MERRY CHRISTMAS EVERYONE!

Wish me luck!

I start my new job as an operating room nurse tomorrow morning at 7am! I AM NERVOUS! This whole morning thing is going to take some getting used to! I'm sure I will wake up every hour to make sure I didn't oversleep! Cross your fingers for me!

THE BIRTHDAY GIRL!

PRINCESS MADISON IS THREE! I can't believe it! It seems like such a short time ago we were bringing her home from the hospital, wondering why they would trust us with this sweet black-haired little baby...

She is not a baby anymore!!!! She is now blond and sassy and waiting for her turn to ride her brand new motorcycle to the Sturgis Rally...

Thank you to everyone for making her birthday so special! We are truly blessed to have such great family and friends!

Funny Girl

Tonight we are in cleaning mode for Madison's upcoming birthday party. Madison's floor in her room was COVERED with toys, so I picked them up and Nana went in to vacuum...when she was done, Madison went in there and said "Oh thanks Nana! You got me new carpet!" HAHAHA. This is true proof that our house is a complete mess...

HAPPY BIRTHDAY!

Today is my sis-in-law Sarah's birthday! HAPPY BIRTHDAY SARAH! Only one more year 'til 30~wish we could be in Florida with the air conditioner on! Have a good one!!!!

We love our Vikings!!!

No rest for the wicked

Our life just gets crazier by the minute! On Saturday of last week, Chris and I hopped in the mini-van for a mini-vacation to Minneapolis. I had bought him tickets to the Vikings/Packers game for his birthday and it was time to use them. We got the kids off to Aunt Jen's with Nana and hit the road. We got into downtown Minneapolis around 4:30...our original plan was to go straight out to Ikea, but there are NO signs ANYWHERE for an exit to the Mall of America. So we got all checked in and headed out for Ikea. We ended up taking the scenic route and saw a lot of residental area...hehehe. We shopped a little and then went out for a great dinner at Stella's Fish Cafe. WHAT A GREAT PLACE!!! We both tried oysters for the first time; slimy little things, but did you know they are an afrodisiac????? The sangria and lobster roll were amazing! We ended the night having drinks in the hotel bar and finally getting a chance to talk; we don't get a lot of adult conversation in with two little tikes. :)
Sunday: Game day! We put on our matching purple Vikings shirts (how sweet!) and headed out to the Metrodome after a quick trip to Starbucks. The major purchase of the day was a purple and gold feather boa. A very versatile accessory...The Vikes lost to the Packers, but we had a really great time. The energy in those places is UNREAL! After the game, we headed home to our little ones that weren't feeling so well...
Monday morning: a trip to the doctor for Owen. He had a fever and a cough and a yucky green snotty nose. That little chunky monkey weighs 26 pounds!!! He had a plugges and infected tube in his ear (again), so he got a little antibiotic shot and some medicine. Madison made sure that the doctor checked her ears, throat, and heart. (do you think we go to the doctor enough?)
Tuesday: Owen feeling a little better. Madison finds out at 10am that today is "dance-class day" and needs her dance outfit on STAT. She refuses to nap and, in turn, refuses to dance for the last part of her class. WHEN DID I BECOME THE MOM THAT OTHER MOMS STARE AT??? But the day ended on a good note when Chris got a "Friend of Education" award from Lincoln School for all of his help with the kids starting band. Way to go!!!
Shopping days until Christmas: 38 This really scares me....

Elvis has just entered the building...

Tiny dancer

We now have a little ballerina in our lives...Madison started dance a few weeks ago! She is in pre-ballet at the Academy of Dance. We now eat, sleep, and breathe dancing!!! She is just so fun to watch twirl around in front of those big mirrors...

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!

This year the kids went as Dorothy from the Wizard of Oz and a dragon. Maddie made the perfect Dorothy with her little red slippers! Owen was going to be the lion, but he made up his mind quite early about what he was and wasn't going to wear on his head. So, needless to say, we went with what made him happy. They both had such a great time!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!!!!!!!

TODAY IS THE BIG DAY! Chris Miller turns THIRTY! He is taking it very well...don't mention his thinning hair though...

God Bless America!

Today the Charlie Battery of Yankton returned to town after 16 months of fighting in Iraq. The town was a sea of yellow ribbons and there was an awesome "welcome home" parade this afternoon. Madison got into the patriotic spirit with her flag and bandana and waved to all the soldiers as they rode by. We want to say THANK YOU to all the men and women that have served (past and present) to defend the freedoms we enjoy everyday!

It's family picture time!

Update

Things continue to busy around here. I am finding it difficult, but not impossible to balance all of the things on my plate. We just need to take things one day at a time. It is nice to see light at the end of the tunnel!


Bob Schieffer (CBS News) and I have a gig together. He has been chosen as the recipient of the Al Neuharth Award for Excellence in Journalism, an award that he will receive at USD on October 5. He has written some songs and would like to perform them at the awards ceremony. I have been chosen to be in his back up band! The ceremony is Thursday October 5 from 7-8:30 and will be broadcast on SDPTV. Set your DVRs, VCRs, etc.!

I must commend my wife on her ability to deal with my busy schedule. She has been extremely supportive and patient! Thanks honey! By the way, the ER construction project has been completed at Avera Sacred Heart. Mindy is now working in a very state of the art facility (my favorite part is the new high def TV in the waiting room!).

The kids are great. They continue to challenge and amaze us. It's hard to belive Maddie is almost 3 years old, an Owen is almost 1!

That's all. See ya soon!

