Wednesday, February 27, 2008

I am listening to...

Leona Lewis

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5-ctIC65PV0

Where does my day go?

Every feel that way? Gracious! I get up before 7 AM and don't go to bed until 11 PM or later, and I swear I don't know where the day went. I have been trying and trying to set aside some time to scrap and work on reading a few new books I have. But to quote Tim Gunn - I can't seem to "make it work." I think I need to start keeping track of what I am doing during the day - but that might be a scary revelation.
I don't know what I can change or subtract out of my day. The kids have to be taken care of, the house needs to be cleaned or at least straightened up, I have to work a few hours each day if I want a paycheck, I only volunteer one day a week now,.... I just don't know. Tomorrow isn't going to be much better as I am switching days with Amy Sue to work on the teachers' laminating. Then I need to finish vacuuming the upstairs and maybe try to dust a little, fix and clean-up after three meals. Middle's Open House is tomorrow night so that means homework to do and I have to get in my work hours earlier since I won't be home later. Ugh.... there won't be anytime left again. Plus the basement is calling my name since I just threw all the toys over the gate to be put away later. Now they just sit 'cause they ain't calling anyone else's name - or they can ignore it pretty damn well.
I so need a nanny, maid, chauffeur, chef, oh, and a personal assistant and trainer. Oh, that would be fabulous. A girl can dream! ;-)

Tuesday, February 26, 2008

Shhhhhh! Don't say it too loudly or you'll jinx it

The kids are WELL!!!! No one is sick - hallelujah. Now be quiet and go back to your day. ;-)

The weather today just sucks

It isn't even warm out - it is just cold, wet, and ugly. It needs to either snow and stay on the ground for a while or spring needs to come a little quicker.
The worst part of getting stuck inside is the clutter starts to build since the kids want to bring toys upstairs from the basement. Then I start noticing the little house projects that need to be taken care of inside of the house such as:

* new caulk - already did my bathroom, but I need to do a few more places
* fix the dry wall that is starting to peel in our bathroom
* wash down the baseboards and repaint them - started, but not finished

I just want to go work on my scrapbooks. I need to order photos and start 2008. Maybe this will be the one year I can keep up for the entire year. Ha, yeah, right!

Saturday, February 23, 2008

So I survived the wedding

but J was sick. We left @ 2:30 yesterday to drive out to the in-laws and drop off the kids. Not a whole lot of conversation going on. I was not a happy girl. Just could not get in a happy place. I was a real B**** the entire trip. By the time we finished getting everyone where they needed to be, we had about 45 minutes to get over to the wedding site. Thank goodness there wasn't much traffic. Thank goodness for snow plows!

Jennie looked very beautiful - even at 7.5 months pregnant. Gracious. But J and I both say that Jennie and Michael are 25, very much in love, have jobs, and wonderful supportive families. They will be fine. Baby Ella is due in April. Oh, and it doesn't hurt that Michael has $$$$ so that issue that so many young couples face - won't be an issue for them. (Michael just special ordered his first car - a BMW.) First car??? Yep, he never had to drive before - he had a driver if needed. What 16 year old boy doesn't want a car??? Crazy.

OK - back to the story. Poor J - he was so ready to leave right after the sit-down dinner. He was exhausted since he woke up at 5 am for the call that school was closed and his sinuses were giving him a fit. Thank goodness for the fantastic hors d'oeuvres. Scrumptious!! The food at the William Penn Inn was absolutely wonderful too as was the open bar. :-) Didn't get to drink too much because I wasn't sure J would feel up to driving to the hotel. Luckily he was OK but he crashed as soon as he could change out of his suit. The hotel was blissfully quiet, and we both were able to sleep in since we had no kids or dog to deal with. Oh, how I miss those days. That was may be worth all of the aggravation of the wedding and the trip.

Got a guilt trip from Nana for not bringing over this kids today to visit. As J said - it was a short (guilt) trip. Just cannot squeeze it all in.

