... ZZZZZzzzzz, ZZZZZzzzzz, ZZZZZzzzzz

Whew. 2008 wore me out...

...Enjoyed a New View

Wade's company, P1 Group, Inc., is currently working on a project at Allen Fieldhouse with Turner Construction Company. Wade has been at this job site for a few months now and is really enjoying it... mostly because he has been able to indulge his man-crush by watching the men's football and basketball teams workout. He has even stood before the 2008 National Championship trophy case for several minutes with no one around to block his view. Lucky man. Turner Construction Company gave Wade two of their tickets to tonight's basketball game. Turner is a rather large construction company, so we knew they had to be awesome seats. Key word here - seats! We got to sit on the East side in the Allen Fieldhouse wooden seats for the very first time! For those of you who have never been inside the greatest building on earth, I shall explain. The majority of The Fieldhouse seating is made up of bleachers. Out of 16,300 spots, only 1,100 of them are of the coveted wooden seat variety. Under normal situations bleacher seating would be just fine. In The Fieldhouse you dare not burp for fear of losing precious space between you and your bench mates. It is that jam packed in there.
Sitting on the wooden seat side was so different. For starters, we could hear Coach Self yelling clear as a day. I think it is fun to watch the bench's reaction to the game and I am glad I got to experience the other side of Phog's house.

What a view. Go Hawks!

...Rocked Out / Chilled Out

My immediate family is pretty small. It's just Mom, Dad, my brother Steve and me. Add in our spouses and the three kiddos we've created and you get 9...and that's just fine. We all gathered at my brother's house in Leavenworth today for a laid back Christmas. No rush. No fuss. After opening gifts, we ate yummy brisket that Dad picked up from Famous Dave's BBQ along with baked beans, green bean casserole and mom's delicious crunchy/cheesy potatoes.
To help digest our food, we rocked out on my nieces new Wii. We were all pretty good at it. Okay, on the beginner level but we were still proud of ourselves.

...Spread the Word in Missouri

We spent Christmas Day at my Uncle Phil and Aunt Nancy's house in Garden City, MO. To make Coach Fambrough proud we drove there with our Jayhawk auto windsock flying high. After that win in Arrowhead last month, we could not resist rubbing it in a little.
We plan to exchange gifts with my folks on Saturday, but my mom brought the kids a few to open today. Our favorite by far are these super cozy KU fleece blankets she made for them. Uh, I want one. It is definitely on my wish list for next year.

...Awoke with Wonder

Santa was very good to Finnie and Ceci this year. Finn got a wooden tool box, a Sit-n-Spin and a rather large Rice Crispy Treat (his favorite). As requested, Cecilia received a Barbie Princess, as well as a real microphone/mini amp and a stocking full of goodies. They both received disc sleds and we cannot wait to try them out at Uncle Wes' new house. We spotted some good hills there so bring on some snow!

...Souped at Big Granny's

We spent a relaxing Christmas Eve Day at Nana Marla and Papa Tim's house. We were two men down because Jacob and his new bride, Carmelle, now live in Chicago. They were missed by all, especially Finnegan who drowned his sorrows in the enormous tub of cheese balls that Papa Tim insists on getting every year.



Later, everyone met up at Big Granny's for wine and her traditional oyster soup...or ham if you cannot stomach oysters.

...Stole the Show

This year at Rita's Daycare Holiday Party the kids put on a mini Christmas program. Each kid had their moment in the spotlight as they all sang a particular holiday song that matched their outfit. Angel wore a cloak covered with Jingle Bells. Tyson was Frosty the Snowman. Isaiah was Rudolph the Red Nose Reindeer. Ceci warned the kids that Santa Claus is Coming to Town and everyone ended up Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree that Rylee wore. Finn was a holiday groopy who danced around the stage and cracked us up with his token head tilt move. View photos here>>



Finnegan also had his 18 month visit with Dr. Carla today. She was very impressed as he had a leap on his growth charts: 29 lbs (80th percentile) and 34¾ inches (96th percentile) . What a hoss.
His vocabulary is still pretty slim and consists of: ball, Dad, Ma, Sis, hot, hat, shoes with his only "phrases" being uh oh and My, My, My.
Because Finn has had a runny nose and cough since Thanksgiving, Dr. Carla and I agreed to try a round of antibiotics. Four weeks of icky snot means something just might be growin' up there. This is the very first time either of our kids have had to take antibiotics. Dr. Carla was happy to hear this and said, "Good for you guys and good for us doctors!" I call it dumb luck.

