Good Reminder!

Remember when Madison got a sliver in her foot? Well, we were able to re-schedule the Dental appointment she had missed before my health benefit open enrollment period was over, which was awesome because now I know I can plan my health care reimbursment account accordingly, since braces are in the plan for 2008.

Also, last year Madison had an eye exam and ended up needing glasses for reading and seeing the board at school.

After the very expensive glasses (with a well cushioned reimbursement account) last year, I enrolled in our vision plan at work this year.

I realized that I have been paying all year, but none of us had taken advantage of the plans, so Madison and I had an eye appointment on Saturday...she needs a stronger prescription, and it turns out that I need glasses too. The glasses I picked, with all the bells and whistles, would be over $600.00 with no vision insurance...my cost, less than 1/3.

THEN, Jon took Emmy in for her 6 month dental check up and came home to tell me that while Emmy has no cavities and is doing a great job brushing, she too was being referred to the orthodontist so they could get a jump start on HER braces.

My sister reminded me with a recent post, but it really hit home this week!

After giving birth to two children, surgery to repair the umbilical hernia from one of them, countless nebulizer supplies and medicines, two nebulizer machines, an ambulance ride to Children's Hospital and three days of excellent care, glasses, prescriptions, dental visits, urgent care visits, and stitches, all of which cost little or nothing, I am very grateful.

The job that takes a lot out of me most days and all of the stresses that go along with it, is the very same job that offers the benefits that keep some of my most precious gifts safe, healthy, and protected.

Don't forget!

The school "Vendor Blender" is Saturday, December 1st, and all profits from the concession stand will be equally divided among the families who volunteered, which will help towards the cost of Madison's class trip in the Spring.

Jon and I will be working from 1-4, just in case you want to see us in action! :)

Also, Madison and Emmy will be helping in the "Make and Take" room, which is a low cost area for kids to visit to make crafts as Christmas gifts for their families. For a small fee, children can make, and wrap in gift wrap, very special handmade gifts for loved ones.

Some of my favorite and most memorable gifts ever have come from the "Make and Take", so be sure to check it out!

Each member of our family is volunteering in some capacity that day, so be sure to stop in and see us from 1-4...come hungry and ready to do crafts. ;)

The correct answer is 9...here is how it breaks down

The "console table" that is really the lower half of a china cabinet behind the couch, my mom.
The birch candle holder that rests on top of it, handmade, signed, and numbered by my Uncle Mark
The sofa (which was tricky, I admit) was purchased from a good friend, Tami S.
The round end table, Grandma Ione.
The antique "parlor bench" next to it, Grandma Ione, which was part of a parlor set that belonged to her parents. This is where the Santa pictured on my sister's blog sat every year at Christmas.
The crazy frog on the shelf (which Emmy WAS terrified of until she decided to declare that "Jesus is with me and is much bigger than any ugly frog" every time she see's it), from an RHS craft show in 98, Tammi W.
The faint glimpse of white in the middle left corner, a doll bed made by Mark, with a doll in in named "Lolly" that is the twin to one my sister Carrie had growing up and still has to this day.
Technically, there is a #10 as well, and that is the carpet, also from Mark and Jan.

Productive 4 day weekend!

Usually, when the family has a four day weekend together, Jon tries to convince me to take a trip somewhere...traveling as an employee during the holidays is near impossible, so I knew we were home bound. After we got home from Thanksgiving dinner, we started talking about what to do for the rest of the weekend and decided to get rid of some clutter.
Our laundry room was driving us both nuts...just junk everywhere. Storage bins filled with extra comforters, an unused shelving unit...just clutter. Jon went through and tossed a bunch of stuff, which set us on a roll. We didn't do a mass decluttering like we had planned with the Estebo's earlier this fall, but we did get rid of a lot.
Emmy's bedroom and closet, Madison's bedroom and closet, the front closet, the built in drawers in our room, the laundry room, and then it was off to the basement.
I have a vision for the basement that includes a leather sectional, a beautiful console table behind it with candles and lighting, a leather ottoman/coffee table with storage, a beautiful area rug, end tables, a real fireplace, and a bigger, new TV mounted above the mantle.
Fortunately, we are content with "winging it", so here is the new and improved Martin basement.
The best part is that it feels like a whole new family room and it was totally free.
We are however still thinking about a new TV, the 19" on the mantle just doesn't quite "cut it" up there.

Happy Thanksgiving!

We spent Thanksgiving with my family at my Uncle Mark's and Aunt Jan's house this year and we really had a nice time enjoying the blessing that is our family.

For our out of town parents and family, we missed you and are so thankful for you all!

This is my brother Kyle, all grown up, and his lovely girlfriend Jessica.

Aren't they the cutest!

This is my uncle Mark carving the turkey that Jon has been anticipating since this time last year.

The "grown up" table.

Jan has an enviable closet full of just about every kind of shoe you could think of and gives the girls full access to it when they are over.

