Monday, December 31, 2007
Goodbye 2007
Tomorrow will be the first day of the BAMs Blogging Contest. A few ladies from my moms' group and I are going to be competing to see who can blog everyday for the entire month of January. Whoever lasts the longest wins. If more than one person is still blogging daily at the end of the month, the contest will continue until there is only one person left. I intend to be that person, so expect to hear a lot from me next year.
Thursday, December 27, 2007
Simply Having a Wonderful Christmastime
I was worried about our lack of funds this year. The girls and I had been pretty sick for nearly a month, and between doctor visits and prescriptions, we spent over $300 that we really could have used for Christmas. I was also having a difficult time figuring out what to get for Emily. Sarah and Katie were easy (although finding Katie's gift wasn't - thanks, eBay!), but Emily is at that age where she likes clothes but she also still enjoys toys. After giving up on trying to figure out what she would want, I finally asked her what she would like for Christmas. Her first answer was a laptop. Once I explained to her that we couldn't afford to get her a laptop, she told me that she really already has everything that she wants or needs, which is the love that we give to her. She is so sweet! Of course, that still didn't help me.
In the end, everything turned out just fine. Katie got a plush rocking horse that talks and sings from Santa. Emily got an 18" Madame Alexander Mia Bella doll from Santa. Now her American Girl doll has a friend. And since Sarah got a new cell phone for Christmas, Santa brought her some accessories for it.
Phil and I also got some clothes for Sarah, a Princess See-n-Say for Katie, and a pink portable DVD player for Emily. The girls also got their annual Hallmark ornaments that they opened up on Christmas Eve. Katie got her Child's 2nd Christmas ornament, Sarah got a Cell Phone Christmas Tree ornament, and since Emily discovered her love for Gone with the Wind this year, she got a Rhett and Bonnie Blue ornament.
Of course the girls also got tons of gifts from all of the relatives, including several gift cards that we went shopping with yesterday. Sarah and Emily each had $70 in Old Navy gift cards, plus $30 each in cash. Emily blew all of her money pretty quickly since only the two pairs of jeans she got were on sale. Sarah still has quite a bit left to spend since everything she chose was on sale. Katie and I are waiting for the new season of clothes to come out before we use her gift cards.
Oh, and I almost forgot... Phil and I bought ourselves a new oven for Christmas. We also got some accessories to use with it, like the new pots and pans and roaster that Phil's dad got us, and my new cupcake pan and carrier that Phil got me.
I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas, too!
Wednesday, December 26, 2007
He Admitted It
Me: Well, duh, but tell me what, exactly, is it that I am right about this time?
HIM: You're just right.
Me: Of course, I'm right. I'm right about everything. But, I must know what you are talking about. Tell me exactly what I am right about this time.
HIM: The speed limit on Providence IS 35 mph between here and Publix.
ME: Really? Well, exactly what made you realize this?
HIM: The cop that pulled me over while I was going 50 in a 35.
ME: HA-HA!! See, I told you so!
HIM: Yeah, I know.
Luckily, the cop didn't give him a ticket. That's one of the advantages to having a commercial driver license. Cops don't tend to give you tickets for little things because they know it affects your livelihood.
Oh, and I will upload pics and post about Christmas later. I bet you can't wait...
Saturday, December 22, 2007
Visit with Santa
Phil and Sarah kept our place in line while I took Emily and Katie with me to go rent a stroller (because I forgot to take mine out of my trunk when I took my car in to the shop). Of course, the mall was so crowded, and apparently no four-year-old child in this town has the ability to walk through the mall on his own two feet, that they were all out of strollers. So, I had to carry my 20 1/2 pound daughter through the mall to Children's Place to shop for a couple of last minute Christmas gifts for my cousin's live-in boyfriend's daughters who will be joining the family for Christmas this year.
Anyhow, on my way back to the Santa place, I stopped by the stroller place to see if they had any yet, and they did. And my tired arms thanked them. When we finally got back to the line, I found that Phil and a couple of people in line behind him had been let into the "before dinner" line, so we only had about another 30-45 minutes left to wait in line. Here is how Katie's picture turned out:
Katie wasn't quite sure about Santa. We had been trying to get her used to him by showing her pictures and letting her play with a Santa stuffed doll so she wouldn't be terrified and screaming like a lot of children this age are. And she wasn't terrified and screaming, but she did get very shy. Maybe she was just in awe of him. Sort of like when you finally meet your favorite rock star and you lose your ability to speak and just stand there staring at them. Just look at the cute little face she made. This was as much of a smile as she was willing to give us.
So, anyway, now we have that all taken care of, it's starting to feel a little more like Christmas. But I still have so much to do, and there are only 2 1/2 more shopping days left before the big day. And the gifts that I have already gotten all still need to be wrapped. Yay!
Wednesday, December 19, 2007
Greatest Thing Ever
My mother bought these things for me for Christmas, and besides the fact that my feet look like they belong to the Incredible Hulk, they are just the coolest things ever. (She actually got me two pair of these, the other pair not being quite so "unique" looking as these.)
P.S.
