This year is over.

I finally just downloaded all the pictures from all the Christmases off the big camera.  It was roughly 250 pictures.

So.

For the next week there will probably be a lot of pictures coming at you with very little words as I try to document them day by day.... You've been warned.

But for now I'm overwhelmed and tired.  Trying not to be bitter at all the people celebrating a new year and all of it's new possibilities with the loves of their lives as I sit here fresh off a breakup with the manfriend.  Sorry, just being honest. 

So I'll leave you with the one rocking picture from the hoppin' evening at the Carver house.

That tray has hot apple cider and lime/salt pop corn (omg, it's amazing) with The Fox and The Hound playing. I let my little man stay up with me a little later than normal. He's funny though. I would try to cuddle with him, lean up and put my head on him, and he would inch away from me, not ever taking his eyes off the tv.  Dude's not a cuddler.

Merry Christmas Ya'll!

 

From my family to yours, I hope that God blesses you and provides for you richly, in ways that can only be recognized as coming from Him.  Merry Christmas!

Updates

Back in this post I asked a couple of questions...I'm happy to report I've got a couple of answers.

In regards to Luke's water-in-the-eyes phobia, someone had suggested letting him take a shower. I'd tried the shower thing before, but it was a giant flop because I couldn't get him to tilt his head back far enough to get his whole head wet without it running in his eyes. But, that was a while ago and I wondered if time had matured him. The first time we tried it again last week, it was met with the same screaming and crying and clawing. Eventually, after chanting "Just trust me. Dude. Just trust me." enough we got through the shower and he almost immediately said "Oh. That wasn't so bad."

Really, son.

He's been taking a shower every night since, and it's getting better.  Now if I could just get him to scrub his own head.

As for Evan and her ever disappearing earrings, the answer was screw backs.  My grandmother had bought her some nice pearl earrings for her birthday and I'd forgotten that those were screw backs. I ordered some silver studs from Amazon (the kind that covers the post totally so it's not poking her) and stuck the pearls on her in the mean time. The ear she kept yanking on doesn't appear to have gotten more infected, the new little CZ studs look darling on her, and the pearl ones survived their week of wear.

The scowl picture of Luke went over well on Facebook. So much so that I'm waiting for some internet meme to pop up with his face.

It was the alternator. Yay. But God has put some amazing people in my life. I'll leave it at that.

This morning as I was getting ready for work, I kept hearing a little voice. I figured it was Luke and sure enough, I poked my head into his room and he was just laying there in bed talking to himself. I sat down with him and we visited for a minute, but I guess our voices woke Evan up because soon there was a "Mum? Mum? MUM." coming from the next room.  I went in to get her and she was standing at the end of the crib waiting for me.  Before I could even pick her up she started patting her head.  I asked her if she had a boo boo and kissed it. She shook her head no, kept patting it, and said "Hat. Hat. Hat."

Oh.

All right then.

The only hat she has is her little owl beanie. We went and got it off her bow board (where I keep it clothes pinned), asking her if she wanted to wear it.  She nodded yes.

 

She wore it the rest of the morning until they left with their grandmother for the day.

 

And yes. Luke has a navy and green one to match.

Beginning of Chirstmas

This weekend was a BUSY one.  Thursday Ashley came over and stayed with the kids since Cindy had to go out of town to get her oldest from Virginia.  Luke actually woke up before his sister did, so we spent a few minutes sitting under a blanket in the glow of the Christmas tree while we waited for Ashley to get there.

Now that's a pretty darn good way to start a day.

Friday night the kids spent the night at Mom and Dad's because it was the company Christmas party!  We all look forward to this all year long.  And let me tell you, it did not disappoint.  Being a tech company that doesn't really have customers come into the office, we are allowed to dress very casually.  So, Carrie and I (she's the owner, a friend, and the only other woman in the office) like to have everyone get all gussied up for a fun night out.  It was cocktail attire at the country club, and like last year, it was a casino theme with games.  So fun.

SO FUN.

I'm sorry to say I didn't get even one picture with my camera, I was too busy chatting and playing and taking advantage of an open bar.  BUT, several weeks ago when I bought my dress, I tried it on at home for approval from the girlfriends.