...Had a Chocolate Covered "Dip-Off"

Dipping stuff in chocolate has become an annual holiday tradition at our house. Wade is famous for his chocolate covered Ritz peanut butter sandwiches. I decided to try my own yummy dipped delight this year in hopes of dethroning Wade. I mimicked Hershey's TAKE5 candy bar: pretzel, glob of peanut butter, drop of melted carmel, topped with chopped peanuts and then of course dipped. We plan on having taste tests to see who the winner is! Cecilia made chocolate covered pretzels and had a blast even though she ended up being banned from sprinkling...

**UPDATE - Wade is still the champion.**

...Visited St. Nick

Four Cottrells waiting in line.


Mr. Finn's first time on the Big Guy's lap.


A seasoned pro, Ceci asks for a Barbie Princess.

Check out more photos HERE

...Experienced a Streak of Bad Luck

I have become quite familiar with bad luck the past two weeks. It all began the night after the totally awesome KU/MU game. My throat hurt. I know, I know. That is what I get for sitting out in the rain and snow for several hours, right? Well, I still think it was worth it. That was the best football game I have ever seen. Plus, we got to ride to Arrowhead in this wicked cool bus with hardwood floors and a huge flat panel TV [which we watched highlights from last season on!]. You're jealous, and that's okay. I would be too.

Anyway, back to my bad luck. The next day was Sunday and I spent the entire day curled up on the couch with chills, aches-n-pains and a fever. I was fearful I had caught the flu even after receiving the shot in October, so I stayed home from work the next day to rest. Wade's foreman sent him home from work to take care of me. What a sweet guy. I still felt like doodoo on Tuesday with a headache and a sore throat but figured I could pull sitting at my desk, responding to emails for 8 hours. By Thursday afternoon my teeth and upper jaw began to ache. Ah, yet another sinus infection. Brilliant. That night I woke up at 1:30 am and felt like Wade had been kicking me in the face all night. I stumbled into the bathroom and mixed up a cocktail of distilled water and whatever is in a sinus rinse packet and proceeded to shoot it up my nose. What came out of my nose that night haunts me still. Di-sgust-ing...and yet fascinating, ya know? I layered ice packets on my face and watched Erin Brockovich on Showtime...and then half of Enchanted on HBO until I finally fell back asleep around 5:30 am.

Friday, Saturday, Sunday and Monday came and went, and I still had that stinkin' headache and sore throat! While at work on Monday I had decided I was going to stay home the next day to rest and kick this Sinusitis' ass once and for all. What I didn't know was that another bug had bitten my ass - a nasty vomit and diarrhea causing bug. Yep. That's right. I was up all night Monday puking my guts out into the trash can while sitting pretty on the toilet. In between puke sessions, I lay curled up in bed praying that my kids would not catch what ever was ailing me. I had that scene from Divine Secrets of the YaYa Sisterhood where all four of Vivi's children are in the bathroom vomiting and pooping everywhere embossed on my brain. Remember how she stepped in it with her bare feet? Ugh! Having both Finn and Ceci sick at the same time scares the living hell out of me. I am most definitely a sympathetic puker.

On Tuesday I had Wade take me to the the doctor at 3:00pm. Come to find out I was very dehydrated and my heart rate was pretty high because of it. My nurse said the heart beats about 60 to 80 times a minute when we're at rest. My heart rate was 140. Yikes! My doctor gave me two bags of fluids, a round of an antibiotic called Rocephin, a short term and a long term anti nausea medication and my favorite - Demerol. This blessed drug put an end to my headache and allowed me to stand laying on the doctor's hard ass exam "bed" for four hours. I think Demerol has replaced Percocet as my favorite drug. Don't worry Mom, I only take them when prescribed... and I enjoy every minute of it.

The needle the nurse used for my IV was a small one and on top of that my IV was positional, so it took FOREVER to get the two bags of fluid in me. Wade was able to pick up sandbags for his truck at Ace Hardware, go to Home Depot to get parts for our house, pick up the kids and take them home so Nana Marla could feed them all before coming back to pick me up. I got home around 7:30 pm and passed out.

