Empires are not for Werewolves

I was putting Ashley to bed tonight and laying with her for a few minutes. She proceeded to tell me she was going to wake up soon.

"No sweetie, you will wake up when the sun is up."

"I will wake up when the moon is up, Mommy."

"Only werewolves get up with the moon!"
(Why the HELL did I tell a three year old about werewolves coming out at night when she is going to bed? Where is my brain?)

Silence from Ashley.

"Oh, Ashley, remember Uniqua was a werewolf on that episode of the Backyardigans..."
(I am pretty good at covering my ass on most occasions.)

"Yes, and there was the Mummy King."

"Yes, and Pablo was a vampire."

"No, Mommy, Pablo was a empire."

"No, he was a Vampire sweetie."

"No back talking Mommy, that's not nice. He was an empire."

"You're right sweetie, good night."

Dentists, TVs and a new room at school

Yesterday morning was Ashley's visit with the dentist. I took her to see a dentist who actually lives on our street. He and his wife have a little boy who is one day younger than Audrey. Anyways, we get called back to the room (although it was more like a cube since the room was kind of open) and the dental assistant puts Ashley in the chair. Then she asks her if she likes to watch Disney. Are you kidding me? This kid lives for Disney. They had tvs attached to the chairs with cable, so on went Mickey Mouse Clubhouse.

The dentist took x-rays and looked at her tooth. It isn't loose and the x-rays didn't show any damage other than the nerve being dead. So she will have one gray tooth until it falls out. And the totally awesome part? Even with x-rays, it only cost $56. It was better that I didn't pay the $10 a pay period for her dental coverage!

The other thing that happened yesterday is Audrey started the young toddler room at daycare. I was really worried about her. She didn't get much transition time because of being out for various illnesses. And she's not walking and not off the bottle yet either which aren't a big deal, but I guess I still consider her a baby. She's so little, she only weighs 18 pounds (16% for her age).

I checked on her when I dropped Ashley off and she was doing fine. And when I picked her up yesterday, she was having a bottle, and they said that was the only bottle she had all day. She drank her whole sippy cup for lunch which Ray and I can't get her to do at home. And she's not the only non-walker in the class, which made me feel better.

She's growing too fast, before I know it, she will be walking and talking and then I will have TWO GIRLS in my house talking my head off.

Soooo, this weekend....

This weekend wasn't a complete bust. Ashley threw up at daycare on Friday about 1:00pm. I brought her home and got her cleaned up. Audrey was home with me and feeling much better. Then Ray came home, bringing a ton of food from Zaxby's for dinner. Why? Because the guy hates to dry heave, and according to him, "if I'm getting sick, I would rather have something to throw up and not dry heave." Interesting. Which he did at 4:00am. When did I get it? Well, I haven't yet, and I am praying and praying I don't. Please pray with me...

But by Saturday evening, everyone was feeling better and eating and being merry. And I got to go out on Sunday and see the movie Catch and Release. Good movie, although I wish she had ended up with the other guy. And who knew Kevin Smith could actually have a talking role? He was hilarious in it.

And just to make everyone laugh and follow orders of this man, here is a picture of me at some point in my childhood. I am guessing first grade? Love the hair bands. When are those making a comeback? And dude, I have some bangs! I think they started in the back of my head. And why does one eye droop? Am I the only like that?

Pictures make me happy

Since Audrey is still sick and I am sick of saying the kids are sick and writing that the kids are sick, here are some pictures from last weekend that will hopefully cheer you up as much as they did me... The birthday girl did not want to get messy eating her cake...
This is Ray's brother Sean, who is EIGHT years younger than Ray...
Yes, I dressed the girls in matching shirts for Audrey's birthday party.
Audrey took a few steps in between Ray and my Stepdad Ed.
Audrey loves getting clothes for her birthday just as much as Mommy loves clothes! Let's go shopping!

January 2007 Sucks for lack of a better word

We thought that things were getting better. Audrey has her surgery scheduled, so there is a light at the end of the tunnel. Ray and I talk about what it will be like to get a decent nights sleep without getting up multiple times with Audrey.

Then Audrey woke up yesterday morning and threw up. She hasn't thrown up since and has kept food down, but now she has diarrhea.

And last night, I noticed that one of Ashley's front teeth is discolored. Like turning grey. My only thought is that when she collided with that boy in the trampoline a couple of weekends ago, she hit that tooth. So I will make a dental appointment this morning to get her checked out. The bad thing? We didn't add her to our dental insurance this year. We meant to, I just totally forgot to sign up. We actually have a dentist that lives on our street, and Ray says he is willing to do manual labor in order to pay for any dental bill. Like mow the guy's grass for a couple of months.

