Someone Call CPS!

Last night I hit a real low point as a mother. I am ashamed to say, I hit poor little Jamesy in the middle of the night. I know, you're all shocked. But I swear, I did it against my will! I was having a nightmare about these ghosts that were coming at me in all directions. I finally got up the courage to fight back & I whacked one of them as hard as I could..... that is, I whacked James. (Note to self: whacking at ghosts is not effective--they're see-through). Luckily, because I was dreaming, it was a very mild "whack" -- not as hard as it would have been, had I been awake. And, it wasn't on the head, it was more on the side of his body. Still, it scared him half to death. He was bawling. I'm a horrible mother. Someone please call Child Protective Services.

I did this once to Jordan, but I actually used my full strength on him. I punched him HARD in the stomach. I was dreaming about some guy attacking me, and I woke up thinking that the man lying next to me was the attacker... I'll let you picture the rest. Jordan, being the manly man that he is, didn't bawl like James. He groggily said "Ow!"

There seems to be a pattern here, and I'm scared for the safety of my family. Maybe I need to take all this pent-up aggression out on a punching bag before I hit the sack. I know what some of you may be thinking -- "Put the child in his crib for heavens sake!" To you I say, "Don't judge me. I want more than 2 hours of sleep a night." Call me selfish, or call my baby a "mama's boy." Either way, we'll be co-sleeping until he no longer needs night feedings. Hopefully for him, these crazed dreams will cease!

Update! Update! Read All About It!

Oh, man. I have been so awful about my blog lately! It seems that I haven't had a moment to spare. And, the moments that I actually do have to spare, I end up doing fun things like laundry, scrubbing poo out of clothes, or heaven forbid - - eating or sleeping. Actually, no, there's not much sleeping. So, as not to bore you with the lengthy details, I will attempt to quickly summarize the past few months.

Thanksgiving:

• Place: Manhattan Beach, CA @ fabulous, accommodating & fun in-laws (Jordan's brother, wife and kids) Jason & Sally. Love them! They just moved into a gorgeous home (temporary while Jason is working in L.A.) just a couple of miles from the beach. Talk about my dream home! It is cozy, spacious, and beautiful & is located in a nice, calm neighborhood next to other cute, beachy houses. The weather was perfect -- not too warm, not too cold.
  
• People: Along with Jason, Sally and their adorable kids Nate (6), Ben (3?), and Lainey (1), we co-habitated with Jordan's parents, the Marquardts (Jordan's sister Julianne & husband Rick, along with new baby Allie), and the AZ Peels (Jordan's brother Matt, wife Kim & cute kids Taylor & Jackson). SO fun.

James, Grandma Peel & baby Allie




• Activities: The boys & kids had a pre-Thanksgiving football game in the backyard (junior high field just behind their wall) while the women (except me...) cooked the big feast & played with the babies. Then, of course, we chowed down on some awesome Thanksgiving food--of which I can only take credit for the pomegranate jelly which I made with my sister Becky. We went around the table (as Peel tradition goes) and told what we were most thankful for. Thanksgiving night we made some awesome gingerbread houses & the amount of candy we had was out-of-control. It was such a good time--I recommend it to anyone who has never tried it before. This was the first time I have ever made gingerbread houses, and now I want to do it every year.

Jordash's gingerbread masterpiece...

The rest of the week was spent eating, seeing the new James Bond movie (James loved it), and taking family pictures by the beach. Unfortunately, Jordan had to study for most of the week up in Nate's little room because he had finals the week after Thanksgiving. Thank you, UNLV! I can't tell you how grateful I am that finals are over and that Jordan only has one more semester left....and then the bar.... Something else that was a bummer was that my little nephew Jackson (about a month older than James) started getting what ended up being a long & painful infection on the right side of his body. He was up all night crying & his parents had no idea what was wrong with him. After going back home to AZ, they noticed he wasn't putting weight on his right arm or leg, and took him to the hospital for examination. After many doctors visits and a long stay in the hospital, along with some good antibiotics, Jackson is finally getting better. We love you little Jackson!

Pre-Christmas Snow Storm:

• About a week before Christmas, Boulder City/Las Vegas was hit with a huge snowstorm, unlike anything seen since 1949. It just kept snowing and snowing, and....it actually stuck. Any native of this area will tell you that this was a huge deal. It NEVER snows around here. We were homebound for a few days, waiting for the snow and ice to melt off of our steep driveway. They even canceled school the next day (something that I've never been so fortunate to take part in...spoiled kids!). Jordan & James played in the snow for a little while....and I just took pictures. I am such a wimp when it comes to the cold. I am perfectly content to bundle up by a fire with a good book and some hot chocolate. I have NO desire to play in the snow. Those days are very much over. I am definitley becoming my father.

Law-Firm Retreat in Panguitch, UT:

• Place: "El Splendido Ranch" owned by some good friends of my brother Rodney & his family. It is a beautiful ranch that spans over many acres of land, and has multiple bunkhouses (more like luxury hotels), four-wheelers, a huge rec-room, a lake (frozen over at the time, but awesome for canoing in the summer), live-in hired help (they cook all the meals, clean, etc.) ....and the list goes on. This place is awesome.


