Out of commission

The past few days have been so relaxed. We are getting ready for the week to begin. I am having my wisdom teeth pulled tomorrow morning and will be out of commission for a few days. Jason is prepared to take over. Friday night, the boys stayed over at my friend Erin's house with her and her two girls. Elliott had a rough time until bed time, but woke up happy, and Ethan, of course, was amazing. Erin brought Elliott home Saturday morning, but let Ethan stay and play. Joe and Tyler came to visit in the afternoon, so we went to lunch with them and then picked up Ethan, and just hung around the house chatting with Joe and Tyler. Jason and I were enjoying our evening, just vegging when we heard Elliott wake up coughing and puking. This was at 10:00pm, and we were up all night with him. We thought he was better this morning. He ate breakfast like a champ, and was happy playing and being up, until he was tired. I put him down for his nap and he got sick again! ICK! After that was cleaned up and we got things back in order, Ethan and I went to Target and picked up some things along with children's pepto bismol. It worked like a charm. He is still feeling kind of crumby, but he is holding down his food and water (knock on wood). Now we are doing laundry (mostly bedding) and playing video games. I have been working on several new pieces of jewelry (see the bar to the right), and soon it will be time for dinner and bed. Have a great Sunday.

Only because I know a post without a picture is dumb, here is Elliott working on his savings. He gets really excited to put coins in his bank.

Test

From the phone

Takin' it easy

I don't know how explain just how great it is to be a family again. We don't have any big plans, or anything that is really pressing to get done, so we are just busy enjoying our time together. Today we stayed in our pajamas for quite a while, and then I went to pick up Ethan from school and Jason stayed home with Elliott while he was napping. After Elliott woke up, we took the boys to Chuck-E-Cheese for a treat. They had a blast, and so did we. They all went up in the sky tube and crawled around. It was the perfect photo opportunity. : ) It really just sums up our day.

Welcome Home Pics

Jaymee was quick to get these on her blog, and she wrote a very nice blog about it, so please go here http://jaymeefoster.typepad.com/my_weblog/2010/01/welcome-home.html for pictures from Jason's arrival.

Thanks so much Jaymee.

Update from the Guge's

Monday was a GREAT day, but let me start with the weekend. On Saturday, I had planned to drive to Helena with the kids and stay over night to pick up Jason on Sunday. However, the weather was NOT cooperative, and we ended up with 6-8 inches of snow on Friday, and the same again on Saturday, along with winds up to 45mph. Needless to say, I was not going anywhere, and I was very upset about it. Dereck, bless his heart, was insistent that if I did go, I would need to take his truck. It was that bad. All I could think was how crappy it would feel to be Jason and get off that plane and know that no one was there to see you. Ugh. We did come up with a different, and less stressful and dangerous plan though. Even one that cost us less money! YAY! Jason flew out of Helena on Monday evening and landed in Billings. So much easier for me. Monday afternoon, Erica called and took the boys and I to Dairy Queen for a much needed outing, and of course some ice cream. I took this picture on our way in. It's pretty close to the sweetest thing ever.Then, when it was time to go get Jason, the boys and I met up with Jaymee, Dereck, Raigan, Erica, Andrew, Carson and Jackie at the airport. Unfortunately, Jason's plane was an hour late so we had to entertain the little ones for what felt like forever! They were fun to watch though, and the airport was less then crowded, so they had full run of the place. I told Jason he would have to call me when he landed so I could come get him. He was surprised to see us all waiting for him. Ethan made this sign, and Andrew blew it up REALLY big for him to hold. It was so cute. Finally, Jason came, and we all got to go home and go to bed. A huge thanks to my wonderful friends for coming along and giving him the welcome he didn't get in Helena. I know it meant a lot to him.
The next morning was not exciting, but I did get to see this. It made my WHOLE day.After Ethan came home from school, we got to have our Christmas as a family. It was fun to watch the kids with their gifts, and how excited they were just to have their dad home.

We played a new game they got for Christmas, and I made homemade potato soup for dinner. It's so nice to just be a family again. Thanks to everyone for your love and support and well wishes over the past year.

Right now we are just enjoying our time being together, and we would like to not have any visitors. After we are settled in, and back into our routine, we'd be happy to see you.

Random Post

This weekend was not what it was supposed to be, but sometimes things work out for the better anyway. More on that later. On Friday, my mouth, way in the back, started hurting like my wisdom tooth was trying to push through. Great. Well, Saturday it was worse, and now my whole back part of my jaw is swollen and killing me! I can barely open my mouth, and with the swelling in my gum, I can't close it all the way. WTH?!?! Eating is less than enjoyable, and all I really want is a milkshake.

