Please Tell Me This Is Normal

Tired

I'm going on I don't know...a lot of hours working and no end in sight.  I did take most of today off as we had Christmas w/ the Ambroses and I had a house to clean, and food to cook and children to take care of as my husband has caught the West Nile Virus or something and is pretty dead to the world.

But now I'm reporting away and watching some VH1 marathon about teen stars.  I love these VH1 shows.  I find myself getting very sucked into them.

Anyways...I'm tired of reports.   Looking so forward to Tuesday when I will only work about 2 hours.  Awesome.

3 Days in a Row!

I know...can you just take the excitement?  It is too much, isn't it? 

Today Emmy crumbled up her entire peanut butter sandwich at lunch and stuffed it into her glass of Egg Nogg, or "Christmas Juice" as it is known around our house.  And then promptly smeared it all over the table and herself.  Do you know how gross that is?  It was grossidy, gross, gross, gross.

Now Tim tried to tell me that it is not the grossest thing that has ever happened in our house.  Sadly, this is true.  But it ranks right up there.  He just thinks it is not that bad because he did not have to clean it up.

In other news, I have Tim's entire family coming for Christmas this Saturday.  And my house is the messiest it has even been since we have lived here.  And I have no idea what I'm going to cook because our fridge is still full of leftovers and the thought of cooking anything makes me want to faint.  I really just want to crawl into a bubbly bath and read and eat chocolate.  I'm Christmas'd out, dude.

Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas everyone!  By the way, Christmas as a parent is hard freaking work.  We had to wait up last night until the kids fell asleep and Connor was bound and determined to stay up so it was after 11 PM until we could get started with the wrapping and the stocking stuffing and what not.  Tim even had to sneak over to his office to retrieve some presents that we had stashed.  Which at midnight is cold, cold, cold.

We went to bed after 1 AM and I was a tired, tired girl.  And then this morning with the presents!  And the chaos!  Also, I'm pretty sure that Ems ate every single peanut butter cup in everyone's stocking.  She did share with her new baby pony, though, so at least she was somewhat thinking of others.

We've got a ham cooking in the oven and plans of cheesey potatoes, stuffed peppers, candied carrots, and peach pie later.

Okay -- I'm being summened to go play Mario....I'm off!  Have a Merry Christmas!

I know I need to blog more

Everyone always tells me that.  I just have a very hard time carving out the creative time I need to make that happen.  But I will do better, this I promise.  So, I do have something for you though -- everyone on my Christmas list will get this soon (probably after Christmas with the way my life is going as of late, but still -- they will be mailed.  If it kills me!).  (Which, by the way, what kind of place give you the Christmas cards, but no envelopes?  Bloody morons.  I sat down to do them last night and I had no freakin' cards.  NOT HAPPY.  At this rate ya'll will get my Christmas cards just in time for Easter).

Okay, here we go:   Things Our Family Learned in 2007 (but without the benefit of the really cool pictures that accompany it in the letter.  For that, you will have to wait.  You can marvel at them whilst you eat your jelly beans.)

1.      If your stomach hurts really badly, listen to your wife, stop being so stubborn and go to the doctor already.  It could be appendicitis. 

2.       Meeting your deductible two weeks into the year is never a good thing (See Lesson 1).

3.       Trucks sometimes die.  That is not fun.

4.       Sister-in-law's that give you a ride to work each and every day for months are awesome.

5.       Turning 30 is not as bad as we thought.

6.       Saying goodbye to your favorite preschool teacher at the end of the year is the hardest thing you have ever done.

7.       Sticking things up your nose is always good for a laugh.

8.       Pees, however, get stuck up your nose sometimes and require a quick trip to the doctor's office.

9.       Cousins are awesome.

10.   New baby cousins are super awesome.

11.   They yell at you when you put things in the new baby cousin's ear.

12.   Watching your children hang out and just play together is so very cool.

13.   Until they start fighting.

14.   Do not disturb Mommy in the bathroom unless someone is bleeding.

15.   It is possible to work 84 hours in one week.

16.   When you pray for God to let you know how to proceed, be prepared for his answer.

17.   It is very difficult to leave a ministry (See Lesson 16).

18.   Getting six stitches in your hand two days before you move does not make your wife happy.

19.   It is possible to move in two weeks, unpack, and then go on vacation one week later.

20.   It is not recommended.

21.   Two children under 4 do not handle a 4 hour flight well.

22.   Two parents with said children do not handle it well either.

23.   We may never fly again.

24.   Phoenix is very brown.  And dusty.

25.   There is no such thing as a good looking bridesmaid dress.

26.   Do not blow out the unity candle at Aunt Julie's wedding.  They frown upon   that.

27.   Seeing your family will make you miss them more than ever.

28.   Our God is an awesome God.

29.   Do not run away from Mommy and Daddy at the Grand Canyon.  This will cause all kinds of panic and they will not think it is nearly as funny as you do.

