photos are not spacing in the correct order and it's really on my nerves! Oh well, here it goes, in no particular order.......

Finley is working on her shaving cream snowman at her Kindergarten Christmas Party. 

Here's the letter that started the puppy ordeal, fiasco, or whatever you want to call it. Santa is still on the naughty list.

This is Gunnar chasing bubbles in his school room one afternoon in December when I came to pick him up. I love to watch them when they don't know you are there!

Finley all dressed up the morning of her school party. Here's the deal with the parties.....I went to Finley's on the Wednesday before school was out. I didn't go to Gunnar's on Thursday because it was at a time where I would have had to leave him there and I was afraid that my being at school and leaving him there would ruin his day-and the teacher's. They just have a little snack and exchange a book so I didn't feel too bad for not going. And poor Slade missed his fourth grade party. He woke up with the upset stomach! Of all days! He was bummed!!!

 Finley and Kyle

Finley and I at the library during her party. I cannot believe that half of the school year is gone!!!

Christmas Morning 2012

On Christmas morning, we woke up to a WHITE CHRISTMAS!!! After very unusually warm temps all through the month of December, this was a treat!!! What a perfect day for snow!!!

Kyle and I woke up before the kids and could not wait to show them the snow outside our windows! This is Slade in his camo in the snow later that morning.

My photos ended up not spacing out in the correct order for my story, so I will have to do the best I can! So we woke all the kids up around seven so they could see the snow. Santa had left their gifts under the tree. Slade got a new airsoft gun, Gunnar got a little wagon with some goodies inside, and Finley had this note left in gift sack...............

It was clear to us that the only thing Finley wrote on her Santa letter was that she wanted a dog......

All three of them were stunned when they opened the door to the washroom and this ball of fluff ran out! I think Finley was speechless. She's been wanting a dog for a while now. Looks like Santa is in big TROUBLE!!! :)

Christmas breakfast was homemade blueberry muffins, eggs, and bacon.

Gunnar ran fever the entire week of Christmas and he has refused to eat more than a morsel for two weeks now. This is him "eating" his breakfast.

Enjoying the puppy after opening gifts.

Dreaming of a White Christmas

Gunnar loved his Fishing Game!

The pup watched Finley open all her gifts.

Several days later, Finley decided on the name Austin. He is 7 weeks old and is a Shorkie. He is half Shih-tzu and half Yorkie.

Gunnar was just happy to run around in the paper and mess with the dog.

This was Christmas Eve-we bribed G into eating a yogurt pop.

Finley's forced smile as she left Santa his homemade cookies and milk

The Smarties-December 25, 2012

My Favorite Things

I have a ton of pics to post, but what better way to start a new year than to post a few favorites!!!

Gold Bond Ultimate Soothing and Fragrance Free Lotion. I'm just not a fan of scented lotions party because they make me itch. Plus I just like the fact that it's light and fresh smelling. My hands are terribly dry and I love this lotion. It absorbs quickly and leaves kind of a non-sticky barrier. I also plan on applying this to my scratchy feet this winter!

Urban Decay Naked Palette 1. This is the first palette-there is also a Naked 2 but I loved these colors. I've been reading about these eye shadows for a year and how people loved this palette. I've really wanted to try it but it's $50 and I just couldn't do it. I finally gave up and walked into Sephora and bought one. They say the colors last forever and there's 12 shadows. It also comes with a shadow base. It totally love this product and have had the best time playing with it. I've been stuck in a rut about doing the same thing to my eyes and I wanted to try some new things. There's tons of tutorials on You Tube and I just google one and try it that day! Well worth the money!

Simply Right Premium Wipes. Ok, so I have tried lots of wipes in my ten years of having a children in my house. I don't know how I lived the 25 years before without wipes. Perhaps you could even call me a wipes snob. I've tried Pampers, Huggies, Target, WalMart, Organics, Walgreens, CVS, Dollar General, etc, etc, etc. These are THE BEST WIPES, EVER. They are the perfect wetness. Not too dry, not dripping wet. They are perfect thickness. Not too thick, put thick enough that you finger doesn't poke through. They come in plastic with a lid that clicks closed so you don't have to put them in a wipes case. They are easy to pull out of the container. They are unscented and super affordable. They are from Sam's Club and I make a special trip there just for wipes every few months. I use them on everything-tushes, hands, feet, faces, carseats, floor boards, tile, sinks, tables, anything. Best. Wipes. Ever. Go buy them now.

I just got a new personalized iphone case from Shutterfly. Mine is like this but turquoise and has my three kiddos, of course. Kodak Gallery also has great ones, too. This is my second case with photos and I get tons of compliments on them. They are on sale at Shutterfly right now for $27.

They're Real Mascara by Benefit. Another product I've read about on blogs and decided to try. This is the greatest mascara! Your lashes will look at least half an inch long. It is amazing and I have not had any trouble with it flaking or running under my eyes. Love, love, love it! Ordered it from Amazon and also have bought it at Sephora.

Boogie Wipes. Since Gunnar's nose runs from September through April, I have found these awesome little wipes. You know how your kid's nose looks like Rudolph and they scream bloody murder when you wipe it with a wipe or kleenex or rag. Well, this clever little invention fixes that problem. It doesn't have any alcohol and it moisturizes their little nose. The are fantastic and they smell heavenly. I've also tried the WalMart brand and the are devine, too. I took two packages and left in Gunnar's Sugar & Spice class for all the little snot noses there! A must for runny noses!!!

Beth Harbison. Sometimes you just want to read something easy and fun and light. This author has some cute stories. This was the first one I read and it was a fun story. She has a handful of books and I'm on my third one.

Tozzle Puzzle App. My 27-month-old discovered this app on our ipad and he is OBSESSED!!! It is an awesome app where they move the puzzle pieces to the correct spot. The puzzles vary in degrees of difficulty. It is actually amazing what he can solve. He puts the ipad on the fireplace hearth and just works and works on the puzzles. He's so pleased with himself when he finishes one. Great app! Gunnar is playing it right this minute!

Short Sexy Hair Hard Up Gel. This is my boy's favorite hair gel of all times. It will keep their hair spiked all day long and perhaps the next day, too, when Slade neglects to use shampoo during his shower. It might even poke a hole through paper if you mashed it down on top........

Matrix Total Results Color Care Shampoo & Conditioner. Once upon a time, Halo made this spectacular shampoo and conditioner for color treated hair. It was marvelous and then they did this horrendous thing. They discontinued it. I have been searching for three years for a shampoo and conditioner. I discovered this Matrix product this fall and my heart is finally singing again. And my blonde locks thank them for it!!!

(Sidenote-sorry about the paragraph spacing. It looks just fine when I type it and then when I publish it's all spaced wrong?!?)

Happy New Year!

                             Happy 2013 from my family to yours!