Finally, an update

I have been such a bad blogger, I can't believe I haven't posted anything in over a month! Where has the time gone? Christmas was full of family,getting the kids outside to enjoy the brisk winter air.

Joey dug himself a cave, he built a different one the following week and could hide his whole body into it!


I call Becca my "pied piper", she always has a trail of cats following her when she goes to the shed with food for them. We have 9 outdoor cats, to help keep our mouse population down. They were supposed to be living in the shed, but they seem to prefer sleeping and hanging out around my house and deck instead.


These next pictures are from Christmas morning, when the kids opened their "big" presents from us.
Joey received a Nook, an ereader, from us. Since he loves reading so much these seemed like a logical gift for him. (I think evenutally I might claim some space on it also for some books for me.)


Becca received the DSi that she had been asking for. She also had asked Santa for a camera and there is one built into the DSi so it worked for that also.


Andrew has been campaigning for a cell phone for I don't know how long. We finally gave in and got him one for Christmas this year. He was just a little excited!


We had great family celebrations for Christmas, I just love spending time with everyone. I had to work for the holiday, but still had lots of great family time.

January brought lots of skiing time for Andrew and Joey. Joe is new to skiing this year and is loving it! He seems to be a bit of a natural at it, and can almost keep up with Andrew on the hills. Of course I think it helps having a big brother out there showing him the ropes of the sport. They are at Mt Lacrosse usually once a week, but would be there more if we let them. I foresee a couple of season passes in our future for my boys.

Work has been extremely busy for me. I am liking my night shifts, they are so busy the hours pass very quickly. I am involved in a couple of different councils, so I have several meetings each month to attend. Plus I have taken on two extra jobs at work, the scheduling of our PCTs and the maintenance of our pediatric security system. Taking all of these together, I end up with 5-6 meetings each month, plus the scheduling. Whew, no wonder time gets away from me. Rich had to switch shifts this year, he is now on a straight second shift until next January. Each year there is a shift sign up in Sept-Oct. This year a couple of guys with more seniority came off of other positions to be back on the road patrol, and took away his day shifts. Out of the options available to us at the time, second shifts work best for our family. It has been a big shift for us though...it is harder for me to plan any time away, because now I need to be here for the kids after school whereas before I knew he would be home for them. Plus I end up having to do all of the afterschool running, so life feels even more hectic at times. Rich isn't too sure he likes the shift either, ends up with more calls and a busier evening also. This does mean that I get to come home and go right to sleep, the first time in several years, which I definately appreciate! I am able to get more consistant sleep, which my body is appreciating.

Hope the New Year has been good for everyone and continues to bring good things. I hope to update this blog more often, for the few who still follow. If you are still sticking with me, I would love a comment from you, to know who is still hanging in there with me.