30.   Do not cover yourself in vegetable oil. 

31.   A combination of baby powder and Dawn is the best way to get vegetable oil out of your daughter's hair.

32.   Jello is delicious; however, do not eat the jello in the fridge that Mommy made for the funeral dinner.  She does not like that.

33.   Working at home is awesome. 

34.   Living next door to the church is really awesome.

35.   Do not color on yourself with permanent marker.

36.   Being a full-time Associate Pastor of Youth is just as cool as you thought it would be.

37.   It is amazing how God works.

38.   New friends are great – even when you can't "memember" any of their names.

39.   Do not dump an entire bottle of shampoo on the floor and then slide in it.  Daddy will start turning an interesting shade of red.

40.   Adrian is a nice little town and our new church is very friendly.

41.   We are now addicted to Culvers.

42.   Trying to make your own eggs may not work out as planned.  Ask Mommy or Daddy for help.

43.   It helps to remember to laugh when she acts her age (2).

44.   It is not a bad thing if you never make it out of your pajamas in a day. 

45.   Grandmas are easier than Mommies.  She barely blinked when I dumped her entire bottle of coffee creamer on the floor.

46.   Life is always better with a hug.

47.   Sledding is so very much fun.  For some of us, more fun than we remember.

48.   We have Christmas to celebrate Jesus' birthday.  Even if He can't blow out the candles on His cake.

49.   Mommy and Daddy will always, always love me.  Even when I'm naughty.

50.   Cherish the little moments and get as many hugs and "mooches" as you can.

Merry Christmas Everyone!

Love Always,

Tim, Jen, Connor and Emmy Ambrose

Twas a Holly Jolly Christmas

So I was seriously bummed going to bed on Christmas eve. I could not believe that we weren’t going to have a white Christmas. I was all hopeful all week, seeing as we had snow forecasted and everything. But nary a flake fell. And all that was forecasted was scattered flurries that would not produce any accumulation. Well, I got my Christmas wish as I came down the stairs Christmas morning. SNOW!!!! And lots of it!!!! Scattered showers….no accumulation….HA! (Idiots.)

There must be some genetic code in our bodies that tells children when its Christmas. Because I swear Connor knew Christmas morning. He woke up very, very early (when he has been sleeping in all week) and would not go back to sleep, nor watch any cartoons. He just kept hitting Tim and I over and over again to wake us up and giving us lots of slobberly kisses. Like, C’mon guys….its Christmas…wake up! We have to go downstairs and see what Santa brought!

So we trek downstairs to indeed see what Santa brought. We had cleaned up the living room the night before of all his toys and left his stocking and his Santa present sitting out. He made a beeline right for it!

Look Mama, Santa left me a Wiggles DVD!!!

Whoa, the Wiggles. Can you believe it? I’ve been wantin’ this one! I’m just going to push this around the living room a bit and see how well it pushes.

Huh. There’s stuff in this sock.

It’s a worm!

Look Mama, there’s a worm and a “F”! Can you believe it?

Christmas is the best day ever!

How do I get this open? Hmmm….maybe I should bite it…

This paper is delicious!

Who knew there was such a great book under all that fantastic paper!

This Christmas stuff is great!

Okay, since I think I’ve overwhelmed you with images, I will stop. Just call me a first time mom! It was a great, great day. I could gush forever! It was one of those days that just makes being a parent worthwhile. I don’t think I will ever forget it.

Later in the day, Connor’s Grandma and Grandpa and Aunt and Uncle came over. (My whole family). Let’s just say I think Grandma and Grandpa just ensured a good fiscal quarter for Fisher-Price! Holy cow did he get a lot of presents! Our living room is overflowing…

He went to bed just exhausted last night, but didn’t have a good night of sleeping. I think he was overstimulated. It was a big day with a lot for a little guy to take in.

He’s also started that “separation anxiety” thing, where he wants Tim and I all the time and gets real nervous if he can’t see one of us. I think with all the other people in our house, it made for a nervous night for him.

I leave you with one picture that’s my absolute favorite of the day. Why? I’m not sure. It’s just him looking outside at the snow. But I just love it. He’s so cute!!!!