Stuff

I've been a little obsessed with reading lately. I read The Hunger Games in just a few nights and then I started Catching Fire on Monday night. Did I say obsessed? :) Anyway, that's a big reason I haven't popped back on here!

I started a Biggest Loser Challenge a couple of weeks ago. It's with Herbalife protein shakes. In 2 weeks, I'm down 5.5 lbs. Whoop whoop!!! And, I finished another BLC that a college friend is part of......and I won it!!! I lost 3.7% of my weight from 12/2 to 2/3. I'm especially proud that I managed to lose a couple of pounds during December, when I typically gain it! Look out size 8's that have been hanging in my closet for 3 years....here I come!

Lacey has been playing indoor soccer the last several weeks. I had talked to her about playing soccer for a couple of years, but she had no interest in it. I think she was just scared to try. But, some of her friends (including a BFF...Mallory) was playing, so she agreed to give it a shot. She's doing pretty well with it, too! I've loved watching her gain more confidence over the last few weeks.

Last Saturday, during the last 2 minutes of the game, a ball was kicked into her chest. :( The coach carried her off and she was crying. But, she pulled it together enough to walk out at the end of the game for the handshakes.

She & Leah both want to play spring soccer, so I know we'll be running around juggling a lot then.

Weekend Update

I feel like I need a weekend after my weekend! (Kind of like needing a vacation after vacation!) Yesterday, I got up early and went to Weight Watchers to weigh in. I hadn't been since December 10th and needed to show my face. I did well through the holidays and actually lost a little bit of weight. :) (Hopefully that isn't just from having a kidney infection that caused vomiting!) Lacey & I went to a Girl Scout event from 11:00 - 3:00. A couple of the troops in our Service Unit put on a "Beach Party" for all the troops in our Unit. All of the girls in my troop (10) made it. They played games for the first 90 minutes, took a lunch break, then crafts. I was beat by the time I got home since I'd been on my feet for the whole 4 hours. But, I couldn't sit down and put up my feet. There was a party to attend. Justin is heading into the Air Force on Tuesday and we needed to celebrate with him. :) Rick & Kristina had a party at Trinity Church Hall with family and friends. Food (potluck), a DJ/Karaoke and lots of fun. The Hall has a little back room that's a play area and they stayed back there almost the whole night. A couple of young cousins were there (11 and 9) and they all played really well together. I think it's the latest my girls have ever stayed up. We left around 11:00, I think and Leah fell asleep when we turned into our neighborhood. You'd think I'd decide to make today a quiet day, right? Wrong. The girls have both said recently that they want to have their own rooms. They've shared a room since March 2010. We started this morning at Lowe's, buying painting supplies. The "playroom" needed a new coat of paint before we could move Leah's furniture in. I painted for a few hours this afternoon. Then, as soon as the paint was dry, we started moving the furniture. We still have to hang pictures and shelves back up, but it's mostly done. So.... Lacey wanted to sleep in Leah's room. On the floor. She had a bed set up. Then, she decided to go back to her room. And, Leah decided she wanted to be on Lacey's floor. Now it's 9:20. Lacey is usually asleep by 8:30 and Leah by 9:00. They will be so tired tomorrow. I've yelled too much and feel horrible about that, but I was really thinking after all the work today I'd like to sit and watch DH while sipping a glass of wine. Frustrating to still be fighting them at 9:20. Hopefully tomorrow night will go more easily. Leah has promised to sleep in her room then.

Computer Issues

Our family computer (desktop) has needed some "attention" for a while now. The last time we had it cleaned up was in 2008. It was one of those things on my list for weeks months. Ridiculous. Yesterday morning when I was on the computer, I got a warning message about a "bot". So, I called Hunter - the guy that fixed our computer back in 2008. Dropped it off today. He said he found several issues and he took care of and told me we should get a new hard drive, too. The new hard drive will be about 3x as big as the old one, so it will be like a new computer to us. :)

Happy New Year!

I've been considering new year's resolutions over the last few days, but haven't taken the time to write them down. So, I'll do that here.

1) Make a real effort at this blog! (More time blogging, less time Facebooking.)

2) Take better care of myself. This includes several different things: get to bed earlier, make time to exercise, eat more fruits and veggies....less sugar, wash my face each night.....you get the picture.

3) Organization! This was on the list in 2011, too. I know I did a little better, but need to build on it more. (I wish the rest of my family was on board with organizing, too.)

4) Do better with keeping the house picked up.

Let's see how I do!

New York

I’m in NY for several days for a client’s convention. This might be the least favorite part of my job. We have a booth/table at the Exhibit Hall to advertise the client’s insurance program. In my experience, most members – regardless of the client – avoid the insurance booth. So, it makes for a long, boring day. The hours at this particular convention used to be 10 hour days. By myself. Thankfully, this year they scheduled a 3 hour break in the middle of the day. This was likely done because of complaints from others last year. We would be there for 10 hours and the attendees were off touring the city we were in. They were not coming to see the booths! Anyway, that 3 hour break made a huge difference yesterday (the first day).

I used to attend another convention for a large client that wanted (and needed) to have several people working the booth. So, there were others to talk to and do things with in the evenings. Lots of touring the cities we would visit, etc. When I’m by myself, I tend to just enjoy the silence of a hotel room at night; a glass of wine; what I want to watch on TV; room service; and no bedtime battles (or bedtime Olympics, as some of my other mom friends call it).

I got here on Friday afternoon. After checking in at the exhibiting area to make sure all my things arrived, I headed back to the hotel. A nasty rain storm was coming and I had no interest in being out in it. After just hanging out for a bit, I ended up doing the Jillian Michaels 30 Day Shred. (Love that workout…and I’m still a little sore today.) Then, I ordered room service (salad and wine) and settled in for a night of TV. Not very interesting, but quite relaxing.

