Tangi Tales

Busy, Busy, Busy

2012-02-02T15:05:00.002-06:00

It seems these days I don't have much time for anything. Between work and running around behind the girls and their numerous extra-curricular activities I don't seem to be able to get anything done. I'm even pondering hiring a maid to give my house a good cleaning.

Mondays - swim (Eva)
Tuesday - ballet (Eva) and soccer (Emily)
Wednesday - swim (Eva)
Thursday - soccer (Emily)
Friday - ballet (Emily)
Friday nights or Saturday morning - Emily soccer game
Swim meets on Saturday and Sunday once every month or two
at least one field trip a month for Emily

Coupled with all of their activities is David's new job - in Metairie. He doesn't get home until about 6-6:30pm, so he really isn't much help in chauffeuring kids around. Because of all of this I've had to rearrange my running to 5:15am because I just can't get it in any other time of the day.

Let's not forget about Mardi Gras around the corner as well as our training and other races we have already signed up for. I guess this is what life is like with kids. I think it's time for me to be a stay-at-home mom - or get off work at 4pm. Hmmm...

On the plus side - I've been getting really good sleep!

Saving

2012-01-24T15:40:00.003-06:00

Eva is already learning how to save money. Yesterday she pulled out one of her 4 teeth that were going to be pulled by her dentist saving David and me $75. You go, Eva!

One more is loose. Maybe I should wait it out...

First Day

2012-01-24T07:13:00.001-06:00

Yesterday was David's first day working as a sales executive for Earthlink. We girls are so proud of him for getting out from under AT&T's grasp, and eventual doom, and making this huge career move. I know it was scary after almost 13 years, but I know it's for the better!

We love you!!

Last Day

2012-01-20T10:56:00.000-06:00

Today is David's last day with AT&T. This ends his 12 year, 10 month employment with them. His work has gotten so bad since AT&T bought out Bellsouth, we just didn't think it would be smart to just wait until they surplussed him or just plain laid him off. An opportunity arose back in October/November and he acted on it.

He gave his two weeks today, but his next two weeks will be on vacation. He starts his new job on Monday. Can you guess what the title of Monday's post will be?

So long, AT&T. It's been real.

Year of the Road Race

2012-01-17T09:40:00.002-06:00

I think this year has become the year of the race.

Rock-n-Roll Marathon (which may end up being a half-marathon due to my knees), New Orleans, registered
Shamrock 10k Run, Hammond, registered
Crescent City Classic, 10k, New Orleans, registered
Lakefront Classic, 15k, New Orleans
Pensacola Marathon (or half-marathon), Pensacola
Ole Man River, half-marathon, New Orleans

This list spans March-December 2012. It's nice to have goals lined up for the year. Maybe for fun we could throw in a Warrior Dash or Tough Mudder if they come the area this year, which I think they are - Denham Springs and New Orleans, respectively.

At least we'll stay in shape in 2012.

Orthodontist

2012-01-16T13:54:00.001-06:00

Since Eva started getting her permanent teeth in she has had annual check-ups with an orthodontist. Initially, her two lower front teeth (center) were lose. As it turns out, the roots were not long enough to stabilize her teeth, but have since grown and all is well. Sort of.

She has horrendous overcrowding in her mouth, esp. her lower teeth. Two of her permanent teeth have grown in at about 45 degree angles to her gums. Her upper teeth aren't much better. As soon as her lateral incisors push through her gums, they will either have to turn as well or grow in front of the others (like mine did).

Solution? Extract 4 teeth, her upper and lower canines, in the next couple of months to make extra room. Extraction will also make it easier when she gets braces. Yep, when she gets braces not if she gets braces. Joy.

Happy 5th birthday, Em!!

2012-01-13T08:43:00.003-06:00

My little monkey had her long-awaited 5th birthday yesterday. She has been asking when her birthday was going to get here ever since Eva's birthday in October.

Can you see her behind all of those presents? And her party isn't until Saturday!

Big Bike

2012-01-08T15:28:00.004-06:00

She is officially a big kid, riding a big 24-inch cruiser bike with no training wheels! Way to go, Eva!

Sick of Running

2012-01-05T15:35:00.000-06:00

Marathon training has made me hate running.

30 minute runs during the week are a waste of time
long runs take up too much of my Saturday (every other Saturday), 3+ hours
30 minute runs are mentally harder than the long runs (b/c it's a waste of time)
I run in pain during the long runs

On the plus side, I get to eat whatever I want after my long runs.

Next run: tonight, 30 minutes. Ugh. Already thinking of reasons not to go.
Next long run: Saturday, 5 miles.
Next really long run: next Saturday, 20 miles.

Sigh.

Pitt Bull Update

2012-01-03T14:34:00.000-06:00

The bite is much better. It was more bruised than anything else. The dog was supposed to have been taken away last week, but it was still there in its pen barking at us every time we ran by its house during our long run Saturday - that's 8 times.

David finally talked to the Animal Control officer this morning. She said they had been waiting to hear from the vet regarding its shot record. This dog is overdue for its rabies shot. She didn't say how overdue, but that they were going there this morning to pick the dog up. She also said that dog was a mean dog, over 100 pounds, and not a pitt bull. It's some kind of bull dog mix, maybe part pitt. They are going to hold it for 5 days to see if rabies symptoms would show up (probably won't). If he does not have rabies, the owner can come back and pick it up after they give him a rabies shot (and he pays them). She said they were going to try to talk the owner, who is an elderly man who can't physically control the dog on a leash, out of coming back to pick the dog up.

The owner was cited 3 times for having a dog off leash on a public road, for biting a person, and for the rabies shot being overdue. She also said they had a complaint about that dog before, that it was malnourished. They also had complaints about a horse he owns. I'm thinking this guy should not own animals.

Pitt Bull Bite

2011-12-30T09:21:00.000-06:00

While David was running last night on our street, a Pitt bull (that is usually penned up) came after him and bit him on the leg. As you can see, it was bleeding and swollen, and he will probably have a nice bruise on it, too.

The policeman went down to the house and conveniently, the dog owner was not home, but his son's financee was, and he told her animal control would be by this morning to take the dog away. They will check for shot records at various vets in the area, but if no one can produce anything, the dog will be put down and tested for rabies. Apparently, a rabies test is done by brain cross-section, thus the dog must be dead.

David was so pissed that he told the guy that if that dog had bit me it would be a dead dog. Well, it might be anyway. What if I had been running with Sascha?

We're not really quick to put a dog down when it bites someone (although Tangipahoa parish is), but unfortunately, this dog is being punished for the owner. I think if someone wants to own a Pitt bull they need to go to their own training class, bring the dog to an obedience class, and be registered with the state. They are a huge reponsibiltiy, and the owner's need to understand that.

The bite mark looks a lot better this morning, not as swollen.

New Year's Resolution

2011-12-28T14:33:00.000-06:00

I never make resolutions for New Year's, mostly because I feel I could make the same resolution any time of the year. Why wait for the new year? If you want to make a change, why wait?

That being said, this year I am making a resolution. I have decided to make one because I really don't like what I am going to do, but I need to do it, and I don't want to do it yet. And it's going to be hard.

My resolution is to be thrifty, preferably downright frugal. No more buying stuff just because I want it or think I 'need' it. David and I have never been good at saving. We actually have a savings now, but it needs to be bigger, a lot bigger.

How am I going to do this, you say? This is how:

no more online shopping (this is a biggie) - if I only didn't sit in front of a computer all day...
unsubscribe from email lists telling me about every little sale going on
making a grocery list and sticking to it
baking (and freezing) more
no more Friday pizza night (unless it's homemade pizza)
no more perusing Target, Big Lots, TJ Maxx, etc. during my lunch break
budgeting
making some clothes for the girls (with my new sewing machine)
making curtains and other home products (with my new sewing machine)

I'll see what else I can muster up.
So far my resolution is not holding up - Emily's birthday is next week. Need I say more?

Happy Holidays!

2011-12-28T11:02:00.001-06:00

Christmas-time is always a busy one, so I guess a recap is in order since I have not posted since Thanksgiving.

Eva sang and played piano for her school's Christmas program
15 mile run
MRI on my knee
The girls spent last week (and this week) with their Mimi
My 39th (ouch) birthday
David and I took them to see The Adventures of Tintin on Christmas Eve
Went to Christmas service on Christmas Eve with Sonia and Wayne
An explosion went off at the house Christmas morning and remained so until last night
Eva gifts included a 'big bike', Beezus, Xia Xia's, Saints Volatiles, clothes, Camelbak, Doodlebear, bike helmet, earrings, and other goodies
Emily gifts included a 'bike with a baby seat', scooter, LSU volatiles, clothes, Camelbak, Doodlebear, bike helmet, earrings, other goodies
David's gifts (he was a good boy) - vanity for his dresser, Sog knife, slippers, leather notepad, LSU shirt
Noelle's gifts (I was also a good girl) - sewing machine I asked for, bobbins and thread, scarf
Sascha and Jack - Nylabones in their stocking
Saints vs. Falcons
Work all week

That pretty much sums up the last 2 weeks.
Upcoming:

17 mile run
New Year's Eve
Trying to get together with Michael, Debbie and kids while they are in town
Saints vs. Panthers
School resumes
Emily's birthday
Eva's swim meet
20 mile run
Champian Fulton Quartet
23 mile run

Phew. I need a vacation.

Mistletoe

2011-12-09T19:59:00.001-06:00

"Ewwwwwww!"

That was Eva's response when I told her what mistletoe was and how it was used during Christmas.

Kissing. Ptooey!

Seabrook Santa

2011-11-29T09:09:00.001-06:00

We managed to squeeze in a visit to Santa while we were in Texas over Thanksgiving. Of course, Ashley had to be in the picture, too!

