Friday

We've had a very eventful week and I must say that I am thrilled...for Friday has arrived. It brings with it a coziness that no other day holds. We will spend the day in our jammies. The queen of the house has decreed that. In case you think that's me...the two year old is reigning right now.

Wednesday, Matt and I traveled to Farmington Hills, a three hours drive, to see a specialist about my ear. It was a good visit filled with lots of hope. It appears my right ear drum is 75% gone. Yup, you heard that correctly. And one of my three hearing bones is completely eroded away. So, April 15th we will make the drive again, but this time for surgery to repair the aforementioned. This doctor only performs this type of ear surgery and is confident he can not only repair my ear drum, but also restore most, if not all of my hearing.

In other news, Nanny Neal is coming! I am going to San Diego on a business trip next week - and who better to take care of daddy and the girls than Nanny! I'm going to come home to one spoiled family. But that's ok.

Well, I have children calling for various reasons. I'm drowning out the laundry for right now.

The Less Clothes the Better

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2010 (so far) In Pictures

2010 started a little differently than I anticipated. Sickness had overtaken our household. But, alas, we are finally healthy (knock on wood...do Christians do that? I don't think so. Oh well, you get the gist.) and with a clean house, cupboards full of food and kids napping, I can think about blogging.

Hello Blogger, its been a while. Would you like to see some photos of our last few months?

Huh? Its Sunday Again?

Boy, when you're sick, time flies. Another week gone and it appears that our health has returned. Praise God! I was wondering if we would ever be well again.

After a long week battling illness, Matt and I spent the weekend with our youth at SnowBlast Winter Retreat. It was a blast, no pun intended.

We're home now, our sweet girls are sleeping and we are enjoying a Valentine evening watching the Olympics...and facebooking...and blogging.

Excited for a day to recuperate tomorrow before heading to work on Tuesday. Hope you all have enjoyed your weekend. I will post "well" pictures soon!

Poor Baby

Strep throat and breathing treatment.

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Sickly

My poor baby. After several days with a 102 fever, we decided to take Annelise to Urgent Care last night. Why do we always wait until late evening to take her? It makes for such a crying mess and much more drama than I'd like. But, alas, the doctor confirmed my fear. She has strep throat (which she got from me) and a double ear infection.

This is definitely not our normal Annelise.

Healthy Recipe...And My Kid Loved It!

Like every other mom on the planet, I'm always looking for healthy recipes that kids will eat. And love. As much as chicken nuggets. Ok, that might be a stretch. But I digress...

I spend a lot of my time watching the food network. You know, its something I can have on during the day that is wholesome, doesn't require my full attention, and I learn a lot from it.

Yesterday, while on the couch sick with strep throat, I was watching Giada at Home. I have to say, she's not my favorite one to watch, but she sure does makes some great, healthy meals - and who doesn't love Italian food anyways.

Of course, she was making a spectacular meal for her daughters' first birthday party, much grander than the pizza and cake we enjoyed for ours...but I digress again.

She made some sort of macaroni and cheese, which I versioned today, and wouldn't you know, Annelise loved it. So here is my version. Hope you enjoy!

Macaroni & Cheese - Healthy Italian Style

In a pan, soften onion and carrot over medium heat in olive oil. (I also added a half bag of frozen mixed veggies for additional health content!)

Boil water for your pasta of choice. (I used the multi-color spirals from a box mix I had in the cupboard.)

Add your pasta to the veggie mixture.

Drop 4 oz. fat free cream cheese over the top and add a few spoonfuls of the pasta water to help loosen and mix together.

Mix in 2 tablespoons butter.

Salt to taste.

Enjoy!

PS: I must note that everything BUT the broccoli was a big hit. She's still working on that.

Strep Throat, What?!

Warning: This blog may come off as complaining.

Felt like a truck hit me after church yesterday. Achy bones, achy muscles. What's a mommy to do?

I'm normally not one to rush to the doctor, but decided I shouldn't risk anything with all of my ear troubles. I'm already going to have to have surgery very soon to repair my inner ear, don't want to make matters worse by letting some sort of sickness take me down.

Doc says I have a bad case of strep throat. Who knew you could get strep throat without having tonsils? She didn't.

I'm so thankful for a wonderful friend who took my girls this morning and told me not to pick them up.

Pray for us please. I've never been characterized as sickly and now realize how frustrating it is to constantly have some sort of infection or illness preventing you from fulfilling responsibilities in every area of your life. As a woman who tends to (in a sinfully prideful way) do it all I'm feeling helpless.

Lord, may I rely on you and you alone for my strength (or lack thereof) today.

Bizzaro World

Did I wake up on another planet today?

Elli Grace is refusing to nap, although I can't complain, she's pretty darn content.

Annelise couldn't wait to get to her bed. In fact, we skipped lunch, plopped her under the covers and she giggled with excitement. I feel like that sometimes.