When is the first day of spring?

Never too late...

Here is the view of my front door...

And here is the view from my front door, yes, a little dark, because I am really good at procrastinating. That and I was super pissed off when I got home since I got pulled over IN MY NEIGHBORHOOD. Blah. $160 later for "rolling through a stop sign" and this is the picture you get...

I do love answering to a three year old why Mommy got pulled over. Anyways, thanks to Vicki for putting this fun thing together.

Birthday Bashes and Wedding Bliss

I am back. From 4 straight days of non-stop going from here to there, birthdays to weddings, rain and snow and sleet and ice, I am EXHAUSTED. And so are the kids. And so is Ray.


Yes, Audrey is getting tubes in her ears. We took her to the ENT last Wednesday and even after being on Augmentin for 8 days, her right ear was still infected. So tubes on February 2nd. I will need guidance from all of you who have had this done.


And Audrey's birthday was great. We made it last all weekend long. Thursday, her actual birthday, we went to Ray's brother's house and had a cake. Ray's Dad decorated this cake (he is a bakery manager at a BJ's store).

Cool, huh? Way too much cake though. Then her actual party was today my Dad and Stepmom's house. Which, by the way, is on the market, so of course someone calls wanting to see it. We had a brunch for her birthday and the food was fabulous (thanks Diane!!). And my Mom made the coolest cake (it was a Baby Einstein theme party)...



The party started at 10:30am and around 11:45am my Stepbrother called to say it was snowing where ever he was and that pretty much cleared the house. Which was fine with us because we wanted to get on the road anyways. But that first hour of our trip home was a nightmare, snowing, slow, narrowly avoiding an accident (DO NOT SLAM ON YOUR BRAKES ON A BRIDGE WHEN IT'S SNOWING OR SLEETING). Sorry, just had to yell. I know the people who were in front of us most likely don't read this blog, but that makes me feel better. Phew.


Oh, yea, and a wedding. My Stepmom's niece got married. It was a beautiful wedding, very small, very elegant. But I think this little girl stole the show....



She's my Stepsister's daughter, Morgan and she's two and she was the most best behaved flower girl I have ever seen at any wedding. Really she was.


Audrey has her one year appointment in the morning, so I will catch up with everyone once I make it to work. Hope everyone had a great weekend....

January 18th, 2007

You were so different from your sister, right from the start. I had an extremely easy delivery with you to include comic relief from my OBGYN who kept having to leave the room to deliver other babies who were in worse shape than you. Your apgar scores were high, you cried like you should and you weighed in at eight pounds, two ounces. And you slept. Thank God you slept. The second night in the hospital you slept 6 hours straight. I didn't know what to do with myself. But I was scared and nervous and happy that you were in our lives. Another baby? I didn't know I could do it. But you made it unbelievably easy.

You love to be tossed into the air; you love yogurt and feeding yourself; you love cuddling in the morning; and you really love your sister. She does her "silly dance" for you almost daily and it cracks you up. She made it up just for you. You watch her and study her and want to be just like her. You two already make such great sisters.

You can say "bye" and "go" and "momma" and "dadda". You shake your head no when you don't want something. You reach for the ones who love you the most - all the Grandparents, your teachers at school, me, Ray. Your laugh is contagious. Most of the videos we have of you are of you laughing.

You love to be turned upside down. You will sometimes fling yourself backwards when we are holding you.

You love to sleep on your stomach, clutching a blanket. When I rock you to sleep at night, I always rock you just a few minutes longer, stare at you, brush the hair out of your face. I give you a quick kiss. I will miss you as a baby, but I will cherish watching you grow up just as I do your sister. I can't imagine life without you.

Happy First Birthday Audrey. I love you.

Doctor's Appointments

Audrey sees the ENT at 1:30pm today and Ashley goes back for a follow-up at 2:45pm. Then my plan? Try to either stop by somewhere to find a dress for a wedding we have to go to this weekend or stop by Bed, Bath and Beyond and at least pick up the gift.

We leave tomorrow morning for Virginia. The schedule is as crazy as ever:
Thursday - Drive and hope the kids at least sleep some...possible dinner with my Grandmother (note to self, call her NOW)
Friday - I am having lunch with my old co-workers, then that night is the baby shower for Ray's Brother's fiance (Krystal). At Ray's parents house. Although Krystal has been having contractions, so who knows if she will make it until Friday...
Saturday - Visit old friends, then Ray and I have a wedding to go to. Ray's Mom is watching the kids and taking them to Krystal's daughter's 2nd birthday party. Once again, that is if she doesn't go into labor prior to this...
Sunday - Birthday brunch for Audrey.

