Mom and Dad wanted an update.
Here's your update-
The time is currently 10:53 on Saturday night July something 2009. I am exhausted and need a live in babysitter because my husband is currently employed 12-14/7 by the US Navy.
Lillian had pictures taken at The Picture People today. She was a brat. But the pictures turned out cute anyways. Those people are good. Expensive, but good. We are currently accepting gift cards for said photo place.
Lillian's ear surgery is on Monday. We have to be at the hospital at 6:40 am. That means we need to leave our house at 5am. As if surgery wasn't bad enough on its own. And I'm betting Ihop doesn't deliver to the waiting room. Darn! And french toast sounds SO GOOD right now.
Our very good friend Britt just left for "the place you would never want your husband to go" for an "undetermined amount of time" (not to be less than 45 days). He does super secret (ie VERY SCARY) stuff. Pray for his safety. And Whitney's sanity. And everything inbetween. He just got back less than three weeks ago from another trip. This was going to be the first year since they've been married that he was going to be home on her birthday. Oh wait, the Navy just changed that.
Saturday, July 18, 2009
Tuesday, June 30, 2009
Richard's Shoulder
Richard had his follow up (from the MRI) appointment with the orthopedist yesterday morning. There is a "globular mass" that he is very concerned about, but there is NOT a tear in the rotator cuff. They have scheduled him for an EMG test, where they stick needles all over the muscle and test it with electrodes to monitor reaction to try to narrow down where the root of the problem is. That test is scheduled for July 28th. Yes, this is Navy medicine at is quickest, people. But we are probably still looking at surgery, they just have to do this test first to narrow down exact location. Then it will be followed up with months of physical therapy.
So, that's the story, until it changes again at least.
So, that's the story, until it changes again at least.
Re-Enlistment Ceremony
Richard's Re-enlistment ceremony was last Friday and one of his co-workers took some photos for us. (I was sure we had a family photo at the end, but apparently not.)
Lillian was perfectly happy using Richard's desk, but refused to be held and be part of the ceremony. They (the US Navy) also had a certificate for me. Promptly after these photos, Lillian puked all over me and her, both. It was spectacular.
Sunday, June 28, 2009
Thursday, June 25, 2009
It's looking like we will probably be paying $1700 to $2000 out of pocket to take care of the bike. And it sounds like we're going to have to pay it all when the insurance check comes through. The bank says that since we no longer have the bike, we can no longer have a bike loan and therefore must pay the balance off in full.
Whee!
Whee!
If I ever get married again (to the same man, of course) and I'm a millionaire, I'm going to do it up like these people did. (The last part of that sentence is a link to the fabulous wedding I speak of. Click on the words "these people" to go there.
Wednesday, June 24, 2009
Motorcycle
Richard's motorcycle was stolen sometime between 7pm last night and 11am this morning. The police came out to do a report and say it is probably already chopped up in pieces across the water.
Insurance has a mandatory waiting period (they won't tell us how long) to wait and see if it is recovered or they see us driving it before they will offer a settlement. They will not disclose the amount of the settlement until that time.
Insurance has a mandatory waiting period (they won't tell us how long) to wait and see if it is recovered or they see us driving it before they will offer a settlement. They will not disclose the amount of the settlement until that time.
Saturday, June 20, 2009
Late June Update
Lillian is having surgery to have tubes put in her ears on July 20th. She does not have to have her adenoids out though, at this time. She may later, but tubes may do it on their own so we're trying that first.
Richard has a MRI scheduled for midnight tomorrow night and an appointment with an orthopedist the following Monday. We're sure he's looking at surgery. His shoulder is so bad now that you can see the shoulder blade is in a different spot when looking at his back. It is typical now that he can't open a door with that arm, pick up Lillian and the other day he couldn't even pick up a can of soda.
I am doing good. But I have been having carpal tunnel problems again. I had it while pregnant and they said it would probably go away when I delivered. It did. For a year. Now its back with a vengeance, worse than it was when I was pregnant. However, its not to the point yet where I'm willing to tell any Dr. and risk getting another cortizone shot in my wrists.
I am in need of new tv shows to watch, I'm bored with everything I've been watching.
I made cake balls the other day, they were amazing!
Richard is re-enlisting on Friday. Lil and I are going. To collect the big bonus check. Oh wait... But we are going.
We switched from Blockbuster Online to Netflix. I'm very happy so far.
We're on house arrest for June, July and August by order of the US Navy. They say no leave so we're staying put for the whole summer. It seems soooo long. Especially when all of our friends are going to be gone for so much this summer. We're the only ones out of 6-8 families that are going to be here for the 4th of July weekend. Whee!
Richard's parents are stopping by the first week of July though. They will arrive Wednesday the first in the evening and leave Friday morning the 3rd. We're excited for that. But we're wishing they could stay longer. We're itching for visitors, especially since we're stuck here. The year seems so long with only getting to Michigan at Christmastime.
I think that's it. Not much exciting lately. Hence, no updates.
Richard has a MRI scheduled for midnight tomorrow night and an appointment with an orthopedist the following Monday. We're sure he's looking at surgery. His shoulder is so bad now that you can see the shoulder blade is in a different spot when looking at his back. It is typical now that he can't open a door with that arm, pick up Lillian and the other day he couldn't even pick up a can of soda.
I am doing good. But I have been having carpal tunnel problems again. I had it while pregnant and they said it would probably go away when I delivered. It did. For a year. Now its back with a vengeance, worse than it was when I was pregnant. However, its not to the point yet where I'm willing to tell any Dr. and risk getting another cortizone shot in my wrists.
I am in need of new tv shows to watch, I'm bored with everything I've been watching.
I made cake balls the other day, they were amazing!
Richard is re-enlisting on Friday. Lil and I are going. To collect the big bonus check. Oh wait... But we are going.
We switched from Blockbuster Online to Netflix. I'm very happy so far.
We're on house arrest for June, July and August by order of the US Navy. They say no leave so we're staying put for the whole summer. It seems soooo long. Especially when all of our friends are going to be gone for so much this summer. We're the only ones out of 6-8 families that are going to be here for the 4th of July weekend. Whee!
Richard's parents are stopping by the first week of July though. They will arrive Wednesday the first in the evening and leave Friday morning the 3rd. We're excited for that. But we're wishing they could stay longer. We're itching for visitors, especially since we're stuck here. The year seems so long with only getting to Michigan at Christmastime.
I think that's it. Not much exciting lately. Hence, no updates.
Friday, June 12, 2009
Monday, May 25, 2009
Disney by the numbers!
3 of us
3 friends
3 days of travel
9 days of vacation
7 days of rain
1 lunch at Cinderella's Castle
1 surprise private meeting with Minne and Donald
5 hour behind the scenes tour of Magic Kingdom
93 pictures taken by the Disney staff
800+ pictures taken by us
$124 for five day park hopper passes for six people
2 vehicles
1 car accident
2 hotels
2 times in the pool
4 ponchos purchased
2 stroller covers purchased
5 umbrellas
24+ inches of rain
4 puke incidents
2 dinners at Boma
2 Upper Respiratory Infections
1 ear infection
6 MRSA spots
2 strollers
25+ bus, ferry, monorail rides
2 rides co-piloting the monorail
3 free fast passes because we were on our honeymoon
3 friends
3 days of travel
9 days of vacation
7 days of rain
1 lunch at Cinderella's Castle
1 surprise private meeting with Minne and Donald
5 hour behind the scenes tour of Magic Kingdom
93 pictures taken by the Disney staff
800+ pictures taken by us
$124 for five day park hopper passes for six people
2 vehicles
1 car accident
2 hotels
2 times in the pool
4 ponchos purchased
2 stroller covers purchased
5 umbrellas
24+ inches of rain
4 puke incidents
2 dinners at Boma
2 Upper Respiratory Infections
1 ear infection
6 MRSA spots
2 strollers
25+ bus, ferry, monorail rides
2 rides co-piloting the monorail
3 free fast passes because we were on our honeymoon
Monday, May 18, 2009
Thursday, May 14, 2009
And we're off...almost
I don't even remember when my last post was or what it was about. This week has been busy with repair men (imagine that!) and packing etc.
The car is currently in the shop to make sure the rickety, clunking sound that has been there but has gotten louder is not going to leave us stranded in South Carolina or Georgia.
The guy at the shop laughed at me when I said "We just need to know if it needs to be fixed now or not. But don't fix it. We can't fix it now, we just need to know."
I'm experimenting with how low my money can go before payday this pay period. Its making my head hurt on a daily basis. So far we've broken and blasted through all previous records. Not necessarily something you want to excel at.
I should mention after that last paragraph that we are currently taking donations for the "new car fund". We accept cash in the form of coins or bills, checks (as long as they don't bounce and have a valid signature, amount is not reqired, we'll fill that part in for you), credit cards, pay pal, cashier's checks, money orders, gift certificates, reward points, Chuck E. Cheese tokens and foreign currency. We currently have $372.84, so obviously a new car is right around the corner.
(We purchased our 2004 Chrysler Pacifica in October of 2007, planning on having it for four years. However, it seems to be a lemon, from which no one will buy our lemonade so we are saving up our pennies as fast as we can to bump up that schedule before we have to dump much more money into it. Our philosophy for vehicles (aside from the motorcycle, but that was a small abberation in Richard's brain functioning which has since been resolved) is that we trade what we have and add to it whatever cash we have but the total of what we purchase cannot exceed that amount. We aim for no monthly payments. My income is never guaranteed (if we move, it may/may not happen and may take X or XXX months to happen and may bring $ or $$$ in income) so we live (almost) solely off of R's income and that doesn't allow for a car payment. Since my income varies month to month and so does our spending, we just put away as much as we can each month and then when we have enough, buy a car. That way, we don't have to have $XXX for a payment every month. Because some months we have X and some months we have XXX and some months we have -0-.)
Between us and the Woods', we're taking three strollers, two cars, four adults, two toddlers, four sets of keys, 48 cans of pop, 60 changes of clothes, two laptop computers, two iphones (unfortunately neither are ours), six cameras, three coolers, 17 swimsuits, two pack n plays, 7 stuffed animals, umpteen minnie themed things, and 20-30 diaper bags, duffle bags, tote bags, cooler bags, paper bags, etc. That's a lot of stuff.
