Friday, December 7, 2007

I am waiting...

I am suppose to be monitoring a teacher right now - but she has no students in class. I cannot write her evaluation without the teaching and cannot leave until her session is over just in case someone shows up. So here I sit so let's catch up...

Friday, November 30th - went to Patti's house for crop and got a few pages done

Saturday, December 1st - took Middle & Youngest to the MU Christmas Party sponsored by a student working on class project; took all three girls to pick out the Christmas tree without Daddy who was at Immaculata finishing a class

Tuesday, December 4th - training for my new job as Instruction Monitor

Wednesday, December 5th - Dad's 66th birthday; our first snow of the season; the day of my almost car accident thanks to said snow

Thursday, December 6th - the day Middle's teacher called and NOT to tell me about Middle's day but rather discuss the Christmas party - Thank Goodness!!; the day all of the girls got to sled; the day I took our 2007 Christmas card photo outside in the snow AND ordered the blasted cards; the day the battery died in the Explorer because DH put it getting a new one for a year - yeah, guess whose car he took because of the dead battery? oh, and Dad has a badly torn rotators cuff - more surgery???

Friday, December 7th - finally it's Friday; more snow - but just a dusting even after 4 or so hours; went over the Christmas present list with DH; am super tired and have a train ride with Santa in the morning with the family

OK - the teacher's session is over and I am tired. Going to bed. 'Night y'all!

Wednesday, November 28, 2007

Gotta catch up...

Lots of fun in Virginia Beach and some great photos too. Need to download photos and get thoughts together for next post. See ya soon!!

Monday, November 19, 2007

Today's Goal

Today's goal was to get the entire house cleaned - dust, vacuum, bathrooms, and mop. I DID IT!!! Now that means I can work tonight and maybe even scrap a little.

I have:

  • paid the bills
  • checked the weather in Virginia Beach
  • stopped the mail
  • stopped the newspaper
  • made arrangements for the dog
  • made arrangements for the cats and fish
  • packed up stuff to read
  • started picking out the kids' toys and books to take
  • went to the bank
  • the suitcases are out and ready to be packed

Woo Hoo!!!!! We will leave on time on Wednesday and without a tear shed!

Black Rock Retreat

I had a blast this past weekend at the Black Rock Retreat. I actually accomplished getting all of the photos organized as well as the materials for Abbey's and Audrey's school album. Yeah, me. Here is one of the pictures from Saturday night:

What a fun group of women. I think Liz laughed forever. Sharon and Lee were definitely instigators of trouble. I think Cathy, Patti and I behaved ourselves a little better. The poor non SS women had no clue what they had gotten themselves into - all of the inside jokes and the boob pictures (which I am not posting!) Ya just had to be there to appreciate it.
It was therapeutic to get away from the kids and house for a few hours (um, 13 hours?) and connect with some wonderful friends - old and new. Now to see if we can get together again before the CNY Retreat in April - that is just too long to wait.
Alright, gotta go finish cleaning. Going to Virginia Beach on Wednesday for Thanksgiving. Dad, no heart attack this time, got it?

Tuesday, November 13, 2007

Ugh...no, they are not! Darn it all, they are!

Just fantastic - I look up from the computer and there are surveyors on the lot next door marking lines. I so do NOT want a house put on the lot next to us. I love having that open space. I dread the noise, the debris, the traffic... I am not going to be a happy girl the next four months as the new house goes up.

Youngest is sick

Ugh...started @ 3AM on Sunday with puking right on my bedroom carpet. Poor thing. She seems to have just a random virus (vomiting, diarrhea) but also had a high fever of 102.7 taken under her arm and a headache. We had her checked out yesterday at the pediatrician with the caution to come back if the fever, vomiting or headache continued. Poor thing.