During the break yesterday, I changed clothes & put on my walking shoes…..and, walked for 3 miles. I was hoping to stumble across a good store to buy gifts for the kids, but didn’t see anything interesting for them. So, it was just a good exercise walk.

Last night was pretty much a repeat of Friday night. There was an opening reception that I had a ticket for, but I never really attend those things. By the end of the day, I’m pretty done with people. And, other than just a couple of people, I don’t know anyone. I probably should go to these things. I feel guilty when I don’t. But….oh well. It’s done now.

We joined Netflix a couple of months ago & it is awesome being able to download movies and TV shows. There wasn’t anything on live TV last night, so I just found things on Netflix.

I got an iPhone last week, so I’ve been playing with that quite a bit. It has something called Face Time, which is basically a way to video chat with others that have an iPhone or iTouch. Since I already had an iTouch…..I was able to chat with Butch & the girls last night. Very cool. I gave them a tour of the hotel room and showed them the view from the window. Lacey loved all of it. Leah was too sad about Mommy not being home to enjoy the call. She just kept telling me to come home.

Still 2+ hours from my break today. I'm planning on walking again. This time I WILL find something for the girls. I have a better idea of which stores I want to go to.

Weekend Update

Monday comes, and I can never really remember what we did all weekend. Ridiculous.

We thought about going out on Friday night, but didn't call ahead of time for our sitter, so we were out of luck with that.

Saturday morning, we headed to the gym. I was getting ready to stretch when one of the child care workers came out to find me telling me Lacey had lost a tooth. My response was "and she's wigging out?". The blood really freaks her out. Apparently she was just crying, but they thought they should get me. So, I stretched in the child care area while she rinsed her mouth out and calmed down. (This was tooth #5, by the way.) Pictures to come.

We went home to get the kids changed for their swim lesson and drove out again - the opposite way. Swim lessons the last 2 years have done wonders for my kids. I'll have to do another post on that.

Home again. Thinking about going out. Called the sitter, but they were out all day and didn't get the message until 8:00ish, so another night at home. Instead, we cooked cheese tortellini with chicken sausage. So good! Since the weather was so awesome (low humidity), we enjoyed the deck again.

At some point, Leah either left the back door open, or didn't close it tight & the wind blew it open....and Alex got out. (I need to post about the new cats!) We didn't realize she had gotten out until a couple of hours later when she showed up on the deck ready to come back in. Apparently, it was a fun outing because she keeps trying to sneak out again.

Lacey woke up early on Sunday - I think because she remembered the tooth fairy would have come. So, she came bounding into our room at 6:45 with a big smile and showing us her dollars. :)

Both girls started asking to go to PaPa's to swim almost immediately after waking. We gave in late morning thinking we'd let them swim for an hour or so, then head home to get stuff done. Getting them out of the pool was much more difficult than we thought it would be! I guess an hour isn't enough. But, we did get back home and managed to be a little productive. I think the house is cleaner than it has been in weeks.

After dinner, the girls & I walked over to see friends. The kids played while I chatted with Donna. The plan was for me to walk home and leave them for a bit, but once we started chatting, it seemed silly to walk back home for such a short time.

Then, it was just a typical Sunday night. Ironing clothes for today, etc.

Hello Monday.

Kindergarten....come and gone!

So hard to believe that I will be the mom of a 1st grader next year! Since I have been so lame with posting updates here, I thought I'd just do a quick one (hahaha) about the whole school year for Lacey in one spot. I truly can't believe I didn't do a 1st day of school post!

First, we went to an open house so Lacey could meet her teacher & see her classroom!





Here's the official picture from the first day!


And, just to compare....here she is last year starting pre-K!


She barely looked back when she hopped on the bus this year! She sat on the bus with Brittany (who lives across the street) all year. We were really lucky with that. Brittany is in 5th grade and is great with Lacey. http://www2.blogger.com/img/blank.gif

In October, the school had Trunk or Treat. The kids all went around to about 50 cars getting treats. Lots of fun & chaos! Lacey was Alex from The Wizards of Waverly Place and Leah was a pumpkin.



I volunteered for the trip to a pumpkin farm and had a great time with all those little munchkins. I had Lacey & 2 other little sweethearts in my group. We went on a hayride, the kids got to milk cows, we saw baby pigs, pig races and more!


I tried to go on the spring field trip, too, but the school is lucky enough to have lots of volunteers...and they all need their turns! Since it was at a swamp, I'm okay with that!

In June the school held a mini-relay to go along with Relay for Life. Lacey & I decorated a shirt for her that read "In Memory of MeMa" and "In Honor of Aunt Annie and Uncle Steve". The kids walked around the school 4-5 times, while some of the teachers blew bubbles and squirted them with water guns.

Here are Lacey & Haley holding their class sign.



Trying to avoid being squirted by Aunt Kristina (I mean, Mrs. Lacey)!


The end of year picnic was held at Gilbert Run Park. It was H O T!!!!! Heat index was above 100 degrees that day. It didn't slow the kids down, though.

Here's Lacey & her BFF.


They had tons of fun running around. Lunch was set out earlier than planned because of how hot it was --- figured everyone would want to get out of their early. After eating, the rental place for peddle boats opened up and despite the heat, Lacey HAD to get on one. We lasted about 20 minutes!

On the way out, Lacey wanted to pose...and got a little silly!


She had a few more days of school after the picnic. Can you believe the last day was scheduled for a Monday? Ridiculous. We ended up keeping her at home that day. I would have sent her, but none of her best buddies were going and Grandma & Poppy were in town....so we kept her home to visit with them.

