Lack of...

Motivation. Energy. Sleep. Health. A Life. Organization. Sleep. Sleep. Sleep. Sleep.

These are just a few of the things that are lacking around here lately. Why? Jack is sick again. And boy, when this kid gets sick...he GETS SICK. He doesn't just get the piddly little cold that all the other kids have. Or, maybe I just overreact.

I will try to post some pictures later. Right now I can't think straight. Been up since 4 am and haven't slept much since Sunday.

Oh, and it's freakin' cold. Last night the temp was -9*F and it felt like -48*F. Yes, you read that right. -48. You know it's cold (and windy, and snowy, and miserable) when Minnesota closes schools and freeways because of the weather.

Yep, still cold

But, it's warming up!!! (Currently -13*F, but feels like -16*F.....but it is forcasted to be a high of a toasty 5*F today!!!)

Send Blankets

Baby, it's cold outside. (Currently -9*F, but feels like -27*F)

Catching up...

Several things have happened the last few days that I've been wanting to blog about, but haven't had time! The latest "big" news with Jack is that he is back to wearing an eye patch. He had a follow-up appointment last week and the doctor would like him to wear a patch 4-6 hours/day for one month. I was "reprimanded" by the doctor for not putting the patch on him for the first 2 weeks (um, when he was sick with an ear infection, bronchitis and had a fever of 102-104* for 5 days...which I explained to the doctor), but he said that he saw some improvement just from the few days that Jack had worn the patch. Thankfully, I found a website for a patch called Framehuggers and we ordered one for Jack. It is blue with a picture of Woody (from Toy Story) on it. He fought us the first time we put it on, but he has done awesome with it since then. He left it on for a whole 6 hours this morning without complaining! Praise the Lord! It is such a relief to know that we are doing something to help his vision...but we don't have to torture him in the process. Here's a picture of the little man with his new patch on.

He was complaining in this picture because we were out getting our Christmas tree and he was tired of waiting in the car. Which brings me to my next topic...our Christmas tree. We have made it a tradition to go out and cut down our own tree every year. This might possibly be the last year of that tradition. For starters, it was 5* outside when we were looking for our tree. That is so cold. It hurts. Second, the closest tree farm (that we know of) was 30 minutes away. Third, the tree was still over $50. Fourth, Jack refused to walk through the snow, so we had to carry him the entire time. Holding a 35 lb. toddler while trudging through the snow is a quick way to wear yourself out. Fifth, by the time we drove out to the farm, found the tree we were looking for and loaded it on the car, it was lunch time. Jack was hungry and cranky (and he wasn't the only one!). So we had to eat lunch out. So...was the real, live tree worth all the hassle? I don't know. I think we might browse the artificial trees while they're on sale after Christmas. I might have to eat my words. Here's a picture of our tree at the farm.

Oh, another thing about buying a Christmas tree when it's 5* out....there was ice all over it. I mean...our tree was encased in ice. Not like an icicle here and there. No. Every needle had ice surrounding it. We had to bring the tree inside, put a bunch of towels under it and let it thaw out. Nice big puddles on the floor. It was kind of weird. Anyway, here's the tree after it was all prettied up. (I know, it's dark...but I couldn't get a good picture with the flash on.)

Here's how I survived the morning...

and how I passed time while Lonnie was loading the tree onto the van...

Here's my strapping young husband tying the tree onto the van. He did an awesome job. It didn't fall off once.

Oh, there is more I want to write about, but it is getting late. I hope you all are having a wonderful time preparing for Christmas. Stay warm! :)

This is what I'm talking about...

Here's the best picture I could get of the ICE that is on top of the snow. (I broke a chunk off of the garbage can lid!)

The ice is on everything. The driveway, the sidewalk, the ROAD. So, there's about 1/4" of ice on top of about 6" of snow. This is definitely a new adventure for us!!!

Our first "big" snow

So it begins. Our first "real" winter. We got about 6" of snow today, on top of the inch or so we got yesterday. In Washington, this would be BIG news. We would hear about it for days...it would be the only thing on TV...the only thing on the radio...the only thing people talked about...the power would be out for days...stores would run out of batteries and other essentials...they would call it "Winter Storm '07" or some witty name. Here...not so much. It's snow. It happens. Yes, it was on the weather and they talked about it a little. They let us know what was coming. And, it came. After the snow fell, the rain fell. Freezing rain. I always thought that freezing rain was rain that was freezing as it fell (like hard pellets). But, my meteorologist husband has let me know that freezing rain falls as regular rain, but it freezes once it hits the ground. I have been corrected. :) And...here's proof...

See how nice and shiny the snow looks? And how there's a little shine on the sidewalk too? Yep, that's ice folks. Ice from freezing rain. Lonnie went out and tested the slickness of it....like any 12 year old boy would do. :) Speaking of my husband, check out what he GOT to do today...

Our (well, HIS) first shoveling experience. Like any good wife, I greeted him at the door with a cup of hot cocoa when he was done. But, then I learned that shoveling snow makes you HOT and HOT cocoa isn't necessarily the best thing to drink when you're sweating. Maybe next time I'll greet him with a cup of ice cold water. :) He's the best. Shoveling snow. What a man, what a mighty good man.

Eye Update

With all the craziness of Halloween (OK...that's just a lame excuse) I forgot to post an update on Jack's ophthalmology appointment. Yes, his left eye is turning in more. No, it's not because the vision in his left eye has gotten worse. Get this - the vision in his RIGHT eye has gotten worse. His GOOD eye. It was a +1.50 when he was first examined by this doctor (4 months ago), and now it has degraded to a +2.50. That is quite the jump. The way the doctor explained it was that he is trying to compensate for the poor vision in his right eye by turning his left eye in to focus. Because that's the one he's used to straining with. Poor guy. So...the doctor wants to see him one week after the new lenses come in. If he doesn't see significant improvement after that week, we're going to have to go to patches. He will patch the good eye to strengthen the weak (left) eye. I really don't want to have to do patches, but the doctor made it sound like it was almost a for-sure thing. Unavoidable. It should be interesting (to say the least) to see how Jack tolerates having a patch over his eye. But...I am getting ahead of myself. Nothing is for certain yet. If the patching doesn't work, then it's on to surgery. But I'm not even thinking that far ahead. One day at a time. :)

On another note, I don't think I am going to survive winter. It is getting cold and windy and I don't think I will survive. I want to be a bear and hibernate all winter long. That would be a great diet plan. Don't eat...just sleep. And the cubs sleep too. Best part!