Smart boy...

Loving his new Science toys!

(For the past week he has been begging me to teach him to sew. He actually does it pretty well as long as he can remember to put the foot down. Funny boy.)

While I am down the stairs, taring down the mound of Christmas boxes, I hear the computer come on. I had left Oscar and Poppy contentedly playing "space ship" in the two boxes I allowed to escape the razor, before I went downstairs.
I holler up the stairs to Oscar "Oscar what are you doing?" (we have a "must ask mom" rule with the computer)
He yells back down "I want to check something!"
Me- "What?"
O-"I want to go to NPR."
Me- "Why do you want to go to NPR?"
O- "I want to listen to the story about the dinosaur museum we heard in the car yesterday."

How could a mother resist such a nerdy request?

I came up and he had the computer booted up and said "I just have to go to NPR, it will be there."
I then explained that within NPR (which we have set as our homepage) there are a lot of different programs and that I would need to find it. Funny thing is, I didn't even remember hearing it. I had to call Rick to see which program we were listening to. It is amazing what my kids catch onto and absorb.

Now the only thing I have to worry about is curbing his Nerd genetic (certainly they are not my genetics, but i probably didn't need to tell you that) tendencies so that he won't be socially backwards, rather more well-rounded.

Progression of the shiner...

Day 4- Today we are getting better, more yellows and greens have appeared. Gravity also seems to be working on pulling the blue-green bruise and swelling down my face. I now have a bruise on the right side of my mouth. It has been really cool to see how may pretty colors have come out of the bruise. It keeps changing and the kids love to see what the new colors are each day.
I am their current physical science model. I suppose it's great to be good for something!

You wouldn't believe how many times I had to repeat my story at church today...glad to see that so many care, but tired of telling the story.

Day 4-I think I didn't get a photo on Friday (Day3) so here is Saturday's Pic.

Day 2- Christmas walk...Wow! I look really homely...

Day 1- Christmas-eve (sometime post-trauma)

Christmas Day

Christmas Day walk. I tried to get my kids to look at the same time, and smile, and this is what I get. I think they get this cooperative behavior from their father.
Poppy is loving her new set of "silkies" sent by grandma Edge. She loves putting on multiple layers and using them for all sorts of baby/toy things.
Oscar has been going crazy over his new science kits, cars and of course anything that Poppy received. I even have a great video of him dancing with her new ballerina doll. ( I was trying to post it and am having trouble. Maybe later I will figure it out.

Oscar also wanted to try out dad's new puzzle. He is the versatile gift kid. Anything that is new, must be explored!
Poppy received her first scooter. The only down side is that she won't really get to use it until spring. In the meantime she makes the rounds about the house.
Overall we had a fun filled Christmas that was very laid back.
The kids are loving their loot and I am about ready to pack up all of the Christmas stuff. Yesterday I loved it. Today I feel crowded. Tomorrow may be the end of Christmas at our house.

Shiny-er Christmas-eve Party

Edge Family 2nd Annual Christmas Eve Party

The Edge Family 2nd annual Mexican Christmas-eve party had a new addition this year. We like to call him Frosty. We spent the past week making him. The kids helped with the paper-mache and the painting. Little did we know he would be the bang of the party.(Notice that the "broom" in Poppy's hand has a blue handle...)

After a tasty Mexican dinner (short the heavily anticipated veggie tamales, due to Patty's kitchen miscalculating orders) we gathered around the living room for a bit of Pinata fun.
Soon it was Oscar's turn, and just as I snapped this photo (notice the missing broom handle) I was smacked in the nose with the handle.
To be honest, I truly had no idea what hit me. All I knew was there was a sudden gush of blood and I ran to the bathroom. Who knew just how much one's nose can bleed? After the considerate care of my house guests (which I really never got to see off properly) I spent the rest of the evening with a bowl, ice pack and tissues.
I didn't get to to wrap the gifts I was planning on, nor did I get to snuggle up to my spouse to play Santy-clause...nope, I was on the couch avoiding the blood going down my throat.
No need to fear, Ricky pulled off the whole Christmas story, putting kids to bed, played Santy clause, all while I watched/sat on the side lines.
Today...here is the shiner. It is getting better, but man it really hit me hard.
Oscar felt so bad and was crying. He even brought me Frosty's lower abdomen full of candy as a peace offering (that is, after he stashed a bag of his favorite pieces in his room). I felt pretty bad for him.
It did however take me back to his own shiner incident and made me remember just how bad I felt when he pulled the dresser on himself.
I'm sure this will be a Christmas party to remember. My friend Laurel who was there called today and said "We had a great time, until I was suddenly cleaning blood off your carpet." She also joked that this was a nice "Mormon" Christmas party (sans alcohol) and wondered if I could imagine what it would be like if there were alcohol involved???? It was also her husband Jeremy, who moments before we began the whole pinata process, joked that we should be video tapping it because someone always gets hurt...hahaaaa very funny!

Now the only problem is Rick not feeling like an abusive husband when we go out in public...

Next post will be our Christmas-day re-cap...

Christmas Preparations...