She had another awesome report card! I'm so proud of how she's done this year. She's reading ahead of where expected and doing really well with math, too. Comments on report cards through the year were things like "model student", "attentive & ready to participate", etc. It's so awesome to hear these kinds of things as a parent!

And, now....it's summer! Butch is spending lots of time with her and she's talking about being bored. :) Typical kid, right?

McNeel Family Reunion in West Virginia

We spent the weekend in West Virginia at a family reunion with the McNeel side. Some people hadn’t seen each other in more than 20 years. The last time I had been to West Virginia was nearly 8 years ago when we came to my cousin Kevin’s wedding. Rick & Kristina hadn’t been in around 25 years. This is something we’ve talked about doing for a few years, but getting schedules together for 40+ people is pretty difficult!

Butch was out of town last week visiting colleges in Tennessee. Rather than flying back to DC or BWI, he flew into Charlottesville, VA --- which was sort of on the way to the reunion. The girls and I drove to Charlottesville on Thursday night and stayed at a hotel. It helped to break the trip up. And, if we hadn’t done that, we would have needed to wake up early on Friday & be in the car by 7:00, which didn’t sound fun. Instead, we had a “girls’ night” at the hotel, room service for breakfast (the worst I’ve ever had) and the girls got to swim in the pool for a short time.

The girls & I were happy to see Butch & get on the road for WV! The place we rented is an old house on a farm in the middle of nowhere. The original part of the house was built in the 1800’s. The drive up the mountain, leading to the house was a bit scary……very narrow…so much so that I can’t imagine what we would have done if we’d met someone else coming the other direction. And, the drop off was steep --- with nothing there to prevent the fall.

We finally arrived at the rental house a little after 3:00. Dee Dee, Bucky and Dad arrived pretty soon after we did. Aunt Annie & Aunt Jeannie were waiting to say hello. Everyone else trickled in through the evening.


We knew we’d be sort of roughing it by staying at this place, based on reviews that we’d read online. But, short of really roughing it (campground in tents), it was the only way we’d found to get all of us in one place. We were able to stay up talking & hanging out without anyone having to drive back to a hotel room.

Poor Leah was so exhausted by the time we were getting her to bed (11:00 pm) that she was sobbing & screaming. Some of the kids were sleeping in tents & she wanted to do that, too --- with me. Since we didn’t have a tent….and there was a perfectly fine bed….sleeping in a tent wasn’t happening!

Saturday morning, we finally got ourselves organized enough to get out of the house. It was nearly 11:00 before we were out the door. We caravanned to Aunt Jeannie’s and visited for a short time there. Then, back in the car to drive to Renick, where Mom’s family lived.

We knew Grandpa & Grandma’s house wouldn’t be the same, but we still really wanted to go. It looks nothing like it used to --- not even the backyard is the same. However, standing across the street, looking at the house brought back memories. The stairs that lead from the street/sidewalk up to the house look the same for the most part. However, we all agreed that when we were kids, it seemed like there were many more steps! The hill doesn’t look nearly as steep now. I can remember being so scared walking down those steps to get the newspaper.


My cousin, Tammy & I walked up to the house to see if anyone was home….sort of in hopes that they’d be open to us walking around on the lawn….or maybe even an invitation into the house. No one answered, though.

We headed over to a little spot where we could check out the Greenbrier River and the kids could get their feet wet. (They were disappointed that the house was supposed to have streams….but when we arrived we were told they are “wet streams” and are dry now.) Tony (named after my cousin who died much too young) is 20 months old and all boy! He waded into the water a bit, then came to a spot where it dropped off to about 2 feet…and he fell….stayed under for a couple seconds. A guy who was going out on a row boat grabbed him since he was closest.

After leaving the River, we drove past Aunt Ruby’s house. I have no memories of it since I was quite young when we would go visit and play there.

Next stop was the cemetery to visit the graves of Grandpa & Grandma and other family members. Then, off to the American Heritage Music Hall, which was started by Aunt Jeannie & her friend, Charlie years ago.

Back to the farm for dinner & visiting……

Most everyone that wasn’t already staying at the farm had already arrived. Oops! (Our touring around took longer than we thought….and we started later then we had planned!) It was so great to have everyone together. (Although, I should say “most” everyone…since there were several family members that couldn’t come on the trip.)

The farm had a zip line and in addition to the kids enjoying it, my nearly 74 year old Dad tried it! Dee tried to talk him out of it, but he wasn’t listening. He ended up with just a minor “boo-boo” on his knee.


Uncle Tom went, as well! I did crafts with some of the girls. Lots of people played cornhole and went riding on the 4-wheeler.


We had a huge spread for dinner – hamburgers, hot dogs, macaroni salad, potato salad, fruit salad, veggie tray, 3 bean salad, baked beans, etc., etc. Followed by too many desserts!

Thankfully, we had time to get in some pictures before the storms came.

With all the rain, we weren’t able to have a camp fire & roast s’mores! Lacey was almost in tears about this. It was also the first thing she asked for the next morning!

The kids had a fabulous time playing with their cousins and running around in the country. Leah didn’t want to wear shoes the whole time we were there! She claimed that walking on the rocks in the driveway felt good. Crazy girl.

The last day, Lacey said she wanted to stay longer. And, one of the kids (I think it might have been Cameron) said he wanted to stay for 1 more day of fun!

It truly was a great time. It was so great to have 4 generations together. These types of events never seem to be long enough. You don’t have enough time to talk to everyone you want to. Before we knew it, we were back in the car driving home to Maryland and reality.

We’ll need to start thinking about the next one before long…….

