Birthday Girl

Audrey turns 5 years old tomorrow. Isn't she a beauty??!!
Here she is on her 2nd birthday (her first birthday at home). Look at those chubby cheeks. She was so tiny, but had the hugest cheeks.
Where has our baby gone?Well, Audrey's birthday celebration was a nice break from the winter blues. For those not living in the midwest, we were thrilled that it was 22 degrees today versus -14 degrees on Friday. OMG......it was freezing for a few days!!!!

There is so much to report but I'm not sure that I'm in the blogging mood. The biggest thing going on around here is Ted's pending layoff. His last day of work is Jan. 30th, with no clue of a possible call back date. The factory that both he and my brother and Ted's brother work at is suffering the same decline in sales that most manufacturing companies are facing right now. If we were in the middle of an adoption or hadn't sold our house or had just bought a new van (like I would really, really like to do) I would be alot more worried. Our biggest concern is insurance coverage. Ted is thinking that a cobra plan will cost around $900/month. He called around getting quotes on private insurance but the few that he talked to told him that nobody would cover me (being an insulin dependent diabetic). We are trying to get every medical 'thing' done before the 30th. Paul is having tubes put in his ears and his adenoids removed, I'm going to the doctor tomorrow for that lovely yearly visit (that I'm 4 years over due) to the ob-gyn, Andrew will visit his doctor 2 weeks earlier than originally scheduled and everyone is getting their teeth cleaned whenever I can work them into the schedule. Ted joked with his brother that all of the kids were getting tubes in their ears and braces on their teeth before the 30th. Ted has made a few contacts with two places that are or maybe hiring soon BUT there just isn't much out there right now. I'm thankful for my job and Ted's mechanical skills (he works on cars on the side), so our bills will get paid....but there won't be much beyond that if he doesn't find another job. Great, now I'm depressed and don't feel like typing anymore. Don't worry I'll snap out of it soon and be back to my normal-cheerful self (yes, I can lie about my normal cheerful self to all of you, just don't tell my husband and kids because they know the truth :o)