Ricard is filling out paperwork to re-up for FOUR more years on June 27th. He had the option of two all the way up to six. We felt four was a good in-between-ey-weenie number.
We bought a Baby Bjorn baby carrier this week. I've hated it every other time I've ever used it, but this time when we borrowed it from a friend for Disney, we both loved it, so we now own one.
We leave for Disney in just over 24 hours. Need I say more?
Well yes, I guess I should, in case its not obvious...No new posts for a week and a half.
The car is currently in the shop to make sure the rickety, clunking sound that has been there but has gotten louder is not going to leave us stranded in South Carolina or Georgia.
The guy at the shop laughed at me when I said "We just need to know if it needs to be fixed now or not. But don't fix it. We can't fix it now, we just need to know."
I'm experimenting with how low my money can go before payday this pay period. Its making my head hurt on a daily basis. So far we've broken and blasted through all previous records. Not necessarily something you want to excel at.
I should mention after that last paragraph that we are currently taking donations for the "new car fund". We accept cash in the form of coins or bills, checks (as long as they don't bounce and have a valid signature, amount is not reqired, we'll fill that part in for you), credit cards, pay pal, cashier's checks, money orders, gift certificates, reward points, Chuck E. Cheese tokens and foreign currency. We currently have $372.84, so obviously a new car is right around the corner.
(We purchased our 2004 Chrysler Pacifica in October of 2007, planning on having it for four years. However, it seems to be a lemon, from which no one will buy our lemonade so we are saving up our pennies as fast as we can to bump up that schedule before we have to dump much more money into it. Our philosophy for vehicles (aside from the motorcycle, but that was a small abberation in Richard's brain functioning which has since been resolved) is that we trade what we have and add to it whatever cash we have but the total of what we purchase cannot exceed that amount. We aim for no monthly payments. My income is never guaranteed (if we move, it may/may not happen and may take X or XXX months to happen and may bring $ or $$$ in income) so we live (almost) solely off of R's income and that doesn't allow for a car payment. Since my income varies month to month and so does our spending, we just put away as much as we can each month and then when we have enough, buy a car. That way, we don't have to have $XXX for a payment every month. Because some months we have X and some months we have XXX and some months we have -0-.)
Between us and the Woods', we're taking three strollers, two cars, four adults, two toddlers, four sets of keys, 48 cans of pop, 60 changes of clothes, two laptop computers, two iphones (unfortunately neither are ours), six cameras, three coolers, 17 swimsuits, two pack n plays, 7 stuffed animals, umpteen minnie themed things, and 20-30 diaper bags, duffle bags, tote bags, cooler bags, paper bags, etc. That's a lot of stuff.
Ricard is filling out paperwork to re-up for FOUR more years on June 27th. He had the option of two all the way up to six. We felt four was a good in-between-ey-weenie number.
We bought a Baby Bjorn baby carrier this week. I've hated it every other time I've ever used it, but this time when we borrowed it from a friend for Disney, we both loved it, so we now own one.
We leave for Disney in just over 24 hours. Need I say more?
Well yes, I guess I should, in case its not obvious...No new posts for a week and a half.
Thursday, May 7, 2009
Sunday, May 3, 2009
Today...
Today...
-I'm not going to say a whole lot, partially because the day is not half over yet and partly because I'm so freakin annoyed :-)
-Today, the Transmission light came on in the Pacifica, minutes before the car died in the middle of the road and the oil light came on.
-Today the New Car Manager at the dealership (the only one working today) arranged to have the Pacifica towed to the dealership, have a shuttle come pick me and both girls up at 10:30 tomorrow, and send me home with a rental (free of charge, of course) that is equal to or bigger than my Pacifica until they fix whatever they broke on my car while they were fixing what they broke on my car. DORKS! Apparently they drank their lunch too.
-We are leaving for Disney in less than two weeks in this vehicle. Please pray that it gets fixed AND IS TRULY FIXED or that they give us a rental for the entire trip (which is what I'm going to ask them for).
That's all. Well, for now at least ;-)
-I'm not going to say a whole lot, partially because the day is not half over yet and partly because I'm so freakin annoyed :-)
-Today, the Transmission light came on in the Pacifica, minutes before the car died in the middle of the road and the oil light came on.
-Today the New Car Manager at the dealership (the only one working today) arranged to have the Pacifica towed to the dealership, have a shuttle come pick me and both girls up at 10:30 tomorrow, and send me home with a rental (free of charge, of course) that is equal to or bigger than my Pacifica until they fix whatever they broke on my car while they were fixing what they broke on my car. DORKS! Apparently they drank their lunch too.
-We are leaving for Disney in less than two weeks in this vehicle. Please pray that it gets fixed AND IS TRULY FIXED or that they give us a rental for the entire trip (which is what I'm going to ask them for).
That's all. Well, for now at least ;-)
Saturday, May 2, 2009
Today
I've realized I like the "today" series.
Today...
-I ran on the treadmill (I don't get to it a whole lot on the weekends.)
-We went to the beach and played in the sand for an hour and a half.
-I got sunburnt (on purpose, so I don't at Disney).
-Lillian got sunburnt. Not on purpose. With 50 spf on.
-Lillian had so much fun in the sand, after she got over being scared of it.
-We planted strawberry plants-20, we'll see how many make it.
-We called in a service call for our dryer, which now that the washer works and we did a load of laundry, we found out that the dryer doesn't work.
-We bought 12 cases of pop at the NEX. They have it on sale there often, but I'm sick of running out to get it each time its on sale so we stocked up.
-R caught up on the dishes.
-I estimate our laundry to be done at about 6-7 loads right now. We'll see what it is by Monday afternoon when (hopefully) I can finally do it.
-We drug the kitchen table into the living room (which is now empty because we took the ottoman in for leather repair) and ate dinner as a family at the table and played games.
-We watched "Life After People" on the history channel. It is super fascinating and I recommend everyone watch it.
-I ran into a girl from Michigan at the beach. I haven't seen her since I quit working for Kathy. (Beth, it was Melissa) It was odd, but super fun.
-I fit into my plaid capris that I bought in 8th grade. And for those of you that are wondering, it was 13, yes a WHOPPING 13 years ago. They are now officially in the Disney pile.
-Some girls at church had a "girls night" and did not invite others of us. Unfortunately, this is becoming an ever increasing habit. I thought I left junior high 13 years ago. Apparently not.
Today...
-I ran on the treadmill (I don't get to it a whole lot on the weekends.)
-We went to the beach and played in the sand for an hour and a half.
-I got sunburnt (on purpose, so I don't at Disney).
-Lillian got sunburnt. Not on purpose. With 50 spf on.
-Lillian had so much fun in the sand, after she got over being scared of it.
-We planted strawberry plants-20, we'll see how many make it.
-We called in a service call for our dryer, which now that the washer works and we did a load of laundry, we found out that the dryer doesn't work.
-We bought 12 cases of pop at the NEX. They have it on sale there often, but I'm sick of running out to get it each time its on sale so we stocked up.
-R caught up on the dishes.
-I estimate our laundry to be done at about 6-7 loads right now. We'll see what it is by Monday afternoon when (hopefully) I can finally do it.
-We drug the kitchen table into the living room (which is now empty because we took the ottoman in for leather repair) and ate dinner as a family at the table and played games.
-We watched "Life After People" on the history channel. It is super fascinating and I recommend everyone watch it.
-I ran into a girl from Michigan at the beach. I haven't seen her since I quit working for Kathy. (Beth, it was Melissa) It was odd, but super fun.
-I fit into my plaid capris that I bought in 8th grade. And for those of you that are wondering, it was 13, yes a WHOPPING 13 years ago. They are now officially in the Disney pile.
-Some girls at church had a "girls night" and did not invite others of us. Unfortunately, this is becoming an ever increasing habit. I thought I left junior high 13 years ago. Apparently not.
Wednesday, April 29, 2009
Today
Today is a new day and brings an entirely new set of "Today..." statements (imagine that). As you can probably tell, I am either too busy lately or too lazy (or both) to write in comprehensible paragraphs so you get lists. Eh, it gets the facts across just the same in less of your very valuable time right?
Today...
-I am anxiously awaiting the arrival of our new front load washer and dryer to be delivered (tomorrow).
-I am sitting in awe that someone from craigslist is coming by in an hour to buy our washer as well as our defunct dryer.
-I am trying to find the address to send my mid-month Discover card payment to them so we can use it on our Disney trip without going over the limit. (I'm addicted to their cash back program.)
-Two maintenance men arrived in the middle of my treadmill time. I yelled come in and didn't stop. They wern't jerks. Imagine that.
-The maintenance men, actually, one maintenance man and one maintenance man in training, "fixed" my dishwasher (which has been ending the cycle with water left in the bottom) by replacing a gasket and saying "call when it happens again".
-Maintenance man and MM in Training "fixed" the cause of water on my master bathroom floor by "tightening the tub drain" and saying "that tub sucks, when it happens again, call us and we'll have to call a tub repair guy cuz if we tighten it more, we'll crack the tub."
-I debated tightening the drain and cracking the tub. I did not. Yet.
-R has training at work, as he does on every Wednesday. It makes him stay late at work, he says its pointless and it makes him cranky.
-The car dealership is still holding my car hostage, saying they are/will fix the oil pan, as soon as the newly ordered part comes in (the part that was supposedly ordered a month ago when I scheduled the appointment).
-Lillian fed her bottle to her (my old) cabbage patch doll.
-I looked on ebay and amazon to buy a larger wardrobe for said cabbage patch doll and sat in stupor seeing how expensive they are. Do I really have to make some? Really?!?!
-It is much cooler than the 92 degrees of the last few days. I shut off the air and opened the windows and love it. I don't love though, that we can't leave Lil's open at night because its at ground level and there are no burglar bars.
-The EI (Early Intervention) lady came for our intake appointment. She will schedule a time for two therapists to come out and that is in late May, after our Disney trip.
-We have to go buy HE (High Efficiency) soap for our new laundry machines that are coming tomorrow. (Just a little excited!)
Today...
-I am anxiously awaiting the arrival of our new front load washer and dryer to be delivered (tomorrow).
-I am sitting in awe that someone from craigslist is coming by in an hour to buy our washer as well as our defunct dryer.