Furniture Painting

The girls have needed some additional drawers in their bedroom for quite a while. We'd sort of looked around for inexpensive furniture, but weren't finding anything that inexpensive that didn't look really cheap. So, we considered waiting for yard sale season.

Then, I remembered that my dad still had the old furniture that was mine....and before that, it was Dee's. A dresser, chest and desk with hutch. I wonder what year it was bought in?

Well....here is the dresser before doing any painting.


And, here is the finished product.


Well, it's really almost finished. One of the drawer pulls was broken and we're going to take one from the desk (unpainted so far...and won't be in the same room). I still need to go get the pull from Dad and paint it.

And, here is the chest that goes with the set.



I was planning to buy new drawer pulls, but finding them in the right size (2.5 inches) is really difficult. When I could find the size, there wasn't much to choose from.

It turned out pretty well, but it took a lot of time. In fact, everything else in the house suffered since I was spending my time painting it.

I had first gotten a paint sample from Lowe's and used it on the dresser. I went back and bought a quart so we'd have enough for the other pieces. Much to my dismay, Lowe's messed up. The quart didn't match the sample. The same color was written on the can, so I know I pointed to the right color....but somehow they messed it up. So, I ended up having to put an additional 2 coats (of the "new" stuff) on the dresser. Annoying!

The girls are thrilled to have a mirror in their room now. :)

Weekend Update

I haven't done one of these in a long time, huh? Sorry ya'll. No excuses.

I honestly can't even remember what we did on Friday. Oh - nothing! :) I was exhausted and went to sleep at 9:30 - soon after the kids did.

Saturday, I left the house with the kids before 9:00 to head out for a stop at Starbucks and take the girls for haircuts. Lacey had been begging to get hers cut shorter (shoulder length) for a couple of weeks. I think this has a lot to do with the fact that her BFF, Mallory, has shoulder length hair. And, anything that big sister does, Leah wants to do, too. I told them that it had to be enough to donate, or they'd have to grow it some more. (I just don't see the point in cutting so much hair off if it's going to be wasted.)

Locks of Love requires 10 inches, but Pantene has a donation program that only requires 8 inches. And, both girls had enough for Pantene.


They love it and I do, too!!! So cute. Lacey's looks good when it dries naturally, too, but she wants it straight. Luckily, since it's so much shorter, it doesn't really take much time to do it that way.

After we left the hair place, we stopped at a dance store to buy their new tap shoes for the recital. It's not until June, but pictures are in May and both girls say their shoes are too tight. We had no luck with shoes. They didn't have either shoe size in the right color. Ugh. I spent some time yesterday checking around online, but didn't have much luck with that, either. I might have to see about having the store order them.

Then, we headed to Toys R Us to buy a birthday gift for a friend of Leah's, who was having a party on Sunday. Bought more than just for the birthday girl, though. I'd promised them if they could be good with all of our errands, they could have something small.

From there, we headed to Bowie for swim lessons. This was the 2nd week for the girls this season. It's a different teacher than they had last year, but they are doing great with her, too. Both girls swam on their backs for a bit this week. :) We're driving them about an hour because last year, I couldn't find anything local for private or semi-private and Lacey hadn't done well in group swim before. Right after I had signed them up for this 6 week session, I found out about a new place - much closer to home - that does semi-private and private lessons, too. I need to check on it since a 20 minute drive is much better than an hour.

On Saturday, while we were running our errands, Butch went to our tax accountant to have the taxes done. Nothing like the last minute. We don't normally do it this late.

Saturday night, we went to eat at The Green Turtle. (Sweet Potato Fries....yummy!) Then, a quick stop at Target for a couple of things before heading home.

Sunday was Payton's party, so the girls and I left at 10:15 or so. We stopped by Kristin's new place (she moved back from Fairfax recently) to drop off some Fiesta party supplies for a party she's planning for a friend. (I saved them from Butch's 40th birthday party....8 years ago.....I just thought it was stupid to toss them all.)

Payton's party was a princess tea party at a tea room. I've been there several times and the only time the service has been really good is when it's before noon. Otherwise, it's slooowww. And, it was slow yesterday. But, it was a super cute party. :) And, the food was good.

Butch spent the entire day doing yard work. The entire day. The crepe myrtle is now pruned. They grow so crazy that I'm always scared to do it. But, it needed it badly.

The girls went across the street to play with neighbor kids later in the afternoon. Lacey wanted to walk with them to the gazebo in our neighborhood....which is about 1/2 mile from our house. That part didn't bug me too much, but the gazebo is right at the main road. It's really hard to balance letting your kids grow up and have some independence with keeping them safe....yet not being over protective. I decided Lacey could go because one of the neighbor kids is very dependable and she's about 11 or so. I knew Brit would take care of her. It ended up not being an issue since they decided not to walk. Lacey & Leah went to our other neighbors house for a little bit instead. :)

And, then.........the weekend was over. Much too quickly. I was packing lunches and getting clothes ready for today MUCH TOO SOON!!!

Kramer (1994 - March 7, 2011)

Last week was a difficult one. I made the difficult decision to euthanize my Kramer.

I'd moved into a studio apartment in March 1994. I had been out of college a little over a year and was excited to have my first very own place. Toonces had moved with me to my parents' house, after I graduated from college. And, he moved with me to Alexandria, too. However, I was 23 and had a very busy social life....which resulted in Toonces being by himself quite a bit in that little studio.

While I was in PetSmart one day, they had a cat adoption fair. Kramer was such a sweet, beautiful kitty and I couldn't turn away. He was so playful. His crazy personality is what resulted in his name (he's named after the character on Seinfeld).

This is one of the earliest pictures I have of him.


Toonces was not immediately happy that I had adopted another kitty. And, I'm sure there were times when he wondered why he couldn't have been an "only child". :) But, there were lots of loving times between them. (This picture is when they were both at their heaviest....I mean healthiest.)


