Happy New Year's Eve!

Me, Aunt Teri, and Uncle Tony

Mason playing Pass the Pigs with Aunt Sheila

Me, Mason, and Aunt Sheila
(Aunt Sheila is my dad's sister)

Grams playing UNO

Tonight was our annual New Year's Eve game night, and this year I declared it Jammie Night. This event is typically held at my house, but since this year we are staying with my grandma and house hunting, our night was altered somewhat. Grandma offered her house to hold our game night, which was nice, because Mason and I didn't have to go anywhere! This year was a little let down compared to years past simply because ... Keith had to work until 1am, my brother was home sick, Anisa had to work, my dad was home sick, Aaron and Clair stayed in at their house, and Allan kept Anthony and stayed at his house. Aunt Teri and Uncle Tony came over but left early because poor Aunt Teri was feeling the nauseous bug! What a bummer! Our party consisted of, me, my mom, Aunt Sheila, and my Grandma. Oh and of course Mason. I felt bad for my Aunt Sheila who stayed in town longer this year just so she could attend "Joelle's Annual New Year's Party, " and it was a bust. Next year Aunt Sheila ... Next year! We still had fun just spending time enjoying each other's company. We taught my Grandma how to play UNO, and played a couple games of that throughout the evening. Everyone has now gone home, Mason is in bed, and Keith gets off work in and hour. I will be ringing in 2009 by myself this evening.

I am excited for the upcoming year and what it holds. It will be filled with many firsts, and much excitement I'm sure. And I'm looking forward to every minute of it!

Recovering From Montezuma's Revenge

Disclaimer: This is not for weak stomachs!

I am on the road to recovery from some ridiculous illness that had me feeling like I was knocking on death's door. I had been feeling nauseous throughout the day Saturday, but it hit me about 10pm Saturday night. I became severely nauseous and threw up. I laid in bed and tried to ignore it eventually falling asleep. At 1am I woke up throwing up and my stomach was severely hurting. To make a long story short, this continued all night and along with that the "#2" came as well. It was aweful! Sunday morning Keith had to go to work so I called my mom, thank goodness for mommy's! My mom took Mason for the entire day until Keith got home from work. I slept the entire day, only getting up to greet my new found friend ... the toilet. Though I didn't eat at all on Sunday, I drank two Sprite Zeros, this nonsense continued a little bit Sunday night. Where it was coming from at this point I have no idea! By this morning I was still achy and felt like I had been run over by a train! This flu bug was exhausting. This must have been what poor Mason had on Christmas. I am feeling better than I was. I still feel weak and I've just been resting, and my stomach still doesn't feel "right". I think it may take my stomach a few days to get back to normal. I am happy to say I've actually kept some food down today! A plain waffle, two pieces of toast, and a small bowl of ice cream. Those of you who know how much I love ice cream, would laugh ... this was like a sample cup of ice cream, no joke, it was tiny! Anyway, I'm on the road to recovery ... I hope! And hope to be back to work tomorrow and feeling somewhat normal again.

Christmas Stories

Mason ready for company to arrive!

Best Pals

Mason and Colton

He was in good spririts on Christmas Eve.

Leaving cookies and milk for Santa!

Merry Christmas little guy!

Some new Ugg's for Christmas!

Notice my son passed out in the background with his "bucket" beside him.

Feeling a little better once he opened his train set.

At Keith's parents' house, not feeling well.

Anisa and I ... Merry Christmas!

Poor Mason, sick on Christmas.

My nephew Colton, so sweet!

Keith and I on Christmas Day at my parents' house.

Christmas started for us on Christmas Eve as usual. My family gathers at my gradnma's annually on Christmas Eve for food and festivities. A grand time was had by all! We had yummy snack food, a gift exchange, and a Texas Holdem' game ... that's my family for ya! It was a late night and at the conclusion we left milk and cookies out for Santa, of course and a carrot for Rudolph.

I was so excited for Christmas this year because Mason actually "gets it." He knew Santa was coming, (if he was good, and I used that numerous times a day until Christmas!) And all he wanted was Thomas the Train & Friends. So, I envisioned us waking up that morning to the excitement of the presents and all Christmas has to offer! With that being said, you knew that wasn't going to happen.

