lost and found

Hello friends. For those of you who aren't aware, we've ventured into the land of Finals. For some that isn't a large deal outside of everyday life, but here at the Hibshman House, it alters quite a bit. Jon is studying 24/7 to prepare for his 4 hour tests in which ride his entire grade for the semester. We're pretty much used to it now, but it doesn't change the fact that our habits change just a tad. This constant studying and preparation means he his working on his laptop (my usual spot for blogging), well when his laptop is functioning, anyway. It also means that he his locked up in the bedroom, the home of our desktop. Thus, I am left computer-less, internet-less, and virtually unconnected. I am lost. However, it also encourages me. I am found. I am found playing with the kids, actually cleaning my house and catching up on my to-do's. I love the internet, but I am amazed how I can still function without constant access. Don't get me wrong: I have no desire to give it up entirely. I'm just enjoying a little hiatus :).
So to catch up; Brooklyn said the funniest thing the other day. Mason was in his high chair eating, she was in the bathroom washing her hands. Suddenly I hear, "Hi, buddy!" in her sing-song-I'm-talking-to-Mason-just-like-mom voice. Confused I say, "Brooklyn, who are you talking to?" The response? "Oh, my mouth was just talking!" ... huh? ... Right, why didn't I think of that? I couldn't hold back the laugh on that one. Luckily, she was in the other room and didn't witness it. Seriously. The stuff this girl comes up with...
Mason is continuing to master the whole crawl-thing. He crawls on his knees part of the time now and it's so cute to watch him motor around. He is a go-getter. Unfortunately he has a gigantuan diaper rash that we just cannot get rid of. The poor kid screams everytime you change his diaper. It's absolutely heart-breaking. It's been two weeks, so today found us at the dr. She gave me a recipe for a concoction for his tush and we did some stool samples (fun for me :( ) that we haven't heard back from yet. It's possible that all the anitbiotics we flushed through his body about a month ago killed off the good bacteria in his intestines. If that's the case, then there's probably bad bacteria there that we need to kill off. Joy. Seriously. I feel like a new mom again. I'm always at the doctor with this kid. Poor kid. He loves bath time and tonight he cried the whole time. It just broke my heart. First stop tomorrow is at the big W to get the stuff for the butt paste. I can't take it anymore. Luckily he's only fussy when he poops (it hurts). At least we're not dealing with fussy 24/7! Whew!
I've started wrapping Christmas gifts and it's SO exciting! Brooklyn was just dying for me to pull out her Christmas gifts and get busy! She asked about a million times and just couldn't understand why she couldn't help me wrap them? I mean come on! What kind of mom am I? hee hee. I found it amusing. She'll figure it out one of these days! Happy holidays all, and I promise I'll surface every once in a while during this fabulous (due to finals, NOT) time of year!