-I am trying to find the address to send my mid-month Discover card payment to them so we can use it on our Disney trip without going over the limit. (I'm addicted to their cash back program.)
-Two maintenance men arrived in the middle of my treadmill time. I yelled come in and didn't stop. They wern't jerks. Imagine that.
-The maintenance men, actually, one maintenance man and one maintenance man in training, "fixed" my dishwasher (which has been ending the cycle with water left in the bottom) by replacing a gasket and saying "call when it happens again".
-Maintenance man and MM in Training "fixed" the cause of water on my master bathroom floor by "tightening the tub drain" and saying "that tub sucks, when it happens again, call us and we'll have to call a tub repair guy cuz if we tighten it more, we'll crack the tub."
-I debated tightening the drain and cracking the tub. I did not. Yet.
-R has training at work, as he does on every Wednesday. It makes him stay late at work, he says its pointless and it makes him cranky.
-The car dealership is still holding my car hostage, saying they are/will fix the oil pan, as soon as the newly ordered part comes in (the part that was supposedly ordered a month ago when I scheduled the appointment).
-Lillian fed her bottle to her (my old) cabbage patch doll.
-I looked on ebay and amazon to buy a larger wardrobe for said cabbage patch doll and sat in stupor seeing how expensive they are. Do I really have to make some? Really?!?!
-It is much cooler than the 92 degrees of the last few days. I shut off the air and opened the windows and love it. I don't love though, that we can't leave Lil's open at night because its at ground level and there are no burglar bars.
-The EI (Early Intervention) lady came for our intake appointment. She will schedule a time for two therapists to come out and that is in late May, after our Disney trip.
-We have to go buy HE (High Efficiency) soap for our new laundry machines that are coming tomorrow. (Just a little excited!)
Monday, April 27, 2009
Today
Today...I am sick. I feel like a swine with the flu. I mean, I feel like I have the swine flu. Well, I'm just sick, but it may be the first reported case of swine flu in Virginia.
Today...our dryer took four cycles to dry one (small) load of clothes. Now I'm searching for a new (to us) dryer, trying to find people who will come pick up and dispose of our old dryer, and trying to find places in our house to hang the three loads of laundry that were after that load.
Today...R discovered why our vacuum has been stinking up the house. The bag, which was not yet full, was covered with mold inside and out, as well as the filter. Joy.
Today...we dropped the car off for a new oil pan. Thankfully, if you will remember from posts awhile ago, this was the dealership's error and although they will not admit that, they have agreed to pay for the whole process.
Today...Lillian puked. Not while in the car. On my bare feet.
Today...we didn't have Kylie because she has an ear infection which Tricare refused to see her for so she had to go to the ER. Gotta love Tricare.
Today...I am pooped.
Today...our dryer took four cycles to dry one (small) load of clothes. Now I'm searching for a new (to us) dryer, trying to find people who will come pick up and dispose of our old dryer, and trying to find places in our house to hang the three loads of laundry that were after that load.
Today...R discovered why our vacuum has been stinking up the house. The bag, which was not yet full, was covered with mold inside and out, as well as the filter. Joy.
Today...we dropped the car off for a new oil pan. Thankfully, if you will remember from posts awhile ago, this was the dealership's error and although they will not admit that, they have agreed to pay for the whole process.
Today...Lillian puked. Not while in the car. On my bare feet.
Today...we didn't have Kylie because she has an ear infection which Tricare refused to see her for so she had to go to the ER. Gotta love Tricare.
Today...I am pooped.
Saturday, April 18, 2009
All is well
There is/are...
no pop in my dining room
no toys in my living room (or kitchen, or bedroom, or bathroom for that matter)
no extra food in the linen closet
no toys in MY bathroom (she has her own)
seven large new pieces of furniture in my house and still plenty of room
flowers outside my front door
However....
There is....
not as much natural light
no back door
more to clean
mom and dad left
But...
I'm getting highlights in a half hour
today's the circus
Sunday we actually get to go to Bible Study for the first time in forever
Monday is girl's breakfast
Tuesday is R's 27th birthday
Wednesday is Bible Study at our house
Thursday is raking for an older lady in need
Friday is the botanical garden and leaving for NC
This weekend we see the Howards (and even Courtney) and the Fuscos
Next week we take the car in for a FREE oil pan replacement and oil change
Then..........we go to DISNEY WORLD! For 8 days!
no pop in my dining room
no toys in my living room (or kitchen, or bedroom, or bathroom for that matter)
no extra food in the linen closet
no toys in MY bathroom (she has her own)
seven large new pieces of furniture in my house and still plenty of room
flowers outside my front door
However....
There is....
not as much natural light
no back door
more to clean
mom and dad left
But...
I'm getting highlights in a half hour
today's the circus
Sunday we actually get to go to Bible Study for the first time in forever
Monday is girl's breakfast
Tuesday is R's 27th birthday
Wednesday is Bible Study at our house
Thursday is raking for an older lady in need
Friday is the botanical garden and leaving for NC
This weekend we see the Howards (and even Courtney) and the Fuscos
Next week we take the car in for a FREE oil pan replacement and oil change
Then..........we go to DISNEY WORLD! For 8 days!
Thursday, April 9, 2009
Prayer needed
We need prayer for a couple things for Saturday...
1. That it won't rain. Currently there is a 70% chance of precipitation :-(
2. That R's shoulder will be well enough that he can help out some
3. But also, that R doesn't do too much, and hurt his shoulder worse
4. That mom and dad have safe and quick travels tomorrow (Friday)
5. That our friends are all able to help us, that no one gets hurt, and that the job gets done quickly.
Thanks!
1. That it won't rain. Currently there is a 70% chance of precipitation :-(
2. That R's shoulder will be well enough that he can help out some
3. But also, that R doesn't do too much, and hurt his shoulder worse
4. That mom and dad have safe and quick travels tomorrow (Friday)
5. That our friends are all able to help us, that no one gets hurt, and that the job gets done quickly.
Thanks!
Tuesday, March 31, 2009
These are my two biggest anxietys about moving.
My OCD closet. Everything is hung first according to color, then by sleeve length, spaghetti strap first, then tank tops, then short sleeve, then three quarter sleeve, then long sleeve. If a shirt has a raised collar, that will go in the back of that sleve length's category. Somehow I don't think the boys that help us move will a) understand my system and b) care that it stays intact through the move.
My
most prized posessions. The hanging glass globes from my wedding ceremony. I have yet to hang them up since then, I'm waiting for a space that is worthy. However, I have been heard to say "those mean more to me than you" to both my husband and my daughter :-). The yellow duct tape on the corners is our system for the moving boys to know that something is fragile. I'm tempted to wrap these two boxes totally in yellow duct tape, and might if not for fear that I would run out. My saving grace is that the boxes are brightly colored so it should be easy to keep my eye on them all day long. I'm thinking of taking them and giving them safe storage in my Pacifica on move day. Bringing them over, myself, after all the wonderful moving friends are gone. No offense to anyone, of course.
My OCD closet. Everything is hung first according to color, then by sleeve length, spaghetti strap first, then tank tops, then short sleeve, then three quarter sleeve, then long sleeve. If a shirt has a raised collar, that will go in the back of that sleve length's category. Somehow I don't think the boys that help us move will a) understand my system and b) care that it stays intact through the move.
My
most prized posessions. The hanging glass globes from my wedding ceremony. I have yet to hang them up since then, I'm waiting for a space that is worthy. However, I have been heard to say "those mean more to me than you" to both my husband and my daughter :-). The yellow duct tape on the corners is our system for the moving boys to know that something is fragile. I'm tempted to wrap these two boxes totally in yellow duct tape, and might if not for fear that I would run out. My saving grace is that the boxes are brightly colored so it should be easy to keep my eye on them all day long. I'm thinking of taking them and giving them safe storage in my Pacifica on move day. Bringing them over, myself, after all the wonderful moving friends are gone. No offense to anyone, of course.Moving
This is Command Central. With lists of things to do before we move, things to clean before and after we move, things we need to buy, etc as well as a calendar box for each day and that day's tasks (on post-its for easy moving to the next day if it doesn't get done-that's about as flexible as I get).
Our current pile of boxes in the dining room.
The newly repainted boring beige wall.
Sunday, March 29, 2009
Command Central has been up and running for about a week now. Mr. Maintenance, as we will now call him, was glad to see a huge list of things to do and clean before we move. He was dismayed however, that it was on poster board, adhered to the wall with packing tape. He asked if I was planning on painting that wall as well. Nope.
I am thoroughly unimpressed with the choices for original TV lately.
We got a lot accomplished this weekend. One bathroom deep cleaned. All bedroom windows cleaned, top to bottom, inside and out. Back deck cleaned, planters and windchime cleaned. Back door cleaned. All floors inside cleaned. We packed all the board and card games (which required two large Uhaul boxes, believe it or not). We packed all the other stuff in the guest room closet. R cleaned the cockroach graveyard out of the utility closet and scrubbed the floor. I packed the linen closet. We packed the other miscellaneous stuff that hasn't been fitting in the boxes it needs to go in, all inside a box labeled "misc". I know, I know. It goes against everything I believe in, but boxes are at a shortage and it couldn't be helped.
I re-vamped command Central for the new move date.
I planned a date night for friday night which will consist of dinner and a movie. Brandon and Lindsey are going to keep Lillian, overnight even, if she isn't too much of a terror while "going to sleep".
I am thoroughly unimpressed with the choices for original TV lately.
We got a lot accomplished this weekend. One bathroom deep cleaned. All bedroom windows cleaned, top to bottom, inside and out. Back deck cleaned, planters and windchime cleaned. Back door cleaned. All floors inside cleaned. We packed all the board and card games (which required two large Uhaul boxes, believe it or not). We packed all the other stuff in the guest room closet. R cleaned the cockroach graveyard out of the utility closet and scrubbed the floor. I packed the linen closet. We packed the other miscellaneous stuff that hasn't been fitting in the boxes it needs to go in, all inside a box labeled "misc". I know, I know. It goes against everything I believe in, but boxes are at a shortage and it couldn't be helped.
I re-vamped command Central for the new move date.
I planned a date night for friday night which will consist of dinner and a movie. Brandon and Lindsey are going to keep Lillian, overnight even, if she isn't too much of a terror while "going to sleep".