About 1am Mason woke up crying. Keith and I took turns trying to get him back to bed. He finally went to sleep about 2:30am. That did not last long, for he woke up again crying. Keith and I were sooo tired, and this was getting a tad bit frustrating, and very unlike Mason, he's usually a very good sleeper. We struggled to get him back to bed again. Keith and I laid in bed as Mason began to cry AGAIN. Keith said we'll just let him cry it out. After about 10 minutes of constant crying Keith went in to check on him. "Joelle", Keith calls from Mason's room. I go in and Mason had thrown up everywhere. He was in shock saying "ooh yuck Mommy what happened?" We changed his jammies and bedding and got him back to bed. Time has gotten away from me now, but not too long after that episode, Mason woke up, and I enter his room to find he has thrown up again! I change him and his sheets and brought him to bed with Keith and I. Yes, this is against my #1 rule of no co-sleeping, but he was sick, so it's okay. We all dozed off. Then Mason woke up and wanted a drink. So I give him his glass of water and told him to take little sips. Well he chugs it because the poor thing is thirsty. We lay back down, I roll over on my side, and the next thing you know ... blaaaah ... all down my back. Are you kidding me!? Mason then says, "what happened?" Oh, Mason. So I change jammies, Mason changed jammies, and Keith changes, and I strip our bed down.

By this time it's 6:30am and Keith said, why don't we call it a night and just get up now. What the heck, we haven't gotten any sleep anyway and it was obvious we weren't going to. So we got up. Mason was very unenthusiastic as he crashed on the living room floor in front of his presents, and with his puke bucket beside him he passed out, finally. So Keith and I sat quietly and exchanged our presents, waiting for Mason to wake up. All morning Mason would wake up, puke in his bucket and pass back out on the living room floor. What a rotten Christmas for my little guy!

Mason finally woke up and we got moving, as he wasn't throwing up anymore. We went to Keith's parents' house for lunch and opened presents with them and his sister, Liane, and her kids, Bret and Olivia. Then we went to my parents' house for dinner and opened presents with them, Chad, Anisa, and Colton, and my Aunt Sheila who is in town from Philadelphia. The day turned out to be better than it started. We enjoyed the time spent with our families and all the good food. Mason was kind of in a daze all day, running a fever and just feeling down. He wanted to be held and just wasn't his happy go lucky self. But I know he liked all of his presents even if he didn't feel up to playing, especially all the Thomas the Train stuff that Santa brought him. I must say though Mason was sick, Keith, Myself, and Mason had a very Merry Christmas this year and Santa was very good to us!

Annual Work Christmas Luncheon

Deborah, Vanessa, Karen, Me, Linsey, AnnMarie

I feel as if I have fell off of the blogging map! I've haven't been blogging lately, partly because I cannot find the USB cord for my digital camera, to transfer pictures to my computer. People want to see pictures, I know that because I am one of those people! I am still looking for my cord, but one of my pals took this picture at our Christmas Lunch, so I'll update you on that!

Last Friday, the 5th, we had our Annual Work Christmas Lunch. We went to the Melting Pot. I've always wanted to go, just hadn't had the opporunity. The appetizers and main course were good. However, dessert was AMAZING! I thought we were all going to hyperventilate before they got to our table with the plate of desserts. We had two chocolate dipping sauces; smores and chocolate peanut butter. Our dipping choices were, marshmallows, strawberries, brownie bites, rice krispie treats, cheesecake, poundcake, and bananas! OMG! At one point I think some of us were licking chocolate off our plates! It was out of control delicious! That was my favorite part of the meal! A good time was had by all. Spending time with my friends and eating chocolate, what a day!

Thanksgiving Eve

It's Thanksgiving Eve! My pies are baked, laundry is in the dryer, and I can hear Mason's cartoon in the background, as his bedtime quickly approaches. I was just reflecting on how thankful I am, and thought I'd share...