It was a big hit that night. Imagine it with fancy makeup and hot rolled hair. 

Saturday was Christmas with Dad's side of the family.  Luke had a great time opening some of his presents and "helping" others open theirs.  He tried to "help" his sister a few times, but she gets the concept of opening presents more than he did at this age, so she doesn't really need help.

She found a pen and some paper and was scribbling away. I got a ton of pictures on my big camera, but that's at home. On the camera.

Sunday was church, nap, and then the candlelight service in the evening.  That's where the trouble began. 

Evan's Sunday morning bed head. I can't get enough of her.

I went to turn on the car so we could go to the candlelight service, and it had trouble turning over. It took a minute, but I got it to start.  Then at the stop light at the end of our subdivision, the radio randomly turned off.  Halfway up the street (I live VERY close to the church building) the clock, all the back lights on the dash/console, and the headlights started to slowly dim to off. Right about the time we were pulling into the parking lot, all the little icons on the dash board started to blink- the airbags, over drive, seat belt, etc.  I coasted into a parking spot and turned the car off.  Just for kicks, I tried to start it again.  It didn't eve turn over.

*sigh*

We went in, I found Dad, told him what all happened, and he left to go get the battery charger and hooked it up for me. After the service and the pasta dinner that was served, he switched the car seats to their car so that they could take it in for me this morning.  They let me take their car home and to work today.  I am so so so very blessed to have such giving parents.  There is absolutely no way I could survive being a single mom without them.  They go way above and beyond to help take care of me and my babies. I can only hope that I am able to repay them one day for all that they do.  So thankful that God blessed me with them.

And now lets all pray that it's just a wire that got loose when I got the oil and some belts changed on Saturday instead of something like the alternator, mkay?

Photo dump

Ready for a photo dump? I brought my laptop over to Mom and Dad's for Christmas with my dad's side of the family and I got some pictures from Dad's camera, as well as put some from my camera on here.  Sorry for the back log of pictures, since I've already blogged about (most) of these instances.

 

Going to see Santa.  I can not get him to smile naturally, this would be his lovely forced smile.

The Christmas parade. Loving these shirts I made for them! Christmas, yet they'll still be able to wear them in January.

This is the day we went to Northpark and saw the train display.

 Ya'll.  This picture kills me.  After I saw how it turned out, I made him look at it. "Luke. Look at your face. Is that a terrible face or a beautiful face." "It's a terrible face. But Mom. I was tired of smiling and I didn't want to anymore."

 We went in to Anthropology and they had the cutest little aprons for girls to match their momma's.

This morning- our company Christmas party was last night and the kids spent the night with Mom and Dad. She did this all, all by herself.

Train, the lazy elf

As of Saturday, Train the Elf still hadn't shown up to our house.  Honestly, I was putting it off as long as I could.  I love the idea of it, and everyone's elf pictures seem so fun, but.....in the words of pop culture today....I ain't got time for that.  More specifically, I remember last year what a pain it was to remember every night. And how most nights I forgot. 

Regardless, I knew that time was slipping by and it was time to jump back on that bandwagon. Saturday morning we (Mom, Dad, Ashley, and I) had taken the kids to Northpark so that Luke could see the train display and it was not a successful trip.  Luke is normally an EXCELLENT shopper, but he was not having it that day.  Kid must be going through a growth spurt, because he was starving 2 hours after breakfast (this is my kid who can go forever without eating) and every meal he demolishes his plate.  Anyway, the point is we were trying to walk around the mall some but after 3 giant melt downs, a spanking in an alcove, with a subsequent fit for 5 minutes where he sat in the corner, we left and ate lunch. After lunch we went home and both kids took the longest nap ever. During this long nap I made both of them "count down to Christmas kisses" ribbon and when they woke up Train had "brought" them. 

Yay.

I did good on Sunday, but by Monday night I'd already forgotten my new task.  Tuesday morning I'm trying to rush and get them dressed when Luke says "Hey Mom! Lets go find Train!"

O_O

Oh. You mean the elf that's supposed to move every night and didn't this time?  Right. 

