HO HO HO!!!

WISHING YOU ALL A MERRY CHRISTMAS AND A GREAT 2008!

HE DID IT!!!!!!!!!

HE GRADUATED! FOR REAL! FOR THE LAST TIME! (at least it better be or I might end up in an institution) :)

This man has worked harder than I have ever seen anyone work for something before...he has had many sleepless nights and has been pulled in so many directions for the past year and a half. WE ARE SO PROUD OF YOU DADDY!!!! Or should we call you
MR. MILLER??!?!?!?!??!

22 days to go!!!

Ok, this is just hilarious...you have to see it!
http://www.elfyourself.com/?id=1123416222

HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!!!

ALREADY FOUR YEARS OLD! I CAN'T BELIEVE IT! Today is the first snow-storm of the season, so I don't think anyone from out-of-town is going to be able to make it for the big party...that's what you get when you have winter babies! But we are going to have a swimming party and pizza at the Holiday Inn with some preschool friends and then watch Chris' show choir perform! It's only 8 am and she is ready to ROCK!

HAPPY TURKEY DAY!

Hope you all have a wonderful Thanksgiving!
Only 34 Days until Christmas!!!

8 days and counting...

8 more days until our house is officially SOLD!!! And...we have an accepted offer on a house here in Mitchell! There is a contingency on our house selling, so hopefully that all goes smoothly and we will be moving into our new house in late Jan/early Feb. It is the cutest house with a tiered backyard and perrenial garden and a little playhouse! It will need a little work, but luckily Ethan Allen has been advertising this "complimentary design service" YIPPEEE! Plus, its amazing what a little painting can do, right???

Not too much longer and Madison will be 4, Chris will be officially done with school, Christmas will be here, and little Owen will be 2!!!!!!!! HOLY COW!! Time flies when you're havin fun!

These kids know how to shop!!

Early Halloween pics

Last night we went to TRUNK-OR-TREAT...businesses in Mitchell line up their vehicles in the middle school parking lot and kids walk around the circle and get candy. So I just had to put the monkeys in their costumes a little early!

Sorry about the glare! The sun was in a bad spot!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO...

ME!!! My husband is out-of-town, so I have to wish myself a happy birthday...he is in Rapid City at All-State Chorus. (for all of you in South Dakota that have PBS, you can watch his kids perform tonight at 9pm!) Anyways, neither of my kids will give me a birthday hug and they are fighting like crazy today! I just went and got a free birthday coffee and I feel like lying around and watching Food Network all day! Only 2 more years 'til 30!

BUGS

So we have box elder bugs EVERYWHERE outside our house and I HATE THEM. I got online to read about how to get rid of them and this is what I read ".....they are usually pests only by their presence, although their piercing-sucking mouthparts can sometimes puncture skin, causing slight irritation. "

Ok, anything with a piercing-sucking mouthpart has got to go.

Another website "They do no damage by feeding, but their excrement spots on draperies are difficult to remove."

I do not want any box elder excrement near my draperies.

Do we even have draperies?

These aren't nearly as bad as the scorpions my sis-in-law in Florida has to deal with, but this is my little MidWestern crisis at the moment. Please let it freeze so they will go away!!!!!!!!!

And the big news is...

WE SOLD IT!!! HOORAY!!!! We are so relieved to have that done and over with! Sad also, that we now officially don't live in Yankton anymore...but we had to get that monkey off our backs!
And another interesting note: a house I had my eye on that went "sale pending" a few months ago is now back on the market. So, we will see what happens after November 15!!!

GUESS WHAT!??!?!?!?!?

WE GOT AN OFFER ON OUR HOUSE! I am in the process of negotiating as we speak! I will keep you posted!

Where's Elton?

Today is the big day!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY CHRIS!
31 years old today! And... Elton John, here we come!!!!!!!!!!

Fun at the park!!!

I have to have this book!

My kids are really pretty good about eating their veggies, but we all could use some more healthy food in our lives...she hides cauliflower in mac and cheese and broccoli in chicken nuggets! And these recipes are all tested on her own kids...I am going to have to check it out!

A quick pic of the munchkins...

BENNY AND THE JETS...

OMG! ELTON JOHN IS COMING TO SIOUX FALLS ON CHRIS' BIRTHDAY!!!!!!!!!!!! WE ARE SO THERE!

Back to School!

