Big Ole' Update Coming At You

I haven't done a proper update in quite some time, so here we go.

George: Lowe's has decided that they are doing some restructuring, which never seems like a good thing, does it? Thankfully, George won't be losing his position; the departments he manages are going to be split up, so he has a bit less responsibility but no loss of pay. He's actually relieved that they are being split up, the departments he runs keep him so busy he's bringing work HOME, which is a no no for our family.

Chrissi: I'm going to be a full time student again in the fall AND quite frankly, that scares me a bit. ha ha. Gabe will be in school, it'll just be Bitsy and me. I am going to probably take online courses the first semester and see how I do and go from there. I should have my registration info later this week...then the fun part, applying for scholarships, etc, starts!

Gabriel: He had his MRI's two weeks ago, we get the results next week. Overall, Gabriel is doing VERY well. He's only seeing his physical therapist once every other month and sees his occupational therapist once a week, however she is in Ghana right now on a mission trip, so he's taking a break from her ;) We are getting ready for Gabe's birthday party in a few weeks, he's decided on a Chicago Black Hawks party; the child is a hockey NUT. He knows half the players on the Hawks, and while they are his favorite team, he always roots on the other team as well. He he. So cute. He excited about starting kinder in the fall and always thinks the bus is coming for him (it goes by our house four times a day) poor kiddos has NO concept of time ;)

SarahAnne: The Bits. Well, she's a holy terror, hell on wheels, if you will, and just amuses us to no end. She is all about the potty lately, she steps onto her stool and perches her little booty on the seat and that's that. No help from momma or daddy at all. The little stinker is so independent it hurts ;) Her vocabulary is huge and lately when something happens that she doesn't like, she says "awww nuts!" To hear her say it just cracks us up to no end.

Sammy the cat. He has a new name, it just kind of stuck. We started calling him Samboni, because of the nutty hockey fans in the house and now he's just "boni" Gabe and Bits chase him and terrorize him like it's their job. And God love this cat, he's never scratched, hissed, or bit them. He is so tolerant of them. He has a "birthday"coming up soon, he'll be three. Gabe has suggested we "invite over a lot of cats" for a party for him. SarahAnne suggested that we invite Aubrey as well. So, you know, if you have a cat that wants to come celebrate a birthday, send him over :) Catnip toys appreciated :)

And that's that, I think that brings everyone up to speed. I will post when I know the results of Gabe's MRI and spinal x rays (later in February) Stay warm everyone!

I've been slacking ;)

Uh oh! Momma has been slacking on blogging, whoops!

We had a lovely Christmas, filled with lots of family and fun. We had a nice quiet New Year's Eve, Bits, of course, conked out hours before the ball dropped and Gabe stayed up until the bitter end so he could get his New Year's Kiss ;)

We picked up our new kitty and he's adjusted quite well to the house and kids. He spends most of his time sleeping in the sunlight on Geo and my bed, not that I blame him, it's the comfiest part of the house! SarahAnne seems to think Sammy is a pillow, Gabe thinks he is a playmate. Thankfully, he's very VERY tolerant of the kids and has yet to snap at them or use his claws ;)

We're getting ready, weather permitting, to take a short trip up to Michigan to see Grandma and Grandpa and Uncle JD, Aunt Katie, and Aubrey, not to mention Uncle Dave and the Michigan cousins. Let's just hope the snow holds off for another few weeks so we can take a small trip and see everyone.

Gabriel is quite the Chicago Blackhawks fan as of late. We went and ordered his birthday cake a few days ago, and of course, it's a Blackhawks cake. I also ordered SarahAnne's cake when I was there, that way it's one less thing to worry about as it gets closer to their birthdays. I can't believe in another five weeks I am going to be the momma of a five year old. It happened SO fast...and then a month after that, the momma of a five year old AND a two year old.

Of course, since Gabe is having a birthday, that also means he is going to be having two mri's, x rays, and yearly check ups from the orthopaedic doctor, neurosurgeon, and pediatrician. Fun stuff. Thankfully this year his mri's will be done at the local hospital, as opposed to having to drive two and a half hours-each way-to have them done at the place we usually have them done. We'll have a lot of driving to do in the next month or so, both his ortho and neuro are an hour and a half away-in good traffic-so that'll be fun-or not. I'll keep everyone posted, of course, about the outcomes of these appts. What I am hoping to hear from his ortho is that we don't need to see him until next February (as opposed to every six months now) and that the neurosurgeon will tell us we are done for two years, as opposed to every year. And on the plus side of ALL of this, our out of pocket deductibles for our new insurance will be taken care of with all of these appointments ha ha Look on the bright side, right?

Pictures to come soon, I promise!

Welcome to our "mew"est addition!

Meet Sammy, the newest addition to the Witkowski clan!!

Santa "Claws" left a note for the kiddos telling them to please visit his favorite animal shelter to pick out a new friend for our family, so today we piled into the car and drove through the fog and drizzle to meet our new little buddy. He passed the "Bitsy" test-you know, can he handle a rambunctious two year old tugging his tail (yes), trying to pick him up (yes) and trying to smother him with love (yes, he even purred) We knew he was the cat for us when Gabe leaned down to talk to him and Sammy moved his head up to meet Gabe and rubbed his cheek on Gabe's cheek. He also decided that Geo's lap is a great place to sit and purr and rolling over to have his belly rubbed is a wonderful thing. A week from today we will be picking up our new baby; he needs his last vet check, his nails clipped, and a bath...and we will become the proud new owner of Sammy...or should I say, we will be the proud new pets of Sammy ;)

Hope you all had a lovely Christmas...I'm still in the process of uploading pictures, expect a picture post in a few days!