Wednesday, March 25, 2009
I flirted with the creepy maintenance man again today. It was after he saw me pull in and drove his golf cart over to say hi. I complained that we saw a carpet cleaning van over there (at the new apartment) a day ago and were disappointed because we've heard the previous tenants were such pigs that we thought we'd for sure get new carpet. He said that he told the office it was still dirty "and besides, my good friend's moving in there and its not good enough for her". He said it wasn't official yet, but we'll most likely get new carpet. We better. I didn't inhale his cigarette smoke for no reason at all.
I took the double stroller into the bank again today and played "knock down the lane markers". I got several dirty looks. But what can you do when none of your bank branches have drive through lanes and you tell the receptionist that your stroller can't fit through the line, you know from experience, and can you just wait up front til your turn, and she says "just make it fit". Okay lady. I got a strike though, cuz all of the pins went down :-D
The bathroom and living room are all painted back to boring beige. And we have nothing on the walls and no curtains up in the main living area. Its weird.
Lillian has a new aversion to sleeping. And eating. No biggie really, they're not that necessary are they?
Somehow my TiVo got set to record every episode of "toddlers and tiaras". What a stupid, horrible show. Waste of time. And while we're on the subject of TLC shows, Table for 12 is stupid and I feel bad for Jon (of Jon and Kate plus 8). Kate needs to man down a little.
The UPS truck just pulled up to my building. And walked up to another door. Sad.
PS-Does anyone want the job of notifying the world of my change in address? Its getting old rather fast. Even if I do it online, they call to make sure its right. YES PEOPLE, I'm moving from one apartment to another in the same complex, therefore the only thing changing is the "house" number. It's not a typo. I did not waste my time filling out your whole change of address form, when my address is not actually changing. I have never even heard of anyone doing that for fun.
The electric company actually had the nerve to argue with me about whether my new address existed. I told them I was looking at it right out my window and they still said "we have no record of that". Well friends, that doesn't mean it doesn't exist, it just means you need to update your records.
The circus is this month. Its on a duty day for Richard. I hope he doesn't have to work that day. And if so, too bad buddy, I'm going anyways. And I just might fill out an application while I'm there ;-)
I took the double stroller into the bank again today and played "knock down the lane markers". I got several dirty looks. But what can you do when none of your bank branches have drive through lanes and you tell the receptionist that your stroller can't fit through the line, you know from experience, and can you just wait up front til your turn, and she says "just make it fit". Okay lady. I got a strike though, cuz all of the pins went down :-D
The bathroom and living room are all painted back to boring beige. And we have nothing on the walls and no curtains up in the main living area. Its weird.
Lillian has a new aversion to sleeping. And eating. No biggie really, they're not that necessary are they?
Somehow my TiVo got set to record every episode of "toddlers and tiaras". What a stupid, horrible show. Waste of time. And while we're on the subject of TLC shows, Table for 12 is stupid and I feel bad for Jon (of Jon and Kate plus 8). Kate needs to man down a little.
The UPS truck just pulled up to my building. And walked up to another door. Sad.
PS-Does anyone want the job of notifying the world of my change in address? Its getting old rather fast. Even if I do it online, they call to make sure its right. YES PEOPLE, I'm moving from one apartment to another in the same complex, therefore the only thing changing is the "house" number. It's not a typo. I did not waste my time filling out your whole change of address form, when my address is not actually changing. I have never even heard of anyone doing that for fun.
The electric company actually had the nerve to argue with me about whether my new address existed. I told them I was looking at it right out my window and they still said "we have no record of that". Well friends, that doesn't mean it doesn't exist, it just means you need to update your records.
The circus is this month. Its on a duty day for Richard. I hope he doesn't have to work that day. And if so, too bad buddy, I'm going anyways. And I just might fill out an application while I'm there ;-)
Tuesday, March 24, 2009
Richard is in excruciating pain in his shoulder/neck area and is unable to move, lift or sleep. The Navy hospital refused to see him and sent him to medical. Medical saw him and re-scheduled him for next Monday.
That means...
I'm....
taking care of a lame (and whiney) husband on drugs.
taking care of a fussy fussy FUSSY baby who just got back from vacation and is cutting two molars.
taking care of another (although delightful) baby during the weekdays.
unpacking from vacation.
doing insane amounts of laundry.
packing for moving.
changing our address at 8 million places.
talking again to 8 million places to assure them that yes, our address is very similar, but different. No, its not a mistake.
painting the bathroom. Three times.
cleaning all paint supplies because the other rooms require flat paint.
painting the living room. Two times.
making a decision that the dining room and bedroom will not be painted until after we move and mom and dad are here to do it. Sorry guys!
UGH
Moving was a pain in the butt the first time and I had a husband, money and no kids.
This time around it just SUCKS. I want a wife. Or a husband. Or a nanny. Or all three.
Its a good thing I really want this new apartment or I'd have quit everything, changed my name and joined the circus days ago. I'm sure training for that would be easier on my joints. And you get paid to be crazy there.
That means...
I'm....
taking care of a lame (and whiney) husband on drugs.
taking care of a fussy fussy FUSSY baby who just got back from vacation and is cutting two molars.
taking care of another (although delightful) baby during the weekdays.
unpacking from vacation.
doing insane amounts of laundry.
packing for moving.
changing our address at 8 million places.
talking again to 8 million places to assure them that yes, our address is very similar, but different. No, its not a mistake.
painting the bathroom. Three times.
cleaning all paint supplies because the other rooms require flat paint.
painting the living room. Two times.
making a decision that the dining room and bedroom will not be painted until after we move and mom and dad are here to do it. Sorry guys!
UGH
Moving was a pain in the butt the first time and I had a husband, money and no kids.
This time around it just SUCKS. I want a wife. Or a husband. Or a nanny. Or all three.
Its a good thing I really want this new apartment or I'd have quit everything, changed my name and joined the circus days ago. I'm sure training for that would be easier on my joints. And you get paid to be crazy there.
Sunday, March 22, 2009
Our homeward bound airplane experience
NOTE: Our vacation bound airplane experience was HORRIBLE with a capital everything and I refuse to even think about it again, let alone relive it through writing. But it turns out that Lillian had a yet undiagnosed double ear infection, upper respiratory infection and a viral infection. I attribute some of her behavior to that. The rest, I attribute to her father. He gets that distinction just because he wasn't there to deal with it.
I will say, United did get me to all four of my destinations on time or early which is a MUCH better experience than I have ever had with them. However, I had to pay $65 extra dollars for my baggage which is a crock. And one plane each way was nice and big and clean and fresh. The other plane each way (the long leg each way, of course) smelled like a mixture of poo, puke, urine, butt, bo, and anything else bad you can think of. I think next time instead of paying for extra baggage with cash, I'm going to pay them with febreeze.
Anywho, on to the reason for this post...
We had an overall good flight experience yesterday, much better than on the way to vacation, but it was much more interesting this time.
A man was up, going to the bathroom, and taking a pen out of his jacket pocket at the same time. The Air Marshall, who was sitting across from me, behind one row, leaped out of his seat and tackled Mr. Bathroom. After he left his feet but before he landed on Mr. Bathroom, he already had his gun and badge out, one in each hand. It was very impressive. And terrifying, but very impressive. By the time they were both on the ground 4-5 other people were up, ready to do what they needed to do.
However, Mr. Bathroom was only taking his ink pen out of his pocket while on his way to the bathroom. Note: NEVER do this while on an air plane, apparently. Mr. Marshall re-enacted it later and it did indeed look like a gun or knife being pulled out.
All was good and well and poor Mr. Marshall knew he had done what he had to, but was still very embarrassed. I thanked him for doing what he did and doing it so stinkin fast.
The layover in Chicago, at O'Hare, was thankfully just over two hours because we had to dig a tunnel from C terminal to F terminal. Not really, but it felt like that. The shuttle that takes you to and fro is not available to Handicappers and Strollers. Bad planning and very discriminatory in my mind.
The second flight, the long one, would have been horrible if it were not for Soldier boy and his wife who were sitting across from me. We were in the very last row and Lillian flirted with Soldier boy all the way home. He let her chew on his dog tags, throw his cell phone on the ground and lifted her up to turn on and off the light probably 150 times. He and/or his wife held her for a good 45 minutes of the flight, and she was calm and playful. Everytime she was returned to me, she arched her back and threw a screaming banshee hissee fit. I felt the same way, believe me. And each time, they just took her back. After we laneded and were taxxing to the jetway (not a long time at all for those of you that know the Norfolk airport), she fell asleep, finally, after being awake from 8am to 8pm.
She was thrilled to see Daddy and refused to go to bed until she played with him for a bit when we got home.
I will say, United did get me to all four of my destinations on time or early which is a MUCH better experience than I have ever had with them. However, I had to pay $65 extra dollars for my baggage which is a crock. And one plane each way was nice and big and clean and fresh. The other plane each way (the long leg each way, of course) smelled like a mixture of poo, puke, urine, butt, bo, and anything else bad you can think of. I think next time instead of paying for extra baggage with cash, I'm going to pay them with febreeze.
Anywho, on to the reason for this post...
We had an overall good flight experience yesterday, much better than on the way to vacation, but it was much more interesting this time.
A man was up, going to the bathroom, and taking a pen out of his jacket pocket at the same time. The Air Marshall, who was sitting across from me, behind one row, leaped out of his seat and tackled Mr. Bathroom. After he left his feet but before he landed on Mr. Bathroom, he already had his gun and badge out, one in each hand. It was very impressive. And terrifying, but very impressive. By the time they were both on the ground 4-5 other people were up, ready to do what they needed to do.
However, Mr. Bathroom was only taking his ink pen out of his pocket while on his way to the bathroom. Note: NEVER do this while on an air plane, apparently. Mr. Marshall re-enacted it later and it did indeed look like a gun or knife being pulled out.
All was good and well and poor Mr. Marshall knew he had done what he had to, but was still very embarrassed. I thanked him for doing what he did and doing it so stinkin fast.
The layover in Chicago, at O'Hare, was thankfully just over two hours because we had to dig a tunnel from C terminal to F terminal. Not really, but it felt like that. The shuttle that takes you to and fro is not available to Handicappers and Strollers. Bad planning and very discriminatory in my mind.