No comments about how freakishly long my toes are, please. Thanks.
Saturday, December 15, 2007
The Truth About Santa
ME: Emily, I need to talk to you about something.
EMILY: Yes, Mom?
ME: Emily, there's no Santa.
EMILY: Yes there is. There's no Santa at Mema and Grandaddy's house, but there is a Santa here.
ME: Emily, Santa's not REAL.
EMILY: You're lying to me, Mom.
Can you believe it? I finally get the nerve to break my child's heart and tell her the truth about Santa, and she refuses to believe me. I guess all of those great, logical explanations of how and why Santa was real that I gave her over the course of her life have really stuck. She's completely convinced that Santa is real and that I was just trying to mess with her by telling her differently.
Friday, December 14, 2007
Look What I Found
Since I have a difficult time waking up at 4:00 am, I decided to try to catch a few winks on the couch while Katie watched Yo Gabba Gabba. I guess that at some point I fell asleep and Katie fell asleep on me. At least, that's what I can surmise from the photos I discovered on my camera when I was moving pics to my computer.
Isn't she adorable? Even in her sleep, she looks like she's posing for the camera.
Oh, and in case you are wondering, Emily was our photographer this morning.
Thursday, December 13, 2007
Addict
Katie is an addict. This kid eats, sleeps, and breathes Yo Gabba Gabba. Seriously, the first thing she asks for in the morning when she wakes up is, "Yo Gabba." If the television isn't currently showing Yo Gabba Gabba, she finds and brings me the remote and asks, "Yo Gabba?" Sometimes when I am sick of watching Yo Gabba Gabba, and I refuse to put it on for her, she starts screaming, "YO GABBA!!!" at me.
If you've never seen the show, you should check it out. It is so cute, and it's perfect for parents and little kids to watch together. There's lots of singing and dancing, plus some great guest musicians, like the Shins. Some episodes feature Mark's Magic Pictures with Mark Mothersbaugh of Devo fame, as well as Biz Markie with Biz's Beat of the Day. Seeing your 16 month old beat-boxing is the cutest thing ever!
Sunday, December 9, 2007
Christmas Photos
Since Katie and Emily have been sick lately, I have been putting off taking the picture because they really weren't looking very well. But today, after Katie's bath, I decided that it was time to take the picture. We really couldn't wait much longer to do it, since I still have to assemble the cards, address them, and mail them out.
This is the picture that we decided to use for the cards:
Although, I really considered using this picture since it is a much more realistic portrayal of my girls:
What do you think?
Monday, December 3, 2007
I'm back
While I was away, I had a birthday. The day before Thanksgiving, I turned 34. Since I am so old now, I decided to stop fighting my gray hair and just embrace it. So, instead of coloring my hair to cover up the grays, I decided to just get my hair highlighted so the grays will blend in better. After my birthday dinner with Phil, we went to the mall and I got my hair done. The hair stylist commented that she didn't think that Phil and I were married until she noticed our wedding rings. She said that most husbands wouldn't stick around while their wives got their hair done, so that was why she thought we were a newer couple. I didn't tell her that he only stuck around because it was my birthday and I asked him to.
Then there was Thanksgiving. Thanksgiving used to be my favorite holiday. I loved that the whole family got to be together without all of the commercialization and pressure to buy gifts. But this year, Thanksgiving turned out to be the worst day of my life. I don't feel like sharing all the nasty details, but I am still reeling from everything that happened, and I don't know when or if things will ever be the same again.
So, anyway, I've been dealing with a lot lately, which is why I haven't blogged in a while. But, hopefully, things will be getting back to normal (or as close to normal as possible) soon, and I'll have some fun stuff to post about.
Congratulations to Julie on a successful NaBloPoMo. I'm glad you were able to stick with it all month. Maybe I'll try it out next year.
Saturday, November 17, 2007
Poor Baby
After Sarah got home from school, I took the girls (including one of Sarah's friends) to the Olive Garden for dinner. Katie usually loves it there because she is crazy about their breadsticks. I figured that since she hadn't eaten much all day that she would be pretty hungry, too. I figured WRONG! Not only did Katie not want to eat - even her beloved breadsticks - but she was miserable and yelling the entire time we were there. All I could do was beg the older girls to please hurry and finish their food so we could get out of there.
Once we got home, I took Katie's temperature and it was 102.7. No wonder she hadn't been eating or acting right all day! She was sick, duh! So, I gave her some Tylenol and rushed her up to the After Hours Pediatrics office, because I was afraid to wait until this morning to see her regular pediatrician. THAT was a HUGE WASTE of TIME and MONEY!
The "doctor" there said that Katie looked just fine to her. She could see no signs of infection, so her fever must be being caused by a virus, and we should just keep treating her fever with Tylenol and Motrin and wait for her to get over it. Something about her diagnosis just didn't sit right with me, and when Katie was still running such a high fever this morning (up to 103 by then) I called her pediatrician and asked if I should go with what the other "doctor" had said or bring her in to be checked out. He said to bring her right in.