Wednesday I slept all day and it was wonderful. The arm that had housed my IV was a bit sore, but I thought nothing of it - that is until I pulled up my sleeve and noticed a red, hot puffy streak traveling all the way from my IV site up to my shoulder. Uh, this can't be good. Called the Doc, they said, "Nope that's not good. Come in right now." I have what is called Phlebitis - basically inflammation of the vein caused by the IV. My Doctor said it was pure "bad luck." Uh, yeah. I'm familiar with that phrase as of late. He prescribed an anti-inflammatory med for the vein and gallons of fluid and time off from work because I still looked pale when I stood up. So I set up camp on the couch and watched a lot of Showtime, HBO and Encore.

Thanks to my handy dandy Blackberry I was able to keep up with my work emails right from the couch. My favorite email came from my fellow sCREWed employee, Janice. It had the subject line "Come Back Soon...Please!" with this photo attached. A couple coworkers had constructed a "stand in" for me out of boxes which had accumulated in my cube during my hiatus. [Christmas presents I had shipped to my office.] I guess Freaky Megan, as she affectionately came known to be, was a tad shorter than I and therefore did not fool some. Damn, because I was hoping to reconstruct her in case I needed a few more days off in the future.

...Pretty'd A Pink Tree

I am the luckiest girl because mommy & daddy bought me a lovely pink Christmas tree for my bedroom. Mommy helped me put the silver balls on it and I added the ponytail holders as a finishing touch.

I love it.

...Found A Familiar Face

[…And isn't it a beautiful face?]
So, it was with much reluctance that I signed up for Facebook (FB) a few weeks ago. All I needed was yet another online distraction, but my curiosity got tickled and I ended up doing it. Let me tell you, this online monster can be a huge distraction and is very addictive so beware. I started off slow; promising myself that I would only accept Friend Requests, never Search for friends and never post a Wall-to-Wall comment. Who was I kidding? Finding old high school and college friends is SO easy on this site. It is really amazing how this site’s database works and I have done a complete 360° on my view of FB. Yesterday I did my very first search. I have not been able to locate one of my best friends from high school for the last eight years. I’ve Googled her a million times and a few years ago I even did one of those quick $9.99 internet searches in an effort to locate her. Yeah, it did not work. [Me = Sucker] All I had to do on FB was type in her first and last name and Voila! There was Angelica Suffren! I was wicked excited. Next thing you know we are emailing each other and catching up.

The last time I spoke with Angelica she was a referee for the NCAA. Just look at her now! I am so proud. I bet my mom and dad will be extremely excited to read this post. Geli was definily one of their favorites.
"Don’t knock it until you try it" definitly has a home on this post. I think everyone should try FB. You just might find a Face you’ve been missin’. I did.

...Gave Thanks

1. THANKFUL FOR HAPPY SURPRISES.
I am almost ashamed to say it, but I feel I have to come clean. I have not used my film camera since I bought my digital one in August. I recently picked up two rolls of film I have had at the lab for a while and remembered one of the reasons why I love film. Opening up a packet developed of film is like Christmas morning. You never know what you are going to get! Here a few of my favorite shots from the rolls:









1. THANKFUL FOR PILES OF LEAVES.
We had a blast these past few days playing in the leaves. The weather has been very cooperative. I felt like a kid again.





1. THANKFUL FOR THE COMING SEASON WITH FAMILY.
Cecilia has been begging us for weeks to put up our tree. The neighbors across the street who put theirs up on November 1 didn't help. We finally agreed and got the holiday gear out of the attic on Sunday. Finnegan was mesmerized by the tree. It was so cute.

...Reunited the CIA

Cecilia was the seventh and final baby born at Lawrence Memorial Hospital (LMH) on Tuesday, October 28, 2003. Her pal, Isaac Riffel was the first. Twenty eight hours after her birth, Ceci's buddy Anna Twedt was born. They are all truly friends since birth....well almost.

Wade and I met Dan and Becky Twedt while attending our 6 week prenatal class at LMH. They took notice of us, well... because everyone in our class did. Who could ignore Wade and his wild personality and crazy questions? The Twedt's ended up in another of our classes at the hospital and so we sat together and ended up exchanging email address that night.

I still remember Dan walking into our hospital room the day after Cecilia was born. He popped in to say they were in labor in a near by room. It was so ironic and I kept saying, "I cannot believe they are here too!"

About two weeks later I decided to attend a breastfeeding (BF) support group at LMH. I was extremely nervous, especially about nursing in public. Looking back I just laugh. Why on earth was I nervous to whip out my girls in a room full of chicks doing the very same thing? It seemed like everyone in the room had known each other for a very long time and they were all pros at BFing. I remember feeling a bit embarrassed about having to wear a nipple shield. Cecilia destroyed my nipples with her bad "latch" technique the first few days of nursing. I was to wear this shield until I healed, but I was so afraid of her "latch" that I ending up wearing that thing for four months! What a pain in the butt that thing was. Okay, I am off track here. Where was I?

