Suicide or Murder?

Katie's latest favorite thing to do is play in the toilet. After realizing that she is now in this phase, I have instructed everyone that the doors to the bathrooms need to stay closed at all times. Apparently, however, either someone forgot to close the door, or Katie has learned to open the doors, too. Today, when Phil came in from mowing the lawn, he discovered this doll floating face down in our toilet. Was it murder, or suicide? We don't yet know. The autopsy results are still pending...

First Day of School

Sarah and Emily went back to school on Monday. This was both good and bad for me. I no longer have to listen to them fight all day long, however I've also lost all of the help with the baby I've become accustomed to. Plus, I think Katie was very happy having her big sisters around to entertain her all summer.

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.

I'm So Tired

I can't believe it's been nearly two weeks since I've blogged. I guess it's because things have been so crazy around here. Not only have I been very busy trying to get Sarah and Emily ready for Back-to-School, but Katie and I have also been sick.

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.

Katie's Party

Today was my sweet baby girl's 1st birthday party. We had just family and my two BFFs (who are considered family) over this afternoon for a hot, wet, and terribly smoky time (*cough*cough* Phil you've got to get a handle on your grilling!). Yes, against doctor's orders, I braved the great outdoors - also known as our backyard - to have a water-themed party. Katie loves the water, but that is not why I had the water-play set up in the backyard. All but one of the other children at the party are well over seven years old and would have been bored to tears and/or destruction of my home if entertainment was not provided for them. Also, putting them outside made for more room for the adults inside my tiny house.
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

I'm sick. What's new? you ask. Well, I am currently so sick that my doctor has put me back on steroids, since nothing else is working. Phil and I saw her at the same time (he has a tear in his tibialis tendon), and when I remarked about how I hadn't needed steroids in years, she told Phil that I would now be able to kick his ass again. Ha-ha! I'm glad she has my sense of humor.
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!

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.

Naked Table Dancer

Katie loves to climb up onto the coffee table. She also loves to dance. Last night she combined her two favorite things and voila - table dancing!



She was playing her music on my mother's phone, which is why she is dancing with it.

When It Rains...

I'm already stressed out enough about money since Phil's paychecks have been missing a day's pay for two weeks in a row, and we have to buy school clothes and supplies before school starts in three weeks, and we have birthdays and parties to pay for, and did I mention that the first of the month is almost here so our mortgage payment is due again? Yeah, I'm stressed out, to be sure.
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.

Why do I care?

So, I was looking on eBay today for a graphing calculator like mine for my friend who needs one. She borrowed mine from me to use for a math class she was taking, and since she has more to take, she wants to go ahead and get one of her own. (I am very attached to my calculator and really couldn't live without it much longer.)
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.