Christmas morning

On Christmas morning, I had to wake up two very sleepy kids in order to have enough time to get ready for skiing and see what Santa brought. Carissa and Gabe were both very happy with what Santa had brought them. Carissa got a desktop computer, new panties and hair stuff and Gabe got a laptop, new socks and underwear, and 3 mini frisbies. Gabe even said that he wanted Santa to bring him some underwear this year, and he was very happy with getting some.

Christmas Eve

On Christmas Eve this year, we did presents with my family at my parents' house. Then we went home and we opened up some more presents. The kids had plans to go skiing Christmas morning with Grandpa, Aunt Alyssa, and Uncle Josh so we did the presents early. Carissa and Gabe both got new stuffed rocking chairs for their rooms from Grandma. Also, Gabe got a basketball hoop to play with and keep at Grandma's and Grandpa's house.

Christmas Tree

This year I let Carissa and Gabe decorate the tree by themselves again. Only this time I didn't lift them up to decorate up high, we actually own a step stool now. So, they used the step stool to decorate the tree up high, and they did a very good job. I put the tree together and put the star on the top,and then let them do as they wanted with the rest. They were very proud of the tree, because they did it on their own. They told everyone about their tree.

Divorce and the Baby

First of all, Ben and I signed all of the papers and filed them for a divorce on Monday. Now, we have to both do the divorce/parenting classes and just wait. Oh, and Ben moved to CO on Tuesday to live at his mom's house.

Then on Monday night, I found out that I'm pregnant. The timing of this pregnancy is obviously not my favorite and it isn't going to be easy. But, now that it has had some time to sink in I'm looking forward to a new baby. Yesterday night I told Carissa and Gabe about it, and they are both so excited. They have been asking for a baby for a couple of years now. Carissa said, "You are so nice for deciding to have a baby." And, she was outside playing when I told her to come in so that I could talk to her and Gabe. So, one of her very first comments was, "Did you already start having the baby while I was outside?" I explained that "having" a baby refers to when the baby comes out, but the baby was there already when she was outside. Also, about a week to two weeks ago Gabriel drew a picture and he told me that is was a picture of me. Then he continued to draw and he said that it was me crying, some more drawing then he said that it was me crying with a baby in my belly. Plus on several occasions he told me about what he was going to do when he was a big brother. Apparently, Gabe knew about the baby before we did.

Conferences and Allergy Test Results

I went to both Carissa's and Gabe's parent teacher conferences on Wednesday. Carissa went with me to her conference, and Gabe was taking a nap during his conference so he didn't go. Carissa got the highest scores on her report card that she could, and her teacher said that she was a very conscientious worker and a good citizen. We need to continue working on reading, and counting to 100. But, Carissa's teacher said that she is doing wonderful and is right where she should be or better with everything. Gabe's teacher said that he has been doing great academically, and that he does still have some problems with sharing (normal for his age). Also, Gabe hasn't had any more fits or behavior problems since the last time we had talked in September with one exception being the day of the conference. Gabe didn't want to go inside when outside time was over, so he climbed the play equipment and a teacher's aid had to help him down which made Gabe upset, but the aid said that he needed to calm down by the time they got to the door and he did. So, he still did pretty well compared to past events. Gabe also still confuses a couple of his colors and doesn't recognize very many letters yet, but he is still on track for where he should be.

Then the allergy doctor called me back yesterday with Carissa's test results. She definitely has lots of allergies, and since he just went over the results on the phone I don't have all the details for everything. She is very allergic to sagebrush, and cats, grasses, and weeds. She is still allergic to egg whites, but it isn't very bad. Dogs, walnuts, and trees are mild allergies. She is a candidate for the allergy shots, but there is no way she would let us give her a shot every week for 20, then every other week, then once a month. Totaling about 3 years worth of shots these shots, we may do it someday though. So, the doctor wants us to find a new home for Leo, our cat, but for now we aren't looking. He is 8 years old, and I would like it if he could live the rest of his life with us. Also, it is a possibility that Carissa will develop asthma, and the shots could help prevent that. As of now with the current allergies that Carissa has she should have hay fever from May until now every year with a slight let up in July for a couple of weeks. Then because of having a cat and not airing the house out in the winter like we would in the warmer months, Carissa's allergies may be bad from now until May. All of that means that as long as we have the cat and don't do the shots Carissa will need medicine pretty much year round. We need to schedule an appointment with the doctor for March, so that he can figure out a medicine regiment for Carissa before her hay fever starts. And, we will just keep using children's Zyrtec for the time being for the cat allergy.

Halloween

This year Carissa decided to be a "wicked witch" as she was telling everyone, and Gabriel decided to be a "vampire." And they made sure that everyone knew exactly what they were. They both took naps yesterday, which was great because they really needed them. And, they did great all evening and they had a lot of fun trick or treating. There were a few houses that they thought were too scary, but mostly everything went well. It was just the kids and I that went out this year, because Ben was supposed to be working at the haunted house. But, the car wouldn't start and he didn't end up making it to the haunted house, so he was home when we got back and the kids got to him all about trick or treating.

Pumpkins

On Sunday, Carissa and Gabe went for rides on their ATVs with Grandpa and Uncle Josh for a few hours. Carissa was ecstatic when she heard that they could ride their ATVs for a couple hours. Grandpa said that Gabe did great going up and down the hills, and that Carissa wasn't interested in the hills. After they got back I picked them up from my parents house and we went home to decorate pumpkins. This year instead of the kids painting their pumpkins we bought push in pieces that remind me of Mr. Potato Head pieces. It was really easy for the kids to do on their own. They got to use any pieces they wanted and put them where ever they wanted to.