Bad Blogging

Wow! It's been awhile since I have posted anything! Days go by so quickly anymore! Let's see whats new...
#1 My mom got a job in town at Yankton Care Center. CONGRATS! She is going to be a ward clerk, which means she is in charge of the scheduling of the nurses and aides, putting Medicare info into the computer for the residents, etc. It will be so nice for her to not have to drive everyday!
#2 Only about a month until Maddie starts dance...she reminds me everyday.
#3 School is still going really well. Chris is SO BUSY. We haven't had much "family time" lately, but we are all adjusting to the changes. Chris is better at that than I am.
#4 The helmet is going really well too. Owen is now wearing it 23 hours a day and he has been a real trooper! We finally got some air holes in the back for ventilation...the poor boy was sweating like crazy!
#5 I started Weight Watchers over Labor day weekend and have lost 5 pounds! I am, however, addicted to coffee and Diet Dew. With two small kids and a husband in school, its the only way to survive. :)
Well, that is about all from the Miller house! Hope everyone has a great Sunday! Oh! And HAPPY BIRTHDAY to my nephew, Adam. He is the big #9 yesterday!

Busy, busy weekend!

Hope everyone had a good Labor Day weekend! On Friday, we went to Sioux Falls and Owen got his helmet. I have to say, he looks so cute in it! He is tolerating it really well...we'll see how tonight goes when he has to sleep in it all night! The only bad thing about it is how much he sweats...just imagine wearing a plastic bowl on your head all day. Yikes!
Chris had 3 shows this weekend so he was exhausted by the time Monday night rolled around. He played at the Chateau on Friday and Saturday and then out at CJ's on Sunday. His cousin, Josh, and his fiance were back in Yankton and they got to come and watch him play on Sunday night after a Miller family get-together. It was good to see them again!
We had a busy Monday...we had some family time with my parents and my sister and her kids in the afternoon. Some burgers, some croquet...you can't beat that! Then that evening our friends (Amanda and Trevor) came over for some brats and beer. Owen and their little boy, Lucas, played in the bathtub together--It was so sweet! Madison was busy looking through the Penneys catalog and picking out stuff for Santa to bring her! IT'S WAY TO EARLY TO THINK ABOUT CHRISTMAS!!!
Anyways, one of these next posts will come from my husband if he can fit it into his schedule! :) Oh! and I just want to say good luck to my sis-in-law, Sarah, on her job interview! Let us know!

Week one is done!

Well, it took me a week, but here is the picture of Chris on his first day back to school! It was a good first week...he is going to be a VERY BUSY guy; lots of busy work for his classes. Oh, and then you throw in a few kids and work and a high maintenance wife and some gigs here and there...

Start bringing apples to Chris!

Well, starting Monday we will be HOWLIN' like 'yotes again...Chris is going back to USD for his teaching degree. How soon you forget the cost of books and applying for student loans...I can't wait to stand in line to get his loan checks and pay for a parking sticker! Stay tuned for his picture on his first day...I am going to make him stand on the front step with his backpack!

Our little boy...

We found out yesterday that Owen will be needing a cranial remolding helmet to correct his head deformity. The good news was that his measurements didn't get WORSE, but that means they didn't get better either. So we are traveling back to Sioux Falls next Tuesday to get his molding and then he will be in the helmet on September 1st. They have a schedule for "breaking him in" (which is WONDERFUL because he does not like hats!) He will wear it for 3-4 months, depending on how fast his head decides to go back to normal or until we are happy with the shape.
You can see a picture of the helmet he will be wearing at:
http://www.orthomerica.com/products/cranial/starlightband.htm
It is a clear helmet, so we can decorate it with fun, bright stickers...Chris thinks we need to find some Vikings stickers and get him used to being a football star...
It is a short amount of time in the grand scheme of things...just a tough thing to get used to!

The emu is Australia's biggest bird

We learned at the zoo today that the female emu makes loud harsh sounds, whereas the male is completely silent...I had to wonder if they were describing our marriage!

Vacation was real WEINER!

We found the Oscar Mayer weiner mobile in Des Moines last weekend. We took this photo right next door to our hotel! The weekend was great...Adam(nephew) played in basketball tournament, Ethan(nephew) played in a baseball tournament, we had a great hotel (Wildwood Lodge), I played a wedding dance in Harlan IA on Saturday, we saw Mike and Alissa Anderson on their 1 year anniversary (happy anniversary, guys!), we saw Troy and Amy Gillespie at their home in Ankeny along with their new son Bennett...a lot of stuff in one weekend!

Stay tuned...

Do you BUMBO????

Owen is a king...or at least he thinks he is with his new BUMBO chair. As you might already know, Owen has plagiocephaly, which is a abnormal flattening of the head due to a number of reasons. His flattening is because he spent so much time sleeping in his car seat as a little munchkin due to his tummy trouble and might have had some shortening of his neck muscles on one side. So we have been working with Children's Care Hospital in Sioux Falls to see if he will need a helmet to fix the problem. (So far, we don't need one and are working on repositioning, neck exercises and tummy time, etc). So the "helmet guy" at CCH told us to look into this Bumbo chair to sit Owen in to encourage sitting by himself. It is his THRONE. He loves it! All he needs now is a Burger King crown....

Maddie's Swimsuit

This year Maddie is going with a two piece swimsuit. We have a little pool on our back deck that she loves! She loves the water.

Madison and Owen

This is what they look like now. Kids get big and start making funny faces.

Sleep when they do

I found this picture on my computer and thought it would be a good one to start out with. This is a very common site at our house. Owen spends a lot of time quality time with me...we find each other so interesting that one of usually passes out!

Welcome to the new millerzblog!

Hey everybody! It has been a year since I posted anything, so I am giving the site a facelift. Stay tuned for kid pictures, wild family adventures and other fun stuff!