Here, Emmy and Kasey are showing Jan the shoes they chose first, and Kylie is giving us a pretty Thanksgiving Day smile.

Kasey and Emmy modeling their shoes for us.

This is my cousin Derek's wife Allison, and their daughter Adele, who I had the pleasure of holding while she snoozed on my shoulder...there is nothing quite like a sleeping baby snuggling with you.

Adele is really a cutie and I really enjoyed catching up with Derek and Allison.

Kelly, Jessica, Kyle and Carrie hanging out in the family room.

Baby Kelly in her fancy dress...what a doll!

My sister was giving Kelly slices of grapes as a snack and Kelly would put it in her mouth, eat the smushy part, and then "share" the outer grape with me. What a good sharer she is!

Here is Emmy anxiously waiting for dinner time.

The kids enjoying our first snow.

It was our turn!

Jon and I have been very fortunate over the years to have inherited some beautiful furniture, and when you look around our house there is nothing that matches exactly as a result...we have never minded a bit and actually find comfort in being surrounded by things given to us by our family and friends.

The last time we had a new bedding set was the Christmas after my mom and Kyle bunked with us for a month. It was a beautiful set, complete with a comforter...my mom will have to tell us how long ago that was, but it seems to me that it has to have been at least 5 years?

Anyway, we have used it ever since. The last set of bedding we had before that was one that I bought when I was 17 and still living at home...needless to say, we don't update our room as frequently as most. This year we inherited the "swirly" bed frame you see here, compliments of my sister, and decided we would replace the bedding too, and after several different sets were purchased and returned, we finally arrived at this one.

This time I loved it so much that I actually took it out and washed it right away instead of leaving it in the bag near the door with the receipt, ready to go back at any minute...I am so indecisive sometimes...poor Jon.

The second I saw this I knew, as with most things that "speak" to me.

It's simple, but interesting, and is reminiscent of the white quilt with pink embroidery that covered the guest bed at my Grandma and Grandma Lunas' house. It feels traditional like that, and we found the perfect set of crisp white sheets to go along with it...it's like sleeping on a cloud now, and we think a pretty one.

Anyway, this was a big deal for us because we both agreed on every part of it and love snuggling in...take a look.

The room needs to be updated still with fresh paint and window coverings, but this bedding is our starting point...finally!

Now I just need to meet with my "decorator" to see how we make it even prettier!

Look how well they get along!

I made the usual "rounds" before bedtime the other night to check on everyone and do a final tuck in...this is what I found. I couldn't resist taking a picture!

By popular demand!

What a ham!

Day at the Salon!

I had accumulated quite a few Aveda rewards points, that when you visit their site, you can select to cash in for services or "stuff". I cashed in the bulk of points for a $50.00 Aveda "spa experience" gift certificate at a local salon/spa. I realized that my plan to have a fancy pedicure for summer had come and gone and that the certificate would expire on December 5th. It wasn't transferable, or redeemable for product or gift certificates, so I had to figure out how to use it up...then up walked Emmy with her very over grown bob. Problem solved.

Emmy's first hair cut as a toddler did not go well, and we had anticipated that her second haircut wouldn't either, until she realized that she LOVES having her hair cut. Every hair cut since has been heaven for her...she even has a favorite "stylist" at her normal kids hair places. She totally zones out and you can just see her decompress. Today was even cuter because after the grown up "consult" she went back to the grown up hair washing area to get her hair washed and her scalp massage. I peeked at her from around the corner and she saw me and started grinning ear to ear because she was embarrassed, but loving the fanciness of it all.

She relaxed and enjoyed the hair cut, blow dry, and style, and then did the usual embarrassed smiling for about 10 minutes afterwards, catching glimpses of her hair whenever she could. It was very cute and I was really glad to see someone get so much enjoyment out of the certificate. They ended up letting me buy a little bit of product after all, so the whole trip cost me $9.00 with tip...totally worth not being the one in the chair and letting Emmy get the fresh out of the salon feeling we girls all need from time to time!

My Katie Poem

Katie, Katie, pretty baby

Oh, how your whiskers have grown

They're curly and cute

And right by your tooth

You're the cutest girl cat we know!

***

After we adopted Katie we realized that she only had a few teeth, actually only two, one of which was the front "snaggle tooth", thus the "right by your tooth" (singular) reference in my poem.

She had one tooth, until tonight that is.

Our Katie is officially toothless.

Time to re-work my poem.

***

Katie, Katie, pretty baby

Oh, how your whiskers have grown

They're curly and cute

Where there once was a tooth

You're the cutest girl cat we know!

***

PS Katie, your mommy still thinks you are a pretty princess, even without toofers!

Who'da thought

Anyone who knows me knows that I can be very emotional, sometimes too emotional. I take things very personally and I remember the moments throughout my life when words hurt me, or tempers wounded me. I remember all of the moments of being teased, or mocked, or insulted. I would be lying if I said I have fully recovered from them because I haven't, I don't think any of us does fully.