Ok, enough whining. Last night I tried something new for dinner, mind you it's still SO easy, Ethan could have made it, but it was good, and both kids loved it. Biscuit Pizzas! You put canned biscuits into a cupcake pan, shape them into little bowls, add pizza sauce and toppings, and bake. DONE! YUMMY! It was almost too good to be true. Amazing how something so fast and easy could taste so great, and be kid friendly.

Then this morning, after Ethan left for school, Elliott snuck into his room and got out the gun. It holds 20 bullets I think, and is pretty much as big as Elliott is. He was having a great time with it. He can't shoot it, but it's still fun.

And now that you are bored to tears after reading my random thoughts, that had no point or end, I hope you have a great day.

Still Cute

Disorganization does not begin to explain my life. I have become very lax as this past year has been dragging on. I don't even have a real excuse, so I guess all I can say is sorry. I have had these for a couple of weeks now, because my great friend Jaymee is on top of her stuff and gave them to me not long after they were taken. We decided to wait until Elliott was walking to do his 1 year shoot, and then of course we had to come up with a time that worked. It was an interesting shoot. Elliott is very busy, and loud, and we had him contained to the area of Jaymee's kitchen so she could get the best lighting. All of Raigan's toys, and the dogs were way more exciting to him than the fact that we were trying to take his picture. After a while, we took him outside, but the snow was crunchy and hard for him to walk in, so he was not very impressed by it. However, with all of these challenges, Jaymee totally came through! Her photography is just amazing to me. So, even though they are a little late to be posted, they are still so cute! I hope you enjoy them. I tried to keep my post to a minimum number of picures, but it was so hard to choose.

A night of hockey

Tonight, like every Friday night, was hockey practice. Ethan had a house game tonight, and 3 of his friends came to watch him play. Elliott gets his own #1 fan jersey to match Ethan's. He thinks he is part of the team now and when Ethan heads to the benches, so does Elliott. : )
Then without warning, Ethan came to the ice looking like this. He got to play goalie for the 1st time ever! I couldn't believe it. He did pretty well, and was actually able to move around and even get up after he fell. Oh yeah, and he saved some shots too! He's pro. He was concentrating so hard, he didn't even look or wave when his friends were yelling at him.

Such good sports. I have no idea who won (Elliott doesn't let me watch much of the game) but I do know that Ethan had a blast, and swears that he was REALLY GOOD!

You have to see this......

I know that I make my own jewelry, but really, there are limits to my talent. : ) I am a daily reader of the Raffia blog (well again now that I have a computer). They are a local shop here in Billings, and they have the COOLEST stuff. Remeber the necklace Jaymee got me for Xmas? It came from there. If I didn't have to tote Elliott around, I might actually get to go into the store. There is just too much stuff for him to touch and break. They are having a contest and giving away this.....................

Yep, it's made out of a zipper. SO cool. Take a look at their blog here http://raffiasisters.typepad.com/raffia_sisters/

The end of the world.

Ok, not quite, but reeeeeally close. My computer DIED last week. Yes, it was as tragic as it sounds. I had to take it to the "Geek Squad" and apparently they had to replace the motherboard. I am obviously no kind of computer geek myself because I thought for sure that when I got it back everything would be gone. Nope. It's just fine. YAY! Ok, so now to catch you up. Ethan had a hockey tournament in Cody, WY this past weekend. My cousin Jaryn and his girlfriend, Freedom, came to spend the weekend with us, and Joe and Tyler were able to make it too. Ethan loves having people there to watch. Ethan's team took 1st out of 4 teams, and had 2 shut outs. Ethan even scored during the first game. It was so exciting. I think I might be turning into "that mom", the one that yells too much and cheers just a little too loud. I can't help it. I get so into the game and watching Ethan play.

Elliott has a great time in the locker room with all the big kids. He was butting heads (literally) with Ethan. All I wanted was a picture of them together. Ready for the game to start. Love the "game face."The games read left to right and the boxed team was the winning team. I felt kind of bad for the teams who lost against us. Ethan was Billings Teal. We had to play our other Billings team for the championship. They all played awesome.Ethan's BIGGEST fan. It looks like he might have scored here. He didn't, they were just messing around while we waited on the ref's to get on the ice.THE CHAMPIONS! So proud!

Success!

Etsy is a BIG place. There are hundreds (literally) of people selling jewelry, but last night I had a fellow shop owner look at my stuff and ask for two pairs of earrings. Sounds simple right. Yeah, not so much. She told me which items she liked the colors and designs of best, and then left it up to me. I racked my brain all night, and didn't get to sleep until 1:00am thinking of what and how and wondering if I could actually make her happy. I can always make things to please myself, and possibly a few others, but to make specific items for someone I don't even know, with very little direction, almost made me crazy! Well, I came up with these.