Since I had to get Sarah to a friend's house for a ride to volunteer with our church youth group at Metropolitan Ministries, and get Emily to her soccer game, too, I had Phil take Katie to the doctor. As it turns out, Katie is NOT infection-free as I was told last night. Her throat is bright red and her glands are swollen. Luckily, it's not Strep, but it was still pretty bad. Since we had already wasted $30 on the After Hours co-pay, Dr. Bob gave Phil some samples of the antibiotic so we wouldn't have to pay for them. Hopefully, she'll be feeling better very soon.
Thursday, November 15, 2007
So Very Tired
Alas, I feel no change at all. I did feel okay for a few hours on Wednesday morning, because I had gotten to go to bed at 7:30 the night before, but that feeling didn't last long. By the end of the day I was worn out again. I don't know how I'm going to make it through the holidays feeling like this. I have all of this stuff that I want to get done, like shopping for Christmas, but I just don't have the energy to do much, if any, of it.
Thursday, November 8, 2007
Doctor, Doctor
Katie also got a few shots today. Ouch! She got her MMR, her pneumoccochal vaccine, her chicken pox vaccine, and her flu shot. Gotta keep my baby healthy! Thankfully, Katie took her shots like a champ and has been in a good mood all afternoon. She even put up with me dragging her to the mall for a while after her appointment.
Hug-N-Farm
Out of all of the farm animals, Katie's favorite one was this dog. So, of course, she had to give him a kiss!
Here Katie is showing me the donkey that she and Julianna were looking at.
Katie loved petting the soft little bunny in this picture. She also enjoyed chasing the bunnies around with the rest of the kids.
Look, Ma! No hands! Katie did so well on the "phony pony" that she thinks she's ready for the real thing.
Saturday, November 3, 2007
Congratulations, Emily!
Another congratulations to Emily's soccer team, the Fireballs, on their first win of the season today. Emily missed the game last weekend, but from what I've been told, they played a team of Amazons and lost 7-3. Today, they were much more evenly matched with the team they played, at least size-wise, and won 5-0. Way to go, girls!
Friday, November 2, 2007
Here We Go Again...
Wednesday, October 31, 2007
This Is Halloween
Happy Halloween! This is my daughter, Katie, not dressed up as a cute pink poodle. I had decided to buy her an adorable pink poodle costume, and then I happened upon this equally adorable Tinkerbell costume one day when I was in the mall, and I got all nostalgic. You see, Sarah and Emily were both also Tinkerbell for Halloween when they were Katie's age. So, I thought, why not stick with the tradition for Katie? She can always be a pink poodle next year if she wants.
Emily had wanted to be Buffy the Vampire Slayer for Halloween this year. Not the Sarah Michelle Gellar version, but the Kristie Swanson version. But we had a difficult time getting our hands on a decent cheerleading uniform (meaning not a cheap party store costume), so at the last minute, she borrowed a costume from my mother and went trick-or-treating as Little Red Riding Hood.
And then there's Sarah. I told Sarah last year that it would be her last year of trick-or-treating. So, this year, I reminded her that she would be passing out candy at home while I took her younger sisters around the neighborhood. Then my mother got all involved and whined and cried and insisted that Sarah be allowed to go trick-or-treating with us. SO, I finally gave up and said she could go if my mother came over to pass out the candy for us. And after all of that, in full costume, ready to walk out the door, Sarah changed her mind and decided to stay at home and pass out the candy.
I don't care what she says next year, her butt is staying home and passing out candy!
Thursday, October 25, 2007
Forget It
I still haven't gotten around to purchasing a new scale, but I have been to the doctors' offices so much lately that I've been getting a good reading at least once a week. And it's not pretty. At first, I did lose a little weight (1-2 pounds), but now I am up quite a bit from that. At my last visit on Monday, I weighed in at nearly 147 pounds. That's 12 pounds above my goal weight, and 5 pounds more than what I weighed when I started on this weight loss journey.
So, I am waving the white flag. No more worrying about my weight. At least not until I get my health issues under control.
Monday, October 22, 2007
Orlando Vacation - Part Two
I like mine with lettuce and tomatoes, Heinz 57 and french fried potatoes, big kosher pickle and a cup of milk? Hey, she's a baby! No beer for her yet. We had lunch on Saturday at Jimmy Buffet's Margaritaville. This is a sort of tradition for our family. Pretty much anytime we are in Orlando, we eat at Margaritaville.
Here's Katie sitting at one of the dining tables in the food court of the mall at NFS. She is waiting patiently for Daddy to cut up her dinner so she can eat it.
My three beautiful girls. We were hanging out by one of the pools at NFS waiting for Phil to check us out of the hotel. Sarah and Emily can barely keep their eyes open because they were out partying the night away the night before.
We ate lunch at the Seafire Inn at Sea World on Sunday. We like this restaurant because they have a dueling pianos show. Katie didn't previously like strawberries, but as you can tell from this picture, she certainly loves them now. She was very unhappy when all of the strawberries were gone. I can't wait to take her strawberry picking again next year!