Kramer was a Maine Coon. One of their traits is being talkative. He fulfilled that part, for sure!!! In fact, he & Toonces slept in the basement because of how noisy he would be through the night.

A few years ago, Kramer was diagnosed with hyperthyroidism. I've learned that it is pretty common in elderly cats. He was on medication from then on. However, he never really gained much weight back. When he was healthy, he was 17 pounds or so. He'd dropped down to 6 in recent weeks. He hadn't been able to jump on furniture in a few months and he didn't do very well on stairs anymore.

I'd been preparing my girls for a few months so that when the time came, they wouldn't be surprised. They knew he was old and sick. And, they loved to care for him.


A few weeks ago, when he was going downhill again, I knew that he likely wouldn't snap out of it this time. On Friday, I thought about taking him to the vet, but was actually hoping that things would just happen on their own. I've been through making that decision twice in the last few years and was hoping not to have to do it again. Every morning, I would wake up wondering if he was still with us. On Monday, I got him out from under the couch (where he'd been hiding for days) for his medication and noticed that he was opening his mouth - like attempting to get more air. We left for the vet shortly after that.

The vet guessed he had fluid on his lungs, and possibly was in heart failure. While he wasn't "in pain", he was likely very uncomfortable. (I always remember when my mom had an "episode" of not being able to catch her breath....after her cancer had spread to her lungs. We were trying to calm her. Afterward, she said "you have no idea how scary it is to not be able to breathe.")

I talked to him for a little but and snuggled and loved on him. And, I stayed with him while it happened.

The girls are doing fine. Lacey was more concerned about me (with my tear-filled eyes) when I told her. Leah just commented about him being in heaven with Frisbee & Toonces. However, the next morning, Lacey saw the computer....where his picture was our background...and sobbed. We've since changed the picture.

Kramer - Christmas 2010 - laying with his catnip toy from Santa.

Germs

Wow, what a year it has been with illness at our house. We were fairly lucky through December, but on NYE, Leah had a slight fever and seemed to be getting "just a cold". The following week, she & Lacey both threw up and the next day (Jan 7) were positive for Strep throat. (I never knew that Strep could make you vomit, but my BFF's kids tend to throw up when they get it.)

The next week, Leah threw up at daycare (Jan 12) and came home early. Kids have to stay home for 24 hours after they've been sick (fever or vomiting), so she was home on Thursday, too. It appeared to be a weird "one and done" thing, or maybe upset tummy from antibiotics or something. And, I seem to have picked up either a bad cold or strep around that time, too. I took a full dose of antibiotics that I had gotten on another doctor's visit and didn't take. (That urgent care center always prescribes something....but, I really didn't think I needed it that other time.)

We seemed to be doing a little better for a week or 2. Then, Leah threw up at 4 a.m. on Feb. 2nd. Sadly, wasn't a "one and done" thing. That poor girl did it about 10x in 6 hours. Then, a couple of additional times throughout the day. Ugh. What a day. I consider myself lucky, though, because she seems to be pretty good about not making messes! While kids can't really make it to a toilet fast enough, if you give her a bowl, she does well with using it!!! So, the whole day I was cleaning big bowls and switching them out for her.

She decided to share her germs with me. I got it a couple of days later. Luckily, no vomiting, but "the other". And, I laid on the couch for 2 straight days. Literally. No energy. No appetite. Fever off and on. Miserable. I really wasn't back to normal for about 5 days.

Then, we had 1 normal week (of no sick days and no snow days) before Lacey was sick again. She had a fever on Feb. 13 and I took her to the Ped After Hours. She was negative for strep, but the doctor thought it looked like it and prescribed Augmentin (since she'd JUST had strep a few weeks before, they wanted to give a stronger antibiotic). It tasted especially icky. Even with special flavoring from the pharmacy. And, Lacey only got 2-3 doses before I couldn't fight her anymore. I rationalized that (1) she had tested negative; and (2) she hadn't complained of her throat hurting much. I called the After Hours Tuesday night to see if the lab results were back and they weren't. She went to school Tuesday and Wednesday, but had a fever again on Wednesday night. I called the After Hours place again....the lab results were positive for strep. :-(

They changed the antibiotic to Amoxicillin. She normally takes that fine, but I think since the other had been so bad, she just had that in her mind. Wednesday night, we fought and talked and negotiated for an hour. Butch held her down and I squirted it in. Lacey spit it out. Ugh. What a night. She finally took it on her own.

I had punished her for not taking it easily by taking away all "screen time" (TV, computer and Wii). By 9:30 on Thursday, she was bored. She took her meds. She got the Wii. And, we agreed she'd get 50 cents for each dose. That will give her $10 at the end to buy something fun at Target.

Seriously, these germs need to go. We've been spraying with Lysol, washing hands, using Purell, wiping down everything (toys, tables, remotes, phones) with Clorox wipes. Ugh. But, they keep bringing things home from school and daycare.

When I read recently that cold & flu season is worse this year, it was no surprise to me! Many of my friends with little kids are having similar problems this year.

Funny Conversation with Lacey

This happened this morning:

Lacey: We live in Earth.

Me: Yes.

Lacey: I'm glad we don't live in England. I don't want to speak Spanish.

Me: (Struggling really hard not to laugh and hurt her feelings.) They speak English in England. They speak Spanish in lots of places - like Spain and Mexico.

Lacey: Oh.

Christmas 2010

Christmas Eve

Now that it's a month after Christmas, I'm struggling to remember everything! Chuck and Nancy came to visit for the holidays and had arrived a few days before Christmas. On Christmas Eve, I was trying to get all the gifts wrapped early because the evening was going to be so busy.