Thought she was better but she threw up again this morning @8 (just clear liquid.) Ugh.. that makes over 29 hours. The worst part is the randomness of it. She started at 3 AM, then went on to 5:30, 6:30, 7:30 AM then nothing all day Sunday. Sunday night it was 7:30, 9:00 and 9:30. Monday morning @ 4:15. Nothing all day on Monday. I am really glad we took her to the peds since they checked her for strep, flu, and meningitis.

She doesn't have a fever today but still has the occasional headache (probably dehydration) and no energy (not a surprise though.) She did allow me to give her a bath and has eaten a couple of soda crackers. We bought four flavors of Gatorade so that seems to be getting liquids in her - thank goodness.

This is sooooo not fun. All of my plans for the last three days are out the window - parent visitation at Oldest's school, preschool for Youngest, goodie bag items for the Black Rock Retreat, working last night, etc...

Keep your fingers crossed that this is it. My poor little baby.

Tuesday, November 6, 2007

Hubby's away at an Ed. Conference

and boy do I miss him. The kids behave until 4:30/5 ish and then boom. I am tired, tired, tired of referring the fighting and name calling and hitting. Oldest is 13 and should know better than engage in battle with a 6 year old. But nooooooo, she has to fight back. Youngest and her lovely insults are just about doing me in. How did my sweet, lovable, cuddly baby become this 4 year old that runs hot and cold. One minute she loves ya, the next she tells ya what an idiot you are. Like I said, I am TIRED of all of their attitudes and behavior. Mommy needs a nanny!!!!

Report cards come home tomorrow for the older two so I cannot wait. I already know Oldest made Honor Roll as usual. Middle - waiting to see where her skills are as a first grader. Youngest's conference is in two weeks - see if there is any difference from last year.

Youngest's next hearing test is in early January. I really wish it were tomorrow - I want to know if there is truly a hearing loss and to what point. Will it get worse? Will she go completely deaf in her ear? What about the other ear? Gah....I detest waiting.

Mammogram report came back clean. Yeah - first one down - many to go. :-)

J will be back tomorrow night. We are all looking forward to Daddy's return. The kids are getting gifts; I am getting some alone time - just ME!!!!

We have a date night set for Saturday. Mom sent us some gift certificates to Gibraltars. YUMMY! The last time we went was for our anniversary a couple of years ago; it set us back over $100. Gracious it was so worth it though. I am going to indulge and enjoy every stinking bite.

Biggest news for last....got a promotion today at work. I am moving up to Teacher Monitor and get a small raise of $2 per hour. That will help with the bills. I was so darn nervous during the interview and tried very hard to answer the questions thoroughly. Guess I did OK because I was offered the job after the first ten minutes of the interview. I will be one busy chick as the company is going to hire over 1000 new teachers, and I will be one of the TMs doing the evaluations for new hires. WOW!!!!! Oh, and I love that I get to set my own hours. That will be wonderful especially with the holidays and the kids schedules - plus J's hours changing again for the last set of doctoral classes.

Time for bed. I did not sleep well last night since J wasn't here. Guess I should turn in early for a little more zzzzzzs.

'night y'all

Sunday, October 28, 2007

Thursday, October 18, 2007

My new scrapbooking favorite

I am taking a class thru Big Picture Scrapbooking; it is called Doodle All Day. I am loving this class because I can be as creative as I want and there is no judgement because it is just doodling.
I love the ease of it - just let it flow. I bought new pens and a two great sketch pads - white and black. I am just having a blast with the Sakura pens - Glaze, Souffle, and the Pigma Microns. They are just the best pens. I even love my big white Pentel Hi-Polymer eraser and the Crayola colored pencils (which were stolen from the kids' school supply pile.)
Doodling is addictive, but I am finding it really calming too- totally block out the rest of the world (laundry and all.) Someone on the message board called it "the inner doodle" which I just love. So check out Maelynn: http://thescrappyone.blogspot.com/








I am so far behind....

Where do I even start? The past two months have zoomed by.

Youngest: loves preschool. Favorite words - Chop! Chop! - to get us to hurry up. Don't have a clue where she picked this up. Much preferred to her calling everyone a loser. Really needs to move up to the next size bike but still loves her tricycle.