Because it is nearly Halloween, Sea World was all decked out in fall and Halloween themed decorations. They were actually having their Halloween Spooktackular while we were there, but unfortunately, shortly after taking this picture, it started raining on us so we decided to head home early. Of course, it was a good thing we did, because the girls were so tired they really needed some rest. Sarah fell asleep in the car first, followed shorty after by Emily. Katie lasted for a good half-hour longer, but eventually fell asleep, too.
Orlando Vacation - Part One
Welcome to the Nickelodeon Family Suites! Phil and I took our girls to the Nickelodeon Family Suites in Orlando for the weekend. Sarah and Emily had Friday off from school, so we thought it would be a good idea to spend the long weekend in Orlando. Unfortunately, Phil ended up having to work overnight Thursday night, so we got a very late start on our trip. By the time we were ready to head out, it was getting close to dinner time, and the after work traffic was still pretty bad. So, we stopped at Cracker Barrel for dinner. We eventually made it to Orlando. That is, after we got lost trying to find the hotel because the directions on their website were completely incorrect.
As you can see from these pictures of the swimming pools at the hotel, the girls had a great time while we were there. With all of the water slides, it was more like being at a water park than a hotel pool.
There was a party Saturday night at the Lagoon pool. Phil took the girls and they had a blast. Emily swam while Sarah danced and participated in contests. Sarah actually won the musical chairs competition, so she was very proud of herself.
These next two pictures were taken from up high on the Skytower at Sea World. They are of the new Aquatica water park that Sea World is building. Aquatica is scheduled to open up in the Spring of 2008.
The girls have been excited about Aquatica for a while now, but after getting a "sneak peak" of the park, they are even more excited about going. Good thing they only have a few months left until it actually opens!
Sunday, October 21, 2007
Ouch!
Right now, I just want to say that I HATE hotel beds! I have slept on this bed, which feels more like a rock, for the past two nights and now I am in so much pain I want to shoot myself. I realize that you're not going to get top of the line mattresses in hotels because they want to actually make some money on the room rentals, but do they really have to get the most uncomfortable thing out there? Couldn't they compromise somewhere in the middle?
Wednesday, October 10, 2007
Happy Birthday, Phil!
Tuesday, October 9, 2007
Happy 60th Mom!
Happy Birthday, Mom! You are my SUNSHINE! Hee-hee...
My Day... So Far
So, I had to call AAA to come help me. Luckily, they got to the school where I was in only 20 minutes. Instead of putting my spare tire on, the service man just filled up my tire so I could drive to Sears to get it replaced. Those of you "loyal readers" might recall that I had to replace my tires a couple of months ago when I got a flat on my way to the zoo. Thankfully, this tire was under warranty because it was so new and it didn't cost me any money to replace it this time. Yea!
Sarah is home sick today for the second day in a row. She has some sort of stomach virus, which I am pretty sure she is just about over now. So, she'll be back in school tomorrow whether she likes it or not. I just have to pray now that she hasn't passed it along to me or Katie.
Wednesday, October 3, 2007
Waiting...
My BFF Ann called me last night around 10:30 to see if I thought she could be in labor and should go to the hospital. While she is the nurse, this is her first baby, and since I've had three already, I am the expert in this area. So, I diagnosed her as being in early labor and told her to call her doctor and go to the hospital. And she's been there ever since. And I haven't spoken to her since around 8:00 this morning when she told me she was 2 cm dilated and was about to get a pitocin drip to help her along.
Okay... The wait is OVER! While I was typing, my phone rang, and guess who it was? That's right! It was Ann calling to tell me that she finally had the baby (7:26 pm; 6 lbs. 15 1/2 oz.). I am so happy and relieved.
Welcome to the world little Alison Marie! I'll be coming to see you on Saturday.
Wednesday, September 26, 2007
Picture Time
has turned into this child...
in just five short years?!?
Sometimes I am amazed at how quickly the time flies by. My babies are no longer babies anymore (except for Katie, but not for long!). I almost cried when Emily brought her school pictures home yesterday because she looks so grown up in her pictures. Where did my baby go?
Wednesday, September 19, 2007
Excuses
But, I will lose some weight eventually. I'm going to stick to my goal weight and date, even though the longer I put off starting my diet the harder I'm going to have to work to meet those goals. Oh, well.
Thursday, September 13, 2007
Overweight
I can't afford to pay for a gym membership right now, and even if I could, I doubt I would go. I had a Shapes membership a few years ago, and in the two years I was a member, I went a total of three times. What a waste of money! So, on the exercise front, I think I'm just going to have to get out and walk. With the weather getting ready to cool down some, it should get easier to be outside walking. Until then, I guess I could always go walk at the mall. Of course, I hate doing things like this alone, so maybe I can convince someone to walk with me. Any takers?
As far as the d-word goes, I know that it will be the hardest part. I'm going to have to limit my Coke intake, increase my water intake, and try to cut out the donuts. I'll cut back on my fast-food visits, and try to go without the fries when I do go. And I *might* take a look at my caloric intake, but I'm not making any promises.
