...and a Happy New Year!

It's been a while since I've posted - the computer at home isn't working and well, the holidays have kept me on my toes (and in the kitchen!)

Christmas went off without a hitch. We celebrated with my mom and her family on Friday night, with my father-in-law on Saturday night and we loved hosting our own traditional "open house" style Christmas on the 25th. I am still amazed at the amount of toys the boys received and while I am the first to admit that overspending is hard to avoid this time of year, we need to find a way to scale back next Christmas. By the time we perched ourselves around the Christmas tree on Sunday morning to see what Santa brought, my boys were almost completely depleted of their childhood holiday fizz - I almost wondered if they were humoring us as they opened yet another stack of festive packages. I'm trying to do what I can now to find a home for it all - I have become a fast advocate for the soft-sided cubes that Target sells; $5/bin and they hold many a Christmas treasure (choo-choo trains go in one, lincoln logs in another - you get the idea...) I'm sure most of you mom's out there can identify with the new year's resolution to GET ORGANIZED, huh?

All in all, we're ready to bid our fond farewells to 2005. It seems this year is headed out with a little more tension (there's that word again) than we would like anyway. I've talked with some friends and coworkers, and it seems as if they too have been dealing with lingering family squabbles. When all is said and done, hearing about other family feuds helps me gain a little perspective into that of my own. We are all dealt a shaky hand at some point, and I can only hope that when it's my turn to falter, my loved ones can look back and remember that I was there for them.

2006 is looking very enticing... our little family is preparing for a Disney World vacation this February. Elliott is such a great age for this, and he has done a superior job at helping Noah's excitement level as well. Andy and I are doing our best to stay out of the leftover sweets so that we don't punish ourselves too badly poolside. I'm seriously thinking that a Special-K diet is in order (a quick fix, if you will!) NAH. I'm sure Mickey won't care if I just polish off the last of that CHEESECAKE.

Mmmmm.

Well, on that note I wish you all a happy new year!

And as Grandpa Engen would say:

May the rut's fit your pickups,
May your earmuffs always keep out the cold,
May the rains fall softly upon your leutifisk,
and May the good Lord protect you from any unnecessary oofta's!

(I love my Norwegian in-laws!)

The tail bone's connected to the....

Imagine if you will, a harried Sunday morning at the Engen household. Instead of attending the regular church service, we're helping out in the youth room, so that means we've gotta make tracks and get there a bit earlier. "Don't forget to pack the video camera!" (the fire department is holding its annual Christmas party at noon - a petting zoo, Santa and a magician - the kids love it.) "Did you wrap Theo's birthday present yet?" "Yup!" (Elliott's attending a birthday party at 2pm...) "What time is hockey practice tonight?" (as if we didn't have enough on our plates...)

I could hear the volume on Elliott's Starwars video game downstairs getting louder and louder and made a mental note to have a talk with him about it. And why isn't Noah joining in the fun DOWNSTAIRS rather than banging around the landing in his toy fire truck? Nevermind - nevermind; he's fine.

Then it happened. Andy came out of one room and I out of another - we gently collided. I took a step backward, rammed my heel into the metal edge of Noah's vintage La France fire truck and went down. Not only did said fire truck aid to my fall, but it also acted as a landing pad. A blunt and wretchedly sharp metal landing pad which from it's "hood" protruded a curved metal arm that held a bell.

Had I been positioned any other way during my fall, I would simply have a bruised posterior. However I can assure you that by some strange twist of fate, the curved metal accessory lined up quite nicely with the curvature of my...eh..."Caracas".

WHAM!

The next thing I remember is my family bent over me asking if I was okay. Noah repetitively chanted "I sowwy momma!" (did he know that his toy caused this or did he feel a 2-year old's compulsive need to apologize in the presence of tears?) Andy's stifled snickering stopped immediately when he saw what I landed on. I could hear the sounds of Elliott's video game playing without him...

Get up. Get up. Get up.

I felt as if there should be a burst of applause when I was assisted to my feet. I think I even heard it in my head. "...and what's this? Yes - yes... Felecia, while having taken a nasty fall, is on her feet! We'll keep you posted on her progress as we head into the playoffs..."

Back to reality. I limped to the bathroom to assess the damage. Knock knock "You okay in there?" "Uh huh" Knock knock "Can I get anything for you?" (a stiff drink maybe...) "No"

I gingerly went through the motions of our very busy day (on my feet). Finally, after a few days of moans and groans, Andy urged me to see a doctor. The x-rays showed exactly what I expected they would - a broken tail bone (but thank God, not a piece of that dang fire truck!) I am now equipped with plenty of Advil and a butt doughnut (which by the way, is useless when trying to do anything other than laugh!)

I guess life has a way of slowing us down when we've taken on too much at once. So please, heed my warning... Don't let holiday chaos kick your @ss as it has done mine!

Oye.