We went to Aunt Marilyn's mid-afternoon for her open house and for the kids to see Santa!



I love getting to see him there each year. When he sat down, Lacey walked right up to him and sat down. All business and ready to roll! Leah was pretty shy with him, though.

It was nice getting to visit with Aunt M and Gil, plus Shelly, Tammy, Rick and everyone.

We left there and headed to church. While we weren't very good about making it to church during 2010, I made a real effort at going during the weeks leading up to Christmas! I didn't want to be a ChrEaster (who shows up only on those 2 holidays). It was the Family/Children's service and I usually really enjoy that. But, the girls seemed to be more wound up than usual and since we got there a bit late, we were spread out some. I was sitting with the girls. Butch, Chuck & Nancy were in other pews. So, trying to keep them behaving and settled was all on me and a bit stressful...even in the Children's service!

It was awesome to walk into the house after all that and smell an amazing dinner cooking in the crock pot! I had prepared a pot roast with potatoes and carrots. Yum-o!

Christmas Eve is also Butch's birthday. This picture is courtesy of an almost 6 year old photographer, Lacey. I love it!




A tradition that we had growing up was opening 1 gift on Christmas Eve....and it was always new pajamas! We do the same for the girls now. They're young enough that they haven't figured out that it's always pajamas! They get to open a 2nd gift on Christmas Eve, too and that (so far) has always been a new ornament.

This was really the first year that Lacey could handle writing the whole note to Santa. It was great to see her deciding what to write and writing it all herself.

Once they were in bed....well, still lots to get done!

Christmas Day

The girls woke up a little before 7:00, but we had warned them ahead of time we wouldn't wake up Grandma & Poppy any earlier than 7:00. So, they played upstairs for a bit while we all got ourselves together.

Santa's gifts that were under the tree weren't wrapped, and the girls saw their new Barbie dolls right away...along with some puzzles and things. Lacey actually said "This is the BEST Christmas EVER!" before she had even opened one wrapped present! Once everything was opened, they realized that Santa had left something else....wrapped....over by the TV.



I think the picture shows it all! They were so excited about their new Barbie house! They played with it all morning.

We hosted Christmas dinner at our house so the girls would be able to keep enjoying their things. In our family, hosting dinner doesn't mean taking on the responsibility of the whole dinner (thankfully). We prepared a turkey breast in the crock pot (turned out delish, if I do say so myself), gourmet sweet potato casserole, mandarin orange salad (thank you, Nancy), stuffing, gravy & rolls. Others brought mashed potatoes (Dee/Buck), green bean casserole (Rick/Kristina) and southern MD stuffed ham (Dad). Fabulous feast.





I love our holiday feasts.

After dinner, we opened gifts; and then posed for several pictures. We always try to remember a cousins picture. There is usually a serious one, and a silly (crazy, weird, scary) face one.



Dee & I often remember to get a sister's picture, but I don't think we have many of us with Rick.



The girls were exhausted by the end of the day. Who am I kidding? We all were!

Family Vacation 2010

The first week in August, we went on a BIG family vacation to the Nagshead, NC....Dad, Frankie, Dee, Buck, Kristin, Paul (her man), Kyle, Rick, Kristina, Jessica, Justin, and the 4 of us. Whew. We had to plan it a year in advance so we could get the dates locked in for everyone. It's not easy coordinating schedules with so many people. And, with so many people, we needed a house that was big enough for us all.

I was really surprised that the girls were not big fans of the beach. They did okay the first day, but were ready to go back to the house after about 2 hours. After that, it was a bit of a fight to get Lacey to go. She wanted to just play in the pool. I think that is mostly due to the swim lessons they've taken. They really wanted to swim, not play in sand. :-)

We took them to the aquarium to do something a little different. They weren't terribly interested in that, either. Although, once we got to the sharks, they were mesmerized.

Another day we went shopping and out to lunch in Duck with the girls. They got their hair done.

There was a ridiculous amount of jelly fish while we were there! Disgusting. I realize that without the tentacles, they can't sting you, but they are still gross! Paul & Kyle got stung when they decided to chance it on the 1st or 2nd day. After that, they stayed out. Wednesday, the jelly fish were gone. Not a sign of them. But, by Saturday (our last beach day), there they were again.

Saturday, Butch & I just took turns going to the beach since the girls had zero interest in it. It was nice to have a little time out there without having to entertain kids or watch them or do anything.

Butch, the girls & I shared a room. Initially we thought they'd have their own room, but I knew I'd end up sleeping in there anyway (strange place and all), so we decided to save money and get a slightly smaller house. Next time, I think we'll make sure they have their own room. It was way too crowded since the bedrooms aren't all that huge. I felt disorganized the entire time. Our room was on the same level as the kitchen and "party room" (aka dining room). The kids (and I) sleep to white noise anyway, so it wasn't too bad. There was only one night where it was LOUD. Considering how many nights we stayed, that isn't too bad, right?

We did family pictures one night. Everyone wore white shirts & khaki shorts/pants. It started out a bit rough for Lacey and me. She (the fashionable 5 year old) did not like the "uniform". Not one bit. The shorts I had for her were long (to her knees) and finally I agreed to cut them off if she'd stop fighting. (Everyone was waiting for us at this point.) Even after she was dressed, she said she didn't like the clothes. I told her Aunt Dee Dee had decided (not totally true) and did she want to hurt Aunt Dee's feelings by telling her she didn't like it? That did the trick. (Then, a week or so after we got back, she actually picked that outfit out to wear it. Little stinker.)