First I'm thankful for my husband and my son. I love them so very much, and could not imagine my life without either one of them. I am thankful for my family! I have the most fun, lovable, giving, selfless family a person could ask for. Everyone gets along and each person is willing to help another out if and whenever needed, no questions asked. I'm thankful for my job. In this tough economy, I am thankful that Keith and I both have jobs to get up and go to every day. I'm thankful for a roof over my head, a car to drive, and food to put in my mouth. I am thankful for my friends! My girlfriends are amazing women, and each have unique characteristics making them special to me in different ways. I love my girls and couldn't imagine life without them either! I'm thankful for my family's health. We do manage to stay pretty healthy for the most part.

These are just some of the things I am thankful for this year! Here's wishing everyone close to me a fabulous Thanksgiving!

New Background

I know it's just about a week t0o early to put up a Christmas background, but I couldn't resist. I thought it was cute and I'm excited for the holidays! Yes I am one of those people who is already listening to Christmas music in her car. I apologize in advance to those of you who haven't gotten into the holiday spirit yet!

Dinner With Friends

This post is a little late, but I've been sick, so we'll go with that excuse. Thursday evening my friends and I went to dinner at the Olive Garden to celebrate our friend and co-worker, Karen's birthday. Being with the girls was so much fun! Lots of laughs, as usual! And the food was delicious. Even though I was sick, it was enjoyable. We need to do this more often, not just on birthdays!

Sunday Morning At Urgent Care!

Mason has been battling a cold for a while now. Nothing major, the typical runny nose, and cough that seems to just hang around this time of year. However, my little buddy woke up at 6:30am this morning SCREAMING! I went in to see what was wrong and he was holding his left ear. I brought him into bed with Keith and I and settled him down. That did not last long, he started crying telling me his ear hurt, and kept sticking his finger in his ear. The crying escalated to screaming. When I say screaming, I mean the pure shrill of a two year bellowing at the top of his lungs in pain. It was horrible. I felt so helpless and I just wanted to make it better. Keith had to go to work, so I called my mom to see if she would ride with me to Urgent Care. She agreed, so I proceeded to throw on some clothes and brush my teeth. This was a task in itself considering Mason only wanted mommy. Keith tried to hold him while I threw on some clothes, to no avail. Mason hung on my leg crying "mommy" as I tried to run a toothbrush through my mouth. We arrived at Urgent Care at 8:30am, and realized they didn't start seeing patients until 9am. So we wait. As we wait, Mason tells me "I feel better now mommy", as he is playing with his toy puppy. Are you serious! Did I over react? Well, we met with the doctor and indeed Mason has an ear infection. Thank goodness. I say that with the utmost sympathy to my son. But now I know I'm not crazy and I did the right thing. He is now taking amoxicillin and hopefully on the way to recovery.

The Wilson Family

I thought I'd share with everyone, some pictures of my nephew Colton. He is so stinkin' cute! Colton is my brother Chad's little guy. Colton was born June 19th, 2008, and has brought so much joy to all of our lives. Anisa is Coton's mommy and Chad's girlfriend. The threesome live out in Pickerington. I'm hoping at some point they'll move a little closer to us so that we can hang out more often! Anisa is such a wonderful girl. I must say ... I love her! Her genuinely sweet disposition is infectious. She is great for my brother and an outstanding mommy to Colton. I'm hoping someday she will join our family officially as a "Wilson". Though we all consider her a "Wilson" already!

The Wilson Family (Chad, Anisa, and Colton)

Colton was a Pea Pod for Halloween!

Colton at 4 months

The littlest Penn State Fan.

ANISA

Chad & Colton

Happy Halloween!

The Halloween celebration started Thursday the 30th this year. At work we dressed up. I was Betty Homemaker and Karen was my Hippie Child! Everyone said these characters fit us to a tea! Friday, on Halloween, we carved Mason's pumpkin and then went Trick or Treating in my parent's neighborhood. It was kind of fun to take Mason Trick or Treating down the same streets I used to go down as a child. Mason has so much fun Trick or Treating. Last year was a hit, and this year was no different! Mason's costume was Peter Pan this year. It was so cute! It too, fit him to a tea! However, many people thought he was Robin Hood, or even an Elf! Oh well, I knew he was Peter Pan, and that's all that matters. Below are some pictures of all the fun!