I love them. I was so impressed with myself, but I still had to impress my customer. YIKES! After I sent her the pictures, I was so nervous. I must have checked my email 100 times, waiting for her reply. Finally it came. "those earrings are OMG more than i could have hoped for...i'm very excited". Yep, that's what she said. WHEW! Such a relief and a huge accomplishment. So to go along with this excitement, are these! A fellow Etsy seller, makes pillow boxes, which is what I like to use to put my jewelry in for shipping. She made custom boxes for me, using a red embossing, and hand drew all the lips, and even made earring and necklace/bracelet cards for the insides. They are incredible, and give a little something extra to my business. So, I guess, all in all, I had a really great day. : ) Hope you did too.

Soooooooooo Slooooooooow

It's getting close to Jason coming home. No, I don't have a date, but I do know it's closer than it was a year ago. It seems like the past year flew by. Well, right up until midnight on January 1st, 2010. Time has come to a very slow crawl. Every day now drags by, and minutes feel like hours. I can't help but think about all the things that will change, and go back to "normal" when he gets home. I can't help but to be frustrated by small things that I have spent the past year just doing myself. Ethan's new phrase that I hear probably 10 times a day is "I wish my dad was home so that............". I know it wasn't that long ago that he was home, and we were lucky enough to spend a lot of time with him, but knowing that his homecoming is just around the corner makes it so hard to focus on anything else. I'm so thankful that he is safe, and that we have been given this opportunity. It has been hard, but so good for us. I can't wait to move forward with our lives.

Ethan and Elliott's jam session

Nothing makes me happier than to watch my kids having a great time together. This was the funniest 10 minutes of my life. I haven't laughed that hard in a really long time. Elliott was trying to mimic Ethan's air guitar, and after a while gave up and played lap drums. I laugh every time I watch this, and the other 5 videos I have of them. I hope it makes your day too!

Hockey at the Metra

I have to start with a huge thank you to Jaymee and Dereck. Jaymee and I had planned to go to the game together, and leave the little ones with Dereck (since they would both be sleeping), but Jaymee had a change in plans and she and Dereck both stayed home and kept Elliott for me. I had a great time just being with Ethan, and not lugging around an extra 25lbs, and trying to keep Elliott entertained an seated for 3 and 1/2 hours was so nice. Well, Joe and Tyler came up too, but you know what I mean. We all went to dinner at a new Italian restaurant, then I took Elliott to Jaymee, and headed to the game. While we were getting everyone situated on the plan, the Bulls came out of the locker room and before they headed to the ice, the kids got to give them knucks. This is by far one of Ethan's favorite things to do. Look how tiny he is compared to that guy. Mind you, the Bulls players are only 16-19 years old. Oh yeah, and they SMELL TERRIBLE! But, when you are 6, I'm sure they are impressive. Here is Ethan getting ready for his debut. He's just so stinkin' CUTE!All ready to hit the ice. Unfortunately, my pictures of them on the ice didn't turn out, but Tyler said he got some and will send them to me. LOVE US SOME BORRIS! Ethan cannot walk by Borris the Bull without getting knucks and usually his picture. After the 2nd period, the kids got to go back onto the ice and throw stuff into the stands with Borris. Yep, he fell, and the t-shirt didn't make it over, but after a couple tries he got it. It's not easy being 3 ft tall. Whew, a hard days work at being just a little bit famous. It's not easy but somebody has to do it.

20-10?

So, what is it? 20-10? 2 thousand 10? just 10? Well, whatever it is, it's here. I rang it in at the casino with my good friend Jackie and her husband. We had a fun night, but this morning started out much better. First, I got an email from Jason, then while I was on-line, so was he. He didn't have a camera or microphone, but he was able to use skype to chat with us and he got to see the boys. After several weeks of only receiving a few emails here and there from him, it was great to finally just chat. I was so spoiled talking to him and seeing him almost daily at first. I have no idea how families made it through without technology. If this morning was any indication of how the rest of my year will go, I am excited. Ethan and I are now watching hockey (go Flyers). We bet a quarter on the Winter Classic game today. So far a pretty uneventful game, but my team did just score. Ethan will be skating during the Billings Bulls game tomorrow night at the Metra. He is very excited. There should be about 2000 people there to watch. It's kind of his first taste of fame. I will be sure to take pictures. We wish you all a VERY HAPPY NEW YEAR!