Visited with Linda and John when we picked up the younger two. Youngest made it thru without a tear shed. Maybe she is growing up a little more? Maybe staying awhile before leaving her helped? Who knows? Or maybe it was all of the X-mas gifts that Linda had for them. It was a toy explosion. She spoils them once a year. They love it! Aud was happy and that is all that mattered. Middle, of course, was in her element. She discovered Betty Spaghetti and played with it most of the night. Billy, as ususal, hated having the girls in his house. He even went so far as to make a No Girls sign for his bedroom door. What a boy - a 9 year old one at that.

Melissa brought Oldest over about 11ish along with her brand new green Converse. Why green ? Oldest's says so that she isn't like everyone else. Whoa!!! Where did she come from? I was so afraid to go out on a limb like that as a teenager. Not her. I am proud of her. OK, I digress....

Went to Lou and Barbara's after. Girls got their X-mas gifts from them. We got a bottle of wine and a new X-mas ornament with all of our names on it. Got to try to play Wii. I think we all fell in love with it. Wish we had the money for one and a new TV. Not in the budget yet. Wait until we are finished with J's doctorate classes. Then, maybe. Or I could just go back to work full time. Then we would have $$$ again. Ha. Not gonna happen yet. Yeah, yeah, yeah, I know. Digressing, again. Sue me.

Left there about 4 to head home. Made the decision to stop out in Gap at Chilis. Much better than the one in Lancaster - but the waitress SUCKED!!!! She behaved as if she was doing us a favor by taking our order. Didn't help matters that we had to wake up Youngest. She was a bear - refused to sit down, wouldn't eat, kicked me. Finally we got her to curl up in J's lap, but she kept asking to go home. I switched w/ J after I ate a little dinner, so he could eat. Of course, Aud was soooo much better and hungry just as we decide to leave. Oy! McD's for her. Not ordering again from Chili's and waiting.

Home. Unpack car. Open X-mas gifts from Linda and John. Great hot chocolate maker and an electric broom. Don't laugh; I am THRILLED with both. Middle already tried out the broom for me. Works like a charm. Kids showered. Suitcases unpacked. J and Youngest are asleep. Middle and I are heading that way in a few. Just gotta break her away from her new Blendy Pens that Linda gave her.

'night.

Thursday, February 21, 2008

Dad's update

Shoulder dr. wants to operate on both shoulders. Damn rotator cuff. Heart dr. says no - he needs to stay on the Plavix. Neurologist wants to do nerve conductivity test that involves dye, turning him upside down, and checking spinal cord to see why he isn't healing after six months. Damn laminectomy. Heart dr. says no.

Dad cannot continue to live with the pain in the shoulders and the knee. The lack of strength in his arms and the lack of movement. He doesn't like the chance he has to take coming off the Plavix and increasing his risk of another heart attack. He is miserable. He is depressed. He is scared.

I hate this.

Snow coming

Pray for a big one. I want to go sledding.

The wedding that is gonna cause a divorce

Jenny's wedding is this Friday night. How inconvenient for us. I know, how bitchy of me. But, here is the thing:

1. it is 1.5 hours away on a Friday night during Rush Hour near Philly
2. it starts at 6:30 pm
3. J has to leave work @ 2
4. Oldest and Middle have to be picked up from school
5. Dog (who is now sick) has to go to kennel from Fri to Sun because of limited p/u time on Sat.
6. $$$$ for said dog in kennel
7. $$$$ for the gas and tolls
8. $$$$ for the hotel - and not one that I get to enjoy
9. drop Oldest off w/ Melissa @ salon
10. drop Middle and Youngest w/ Grandmom
11. Youngest is NOT happy about us leaving her - major tears again - I predict crying and screaming
12. Youngest still not fully recovered from ear infections
13. dinner? maybe @ 8 or so?
14. SNOW STORM forecasted - driving on Turnpike in snow storm - NOT my idea of fun

DH needs to be reasonable about this. I am not a happy camper about this. I'd rather go to Patti's and scrap. That I know I would enjoy.