Middle: having a fantastic year so far in first grade. Making new friends and is invited to her first birthday party next week - she is so very excited. Reading very well and really getting a grasp on subtraction. What a great kid - so very personable. Adults love her.

Oldest: really likes her 8th grade team and her teachers - 3 men and 1 woman. Grades are fantastic right now - I am proud of her diligent work every night. Trying to keep the 'tude manageable - not always easy sometimes. Has the first "boyfriend" - but since it is long distance - I am OK with it. Biggest news - the $4000 in braces needed now. Oh, my gracious. I need a winning lottery ticket here.

J: still working on the last few classes for the doctorate; dissertation starts soon. As I have said before and will say again, man, he has been an expensive hubby but I am extremely proud of what he has accomplished and how intelligent the man is.

Me: really need to learn the word NO when it comes to being asked to volunteer or help out. I just spent three days at WS Elementary volunteering for the book fair, parent visitation, and the Race for Education. Had a blast and am meeting many new moms. Good news - applied for Teacher Trainer position and am applying for Team Leader at EO. Keeps your fingers crossed. I would love one of these (or both) and hopefully a raise. Tuition bills are killing the checkbook.
Going to Patti's (kaesmom) for Croptoberfest - YEAH!!!! Happy dance. I need this.

Dad: doing OK; physical therapy includes hydrotherapy; was released to drive again - he hasn't driven since last May - boy is he a happy guy; applied for Social Security - he does not want to go back to work but Mom has other ideas.

Mom: hanging in there with Dad's problems - needs a L.O.N.G. vacation now. She is so uptight that I would imagine the next heart attack will be hers. They need to find a buyer for the business or turn it over to E.

The SIL: has lost her friggin' mind. Cannot even begin to blog about this cause I don't even know what to say. Her issues have become overwhelming for all of us. I love her creativity and caring nature, but when she has issues - it isn't pretty and it just all consuming.

Meredyth: just had a fantastic turn-out for the Angel race. I am so happy that she was able to have some joy lately. She has so much on her plate - I am in awe of her strength.

Breast Cancer Awareness Month - Get Your Boobies Checked!

October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month. Have you had your mammogram this year? Have you done a monthly self-exam? If not, what are you waiting for? There are links below that can give you more information.


http://ww5.komen.org/home/

http://www.nationalbreastcancer.org/

http://www.nbcam.com/


I had my first mammogram last week - Friday, October 12th. Haven't heard back yet. The radiologist has to read it then there is a special machine that reads the films too. The technician said to not be alarmed if I get a call back. Many first timers have to go back and have specific films taken since there isn't a baseline to compare to. I am OK with this. My mom gets called back just about every year due to non-cancerous issues.

GET YOUR MAMMOGRAM IF YOU HAVEN'T DONE SO. It is too easy not too. Off my soapbox, now :-)

Are you a blogger? Then check out: http://www.5minutesformom.com/2440/casio/ They are giving away a new Casio Pink EX-Z75 digital camera in support of this special month. Go take a look.

Tuesday, August 21, 2007

Updates

Our trip to Virginia Beach was anything but what I imagined. The trip took 6+ hours due to potty stops and lunch, but we finally arrived about 4:30 pm just in time for my dad's heart attack. WTF? He knew something wasn't right that day and looking back now he knows that something wasn't right for about a week. Dad said he did not want to go to the doctor or the ER because the girls and I were on the way. He is damn lucky nothing else happened. I am soooo not ready to be dealing with my parents and illnesses. He is only 65 - still has a LOT of life left. Hear that, Dad????

So I drive into the driveway and cautioned the girls not to go running into the backyard because: 1. the brick sidewalk is askew due to the roots under it and 2. I don't know if Dad is awake or asleep. We walk back and go on the porch. Of course, he is awake, and his neighbor, Doug, is there too. (Doug has been a god send playing nurse to Dad as he has recuperated from three, yes, three surgeries in the past 5 months.) Doug grabs me and says, "Your dad isn't feeling well and won't call the doctor. Something isn't right."