Then go home. I am sure I will have tons of pictures and stories about this weekend. I will update everyone on Audrey and Ashley later today as well as Audrey's birthday post tomorrow...

Lunchtime in the Healthiest Work Place on Earth

We get a weekly email sent to us that lists out the daily lunch choices at the lovely hospital cafeteria. With this week's menu came a letter about how they are going to provide more healthy choices such as high fiber cereals, brown rice, and more fruit on the salad bar. Okay, I guess I shouldn't say more fruit, how about some fruit. So I read this and then click on the menu. Specials today? Fried pork chops and Fettuccine Alfredo. Yummy and oh so healthy. Guess I am eating the high fiber cereal today.

And knowing a fair number of fellow bloggers that are on diets, I will share my tips that have helped me drop 40 pounds. In return, I need serious help dropping this last fifteen. I have stayed steady over the last three weeks. I know, I know, the holidays, but seriously, I am soooo close...

• One point popcorn - I probably eat this in the evening at least three times a week. Jolly Time makes this great popcorn that is high in fiber and only one Weight Watchers point. Spray some "I Can't Believe It's Not Butter" spray on it and a dash of salt, it's almost like movie theater popcorn. Almost (just remember I haven't been to the movies in a really long time).


• Weight Watchers ice cream - I am so not an ice cream person, but when I am, these bars are only two points. Totally satisfying.


• Lean Cuisine Meals - On the weekends, Ray and I used to pick up fast food for lunch both days out of convenience and laziness. Now we make sure we are home for lunch and eat Lean Cuisines.


• Soda Cake - I actually made this last night. You take a box of cake mix, two egg whites and 10 ounces of a diet soda. I did a yellow cake with diet Sprite. It makes 12 servings of 4 points each, and it was delicious. I often crave baked goods, so this will definitely help. And Ray, who is a cake connoisseur, even said it tasted good.


• Vegetables - Often with dinner, I will have broccoli or green beans or any type of veggie that is zero or one point for a serving. It fills me up and is healthy as well.

It's getting better, really it is...

Ashley is getting better. Her cough, which the doctor said would probably last another week, is almost gone. She took her medicine this morning without screaming. She is still waking up a couple of times a night and scared the living shit out of me this morning by standing by my bed at 5:30am. But hey, sleep is overrated anyways. And Audrey is getting better as well. She slept better last night, I think we only got up with her 4 or 5 times. It's better than the previous night where we were up all night. Literally up all night. Ray told me yesterday that he actually fell asleep holding her while she was crying. That's how tired we are.

Act Now to Protect FMLA
The Department of Labor issued a request for information on the Family Medical Leave Act in December. It seems that FMLA is in danger of being scaled back. Being a working mom and knowing how precious those twelve weeks I had off were, I would be extremely upset if it were scaled back. I haven't had time to research what exactly is being scaled back or dates or anything, but I do know the National Partnership for Women and Families is asking all of us to submit our comments to the Department of Labor. See this website for details.

And the saga continues...

When I was home with Ashley on Wednesday, she was trying to use the bathroom. I told her just try to "get the poops out." At which she answered "Patience, Mommy, patience."

Patience is all we have left. Yesterday, Ray took Ashley to the doctor. On his way to the doctor's office, he called me and asked if I thought Ashley really needed to go. I told him it wouldn't hurt, and that she wasn't getting any better. Well, it's a good thing he took her, she has pneumonia. All along, we have been giving Ashley Tylenol and she takes it happily. "Bottoms up" Ray tells her and she will drink it. So Ray got her prescription filled thinking piece of cake. Nope, not really. He fought with her for three hours to try and take the medicine. And then I came home from work and fought with her, finally holding her down and using a syringe to squirt it in her mouth, all the while she is trying to spit it out. We tried bribes, we tried doing what she asked, we tried mixing it, we tried food coloring because she wanted it pink. Nothing worked. Ray and I are physically and emotionally drained. Good news though, this morning she started the fight again and I got the syringe, and then she took it without spitting it out. Hopefully tonight she will actually drink it on her own.

Remember how we took Audrey on Monday and she just had fluid on her ears? Well, I was up with her until midnight, Ray took her until 2:00 am, I took her until 4:00 am, and then my Mom got up with her. Yup, my Mom came down last night because I think she could hear the desperation in our voices and she wanted to help us out. I have no leave at work as I have to take vacation days for holidays (one of the "perks" of working for a hospital) and Ray has a settlement and client meetings today and tomorrow. So Ray is at the doctors office right now with Audrey. I will let you know what happens.... Update - Audrey has an ear infection and RSV. We have the green light to go to an ENT for tubes.