• People: The partners, associates, and other employees (and their families) of my brother Rodney's law firm, along with the owners Teresa & Michael Giroux. All are top-notch people and it was truly so much fun to get to know all of them better.


• Activities: Eating & playing ping-pong/basketball/air-hockey in the rec-room, going on a hay-ride, relaxing and playing with James in the owners' personal cabin (where we stayed) where he enjoyed scooting around on his belly and slobbering on all the toys while I attempted to sew some Christmas stockings, ......four-wheeling, and going on a "cougar hunt" (just a little hike up the mountain in our snow-gear). It was a blast! And, James was absolutely adorable in his puffy little snowsuit.

My niece Naomi, nephew Sam, James & me on a hayride

James asleep on a cot in the rec-room

Christmas Eve:

• Place: Parent's house -- which just happens to be our temporary shelter as well :)
  
• People: All the Woodbury's, Randall's & Leavitt's, excluding Danielle and Cindy, who were in Israel visiting her parents.


• Dinner: An array of warm soups along with some sparkling cider and apple cake for dessert -- so yummy.


• Main Event: The kids all dressed up and put on a reenactment of the nativity, along with the help of Missy & Wendy who organized it by adding in some musical numbers by some of the kids and adults. A little chaotic, but cute & fun. James wasn't loving it, however. In fact, he slept through most of it, and by the time he woke up, he was grumpy and upset by all the noise. Oh, well. Maybe next year he'll enjoy the holidays!


• Post-Party Activities: We finished up wrapping gifts & getting the stocking stuffers ready. I took it upon myself to bring back Christmas to the Woodbury family by buying everyone stocking stuffers and demanding that Jordan & I buy lots of good gifts for eachother (something we've never really done before).

Christmas Day:

• Time: my nephew Jacob (who stayed with us during Christmas break while his mama was away) woke us all up at 8 A.M. (pretty good for Jacob--he's usually up by 6:00!) and we all went downstairs to check out what Santa brought us. Jacob by-passed the bike and dinosaur collection, going straight for the candy! So funny.


• Breakfast: buttermilk pancakes with delicious homemade coconut syrup, fruit, eggs and bacon. Best part of the day!


• Activities: Unwrapping presents, of course! Jordan & I took awhile....it was really fun to finally give each other presents, seeing as how we've been very frugal for the past 6 Christmases.


• Gifts: My favorite gift from Jordan was a really cute & stylish shirt that Jordan picked out for me -- he did really good! I think Jordan's favorite gift from me was the Bourne Trilogy DVD's. We got James some good gifts too, although I don't think he cared one bit: lots of little nerf type balls and baby food in his stocking, a CD of his favorite lullabys, "Pat the Bunny" book....plus a bouncer and "exer-saucer" which he was able to use before Christmas. Grandma Rose got him the full collection of Baby Einstein DVD's (which he LOVES and I LOVE because it entertains him while I'm taking a shower and getting ready), and Grandma Peel got him a baby basketball hoop and basketballs. Missy got us 2 hand-held vacuums/carpet-cleaners (can you tell with my Sham Wow and vacuums that I am a clean freak?) that I wanted as well as all 9 seasons of the King of Queens, my favorite show! She was super-generous to us....well, me, because basically both of those gifts were things I love.


• Post-Christmas Fun: The whole family (Woodbury's, Randall's, Leavitt's) came over later that evening and we watched The Christmas Carol together. After most everyone went home, we decided to live on the "wild" side and take a trip to Jack-in-the-Box at 11:00 at night with Joseph, Sam, Anna & Missy (James came along too :). Oooooh, we really live on the edge, huh? We then took our loot back to the house and watched the Bourne Ultimatum. Some seriously good times :)
  
  

After-Christmas Vacation:

• When: The day after Christmas, Jordan, James & I packed up the car & headed back to Manhattan Beach to spend more time with Jason & Sally, Jordan's parents, Deb & Tyler (Jordan's sister & husband) and Julianne & baby Allie. It was so much fun. To sum up, we did lots of eating, shopping, playing Wii, reading, relaxing, cooing over the babies, having a great day at Disneyland, and making New Years predictions on New Years Eve. Fun, fun, fun! We always have a good time with the Peels :)

Nate & Ben strolling James around in a play stroller just before James did a bellyflop dive onto the wood floor...

Now we are back to reality but enjoying every minute of it while Jordan is not in school. The down-side is that Jordan caught the sinus infection that his Mom had, and he can't seem to get rid of it. We gave talks in church today, and he soldiered through it, but by the end of sacrament meeting, his head was pounding and he was ready to go home and get in bed. James is getting cuter by the minute--smiling, laughing, scooting and rocking around on the floor (he even does some awesome baby push-ups, sometimes one-armed push ups!), gurgling, and screaming. I just love this chubby little munchkin! As for me, I'm trying to get organized, teach piano to 9 little cuties, and love being a mommy :) 2008 has been very good to us. Very, very good :)