Why did my girls ask for items not previously on their Santa list?

Texas Thanksgiving

2011-11-28T14:11:00.001-06:00

Thanksgiving was spent this year in Texas with almost all of my family. The girls had a great time playing with cousins and friends, and it was really nice to get to see family and nieces/nephews that I had not ever met.

Enjoying some turkey and mashed potatoes.

One thing we did was start to teach Eva to ride a bike without training wheels. She is so tall, the only bike that fits her is a 24". The 20" she practiced on here was too small- her knees were all up in the handlebars.

Even David took a ride on her bike.

Eva and Emily LOVED playing with Ashley!

Thanksgiving Pow-Wow

2011-11-28T13:14:00.001-06:00

Emily's class put on a Pow-Wow for the school last Friday. Her Native American name was Singing Sparrow, which is quite fitting for our little songbird.

Just about every picture I took has her looking off to her right, where her best bud, Addison, was sitting. And no, those are not pasties. Shame on you Aunt Lisa!

Sewing

2011-11-15T13:30:00.001-06:00

I have always envied those who can create with a sewing machine. I have not had much experience sewing since the home economics class I took as a junior in high school. I always think of all the clothes, curtains, pillows, etc. that I could make if only I had a sewing machine. I have asked David for a sewing machine for my birthday, but before I make that official, I dedided to try some projects with Sonia's sewing machine first.

My first try were LSU pillow shirts for the girls. I only completed one, Eva's. I was in too much of a rush and the neck came out too big giving the shirt an awkward fit. I took no photos and just bought them LSU t-shirts instead. Phooey.

My second try came out better after an hour of aggravation with the wrong seam and the machine doing weird things. The curtains in the guest bedroom needed hemming, so I did it, and they are presentable. Yay!

Lastly, I am made Saints fleece scarves. Mine came out pretty cool. I have to make 2 more for Eva and Emily. I made David an extra long scarf that came out great, too. Fleece requires no hemming, so I think I may like fleece a lot. Too bad I live in southern Louisiana.

I'm still not sure if I want to to be my birthday present. It's not a very fun gift considering how frustrated I get with it. Now, I know that I am using an old (like 20+ years) model with no manual and a new one will be much easier. The scarves went well - no swearing involved, and I didn't try to sling it out the window. Improvement.

Transformation

2011-11-02T09:00:00.002-05:00

The master bedroom is coming along nicely. Smooth, white ceiling. Painted purple walls. New furniture, new mattresses. Still needs lamps (working on today), window treatments, and stuff on the walls. I am also looking into a stand alone jewelry box and full length mirror.

Finally, a bedroom I can enjoy sleeping in.

Tailgating at LSU v Auburn Game

2011-10-26T08:27:00.000-05:00

It was a gorgeous weekend, so we decided to take the girls to LSU for some tailgating. We brought sandwiches, snacks, water, and an adult beverage for us. We ended up parking about a mile away, but on the way back we stopped at Mellow Mushroom for some pizza.

We had a picnic under some live oaks first.

Emily had a mouthful of food.

Drinking lemonade sold by 2 boys near us.

Watching the marching band head to the stadium.

We got to see Mike the Tiger after he made his appearance at the game.

Taking a dip.

Emily really wanted to go into the stadium to see the game. Maybe next time...

Height Prediction

2011-10-20T09:56:00.001-05:00

Yes, our kids will be tall, but I want to know how tall. I've been doing those height predictors on Eva since she was 4, and as she gets older they get more exact. Over the last 3 years they have consistently all said the same height, 5'11". There is a 90% chance of being within 1.7 inches of that number.

Emily is 4 (turning 5 in January), and this is the age where you can start doing the predictions. She is predicted to be 5'10" with that same 90% chance of being with 1.7 inches of that number.

Either way, I will be looking up to or eye to eye with both of my daughters by the time they are 16.

Tall and beautiful...a scary combination...doubled.

And So It Begins Again

2011-10-14T11:07:00.000-05:00

Our house has been turned upside down by the contents of our closets and bedroom. We ordered a new bedroom set and new mattress which should all be delivered in the next week or two. We have moved our current bed into the 'play room' which is now the guest room (Lisa, I know you're excited about that!). We have scraped the ugly popcorn off of our bedroom ceiling and will do the same in our closets tonight. This weekend we'll prime and paint the ceilings, and next week paint our bedroom walls. If all goes as planned, it should be all done before the bedroom set gets here.

I am super excited to finally get that ugly teal off of my walls, and to finally have a bedroom I actually like!

Pictures to come when it's all done and furniture is in place!

Nightmares

2011-10-07T08:18:00.001-05:00

Over the past 2-3 weeks Eva has been waking up during the night from nightmares or bad dreams. The first was dancing skeletons. This came after she looked at a Halloween costume magazine and, I guess, saw skeleton costumes. The next was zombies. The only place I can think she got this from was while she was in the the ER (from having pneumonia) she was watching Scoobie Doo. Scoobie Doo always has zombies and monsters in it. I even remember asking her if she wanted me to change the channel. She said no, of course. Finally, tarantulas were the cause of last night's awakening. I have no clue where she got this from. She even called them "Oregon tarantulas." I googled it and nothing really came up.

I normally love Halloween, but I can't wait until it's over so we can both get solid sleep. By both I mean Eva and me. David rarely wakes up.

Facebook

2011-10-06T15:18:00.001-05:00

I've been considering for some time about closing my Facebook account. After their recent changes in format the consideration is looking more appealing.

Reasons to cancel:

It's boring, and I'm more of a lurker anyway
I didn't have it a few years ago, and I didn't wish for better communication with everyone at that time, so why now?
The only people I really keep up with is family, and I should be doing that by phone or in person anyway
I'd like to put more time towards this blog for updates for family and friends
Facebook, as boring as it is, is time consuming as I waste time searching for something interesting to read
There are many other things I could and should be doing instead of playing on my phone
I don't trust them. I have deleted almost all of my pictures of the girls from my profile, but it's always in the back of my head as to whether they really even get totally deleted. I'm usually worried someone is copying them and using them in a way I would not approve of. Yes, my security settings don't allow someone other than my 'friends' to see my pictures, but lets face it, who are they really? Do I know what they do outside FB? Nope. I haven't seen most of my 'friends' in a long time.

Reasons not to cancel:

It's a good way to keep up with my neices and nephew. They're teenagers and FB is what they do. If I want to stay in touch with them, I should probably do it on their terms.
It's a good way to find out about local events since most people post it on their FB page or post a link to something happening around town.

Final consensus: Delete all of my 'friends' to just family and those people I really care about. Maybe even delete FB from my phone, that way wasting time isn't so easy. Quality time with family and real friends in the flesh is much more important.

Birthday Week

2011-10-06T14:49:00.000-05:00

The last week of September is the birthday week. The 23rd brings David's, the 27th brings Wayne's (David's dad), the 29th is Sascha's, and last but not least, Eva's is October 1st. Also nestled in that week on the 26th is our wedding anniversary, number 8!

Lisa and Mitch came for a much overdue visit. It started with lunch and margaritas at La Caretta's followed later by dinner and more cocktails at Don's Seafood, as requested by Eva the birthday girl. She said she wanted fried catfish but ended up eating fried shrimp instead.

The next day we spent the evening with good friends and celebrated Eva's birthday again. Sunday brought a Saints win and Safari Quest to celebrate Eva's birthday yet again. She, Emily, David and Mitch played a good game of laser tag and later Eva, Emily, Lisa and I each got into human hamster balls and 'walked' on water.

We had a great time and, as usual, tears were shed by Eva when they left.

Next visit: Thanksgiving for the BIG family event! There may be record White Russian drinking at that visit!

Bitch of the Week

2011-09-29T14:56:00.002-05:00

This video is courtesy of my boss. This poor dog didn't know what hit him.

Happy Anniversary!

2011-09-27T08:36:00.001-05:00

Yesterday was our 8th anniversary. How did we celebrate? By removing and installing a new hot water heater by ourselves! Yeah!

No, really. I went into the attic over the weekend to find water in the pan under the hot water heater. The heater was rusted out, so it was a rush to get a new one in. Lowe's wanted to charge us $600 to install and couldn't tell me when, so we opted to do it ourselves. The old one weighed about 400 pounds (yes, we drained the water out), so getting that one out was so much fun! David just about ripped the skin off of his hands and we cracked our laminate flooring, but other than that, we're fine!

The new one was easy enough to get up and turned on. We even took a shower that night. It only took us 4 hours. Not too bad for a couple of novices.

I wouldn't have wanted to reinstall a hot water heater with anyone else! Love you, baby!

Oh, and Happy Birthday!

Everything at Once

2011-09-19T08:45:00.001-05:00

Life can be dull and uninteresting but then, all at once, it's crazy and hectic.

Sonia in the hospital (now in rehab doing well, hopefully home by the weekend), who I have yet to visit since I've had a sick kid with me
Eva gets pneumonia (found out Saturday when she woke up with a 104 degree temperature after being on antibiotics for 2 days)
Eva now has diarrhea from the medication
Jack seems to either have a UTI or is just plain incontinent.

Since we didn't have Jack as a puppy, and apparently neither did the people we got him from, we have no idea how old he is. His demeanor is older, but his teeth are white, clean, and look young. Lately, his bed has had a wet spot in it that we thought was from him licking. He has been licking (which is a sign of incontinence in itself), but it's most likely urine. Last night David saw drops of urine hit the floor right after he had come inside from doing his business (and I saw him do it). Then I saw Sascha sniffing her bed (that Jack had just gotten up from) and I went over to find droplets of urine on it and the floor. I'm trying to decide if all this started after his pee-less stint during TS Lee when he refused to go out in the rain or wet.