I was in the middle of changing Evan's diaper when he said something, so I stalled him by saying I wanted to go with him to look but I had to throw away Evan's diaper first.  Which happens to be out the back door, past where Train currently was.  I made him wait in his room while I moved the dang elf onto the Christmas tree, tossed the diaper, then went back to get Luke.  We "found" him, but Luke wasn't thrilled about Train on the tree.  Apparently I've made a little too big of a deal that no one is supposed to touch the tree.

Anyway.  Last night I almost forgot again.  But then Luke got up about 30 minutes after he went to bed to go to the bathroom and asked me if Train had moved yet.  *ahem* No. No he hadn't.

BUT, that made me remember to not fall down on the job, and I moved that sucker as soon as his door was shut again. Off the tree, onto the crane of Luke's train table. 

This morning the first thing Luke said to me was "Mom! I want to go find Train! By myself this time."

 Yes darling.  You can go by yourself this morning.  Tomorrow?  I'm not making any promises.

And now pictures from the past week that have nothing to do with my story. 

Still love wearing my girl!

 

I thought maybe Evan was ready for a pillow, so she'll start learning how to sleep without flopping around ever where.  It's not working out just yet. This morning I found her with her feet on the pillow and her booty in the air.

 

Shae texted me this picture with the caption "Someone found the Oreos before I found her!" and then Sunday night at small group Evan found a bag of opened shredded cheese.  You could see exactly where she pulled it off the counter and walked around with it by the perfectly formed cheese trail on the floor.  God bless my friends.

Changes, Sweet Children, and Questions

If you're reading this, you found me!  I've been toying with the idea of switching over my URL to something other than what it was. The cl in clcarver stood for Cody and Lindsey Carver. 

Well, that's been out of date for awhile now. 

The only trouble was I didn't know what all changing the URL would entail, what was available, or what would happen.  I really thought that the internets would magically forward or redirect people from the old one to the new one, just like I've seen other's do.

Nope. 

I went see if the name of the blog was even available as a URL. Not only was it available, but it changed it RIGHT THEN. No warning. 

So I went to some people's blogs that I knew had mine listed and when I clicked on my name it said that site had been deleted.

Well that didn't go as planned. 

I quickly got the word out on Facebook and Twitter about the change, plus changed all the links on my profiles, but still.  I know I'm gonna lose some people.  Sorry for the inconvenience of having to change your own links on however you normally get here.  I didn't mean to cause trouble.  Promise. 

On the plus side, can we just be glad that it's one more thing that I've taken back for myself?  ;)

I would also like it known that my children have been a dream lately. Makes me wonder what they are storing up for me.  Monday night was probably the best night we've had in a long time.  They (okay Luke) actually ate his dinner (Evan always eats her dinner). After Evan's bath, there was time to sit on the couch and talk with Luke while she puttered around.  He had a note pad and a pen, so we were making lists.  I helped him spell rnt. Which is "ornament" in 4-year-old writing.  Actually, it's a really good "ornament" considering he heard a middle phoneme.  Developmentally speaking, when trying to sound out words, kids only get the first and maybe last phoneme of words until mid kindergarten.  Anyway, there was no fussing or fighting.  Just sweet quality time.

This morning was sweet too.  Luke got up a little earlier than normal, stumbling into my room and claiming he needed the heating pad for his ear.  I set him up in my bed, which lasted all of 30 seconds and he was "all better". I asked him if he wanted to go pick out a shirt to wear today, and....get this.... he said YES. Sweet baby Jesus.  Getting dressed is usually kind of a battle.  He told me he would pick out and put on his shirt, I could do his pants.

Yes child. I'll pick between the two pairs of jeans you have clean. 

Sucker. 

But not fighting this morning was so nice.  Now if only I could get him to bathe himself, most of our battles would be over.  I CAN NOT get that child to get his hair wet by himself.  And forget about scrubbing the shampoo.  You'd think I was torturing the poor boy.  Is that weird or normal?  And while I'm asking questions, I can't get Evan to leave her earrings alone.  Several mornings a week I find the post and back in her bed, she's pulled it out before she goes to sleep.  Any tips or tricks?