Betty Homemaker and her Hippie Child.

Keith carving our pumpkin.

Me & Mason before Trick or Treat

Enough pics already mom, let's go!

Peter Pan heading out to Trick or Treat!

Our Jack 'O'Lantern

A Trip To The Farm!

Yesterday when Keith got home from work, we took Mason to Circle S Farms. Mason had been so excited to go to the "pumpkin patch." I had been telling him we were going, then on Saturday he talked about it all day. I told him after his nap, when daddy got home we were going to the pumpkin patch. Well, as soon as he woke up from his nap ... I walk in the room ... "Mommy we go to the pumpkin patch now?" It was so cute, he was so excited! I then had to teach a two and a half year old "patience", as we had to wait for daddy to get home. This "patience" lesson lasted two hours by the way! But, well worth the wait. We all had alot of fun spending time together and picking a pumpkin!

Mason & Keith in the pumpkins

My little piggy!

It was a beautiful, cold, fall day.

Looking for our pumpkin

I think this is the one!

Here's the pumpkin we picked!

Trials & Tribulations Of House Hunting

Last Thursday Keith and I saw a house that we were pretty excited about. It was built in 1993, but looked like a new build on the inside, it had been very well cared for, and updated! The pros were; fabulous kitchen (huge and updated), 1st floor laundry, great layout, beautiful staircase, a fireplace, finished basement (professionally finished!), good sized bedrooms, and plenty of room for our family to grow! The cons were; it had a one car garage vs. two car, we needed to fence in one side of the backyard, and it was on the main street entering the neighborhood. Obviously the pros outweighed the cons. However, I cannot make a decision on the spot like that. There were three more homes we wanted to see before making our decision. I knew we shouldn't wait to see these other homes and make our decision, but trying to get together with a busy realtor around Keith and my work schedule is tough. So we didn't meet until yesterday to see the other houses. Well ... the three houses were a flop, and the house we liked went into contract on Thursday! OMG! This is the third time this has happened to us. Where the house we liked has been taken away. It's heartbreaking. I felt like giving up yesterday.

Our realtor was very sympathetic and had a long talk with us. He assured me that when we find "the one", I'll know and I'll be prepared to make an offer on the spot. He said if I wasn't ready to make an offer last week on that house, then I was settling. I wanted to see three more, despite liking that one. He said, if it was "the house", you wouldn't want or need to see anything else. Point well taken!

I suppose it has worked out for the best, and there is a divine plan in store for our family. I just need to be patient and enjoy the ride. I was thinking the other day, that we should stay where we are through the holidays and continue to save, then move in January. Hopefully Grandma is okay with that!

24 Hour Bug?

Mason has been battling a small cold (cough, runny nose), for a little over a week now. Well Friday I get a call at work from Keith telling me Mason is SICK! In bed, running 102 temperature. My poor little guy! This is what I came home to Friday night ...

Cuddling on the couch at Nana's Friday night.

I thought for sure we were going to be in for a long weekend. But to my surprise, Mason woke up Saturday morning with no fever and seemed to be in good spirits ... YAY! Must have been a 24 hour flu bug? I'm so glad my little guy is feeling better, however he still can't shake that cough.

Sunday running erands, he looks alot better!

Lesson Learned!

I am new to the whole blogging world, and thought it would be a fun and creative way to keep people up to date with the happenings in the Hollingsworth Family! However, I have found out that there are some rules in the blogging world, and I have broken them. With that being said, I am the first to admit I made a mistake, and I apologize to anyone that I hurt, or upset with my posts. Lesson learned! Be careful what you type, for the whole world just might see it!

The Siblings

A side note to my last post on the upcoming babies. Below are the siblings of the babies to be ... and the babies to come in the future! They are some cuties!

Deborah & Peter's Daughter, Leah

Libby & Mike's Son, Jackson

And Of Course, Mason!