Sigh, I guess David will be visiting the vet this week once we get Eva squared away. If she can go fever-less today (so far so good) I'll send her to school tomorrow. She almost made it yesterday, but got a small fever last night, plus she has a follow up appointment at the doctor this morning.

CAUTION: Sick Kid at Work

2011-09-14T10:42:00.000-05:00

Today: Sonia has knee replacement surgery.
Today: Coworker out having colonoscopy, thus shorthanded.
Today: David has double time coming late Thursday if he keeps working all week.
Today: Eva has 101 degree fever.

Worst possible day for one of them to be sick. So, she is at work with me, and this is what she is going to do all day.

She may throw in some coloring, reading, and maybe even practice her spelling words if she feels better. Wish we could be at home.

Craigslist Pet Peeve

2011-08-29T15:27:00.000-05:00

There is no Craigslist for Hammond, so I mainly post in Baton Rouge and New Orleans depending on what I'm selling. Nothing aggravates me more than when someone emails me about what I'm selling only to ask if I would take less money because they have to drive from wherever they live. Not my problem. Does it really cost you $20 to drive in from Denham Springs? Why should I take less because of where you live? You need to decide if the price I'm asking is worth the drive. Grrrr.

Big School

2011-08-20T20:49:00.000-05:00

Here they are, my little girls getting bigger by the second. Eva in second grade and Emily in pre-k at Eva's school, big school. Little does she know it, but Eva has begun a new big sister role, school big sister where she gets to look out for little sister. This is how things will be until she is a freshman and goes off to high school. She'll get a 3 year break until Emily is a freshman and she is a senior. I wonder how Emily will do when she's in 6th grade and Eva is not at her school, off at high school. It's hard to look at this picture and think about freshmen and seniors and high school.

I think I need to stop thinking about all of that and be thankful they're just in second grade and pre-k.

And So It Begins...

2011-08-12T08:39:00.000-05:00

Next week is when it all starts and continues for the next 10 months: school, ballet, swimming, homework, soccer, birthday parties, t-ball, etc.

Actually, ballet, swimming and school begin next week, and school is only Friday for a half day. Not too bad, but it is just the beginning. Eva in 2nd grade (already!) and Emily in pre-K (already!). In some ways it'll be more normal, but in others not so much.

Tuesdays is ballet for Eva. Wednesdays and Thursdays is swimming for Eva. Fridays is ballet for Emily. Meanwhile, David and I are training for that marathon in March. This means two 30-minute runs during the week and a long run on the weekend. Swim meets are usually an all weekend event when they happen. I have yet to turn in the soccer registration for Emily because I don't know where practice and games (I guess on Saturdays) will fit in. David said just turn it in; we'll work it out. This is what life is like with kids. Sigh. I know, but it's supposed to be fun, isn't it? Maybe I need to change my idea of fun.

24-Day Challenge

2011-08-05T11:02:00.002-05:00

David and I finished, today, the 24-Day Challenge. It incorporates a 10-day cleanse followed by 14 days of supplements and healthy eating. Neither one of us expected to lose any weight, especially me, but I have lost 5 pounds as of this morning. Now, keep in mind that I have been sick, and I don't think I have been eating enough. David lost about 5 pounds right away, but both of us have lost more in inches and our clothes are fitting looser. I can tell that I have lost fat because I can see more definition, especially in my abs, and I have not worked out for almost 2 weeks.

For the first 10 days you can have no dairy, no wheat products, no sugar. You are supposed to eat as many fruits and vegetables as you can as well as a high protein lunch and dinner. Make sure you keep your calories up. The idea on this challenge is not to starve yourself, but to shed toxins (cleanse) and weight by healthy eating.

The last 14 days are again, healthy eating - limit your dairy and sugar, eat whole grains and protein. Your diet should consist of 30% protein, 30% fat, and 40% carbs and keep your calories where they should be as to not starve yourself or to not overeat. It incorporates vitamins, omega fish oil, and probiotics.

Quinoa has become one of our favorite 'new' foods. It can totally take the place of rice, cooks up fast, full of protein, gluten-free, and it doesn't fill you up. Even the girls eat it. Mix it with some chicken and veggies and you have yourself a very healthy, and tasty, meal.

I have read story after story of people losing weight on this program. After the program, AdvoCare recommends staying on their products (for a total of 90 days) to give them a fair shot. All of the stories I have read are positive, and even the ones who say they did not lose weight say it's either because they did not follow the plan or the diet was already much like their normal diet (us).

I would highly recommend this to anyone who is interested in losing weight the healthy way.

Medals and Ribbons

2011-08-04T07:21:00.000-05:00

Eva with her 3rd place medal and 2 ribbons for 7th place. She is missing her 10th place ribbon, but I'm working on that. Good job, Eva!!

Training Delay

2011-08-03T16:58:00.000-05:00

I purposely took off running and weight training last week to give myself a small break before marathon training officially began. Unfortunately, I got sick this past weekend, so I am taking a 2nd week off also. I hope to start up again this Saturday. I don't think one week will kill me. Plus, it's been really nice sleeping in (if you call 6am sleeping in).

Ft. Pickens, FL

2011-08-01T08:25:00.002-05:00

Sadly, these are the only 3 pictures taken this weekend. It was a miserable weekend:

our campsite had not an ounce of shade
the campground was way to close for my liking
hot, hot, hot
Eva got all of us sick by Saturday
Eva is a jellyfish magnet. Once she got stung beach time was over
After looking for a vacant hotel room and not finding one, it was decided to just go home Saturday night. We were all hot, sweaty, sandy, and not feeling well
Our sunscreen is apparently old because we all got good and sunburned
I spent a miserable Sunday sick
I spent a miserable Sunday night awake and unable to breathe
Now I am spending a miserable Monday at work

On the upside, the few hours we were actually at the beach were really nice.

Way to go Riptide!!

2011-07-29T09:43:00.000-05:00

Way to go Riptide!!

Crawfish Aquatics Swim Meet

2011-07-25T10:21:00.001-05:00

Eva had her second swim meet this past weekend. She swam every event: 25yd freestyle, 25yd backstroke, 100yd IM, 100yd freestyle relay, 25yd breaststroke, 25yd butterfly, 50yd freestyle.

25yd freestyle: won her heat, took 7th overall
25yd backstroke: won her heat, took 10th overall
100yd IM: DQ (didn't touch with both hands on breast/butterfly)
100yd freestyle relay: 3rd overall
25yd breaststroke: DQ (did butterfly kick at very end of race)
25yd butterfly: 7th overall
50yd freestyle: DQ (somehow did not touch the wall on her flip turn)

She improved so much from her first meet. We are so proud of her! Her coach has given them 3 weeks off until they get back at it. I imagine the next meet will be sometime in October. I can't wait to see how much better she'll be at that time.

TV Aggravation

2011-07-20T08:34:00.000-05:00

Watching TV last night (7pm on Fox) with David and the girls the following words, or variations of, were heard: ass, bitch, piss, crap, damn. Really? I can't watch television with my kids on a Tuesday night at 7pm without having to hear that? They bleeped out other words, why not those?

Another aggravation of mine with television these days is the commercials, specifically movie trailers. I can be watching a family movie on, let's say TBS, when a commercial break happens. For some reason these programming executives think it's OK to show an R-rated movie trailer in the middle of the day on a Saturday. David and I have to scramble to find the remote to quickly change the channel before Eva and Emily see some person shot, stabbed, strangled, or beat to death. Why don't ratings apply to commercials? If they want to air those trailers it needs to be after 10pm.

We don't have pay channels, so I feel I shouldn't have to worry about these things.

Maybe we should just stop watching TV. Oh yeah, we have another year on our Direct TV contract.

San Fermin in Nueva Orleans

2011-07-11T11:18:00.003-05:00

Saturday was San Fermin in New Orleans, or Running of the Bulls. What a good time. We were unsure about bringing the girls for our first time, so we opted to go alone to check it out for next year. They will definitely be with us next year.

The race started off with a procession and a prayer. I wish I had recorded that prayer.

This is the crowd in front of us. There was a larger crowd behind us and on cross streets. We made our way to the front, sort of, before the running started. They said there was 8,000 people last year and 10,000 this year.

The bulls. There were about 400 or so bulls strategically lined up in different parts of the route. They come from roller derby teams from all over the country. By the way, the skinny bats do not feel good, and it doesn't feel good to get whacked on the back of the leg either. But, it was all good fun!

What kind of a New Orleans race would it be without Elvis? They had about 30-40 Elvises this weekend. These were on motorized scooters..

Beer and sangria were flowing. I had to have at least one sangria. It was going down really well.

Good times. Definitely worth attending if you haven't . Gotta love New Orleans.

Bunk Beds and Bugs

2011-07-07T08:32:00.000-05:00

Two nights ago Emily came to me and said she wanted to sleep in Eva's bunk (on top). Immediately red flags went up, but I told her as long as Eva agreed. So, that night Emily went to bed up top, and Eva went to bed on the bottom. Emily asked me numerous "what if" questions after I told her not to get out of bed. After about 30 minutes Eva came out and said Emily needed a drink of water. She got one out of the bathroom and went back up top. About 20 minutes later Emily is back out of bed crying that she wants to sleep with us or in her bed. I then tell Eva to get back in her bunk. All was well.

Yesterday evening Emily again said she wanted to sleep in the top bunk. This time I told her there was to be no switching beds like the previous night. She and Eva were so tired, they went to sleep instantly. Eva stays asleep all night, always, ever since she was a baby. Sleep perfection! Emily woke up around 1am calling me because her Woof-Woof fell to the floor and she hit her eye on the rail looking down. At about 2am she was up and in my room saying she did not want to sleep up top anymore. After insisting that she had to go back in the top bunk because I was not about to wake up Eva to switch them, she complied. An hour later she was back up and in my room stating that she was scared up there because there were bugs in her bed. (She has complained of bugs before in her bed.) I assured her there were no bugs in her bed, tucked her back in, and finally was able to get back to sleep. I also told her that that was the last night she slept up top. From now on they sleep in their own beds.