I got Dad into the house and started going thru the papers on the various drugs he has to take. The drug pamphlet for Naproxen says in BIG BOLD letters to watch for heart attack signs. Um, yeah - that would be what he has. I called the dr. and left a message cause, of course, it is after hours. The nurse/dr. returns my call and says, "Go to the ER." OK, Dad. We are taking a little trip (this is now 5:30 pm) so he goes to change his clothes. Meanwhile Mom has arrived from work. Let her know I am taking him in. I think she was in total shock as she did not fight me to take him in. Load Dad into his Explorer and off we go to the new Princess Anne ER. I was a nervous wreck driving to the ER even though it was only 10 minutes from their house. I don't do medical situations well AT ALL.

The ER was great - only one person ahead of us. Great staff and doctor. ER dr. doesn't think he is having cardiac issues, but maybe a P.E. (pulmonary embolism) due to the chest pain. Nope, the blood work says "Cardiac Episode" - what a nice way to say HEART ATTACK. So the indigestion and sweating Dad had at 3 AM that morning was the heart attack itself. Ugh.... now we are gonna be transferred to Sentara Leigh cause they have the heart cath lab. At 11:30 PM he is finally transferred to Leigh. Fun part - the Virginia Beach Amphitheater is right behind the hospital and had a concert that night. Yeah - all the concert goers are leaving at the same time we are. Oh, the joy! I traded places with Mom - she went to Leigh, and I went to their house to stay with the girls. No sleep for me. I laid down about 2 am and Youngest woke up at 5:30 am. Oh, thank God for caffeine.

Oh, my gracious. I think I went into overdrive (as Patti called it) cause I wasn't emotional at all. That is EXTREMELY unlike me. I don't do medical problems very well (did I tell you that?), but damn if I didn't keep it together for my parents.

Wednesday was the cath lab, angiogram, and angioplasty. The Obtuse Marginal (??) is a sub-artery in the back of the heart. It was 90% blocked, so it was ballooned and then a stent was inserted. Dad was an absolute bear after because he was in so much pain from his back/neck where the laminectomy was and the oxycodone withdrawl. This coming from a man who is usually so laid back and gracious. Two hours in the cath recovery then off to another room for more intensive nursing. By Thursday morning he looked and acted so much better. The doctor was helping him eliminate the oxy by giving him Ativan for the anxiety. I was happy it was working really well cause he needed to come off the oxy. What an addicting drug!

Friday morning Dad was released to come home - but the dr. barely gave him an indications as to what kind of damage was done by the heart attack, what to do as far as exercise or eating, or his meds. We were even sure about wearing the bone stimulator for his neck. We took matters into our own hands and started calling and researching. Gracious - you would think that the doctor would be a little more concerned about the next 2.5 weeks until the follow-up appt. I am not too impressed with the discharge. The dr. who did the discharge even forgot to tell Dad to take the baby aspirin every day. OMG - that needs to be taken with the Plavix everyday. A blood clot could develop around the stent otherwise. Moron!!!

My poor girls got the brunt of this. My sister-in-law, Thierry or "T", came up from Carolina and kinda took over the younger two. They had lots of fun making Barbie clothes, going to Aunt T's house and playing, and getting new Barbie furniture. She was a blessing. Ashley was OK on the computer or hanging out. She finally got to spend some time with Sam too - they hung out at his house, and I took them to the skate park at Mt. Trashmore so Sam could teach her to skateboard. Sam's family was great to her while we were in VB. Very accommodating about having her over and spending time with them.