Ah, yes. The support group. Well, since no one in the room would talk to me I decided to strike up a conversation with the coolest looking chick in the joint. She was about my age, had tattoos and this was the kicker - she was having latch issues with her munchkin too! Ah, someone who knew my pain. Literally. This hip chick [aka Anj Riffel] and I hit it off and ended up hanging together at the weekly BF support group.

Soon later Anj, Becky and I started getting together. We were new moms, we all BF'd our kids, and well, our kids were all born within 48 hours of each other. Too cool, eh? I think it was Anj who came up with our play date group name The CIA - Cecilia, Isaac and Anna. It has to be the coolest play date name ever. I love putting it into my staff calendar at work. "Tuesday, May 4 - CIA Lunch" My coworkers think I am nuts.

And here they are... 5 years older and a sibling each later...The CIA.
[Also pictured "The VFO" established in 2007. Sorry Vivi, Finn and Owen. I Googled this and got Variable Frequency Oscillator (VFO). Pretty lame when compared to the CIA.]

...Got Rowdy On Monday Night

Hank's got nothing on us.

...Inherited Her Mother's Eye

For her birthday, Cecilia got her very own digital camera from Nana Debbie and Papa Tom. She took to it like a fish in water and began snapping away. I downloaded her beautiful work this morning and created her own Picasa Web Album online. This link has a permanent home on the right side of our blog. Ceci and I hope to update it frequently.
After weeding out several images of our hardwood floor, the remaining shots make up the first collection of her work. I think the shot of my rump is the best one...

OCTOBER

...FINALLY Uploaded Halloween Photos

I was planning to create this rad Halloween video with our costume photos, but I never got around to it. My mother is dying to see the her super hero grand kids dressed up to save the day so I gave up and uploaded our shots.
...uh, Jayhawks are too super heroes! More shots can be found in our October Web Album.

...Requests Your Help

Sweet little Sofia had a CT scan yesterday and the doctors discovered she has reherniated yet again causing some of her bowel to protrude into her chest cavity. Her parents are such strong people, but having to go through this surgery for the third time has to be exhausting and stressful. My heart just sank when I read the last few posts on her blog.
Please send your positive vibes, prayers and thoughts in their direction today as Sofie undergoes yet another repair surgery. This pretty lil' monkey is strong, but she can always use our support!

...Joined ebay

I usually give our no-longer-used kiddo gear/clothing away and everyone exclaims, "Why don't you SELL this stuff?" Honestly, I was intimidated by ebay. I was afraid of doing it wrong. My mom actually took a class called "ebay University" and my good friend, Lanette is a professional ebay seller/shopper. Their experience humbles me. Mom, Lanette and any other ebay master - please check out my current listings and give me some feedback. I am facing my fear head on!

http://myworld.ebay.com/mamajayhawk

...Voted with Flair

...Practiced Free Throws

Just too cute... I had to share this shot from last weekend.

...Moved to the Top Bunk

Today my daughter turned 5 years old. Most mothers freak when one of their young reaches this momentous age. I did not. Seriously, and it is all because Cecilia came into this world exactly 58 days after the cut off for starting school. Wade and I get to enjoy an additional year of toddler hood and Cecilia gets another year of learning and socialization under her belt. Fall kids rule. I am a bit biased being an October baby myself.

Cecilia enjoyed her 5th Birthday immensely. Her morning began with surprise decorations from the Birthday Fairy - who went Green this year by using old newspapers to make the streamers and Ceci's birthday crown. This Eco-friendly Fairly even blew up the bags our newspapers come in to create a fun place setting for Cecilia's birthday brownie. For those of you who do not know, the Birthday Fairy comes during the night before ones birthday morning and decorates to celebrate your day. This Fairy has visited our house ever since Ceci's first birthday.





Cecilia continued her birthday festivities with treats, singing and dancing at Ms. Rita's Daycare - a place that is always hoppin'. We wrapped up the evening with a small family celebration that included tons-o-pink presents, yummy cake and home made ice cream. D-Lish.



The grand finale is her sleeping locale tonight. When her daddy and I bought her the bunk bed she was told that she could not sleep on the top until she was 5. Man, she held us to that promise...almost exactly to the minute. She was born at 8:43 pm five years ago today.