I need some sleep.

AdvoCare

2011-07-05T10:18:00.001-05:00

David and I are starting a side business venture. We were introduced to AdvoCare by someone David works with. His sister uses and sells their products. We did our own research, tried a couple of procucts, and decided that we wanted to start using the products.

Initially, we were going to join just to get the discount, but after more research and the need for another source of income, we have decided to try the sales end of it also. There is a small start up fee, but that should be recouped very quickly. This is a pyramid scheme, but what isn't? We all have bosses and they have bosses and on and on.

The company has been aroud for 18 years. They have numerous professional and amateur athletes endorsing their products, one of them being Drew Brees. Drew happens to be the national spokesperson for AdvoCare. They are also the sponsor for NASCAR Sprint Cup Race, and this is only the beginning. This seems to be an opportune time for us to get in, plus there are very few Louisiana distributors. We will definitley have a niche in Hammond.

Their product lines include Trim (weight management), Well (vitamin and mineral complexes), Active (energy and on-the-go nutrition), and Performance Elite (advanced sports nutrition). They also have a skin care line, althougth they offer only a few products. Their products undergo extensive research and developement before they go on the market. This r&d continues after they have been released to make sure they remain top of the line. You can check out their website for more information.

We're very excited about this, so don't burst our bubble.

Plastics and Other Dishes

2011-06-30T08:49:00.002-05:00

I love to purge. I've always had a good time purging toys, baby stuff, clothes, etc. I feel like I'm moving on to a new chapter in my life when I purge stuff. The latest purge: plastic dishes. You parents know what I'm talking about. All of those plastic plates, bowls, cups, forks, spoons, knives, etc. When I open my cabinets all I see is this vast array of blue, green, pink, purple, red plastic dishes. I told the girls, "No more!" They are not microwave safe - mine get white marks and bubbles in the plastic from the microwave, and we just plain have too many. I have not gotten rid of all of the cups, but their time is near, also. They still like walking around with them, and they like to take them outside.

As far as my other dishes go, they're on the outs, too. They came from Bed, Bath, and Beyond when we got married. We hate them. They get scorching hot in the microwave (No, I do not cook in the microwave, but we do a lot of reheating in there.) and they chip/break/crack like crazy. I think we are down to 5 dinner plates, 6 salad plates, and some bowls left. I know they're a little cheesy, but I think we're going to switch to these square, pure white Corelle plates. They have a 3 year warranty against chips, cracks, and breaks. They are dishwasher, microwave, and oven (up to 350 degrees) safe. I'm just not too crazy about the patterns. Simple white. That's me.

Maybe when my kids are grown and moved out of the house we can have some nice dishes--and furniture.

Napoleon House

2011-06-24T14:51:00.003-05:00

I fell in love with this giclee as soon as I saw it. This is Napoleon House by Bill Hemmerling. He is from Chicago, living in Ponchatoula, with a gallery there and in the French Quarter. After looking at his other work, this is the only piece I like. Disappointing.

Looking closer at it this afternoon, I wonder if he meant to spell Chartres incorrectly?

More on Crying and Swimming

2011-06-24T14:42:00.001-05:00

David and I, in our preparation for marathon training, have been taking turns taking Eva to swim. After I get her situated and swimming, I head out for a jog. That way we are not there during her swim-no one to cry to. So far there has been no crying, except for yesterday when she suddenly had to go to the bathroom. She has been swimming well. I told her coach what we were doing, but she is not worried at all about it. She said it goes with the age. She just ignores the crying and moves on; however, I do think this approach makes her cry more, so I'd rather just stop the crying in the first place.

So far, so good.
Next meet: July 23-24 at Elmwood Fitness Center.

Crying and Swimming

2011-06-17T14:15:00.000-05:00

Eva is a crier. Plain and simple. I think this is the only way she knows how to release her emotions, whatever they may be. She cries when she's sad, when she's mad, when she's disappointed, etc. Sounds like someone I know, ahem.

Over the past 2 weeks David has been going to swim practice with her while I take Emily to her swim lessons. He comes home some evenings frazzled just short of pulling his hair out. (I have been there many times!) Eva know how to swim, but sometimes at practice she just decides not to. Now, I am describing this using David's stories, so keep that in mind. She starts off strong, let's say doing freestyle, then after 6 or so strokes her arms start getting further and further apart to where she looks a little like a flapping 'w'. Of course, swimming in this fashion gets you nowhere and her butt starts to sink thus making her lift her head up and stop. David gets up and tells her to use big arms, like she knows how, and all she does is more flapping. So, David tells her again to use big arms when the tears start rolling. He is not fussing at her in any way. Once those tears start coming there is no stopping them. And when you ask her why she's crying, she has no answer. Does she not know, or is she crying over many things that happened throughout the day?

She swims with another girl and boy, both who are strong swimmers and very competitive. Eva starts out strong then just quits. Why? She seems to swim better when the girl isn't there; Eva seems to think swim class is social class, and B just swims while Eva calls after her, "B... wait!" Why won't she just swim like the other 30+ kids there are doing? One problem is the coach is pacing the entire pool and not just standing over Eva and the other young ones. She needs to. The days that she is on her tail Eva swims well.

Part of me wants to take her out of swim b/c I don't want to pay for her to flap around and cry. She can do that at my house for free. But David says no, she's a quitter, and he doesn't want to allow her to quit. We can't make her competitive. We can't make her want to swim faster. We can't make her swim correctly. We can't seem to make her do anything. Maybe she doesn't like sports.

What to do, what to do...

Confidence

2011-06-10T08:36:00.000-05:00

Eva has always loved the water. Always put her face in, never scared (except of the deep end for a short while when taking swim lessons). Emily, not so much. She likes to play in the water, but don't dare get her face wet. This includes the bath. Where I could pour a cup of water over Eva's head, Emily would go into complete meltdown and get out of the tub if so much as a drop got in her eyes.

Emily started taking swim lessons this week for the first time. I was concerned about it, knowing the teacher would have her hands full with the face issue. She started out putting just her nose under, then part of her eyes and nose, to full eyes and nose, and finally yesterday she put her whole head under. What an accomplishment!

The swim teacher tells them to practice while she is working with other kids, and I watch as she practices on the side, alone. She is trying to swim with her arms, face under. She is jumping in, head under. She is floating on her back, relaxed. It is such a wonderful thing to see your kids become confident in something they were so fearful of just the week prior. I can see in the way she swims now that she has confidence and is no longer scared.

Now, the bath is another issue. I am still not allowed to pour water in her face. Baby steps.

What's Appropriate

2011-06-08T15:42:00.000-05:00

I remember my mother talking about clothes and what was appropriate, whether for me as a teenager or her as a 40- or 50-something. I watch shows like "What Not to Wear" and listen to Stacey and Clinton talk about what is appropriate and what isn't. I learned that I am too old to be shopping in the juniors department, even if it does fit. I am not a junior. And although I am not a senior either, I feel I am in limbo somewhere and nothing is right. Can you say middle-aged??
I went to TJ Maxx during my lunch break today as I am in need of shorts. I am not a big fan of shorts, but I would like a couple of pair if I ever feel the urge. It is the deep south, after all. I have a few pair that are big for mand a couple of long shorts - they go down to my knees, but David does not like these. He wants to see my legs.

I do not want shorts that my mother would wear (definitely no elastic waists), and I do not want shorts my beanpole niece (who is 15) would wear either. They just don't seem to make shorts in between. I can fit into those Daisy Dukes, but should I, a mother of 2 girls pushing 40, really wear these short shorts? What kind of example would that be for them? What would Stacey and Clinton tell me? Probably to put on a cute skirt or dress of appropriate length instead. The shorts I tried on today just covered my butt cheek. I'm sure this is not appropriate. Back they went onto the rack.

This is such a hassle, even harder than shopping for jeans. I think I'll just stick to skirts and dresses if I go anywhere. Sigh.

New Goal

2011-06-02T11:32:00.000-05:00

David told me a few weeks ago that he needed a goal to get him back to working out. I asked him if he wanted to run a marathon. His reply, "I'll think about it." He never did think about it.

Finally, I told him yesterday that I wanted to do one, even if he didn't. He said he'd do it, but he'd hate it.

I picked the Rock-n-Roll Marathon in New Orleans on March 4, 2012. The reasons:

it won't be hot
we can train mainly in the winter
cool medal
music/event at each mile marker
flat course
good post-race party

I had previously checked the entry fees, $95 per person. Yesterday, after he agreed, I went to check their site to check the dates when the entry fees go up, only to find that it was National Running Day. For that day only the entry fee was $69. Bonus! I saved $52 by registering us yesterday.

Yes, we are registered.

Here we go!

Dobermans

2011-05-20T10:25:00.001-05:00

Here is what I've learned about Dobermans in the past year and 8 months:

They are stubborn
They wrestle when they play with other dogs (who don't like it)
They don't really smell after being outside all day
They are extreme snugglers
They think they're lap dogs
They do not like cold weather
They like to sleep under a blanket, even with their face covered
They moan and groan while they sleep
They are 'velcro dogs' (follow you everywhere)
Whatever is on the floor is theirs
Have big, caramel-colored doe eyes that they like to look at you with when they want something
Sweet, sweet, sweet!