Once Dad was home, Mom became a not so nice person to be around. I think all of her emotions over the way this year has been really came to the surface. I know she is mad, scared, frustrated, disappointed, and any other negative emotion. Taking care of Dad so intensively is not what she bargained for in addition to running the business. The heart attack was kinda the final straw. I really hope that for both of their sakes that Mom will come to terms with Dad's physical issues and be more compassionate. I know she logically knows he did not do anything to cause his injuries, but I believe she is very angry at Dad for how it has affected her life. She is such a Type A personality and likes control over everything - which isn't going to help in this situation. Dad needs someone who is motivating and gentle. Not the steamroller she can be. But with all of this said, she did "brag" to her best friend how Thierry and I took over the meals, laundry, cleaning, etc. so she didn't have to do anything while Dad was in the hospital. I just wish she had told Thierry and I this instead of telling us we were doing stuff wrong.

I did get Dad to take a walk on Sunday; however, I think he pushed it way too much and told him so. He walked too far, so today he walked just around the court and then worked on the rehab exercises for his knee and neck. Much better. Mom was in a better mood when I talked to her tonight. Hopefully it will last.

OK - I think this is most of the heart attack info. I will edit if I remember more. God, what a week. Not fun. I am not ready to deal with this yet - my parents are still too damn young to be pulling this mess. Straighten up!

Wednesday, August 15, 2007

My dad had a heart attack

I am beyond tired so this will be short. I brought the girls down to my parents' home for a visit. Drove over 6 hours from PA to Virginia Beach. Got here at 4:30. By 6 I was in the ER with my dad. This sucks!!!!!!!!

Monday, August 13, 2007

The weeks plans

running around like a crazy woman today trying to get everything packed cause I taking the girls to Virginia Beach tomorrow to visit Mom and Dad. The plan is to be on the road by 8 or 9 am. Hopefully the kids will cooperate - especially since Daddy has meetings and then class tonight. Mommy is on her own; but no fears since I have done this so many times before. Just H.A.T.E. packing. H.A.T.E. it!

Here's the to do list:
  • pay the bills; balance checkbook
  • drop boxes off at UPS for Funding Factory
  • go to Funk's to pick up pies for Dad; raisin bread for Mom; miscellaneous for kids
  • pack up clothes and all of the other essentials for Middle, Youngest, and me (Oldest does her own now :-)
  • check on the cat's food; get Oldest to clean out the box; remind J to clean box
  • change filter in fish tank
  • clean up the cookbook stuff I was working on in the kitchen
  • clean up scrap area - add new stuff from trip to Times to Remember in Hershey
  • clean up house - vacuum, dust, wipe down bathrooms
  • leave Charlie's schedule for the neighbors

I can do this. Oh, and I have to work tonight. UGH....don't let me forget to work.

PS - Patti - I decided to leave the bathrooms for DH. ;-)

The Coolest Wedding

J and I took Middle and Youngest to a wedding this weekend in Hershey - the wedding itself was held in Chocolate Town Square in the middle of Hershey. J's friend / co-worker got married; he is the school resource officer at J's school, and the bride is also a cop.
The square is set in a park with lots of trees and was decorated with tulle and beautiful flowers. Right as we are pulling into a parking spot, Middle chimes in - you got it, bathroom. Great. Where is there a bathroom in the middle of the square? There isn't. Luckily the Hershey Fire Station was right behind the square (and some of the guests were firefighters) so I quickly ran the girls to the fire house to take care of the bathroom issue.
Perfect. Now we can get our seats just in time. We heard the music of the harp begin and saw the groom and best man (another cop) take their place. All ready - where is the bride? Why is there a fire engine coming? Oh, my gracious. It is the BRIDE!!! Since the groom is also a volunteer firefighter, the fire company brought the entire bridal party to the site in a big red fire truck with the horn blaring and the sirens on full blast. It was AWESOME. Middle and Youngest didn't like the loud noise, but the rest of the guests clapped in excitement.
The wedding ceremony commenced and even included the bride's children. Once the vows were completed, the fire truck blew its horn again and left with the sirens on. Everyone clapped again and even a few cars honked away. It was fantastic. Not too formal - lots of fun memories. Oh, then my wonderful husband says, "Hey, we have time. Want to run by the scrapbook store at the outlets?" Don't think he had to ask twice. So we made a side trip to Times to Remember. YEAH!! New black and white paper that I wanted.
The day ended with a BBQ / reception at the matron of honor/best man's home. Yummy!! We left early since it was getting late, and Oldest was home from the pool. We ran by the house to pick her up and go get gelato from Rita's since there wasn't a wedding cake, and Middle was disappointed. I think the gelato made up for that. :-)

Thursday, August 9, 2007

What I am reading now

or re-reading as it is...love her work.