The dog is sick...

yep, less than 24 hours before he is suppose to go to the kennel so we can go to Jenny's wedding. Great. Dog is sick - kennel will not take sick dogs. I don't want to leave my poor baby if he is sick. DH is not gonna be a happy guy.

The ears that just won't heal

Youngest finished the antibiotic on Monday. Tuesday she said her left ear hurt. Wednesday it was both ears. Pediatrician visit today - antibiotic ear drops w/ pain reliever and steroids built in. Ears are healing - just not healed all the way. Oy.

Happy Birthday to Me!

Feeling kinda Sixteen Candles - ish. DH hasn't said a thing about my BD - which is very, highly, extremely unusual. Let's see what happens when he finally gets home tonight.

Wednesday, February 13, 2008

School is cancelled

First J. got the phone call that school was delayed 2 hours - J got up after doing the phone tree to iron his shirt and get ready to go in. Then another call @ 7am. Nope, school is cancelled. I guess the buses couldn't make the journey safely to all the nooks and crannies of his school district with all of the ice. Following J's school districts lead, all of the other districts, including ours, started cancelling too. Middle was soooo excited. She said this was the best day ever.

The downside of this? Now there won't be a four day weekend. Friday will be the make-up day. That means I have to go with Youngest for Grandparents' Day at preschool because Lou and Barbara won't be coming and J will have to work. Drats. That screws up my work schedule. Oh, well. I get to spend the time with my four year old - maybe we will do lunch too.
These are from Tuesday. Not much in the way of snow, but they were dying to get out there.

Monday, February 11, 2008

Youngest-isms : The Coooool Car

In the car leaving preschool...
"Hey, Mom. Look at the coooool car! We should get that coooool car."
"Which one, honey?"
"The one with Katie's teacher in it."
"Oh, yeah. (looking at the Toyota Sequoia - one of Mommy's dream cars) That is a cool car. If you have an extra $35,000 in your piggy bank, then we can go get one right now."
"No, but we can go to the bank, and you can get your monies out."
"I wish, Audy, I wish...."

Who let Old Man Winter in??

Good gracious! Where did the frigid weather come from? Now were are suppose to get snow and freezing rain tomorrow? Fantastic - maybe some snow to sled in again? We haven't had much of a chance this year for some good sledding time, and I miss it. I never had this growing up in Virginia Beach, so I want to take advantage of the opportunity. Besides - when you are all bundled up - who can tell that I'm 38.9999 years old??? I am pretty short, so I can blend in with all of the kids. :-)

Saturday, February 9, 2008

Saturday's Happenings....

Youngest woke up at 2 AM crying - her head hurt - but she is pointing to her jaw area under her ear. Oh, NO!!! Not her ear, please anything but an ear infection. She stayed awake until 5 AM crying in pain. Threw up from all of the drainage (and maybe from the fever?)

Took her in to see the Dr. again (between Middle and Youngest this was visit number five to the peds in three weeks and dr. visit number seven between the peds and the ENT.) Temp is 101.5. Great.

Dr. took one look in her left ear (the good ear)and said, "She's got a really bad ear infection - it is about ready to burst."

Youngest then so eloquently announced, "I gotta throw up." There she blows.

The Dr. said the vomitting was more from the fever than the drainage. He prescribed a strong antibiotic and Motrin. If she cannot keep the Motrin down, then call him.

Prescription filled and in her along with the Motrin by 12:30. By 2:00 she is like a new kid. Thank goodness. Still stiffling and draining, but no more crying. Man, we have been so lucky with the three girls - never many ear infections at all. I cannot tell you the last time any of them were even on an antibiotic. We have been blessed with that part.