Canine Flatulence

2011-05-19T08:41:00.000-05:00

They look so peaceful and innocent here, but when you wake up in the morning the air is not so pleasant. These two dogs must emit more methane than allowed by the DEQ. It reeks! It was already bad when it was just Sascha, but Jack has brought something extra to the table. Each night I spray air freshener before I go to sleep in hopes that it will help curb the stench in the morning. I don't think anything will help diffuse that odor.
I find that incense is really the best thing to cover bad smells. Unfortunately, I am out of incense. Looks like another trip to the Ra Shop is in order.
What are these dogs eating??

Emily's School Program

2011-05-16T13:51:00.000-05:00

Emily's end-of-year program was last week. I taped each song individually (and took no pictures), but the song from Spanish class was my favorite. I tried to upload it, but Blogger can't seem to do it. Maybe it's too long??

This is her last year at this school, and I know she will miss her best friends, Kallie and Caroline (althought now she says Caroline is bossy), tremendously, as they are going to different schools. One more week left until she is done and onto pre-k. Time is flying.

Piano Recital

2011-05-11T08:39:00.000-05:00

Eva's piano recital was last night. She played 'Alouette.' While she was learning this song, I remembered learning the words when I took French in kindergarten or first grade, and almost assumed she knew it also. But in this time kids are learning Spanish, not French. Sad. Anyway, she did a great job with no mistakes! Turn your volume up and have a listen:

Eva and Jada, her classmate.

Eva, Emily and trophy.

More on Jack

2011-05-01T16:48:00.000-05:00

I'm not so sure about the story we were told about him. He does not respond to Jack, at all. He can hear. He knows no commands. He had no collar. He hadn't been to a vet in a while. He hadn't had his claws trimmed in a very long time. He came with two small bags of rawhide bones, practically unused. He also came with 4 cans of dog food (he should have 4 cans a day of this food), and a medicated shampoo that we were told was for his dry skinned; however, it was unopened.
I think these people found this dog and sold it (for a very minimal cost). Who knows what his name is. We're sticking with Jack anyway. We gave him Sascha's dry food and he ate it up. No canned food for my dogs. He is still fussing at Sascha when she barks at dragonflies. Sascha is already calmer. Yay for Jack!

Apparently, he slept on a bed at his previous owner's home. Not anymore. Sorry, Jack.

Jack

2011-04-30T16:33:00.001-05:00

Meet Jack. He is a 2-3 year old blue doberman. He was living with a couple in a very small apartment in Baton Rouge. They had gotten him from a relative who had passed away. They had no shot records, nor had they been giving him any flea or heartworm preventative. Before we took him we brought him to a nearby vet to get checked for heartworms. Once the test came back negative, we knew he was ours.

He is a sweetie! Very calm, good with the girls, and he barks at Sascha when she goes on her dragonfly tirade. Good Boy!

By the way, he is 83 pounds. That's about 23 more than Sascha.

In case you're wondering why we got another dog, it's because after seeing how different Sascha was with my sister's dogs (more calm and less neurotic), we thought another dog would do her good. And Jack seems like he needs a good (and permanent) family to live with. A perfect match!

Adult Acne

2011-04-20T16:45:00.000-05:00

I am so frustrated. My acne now is on its way to be as bad as it was when I was 15. When I turned 17 or so my skin was great. The teenage acne was just that. Never had a problem, just a zit here and there as a young adult.

About a month after I stopped breastfeeding Emily I started getting really bad pimples around my mouth/chin. It would take about 2 weeks for them to finally go away, and then the next one would start to appear. This went on for about 8 months or so until I could no longer take it. I went to a dermatologist only to find out what I already knew: it was hormonal. She suggested I take birth control pills, but I hesitated since David had gotten a vasectomy earlier that year. She put me on a beta hydroxy soap and something else that I can't remember the name to. That really didn't do the trick, so I broke down and started taking the pills. They definitely helped, for a while. Recently I changed pills due the the increased cost of the ones I was taking. Since changing pills, I have had at least 1-2 pimples on my chin at all times, even though these are supposed to help with acne also. Grrr.

I have recently found a website, http://www.acne.org/ that has a different take on adult acne. This guy apparently has been dealing with acne his whole life and after researching and trial and error figured out a way to control his acne. I like him because he doesn't push his product. He give suggestions to store-bought products you can use as alternatives. He tells you what ingredients to look out for and how to use them. After reading through some of the 111 pages of reviews, almost all good, I think I may give it a try. The people reviewing his regimen range in age from teenagers to forty-year olds, mostly all women. It's really a regimen you stick to until your skin becomes accustomed to it. He also stresses gentleness and taking care of your skin, not just getting rid of acne.

I may give it a go. Can't hurt.

French Quarter Fest Review

2011-04-15T10:57:00.001-05:00

We went to French Quarter Fest on Saturday for the first time. The reason I have never gone was mainly due to parking issues. My sister went the previous day and had a nice Asian man save us one of his spots in front of his laundromat for us on Elysian Fields, $20. We had a nice walk through the Marigny and perused the flea market and French market. Eva had $10 burning a hole in her pocket, and Aunt Lisa promised them each 2 pairs of earrings.

We eventually made it down to Jackson Square and actually found a shaded spot under a couple of crape myrtles right in front of the food area. We didn't eat much, but what we had was awesome! We ate Bourbon House's Bourbon BBQ shrimp poboy and Dickie Brennan's prime beef debris poboy. Holy cow! They were great! And of course, beer courtesy Abita Brewery.

Music was good - Tim Laughlin, The Victory Belles, and Jeremy Davenport. I originally wanted to stay to hear Irvin Mayfield also, but since he was playing that evening, I knew the girls would never make it. It was a gorgeous day and that evening was looking to be even better. I'm sure whoever made that show had a great night.

Because we had the girls with us, we didn't do a whole lot more walking, except for the walk back. I had wanted to hit the riverfront where there was a kids area, but that just didn't happen. Maybe next year. Because there are so many stages and they are spread out all over the french quarter, I think I might like this festival better if we went sans kids. I say that, and next year we will most likely take them anyway. It's just weird not to have them with us, especially for a music festival.

All in all, we had a good time; although, it was no Jazz Fest. The feel was just different, less laid back. I can't tell you all of the women dressed to the nines wearing in 4-inch heels walking around. This is is festival for crying out loud!! I would go again, but would try to park somewhere closer to the riverfront. I would also remember to bring a blanket and chairs, too. I did remember to bring our 3L Camelbak for water! Kudos to me!

Next free festival: Festival Internationale in Lafayette. Not sure if we'll make this one, but we'll see if we can squeeze it in on the way back from Texas.

Testing for Giftedness

2011-04-14T14:44:00.009-05:00

Eva was screened for giftedness Tuesday at her school. Since she had IOWA test scores from kindergarten, they were only supposed to give her the Kaughman Brief Intelligence Test (KBIT-2) on her; however, since her KBIT-2 score was high, 86th percentile, the psychologist decided to re-screen her math and reading.

Her IOWA test reading score last year was 90th percentile, and her math score was 50th percentile. I'm glad they re-screened her because this year her reading was at 96th percentile and her math was 66th percentile.

To be selected into the gifted program the child must have 4 points. These points come from math, reading, and a cognitive screening test. Had they used last year's scores, she would have had a total of 2 points (1 from reading and 1 from KBIT). Since they re-screened her math and reading, she had a total of 3 points (2 from reading and 1 from KBIT).

They even offered to re-screen her math again if I thought her IOWA tests from this year were that much better. To get just 1 point on her math she would have to jump up to 90th percentile. I just don't think that's going to happen. She is an amazing reader, probably reading around 4th grade level, but math is just not her forte. And that's okay.

Princes and Princesses

2011-04-05T08:24:00.006-05:00

Emily has a ton of dresses (Eva's old clothes). Eva only has two she can even wear to school. Whenever Emily wears a dress, she calls herself a princess. If Eva wears a dress, Emily calls her a princess, too. If I pull out pants or shorts for Emily, she has a fit because, "I don't want to be a prince!" If Eva wears shorts or pants, Emily calls her a prince. This irritates Eva to no end. As soon as Eva puts on her clothes, she tells Emily, "Don't even call me a prince!" Good Lord!

Music Festivals

2011-03-29T13:39:00.007-05:00

Since boycotting Jazz Fest last year, I have been looking for free music festivals going on this spring. Here is what I have found:

French Quarter Festival - Believe it or not, we have never been. I think parking has always been an issue for me for this festival. The fest is next weekend, and we intend on going this year since my sister will be in town. This is a free festival in the French Quarter. We may become regulars after this year, who knows?

Festival Internationale - This one is in downtown Lafayette, April 27 - May 1. The festival is celebrates the French cultural heritage of southern Louisiana - primarily a combination of French, African, Caribbean, and Hispanic influences. We were planning on going, but have decided not to go this year. It's about a 2 hour drive from here, so a hotel is a must. That kind of takes away from the free-ness. Maybe next year.

Mid-City Bayou Boogaloo - This is one I just found out about today. This year it falls on May 20-22 along Bayou St. John. The music lineup is not out yet, but I do intend to go to this one also. Like French Quarter Fest, it consists of Louisiana-based music, good food and drink.

Just for the record, I am not anti-Jazz Fest. I just don't like the direction it's gone. The only way I would go is if I won tickets, which is a good possibility since the radio station at Southeastern, KSLU, does give away tickets, and their listening audience isn't as large as those in New Orleans. There is something very nostalgic about Jazz Fest that won't let me discard it permanently.

Lovin

2011-03-22T13:16:00.005-05:00

Hearing "I want to nuggle with you, Mommy" at 4am

Key lime pie treats at night

Reading at the park

David getting home before I do

"I'm a good big sister."