We weren't sure that Rick & Kristina were going to join us. Kristina started having terrible troubles with her back a few days before we left. She even ended up in the ER the night before because the pain was unbearable. Lots of drugs helped her feel comfortable enough to ride in the car for a few hours and she had a good few days there. However, by Thursday or Friday, she was having a lot of pain again. And nausea (thank you, pain meds). So, they headed back a day early. (Lots of doctor visits since then & we know she has a ruptured disk. She'll be having surgery in a few weeks.)

Justin wasn't supposed to come....since he was living in Tampa.... too far to drive & unable to get off work. For a few weeks before, he was giving a lot of thought to moving back to MD, though. When he gave his notice at work, they didn't have him work the 2 weeks. So, he was free to come! He got there on Wednesday and stayed until Friday. It was a great surprise!

What an awesome time. Truly. And, it was so great to see the girls having such a good time....enjoying time spent with family....and with us not focused on work.

Vancouver

In mid-July, I traveled to Vancouver, British Columbia for a client’s convention. I had a booth there to promote the insurance program we manage for their association. Booth hours were long and the time didn’t go quickly since attendance was down a bit and members never seem to be looking for the insurance booth. But….we are there to support our client. I bought wireless internet from the 2nd day on because I needed something to do. Yes, I played on the internet some, but I also worked a ton on emails, etc.

Most days, by the time the exhibiting hours were done, all I had energy for was dinner, TV and bed. Honestly, I kind of look forward to that with business travel, though. I don’t often get a quiet evening to myself! By the time the girls go to bed, I’m usually about ready for bed myself.

One awesome thing about this trip was getting to meet “an old friend that I’d never met”. (I stole that quote from her!) I met Angela online at our babycenter.com community when I was pregnant with Lacey. (Our group all had February ’05 due dates and we were all pregnant with our first babies.) She lives outside of Vancouver and took the train in to meet me for lunch one day. She’s now the 4th “Sweetheart” that I’ve met in person! I really enjoyed lunch and didn’t want to go back to work!

The last work day there, the exhibits closed at 1:00. I packed everything up, then headed back to the hotel for a little bit to rest. Once I found some energy, I walked, and walked, and walked. I walked about 30 minutes to a ferry, took that over to Granville Island and sort of putzed around there looking in shops. Then, took the ferry back….walked another 40 minutes or so before stopping to get dinner. I went to the restaurant that Angela and I had gone to and ordered take out. They brought the food out in a canvas shopping bag! I sort of felt like I was stealing when I walked out with it. Awesome, though.

The flight back the next day was fine, except I had to go through customs in Toronto and only had a short layover there. Not enough time. I waited 35 minutes for my luggage to come, then had to get in the customs line. Thankfully, they pulled me out of the line to rush me through. Also, thankfully….my connecting flight was delayed. I was going through security at 5:30, which was the time that connection was supposed to leave!!!

I got home late Wednesday night (10:00ish). Then, Butch left on Thursday morning at 7:00 for a guys’ trip in OK City.

The most challenging part of that is that work has been extremely hectic. And, the girls are home from daycare on Thursdays and Fridays for the summer. So, I had to take off. I managed to get a little bit of work in those days, but I know I’ll be paying for it next week.

Butch gets home tomorrow evening. It will be so nice to have our normal routine for a few days!!!

Update on the Kids

Swimming Lessons....
The girls have been taking swim lessons for about 10 weeks now. Lacey has taken group lessons in the past without much success. I’m not sure how much of this was due to her being shy or her being able to see us there or what. I had been trying to find someone to come to dad’s house to teach them – thinking that in a familiar place, it would work better. I had no luck with that – after looking around since last year. Then a friend told me about Kids First Swim Schools. The closest one is 45 minutes away. They can do private & semi-private lessons. We love it. The pool water and air temperature are 90 degrees. Parents watch from behind a window (that the kids can’t see through). Both girls are doing really well with getting used to water in their face, learning to float, etc. We’re going to keep them in lessons through July, then we’ll likely stop for this year.

Last Sunday, they got into Dad’s pool for the first time this year & they loved it. Leah still can’t touch the bottom of the shallow end, so she needs a float or someone holding her. But, she’s all about jumping in. Lacey was floating all around the deep end with a ring on….no fear. They both were doing great with getting their faces wet or going under.

At swim lessons last weekend, Lacey started putting her head under for 5 seconds. That’s one of the things that she has to do to go to the next level. She did it over & over. It’s so awesome to see her confidence grow. After they spend about 20 minutes in the (very) shallow end (which is maybe 3 feet), they go to the deep end (5 feet or so). Miss Holly has 1 of them sit on the side while she works with the other one practicing supported swimming. On Saturday, Leah fell in. Scared me to death. Holly was with Lacey and didn’t see her at first, but then grabbed her & pulled her up. Leah didn’t cough, cry or anything. And, when it was her turn to get back in, she did without any problem.

Our lessons have been on Saturday afternoons and it makes for a crazy day. We are in La Plata at 10:00 for Leah’s dance/gymnastics class; then drive an hour from there to Bowie for swimming. We’re gone from the house for 5 hours. Starting in the summer, their lessons will be on Thursday mornings and I’ll be happy to have our Saturdays back!
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Dance/Gymnastics....
Leah still loves her dance/gymnastics class. Their teacher has taught them a little ballet routine and next weekend, they are supposed to perform it for the parents. I’m thinking that might be an experience! Leah does it fairly consistently, but she prefers for Butch or me to be right with her. The other little ones do their own thing for the most part. Gymnastics is her favorite part, I think. She’s such a little monkey. Last week, she did amazing with all of it. She did the dance everything she was supposed to, did everything Miss Kristen had them do, then did everything (really well) in gymnastics.