Well, Chris started school again on Tuesday, which means that my mom and I are going to muddle through these next five weeks while he is living in Yankton. He has five weeks of classes before he can actually start his student teaching in Mitchell, so he will be gone during the week and home on the weekends (in between band gigs!) *insert dazed look here* We went on a shopping spree in Sioux Falls on Monday, so that helped my sadness a little. :) Last night we met again in Sioux Falls and took the kids to Chucky Cheese...we had so much fun! I think Chris and I had as much fun as the kids. We were kicking some you-know-what at Skee-Ball and Bozo's Grand Prize Game...so anyways, I am going to suck it up and get through these next five weeks and then we will be onto bigger and better things. I just keep thinking about these moms and dads that have their spouses in Iraq for months/years; I think we will make it just fine...
We have all had this nagging cough, runny nose junk for about a week. Owen and I are on antibiotics--and we are all just feeling quite punk around here. The kids LOVE their new daycare http://www.brightbeginningsmitchell.com
Madison is learning to recognize her numbers and letters and Owen is learing sign language...I can't belive how fast they grow up! Maddie got invited to her first little-kid birthday party last week. I tell you what, I almost cried! How do you make them stay little forever??????
What else is new....I really like my new job; we are all having to adjust to me going back to working nights again, but it has been going well so far. They are giving me lots of hours, which equals lots of money, so I'm fine with that! We have met some great people here, now we just need our house in Yankton to sell! Then I can sleep at night!
Also, my 3 year old darling daughter informed me the other day that "princesses don't wear pants, they only wear skirts and dresses", SO, if you know anyone that sews really well and can turn some jeans into skirts, let me know! We don't want to make princess angry! :)

I MISS YOU!!!

My girls from the ER/XRay...Lisa, Nancy, and Sara...we had a great "going-away" lunch... The Mulligan Drive girls (or DIVAS, right Colette?) The Mulligan boys...aren't they handsome????

We miss all of you so much!!!!!!

...and they're off!

Well, things have been moving quickly...the movers are coming on Thursday to take us to Mitchell! For those of you that don't already know, we have gotten a more-than-generous offer to live in a 3 bedroom house for free as long as we need it. So, last night we took a trek up to look at the place and we really like it. The family that has offered this to us is AMAZING...very warm and welcoming. So we are starting to feel like this is all happening for a reason!
Anways, we are making the move on Thursday...that is also the day I start my new job at Queen of Peace Hospital. Chris is going to be helping the marching band for the remainder of the summer until he starts up with classes again. We will most likely be in this house until January...we just don't have the time, nor the energy to move again until he is graduated!

Our new address will be (until further notice):
13 North Harmon
Mitchell, SD 57301

WHICH HARRY POTTER CHARACTER ARE YOU?

I had to do this quiz to commemorate the release of the new book in a few days!

You're clever, ambitious, and have enough brains to be in Ravenclaw: You're Hermione Granger, Harry's super-smart sidekick.

Well, we all knew the super-smart thing was true...hehe

Just Beachy...

Vegas

It was a lot of walking...
Harrah's Piano Bar...

Gorgeous...I just LOVE the palm trees!

We had such a great time! If any of you are reading this, thank for taking care of our kids so we could have a very memorable anniversary!

Upward and Onward...

We are moving to Mitchell!!! I'm sure all of you that are reading this already know, but Chris got offered the position of high school vocal director at Mitchell High School, starting in January. So, we are actually moving at the end of July. The hospital wants me to start in my new position on August 2. I will be working nights again (ugh) on Swingbed and Medical. But, it is only 60 hours every two weeks, so I will be able to spend more time with Maddie and Owen. I am going house-hunting today, so hopefully we can find something we like and sell ours with no problems!
What else is new:
1. Our 5 year anniversary is on Friday...for our gift to each other, we went on a 4 day trip to Las Vegas with some friends and had a great time! (i will post some pics)
2. We got a kitty...her name is Foxy Cleopatra and right now she is making me really mad because she is biting my feet...but she is orange and black and white and she is about 3 months old and very much a playful baby! Owen likes to pick her up and throw her...any advice on how to fix that would be much appreciated.
I think that's about it...the kids are great; growing and sassy as ever!

What a week...

