Sick of Sick

Mylie was generous enough to share her cold with most of the family. At the moment, Mylie, Zack, and Andrew are all home sick from school. They have low-grade fevers, barking coughs, and runny noses. If I owned a HAZMAT suit, I would be wearing it. I really don't want what they've got.

Last night my dad came over for Sunday dinner and we had our little Christmas with him. He's going to be in Texas for Christmas with Brooke's family and this upcoming weekend will be busy with Christmas parties and Andrew's birthday and baptism. My kids were super excited to be opening presents so early. Each present was a hit, as I knew they would be, since my dad got them the exact things they each had been asking for.

Maddie got some MukLuk slippers and a Nancy Drew DS game. She put the slippers right on and went off to play her game.

Andrew got the Pokemon DS game that came out recently that he has been requesting the past few months. He also got a Donald Duck DVD.

Zack got Stinky the Garbage Truck and a DVD featuring Stinky the Garbage Truck. This is the perfect gift for a six year old boy. He's been pushing buttons to make it tell jokes and sing and tossing his toy cars into Stinky's mouth whenever Stinky says he's hungry.

Mylie got a FurReal Friends GoGo the walking pup and is in love. She also got a Mickey DVD. She's a fan. Mylie named her battery operated dog Fluffy, but pronounces it "Fuffy." She was furious at me this morning that I would not let her take "Fuffy" on a walk around the neighborhood. We have a windchill of 21 degrees. Mylie is sick. It rained last night, so it is still damp, and the dog has long white fur that reaches the ground (so as to hide it's wheels). Mylie was very disappointed and explained that it was fine for me to let her walk her dog outside because she wasn't going to throw up.

I am disappointed that December is going by so fast. We have been dealing with one sickness after the next with our kids and we are going to have to work hard to squeeze in as many traditions as we can in the next two weeks. We usually go to the DC Temple Visitor Center to see the Christmas lights, the live nativity, and the displays from around the world. We have watched a few Christmas specials while drinking hot chocolate and we have decorated sugar cookies.

I must say that I am super excited that I was able to decorate even the lower branches of my tree and put out some of my more fragile decorations for the very first time in ten years. Now that the youngest is four, my house can be prettier at the holidays.

We tried to take Christmas card pictures last night. It really wasn't the best night to do it and I still haven't decided if I am even going to send cards out this year. Saturday night Mylie tattooed herself up both arms and all over her face with a black Sharpie. It took 30 minutes in the shower and 10 minutes being wiped with rubbing alcohol to have the ink fade enough that we could take some pictures.

As is the case every year, we have some good shots of Andrew crying.

I will be posting the hilarious pictures that don't make the cut. I think I like them just as much as the pictures that do turn out.

Uh oh, it sounds like Fuffy is trying to convince Mylie to sneak out of the house for a walk...