Date nights

Sounds of little girls riding bikes on the driveway

Accomplishing together

Sofa snuggles in the morning

Upcoming surprise visits

Sounds of piano playing and singing

Date Night

2011-03-21T16:48:00.007-05:00

David and I had a unexpected date night Friday night. We went to dinner at N'tinis in Mandeville. We always have a great dinner there. N'tinis was followed by The Barley Oak to try a new brew by Abita, Triple Haze. It was delish.

David's flash on his iPhone is very bright.

We had a much-needed great night out! Thanks Sonia!!

Smores

2011-03-20T19:41:00.004-05:00

We've have been making campfires and smores about every other weekend lately. The girls love it, especially Eva. Can you tell?

Busy Bodies

2011-03-20T18:02:00.005-05:00

We've been busy the past few weekends. Planting, planting, planting. Cutting, cutting, cutting. Burning, burning, burning.

Eva rooted 5 kidney beans at school, and they are growing nicely...

We planted 6 of 11 Eastern Redbuds (deciding where to put the other 5)...

four gardenias taken from Sonia's garden...

and 7 of 8 crepe myrtles taken from a coworker's home (with her permission)...

our 5 blueberry trees look wonderful. Every year we get more and more blueberries.

Eva and Emily love driving their Jeep and jumping on the trampoline while David and I work our tails off.

We spent this morning planting grass seed over the entire property. Then we cleared some more at the front of our property along the driveway and piled it in 2 piles to burn in a couple of weeks.

We are waiting on 10 dogwoods, and we will also get 2 southern magnolias for the back. That's it, for this year.

Now that the girls are both old enough to entertain themselves and/or help us, we are getting a lot more accomplished on the weekends. David has had a rough go of it over the years since we have always had a baby or toddler ever since we moved here. Hopefully, we'll have this place looking a little more presentable over the next couple of years. I am hoping for a 40th birthday/Christmas party in 2012. My 40th birthday marks the end of the Mayan calendar. I figured what better time than that to have a party.

Favorite Picture

2011-03-17T08:22:00.005-05:00

This picture is from July 2010, and I don't think I have posted it before, but it sits on my desk at work.

It is my favorite picture of the girls so far. It just exudes their personalities: Eva, who loves everyone and is friends with everyone, and Emily, my little rag-a-muffin. The way she is standing and holding her Woof-Woof and the semi-smile on her face says it all.

I love these two girls.

Pre-K Roundup

2011-03-16T11:11:00.002-05:00

Emily went to the pre-k roundup at Trafton this week. She was able to meet Mrs. Debbie, check out her classroom, and play in their playground. While she was there, a little girl from her current school (from the other 3-year-old class) came in to meet Mrs. Debbie, so there will be at least one other child that Emily knows next year. We also found out that Emily's class will have 14 boys and only 6 girls. This is exactly opposite from Eva's class, which has 6 boys and 15 girls.

Ever since the roundup on Monday, Emily has been whining about going to Trafton and not her school. A 4-year-old just doesn't understand "not until August."

Advice

2011-03-10T08:15:00.004-06:00

I need some advice. Please.

I checked our American Express bill this month. We spent $986 on groceries over the last month. $986! On groceries!

Can someone please give me some tips on how to keep a grocery bill down? We eat healthy: high protein, low carb, low fat. Unfortunatley, this type of eating is much more expensive than buying packaged and processed foods. We eat a lot of meat (chicken, beef, pork, etc.) to keep our protein intake high. I cannot go vegetarian. I just don't like enough different types of vegetables to do that. And I don't like tofu.

I can't clip coupons because where we live we are low man on the totem pole for coupons. I talked to someone at the Times Picayune about it, and I was told that they only get so many packets of coupons. They go out to Orleans, Jefferson, and St Tammany parishes first (since they have their own editions of the paper) and the rest of us get the left overs, if there are any. The same goes with The Advocate (Baton Rouge paper). The Hammond paper, The Daily Star, doesn't get coupons. So, we are SOL. I know you can print coupons from various websites, but the money I would have to spend on ink to print them would defeat the purpose. Besides, rarely do I find coupons for the foods we eat.

I need to cut our grocery expense by half. Please help!

Dr. Suess

2011-03-04T18:18:00.007-06:00

Emily's class dressed up as Dr. Suess for their Mardi Gras parade today. She did not want to throw any of her beads until the end when she threw them to me. I wonder why...

Still not sure who she looks like. Anyone?

Committed

2011-03-03T14:51:00.005-06:00

Emily is officially registered at Trafton for pre-k next year. She has her pre-k roundup the week after next to meet her new teachers.

After looking at Eva's report card (which she made all A's, by the way) last night, I told her that she had only two more six weeks left until she was in 2nd grade.

2nd grade!

Emily Story

2011-02-25T13:32:00.006-06:00

While watching Emily ride bikes during her school's participation in the St. Jude's Trike-a-Thon, another parent came up to me with an Emily story.

This parent is the father of Ian, a boy in her class. They were at a pet store when a 3-year-old girl came up to him saying, "Hi!" He just looked at her and did not answer. Again, she said, "Hi!" and he wouldn't talk to her. When his father asked him why he wasn't talking to her, he replied simply, "Emily." "What do you mean, Emily?" asked his dad. "Emily gets mad when I talk to other girls, " Ian said.

Well, well, well.
I asked her about it later, and she denied it all.

Bad Mommy

2011-02-25T08:20:00.006-06:00

Today has started off as one of those days.

Last night I asked the girls to clean up the play room before going to bed. Eva did. Emily did not. So, I told her that if she did not help clean up that I would pick her clothes out for today. She did not pick up anything.

This morning she forgot about all that, and after seeing what I picked out (cute green capri pants), she flipped out and started kicking those pants all over the house until they were in a corner away from her. Then she wouldn't eat one of her vitamins. She was just being a royal pain in the ass. I finally got those pants on her and that vitamin in her mouth but only after breaking down myself. Not a proud moment.

We talked and worked it all out, but once I got to her school this morning I felt even worse. Her school is having a St. Jude's Trike-a-Thon today and I forgot her bike. She was able to use one of the school's bikes, but I still feel horrible that all of the other kids have their bikes and she doesn't. She did ask me if I would come see her at the Trike-a-Thon. That's the least I could do.

I'm just glad I got my workout in this morning because I am in definite need of a cocktail.

Snuggle Puppy

2011-02-16T14:14:00.005-06:00

This is our bedtime routine. The TV clicks off, Sascha jumps up to go out. We come back inside, and I pick up her black and white bed from the living room floor and put it on the crib mattress in our bedroom (one bed is just not enough). I tell her to get in her bed. She does, sits, and I drape the blanket over her, usually covering her head. Most of the time her head is not visible, but here you can see her ears. And this is how she sleeps. The blanket is usually off of her by morning, but she always gives us a good laugh before we turn off the light.

More Fire

2011-02-14T11:14:00.002-06:00

The past two weekends we have successfully been able to do control burns on our property. The one last weekend was a small area and burnt very nicely killing all of the under brush. We were able to do a larger area on Saturday burning underbrush, leaves, and pine needles. The picture below is the fire at it's start before it really spread out and of David working the stumps in the middle of it all.

We hope to be able to do this a few more times before it greens up in March/April.

And no, David did not get burned.

Happy vs. Grumpy

2011-02-14T11:09:00.003-06:00

This is how Eva wakes up from a nap:

HAPPY!

This is how Emily wakes up from a nap:

GRUMPY!

GRUMPY!!

Totally Consumed

2011-02-10T08:29:00.009-06:00

I know it's been a while since my last post, but I've been totally consumed over the past few weeks. We are in debt. Lots of it. We have to make some serious changes or we'll sink. We're fine now, but these things can get worse exponentially.

So, one thing we toyed with was taking Eva (and Emily for next year) out of Trafton and enrolling them in the Accelerated Magnet Program in the parish school system. That would have worked just fine, except last year a federal judge ordered a desegregation policy in this parish. Now, instead of 2 schools with a magnet program within those two schools, there are 9 schools that are magnet schools (like Benjamin Franklin in New Orleans). But now, the children do not have to be tested to get in. If you live in that school's district, you're in regardless of intelligence. That kind of defeats the purpose of a magnet school, if you ask me. How will the children with learning disabilites keep up? How will the slower children keep up? This is not the only change. One of the magnet schools in Hammond is becoming an IB (International Baccalaureate) school and the other is becoming a montessori school, both apparently over the summer. I am excited about the IB school, but a change on this scale doesn't happen overnight. How they plan on making this huge change in 3 months, I have no idea, but I am not very optimistic. Plus, since we are not in either of those school districts, we would have to request a transfer from ours. These transfers are only granted if racially justified. Yes, racially. Even though we are being told race is not the issue, it is the issue. We keep being told not to look at the color of one's skin, but that is exactly what they are doing. So, seeing that we are white, we will not be able to transfer over. It's not even a minority issue. If so, hispanics, asians, and native americans would have the upper hand. The question on the application is Black or Non-black. How is this not discrimination?

Back on topic.

The only hopes would be if Eva is gifted. She's smart, but gifted? Not sure. I have started the process to have her tested, but it could take a year to get the testing done and get the results. I know, ridiculous. I had a good conversation with Eva's teacher yesterday, and she said it took a year for a boy she taught last year with a learning disability to get tested. There are just so many kids getting tested. And, even if she is found to be gifted, what about Emily? I wouldn't think about testing her until she is in first grade. Plus, with the entire school being called a magnet, I am not aware of a separate gifted program. This just does not make any sense.

Another possible option was to get them into Ponchatoula schools. These are much better than Hammond, but we would have to lie about our address. Note: Hammond schools are not bad. The teachers are just as good as Ponchatoula or Livingston parish teachers (BTW, Livingston Parish has the best schools in the state). My issue is the other children and the environment my girls would be in. I've heard lots of stories from teachers who have taught there and from women whose children went there.

