Creepy Crude, Don't Bring Me Down!

Believe it or Not, we all have suffered numerous bouts with the "Crude" for the last three months. It start in October with Liam. Then it shifted to me. Then to Lavinia, then me again. Avin suffered, Liam again, Brian and me, and it is lingering in the very chapped and worn noses of my children. *Sigh* Despite my continuous efforts, doctor trips, chicken soup and saltines, this has been the worst our family has been in a long time. The problem is this, the "Crude" is never the same, Here is how it has manifested itself, beware!


1. Viral throat infection

2. Common cold

3. Bronchitis

4. Common cold

5. Strep Throat

6. Lingering cold

7. Flu Bug (Stomach kind)

8. Sinus infection

9. 24 fever, puke, body aches

10. The forever ever snot fest (I should buy stock in Kleenex!)



Now I have reflected much as to how this is all happening, and have a very proactive stance on the whole bit. I am a "Germaphobe" I clean, therefore I am!

This past Wednesday, I turned off the heat, opened windows for eight hours, bleached every possible surface, washed all bedding and changed the furnace filter. Yes, we are clean, maybe too clean if that is possible. However, the fact that the preschool, and elementary schools are not is most likely the issue here.

Now that Christmas break has arrived, the kids can maybe heal and the creeping crude there can die. And DIE it should! Last night when my beautiful babies walk in the door, but what to my "wondering ears should appear? The sudden sound of "splat" and puke hitting the floor. Thankfully, Lavinia did this only once and knock on wood all is well. Out came the bleach, masks and gloves, and here I am cleaning...again.

So for all of you out there, beware, the creepy crude is everywhere!

Kitty No Name

Hi! I want to introduce myself as the newest member in the Dreier party. However, I have not been named. I try and tell my new people that I have a name, but they just do not listen. I have given them many ideas, however they have not decided on one yet. I have been here now for almost a month. Before this I lived with a nice foster mom who took great care of me. My new Mom and Dad came in a pet store where I was sleeping in a cage with other cats who needed homes. Imagine my surprise when they picked me to be an early Christmas gift for my boy Avin. Last night, my family finally came up with three names I suggested to them. (Tsk and Hiss, it took them long enough!) Anyway, they still can not agree my name! So, I thought I would post it on their blog and my Mom's facebook page, a poll, to let my readers decide on my name.

So, could you please vote on it? I have included a picture of me and the three possible names.

The names that I could live with are:

1. Hobbs

2. Herbert (Herbie for short)

3. Chance

Thanks a bunch! High paw for the one who nails this down for me. I really need a name, "Kitty no name is getting really annoying!

How many more days?

We have all heard it said, we have even said it ourselves. How many more days until Christmas? So this year I thought I would beat my kids to it and make an Advent Calendar of sorts. I got this idea somewhere last year. Using matchboxes from the good ol' food storage shelf, scraps of left over Christmas paper, embellishments, voila! a calendar.

I decided to put magnets on the back of the boxes and use our magnet board from Ikea. Today, I put little messages in the boxes for the kids to do. They vary from singing carols, finding a "goodie". However, to help them truly understand the reason for Christmas, I wrote the verses from the scriptures of Christ's birth. I spilt the verses up so that from the 12th to the 25th, each day will be a verse of the story.

Turkey Day and Black Friday

Thanksgiving for us is not really a top holiday for us. It is not that we are not grateful for what we have, but we do not need just a day to focus on our gratitude. This year we were going to go down to visit Brian's family in Tennessee. However the powers that be decided that we were to stay here in Ohio. Avin got strep throat and a viral infection, and then Brian's Grandma Dreier passed away. I did not cook a huge meal this year, and it was not the traditional fair. I am not a big one for cleaning and touching poultry, (Gag) so I made a boneless Turkey breast, an awesome rice dish, and green beans. A big thanks to Food Network and their magical recipes! To top it off, we had Pumpkin Cupcakes. Yummy. Despite my attempt to make a less than traditional meal, these recipes had real butter, heavy cream and sugar. So good, yet so bad. We all stayed in our pajamas, except for when I went out to search the city for a newspaper.
The Newspaper...what an adventure. Granted I did not go to find one until 11 am, but honestly it took five places to finally nail one down. People in Toledo love those ads! After the fourth place, I wondered if something was telling me that it was not worth the fuss. And what do you know? I found a paper, took it home, and found out that there was really nothing on sale that I wanted. HM... I have never went out in the wee hours of the morning, (isn't that a song?) to shop til I drop. I wondered how it would be and even talked to some friends about doing it together. But the reality is there will be more sales, people are nuts I hear out there, and I really already have my goodies bought. The only reason it is "Black Friday" for me is the fact by now the kids have exhausted all their options and are so bored that they are killing each other. The joys of being a stay at home Mom.

All Good things come to an end.

Coaches Hill and Blakeman with

Avin holding the Trophies.

As with all great and marvelous things there is an end. We however were excited for the end of Avin's soccer year. Mostly due to the fact that through the season they played exceptionally well. As a matter of fact, they ended up being undefeated and became their regions champs! Yea for Arlington Red! Fire, Fire, Fire! These kids played very well and really showed time work. The coaches, hats off. Truly what a coach should be, tough with love.

It seemed that we were at a soccer game every day. When school started for me, I did not get to see some of them. I was really bummed about that. Brian had to be the "soccer mom." Hats off to him, for being the kind of man that can multitask our family.

This experience has not only helped Avin become comfortable in his new school, but has brought out the other kids to want to play soccer like him. So, in the fall, Lavinia has decided to be a soccer player too. Just call me "Soccer Mom!"