a real mama

I have discovered something this weekend. I don't know why this is but something about having sick babies makes you feel like a real mama. It started at 2am Christmas morning when Sadie started crying. Usually Steven handles her in the middle of the night since Eli is always my job (I got the raw end of the deal on that one), but he came back to bed and said she was burning up. I took her temperature and sure enough - 103.7. I spent most of the night in her bed then eventually moved her to ours since she was so pitiful. Steven made the comment that it was probably the last Christmas morning in a while that we would be in the bed until almost 9am. She rallied some when the Tylenol kicked in and did enjoy Christmas, her grandparents, and her new presents. But a good portion of the day all she wanted was to be in my arms....which was kind of like a Christmas present to me. We both napped curled up together that afternoon and she slept in our bed again that night and finally started feeling better yesterday, right about the time Eli spiked a fever. He landed his little febrile self in our bed last night and I barely got to put him down long enough to brush my teeth this morning. Even though I am exhausted and do want my babies to be well again, when they are feeling bad and too little to know why it validates me somehow to be able to provide them comfort. Maybe it's being so needed that makes motherhood all the more real. I do love being a mother. And a wife, of course. But I do hope Steven is not next because husbands are not nearly as sweet when they are sick....
I hope everyone had a Merry Christmas, I will post some belated Christmas pics soon,
Love,
Sallie

Snow!

It's funny how having kids makes you remember how fun things used to be, but at the same time gives you a different perspective on how things really were for your parents. Snow is a good example of this. As a kid I used to get sooooo excited over the prospect of snow. Waking up and running to the window to see if the forecast was correct... if there was a white blanket out there it was almost as exciting as Christmas morning. Getting out of school, sledding, it was all just sort of magical. As I got older and was in college it all began to change. I remember a big snow in Charlotte when I was in nursing school. My classes were cancelled but all I did that day was study. "How boring!" (a younger version of myself would have chastised). Then as I became a nurse snow turned into an inconvenience, I still had to work but now just came the challenge of safely getting there. This week, however, we got a pretty decent snow in Pleasant Garden. Saturday morning we searched for warm clothes and dressed the kids and ourselves in layers, then headed out. That might sound easy, but by the time we were actually ready to walk out the door I was ready to can the whole thing. Sadie couldn't get her thumb in the right spot of her gloves, Eli was fussing, etc... But, we did it, and it all came rushing back to me of why snow is so much fun. Eli stopped crying and was happy as a lark out there, even though his little nose was freezing. Sadie had a blast, playing with the neighborhood friends and sledding behind the 4 wheeler. Her pants were soaked by the time we came in for lunch but it was well worth it. We warmed up and ate lunch and I again remembered the magic and the beauty, of snow....

Happy winter, everyone!!! Go out and enjoy playing in the snow, if you have any.

Love,

Sallie

"You're driving me crazy"

Apparently sometimes Sadie gets on my nerves. I tell you that because this afternoon, as I was attempting to fix dinner, Eli was army crawling all over the house (it's like a whole new world for him now). He went into the laundry room and Sadie ran in after him. She found her pink scooter which had been outside for a while and was trying to get it past him and the mound of towels on the floor. Quite a difficult task for her, and I could tell she was getting frustrated. The next thing I hear is "Eli! You're driving me crazy!" I had to laugh and I realized that I must have said that to her at some point. Those things sound so different (or do they?) coming out of little mouths!

Thanksgiving has past and it was a nice one. We went to Charlotte and got to spend a couple days there, where I proceeded to get Mastitis. Getting started on antibiotics and 10 hours of sleep Wednesday night did the trick and I was feeling much better by Thursday. Unfortunately (?) I wasn't able to do much to prepare the food but my Mom pulled through by herself (with the help of Mandy, my sister-in-law, and my aunt Tricia) and we had a delicious meal. That night we watched our friend Dickson (Doc) Hendley on the CNN Heroes Award show which was super cool, he was one of the top 10 heroes for 2009 for his non-profit organization, Wine to Water. Check it out! We came home and I worked on Friday night then got to hang out with our friends Todd and Rhonda, Matt and Jenn, and their baby Claire on Saturday. We watched NC State pull through for once and beat Carolina in football. Steven lost his shirt over that one, something that anyone who knows him has seen him do.

Now it is officially Christmas time! I love it. I don't particularly love the decorating, but I do love the results. I almost broke a window today trying to put my new outdoor wreaths up, and the lights I strung over my front door don't work (you really should plug them in first to check). Oh well, the inside is mostly done. I will try again tomorrow! (Or this weekend if my Dad comes up). The children are sleeping, so must I!
Love,
Sallie