18 months

Christmas Parade on Saturday. You and Bubba wore the shirts I made you.

My beloved child.  You turned 18 months on Saturday!  I wanted to wait until your well check last night, so I could officially say that you weigh 29.7 lbs and are exactly 32 inches long. (to compare, here is Luke's 18 month well check. When I was less wordy.) You, my love, are a big girl! You wear size 2T clothes and have been in a size 5 diaper for months now.  You take one nap in the afternoon, and are out for the night usually by 7:45- then you sleep until 7 in the morning. 

(still a very restless sleeper. I learned my lesson, AGAIN, when I let you stay in bed with me. You slept. I didn't.)

You still eat just about everything I put in front of you (except hot dogs.  You do not like hot dogs) and most of the time go back for thirds.  I can feel the toddler pickyness coming on, but it hasn't hit yet.  You've got 4 front teeth on top, three front teeth on bottom, and all four molars.  The birthmark on your jaw is fading, but your personality is exploding. Words: Momma, Bubba, baby, shoes, thank you, all done, gone gone, hi, bye. Favorites: eating, climbing, Luke, exploring curiously (as opposed to mischievously), your baby and your paci.

(older picture that I've used before, but I still love it)

Evan Elaine, you are such a little GIRL! This morning as we drove to Miss Cindy's house, I was putting on my make up (at the stop lights only, of course).  I looked back to see you rubbing your hands all over your face when I put on my sunscreen and waving your arms wildly as I fanned my face to get my eye shadow base to dry.  Whenever I put on chap stick you "MomMomMom!!" while patting your lips because you want some too.  When you see me getting out the nail polish you "OooOooOoo!" while brushing your nails because you need your nails painted too.  Even though you take your shoes off every. time. we get in the car, all I have to say is "Evan, can I put on your shoes?" and you trot right over saying "Shoes! Shoes!" Normally I clean the bathroom when it's nap time or after ya'll go to bed, but a couple of weeks ago I needed to when you and your brother were awake.  As I kneeled in front of the tub, scrubbing it with a paper towel, I look over and you've gotten yourself a wad of toilet paper and was scrubbing the inside of the tub too. I love you.  I love you.  I LOVE YOU. 

But, little girl, not only do you have a sweet side, you have SASSY side.  You love you're brother.  You love to play with him, follow him, mimic him, and ANNOY him. When you find his cup, you always take it to him. You think it's funny to bang on him and when ya'll fight over a toy, he's getting quicker about ducking out of the way of your flying fists. He's still not so quick about getting out of the way of your chompers.

You are opinionated and vocal.  You get very grouchy when you are hungry (no idea where you get that from. O_O ) You say "HI!!" to every person you pass- grocery store, restaurant, church- and yell "Bye!!" as they walk away.  You have the cutest little twang in your voice, people can't help but smile.  You love to smile.  Such a happy girl.  Happy girl that is looking more like her Aunt Ashley these days.  (Is she going to be Want Washwey to you you too?)

 

Oh baby girl, you rock my world.  Between your sweet big brother, with his curious mind and million questions, and you with your perfect feminine ways and precious spirit that shines in your eyes, my world is so much better than I could have ever expected.  The two of you bring love and laughter and frustration and satisfaction every single day.  I couldn't imagine my world without you.

Medical Disasters

The past week has been a total and utter medical disaster.  It all started a couple of weeks ago, actually.  Evan came down with a wicked wheeze and a (mostly) nightly cough.  I've been there lots of times before with Luke.  It's reactive airways.  She's got it, he's got it, life has gone on.  I really thought with some time it would get better, but it just wasn't.  So began our decline.

Monday, November 19th-
I get a call from the kids' grandmother that Luke needs stitches.  I told you about it in my last post, but it's medical and it happened in "the week".

Tuesday, November 20th-
Mom and Ashley bring the kids to have lunch with me at work.  Luke has been begging for months to come see where I work, and it finally worked out that Mom got to keep the kids since she was off for the the week.  Ashley said that Evan sounded really bad and needed to be seen.  My pediatrician closes on Tuesdays at noon, so that afternoon was out.