David and I talked last night about all of this. I have been so worried about it, not sleeping. I have been totally consumed by this dilemma. Our kids should not have to suffer or get a lesser education because of the bad choices we made. This is an opportunity to make a good decision. Therefore, we will make Trafton work. I like that school. I feel that my girls are safe there physically, emotionally, and intellectually. It's a small, close-knit school, where everybody knows everybody (student-wise). The little kids know the big kids and vice versa.

And, Emily is SO excited to be going to school with Eva. It's so cute.

Normalcy

2011-01-20T14:48:00.002-06:00

The last 2 months have been a whirlwind. Thanksgiving led straight into Christmas. Family was in town, and that always makes for a fun but busy time. As soon as New Years ended, school started back and so did Hansel and Gretel rehearsals, with a vengeance.

Hansel and Gretel ended this past Saturday, and Monday returned with a sense of normalcy for us all.

After next week we'll be having a new kind of normalcy. David will be working in Hammond starting January 31. We'll actually see him in the morning, and he'll be home by 4pm. There may even be a few lunch dates here and there. It's been 7 years since David and I have both worked in the same city that we lived in. Scary.

Hansel and Gretel

2011-01-16T18:18:00.012-06:00

Eva had 4 performances of Hansel and Gretel this past weekend. She and the entire cast did an fantastic job! Eva played a girl/gingerbread cookie in the play. She said she had a great time; although, she said she would have liked it more if she had some lines. Maybe text time. Speaking of next time, the next play the Octavians will put on is The Empty Pot this summer.

Eva and the rest of the Children.

Gingerbread cookies.

Gingerbread cookies unmasked.

Emily and Ian, her classmate.

On stage as gingerbread cookies.

On stage as children.

Eva showing the gingerbread house and flowers she received.

Eva, Emily and me on the stage afterwards.

It was lots of work, but everyone had fun. I highly recommend seeing a children's production if you ever get the chance. They put a lot of hard work into it, and kids love seeing plays with other kids in it.

Emily is 4!!

2011-01-05T10:51:00.009-06:00

You are 4 today. How time has flown since I first saw that little Buddha Belly.

Unlike your sister, you are quite a handful. You want whatever Eva has, you want to do whatever Eva does (this will pose quite a problem when Eva is a senior and you are a freshman), yet you are so opinionated (and have been since you were about 1) and everything has to be just so or you will go into a meltdown. (Anyone who has put socks or tights on her knows what I am talking about.)

You are such a snuggle bunny and rarely pass up a chance for some good snuggling. I love that.

You are a chocoholic, like me. I really have to limit what you eat. You love sandwiches, and are an excellent lunch eater. But that is where is stops. Just a couple of bites for breakfast and iffy on dinner. You still have that Buddha Belly and you are growing like a weed, so I don't really worry about it.

You love shoes and changing clothes. Annoying for me, but I allow it. You love to come home from Mimi's house everyday and immediately put your "jammies" on. I think that goes back to the snuggling.

You started writing your name about a month ago. I'm not sure where you learned it, but I love that you can do it. I'm guessing you got it from Eva, who writes EVERYTHING. I know it was not from your school since your teacher said they had not done that. Eva started writing her name until pre-k, so you're off to a good start.

Speaking of pre-k, that happens in August and you are so excited to go to Eva's school. I am, too, since I will only have to make one stop in the morning. You will love Mrs. Debbie and Mrs. Lily. You'll get to meet them in March.

You are definitely a Mama's girl, and I really can't complain about that one.

Then there is that thumb. That thumb. How will I ever get you to stop? Lately you've been telling us that you won't suck it any more. Then about 3 minutes later I find you sucking that thumb. You tell me you need to do it and hold your Woof-Woof at the same time and hold her just so (as mentioned before). "Just so" means thumb in mouth, Woof-Woof's ear in same hand as the thumb being sucked. At least you are recognizing that you are doing it, and that it is a choice you make yourself. I just hope you don't do it as much this year. Eva lost her first teeth when she was four, and I'm sure you'll follow suit. I just would like you to stop before those permanent teeth come in. I don't think it will happen. If you would just not do it in public (for sanitary reasons) and leave it for nap time and bed time.

You are no longer a toddler but a little girl. I know so many people that are pregnant right now, and I am realizing that those days are far behind. You are so kissable with those cheeks. They are remnants of babyhood and soon they'll be gone. I must kiss them as much as I can before that happens. You are my baby, and as much as I wish you would stay little, I can't wait for you to get bigger.

Part Deux

2011-01-03T14:48:00.004-06:00

Eva, with the help of David, pulled the second front tooth out Friday. She looks so cute with her big gap.

(She's a little close to the camera!)

One Less Tooth

2010-12-29T09:10:00.002-06:00

Eva called me at work yesterday afternoon to tell me she pulled one of her teeth out herself! Yeah, Eva! Now if I can just get her to pull the other one out.

My Birthday

2010-12-22T20:38:00.003-06:00

Today was a good day.

I spent the first half at work, which was fine. No big problems, everything went smoothly. After leaving work I got fake nails and a pedicure. I picked up 4 items at Wal-Mart then went home and wrapped the rest of the presents while watching The Time Traveler's Wife. David came home, and I picked up the girls while he worked out. We had dinner at the Mellow Mushroom in Covington for some awesome pizza, wine, and good family time.

Now, back at home, girls in bed, I am relaxing and bedtime is nearing.

Today was a good day.

38

2010-12-22T08:17:00.003-06:00

Another year has come and gone, and quickly. They say as you get older times goes by faster. And it does. I'm not sure if it's the getting older part or if it's due to kids and their hectic lives. Or all of it.

I don't think that if all I did was go to work all day and went home to just David that my life would progress so quickly. I wouldn't change a thing, though. I have an awesome husband and best friend who loves me dearly, and I have two beautiful, loving girls that adore me. What more can I ask for? Oh, and a sweet Sascha who would like nothing better than to curl up with me on the sofa under a blanket.

Hmm, sounds good.

Door

2010-12-22T08:14:00.002-06:00

The door finally came in, but after being assured by two different people at Lowes that it would be installed before Christmas, the installer said it would not be. It would take almost 2 more weeks to get installed. We're talking 8 weeks between ordering and installation. Not acceptable. Lowes could care less. So I cancelled the entire order. Screw them. I'll order our door from someone who actually gives a shit about customer service. I refuse to give Lowes my money. I've already waited this long, what's a few more weeks?

It's principle.

Christmas Programs

2010-12-21T07:36:00.006-06:00

Eva's school had a western-themed Christmas program singing songs written and/or performed by Gene Autry.

Eva's program started out with the piano students. Eva, Jada, and another girl from kindergarten played the opening song. For some reason I can't get it off of my camera. Once I do, I will post here.

Eva and Jada

Emily's school did a Christmas play. This year she was an angel in the "Angel Choir." Cute as can be with her pieced-together angel outfit.

Yes, that is my shirt.

Teddy Bear Tea

2010-12-21T07:18:00.003-06:00

I took the girls to their first Teddy Bear Tea at the Royal Sonesta Saturday. Eva got a free ticket from being a Jr. Saintsation. They had a blast.

Pictures with this bear.

The crew: that Bear, Sugarplum Fairy, Frosty, Rudolph, Mrs. Claus, and another person dressed in a Claus outfit.

Eva and Emily with some of the Saintsations.

Santa himself.

Eva had a bunch of hot chocolate. Emily ate gummy bears. I had some tea. Eva had a meltdown when it was time to leave because she thought there was a parade at the end.

It was all good. We walked over to the Roosevelt Hotel afterwards to see the Christmas lights and wait for David to pick us up.

School Discipline

2010-12-09T16:33:00.002-06:00

We are having issues with Eva's listening/paying attention skills at school since the beginning of the month. Her teacher has cards they pull each time they are either not paying attention, not following directions, or just plain acting up. They have a folder that comes home with a calendar on the front corresponding to the current month. Each day they come home with either a green, yellow, orange, red, blue face on the corresponding day.

Green smiley face - perfect!
Yellow smiley face - one card pulled, note home
Orange sad face - two cards pulled, note home
Red sad face - three cards pulled, call to parents
Blue sad face - 4+ cards pulled, go to office, call to parents

So far there have been 7 class days this month. Of those 7 days, she has only had 3 green smiley faces, 3 yellow faces, and one orange face. The yellow faces were given because she was either not listening or not following directions. The orange face was given for running after PE to the classroom (running is an automatic two-card pull). The last yellow face (for today) happened when Mrs. C called for the first row to get up and Eva (being in the 4th row) got up also. She said 2 or 3 others got up also (she sits in the back). They all got cards pulled.

What is happening to my sweet girl? This is the same girl who usually goes all month with maybe one or two yellow faces. Is this normal behavior for the month of December when they are supposed to be behaving to get lots of toys from Santa? She even has the constant reminder of Zack (our Elf on the Shelf) to help her remember to be nice and not naughty.

Then something just came to me. She had a nasty cough weeks back that never totally went away. Over the past week or more I have been giving her over the counter allergy medicine to combat her runny nose. Now her cough is back and her nose is stuffy. Could it be that her ears have been affected and just can't hear correctly? 1st-4th?? Sounds similar. ENT is closed. I will be calling in the morning. I'll feel terrible if we've been fussing at her and she just can't hear well right now.

Yet Another David Scare

2010-12-06T13:49:00.004-06:00

Saturday I was cooking dinner and heard Eva say, "Daddy, what's wrong?" I didn't think much of it until I saw Sascha looking at me. David had been working outside and Sascha stays outside with him. Then I realized I had not seen or heard David since Eva asked him that question. So, I went to our bedroom to find a closed bathroom door. I asked a couple of times if he was ok only to get no answer. I asked Eva if daddy came running to the bathroom, and she said yes, like this, and she covered her mouth. This is when the flashbacks to 2004 started coming (when he burnt his ear, nose, and lips).