So, I think I'm going to set myself a goal weight and date. I'll take an idea from Stacy and choose my birthday as my goal date, which falls the day before Thanksgiving this year. And my goal weight will be 135, which is about where I was before and after I had Katie. After I reach my goals, I will then set new goals, so I can try to lose another 10 pounds.
Now, I just need to get a new scale since my old one was killed during the flood, and then set my plan into action. Wish me luck!
Wednesday, September 5, 2007
Fundraisers
School started just two weeks ago, and last week, both Sarah and Emily came home with fundraisers. Hello? Didn't I just max out every credit card I have to buy school clothes and supplies? Why do you people feel the need to squeeze even more money I don't have out of me? Give me some time to recover first.
Oh, and did I mention that Sarah's fundraiser isn't even her school fundraiser? Yeah, it's a fundraiser for the school music program. (Sarah plays the violin.) So, that means that I have her school fundraiser still to look forward to. And then both girls will have their first Girl Scout fundraiser of the year next month.
And Emily's school picure day is tomorrow. Luckily, I am volunteering, so I don't have to pay for her pictures.
Saturday, August 25, 2007
Suicide or Murder?
Thursday, August 23, 2007
First Day of School
This year, Emily is in the 5th grade. She is at the top of the food chain of elementary school kids. She is also a patrol this year, which gives her even more power on campus. She is very proud of this. Emily has gone back to her old school this year, because we just weren't happy with the school we are zoned for. This means I have to drive her to and from school everyday, but it is well worth it for us.
Sarah is in 7th grade this year. This is her second year of middle school, and unlike last year, she already has friends there, which made going back to school much better for her. She was nervous about things at first (like having PE everyday!) but she seems to be getting more comfortable with things. And so far she likes her teachers, which really helps. Sarah is also continuing with her playing of the violin in the school orchestra. She really seems to enjoy being a part of the orchestra, and I'm glad for her. I never really got to participate in many school activities, especially at her age, so I really like that she gets to.
Wednesday, August 22, 2007
I'm So Tired
Katie has actually been miserable. Last Tuesday, she started with a runny nose and sneezing. No big deal, right? Probably allergies, I thought. Then it progressed to a runny nose and fussiness. Maybe she's teething, I thought. Then by Thursday night, she was so miserable that she keep me up all night long. So, I took her to the doctor Friday morning, mostly just for reassurance. The verdict - My baby has Strep Throat!!
Her doctor said she probably got it from me, since I was the only one in the house who was even remotely sick, so he gave us each a prescription for penicillin. At first, I thought that would take care of things. But as the weekend progressed, I realized that it would definitely not. Katie started running a high fever that just wouldn't go away no matter how much Tylenol and Motrin we gave her. By Sunday night, she started vomiting, which meant she was not going to get any benefit from the penicillin if she couldn't keep it down.
So, back to the pediatrician with her I went Monday morning. Her doctor confirmed that she was worse, and agreed that the only course of action was to give her a penicililin shot. He said that it should help her to get better faster, too. Of course, here we are at 3:30 in the morning on Wednesday, and we are still not sleeping much at night. She is getting better though, since before today she would not sleep for more than a half-hour and now she's up to three hours. Also, her fevers aren't so high and they are easier to get rid of with the medicine.
Well, Katie just went back to sleep, and so must I. I have a big day ahead of me, but I'll post about that later. Also, I'll post about Sarah and Emily's first day back to school, which was Monday.
Saturday, August 11, 2007
Katie's Party
Katie got lots of new clothes, and considering that almost everything was from Carter's, she only got double of one outfit, so I don't have to return a ton of stuff. She also got some great PINK toys. Toys 'R Us carries this cute line of pink toys that I am in love with. Katie seems to like them, too. She also got some cash, or as I like to refer to it, giftcards to ANYWHERE! Since it's still tax-free week here (tomorrow is the last day) I rushed out to Children's Place to snatch up this cute outfit I have been eyeing for Katie. She's such a doll! This particular line of clothes has also just gone on sale, which it was not last weekend when I bought a bunch of stuff from it, so now that I have found my receipt, I will be promptly returning the get my refund of the difference.
Sick
Also, on the "how sick I am" front, I was also ordered to stay inside - do not leave the house. Apparently the current atmospheric conditions (read: summer in Florida) are hazardous to my health. I mentioned how I felt like I was going to die at the Ford Ampitheater (outdoor concert venue) on Tuesday for the John Mayer/Ben Folds concert, and she suggested that I stay home and let Phil take the girls to the Aly & AJ concert next weekend. He just laughed. So, I will be taking the girls myself, but at least I'll be all hopped up on steroids, so maybe I'll be feeling a little bit better by then. Ha! Yeah, right!
Wednesday, August 8, 2007
Stupid People
Last night, Phil and I attended the Bend Folds and John Mayer concert. The concert was amazing. These guys are two of the most talented guys I have ever heard. Ben Folds is a piano GENIUS, and John Mayer is an amazing guitar player. This concert was totally worth the near $200 we paid for our two tickets.