Youngest-isms

Just to get these down:

Lucy = You See

Making a mess eating = Bad Eat Day

Dark skies due to storm = Great! Night Night time. (said not too happily - actually very sarcastically for a three year old)

Just some others:

Wiping kisses off her lips

Mommy, I miss you (don't know why she says this when I am usually sitting with her)

Me-Me is your mommy, and Pop-Pop is your daddy.

Treat, boy?

I want a little girl to play with me. Not you (Mom).

Awww, honey. It's OK.

Today with her:

Holy cannoli. She was a lovey all day. Don't know what got into the child. She was even up when J. was getting ready for work. Totally content to just sit in my lap or sit behind Abs in the computer chair and watch. Went to the bathroom and did all that it entails on her own. Maybe the bathroom laziness is over. School starts in two weeks for her, and I am tired of wiping tushies.

Definitely tired at dinner - refused to eat - after battling her for an hour, I just gave her a Red Velvet cupcake and said, "Go, eat." Then what happened?? Dang, it all. She wanted another one. Can't blame her 'cause we made some good ones with pounds and pounds of sprinkles.

Totally pissed when she looked out the window and saw it was dark and rainy. "Great! It's Night-Night time." So not a happy girl.

Wednesday, August 8, 2007

My favorites right now...

I am really loving Lily Allen:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HZyTOROlo9E


and Sean Kingston

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lt6o8NlrbHg


Off to run errands. Later!

Catching Up with the Summer

I am so very far behind in blogging. The summer just caught up with me - I guess three kids home for the summer will do that to you. Here's a rundown of what we have done from June until now:



  • Middle & Oldest: Katie's End of the Year
  • Family: Amanda & Rob's wedding
  • J. & I: Teacher Appreciation Dinner for the Middle & Youngest's school
  • Family: The Moorefields found us and came for a quick visit (like 2 hours)
  • Oldest: field hockey camp
  • Middle: 6th BD
  • Family: Father's Day (the day did not work out - so we had a re-d0)
  • Me: clean out scrap area and reorganize basement so that I have a bigger scrap area
  • Girls & I: Sonic - yum
  • Girls & I: free movies - Everyone's Hero
  • Middle: Charlotte's BD Party
  • Family: Parade of Homes - saw a new one in a new subdivision that I fell in L.O.V.E. with
  • Family: pool
  • Me: haircut
  • Girls & I: Herr's Chip Factory Tour
  • Family: free movies again - March of the Penguins - not our first choice - but the other one was sold out; then met J. for lunch at Ruby Tuesday's
  • Girls: haircuts (some I am not happy with)
  • Family: fireworks with friends
  • Family: Grandpop's 58th BD
  • Girls & I: Virginia Beach to visit Mom & Dad; Oldest to camp (see below)
  • Oldest: Critter Camp at VBSPCA
  • Girls & I; out to dinner @ Surf Rider w/ Mom & Dad (man, I miss fresh seafood)
  • Me: dinner w/ Amy & Susan (I miss them so much!)
  • Girls & I; school shopping in VB
  • Girls, Mom, & I: visiting Meredyth, Drew, and baby Brady
  • Ashley: spending week with her dad
  • J.: painted the office
  • Me: moved furniture and decorated office (that furniture is friggin' H.E.A.V.Y.)
  • Charlie: got a good short haircut
  • Family: Father's Day Re-do - playing mini-golf (yeah, I kicked butt with three (3) holes in one - ha! ;hiking at Chickie's Creek (not such a great experience - trail way too steep and SNAKES) not Mom's best moment; lunch at Friendly's; shopping for curtains for office
  • Girls & Daddy: sleep-over at Nana's when I drove to pick-up Oldest in Maryland
  • Family: lunch at Sugar Bowl
  • J. & I: clean out storage area of basement; look into furniture refinishing for bed set
  • Family: IKEA w/ Melissa and Aaron; the girls got balloon animals - Middle's was an elephant hat - tell me that didn't attract some stares.