Onto a funnier note - yesterday my office mate was talking about the show Beauty and the Geek. I guess they asked one of the "beauties" the question "What is heavier? A pound of gold or a pound of feathers?". My office mate said she was watching the show with her sister and answered "Gold of course!". This is the same office mate that asked me if people could see out of glass eyes. Hmmmm. So she also works at a bar at night (she's young and has lots of energy) and she asked the question to another waitress who then asked, "Well, what kind of feathers?". Really? So our admin person comes in to our office at that point. I ask her the question. She said "Gold, right?". Where the heck did I move to???

Product Reviews

First off, I won't bore you with my sick children and their saga. I won't. I promise not to tell you Ashley is home again today. Going to keep all the boring, whining, my kid is sick and was up at 3:00am, stories to myself. Just for today. They may come back tomorrow.

And hi! to all the delurkers! Stubert, had no idea you were reading....Ray is sorry he didn't call you back when you called like a month ago...after reading this blog, I'm sure you understand. And for those of you who care, Stu was my big brother in the fraternity in college that Ray and I were in. I will fill everyone in on that at a later date. And I know there are more of you lurkers out there (Matt, Wendy, Jen, Mike?? Bro, at least you could try to comment from Jamaica).

So, product reviews. We are doing product reviews of toys the kiddos received for Christmas on the other blog I write for, so I thought I would add a few for here.

Polly Pockets - Seriously, could the shoes for these dolls be any smaller? And why must Ashley insist on changing the shoes every time she touches it? All the shoes just may disappear....

Barbie Fairytopia Mermaidia Playset - My MIL got this for Ashley, and as for anything that is a playset, Ashley plays with it all the time. The funny thing about this toy? It's sits on her new Little Mermaid table in her room and already Audrey has pulled it off the table and last night Ashley knocked it over. And Ray cusses his Mom every time he has to put the damn thing back together, because it comes completely apart.

Playskool Busy Ball Popper - Okay, I am semi-psycho about toys. We all spend probably way too much money on toys, so I like to keep things together. Toys deemed upstairs toys stay upstairs, and the same goes for the downstairs toys. Things need to stay with their respective parts. Yes, I know I need therapy. Anyways, Ray's brother got this for Audrey and both her and Ashley love it. My problem with it? The balls go everywhere and right now I am stressing that one of the five balls is missing somewhere in the family room. I must.find.that.ball.

Two Sick Kids

Yesterday, Ashley woke up around 4:00am with a fever to go along with her runny nose. And when Ashley gets a fever, she doesn't sleep. She was wide awake (anyone else with a kid like that?). So we gave her medicine and yes, let her come to bed with us. Ray and I dozed on and off until my alarm went off. Knowing one of us would have to stay home today and another possibly Tuesday, we began the discussion of whose day has more stuff going on in it. Now remember, Ashley is laying between us. Somehow the word "stupid" comes out of Ray's mouth, probably in reference to something I said.

"Daddy, that's not a nice word."
"You're right, Ashley, that's not a nice word."
"Freakin is not a nice word either."
"Right again, Ash."

Ahh, the language skills she is picking up from her mother.

Ray stayed home yesterday, rescheduled some client meetings, and I am staying home today. Ray did take Audrey to the doctor's office since we were for sure she had another ear infection. Just fluid for now.

On to a housekeeping note, scribbit won my contest for the tag line above (email me your address, and if you aren't a Starbucks drinker, let me know what you want!). She has an interesting post today with an interview with a fellow blogger and discusses blogrolls. I have recently updated my blogroll, and yes, I read all those blogs. Every.single.day. Except maybe not today since I am at home with a sick kid, but I will put forth my best effort! So keep posting!

And yes, in honor of Delurking Week, please leave a comment and let me know you are out there...somewhere. I promise, I don't bit. Audrey might though....

And Happy Belated Birthday Ed!

Sleep, sleep and more sleep

Last Wednesday night, Ashley had a nightmare in the middle of the night and came barrelling into our room. In the sleep stupor we were in, we told her to climb in bed with us and blissfully went back to sleep. For like ten minutes. Ashley is a very "active" sleeper and constantly tosses and turns. My alarm goes off at approximately 5:35am and I promptly turn it off as to not wake Ashley. Of course I fail to get out of bed and wake up again at 6:15am. Damn, have to completely rush to get out of the house. So Thursday night rolls around. Ashley cries out at some point in the night and Ray goes in to check on her. The next thing I know he is back in our room asking me if it was okay for Ashley to just come to bed with us. Sure, why not. And once again, a sleepless night. So Friday night (can you guess where this is going), same thing. Saturday Ray and I vow not to let her sleep with us, and we didn't. She didn't sleep too well in her room, but at least she was in her room.



