So let's play catch up...

or maybe not? The last five weeks or so are a blur, and I am not sure why. I don't think anything monumental occured. I think it was just the activity of three kids and summer.

July:
* I took Oldest out to Melissa's salon for haircuts. We had a good time - even though we could not find a place to eat dinner afterwards. California Kitchen was packed, Chili's had no room in the parking lot either, King of Prussia mall is overwhelming so we wound up at Ruby Tuesday's. Not what I had envisioned, but it was good and it was about Oldest and I spending time together - not about the food.

* I enrolled Youngest at a new preschool for the coming year. They deal with the IU and that is good since the hearing aid will be in place. I am hoping she will find more friends living close by for more playtime. The big plus is it is only 2 minutes from the house - so much less driving and so much less gas.

August:
* I took the kids back to Virginia Beach to visit my parents. We had a blast. I think each day had a great highlight

1. We (Mom, the girls & I)went to Sandbridge for the day; I realized how much I truly miss living 7 minutes from the ocean - I have to find a way to get closer to the water. Living among the cornfields isn't working for me.



2. We (Mom, Dad, the girls & I) went to Doumar's for lunch. Oh, yum!!! I have loved this place since I was a little girl when Grammy took me. It has limeade that is to die for and BBQ with extra slaw that is scrumptious. We found out while we were there that Guy Fieri from Food Network's Diners, Drive-ins & Dives came to do a story on them. I remembered to watch it once I got back to lovely PA.
After Doumar's, Mom & I took the girls to the Virginia Zoo. We went quite a few times when we lived in VB and now try to go when we go back to visit. Love the zoo. Oh, the girls love the $$$ Pop-Pop gave them for webkinz. The best part of that day for them.






3. Dad, Middle, Youngest & I went shopping at Target. Luckily Dad did not give in and purchase anymore toys for them.

4. Mom took the girls back to school shopping. They came home with new outfits and shoes. Trying out the new yogurt place, The Skinny Dip was a great way to end our shopping excursion.

5. We went out to dinner for Mexican - yummy - and went swimming at my godmother's house.

* Oldest and I took a ride out to Hershey to go to the scrapbook store so that I could get supplies for the family history album I am going to do for Dad. We stopped at Red Robin for a quick bite. Again it was nice to have a little one on one time with my oldest since I don't get to do that as often. She is so busy.

* Aunt Melissa came out to visit and gave both Middle and Youngest a great back to school haircut. Thank you, Melissa. XO!

* Oldest had volleyball try-outs for high school. Nope, didn't make it this year. She is OK with that. She will still be there supporting her friends.

* Oldest went to the Paramore concert in Philly with Melissa then got to stay the night at Mel's.

* Ash picked up her schedule for high school! How the hell did that happen? I just dropped her off in kindergarden. I am sooo not ready for a high schooler. We took a tour of the school and scoped out her classes. She felt pretty ready for the first day.

* Abs had Open House at her new school. WOW!!! The $$ that went into building that school really shows. It is beautiful. Everything is so new and clean and colorful. We are very excited about her teacher, Mrs. M. I think she will be a perfect match for Abs.

* Aud got her hearing aid. A very emotional day for her. Abs did such a nice job of trying to sooth her. Not much worked though except for the promise of the new Webkinz goldfish. We found "Bubbles" after the appointment. It seemed to keep Aud calm for a little while.

* We went to the pool a few other times - but the weathter has been so mild which makes the spring fed pool even chillier.



* We hosted the neighborhood picnic. I think everyone had a fantastic time especially my husband. ;-) The food was fantastic, but the company was even better. We have plans to do neighborhood movie night next.

* Finally school started this past week. Structure is back in our lives. So is homework.

Coming up next...the first day of school

I am a month behind....

Sorry - life has been in the way. Everyone is well, school is back in session (DH is at a football game right now as Admin on Duty.) I worked some yesterday and today, but not as much as I should have. I blew off work for three hours because of this:

Pioneer Woman's Black Heels to Tractor Wheels

I am hooked on this story and cannot wait for more.

Need to update the entire month of August. I think I will work on that tomorrow after some house chores.

Night!
a

Road Trip Time...

in less than 12 hours I (we) will be on the road to Virginia Beach to spend the holiday with my parents. The kids are all super excited to go to the beach and hang out with their grandparents. Youngest loves the Bay Bridge Tunnel - loves the tunnels and watching the boats.

*** Keeping fingers crossed. Middle took a nap today (very not like my 7 yo - the Energizer Bunny) and woke up with a severed tummy ache, headache, fever, and her legs hurt. Eventually the tummy ache subsided, but the headache, fever, and leg pain only seemed to lessen with the aid of Ibuporfen. The fever is still kicking. After my bout with food poisoning this weekend, I hope that this is a fluke of nature showing up right now.

Taking the new "Green Machine" as Dad calls it. Actually it is the 17" Dell we bought with some of extra tax money this year that Uncle Sammy alloted a little early to provoke some consumer spending. Love, love, love this laptop.

Ciao. Catch up when I am in VB and have time.

Wow! Has it been that long?

Since I last blogged. Life, it gets in the way sometimes. All three kids are doing things that I don't want to forget (well, except for the Mother's Day gift of a broken arm.)

My newest dilemma - whether to apply for a middle school math position that just became available. Need to do some hard and fast thinking as the job won't be open long.

Need to catch up on our summer break. Goal was to do a post a day. Ha. LMAO. Not happening now. I will have to start updating tomorrow. It is late now, and my brain is too fried to write coherent, well thought out sentences.

Ciao.

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....

I am so friggin' lame

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

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!

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!!

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

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.