The second flight, the long one, would have been horrible if it were not for Soldier boy and his wife who were sitting across from me. We were in the very last row and Lillian flirted with Soldier boy all the way home. He let her chew on his dog tags, throw his cell phone on the ground and lifted her up to turn on and off the light probably 150 times. He and/or his wife held her for a good 45 minutes of the flight, and she was calm and playful. Everytime she was returned to me, she arched her back and threw a screaming banshee hissee fit. I felt the same way, believe me. And each time, they just took her back. After we laneded and were taxxing to the jetway (not a long time at all for those of you that know the Norfolk airport), she fell asleep, finally, after being awake from 8am to 8pm.
She was thrilled to see Daddy and refused to go to bed until she played with him for a bit when we got home.
Tuesday, March 10, 2009
Trade You Tuesday: Slow Cooker Recipes
Whitney, at the Whitney Caroline Designs blog, is hosting a Trade You Tuesday, in order to collect fabulous slow cooker recipes. In return she is giving out 10% off coupons to her fabulous store. She will also feature a recipe each week and is including a great giveaway.
Most of my slow cooker genius is throwing what I see in the fridge in the crock pot, adding some salt or butter (or both) and stirring. However, that does not lend itself to a great recipe.
One of my favorites though, despite the name, is Veggie Burgers. Its a family favorite but oh so easy. Its the idea of a sloppy joe, but for some reason tastes so much better.
You brown 1 pound of hamburger (I spose you could use the crock pot to brown it, but I buy mine in bulk and brown it all together and freeze in 1lb bags) and put it in the crock pot. Add one can of Vegetable soup, without adding water. Stir. Wait awhile. Plop on a bun and enjoy. See, I told you it was easy. My favorite is to open up the bun, put the gooey goodness on both halves and sprinkle a bit of cheese or ketchup over it. Sorry my "recipe" has words like "awhile" and "plop" in it, but I'm not much of a recipe user so this is as close as I get. I prefer to call it "guidance.
You can make the recipe in any size, just keep the ratio the same, one pound to one can. I've made as much as five of each for our bible study group and it turned out just as wonderful.
I wish I had a picture, but I don't. Sorry! I do, however, have a dilemma. I don't like vegetables. Never have, never will. But I love these. Therefore I don't think the name Veggie Burgers really works for me. And since its my recipe, I feel like I have the right to change it. I just am not sure what to change it to. I'm thinking Monster Mash, or Gooey Goop, or maybe not. Any ideas?
Catching up...
Lillian is walking.
She has lost some weight again, but not much.
I just returned from a girl's getaway weekend at Lake Keowee in South Carolina and it was A-M-A-Z-I-N-G.
Richard is having some nausea and sickness. He had a follow up appointment today and they did more x-rays and took more blood, to ensure it is not still related to the motorcycle accident.
I convinced insurance to pay for a new helmet, they did not specify which one. Richard ordered a helmet today, the total was $730.
Richard drove his completely fixed motorcycle home today from the dealership. I'm trying to be cool with this.
I got another new stroller. Yes, really. It's completely retarded that there are not stroller rental places where you can try before you buy. If I were more motivated...This stroller is a more deluxe version of the first stroller I had. I love it. We already have our old stroller sold. Who hoo!
I am leaving early EARLY Friday morning, with Lillian, to fly to Iowa for just over a week. I can't wait! But I am terrified about the flight. I have been getting sick on airplanes lately, which is a new thing for me, and she is in a tantrum phase. Please pray everything goes well Friday morning from about 6am to noon.
I am blogging less and less, life is just too busy.
We are moving. To a three bedroom. Finally. For sure. The begining of April. Our address will change, but only the house number. I will not post it here, but let me know if you need it. I'm not sending out "we're moving" cards. I'm thrilled and it will be great, but it wasn't much notice and I had two vacations planned between the notice and the move.
I started packing today and it feels great. We also have a huge Goodwill pile, which feels even better. I have to find more boxes and packing material before I can do more.
Mom and Dad are coming when we move and I am more excited about that than moving. I wish they could stay for a year.
I am still using my Wii Fit every day and I LOVE it. I will miss it while I'm in Iowa. I also have to go shopping for Disney clothes while I'm in Iowa. Hmm, maybe Iowa won't be AS fun as I was thinking. Shopping for clothes for myself is NOT my favorite thing, especially when it doesn't involve sweatshirts and pj pants.
I am still having a horrible time sleeping. I sleep about four hours a day. Although I do feel tired, I just can't sleep. Thankfully, this seems to be working okay, because I can still function.
My cousin Mikey is home from Afghanistan. Yay!
I talked to a friend from elementary school today via email. It was wierd. Facebook seems to let people try to make up for ignoring you years earlier by sending you a friend request. I had one friend in high school. Yet, dozens of people from high school have "friended" me. An odd phenomenom if you ask me.
I also had few friends in college, two total, but mostly one at a time.
I now have at least 9 girl friends and 9 of their husbands who I would consider good friends, most even "best friends". I am so completely happy with my life right now. I don't want this time to end. The first break up in our group is scheduled for August when one couple is restationed. Then we are up in January, possibly. I'm heartbroken they're leaving and I'm praying with all my might that we are able to stay in this area. I have real friends, yes, plural, dozens even, and I'm so happy.
The skin on my left hand is peeling off. Little bits of one layer at a time, constantly. It's wonderful. Pretty soon, my wedding ring will have to be re-sized because so many layers of epidermis will have fallen off.
I got to go to Hobby Lobby this last weekend. It was bliss.
I also go to go to the Jockey Lot, Anderson's flea market. It was bliss.
I almost got to go to a rodeo. But not quite. Bummer.
I cannot think of a single thing I want for myself for my birthday. I always laughed at people when they said that. Before. Now, I want stuff for Lillian. I want stuff to decorate her room. For me, but still for her. If I was given money, I would probably spend it on something for her. This isn't to say I don't see things I like when I walk through the mall, or that I never buy anything, just that I can't think of a single thing I want that I can tell someone else to get for me.
I have been searching for several things for awhile, but can't find just the right one:
A new handbag
A great pair of shoes (or four-I'm in desperate need right now)
A very small coin purse/wallet for times when I throw it in the diaper bag.
A new tote, that is the perfect size, but also zips completely (for when Lillian shakes it, tips it, drags it, etc)
Disney clothes (UGH, need I say more)
A watch
The perfect necklace. (I think I might have found it, but I'm not sure yet.)
The perfect waterbottle (skinny enough to fit in all cupholders, tall enough to hold at least 24 oz, pref 32, has a non spill -not ever, no matter what-lid but also a small enough spout to drink out of without dribbling)
A chunky bracelet to be worn (most) everyday. Although if I found a watch, that would probably negate this.
The perfect summer nail polish. I've had the same one for the last few years and now the lid is eternally stuck on and I'm deciding whether to buy the same or switch it up.
See, there are things I want, but I've been looking for awhile and can't find ones I like, so I'm certain you could not.
Although I have found the perfect thing lately for a few things I'd been searching for:
A snappy camera
A camera bag (I found it this weekend, and think its great, although I don't have enough use experience to consider it perfect just yet)
A new stroller. Actually the same stroller as #1. But snappier. This is now #3 and I'm completely satisfied.
I sent my sister in law a gift card for her birthday, and a generic card, and didn't send it til about four days after her birthday. LAME-O. Sorry Kristen, I'm not with it this year. I'm debating whether I am going to have a "no card" year. I'm thinking of boycotting Hallmark and the Post Office in any way I can. Hallmark just sent me a new rewards card because I am now a "Platinum Preferred Member". That's just sick.
We still have two girls in our sunday school class who are presently pregnant. Two. This is TERRIFYING because it always happens in threes. There are three two year old boys. There are three one year old girls. There are three newborn girls. There are two women pregnant. Do you see the problem here. I am forced not to consume any water and buy all of my Diet Coke from out of state until this situation is remedied.
I will be 27 on March 19. That is big for me. Not that I'm turning 27, but that I know I'm turning 27. For this last year, when asked how old I am, I have honestly answered "26 or 27, I'm not sure". That whole math thing is hard for me, you have to know how to subtract and then know if that is if your birthday has already happened, or not, etc. This is bad also because I know Richard is the same age as me, minus a month, Kyle and Kristen are two years younger than me, minus just a bit, Ashley is a year younger than me. Do you see? If I don't know how old I am, then I'm lost on everyone else too.
I'm going to take Lillian to Grandpa Shipp's grave while I'm in Iowa. I don't remember ever being there. I love to walk through cemetaries and even make whole letters made up of photos of last names on gravestones. However, I don't like to visit family and friends there. I don't know why, that's just how it is. But now its different. That is one of the only ways Lillian will ever connect with Grandpa Shipp and it makes me sick to think she won't know him. Even Richard. I wish for a day with him. I was only five. But I remember so much. He will forever be my favorite relative of all time. I can't wait to introduce two of my favorite people. Now that I'm bawling... on to less serious things.
I balance our checkbook. The only reason that makes me happy is because it does get done, rather than the alternative if R did it. Other than that, I hate it. I put it off as long as possible. I have a hugely intricate system of managing colums and rows on excel to keep every cent in each different category separate and accounted for and I love it but it makes me tired. Although once I start, after I have entered receipts, verified amounts online, transferred money to different accounts, paid bills and balanced, I have such a fantastic sense of accomplishment. When I have a minute next, probably in June, I plan on re-vamping my system. That makes me rediculously happy.
What would also make me rediculously happy is if it was 65 every day we were at Disney, and I had a guarrantee of that now. I can do jeans and a tee shirt all day long. Its finding shorts and capri's for a short person that makes me crazy. Next summer though, I hope to be able to wear the ones I already have in my closet that don't quite fit again yet. I also want a fantastically stellar picture of the three of us with Mickey and Minnie at Disney. In front of the castle would be AMAZING. I know the chances of this are slim, that we will see them both together, that we will be able to get a picture with them togeter and even more that the picture will be fantastically splendid of everyone, but I keep wishing. I want to blow it up huge and stare at it every day forever, instead of TV. (I'm just a little excited to go to Disney.)
And we're taking a behind the scenes tour! Without Lillian! And its five hours long!
And we're EATING IN THE CASTLE. EATING. IN. THE. DISNEY. CASTLE.
WHEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE
Richard laughs at me flirting with the old, dirty maintenance man. But he'll be so happy when we get all new light fixtures, door knobs, doors, etc. I hope the people in our new apartment right now are filthy pigs and ruin everything they can. I'm aiming for new carpet, new blinds, new light fixtures, new door knobs, new front door, new doors and a new kitchen floor would ROCK. I think we can do it. I mean, I did get insurance to buy R a $730 helmet.
Britt Jones is the coolest person I know. For several reasons. Only the first of which is that his initials are PBJ. His flaw though, is that he truly thought (and argued the fact that) my name was Stacey Shrimp Bill. Yes, as in the bill of a shrimp. Hmm...not so much. Although I am contemplating changing my name to that splendid combination. I could do it on facebook and throw off those "friends" from high school....It's looking better and better.
I'm still freaked out about that dumb bike. If we had the money I'd sell both that and the truck and buy him the Dodge Challenger he wants. Eh well. Maybe the stress will help me fit in those capri's in the closet that are the perfect length...
Night all, well, morning really. Its 1am. Told you I'm having trouble sleeping.
She has lost some weight again, but not much.
I just returned from a girl's getaway weekend at Lake Keowee in South Carolina and it was A-M-A-Z-I-N-G.
Richard is having some nausea and sickness. He had a follow up appointment today and they did more x-rays and took more blood, to ensure it is not still related to the motorcycle accident.
I convinced insurance to pay for a new helmet, they did not specify which one. Richard ordered a helmet today, the total was $730.
Richard drove his completely fixed motorcycle home today from the dealership. I'm trying to be cool with this.
I got another new stroller. Yes, really. It's completely retarded that there are not stroller rental places where you can try before you buy. If I were more motivated...This stroller is a more deluxe version of the first stroller I had. I love it. We already have our old stroller sold. Who hoo!
I am leaving early EARLY Friday morning, with Lillian, to fly to Iowa for just over a week. I can't wait! But I am terrified about the flight. I have been getting sick on airplanes lately, which is a new thing for me, and she is in a tantrum phase. Please pray everything goes well Friday morning from about 6am to noon.
I am blogging less and less, life is just too busy.
We are moving. To a three bedroom. Finally. For sure. The begining of April. Our address will change, but only the house number. I will not post it here, but let me know if you need it. I'm not sending out "we're moving" cards. I'm thrilled and it will be great, but it wasn't much notice and I had two vacations planned between the notice and the move.
I started packing today and it feels great. We also have a huge Goodwill pile, which feels even better. I have to find more boxes and packing material before I can do more.
Mom and Dad are coming when we move and I am more excited about that than moving. I wish they could stay for a year.
I am still using my Wii Fit every day and I LOVE it. I will miss it while I'm in Iowa. I also have to go shopping for Disney clothes while I'm in Iowa. Hmm, maybe Iowa won't be AS fun as I was thinking. Shopping for clothes for myself is NOT my favorite thing, especially when it doesn't involve sweatshirts and pj pants.
I am still having a horrible time sleeping. I sleep about four hours a day. Although I do feel tired, I just can't sleep. Thankfully, this seems to be working okay, because I can still function.
My cousin Mikey is home from Afghanistan. Yay!
I talked to a friend from elementary school today via email. It was wierd. Facebook seems to let people try to make up for ignoring you years earlier by sending you a friend request. I had one friend in high school. Yet, dozens of people from high school have "friended" me. An odd phenomenom if you ask me.
I also had few friends in college, two total, but mostly one at a time.
I now have at least 9 girl friends and 9 of their husbands who I would consider good friends, most even "best friends". I am so completely happy with my life right now. I don't want this time to end. The first break up in our group is scheduled for August when one couple is restationed. Then we are up in January, possibly. I'm heartbroken they're leaving and I'm praying with all my might that we are able to stay in this area. I have real friends, yes, plural, dozens even, and I'm so happy.
The skin on my left hand is peeling off. Little bits of one layer at a time, constantly. It's wonderful. Pretty soon, my wedding ring will have to be re-sized because so many layers of epidermis will have fallen off.
I got to go to Hobby Lobby this last weekend. It was bliss.
I also go to go to the Jockey Lot, Anderson's flea market. It was bliss.
I almost got to go to a rodeo. But not quite. Bummer.
I cannot think of a single thing I want for myself for my birthday. I always laughed at people when they said that. Before. Now, I want stuff for Lillian. I want stuff to decorate her room. For me, but still for her. If I was given money, I would probably spend it on something for her. This isn't to say I don't see things I like when I walk through the mall, or that I never buy anything, just that I can't think of a single thing I want that I can tell someone else to get for me.
I have been searching for several things for awhile, but can't find just the right one:
A new handbag
A great pair of shoes (or four-I'm in desperate need right now)
A very small coin purse/wallet for times when I throw it in the diaper bag.
A new tote, that is the perfect size, but also zips completely (for when Lillian shakes it, tips it, drags it, etc)
Disney clothes (UGH, need I say more)
A watch
The perfect necklace. (I think I might have found it, but I'm not sure yet.)
The perfect waterbottle (skinny enough to fit in all cupholders, tall enough to hold at least 24 oz, pref 32, has a non spill -not ever, no matter what-lid but also a small enough spout to drink out of without dribbling)
A chunky bracelet to be worn (most) everyday. Although if I found a watch, that would probably negate this.
The perfect summer nail polish. I've had the same one for the last few years and now the lid is eternally stuck on and I'm deciding whether to buy the same or switch it up.
See, there are things I want, but I've been looking for awhile and can't find ones I like, so I'm certain you could not.
Although I have found the perfect thing lately for a few things I'd been searching for:
A snappy camera
A camera bag (I found it this weekend, and think its great, although I don't have enough use experience to consider it perfect just yet)
A new stroller. Actually the same stroller as #1. But snappier. This is now #3 and I'm completely satisfied.
I sent my sister in law a gift card for her birthday, and a generic card, and didn't send it til about four days after her birthday. LAME-O. Sorry Kristen, I'm not with it this year. I'm debating whether I am going to have a "no card" year. I'm thinking of boycotting Hallmark and the Post Office in any way I can. Hallmark just sent me a new rewards card because I am now a "Platinum Preferred Member". That's just sick.
We still have two girls in our sunday school class who are presently pregnant. Two. This is TERRIFYING because it always happens in threes. There are three two year old boys. There are three one year old girls. There are three newborn girls. There are two women pregnant. Do you see the problem here. I am forced not to consume any water and buy all of my Diet Coke from out of state until this situation is remedied.
I will be 27 on March 19. That is big for me. Not that I'm turning 27, but that I know I'm turning 27. For this last year, when asked how old I am, I have honestly answered "26 or 27, I'm not sure". That whole math thing is hard for me, you have to know how to subtract and then know if that is if your birthday has already happened, or not, etc. This is bad also because I know Richard is the same age as me, minus a month, Kyle and Kristen are two years younger than me, minus just a bit, Ashley is a year younger than me. Do you see? If I don't know how old I am, then I'm lost on everyone else too.
I'm going to take Lillian to Grandpa Shipp's grave while I'm in Iowa. I don't remember ever being there. I love to walk through cemetaries and even make whole letters made up of photos of last names on gravestones. However, I don't like to visit family and friends there. I don't know why, that's just how it is. But now its different. That is one of the only ways Lillian will ever connect with Grandpa Shipp and it makes me sick to think she won't know him. Even Richard. I wish for a day with him. I was only five. But I remember so much. He will forever be my favorite relative of all time. I can't wait to introduce two of my favorite people. Now that I'm bawling... on to less serious things.
I balance our checkbook. The only reason that makes me happy is because it does get done, rather than the alternative if R did it. Other than that, I hate it. I put it off as long as possible. I have a hugely intricate system of managing colums and rows on excel to keep every cent in each different category separate and accounted for and I love it but it makes me tired. Although once I start, after I have entered receipts, verified amounts online, transferred money to different accounts, paid bills and balanced, I have such a fantastic sense of accomplishment. When I have a minute next, probably in June, I plan on re-vamping my system. That makes me rediculously happy.
What would also make me rediculously happy is if it was 65 every day we were at Disney, and I had a guarrantee of that now. I can do jeans and a tee shirt all day long. Its finding shorts and capri's for a short person that makes me crazy. Next summer though, I hope to be able to wear the ones I already have in my closet that don't quite fit again yet. I also want a fantastically stellar picture of the three of us with Mickey and Minnie at Disney. In front of the castle would be AMAZING. I know the chances of this are slim, that we will see them both together, that we will be able to get a picture with them togeter and even more that the picture will be fantastically splendid of everyone, but I keep wishing. I want to blow it up huge and stare at it every day forever, instead of TV. (I'm just a little excited to go to Disney.)
And we're taking a behind the scenes tour! Without Lillian! And its five hours long!
And we're EATING IN THE CASTLE. EATING. IN. THE. DISNEY. CASTLE.
WHEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE
Richard laughs at me flirting with the old, dirty maintenance man. But he'll be so happy when we get all new light fixtures, door knobs, doors, etc. I hope the people in our new apartment right now are filthy pigs and ruin everything they can. I'm aiming for new carpet, new blinds, new light fixtures, new door knobs, new front door, new doors and a new kitchen floor would ROCK. I think we can do it. I mean, I did get insurance to buy R a $730 helmet.
Britt Jones is the coolest person I know. For several reasons. Only the first of which is that his initials are PBJ. His flaw though, is that he truly thought (and argued the fact that) my name was Stacey Shrimp Bill. Yes, as in the bill of a shrimp. Hmm...not so much. Although I am contemplating changing my name to that splendid combination. I could do it on facebook and throw off those "friends" from high school....It's looking better and better.
I'm still freaked out about that dumb bike. If we had the money I'd sell both that and the truck and buy him the Dodge Challenger he wants. Eh well. Maybe the stress will help me fit in those capri's in the closet that are the perfect length...
Night all, well, morning really. Its 1am. Told you I'm having trouble sleeping.
Friday, February 27, 2009
Saturday, February 21, 2009
Motorcycle Accident
I just don't have the time or the energy to go into this whole thing right now. I am adding as much detail as my fried brain can remember right now but I'm sure there are lots of holes. Please leave comments with any questions or things that you want more info on and I'll fill in the information I forgot.
