Christmas Eve/Day 2011

We spent some time with G&G Haynes and Cory & Cassie on Christmas Eve. Here's the girlies with Grandma Hilda.

The kids were all nestled and snug in their beds...


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2011 Christmas Happenings!

Before Trevor left on his last externship we were able to take the fam to a lighting ceremony in Crocker Park. It was awesome! Cold, but awesome!  They handed out these glow sticks for free! Kids loved it!

Kids checking out some stores... and In line waiting to see Santa...






Kynn was peeking around the corner at Santa! Ha ha!


Kynn and I joined Jaden for Breakfast with Rudolph at his school!


Pig hat I made for Maycee B., Myleigh's monster hat...


Phoebe's Hello Kitty hat... and Jaden's Plants vs Zombies hat...



Kade's..., and Mikka's... (Thanks Trev for modeling!)


Look!!! Santa came early!!!! Ha ha! This kept them entertained for quite a while! And Jaden refused to go out of character!!

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Osterhout family Christmas party

We were able to catch the family Christmas party while we were in Idaho. My mom and her sisters are awesome! They have kept the tradition going for SO long! I remember going bowling at the Christmas party when I was a kid, and now I get to take my kids, and they love it!

KynnLee and Avery were too cute playing together and putting lipstick on each other!


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Phoebe's Christmas present

I kid you not, every time Trevor left for an externship something went wrong. Like, something major. Well, we went out with a bang. We were lucky enough to have Trevor's last externship be in December (yes, Christmas apart) and a few days after he left Phoebe's eye ruptured from on-going cataracts she has had for about 3 years.

If you've never had a family dog then you might not understand how they really are more like a sibling than a pet. We've had phoebe for 9 years. So here I was by myself with the kids in Ohio, Trevor in New Mexico and we are thinking we might have to put her down. The surgery was going to be at least $1,400.

Here she is, not looking so hot. Not being herself.

But we all made sure to give her extra loves and snuggles.



She survived the trip to Idaho, which we had already planned months in advance.



We got a quote for eye removal in Heyburn at Ark Animal Hospital for $350! So we were able to get the surgery done! I have no idea why such a price difference, maybe they use gold suture in Cleveland, who knows. But since the vet was good friends with Trevor's mom (perks for living in a small town) and had a good rep in the area, we all felt good about it.

She had to stay the night in the hospital but we visited her later in the day after her surgery.


Here is little Phoebs the day after surgery...



I couldn't believe how happy and playful she was just two days after surgery! She acted better than she had in months! Poor little pup. 

Kids dressing her up...


Old Pheebs (or "New Pheebs!" As Jaden would say) had a good Christmas!






This is where she hung out when we left the house... and I crocheted her a Hello Kitty hat for Christmas! ha ha!


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Mr. Kringle's Inventionasium

Before we took off out west for Christmas, we visited Mr. Kringle's Inventionasium in downtown Cleveland. The kids always have a blast!

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Do bad things really come in 3's?

I had a series of unfortunate events around Thanksgiving this year. It was a lot of fun...

It all started a bit before Thanksgiving.

My foot had been bothering me for a few weeks when I dance. It kind of just felt like it needed to pop, and then my ankle kept rolling; it was just unstable. Then Friday after classes it really started to hurt. I iced it and didn't think much of it. Saturday I had Trev look at it and he noticed it was pretty bruised and swollen. It bothered me all weekend, but at ballet on Monday it was killing me. I barely made it through pliés at the barre and had to leave to get it taped. Trevor was working at the Cleveland foot and ankle clinic and made me an appt. that afternoon. Everyone was speculating a stress fracture; the athletic trainer at school, Trevor, me, an instructor and the podiatrist I saw. X-rays were clear (in the spot that was painful anyway) but stress fractures don't show up on x-ray for 2 weeks. So they said ice, motrin, and rest, which is all they do for stress fractures anyway. Good timing with finals coming up and all...

So two days later on Wednesday I get a phone call from the dermatologist's office where I had a mole removed by my eye close to the bridge of my nose. She said, "do you have a few minutes?" and I thought "oh $#it. I don't get a 'lab results were normal, thanks bye.'?". (Yes mom, the $#it word came to my mind). It wasn't a mole, but a cancerous basal cell carcinoma and I have to have surgery to have it all removed. While I'm on the phone with her, I get a text from Trevor saying that New Mexico (where he is doing his externship in December) won't let him have an extra 1/2 day off; which means he can't spend Christmas with us. Then the lady on the phone proceeds to tell me that since it is so close to my eye that it's a possibility that occuloplastics will have to get involved. Awesome. That's all I need is another doggone surgery. Where the crap am I supposed to fit that in my life right now? And by the way, this type of skin cancer is from sun exposure. Anybody that has been with me at the pool in the summer knows that I wear a hat, glasses AND use sunscreen. Seriously, I always use sunscreen on my face. And when I used to fake bake (forever ago) I would cover my face. I just can't win. Ugh.

Friday after Thanksgiving we put all our Christmas decorations up. Trevor hangs a mistletoe on the holder with the stockings and tells the kids "Look what happens when you stand under the mistletoe!" So I go over to him and the thing comes down and smacks me on the forehead. It couldn't be on top of my head so I can cover the wound with my hair, it has to be right on the forehead. I don't even understand how it could have hit me that hard. It's not all that big and it wasn't all that high above my head. I swear I could hear the goose egg forming. You could definitely witness it in the mirror. HURT. SO. STINKING. BAD. I didn't feel quite right and was nauseous for a couple hours afterword. It wasn't until the next day when I was playing the piano that I realized that my brain was not making the right connections and I probably got a mild concussion.

So that was my Thanksgiving break. Holy s-word, I know! But despite it all, I'm determined to enjoy my last week of classes and rock my finals next week so that Trevor can continue to be jealous of my 4.0 GPA. :o)

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Kid's Cooking Class

Oct 17

Back in July I took advantage of a Groupon for a cooking class. I purchased 2 classes for each kiddo. I took them to their first class and they loved it!

KynnLee had to bring her own Strawberry Shortcake apron. :)


On their menu was Jack O' Lantern Quesadillas and Halloween Candy Pie. So cute!


They loved it, and I loved it because now I can put them in charge of dinner. ;) Ha ha, if only....


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