That being said, I was rather pissed off during the concert because two rows in front of me sat some people with a BABY!! He couldn't have been more that 12 months old. WHAT WERE THESE PEOPLE THINKING!?! I'm all for exposing your children to great music, but come on! This is a LOUD ROCK CONCERT! You hear all the time about people who have hearing damage from going to rock concerts. Let's get a jump start on our children's hearing loss by taking them to loud concerts before they've even reached their first birthday! Could these people not get a babysitter? Or did they actually think that taking their baby to a rock concert was a good idea? Either way, they shouldn't be allowed to raise that child. They've already proven that they aren't capable of putting their child's health above they're own selfish wants.
Meanwhile, the guy sitting next to me had his 10-year-old (I'm guessing here) son wearing earplugs during the concert. Way to go, Dad! Apparently there are some responsible parents left in this world.
Happy Birthday, Katie!
Happy Birthday to my sweet, sweet baby Katie! I can't believe a year has gone by already since you came into this world. You make your Daddy, your sisters, and your Mommy so VERY happy every single day. We love you SO much.
Today is Katie's first birthday. This past year has gone by so fast, I almost can't believe it. We will have a birthday party to celebrate this momentous occasion on Saturday in our back yard (weather permitting). Katie is very social and loves it when people make a big fuss over her, so hopefully there won't be any birthday party meltdowns.
Tuesday, July 31, 2007
Naked Table Dancer
Monday, July 30, 2007
When It Rains...
So, you can imagine how thrilled I was when my tire blew out while I was driving on the interstate highway this morning on my way to take the girls to the zoo. I was driving 70mph when it happened, and the noise it made was so loud I could only imagine that it was something far worse than just a blown tire. Luckily, it wasn't.
After successfully pulling off to the side of the highway, I called AAA to have someone come out and change my tire. However, while I was waiting for AAA to show up, the Road Ranger pulled up behind me to help me out. Just as he was finishing up with the tire change (screwing the lug-nuts back on) it suddenly started raining. Actually, it started pouring. I grabbed my umbrella out of the car and did my best to provide shelter for this nice man who was changing my tire for me. Meanwhile, I got completely soaked.
The crazy thing about the rain, though, was that by the time I called AAA back to cancel the service call, it had already stopped. It wasn't even sprinkling when we got back on the road. We were able to continue on our way to the zoo, and even though we weren't able to stay for very long, we did get to see our friends and have a little bit of fun.
After we left the zoo, we went to the mall where I bought two new tires from Sears to keep things even. The girls and I did some window shopping while we waited for the car to be ready. I had the girls try some clothes on for size, but we didn't buy anything since A: we don't have the extra money right now, and B: Florida's Back-to-School Tax-Free week starts this weekend and we want to wait for that to stretch our dollars further.
Tuesday, July 24, 2007
Why do I care?
Anyhow, in my search for one of these calculators, I came across a listing for the calculator I was looking for, but the photo provided did not look like the actual model listed and it wasn't clear enough to read the model number on the calculator. So, I asked the seller what was up with that, but did not get any response. Of course, I didn't figure I would get an answer if this guy really is trying pull a fast one.
When I first found this listing, the high bid was only about $6, so I figured if someone was going to get screwed out of their money, at least they won't have lost much. But when I was checking to see if the seller had answered my question yet, I noticed that the bids were up above $20 already. So, I contacted the high bidder to let her know about the situation. I really hope that she doesn't get taken advantage of here.
Of course, none of this has anything to do with me. I am neither the seller, nor the buyer. I won't be affected at all however this turns out. So why do I care? Maybe it's because I hate dishonesty so much. I don't know, but now that I've vented a bit, I feel a little bit better.
Thursday, July 12, 2007
Need a Vacation
Monday, July 9, 2007
Argh!!!
Tonight's topic is my latest catastrophy. I was already stressed out tonight because Phil had to go back to work after his week of vacation, the house was already starting to get messy, and the kids were fighting and getting on my nerves. Then it happens... Sarah comes in to inform me that she "heard something" and discovered that my toilet was overflowing. Well, since no one had used that bathroom since before Phil left for work TWO HOURS earlier, not only was my bathroom flooded, but my bedroom was half flooded, too!
So, for the past two and a half hours, I have been working on trying to get my bedroom and bathroom dried up. I called Phil because I truly had no idea what to do or where to begin. He told me that I could use the steam cleaner to suck the water out of the carpet in my bedroom. The only problem - I've never used the steam cleaner and had no idea how to make it work. I had to call him back at least three times before I was able to get it working. Once I figured it all out, though, it did a pretty good job. The major drawback, however, has that I now have blisters which will probably turn into callouses on my hands. "Momma always said you could tell a lady by her hands!"
While I was starting on getting the water out of my carpet, Sarah helped me out by putting every towel that we own down on the bathroom floor to absorb the standing water in there. Once I finished with the carpet, I went to work on the bathroom. Even with every towel we own in there, there is still plenty of water that needs to be soaked up. So, now I am washing a load of towels that has soaked up some of the flood waters in my bathroom. Once I get those towels dry, I will put another load in the wash and put the clean, dry towels back down on the bathroom floor to soak up some more water.