The short of it is, Richard had a motorcycle accident Friday night. It was in a parking lot, no other vehicle involved and we're thinking it was mechanical error. He had just started going, was not even up to 10 mph and the bike threw him up, over the handlebars and off to the right. He hit the ground about 25 feet away on his right side and bounced twice more, landing on his back. I was behind him in the Pacifica and saw the whole thing, as did a friend, who was in front and saw it all in the rear view mirror.
Richard is okay, banged and bruised, with a couple cuts, but okay. He had some nausea today, but it is gone now. The bike needs some major repairs but is not as bad as it could have been or even that we first thought. Insurance should cover everything but our $500 deductible, and if they can find a mechanical error, we shouldn't have to even pay that. We had friends help get the bike into the back of the truck today and Richard is going to drop it off at the dealership on Monday.
It was HORRIBLE to watch but I'm glad I was there. And we had amazing friends there who helped take care of everything, including both of us.
Richard will ride again. And that day will SUCK for me. BUT there are so many things to be thankful for in all of this, so many things were the best possible they could have been and everything was better than it could have been.
We are so thankful he is alive and not seriously hurt. Fixing the bike will be a pain, but its do able. We are grateful.
All of the pictures, with comments are here ...http://picasaweb.google.com/StaceyBrill/BikeAccident?feat=directlink
but here are a couple pictures for those of you who have dial up still and can't see the other website (MOM AND DAD BRILL :-).
The short of it is, Richard had a motorcycle accident Friday night. It was in a parking lot, no other vehicle involved and we're thinking it was mechanical error. He had just started going, was not even up to 10 mph and the bike threw him up, over the handlebars and off to the right. He hit the ground about 25 feet away on his right side and bounced twice more, landing on his back. I was behind him in the Pacifica and saw the whole thing, as did a friend, who was in front and saw it all in the rear view mirror.
Richard is okay, banged and bruised, with a couple cuts, but okay. He had some nausea today, but it is gone now. The bike needs some major repairs but is not as bad as it could have been or even that we first thought. Insurance should cover everything but our $500 deductible, and if they can find a mechanical error, we shouldn't have to even pay that. We had friends help get the bike into the back of the truck today and Richard is going to drop it off at the dealership on Monday.
It was HORRIBLE to watch but I'm glad I was there. And we had amazing friends there who helped take care of everything, including both of us.
Richard will ride again. And that day will SUCK for me. BUT there are so many things to be thankful for in all of this, so many things were the best possible they could have been and everything was better than it could have been.
We are so thankful he is alive and not seriously hurt. Fixing the bike will be a pain, but its do able. We are grateful.
All of the pictures, with comments are here ...http://picasaweb.google.com/StaceyBrill/BikeAccident?feat=directlink
but here are a couple pictures for those of you who have dial up still and can't see the other website (MOM AND DAD BRILL :-).
Monday, February 9, 2009
Lillian is now taking 5-6 steps at a time...but only when she wants to, about once a day.
We just re-arranged the whole Living Room/Dining Room area and I LOVE IT. We're still hoping to move ASAP, but this makes it not feel so monotonous in the mean time.
I think that's it, pretty slow around here the last couple days.
We just re-arranged the whole Living Room/Dining Room area and I LOVE IT. We're still hoping to move ASAP, but this makes it not feel so monotonous in the mean time.
I think that's it, pretty slow around here the last couple days.
Thursday, February 5, 2009
ER
We went to the ER this morning because Lil woke up with a horrible rash, hundreds of red pinpoint dots all over her head, arms and torso. The doctor said its Fifth's Disease. Which he said "looks like death, but is nothing". He said its basically when your body has cold for a month and thinks you don't know, it gives you a rash, so you can't miss it. Its contagious, but only the cold part, the rash itself is not contagious.
He okayed for Kylie to stay here, because they've been together so much, probably passing this cold back and forth, and whatever Kylie's going to get, she's already gotten.
So, it was freaky, and still looks freaky, but it doesn't hurt or itch and she's completely herself. I do have to keep her away from pregnant people til the rash goes away (2days-2weeks) though. No biggie.
Wednesday, February 4, 2009
Fat
So, I'm still fat.
But...in an effort not to be depressed by that I remind myself that...
I have worked out nearly every day for the last 10 months.
I have worked out EVERY day since Dec 30.
I refuse to have a treadmill in the middle of my living room for no reason, so I might as well use it.
I gained an ungodly amount of weight during pregnancy but it was not my fault, due to pre-e
Because I gained so much, I have lost much more than most other February mommys have in the last year.
And today, because I was feeling especially fat, and watching The Biggest Loser, I figured out my percentage.
Drumroll please.........
I have lost 24% of my bodyweight in one year, including 8 weeks down for major abdominal surgery, and having mono.
GO MEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE
But...in an effort not to be depressed by that I remind myself that...
I have worked out nearly every day for the last 10 months.
I have worked out EVERY day since Dec 30.
I refuse to have a treadmill in the middle of my living room for no reason, so I might as well use it.
I gained an ungodly amount of weight during pregnancy but it was not my fault, due to pre-e
Because I gained so much, I have lost much more than most other February mommys have in the last year.
And today, because I was feeling especially fat, and watching The Biggest Loser, I figured out my percentage.
Drumroll please.........
I have lost 24% of my bodyweight in one year, including 8 weeks down for major abdominal surgery, and having mono.
GO MEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE
Sunday, February 1, 2009
Weekend Catchup
The professional pictures are not done yet, I will post a link when they are up.
We are going to a BYOSK Super Bowl party tonight, hosted by the lovely Owen family. Any guesses?
We started a new Bible Study in Sunday School today, its called Two Becoming One and is really good so far.
Lillian's favorite birthday presents are (in no particular order): castle tent with balls in it, rocking/riding horse, talking puppy and stuffed minnie and mickey.
We're SO CLOSE to filing our tax return, just waiting on the form from the stock company. We are getting back a large refund and are dividing it as follows:
25% stocks
15% house
15% bike
10% emergency fund
10% lillian
10% richard
10% stacey
5% christmas
Oma and Opa Brill got Lillian the Liberty's Kids complete series DVD set for her birthday and it just arrived in the mail and I can't wait to watch it.
We re-organized almost the whole house this week, sadly no furniture moving though. I firmly believe that there is no other way to adequately arrange our furniture to fit in the space and fit our needs. Those of you that know me well, know that makes me sad (and have convulsions).
The girls in the office said we should be in a three bedroom in "early spring". I figure since it was 50 today, it must be "early spring" but I'm thinking they're thinking March or April. Sad. I want to move today.
We had a MEOWW (Mom's Evening Out With Whitney) on Friday night and had Poker Night. It was hilarious since most of us did not know how to play poker, but we had fun. Whit sold some stuff from her store to the girls and then we played Taboo. I stayed til 2:30am. Whitney and I haven't hung out enough lately, obviously.
Richard put on his pants this morning and as he was putting his leg in, a cockroach came out. EWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWW.
I had my first cooking fire ever and my first time setting off the fire alarm in this apartment the other night. It happened to be the night we were watching Savannah. No, Eric and Teresa, we wern't trying to fry your daughter. I was heating oil for chicken, like I have done a million times and it caught on fire. Flames a foot high, we put the lid on but it wouldn't go out, so the pan went outside for two days. The pan is toast, well not literally, but it is fried. We bought a new pan at Target today.
Someday, I am going to buy a retardedly expensive set of pans.
I need new kitchen towels and a bathroom rug. We can't find a bathroom rug that meets Mr. Picky's "softness standards" AND does not have rubber on the bottom. (The rubber makes it take four hours to dry and I HATE getting wet socks.)
We just ordered two toy organizing bins which I am ridiculously excited about.
As Richard's surprise for my birthday, instead of Ashley coming here on her spring break, Lillian and I are flying to Iowa. This way, I will get to see Cyndi and Family and Grandma too. It is good, and I'm glad he planned a suprise for me, but I'm freaked out about flying on my own with Lillian at this bi-polar stage she's in, and because she refuses to fall asleep while being held.
This week should be pretty quiet for us, nothing planned really.
We are going to a BYOSK Super Bowl party tonight, hosted by the lovely Owen family. Any guesses?
We started a new Bible Study in Sunday School today, its called Two Becoming One and is really good so far.
Lillian's favorite birthday presents are (in no particular order): castle tent with balls in it, rocking/riding horse, talking puppy and stuffed minnie and mickey.
We're SO CLOSE to filing our tax return, just waiting on the form from the stock company. We are getting back a large refund and are dividing it as follows:
25% stocks
15% house
15% bike
10% emergency fund
10% lillian
10% richard
10% stacey
5% christmas
Oma and Opa Brill got Lillian the Liberty's Kids complete series DVD set for her birthday and it just arrived in the mail and I can't wait to watch it.
We re-organized almost the whole house this week, sadly no furniture moving though. I firmly believe that there is no other way to adequately arrange our furniture to fit in the space and fit our needs. Those of you that know me well, know that makes me sad (and have convulsions).
The girls in the office said we should be in a three bedroom in "early spring". I figure since it was 50 today, it must be "early spring" but I'm thinking they're thinking March or April. Sad. I want to move today.
We had a MEOWW (Mom's Evening Out With Whitney) on Friday night and had Poker Night. It was hilarious since most of us did not know how to play poker, but we had fun. Whit sold some stuff from her store to the girls and then we played Taboo. I stayed til 2:30am. Whitney and I haven't hung out enough lately, obviously.
Richard put on his pants this morning and as he was putting his leg in, a cockroach came out. EWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWW.
I had my first cooking fire ever and my first time setting off the fire alarm in this apartment the other night. It happened to be the night we were watching Savannah. No, Eric and Teresa, we wern't trying to fry your daughter. I was heating oil for chicken, like I have done a million times and it caught on fire. Flames a foot high, we put the lid on but it wouldn't go out, so the pan went outside for two days. The pan is toast, well not literally, but it is fried. We bought a new pan at Target today.
Someday, I am going to buy a retardedly expensive set of pans.
I need new kitchen towels and a bathroom rug. We can't find a bathroom rug that meets Mr. Picky's "softness standards" AND does not have rubber on the bottom. (The rubber makes it take four hours to dry and I HATE getting wet socks.)
We just ordered two toy organizing bins which I am ridiculously excited about.
