Happy Holidays

It's been one month since I've last blogged.  A lot has happened in that time and things have been a bit hectic around here.  Just over 4 weeks ago, we welcomed our 6th baby into our lives.

Ivelynn Hattie was born on 11.08.11, she was 8lbs, 15 oz and 20 inches long.  

My surgery (c-section) went OK, but our stay in the hospital was extended due to a few reasons.  She was jaundiced, her calcium and magnesium were low as were her oxygen levels.  We ended up staying 2 days later than I had planned.  It was very hard for me to deal with.  I was 2 hrs from home, hadn't seen the older 5 in 4 days when we found out that we weren't being discharged.  But all is well that ends well.

We then celebrated a very LOW KEY Thanksgiving.  It was nice though, we all needed that time to rest and relax.  I think the previous couple of months just caught up to everyone.  Ryan ended up sick with some sort of bug and he rarely gets sick.

We're now into December.  Time is flying by.  Christmas is right around the corner and in 19 days, Houdini will be 4.  How did she get to be so big?  We are in no way, shape or form ready for Christmas.  This time of year is always hard for me, it really makes me miss my Mom even more.  She loved Christmas.  I try to stay in the spirit and remember the true reason for the season, some days it's just hard to.

The kids received visitors yesterday.  Not one, but TWO Magic Elves that they have named Buddy and Izzy.

These two are very mischievous though.  Last night, while everyone was sleeping, they toilet papered our Christmas Tree.  The kids now get to write a letter to Santa to tell him how sassy Buddy and Izzy were.

Who knows what those sassy elves will do next!

Last but not least - a menu - FINALLY!!!!!  Oh how I've missed having a menu.  The grocery circular was so uninspiring for many weeks, plus I had no appetite (still don't have much of one), which made it very hard to plan any meals.  So for this week we have/had:

Monday - Beef Stew, Fresh Bread and Brownies, courtesy of my friend Kristin.  It was the best stew I've had in AGES.

Tuesday - Biscuits and Sausage Gravy - I was very happy with how well my gravy turned out.  It seems it's hit and miss most of the time.

Wednesday - Easy Taco Salad

Thursday - Chicken Parmesan

Friday - Broccoli Cheese Soup

Saturday - Loaded Baked Potato Pizza

Sunday - Bacon Wrapped Chicken and Homemade Mac-n-Cheese

I just want to say thank you for sticking with me when I've been such a slacker lately!