Now, I know what you're thinking... "Wow! This woman leads such a glamorous life!" Yeah.. right. Anyway, back to the clean-up!
I'll be sure to blog about our vacation week and Sarah's birthday once I've recovered from my catastrophy.
Tuesday, June 26, 2007
White Tiger Cubs
Oh, I am so excited! We went to Lowry Park Zoo yesterday. For some reason, whenever we go to the zoo, I never seem to make it to the area where they have the tiger habitat, so my goal of the visit was to make sure we saw the tigers.
As we are walking toward the tiger habitat, we notice that it is blocked off and we can't get to it. At first, I was really upset because that was the one thing that I had wanted to do that day. But then I thought, maybe they have it closed off because they are introducing the new white tiger cubs that were born back in April. So, Karen, one of the moms from the playgroup, spots one of the little cubs in the habitat and points him out to us. We couldn't get a great view because we were so far away, but he was so cute. Sarah said that when she was looking, she saw the other cub, too.
I can't wait to go back when they reopen the exhibit so I can see the cute little cubs up close!
Tuesday, June 19, 2007
Sheikra
Busch Gardens just reopened the ride after having removed the floor from the carts. They are having a special promotion where pass holders can get into the park an hour early to ride Sheikra, so we got up early and went. At first, Phil was just going to take Sarah and Emily so they could all ride it, but I decided after having been woken up, that I would go ahead and bring Katie and go with them. Of course, I was not planning on riding, but while Phil and the girls were riding the second time, I decided that if I was ever going to ride it, now was the time. So, I went on it with the girls for their third ride of the day. Phil and the girls ended up riding it another time after I went, for a total of three times for Phil and four times for Sarah & Emily.
Tuesday, June 12, 2007
First Steps
After we made such a big fuss about it, she just kept on taking steps. Two or three here, four or five there... Walking to me, my mother, Emily. Sarah was on the video camera, so Katie didn't get to try walking to her, but I'm sure she would have if she'd been able to. After I called my Aunt Kathie to tell her about Katie's walking, she came over to see it for herself. And Katie did not disappoint her, either!
I can't wait until tomorrow to see what she does next!
Saturday, June 9, 2007
Sick Baby
I got up and got Katie out of her vomit-covered clothes and gave her a bath. She loves her baths, and really enjoyed this one in particular. She was just the happiest little thing, so I was hoping that she wouldn't vomit any more. But we weren't so lucky. The vomiting continued until about 11:00 am. Unfortunately for Sarah, hers lasted a couple of hours longer.
Amazingly, Katie was happy as a clam throughout her entire illness. If she didn't stop playing every once in a while to vomit, you wouldn't have a clue she was even slightly sick. Sarah, on the other hand, was miserable the entire time. She was begging me to take her to the doctor, but I told her that there is nothing that can be done about a virus and she would just need to rest and wait for it to pass.
Emily didn't get sick at all - lucky her! And even though Katie vomited on me several times, so far I haven't gotten sick either... Knock on wood!
We were supposed to go to MOSI and Lowry Park Zoo yesterday, but obviously, we had to cancel our plans. Hopefully, we'll make it to the zoo soon, though, because they just opened up the new penguin exhibit, and I can wait to see it.
Friday, June 1, 2007
Sarah's Surgery
Sarah's surgery was this afternoon. She had her adenoids removed and is doing great. She was really wonderful about it all, and was not at all nervous. The worst part for her was that she couldn't eat anything after 7 o'clock this morning. The poor thing was starving by the time she was finished with her surgery. She proceeded to eat an ice cream sandwich, a chili cheese baked potato, and a bowl of macaroni and cheese, all within the first hour that we were home from the surgery center.
She seems to be already back to her normal self... Bugging me about calling her friends on the phone already! So much for being able to baby her all weekend!
On another note, today is the first official day of Hurricane Season. And on our way home from the surgery center, the National Hurricane Center officially named Tropical Storm Barry, which is out in the Gulf of Mexico and currently scheduled to make landfall just north of us sometime tomorrow morning. It's not supposed to become a hurricane, and will probably be mostly a rainmaker. We really need the rain. We are about 30-40 inches below where we should be, so we could use a few good storms.
Friday, May 25, 2007
Pirates
Since I knew that the movie was sold out, I decided that we needed to get to the theater early so we could get in line for good seats. Little did I know just how early we needed to get there. I got in line more than an hour before the movie was to begin, but the line was so long already, there were at least 100 people ahead of us already. So much for getting the perfect seats - we were lucky to get four seats that were all together. And when they finally released the line to go into the theater at about 7:45, people actually started getting into line for the 11:30 showing. Crazy!
Anyhow, the movie was great, as expected. You can almost never go wrong with Johnny Depp, in my opinion. It was so action packed that it really doesn't feel like you are sitting there for almost three hours. And even though I had what amounted to a "bucket o' coke," I didn't have to miss any of the movie by having to get up to go to the bathroom, and neither did any of the girls. And nobody fell asleep and wasted my money, either. All in all, it was a good night.