Now, I'm enjoying my tea, working on a few design projects and wondering what bizzaro thing is going to happen next.

Happy Hump Day!

Does it get any cuter than this?

Got My Ears Pierced...

And I hardly even cried.

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My First Black Eye

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Wellness Day

Today was a day of doctor appointments for the Neal family. Daddy was the only one exempt. I went to the doctor today for an ear appointment. Long story short, I will need to have reconstructive surgery on my right ear very soon. It is outpatient, 3 hours long, and usually requires 10 days recovery. You can be praying for me over the next few weeks as I have a CT scan to determine how extensive the surgery will be and the scheduling.

In better news, Annelise and Elli both saw the doctor today and received wonderful reports. At two years old, Annelise is in the 10th percentile for height and weight - 24 pounds and 32 inches. The doctor thinks her mature adult height will be 5'4". I think that means her lifelong nickname is going to be peanut.

Elli on the other hand is measuring in the 75th percentile - 14 pounds...and I can't remember her length. Either way, she's healthy and growing.

I love these girls and am so thankful for a wonderful insurance plan that costs us nothing in way of premiums and only a copay for office visits. I'm also praising the Lord for healthy children!

Two Years Old

Happy Birthday my sweet baby girl. Two years ago today, you entered our world, bright-eyed and curious.

Not much has changed today, except you're feet taller, much smarter and growing more beautiful by the minute.

We love your fiery spirit and the laughter you've brought to our home. Thank you for being a wonderful blessing from the Lord - you've already taught us so much. We love you!

Another One Bites the Dust

Ok, maybe not the most appropriate title to describe this post, but honestly, it was the first thing that came to mind.

My baby sister is getting married!

She's the last one of us to get married off...and my parents couldn't be more thrilled. I'm sure they hear freedom ringing in their ears this morning. Ha!

All kidding aside, we adore her fiance, Jasper Swaney, and can't wait for him to be part of our family. Congrats love birds!

34 Years

That's how old this handsome man is today.

He was a strapping 25 when I met him.

We were married three years later. (Yes, I married him, even after the above photo.)

And I have never looked back since.

Happy Birthday, Matthew. I love you.

3 1/2 Months

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Grab that Shovel

Monday is always a digging out day for me. We love having daddy home on the weekends, but somehow my house always pays the price. Dishes piled up on the sink, dirty diapers scattered throughout the nursery, unlaundered clothes begging to be...well, laundered. You get the idea.

So, I'm grabbing my shovel and digging us out. It could take all day.

In other news, January is a big birthday month for us. Annelise turns 2 and Matt joins her in celebrating his 34th year. Wow.

Since Annelise needs absolutely nothing (in fact, I should GIVE AWAY items in honor of her birthday), we decided to buy a Nintendo Wii. We're not a video game family by any means. That was evident in my purchasing the game console.

"Now, does it come with everything we need to play it? And what if I need help hooking it up?"

But, we do enjoy family time at home, but are often at a loss for what to do. Well, this weekend was spent at home, enjoying a few friendly bowling matches and a boxing round that was sure to give me a sore arm this morning.

Happy Birthday Matt and Annelise...and mommy...and Elli Grace...and well, it was a good purchase.

Annelise - 2 Years Old

For my memories...

Annelise turns two this month and is growing by leaps and bounds. She is at a very fun stage of life - we enjoy laughing with her and at her often! Here are a few of her recent milestones.

• She can sing her ABC's - well at least the correct tune, even if not all the letters.
• She recognizes most shapes - square, circle, heart, star and sometimes oval and rectangle.
• Colors are a challenge for her. Most things start out being "pink and red" until we correct her.
• She loves to eat "ca-cakes" for breakfast and uses utensils very well.
• Each morning when she wakes up, she drags her blankie and bear-bear out of her room and promptly asks, Where did Daddy go? The answer is usually, He's workin' or He's sleepin' in da bed.
• Lately, she has begun to speak in complete sentences, though most things are still incoherent.
• She loves Elli Grace and often wants to hold her or bounce her seat. She is a big helper to mommy.
• Running circles around the house is one of her favorite pastimes - and she regularly asks to watch toonies, though the answer is most always not right now.
• Inevitably, despite her irregular cartoon watching, Dora Boots and Kai Lan are favorites and she loves to sing the Wonder Pets theme song.

We look forward to celebrating her two years of life this next week!

Life Goes On

With the start of a new year brought back a familiar reality. The holidays were wonderful - and we certainly enjoyed our time as a family - but there's sweet comfort in routine for us. Daddy is back to school, mommy is back to work and both girls are celebrating the hiring of their Aunt Sarah as nanny a few days a week.

Going back to work was certainly not as much of a challenge as I thought it would be - after three months off. Two days a week is perfect and I still have the ability to do a few things from home. I am blessed.