So here we are. Staying home again all weekend to get these children well. Maybe if the planets align and the Gods are kind, I can, shhhhh!, not too loudly, maybe I can scrapbook. Please don't say it aloud - they will hear you and someone will be ill.

My new books from Amazon came in:

  • Pieces of My Sister's Life
  • Me & Emma
  • Scrap Simple

Care to guess which one I dove into first? Oh, the highlight of the day? I snuck off to Paperoni when J got home from basketball to hit up their closing sale. Picked up some more foam stamps and paint since it was all 50% off. Plus some scalloped cardstock, a little paper, some ABC letters, and rub-ons. Not much inventory left - good for them, sad for me.

Friday, February 8, 2008

And the results of the CT Scan are....

nothing. There is nothing anatomically wrong with Youngest's ears. So now we have an unknown cause as to the hearing loss. Dr. Tom said follow-up in four months. Preferential seating in the classroom. I still don't know if this is a stable or progressive loss. Keep your fingers crossed that it is stable. I guess this is good news, right?

Thursday, February 7, 2008

Catching Up - Present

Currently home with the two sickies - otherwise known as Middle and Youngest.

Still waiting to hear from Dr. Tom about the next step in Youngest's hearing loss.

Need to go clean. Ugh....

Catching Up - Past

OK - pinky swear aside - I did mean to catch up the other day. Life, it got in the way again.

December:
Christmas was fantastic. Oldest loved the cell phone and was blown away that she got one. So far, so good with it.

Mom and Dad were able to make the drive up to visit. They stayed for a few days - we hit up Target and both outlets (Tanger and Rockvale.) Mom did pretty well with the shopping especially since she hates to go.

January:
1st - Middle and I ran in the New Year together. Yes, my 6 year old made it to midnight and actually even later. She realized that it was AM and thought she should just stay up. Yeah, that didn't happen.

3rd - made a road trip with Youngest to Timonium, Maryland to hit up the Recollections Scrapbook store since it was closing. We had a good time, and she was a huge help with picking out new supplies. She was great for throwing Memory Makers paint in my basket - everyone had to have their own color.

5th - Middle's first basketball game, and Daddy is the coach. She did OK - a little 'tude, but it worked out overall. The I had a date with J to Panera Bread that night. Oldest watched the younger two so we could go out for an hour. It was sooooo nice to eat by ourselves and just talk. We went over to the Kirkland Outlet and the Restoration Hardward Outlet, but didn't buy a thing.

6th - the sickness came....Middle was throwing up in the bathroom @ 1 AM. Oh, my gracious - NASTY!!! I don't know what she picked up, but it was B-A-D.

7th - Youngest failed her second hearing test. We now have the referral to the ENT doctor. Make an appt. with Dr. Tom of CHoP. He is suppose to be very good.

11th - Oldest has a tooth pulled to make the braces work this time. They better for 4 freakin' thousand dollars.

12th - went to Julia's crop in Maryland for the day. Oh, how nice to have a little time for myself. J is fantastic about that.

14th - Oldest gets the rest of the braces on. She picks pink - who knew? Last year she despised pink. Teenagers.

19th - Middle scores her first basket in basketball. Way to go, girl!! She was so proud of herself.

20th - decide it might be time to move since the new house next too us is in our front yard. Yeah - that SUCKS!!!! We are so very pissed off at our builder. Talks with him are ongoing to try to rectify this situation. We went to look at a few new houses today - but we were not blown away by any.

21st - took Oldest to see 27 Dresses and out to dinner at Macaroni Grill for a Girls' Day Out. She seemed to have a great time hanging out with Mom. The movie was good - it is a total Chix Flix.

22nd - Middle to the peds because enough is enough with this mess. I am tired of her being so sick. Not much to do but let it run its course.

23rd - took Middle out to breakfast since the "issue" seems to be subsiding. Just to be safe, she sticks with the BRAT diet. We went over to see J at school. Middle took a picture to him that she had colored at breakfast. Went to look at a house tonight in a neighborhood with tons of kids, but it was a no go. The backyard was not workable since it was straight down. The basement; however, was clean enough to eat off of.