Finally, he managed to mutter, "We need to go to the hospital." As soon as I heard this I opened the door, which had been unlocked the entire time, unlike when he was burnt) to find him leaning over the sink with a towel over his mouth to catch blood. He couldn't talk but I managed to get out of him that he something had hit him in the mouth, and he though his teeth had been knocked out. He also made it clear that he wanted to look for his teeth outside. I told him it didn't matter, that they weren't going to put them back anyway, but he insisted. He didn't find them, and then he thought they were embedded in his lip.

So, off we went tot he ER. We were bumped ahead of everyone else. We finally made it to see the doctor. He was horrible, no bedside manner whatsoever. I told him David thought his teeth were in his lip, so he proceeded to pull his lip out, unhooking his lip from his teeth. Talk about painful. The good news was that all off his teeth were there and in place. He had a laceration under his bottom lip, as well as cuts inside his lip. After taking the x-ray we found out his jaw was not broken or dislocated.

His jaw is in serious pain, as is his neck and head. It looks like all will be well, just another scare.

This is what he was doing: He was hitting a log with another log. When he hit the log, the one in is hands rebounded and hit him under his chin. It slid up and cut him right under his lip causing him to bite his lip, and his lower teeth were stuck in his lip. From the impact on his chin, his head flew back (this is why his neck hurts-whiplash) where he saw the sky before seeing the ground. He got up on all fours to see blood pouring out of his mouth. He managed to crawl back to the house and scurry into the bathroom when he was spotted by Eva.

He'll be home all week. Recovery is going well so far.

Signs of a Writer?

2010-11-30T08:43:00.005-06:00

I only know a couple of people who write, and only one that I know of that I would call a "writer." I am specifically asking you writers, when did you start writing" I don't mean practicing your ABC's. I mean writing stories.

As soon as she was able to physically write the letters, Eva has been writing letters and stories. Even if I had to spell each word out for her when she was 3-4, she'd write them. Now the she is learning about sentences and paragraphs, I am always finding her sitting somewhere writing stories and letters. Letters to me, Mimi, Charley, Aunt Lisa, Uncle Mitch, Uncle Michael, Marissa, Emily, friends, anyone and everyone.

It's not just writing, either. She loves to read, and she reads like a 3rd grader (at least). She reads anything and everything. She loves to go to the library and loves to get books for birthdays and Christmas. She loves poetry, and she recited a Shel Silverstein poem for her Hansel and Gretel audition. Oh, she loves drama and acting and being on stage in general.

Maybe I'm putting to much into it too early, but could we have a budding writer in the family? How cool!

Perfect Timing

2010-11-30T08:33:00.003-06:00

David and I were talking about this topic this weekend and this morning. How do kids know when the worst possible time for anything is? They have an uncanny sense of knowing when not to do something, but do it anyway.

For instance, over the weekend I went to the grocery leaving the girls home with David. His goal was to clean the kitchen before I got back, simple enough. The girls were playing outside in mud puddles, fun, I know. As soon as the phone would ring or his hands deep in soapy water, they would barge in the house, muddy, with tales of falling in the water, wet hands, wet feet, etc. This happened repeatedly that morning.

This morning, as we are about to walk out the door, Eva is whining about putting bags of rocks in her backpack to show her teacher while Emily is talking about bringing something for show and tell (which isn't until Thursday). Meanwhile I am trying to get coats on, grab bags, set the alarm and walk out the door.

I just wish I had that intuition so I could annoy others the same way.

Am I a Warrior?

2010-11-24T08:54:00.002-06:00

I was introduced to a new race by an old friend challenging me to do it. It's called Warrior Dash. I am very intrigued. It looks fantastic. I sent it to David and am still awaiting his response. If anyone has ever done it, please send me your reviews!

Addendum to Break In Post

2010-11-15T11:18:00.002-06:00

Yesterday I was in the girls' bathroom, which is on the backside of the wall that was hit with the dumbbell, and noticed a crack in the sheet rock. That dumbbell went through the wall and cracked the sheet rock in there. This is costing us more by the day.

The Minivan Momster

2010-11-13T14:00:00.005-06:00

That is what David calls me, The Minivan Momster. The truck wasn't really meeting all of our needs, so we traded it in for a used Toyota Sienna. Not only does it work out better for us as a family, we've greatly reduced our car note.

I think Sascha will like traveling in this as opposed to between two booster seats on the back seat of the truck. We'll ask her on our next road trip.

The girls love it!

Swimming Hiatus

2010-11-08T14:34:00.004-06:00

David and Eva are taking a swim break until spring. This is why:

1. Practice time was moved up an hour to 5:15pm (David and I work until 5 and can't make it there.)
2. It's getting colder. The pool now has a solar blanket and is getting solar panels sometime this year??
3. There isn't enough time for Eva to finish her homework before practice sometimes. She is rushed and gets upset when she's rushed. There is barely enough time after practice for dinner and a bath much less homework, too. She's 6. Her life shouldn't be rushed and pressured, and school does come first.
4. I feel rushed and pressured, and I don't like it.

Coming Along

2010-11-08T12:48:00.004-06:00

David put up curtains this weekend. We still have baseboards to finish and now sheetrock to repair in the foyer before those baseboards go up. I have a table and mirror on backorder for the foyer; it should be here early December. A new front door will be coming soon also. This one will not be a glass door, or it is, it will have a security door in front of it.

It's starting to feel more like a home again. If others would just stop trying to take it all away from us I would feel even better.

Compact Fluorescent Light Bulbs (twisty bulbs)

2010-11-08T08:29:00.004-06:00

With the push lately to become more energy efficient in every aspect of your life, we have been urged to change all of our incandescent light bulbs to the twisty, energy efficient bulbs. We did that, but now we are regretting that decision.

These CFLs contain mercury, 4 mg to be exact. Mercury is toxic, by touch, by inhalation, by ingestion. Granted, if one bulb breaks in your house, the mercury immediately vaporizes (as gas does) to equilibrating in the air in the room/house. Even so, if you break one in your hand, that could be trouble. If you read the guidelines from Energy Star, they tell you the 6 steps to do if one should break in your house. Also, you can't just throw one of these bulbs away. They have to be brought to a recycling center that is equipped to handle mercury. I don't know about where you live, but here there is one recycling center that only takes paper, plastic, and aluminum.

Supposedly these CFLs are supposed to last 10 times longer than an incandescent bulb. Funny, we've had 3-4 go out in the last year after screwing them in 1-2 years ago. Not very good. I don't see how this is saving me money.

This weekend we went through the house and put our incandescents back in and got rid of our CFLs. (All of this after I found one of my unopened CFLs broken.)

Now we actually have light that we can see by.

The only lights I can see that are worth the expense are LED lights. We have replaced our indoor flood lights with these. They burn cooler, are brighter, and have a 25 year warranty. Plus, they look a whole lot nicer.

Another Break-in

2010-11-04T18:08:00.006-05:00

David came home today with the girls to find our front door open, and the glass in the middle broken. He left the girls in the car, got his snips (scissor-like tool he uses at work), went inside, got his gun, and made sure no one was in the house. Apparently the person or persons took a dumbbell that was on the front porch (we're selling them) and threw it through the glass in the door. You can see the imprint in our newly painted wall. Drywall is not one of David's favorite things to do.

The door now, tarp covered. It should get down to about 40 degrees tonight.

The glass David swept up.

I think I am ready to quickly finish this house and move. I mean finish and not upgrade any more. I'm tired of this once-a-year break in by kids. Disgusted.

I think of all the years I lived in New Orleans and not one time did I ever feel threatened, scared, get mugged, robbed, etc. I move up here, in the country, on 7 acres, and get broken in 3 times in the last 3 years. Disgusted.

Lovin

2010-11-01T12:11:00.007-05:00

Morning Snuggles
Halloween Fairies
Trick-or-Treats
Pigtails
Who Dat wins
Hot cocoa
Love notes
Monsoons and Port-of-call burgers
Sweet kisses on my cheek
Evenings alone with my man
Sleeping in
Surprises

Reality Checks

2010-11-01T12:05:00.005-05:00

I need to remember all the things I like/love in my life instead of always harboring on those that aggrivate or piss me off. When I get in those moods I can just come back to these post and get a reality check.
I will be doing monthly or perhaps weekly "Lovin" posts. Thanks, Erin, I obviously got this from you.

Whose bed?

2010-10-19T08:31:00.004-05:00

We have a sofa rule at the house. If Sascha wants to sit on the sofa with us, she has to sit and wait to be invited. And she does.

We have never let her on our bed (even as a puppy), or any bed for that matter besides her own (and she has 2). Over the past 2-3 weeks we have been catching her on our bed, usually when I'm in the shower or tending to the girls and not watching her. Each time, I fuss at her and make her get down.

When I leave for the day I close all of the interior doors letting her roam the living room, hallway, and kitchen as well as being able to get outside. I came home yesterday to an open bedroom door. Hmm. After looking closer I saw that she had not just been lying on the bed, but in the bed. She moved the pillows and pulled down the comforter and sheets to get into the bed, as in under the covers.

I'm not sure if I didn't close the door all the way or if she opened it. This morning I made sure I closed it all the way. We'll see when I get home tonight.

Swim Meet, Part 2

2010-10-12T20:08:00.004-05:00

So, thoughts of the meet were almost forgotten, at least until after swim practice tonight when she was presented with an 8th place ribbon for 25m freestyle and a 3rd place medal for 25m butterfly from the meet!

By the way, there were only 3 girls who weren't disqualified in 25m butterfly, e.i. they were doing it right. Eva was one of them!