Wednesday, November 21st-
Mom called early that morning and managed to get Evan a 9:30 appointment. Her oxygen levels were only between 93-95%.  That doesn't seem low to most people, but actually....it's bad.  If she didn't sound better within 24 hours she was going to be sent to the hospital.  Kim put her on breathing treatments 4 times a day for a few weeks and an antibiotic in case there was some underlying infection and to prevent pneumonia.  Also, she noticed that Luke's stitches were gone.  YES. My 4 year old REMOVED his own stitches in bed the night before. When questioned about it he simply said "I took them out because I'm all better now." She thought it looked fine and didn't put any back in. I got to leave work at noon that day, and we spent the rest of the afternoon at home.  Thomas the Train came on PBS and someone wasn't to sure.

When he scooted around the corner I just turned it off and deemed it nap time. 

How pitiful is that?!

That night when I undressed Evan for her bath, I noticed these welts all over her torso.

As her bath progressed, so did the rashes.  I watched a place grow on her arm while I did her breathing treatment.  It spread to her back, under her chin, and up her shoulders. I could tell it was itching her and causing discomfort.

I freaked out. I had no idea what to do, what it was, or who to call.  I ended up texting pictures to Mom and Ashley, Mom suggested Benydryl cream.  Her and dad ran to the store for me, and I slathered that stuff everywhere. An hour later it was completely gone and I haven't seen it since.  Nothing new had been introduced that night for it to be an allergic reaction, so we are all stumped.

Thursday, November 22nd-
Happy Thanksgiving!  I made a special pinterest breakfast of cinnamon roll waffles.

You know, where you just cook cinnamon rolls on a waffle iron instead of the oven.  Delicious. It was a quiet day with lots of food, spent at Mom's.  The manfriend came over, and we had turkey and dressing and cranberries and pie and beached ourselves to watch football.  Good day.  Sweet company.  Blessed.  Plus Evan did respond well to the treatments, so no hospital for us.

Friday, November 23rd-
Luke complained that he didn't feel good, and requested to have his temperature taken.  He didn't have one, so I thought nothing of it.  An hour later I looked over and his ear was draining down his neck.  Poor boy's ear drum had burst.  I'm guessing he'd been harboring an ear infection for at least a week and didn't complain once.  I called the pediatrician to tell her the good news about Evan and to let her know about Luke, to which antibiotic ear drops were prescribed.

Saturday, November 24th-
I like to call this zombie day.  Luke didn't go to sleep that night until 2:30 because he was in so much pain, and Evan woke up at 7.  Oi, it was a long day.  His ear was still draining, and the pain seemed to get worse throughout the day.  He would randomly just burst out in sobbing, and he couldn't even eat because it hurt to swallow.  Plus, a nice little fever had kicked in.

That picture just about sums up Saturday.  And Sunday for that matter.  I spent the entire day just trying to make him comfortable.  Any trying to stay patient.

Evan got to stay in her p.j.'s too.  What better to wear when you're all about making mischief?

Sunday, November 25th-
Luke slept through the night, but was still in so much pain he couldn't even turn his head.  I called the pediatrician in tears, because I knew the drops should have worked by now.  There was just so much drainage that it couldn't get down in there.  She told me to take him in somewhere, so off to Acute Kids we went.  Two hours later we had a prescription for a super strong oral antibiotic to kill the infection that was in his highly inflamed lymph nodes. 

Those last three days with him being miserable just about did me in.  You know it's bad when you run out the door to a clinic with no shower and no bra.  At least Evan was a happy little girl.  She may be a walking tornado, but I don't think I could possibly love her more. 

That? Is happiness.

Kids and their quirks

You know what they don't tell you about kids? Is that the young ones never. stop. talking.

Like, EVER.

Last night Luke spent 10 minutes telling me about lobsters and crabs.  Where they live.  How to pick them up.  How to handle them without getting pinched.  What the pinchers are for.  How to eat them.  What the shell is for. 