Well, we all already know how bad I am at posting, so we won't relive that again...
This has been a long week for the Miller fam. To make a long story pretty long, Owen had been running a temp and coughing for about a week. He was being treated for pneumonia with antibiotics and Chris and I took turns staying home with him last week. On Sunday he woke up feeling good, so we dropped him off at grandma and papa's house and drove up to Sioux Falls to take Madison to the circus. When we got back he was resting on grandma's lap after sleeping for about 3 hours...by the time we drove home his temp was back up to 102 and he was falling back asleep again. Ok, so I am a nurse at work, when I am home I am the MOM, and after 9 days of a fever I was getting nervous. The pediatrician on-call told us to go to the ER. By the time we got him there, his temp was 104.
So, we did the chest X-ray (which didn't show too much), and some blood work and an IV and spent two days in the hospital. Two of the longest days of our lives! The nurses were great; Owen got spoiled, but no one slept. He had IV antibiotics and steroids every 6 hours and breathing treatments every four hours and they were checking his temperature every 2 minutes it seemed...blah, blah, blah. We ended up leaving on Tuesday after no fever for 14 hours.
Wednesday morning we woke up with a temp of 102 again...UGH. But his blood work is showing that it isn't from a bacteria. The doctor is thinking he has a little mucus plug in his lung that isn't letting the junk come out so we are doing "back claps". It is this little rubber thing that we pound on his back with to break up the mucus. Or, he sucked a little piece of food into his lungs and it is surrounded by pus and can't get out. (doesn't that sound lovely?) Now onto good news, I THINK THE BACK CLAPS ARE WORKING!
He hasn't had a fever in two days and is coughing up all kinds of yucky stuff. He is running around and laughing and playing again...he most likely has asthma, which if we can control it, he hopefully won't get sick like this again.
All of this during Chris' last week of classes! He is going to be officially done on Thursday night at 7pm. He starts student teaching in the fall and graduates in December! Keep your calendar open around the middle of December for a HUGE GRADUATION BASH!!!!!! My grandpa already has a bottle of scotch waiting for him. :)
So, cross your fingers for us that on Monday when we go back to the doctor we have no more pneumonia! And I really am going to try to get better with posting on here...(yeah right)

Easter

Well, I have resorted to posting only pictures to the blog...and only on holidays...

The Easter Bunny found our house (on "Mugg-a-lin Drive" as Maddie says) and brought too much candy. We had a good day; lots of food and a little nap. It doesn't get better than that! My sister took the kids on a easter egg hunt on Saturday and they got little bunny noses painted on...I will post those pics soon!

Happy St Paddys Day!

We just had too much fun with the $4.97 hat from Wal-Mart for St. Paddys!

An Irish Prayer
May God give you...
For every storm, a rainbow,
For every tear, a smile,
For every care, a promise,
And a blessing in each trial.
For every problem life sends,
A faithful friend to share,
For every sigh, a sweet song,
And an answer for each prayer.

Update

Here is a most recent pic of the kids...from Valentines Day in their cute little striped shirts. Our neighbor and friend, Catherine, (or "freighbor" as we like to call her) spoils our kids and got them their shirts to wear on Valentines Day. Don't you love the matching chubby cheeks????

We are looking forward to warmer weather coming our way and hope to get outside and burn off some energy! Chris is finishing up his spring break and will go back to school on Monday...only about 8 weeks left of actual classes and then on to student teaching! Then he will be done! As stressful as it has been, the time as gone by fast...

I am still adjusting to my new job in the OR...I love the hours, but it is taking me some time to get used to the type of work we do. Its a lot of technical work and we dont really get to take care of patients, and I miss that. The hours can be interesting too! For example, right now it is 1:08 am on Saturday and I just got home after going to work at 7am on Friday! I can't complain about the paychecks though! And I love to be able to come home most days at 3:30.

Madison is still doing her dance class every Tuesday and is all signed up for preschool in the fall. I can't believe it! She's as smart and sassy as ever...and mister Owen just continues to challenge us day after day. It's a good thing he's cute, 'cuz he's a stinker!

Well, I hope this little update finds everyone well and enjoying the New Year...its not much, but at least you know we are alive and kickin'! Don't forget to set your clocks back tomorrow! We need some more hours of daylight at night!

Tired

I am tired of snow. I am tired of winter. I am tired of being stuck in the house. I want to be outside!!! I have big plans for my first flower garden this year and I want to go buy the kids a wooden swingset...I want to watch them ride their little outdoor trikes and play and run around while I sit and get a tan. Ugh! Winter sucks...

Oh! And Chris is on Spring Break this week! Shouldn't we be in Cancun or something????

WOW!

It has been too long since we have posted anything! The last was Owen's birthday and now he is already almost 14 months old! Time flies when you're having fun!!!! Well, lets start with some pics of his birthday...

He wasn't sure what to think of the cake at first, but then he really got into it (as you can see). Last night he really started walking and I am pretty sure this is going to be our only mode of transportation soon. This makes me a little nervous...

ONE YEAR!

Owen is one year old today! Can you believe it? Only 5 pounds, 15 ounces when he was born; now a whopping 28 POUNDS! CHUNKY MONKEY! He is cruising along furniture and still scoots along on his little butt! Here is a picture of him on Christmas Eve; I will post some pics of his "CARS" birthday party soon! HAPPY NEW YEAR EVERYONE!