Let's See...

...where did I leave off almost a week ago?  Oh yes, our middle baby girl turned 5.  Oh, the things that have happened since then.  It seems like it was a few weeks ago instead of just 5 days.  In those 5 days we went on a mini family vacation, dealt with a very sick child, got SNOW!, bought some furniture, did some home improvement projects, and we hosted a birthday party.  Whew, I needed the week to start to give me a break from my weekend!

The girls didn't have school on Thursday and Friday because of the WI state teacher's convention, so we took advantage of the opportunity (and a great deal I found on-line) to trek north to Duluth and the Edgewater Resort and Waterpark.  We stayed Wednesday night through Friday morning.  My parents joined us and we had a great time playing in the water, swimming, doing a little shopping (including purchasing a few Christmas presents!) and spending time at Canal Park to see a ship come into port.  We also celebrated Lilly's birthday, since we went up on Wednesday afternoon!

However, on Wednesday night, Lilly started complaining that she was very tired and cold.  By Thursday morning she had a high fever and wasn't able to keep anything in her stomach.  I felt so bad for her, as she was the most excited about the waterpark trip and had been talking for a year, since our last visit, about going back.  She was able to play a little on Wed afternoon and Thursday morning before she was too sick to continue.  So while the other kids and boy adults played in the water, Lilly spent time with Mommy or Gramma in the room watching movies, coloring and playing games.  We took her to the doc on Friday when we got home and they tested her for the flu, did a finger prick and eventually a throat culture, determining she had a severe case of strep throat.  After only a day of antibiotics, she was back to her normal, spunky self!

Saturday morning we woke up to 2" of snow on the ground!  The girls were so excited to see the white stuff make it's first, very early appearance of the season.  They were hoping it would stay and didn't quite understand when I told them that it would stick around for a little while, but would melt by mid-afternoon because the ground wasn't frozen yet.  But it was fun to play in a little bit and look at.

Later on Saturday, I was listening to the radio on our way to my in-laws' house and I heard that a furniture store about an hour away was going out of business and having some great deals.  So, I talked with Andy and off the girls, my MIL and I went to see if there was anything good for us.  There was.  I came home a few hours later with a great cocoa colored micro-fiber sectional sofa.  We love it.  It's so nice and comfy and looks just great.  It's only the second brand-new item of furniture that we have purchased in our 9+ years of being together, our bed being the first.  The couches that we replaced had rips in the cushions and the slip covers and were bought at a garage sale about 3 years ago.  Yeah, it was time for new.  This new piece is big enough that it helps this awkward family room seem not so long and skinny, but not so big that it seems out of place.  So Merry Christmas to Andy and I! 

As most of you know, we have lived in our house for almost 5 years (we got the phone call from our realtor that our offer was accepted while I was in labor with Lilly!) and we've slowly been making changes to update the house and make it our own.  The bathroom light fixtures have always been a sore spot for me, in particular.  The upstairs bathroom has a large vanity and mirror, and the lights were globes on chains that were both hung to the left of the sink.  It made for an unevenly lighted room.  It also made for ugly because the globes had brown flowers painted on them.  Two weeks ago a light bulb burned out for the first time, so I pounced on it and pronounced it time for a new fixture!  So we found one we liked, as well as a matching dome light for above the toilet (there was a globe there that matched the others...bleck)  The only requests I had at the time of purchase was that my darling husband not try to install it when I wasn't there to help him or call 911 if needed, and I wanted it up in time for Lilly's party, which was yesterday.  So you guessed it, he chose yesterday morning at 8am, right before church, to install the lights.  But they are up and they are lovely, though the lighting is so good now that I can see every flaw in my body and bag under my eyes in alarming detail.

The old lights, though you can't see the "pretty" design on them.  It's the only pic I could find that showed them.

And all of that happened before the main event of the weekend--Lilly's birthday party.  This girl had me going in all directions.  First she wanted a lawn-mower birthday party, then a Dora party, then Dora on a lawn-mower, a pumpkin party like last year and finally she settled on a princess theme.  So I bought some princess napkins and made some princess cupcakes and cake.  We had a great time with our family and friends who came over to help us celebrate our little girl's life!  Thanks, everyone!