And both girls have a cold now. Any bets on how long it will take Audrey to get another ear infection?

My Drive Home

I thought I would post something a little more upbeat, funny, lighthearted. I decided to take pictures on my drive yesterday evening to go pick up the girls. And yes, I was careful.

But I did read something yesterday that just shocked me beyond belief. Seriously. Go here to read.

Huh. That's a teepee. That wasn't there before....Oh, and see the crack at the bottom of the window? It goes all the way across and has been there almost a year. I got it when Audrey was born. I think we may need to get a new windshield at some point so I don't look like I am driving the getaway van....

Dude, I need an oil change. And some gas.

Like my new shoes?

Do you see that fish? It moves when the vehicle is stopped. Only in the south would we have fish on the trailer hitches that move.

I have 4 minutes to be at school. I think I may make it.

One picture that for some reason didn't load was the package of diapers on the passenger seat. I was supposed to take them into daycare, but I never remember. Seriously. They could be sitting on the steering wheel, and I would forget. When I pull into daycare, the only thing on my mind is getting in there and getting the kids. I must remember to take them in today....

Getting a mortgage is hard enough and if you're considering a home mortgage for refinance, you can go online to find good mortgage rates. You may want to do a little research on home loans before making a move and possibly consult a home loans expert.

What Would Make You Sad?

It's funny, just earlier today I was thinking how I never post anything really worthy of a good discussion, like I see in so many other blogs. And then, bam, it happened. Something controversial.

Someone I know told me today she had an abortion the week before Christmas. Why? Because she's young and doesn't want kids. But then why did it happen, how did she let it happen? She's smart, professional. I honestly don't know.

And it made me very sad. I actually went into the bathroom and cried. I was sad for everyone out there that I know right now who is desperately trying to have kids, all the people who are going through multiple IVF cycles just hoping this one time, it will work. I remember back to when Ray and I were trying. We tried for a year before we became pregnant with Ashley. And that was a very hard year. Every month thinking, this is it. The stars are aligned, this is our month, only it wasn't. But we were lucky, we did get pregnant on our own. And then with Audrey, my doctor put me on Clomid after we had been trying for a while again. And again, lucky for me that worked.

I'm not mad at her, she made a decision and she did it. I am just sad that the decision had to be made. In a perfect world, we all would take all those kids who weren't wanted by their mothers. I see kids in the hospital where I work walking without shoes or looking a mess and then seeing their parents look like they don't care as they have good clean clothes on. I read the stories in the paper about kids abandoned on the highway or left alone for hours and it kills me. Maybe deep down that's really why I want to be a teacher. For all those kids who need an adult just to say somebody loves you.

I don't really want to get into a pro-life, pro-choice debate. I just hadn't known anyone personally who had gotten an abortion, and I didn't realize it would affect me this much. It made me think what if that was me at her age? But at her age I was married, and already considering a family. What if that had happened to me in college? I was smart, I knew better. Will she regret it 30 years later? Who knows. I would hope she would at least wonder what that baby would have been like.

Would this have made you sad as well?

A look back at 2006 and beyond...

Ray and I tend to do major changes in a bunch. Like when we got married and I started a new job as soon as we returned from our honeymoon. Or when Ray quit the consulting world and became a realtor right when Ashley was born. So 2006 was no different.

Move 3 hours from extended family to a new state? Check. Have a second child? Check. Start a new job? Check. Kids in a new school? Check. Ray join a new real estate team? Check. Join Weight Watchers and lose 40 pounds (okay, except I gained 3.5 last week, but who's counting?). Check.

We are hoping 2007 comes without many major changes. We are staying put in North Carolina, and no more kids are on the way. I am however back in school, but that career change won't happen until 2008 unless I can do a lateral move into teaching.

I am not one for New Year's resolutions either. I do want to do more scrapbooking, more list making, more music playing. Throw in spending time with the kids and husband and some running (it's the only way I think I am going to lose my last 20 pounds), and I have a full plate. But I couldn't think of it any other way. I hope everyone has a wonderful 2007, and I can't wait to live this year with everyone.

Contest

See those words up top? The ones that say "A new look"?

For the person who comes up with a great tag line to replace that, a $10 Starbucks giftcard.

You have all week...And yes, I am totally copying my friend.

Anyone want to come to my house to take down Christmas decorations??? It's the only thing I hate about the holidays.