Lacey’s recital is coming up at the end of June. I’m hopeful that she’ll actually dance in the recital this year. Last year, she wouldn’t even do the dance or any of the practice drills in front of us when Miss Nisha would call the parents in to watch. This year, she has done it every time we’ve been invited in. She still tells me that she doesn’t want to dance in front of anyone, so who knows what the recital will bring!! She’s told me she doesn’t want to dance next year, but she does want to do gymnastics. If she still feels that way after the recital, I won’t push her….she can do whatever she wants to do. But, it will be hard to let her quit since I can tell she enjoys it. So You Think You Can Dance is one of her favorite shows….party because she dances along with them while watching.
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School...
Lacey’s last week of pre-K is this week. I can’t believe the school year is done already. I had a conference with the teacher last week & he was very complimentary of her. He said she is a role model for others in class and called her a “high flyer”. You know that makes me proud.

Next year, she’ll be in full day kindergarten. We’re hoping to be able to avoid paying for before and after care. If she stayed where she is, it would be $100 a week and she’d only be there for an hour in the morning and 40 min. in the evening. Butch can get her off the bus every day. And, since I work at home 2x a week, I can get her on those days. Unless I find someone in the neighborhood, I guess I’ll have to work later hours and head in after getting her on the bus.

Laptop/Wireless Issues

I was doing pretty well updating while the kids were falling asleep for awhile! Then, my laptop’s wireless connection started messing up. They have tried to fix the problem at work numerous times with no success. When they asked to have it (again) and this time to send it away for 4 days, my boss said “we’ll just order you a new one”. That was about a month ago. It arrived about 2 weeks ago and I still don’t have it. I talked to the tech on Friday & he said I’d have it Wednesday.

The wireless connection is pretty important for me to be able to work from home. I’ve been getting by for the past several weeks, but it’s certainly not ergonomically correct! The modem is in the corner of our family room. There is no desk or appropriate place to work. So, I use a TV tray and the couch on my remote days. I can’t wait to be able to work from my desk or a table again!

You should hear more from me now that I'll have a new laptop with no issues!

Lacey's 5 Year Old Well Visit

Lacey had her doctor's appointment this morning for her well visit. She was 43 lbs and 44.75" tall! Her height is near the 90th percentile and weight is 50th percentile. Dr. Jill said her growth was awesome...nearly 3 inches in 1 year. Wow.

Lacey's been coughing and sneezing a lot lately. Dr. Jill confirmed she is having some mild problems with the pollen. Apparently, it gets worse each year due to additional exposure, so she might be a kid that has it bad later in life. (Like Rick, who has a terrible time with pollen now.)

She had to get 2 shots....chicken pox booster & MMR. She looked so pitiful with the first (chicken pox), then to have to get the MMR (which burns) afterward is just mean. :-( She cried, but got over it fairly quick. On the drive back to Miss Lisa's, she said "my shot doesn't hurt anymore".

I was going to take her to Rita's, but convinced her to wait until after school so Leah could go, too.

Next for her is blood work. I am so not looking forward to that. Leah had it done and did great...but she's the one that doesn't seem to have issues with pain or fear. Not sure when I'll get the courage to take Lacey in for the blood work.

Tidbits

We went to the Hospice Easter Egg Roll/Hunt this morning. This was our 2nd year going. They changed the location this year because the other church was already holding an event for this date. I hope they go back to the old one for next year. It was much better - more spread out - more scenic, etc. Last year, they had a much bigger moon bounce and they had pony rides. But, because the location didn't have enough space...those things were gone. We didn't stay as long this year, but the kids enjoyed the egg hunt.
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Tomorrow, we have another Easter Egg Hunt. This time it's with the 7th District Optimist Club, that Dad belongs to. I think it's a better location, so that will help. And, an old high school friend usually takes her daughter there (she's 4, I think). So, it will be good to finally see her. (We've been talking about it for about 4 years!)
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I went to NY on business Thursday-Friday. We were celebrating 30 years with one of my clients. Crazy to think of spending all that money for me to fly up, stay overnight and come back...just for dinner. But, it's worth it for the relationship. I was happy to be back in my room at 8:59, just in time for Grey's! And, I actually slept without waking up from about 10:30 to 5:00. I can't believe it! Then, I dozed back off for another hour before coming home.
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Yesterday afternoon, I went to Lacey's school to help with their "spring celebration". Those kids are so cute. The "party" had to stay inside since it was rainy and cold outside. But, the kids had fun, anyway. That was their last day before Spring Break.
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Speaking of Spring Break, Lacey's and Butch's aren't the same week. Annoying. They overlap by a few days, but that's it. That's going to make it difficult to do trips in the future since I won't want to take them out of school. We talked a little about going up to Pittsburgh for just 3-4 days this year, but the girls are starting swim lessons next Saturday & they are too expensive to miss. Plus, we have entirely too much to do around here.
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Lacey did swim lessons through the community a few years ago. Then, we signed her up again last year. She refused to do any of it. She was still in the midst of her shy phase. Plus, the classes are only 30 minutes long and there are 5-7 kids in a class. So, there is very little 1-on-1 time. I've been searching for someone to do private lessons and had no luck. I did find a place about 40 minutes from here that does private or semi-private lessons, though. The girls are signed up for semi-private lessons together. I think that will work okay because Lacey tends to be more "careful" and Leah tends to just "go for it". I think their level might be about the same. The teacher is a young woman who teaches kindergarten and the person I spoke with said he calls her the child whisperer because she's so good with little ones.
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I'm realizing I should probably stop typing since I need to do some laundry before heading out for "Mom's Craft Night". It's with some of the women from my "meet-up" group and one of the mom's is pretty crafty...she has these events every few months to help those of us that aren't very good at crafts. :-)

More later!