And we are back to not so normal.....

Remember how I said our family just doesn't function right without each one of us here? Well, it is true. True. True. True. Chris is in Miami now and I am manning the fort with the assistance of Aunt Jan. We are doing ok and will continue to do so until Chris gets home Saturday, but still. I don't like it. I am not exaggerating when I say I don't want to live a single day apart from that man. I love him to my core. Besides, do you know how big a king size bed is for one person????

As for a run down of our day - I had lunch with Ethan today at school. He gets such a kick out of this and is really all "mommy-one" when I show up. Without a doubt this is going to change, I may have 1 more year for him to be so crazy about me in front of his friends and I am going to milk it all I can. When I picked him up from school today we went to the grocery store to pick up supplies for his class Learning Experience on Friday. They are talking about gingerbread men this week and Friday they are building gingerbread houses. We picked up white icing and marshmallows. Each child is to bring some type of candy for decorating and he wanted to bring marshmallows. As we were walking out to the car a plane flew over head and he said "my daddy might be on that plane." I smiled and said, yeah - maybe. He is counting down the days just like me for Chris to come home. 4 days he says, until daddy comes home and we can build more on my Star Wars AT TE Walker.

That's about it. Pictures will be slim if I even have a chance to post any this week. Chris usually uploads them for me and posts them to our web site so not sure I will get to that with everything else I am juggling. I am sure you understand.

Tomorrow is Wednesday. Chris says Wednesday is as good as Friday because you are more than half way there, like Wednesday is the peak of the mountain and all you have to do is climb down Thursday and Friday. So happy Wednesday all!

And the World Resumes A Routine

Yesterday was our last day of track out and Christmas vacation. Ethan will rise bright and early this morning to a crisp 18 degree morning and head off to school for the third quarter. Owen and Eliza will again have daddy to themselves and I am sure I will be hearing "I don't like car pool" this afternoon. Ah, and the world according to the Bordman's begins to resume some normalcy. Well, except for the fact that Chris is leaving tomorrow afternoon for Miami. I'm sorry, did you just say Miami? As in, THE Miami? White beaches, turquoise waters, and 80 degrees! Yes, he is leaving tomorrow afternoon for a meeting and won't return until Saturday. We will miss him dearly, but our wonderful Aunt Jan has come to stay with us so that I can continue to come to work at the crack of dawn and Owen and Eliza can remain at home with us for a couple of more weeks. Ah, yes, normalcy.

And speaking of normalcy, I rented G Force yesterday for the boys to watch and when I returned it I decided to live on the wild side and I rented Julie and Julia for me. I am really living on the edge these days with my late nights. Both movies were cute. G Force even made me laugh out loud a few times. You know you're a mom when........ And Julie and Julia just made my mouth water with all the food she was cooking. I suppose Paula Deen is onto something using all that butter.

Eliza was up again last night several times around midnight. Hopefully the final two teeth are pushing through. We ended up putting her in bed with us in the hopes of getting some sleep. She slept from about 12.30am until 4.45am. Not exactly a full nights rest for Chris and I, but we continue to muddle our way through the fog.

Happy Monday!

One Sweet Little Boy

This month is Owen's birthday month. He is going to be 4 in just 2 short weeks. I made our beach reservation this morning since he hasn't been in day care since Eliza was born. He requested a trip to the beach for his birthday and I got a really good deal on a hotel with an indoor water park. Three nights is costing us what it would normally cost to reserve a party place for him. So we are all very excited. He has requested a race car birthday cake so I have been looking online to see what I can find. This one looks pretty easy so I may try to make it or just buy one when we get there.

We aren't sure what we will do in the evenings since it will be cold, but maybe go see a movie or go to Broadway at the Beach. There is always the aquarium which is lots of fun and we may even get lucky and find a miniature golf place that is open. Should be a lot of fun.
So happy kick off to your birthday month Owen!

Boy, n.: a noise with dirt on it

Somebody missed their baby sister.

They missed Chris and I too, but Eliza definitely got loved on before us.

Tonight at dinner Ethan said I really missed you mommy. I asked him if he was happy to be home and he smiled real big and said yes. Melts my heart. As loud and active as they are, our family just doesn't function completely without all of us here. Chris said it best when he said there is a certain energy the boys bring to our home. They put a hop in your step and keep you moving in the right direction. This is my favorite definition of my boys:

Boy, n.: a noise with dirt on it.

So glad to have my noisy dirt home.

Auld Lang Syne

There are two significant events from 2009 that will always bring me to my knees in gratitude. The birth of my precious daughter, Eliza and God giving Chris and our family another chance at life. Give Praise! God is good!

Now to him who is able to do immeasurable more than all we ask or imagine.
~ Ephesians 3:20

That being said, I am happy to see 2009 come to a close and look forward to what blessings lie ahead for our family in 2010. Here are a few of our big events from 2009.

• Owen turned 3, which has proven to be when he found his independent, stubborn personality.
• I turned 36 and am now closer to 40 than I am to 30. Time just doesn't stop, does it?
• We found out we were having a girl and my dreams became filled with smocked dressed and bows.
• Chris had a heart attack and it forever changed the way I look at my family.
• Ethan graduated from Pre-Kindergarten.
• We sold our McKenzie house, bought a new house and moved when I was 37 weeks pregnant.
• Ethan started kindergarten.
• Ethan learned to swing by himself.
• Ethan turned 5 and is growing leaps and bounds with his confidence.
• I gave birth to Eliza Gale Bordman.
• We lost both Corwin and Lou.
• We celebrated 6 years of marriage.
• I joined a bible study.
• I was promoted to Associate Manager.

As I look to 2010 and begin to think about my new year's resolutions I know I want to keep it simple and be realistic. Afterall, succeeding at your goals feels so much better than failing at them. I want to focus on things that make me a better wife, mother and friend. So here is where I plan to start.

• Love deeper.
• Listen more. Talk less.
• Appreciate my husband more.
• Walk closer to God.
• Play with my children more.
• Laugh more.
• Inhale. Exhale. Deeper.
• And of course, the obligatory, lose this baby weight! :-)

Bits and Pieces

We tried on a new dress today to see if Eliza could move into some 6-12 month things.

It fits.

She hasn't been quite as fussy today and one of her top teeth finally pushed through. She even slept a little better last night.

Now just three more to go.

She is trying to crawl. She digs her toes in and stretches her arms and fingers out to try to pull.

(baby feet are so stinkin' cute)

She has also started to notice this one.

And in true Emma fashion, she doesn't try to get away. Eliza has had a few handfuls of gray fur today and, of course, Emma just lays there. Even follows us if we leave the room. Silly cat.

One tooth, Two teeth, Three teeth, Four

We are seeing a lot of this these days

and this

She is one cranky little girl. And I am one cranky little momma. I knew Eliza was cutting teeth over Christmas because I could see the white of at least one tooth coming in. That and she started waking up every 3 hours crying and wanting to nurse. But last night I looked in her mouth and I could count 3 teeth coming in.

Chris went to CVS last night and picked up some Oragel and Tylenol. Not that it helped a whole heck of a lot, but we are trying anything. I am not kidding when I say she wants to nurse a.round.the.clock. And if she so much as sees me and I am not holding her, a meltdown ensues. How dare I do anything like take a shower without holding her???

So today when I was putting more Oragel on her gums, I counted FOUR teeth coming in.
Poor little thing.

Come on teeth. We could all use some sleep around here.