My mother babysat Katie for me while we went to the movie. Since she was here so late, and Katie went to bed way before we got home, my bored mother decided to clean up the kitchen and living room. Very nice! She also thoroughly wore Katie out before putting her to bed, so Katie let me sleep in past 8:00 this morning. Also quite nice!
Because we got home so close to midnight, it was well after when I finally made it to bed. After checking my email, I decided to check to see if Sarah and Emily's FCAT scores were available online for viewing yet. They were, and the girls did well, as expected. I would have liked to see slightly better scores from Sarah, but she was sick during testing, and actually took her tests while still not feeling well on make up exam days, so I can excuse the fact that they weren't better. She did still make high scores, with a level 4 (out of 5) in Reading and a level 5 in Math, and there was slight improvement over her scores from last year. Emily also improved her scores, and maintained her level 4's in both Reading and Math that she achieved last year.
Zip Code
They are doing this because of all of the new people moving into town and building houses. So, why can't THOSE people get the new zip code? I live in the old, historic district. I live within walking distance of the original post office, the library, the original pharmacy/sandwich shop, the original elementary school, the original playground. I should get to keep the original zip code!!!
And what about all of my cute Holly Hobby address labels? I have more than 100 left, and I don't send out that much mail. They will be practically useless in just over a month. It's bad enough that I'm going to have to replace my Holly Hobby checks soon because my bank account is being changed from AmSouth to Regions due to their merger. Now, I'll have useless checks and useless labels. Arghh!!
Thursday, May 24, 2007
School's Out
Being sick this week has really sucked, too, since it was the last week of school for Sarah and Emily. I couldn't do my usual buying of gifts for the teachers and baking of cupcakes and cookies for class parties. I just didn't have it in me.
Before I got sick, I had agreed to go pick up pizzas and deliver them to Emily's class yesterday. It took everything in me to get up and out of the house with TWO babies - yes, Julianna was here - and go do it. You should have seen me, balancing five pizzas on top of the back shade of my double stroller with two babies in it. It was exhausting enough just getting the babies from the car into the stroller, but then I had to push the heavy thing while balancing the pizzas on top. Oh, what fun!
And for some reason, I couldn't sleep last night. I was laying in bed at 4:00 am wide awake. So, I got up and went to work trying to go back to sleep. I wasn't very successful, to say the least. Tonight, I am taking Sarah and Emily, along with my cousin, Kara, to see The Pirates of the Caribbean III: At World's End. Our tickets are for 8:30 pm and the movie is nearly three hours long, so let's pray that I am able to stay awake through the whole thing. I'd hate to feel like I wasted my $9 sleeping.
Sunday, May 13, 2007
Mothers Day
Besides my eldest daughter not wanting to spend anytime with me, my Mothers Day has turned out quite nicely. We are broke, and the last thing I wanted was for Phil to spend a lot of money on me. Of course, I didn't exactly want to get nothing either. Well, he found the perfect gift for me. He got me a birthstone child charm to represent Katie. I already had one for each of Sarah and Emily, and I had mentioned to him before that I wanted one for Katie, too. So, I ended up getting something I really wanted, without my husband spending a ton of money on me.
Oh, and when Sarah did finally come home, she also came bearing a gift. My mother took her out to buy me a new memory card for my camera. All I had before today was two 16 MB cards, which don't hold many pictures. My new card holds 1 GB, which at my camera's highest pixel setting holds 680 pictures. Woo-hoo! Now, I won't have to worry about running out of space when we are out taking pictures.
Saturday, May 12, 2007
ENT Update
The surgery is apparently "no big deal" because they just suck the adenoids out through the mouth, and there is very little bleeding, if any. Sarah won't have any restrictions, dietary or otherwise, afterward, and if everything goes well during the surgery, she won't even need a follow-up visit. And as for pain, they said she shouldn't need anything stronger than Motrin or Advil.
Friday, May 11, 2007
ENT
Since no one told me that I needed to pick up Sarah's x-rays to bring with us for the appointment, I did not have them with me when we saw the doctor. I picked them up after the visit and dropped them off for the doctor to look at. He said that after he gets a chance to look at them, he will give me a call to let me know how he would like to proceed. Hopefully, I'll hear from him soon.
Emily has also been sick this week, but is back in school today. That's not to say that she hasn't gone to school everyday, because she has. She refuses to stay home and ruin her perfect attendance record, so I have had to go sign her out of school after attendance each morning. I honestly didn't think she would make it through the entire day today, but she only has about 45 minutes left to go and she is still there.
Wednesday, May 9, 2007
Swimming Lessons
First Blog
With so much going on in my life, sometimes it's hard to remember to think! My girls keep me so busy all of the time. Even at just nine-months-old, Katie has places to go and people to see. It's so hard to find that perfect balance between keeping your children active and not overscheduling them.
Anyhow, I plan to try to write about what my girls and I are up to with this blog. I'm sure there will be plenty of proud moments to share, as well as trials and tribulations to whine about. I hope you enjoy reading my blog. And I hope you get a chuckle or two out of the deal!