My point is that there are people in my life that I go to when I wonder if I am being too sensitive about something, just to "check myself", to see if it's a "Lisa thing" or a real thing. You know who you are.

I have to say that I have a great appreciation for one who probably doesn't know that she too is on that list, drum roll please...my sister Carrie. We haven't had a recent life changing conversation or anything, so there is nothing overly dramatic going on, it's just that she called the other day to ask a question and I ended up chatting with her for a bit. I mentioned some things that I had observed that were bugging me, mostly to test the waters outside "Lisa's head", and she ended up having similar frustrations and even validating mine to a degree.

Don't get me wrong, she doesn't just agree for the sake of agreeing because that is not who she is, but she is great about talking through things and offering fresh perspective and insight and I just really appreciate that about her.

We have all been disappointed by people over the years, but I realized that it is OKAY to live with a degree of disappointment sometimes. Not to dwell on those disappointments, but to help emphasize all the many blessings that outnumber them.

I love that the same sister who drove me completely nuts as a teenager, makes me feel less nuts as an adult!

Just another blessing counted on a Friday night. :)

Our little bakers!

After dinner, the girls made Cinnamon Mini Melts...very tasty and the house smells wonderful!

Lots of rest, little blogging, sorry!

I started to feel sick last Sunday night and hoped that I would feel better by work on Monday. Well, it has been a week and I am just now starting to feel better. I worked all week, which I shouldn't have done, so I decided to take Friday off despite the chaos at work and just rest. I have been fortunate enough to do just that this weekend, rest.

While I was resting, Jon took care of me, and everything else that is our life...I will spare you of the usual professing my love for him and just tell you that he is very good to me and I am very thankful.

***

Madison had fun this weekend...she and a friend from confirmation babysat kids at church on Friday evening while their parents attended a study group, and then at 9:00 p.m. took off with all the confirmation kids for "Moonlight Madness". They went to Augsburg College for activities, saw a movie, went to Grand Slam (indoor arcade/fun park) and then moonlight bowling. They stayed up ALL night long and Jon picked Madison up from church at 7:00 a.m.. She had a great time, but was exhausted and slept until 3:30 Saturday afternoon.

Emerson had fun on the computer making Jon and I quizzes and doing lots of the very colorful (and expensive) printing that Emmy loves to do. Jon did all the mowing and raking yesterday, as well as laundry and making us our favorite spaghetti with zucchini and mushrooms...I am telling you, Madison and I could eat just the zucchini and mushrooms as our meal, they are SO good!

Anyway, not much going on in the way of excitement. Sitting on the couch with no TV on, drinking the Venti coffee from Starbucks that Jon brought me, and reading the Sunday paper next to my husband...that was the best part of my weekend.

How quickly plans change!

Last night Madison had a dentist appointment at 7:10 p.m., but just before they were ready to walk out the door she went to make a potty stop and all of a sudden starting yelling "Ow, ow, ow... I got a sliver, I got a sliver".
So she calmed down, sat down, and pulled the inch long sliver out of her foot and started to walk back in the living room, crying. It was bleeding and she couldn't walk well. Jon said "come on, you will just have to sit at the dentist anyway, you'll be fine". Madison wasn't fine, she was crying and limping so she sat down and Jon cancelled the appointment. After soaking it for an hour (which turns out to be a not so good thing to do with a WOOD splinter), and even trying to cut it with a blade, she was still in a lot of pain and wouldn't put weight on it.
She kept telling me that I had no idea how bad it hurts...I said, "not so fast, I do too".
When I was about her age I got about and inch and a half worth of a hot pink "industrial strength" party toothpick stuck in the bottom of my foot, don't ask how, but I did. It was in there so deep that you could see it, but the line of it was a very faint pink. Anyway, it hurt more than you can imagine because it was many layers under the tough skin and was wedged into the most sensitive part of my foot...I walked on my heel for two days, even tried to go roller skating with it so I wouldn't miss out on the "snowball skate" with a certain boy. Anyway, it didn't work and I sat it out all night before finally admitting to my parents that I was in big time pain...a doctor visit, a surgical knife, and a tetanus shot later I was all better.
So, I DID know what it was like, which is why I begged Jon to take her to urgent care before they closed, as I was pretty sick last night with aches and a sore throat.
Jon took her in and it turns out that there was still an inch and a half long shard of wood buried so deep that they had to make an incision large enough to require stitches to close, only two, but stitches none the less. Fortunately, 7th grade students have to have a tetanus shot before school, so she was all set. Anyway, she was of course the topic of the day at school and has been taking full advantage of Emmy's willingness to wait on her. Fortunately she is on the mend and is getting around much better...maybe it's the five layers of dressings she keeps on it and the big huge ace bandage she has surrounding it?
Here are some pictures of Dr. Smith's handy work...double click if you have the stomach for a closer look!