24th - Youngest sick again

25th - Youngest too sick to sing in Winterfest.

26th - Middle - peds again. HIVES. Ugh... a side effect of the virus she has been fighting for three weeks

28th - meet with the real estate agents about selling the house. We might lose 3 - 4% due to the placement of the house next door. We are PISSED OFF to say the least. Oh, and I do NOT want to pay them $20,000 as their commission to sell my house. Ridiculous. I've never paid anyone that amount to sell my house - won't start now.

29th - take Youngest to Wal-Mart to pick up some groceries and stuff for Oldest's BD Party - find a big ol' nail in the tire. The tire is going "SSSSSSSS" and going down. High tail it back in the car and go over to H&F to get it fixed. Of course, it is also raining and freaking cold. Figures.

31st - Youngest's first appt. with Dr. Tom. Tests with the audiologist. Nothing conclusive except that she has a conductive middle ear hearing loss. At the point the cause is unknown. CT Scan is the next step. Schedule that for February 6th in King of Prussia.

February:
1st - Oldest's BD Sleepover. She seems to have a good time, and they were asleep by 11 PM. What is up with that? They are 14!! It's OK - I'll take it.

2nd - Oldest's 14th Birthday. How the hell did that happen? I was just taking her to her first day of kindergarten the other day. Crazy, crazy, crazy how time is flying.
We went rollerskating as a family. This was a first and tons of fun!! Willow Street sponsored it. Youngest did a better job than Middle - and then Youngest promptly threw a fit when it was time to leave. I had a fantastic time - I haven't skated in years, but picked it up again easily. I even went BACKWARDS!!!

4th - started my One in 48 class with Hillary Heidelberg's NYCScraps. Great sketches to work with and color schemes.

5th - Middle's 100 Days of School Celebration. She had to dress as a 100 year old woman. Yeah, she wasn't too into it, but some of the other kids were. Very original costumes.
Oldest had High School pre-registration. OMG! Stop growing up so damn fast.

That is it for the PAST. Now onto the Present....

Youngest's CT Scan

The scan was yesterday morning, and she did rather well. She moved a little during some of the pictures (she was being such a brave girl trying not to cry), so at this point she may have to go back, be sedated, and have the CT Scan all over again. I am praying hard that that doesn't happen.

So far, no phone call or info from the doctor. I don't know where we go from here as far as her hearing. One day at a time, I guess.

After her scan yesterday, we hit up Toys R Us for another set of Littlest Pet Shops - that was the bribe for the scan. Youngest had a blast talking about all of the choices and picking out a new set of five. Then I took her out to lunch. Since we were in King of Prussia we went to Bahama Breeze. It was OK - she got mac n cheese; I tried the Coconut Shrimp. Not great, but not horrid either.

Updates on the hearing issues when I get them.

five weeks is W.A.Y. too long to be sick

but in this house, that is just what is happening. Middle and Youngest (and the other three of us to a lesser extent) have been sick since January 6th. Enough already!! Middle woke up with a temp of 101.4 under her arm. Her cough is horrible. Youngest is right behind her. Both have an appt. with the Nurse Practioner today. I hope they have something treatable rather than just a bad cold because we need some rest. They are both up coughing all night and that is WITH the meds. Gracious. I am O.V.E.R. it - puking, diarrhea, coughing, sneezing, runny noses, all of it. GO AWAY, GERMS!!!

Sunday, February 3, 2008

I am listening to...

Sara Bareilles...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MR5xv3pt7KI

and this really raunchy version of Maroon5's Wake-up Call

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lPYZgwbqJ2Q

and this Paramore song....

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-wYxnkbbI8M

I am so friggin' lame

been way too lazy and busy to blog. Gotta start tomorrow with updates and challenges. Pinky swear. :-)