Well, we've got it, snow, that is. Not only so we have snow, but sub-arctic temps to go along with it. The kids don't seem to mind. They still find the snow an adventure.
Poppy received a sled ride to and from getting Oscar from school the other day. On the way home all of the "bigger" kids wanted to pull. Here is Spencer George (who by the way loves Poppy) pulling her along.
She also loves to climb up on the counter to play with our nativity set. I love this set but parents beware...it is the playmobile set and all of the pieces of each character come off...that means that their hair beards, halo, turban, etc... Wonderful for play yes, but horrible for a mom who tries to keep track of them.
Our solution has been to place it ont he kitchen counter. Not as many pieces get lost in the couch and around the living room. One time Poppy put a couple of wise men in the bookcase for safe keeping. It was a few days before we discovered them again.
Oscar had his Christmas party at his class. This is their lovely graham cracker house village. It was so pretty.
Oscar's teacher this year is wonderful! He adores her and she has certainly earned it. We stayed a little after school so she could open her gift. It wasn't the main gift. All of the parents pitched in ogether to get her a digital camera. She was still in analog world. She cried when she opened it. It was wonderful!

Now with school out, both kids at home, and a TON of candy around...I'm finding myself constantly battling the picking on each other. They can't seem to get enough of it.
Today was a no-junk food day, that is until Family Home evening and then they each only had one cookie.
I currently have the threat out that if they keep fighting...all candy (including the candy train they keep sneaking into) will go into the garbage. I"m just waiting for my breaking point to actually enforce it. I'm close...we shall see.

(Update...The train went into the trash. Followed by Oscar telling me that we (me and Rick) want to make this the worst Christmas ever... Yeah, too bad for poor decision making. One day he will forgive us. Oh, that's right, I think he already has!)

Sassy girl...

(Notice how bundled up the boys are?)

When Oscar was about Poppy's age he went through a phase where, for teh entire winter he would only wear "turtle shirts" meaning, turtle neack shirts. When spring and summer rolled around he could not stand wearing short sleaved shirts and shirts without a turtle neck. I was suddenly rememnded of this phase when Poppy for the past few weeks has insisted on wearing her summer clothes. She will be sitting there, shivering adn refuse to put some warmer clothes on.
Therefore to those of my loyal readers this will come as no surprise when I tell you that Poppy chose to wear the above attire on our way to drive Oscar to school. She was not deterred by the fact that is was a mere 5 degrees outside, oh no, in fact she insisted that she would not be cold.
Being the lovin' logic (aka learn from their choices) kind of mom, I let her wear it. It may be the first time in a long time that I was happy that the car took it's time warming up. It may sound horrible, but the fact that she had to remain cold for the full 20 minutes of the drop off gave me a renewed sense of strength that, indeed she would have to suffer the consequenses of her decision.
This morining came in the midst of a week where she has been particularly pushing her boundries. In fact there have been three stores this week, that becasue of bad behavior, I have actually taken things out of the cart and let my child cry the whole way out to the car, and all the way home. Meanwhile maintaining my composure.
I think it began with the mass consumption of candy she ate Sunday night during the ginger train assembly. Then there is the nap problem...or lack thereof. But today, I won...she is currently napping (it only took 40 minutes of me laying there making sure she would not leave her bed).
I hope to find a refreshed princess who will let me be the nice mommy I want to be, and not the mommy that has to constanty be butting heads with her.

On a positive note...she has been (in her more pleasant moments) a great helper, and super fun to watch getting excited about Christmas. I think this is her first Chirstmas where she is really getting it. Nww if we could just get it together (her and I) we will be set.

Failed...

I'm not quite sure the last time I have actually FAILED a test, and yet today at 7;30pm, my Dr. called to inform me that I did indeed FAIL my glucose test. dum, dum, dum...
One of my Doctors is in my ward and is a super nice guy. Tonight the message said something like this: "Hi Collette this is Dr.___ remember how we were hypothetically saying that you would have to do the three hour glucose test if your sugars were to high? Well, it isn't hypothetical, give me a call at the office and we will set it up."
He says it so nicely, just like earlier today when the scale revealed that I had indeed gained 6lbs this past month. His oh, so kind comment was "Yeah, I was gonna ask about that. You are above the curve (the optimal weight gain range) but your blood pressure looks great."
We then proceed to discuss exercise and diet (which really haven't changed)...and then I FAIL the test.

To be totally honest, I'm not surprised. I have failed this particular test with Poppy's pregnancy and I have done the three hour test before...but it stinks! You have to go fasting and they then give you this miserable drink, and it makes you want to throw up and dizzy(which if you do throw up you have to start over) and you have to stay there for THREE hours getting your blood drawn every hour...

This all happens after a Sunday full of inquiry of "when are you do? you are huge!" Yeah, I suppose I'm showing more these days than in the past.
How is it I can go from one month (Nov. appointment) where she tells me that I'm petite and that the baby is petite, to now I seem to be HUGE!!!
Ugh...gotta love pregnancy, here you have very little control and some foreign little being takes over and dictates what my body is going to do. These little souls have quite the ability to manipulate and change things at their own rate, regardless of how many spinning classes I teach, or the laps I swim, or the food I eat (Ok, so I do have some control there), they ultimately put my body in auto pilot and I am mearly the vessel with very few controls.
HUmmmm....so now I just hope to pass the next round so i don't have to have a resricted diet where I am certain, chocolate won't be on the menu.