the ceiling is falling.

Tonight, the kids opted for a campout. This is actually the second night in a row we've tried this method. Last night didn't work, and both kids didn't go to sleep until almost midnight. Here's the background: On the night before New Year's eve, Hudsen came into our room in the middle of the night. He was acting very strange - it was quite clear that he had some kind of nightmare or was experiencing night terrors. (Actually, that wasn't clear because I didn't even know what night terrors were until this whole deal.) Back to the explanation: Hudsen was pointing at the ceiling, scared, acting as if he could see something. Then, he would start crying if we didn't hold him and keep his feet from touching the ground or bed. We thought for a few minutes that he was maybe hallucinating. I even checked his bed for bugs, spiders, mushrooms (ha), etc. to see if maybe something bit him. He lied awake the whole night, staring at the ceiling. Not crying, just staring.

The next day, Nicole had to carry him around so he didn't touch the carpet. She finally convinced him near day's end to wear flip flops.

So, this has been going on for five days, sporadically. During the day, he seems to forget about it. Come night, he begins to convince himself that the ceiling is "going to fall." Hence, we tried the campout-fakeout to maybe take his mind off the falling ceiling. Tonight, he seems to be doing okay.

Anyway - at 3AM that first night, we researched on the web and it sounds like other parents have experienced similar symptoms through "night terrors", but I'm leaning toward a nightmare.

Here's to a good night rest and keep your eyes out for any falling ceilings.

niece 'n' nephews.

Thought we'd show a little love for our niece and nephews. They're the best, thanks to our phenomenal influence.

Jens (Traci and Kurt)

Bella and Diego (Sara and German)

Maddie + ballerina stuff + Littlest Pet Shop + princess stuff = happiness.

Hudsen's toy preference.

Despite the boat load of new toys, Hudsen still prefers his trusty front-loader tractor. I'm thinking about returning his other gifts and getting something for myself. He probably won't even notice.

1/2 non-receipt returns redeemed.

I'm a little nervous about the next 364 days. Today, we had to use one of our two non-receipt returns. Here's the background (you will be on the edge of your couch seat): Maddie loves The Littlest Petshop (TLP). Perhaps it's the animals' big heads and little bodies. Perhaps, it's the qualifier, "littlest." I mean, it can't get any smaller because it is the littlest, period. Anyway, that's not the point. We found this TLP carrying case at Target. (And by carrying case, we mean a cheap, plastic Caboodle without guts, and a TLP sticker slapped on the front - and a $20 pricetag.) Anyway, it was the last one. And scarcity is the most powerful marketing influencer. (I just made that up - I'm a leader.) Yes, so it was the last one, and it didn't have a tag, barcode, etc. I took the shelf sticker up to the counter, but the cashier couldn't use that. She just had to put in $19.99 general merchandise and hit the "Enter" button. Somehow, I knew I'd be returning this rather ambiguously-recorded item.

So, today, we returned the item. Except we lost the receipt. Actually, we lost it again. We found it once, and lost it again. So, today, we returned an item without a barcode and no receipt. That's dumb. But, after 20 mins of looking up the item's ID code and begging for store credit, we got it!

Then, I forgot to use it when we made our purchases.

In case you're wondering, as I'm sure you are, we opted for a less expensive and higher quality Home Depot organizer. We will be pimping it out with TLP stickers and paraphernalia, wrapping it up, and putting it under the tree.

I'd like to see this post go viral. Send it to seven friends in the next seven minutes or you won't get anything for Christmas.

PS: I spelled paraphernalia correctly on the first try. Top that.

family photo.

We got Hudsen to smile. Only 30 takes. No doubt this Christmas is going to be awesome.

the baby!

Last Monday, we had our first ultrasound and saw the heartbeat for Adams #5 - either Nathan or Camille. Today, Nicole felt the baby move for the first time. Only about five more months left for me to convince Nicole that a van is cool.