And the questions.  Oh, the questions.  What is your favorite? (no subject. Just my favorite. So I always say him and Evan. Because, what else do you say to that?) Who is your son? Who is your daughter? What's your favorite fruit? What's your favorite color? Do you like Bobcats? (the machinery) Why is our garage door slow? Do garage doors go fast? Are they quiet or loud?

Not even kidding.  That's just off the top of my head from our 5 minute conversation this morning, which happened as we were perched on the end of my bed.  He'd just woken up and wandered into my room, with socks on his arms.  Mind you, these are the socks I'd put on his feet last night before I tucked him in.  The socks that were on his feet this morning had been in a drawer the last time I saw them.  I asked him what was going on with the sock situation, and he said that "I didn't want my arms to get cold and also I can pa-tend they are grabbers and now can we go eat bwek-sis?"

(Luke's PTA program on Tuesday)

But that face.  Oh, that face.

It's a face that actually has a couple of stitches in it. 

He and Evan were fighting over an iPad yesterday, in a tug-of-war style tussle.  He eventually overpowered her and yanked it out of her hands, but the force sent the corner of it flying into is face and busted his lip.  Busted it clean up his lip.

Don't tell him this, but every time I see all the little strings in his profile, I get a quivery inside.

Two Saturdays we took the kids to a model train show.  That was probably the quietest I've seen him in a long time as he absorbed all the sights. 

There was actually some neat little exhibits, complete with miniature people and town scenes and everything.  Evan wasn't quite as impressed as the rest of us.  She put her trusty climbing skills to use.

That girl climbs on everything.  Which has been a giant adjustment considering Luke didn't ever climb.  EVER.  I had some ottomans that I would use to block the entrance to the kitchen and he never even tried to get over them.  Evan has been know to climb up bar height chairs and get to the food on the table. 

It's a good thing she's so darn cute.  I love love love her morning hair.  Most of the time it's all swoopy and I love it.

Poor girl seems to have the same breathing problems as Luke did, though.  I've finally broken down and started her back on breathing treatments. 

Neither of us like them. I'm hoping it helps though, because her sleep hasn't been very restful lately. 

When you can pull her out of one car, take her inside, put her back in another, drive to a restaurant, then pull her out again and she still doesn't wake up, then you know you've got a sleep deprived girl on your hands.

So, that's life over the past 10 days.  Oh! I did go ahead and put up the Christmas tree on Saturday.  Which was not nearly as festive as last year.  One over-eager 4 year old and one cluelessly destructive 1 year old makes for an exhausting situation.  Both kids may have been brought to tears a few times, but we got it done.  And I still love them. 

I'm pretty certain they still love me. 

Roll is Called Up Thunder

For whatever reason, he's fallen in love with the song "When the Roll is Called Up Yonder" and we sing it every night. This was a few weeks ago... he knows the verse now and still sings the bass part.

Don't ask me what's with the gloves he's wearing. He's recently been described as "not your cookie cutter kid". Sounds about right to me.

Yesterday was a day dedicated to my girl and her food. And her hair. Today, I want to take some time for my boy.

I love this boy. He is so funny. And smart. And curious.

This kid will KILL you with questions. His memory is a force to be reckoned with.

He loves all things planes, trains, and automobiles. When I saw on the Discovery channel that they were airing a show about purposefully crashing a plane to gather data from it, I figured he would love it. So I let him stay up late with me.

I was right.

Other things he loves? Being with his Papa.

"Fixing" things. In this case, the table.

He loves to read and he loves his sister.

Most of the time. When she's not bothering him. Or biting him. Or touching something he doesn't want her to touch.

Sound familiar momma's of two?

Just a few minutes after I took that picture above, Evan was banging on the tray of her high chair. I told her to please stop, then two seconds later he leaned over and whispered "Evan. Keep doing it!" So. He's figuring out this big brother stuff quiet well.

He is loving (Joby was up at the boy's preschool the other day, and as he walked by Luke yelled out "Hey Mr. Joby! I wuv you!") and opinionated (don't get me started on our shirt/shoes/food conversations) and full of laughter (he recently figured out how to blow through a straw and make bubbles in his cup). The park is heaven and his current life's goal is to one day taste Dr. Pepper.

(excuse the blurriness)

Oh to be 4.