  • Family: Mt. Gretna Lake - a fantastic family day


  • Family: more pool mixed in
  • Oldest: check-up and three shots
  • J.: back to Ph.D. program after 6 week break (there is a light at the end of the tuition tunnel)
  • Great news about Dad's healing - neck brace can be removed some; physical therapy can be started on neck, back, arms, and knee. Mom finally sounded happy again.

Good gracious - that is a lot for the past nine weeks of summer. We still have another two and a half weeks to go with a wedding, an Eagles Pre-Season game, another VB trip, and an adults' only End of Summer party. Yeah - I need a vacation. Where's the damn nanny?


Maybe I can do a better job of keeping this up once the kiddos go back to school. Oldest and Middle will be gone all day - poor Audrey - what is she gonna do without Middle? Maybe I can teach her to blog? Done for now. Another blog to follow after lunch.

Tuesday, June 12, 2007

Happy 6th Birthday,Middle Child!

Happy Birthday, Middle Child! How incredible that six years have passed so very quickly. You are getting ready to start first grade. I am not ready for you to be gone all day. Who will I yell, "Stop running," to? Who will Youngest argue with about riding in the blue carseat? Whose lunch will Charlie eat? Lots of things to ponder.

Today was a lot of fun. The day started at 7:30 when Uncle Eric gave you a BD wake-up call. Then Grandpop and Barbara called. What a popular birthday girl. Next you decided that eating eleven mini-pancakes for breakfast was a perfect treat. Yum - your favorite. Moving on to running errands and ordering your red velvet birthday cake from Simmon's Bakery for your Dinner and a Movie party on Saturday night. Lunch at Isaac's Deli proved fun for the four of us (poor Daddy missed out - but somebody's gotta work. ) Nana called this afternoon to sing to you. Daddy cut class to be home for you and dinner (secretly though I believe he was plotting that after dinner trip to Rita's for gelato and water ice.) Sneaky Daddy!! Now you are snoozing away in the playroom since you really wanted to sleep in there tonight for a treat. Pleasant dreams, my sweetheart. You are almost official 6! Just a few more minutes.

Tomorrow we will continue on our mission to reclaim the house. Organizing and purging have been my favorite jobs this week. Oldest cleaned out her bedroom and all of the middle school stuff that had accumulated. J cleaned out his closet. I have been working on the office and playroom. My scraproom area is next. I can see the light. Organization is going great - especially since I stole an idea from Aby Garvey
http://creativeorganizing.typepad.com/. She has really cool ideas that I have enjoyed gleaming.

Daddy's appointment with the neurosurgeon went well today. He has a total of 12 screws in his neck.. The recovery time is still going to be v.e.r.y. long. No rides in the car until his next appointment in four weeks. Gracious. I know he is going out of his mind just staying home, but until that bone grows and the paralysis and weakness in the arms is gone...home he stays. I think the muscle spasms are still going strong which isn't always alleviated by the drugs. Hopefully a visit from three rowdy granddaughters will take his mind off of the pain and boredom.

OK - I guess this is the end for tongiht. I still need to catch this baby up to speed. I have missed:
Christmas, New Year's, Oldest's 13th BD, my 38th BD, my new job, Middle's soccer season, my trip to meet Amy & Eric in Atlantic City (and J & I trying to break into the wrong beach house), my trip to Central New York, etc..... I will work on this. PROMISE.