As Richard's surprise for my birthday, instead of Ashley coming here on her spring break, Lillian and I are flying to Iowa. This way, I will get to see Cyndi and Family and Grandma too. It is good, and I'm glad he planned a suprise for me, but I'm freaked out about flying on my own with Lillian at this bi-polar stage she's in, and because she refuses to fall asleep while being held.
This week should be pretty quiet for us, nothing planned really.
Wednesday, January 28, 2009
One Year
We had Lillian's one year appointment on Monday and her stats are:
19 pounds 7 ounces
29.5 inches long
18 inch head circumfrence
She is:
completely off the bottle
always sleeping through the night
eating only table foods
only using her plug when she sleeps
in size three diapers
This last week she has had four, yes, FOUR, new teeth pop in. She now has four teeth in the middle on both top and bottom.
She got five shots and two blood draws at her appointment.
They are looking into her thyroid, and a couple other things, just to make sure that this ginormous weight gain (5.5 pounds and 30% points in two months!!) is just her catching up to her friends, rather than something wrong. They will call if the labs return abnormal, but I'm not expecting a call.
She does have to go back at 15 months instead of 18 months, to check on the weight and to check for walking and talking, which they normally do at 12 months, but since she's a preemie, they do it later.
Overall, we're thrilled, and over the next month we're going to work on drinking from a cup with no lid, switch her carseat to facing forward and work on sleeping without the plug.
19 pounds 7 ounces
29.5 inches long
18 inch head circumfrence
She is:
completely off the bottle
always sleeping through the night
eating only table foods
only using her plug when she sleeps
in size three diapers
This last week she has had four, yes, FOUR, new teeth pop in. She now has four teeth in the middle on both top and bottom.
She got five shots and two blood draws at her appointment.
They are looking into her thyroid, and a couple other things, just to make sure that this ginormous weight gain (5.5 pounds and 30% points in two months!!) is just her catching up to her friends, rather than something wrong. They will call if the labs return abnormal, but I'm not expecting a call.
She does have to go back at 15 months instead of 18 months, to check on the weight and to check for walking and talking, which they normally do at 12 months, but since she's a preemie, they do it later.
Overall, we're thrilled, and over the next month we're going to work on drinking from a cup with no lid, switch her carseat to facing forward and work on sleeping without the plug.
Saturday, January 24, 2009
Friday, January 23, 2009
25 Random Things About Me
Rules: once you are tagged, you are supposed to write a note with 25 random things, facts, habits or goals about you. At the end choose 25 people to tag. You have to tag the person who tagged you. If I tagged you, its because I want to know more about you!
1. I have had/still have amnesia.
2. I like old fashioned names like Matilda, Amelia, and Lucille.
3. I don't like many boys names. (Including Richard. Sorry honey. I attribute it to a scary old man I once new.)
4. I had a c-section. And it sucked.
5. I'm scared of escalators. (Ditto Jennie.)
6. I love starch and cheese. Mac and Cheese, Grilled Cheese, Cheese Fries, Potato Skins, Mozzarella Sticks, Cheesy Mashed Potatoes, Cheese Bread.....
7. I generally crave salty more than sweet.
8. I got pregnant twice on birth control.
9. I'm obsessed with pink and orange.
10. My kindergarten teacher was the best ever, she came to my high school graduation.
11. My daughter turns one today.
12. I used to own stilts. That's the most athletic I've been in my life. Until the Wii Fit that is. Now I kick butt on tightrope walking.
13. I used to pretend I was sick every Wed. night for Junior High Youth Group..so I didnt have to play games....but I wasnt the only one! (Ditto Jennie)
14. I let my brother drive before he had his license. He drove us into a snow bank and inches from a telephone pole.
15. I don't know if my parents know that last fact.
16. I am dreading next year's deployment.
17. I think I could have married a guy from college, if we had ever dated. But I'm more happy than ever, now.
18. I'm going to Disney World for my honeymoon in May. It will be 2.5 years since we got married and we are taking our daughter and going with two friends and their daughter. I couldn't be more excited.
19. I am dying to re-arrange my furniture.
20. I hope our next (and last-and not for awhile) kid is a girl.
21. I love skittles, and almost always have some with me. But only orange, red and purple. I pick out the yellow and green as soon as I get them and give them to R.
22. I do our finances. And I hate it. But they get done and done correctly that way.
23. I currently have a double sided poster board sized list of to-do's for the entire family for Saturday morning's party.
24. I gained 83 pounds during 8 months of pregnancy (due to pre-eclempsia, 55+ in the last month) and I have lost 62 of that in one year of motherhood.
25. I have never had a surprise birthday party.
1. I have had/still have amnesia.
2. I like old fashioned names like Matilda, Amelia, and Lucille.
3. I don't like many boys names. (Including Richard. Sorry honey. I attribute it to a scary old man I once new.)
4. I had a c-section. And it sucked.
5. I'm scared of escalators. (Ditto Jennie.)
6. I love starch and cheese. Mac and Cheese, Grilled Cheese, Cheese Fries, Potato Skins, Mozzarella Sticks, Cheesy Mashed Potatoes, Cheese Bread.....
7. I generally crave salty more than sweet.
8. I got pregnant twice on birth control.
9. I'm obsessed with pink and orange.
10. My kindergarten teacher was the best ever, she came to my high school graduation.
11. My daughter turns one today.
12. I used to own stilts. That's the most athletic I've been in my life. Until the Wii Fit that is. Now I kick butt on tightrope walking.
13. I used to pretend I was sick every Wed. night for Junior High Youth Group..so I didnt have to play games....but I wasnt the only one! (Ditto Jennie)
14. I let my brother drive before he had his license. He drove us into a snow bank and inches from a telephone pole.
15. I don't know if my parents know that last fact.
16. I am dreading next year's deployment.
17. I think I could have married a guy from college, if we had ever dated. But I'm more happy than ever, now.
18. I'm going to Disney World for my honeymoon in May. It will be 2.5 years since we got married and we are taking our daughter and going with two friends and their daughter. I couldn't be more excited.
19. I am dying to re-arrange my furniture.
20. I hope our next (and last-and not for awhile) kid is a girl.
21. I love skittles, and almost always have some with me. But only orange, red and purple. I pick out the yellow and green as soon as I get them and give them to R.
22. I do our finances. And I hate it. But they get done and done correctly that way.
23. I currently have a double sided poster board sized list of to-do's for the entire family for Saturday morning's party.
24. I gained 83 pounds during 8 months of pregnancy (due to pre-eclempsia, 55+ in the last month) and I have lost 62 of that in one year of motherhood.
25. I have never had a surprise birthday party.
Thursday, January 22, 2009
Fabulous Giveaway
Whitney, one of my best friends, owns Whitney Caroline Designs and sells gorgeous stuff. She is also giving away a fabulous Scout Bag on her blog. I have one of these bags and LOVE it. I also gave some away as Christmas gifts. They are water resistant and huge! You should scoot on over, check her out, and enter for the giveaway. Go, now, run....
Milestones
This week has been a week of milestones for Lillian. She has:
-learned to flush the toilet (JOY)
-learned to climb in the sink (?!?! I don't know either)
-had her first dose of birth control (we're starting early)
-had her fifth tooth break through (and possibly another one yet this week)
-learned (again-she did it a couple times a few months ago and then never again) to wave hi and bye bye. She is trying really hard to say bye bye when she waves too
-been able to stand on her own for a few seconds. This is not due to her inability to stand, its her impatience to do anything that involves being still.
-graduated to size three diapers (not out of need to move up in size, but that we were out of twos and had lots of threes)
-transitioned completely to whole milk rather than formula
-learned to drink out of a straw
-learned to hold a whole sandwich (or anything) and take "bites"
-had peanut butter for the first (and second and third) time
-a fantastic event tomorrow, her first birthday!
WHEW.. Yes, that was all this week. With that and the major OCD party planning going on over here, we've been a nuthouse this week.
-learned to flush the toilet (JOY)
-learned to climb in the sink (?!?! I don't know either)
-had her first dose of birth control (we're starting early)
-had her fifth tooth break through (and possibly another one yet this week)
-learned (again-she did it a couple times a few months ago and then never again) to wave hi and bye bye. She is trying really hard to say bye bye when she waves too
-been able to stand on her own for a few seconds. This is not due to her inability to stand, its her impatience to do anything that involves being still.
-graduated to size three diapers (not out of need to move up in size, but that we were out of twos and had lots of threes)
-transitioned completely to whole milk rather than formula
-learned to drink out of a straw
-learned to hold a whole sandwich (or anything) and take "bites"
-had peanut butter for the first (and second and third) time
-a fantastic event tomorrow, her first birthday!
WHEW.. Yes, that was all this week. With that and the major OCD party planning going on over here, we've been a nuthouse this week.
Wednesday, January 21, 2009
Classified Ad
One daughter for sale to highest bidder. Comes complete with 4.5 teeth, 3 bruises on her head, many pairs of shoes that no longer fit, climbing skills beyond her years and one dose of birth control.
Email all offers to StaceyBrill@gmail.com. Only serious inquiries please.
(Author's Note: This post was written with humor, in jest and meant to be a joke about my mischievous daughter's most recent achievements.)
Email all offers to StaceyBrill@gmail.com. Only serious inquiries please.
(Author's Note: This post was written with humor, in jest and meant to be a joke about my mischievous daughter's most recent achievements.)
Fruit Basket
We received a great fruit basket of fake fruit for Lillian to play with from Toys R Us. However it came with no gift message and no purchaser address. Its a mystery gift. That hasn't stopped her though. She and Kylie have been eating them, rolling them and chucking them at each others' heads all day long. She loves them! Mostly, her favorite is filling up the basket, then taking it by the handle and waving it all over the room and sending fruit flying.
We would love to know who these are from in order to give proper thanks.
We would love to know who these are from in order to give proper thanks.
Sunday, January 18, 2009
Navy=Change in plans
Once again, our plans have changed, thanks to the Navy.
They just changed Navy policy to state that no one is allowed to extend. Therefore, Richard will be required to re-enlist (unless someone has a marvelously better offer for us, preferably in Iowa or Michigan) in July 2009. He can choose to re-enlist for three, four, five or six years.
He is still up for rotation in January 2010. This is when he will switch from shore duty (no deployments) to sea duty (as many deployments as they want). He will be on sea duty for three years before rotating back to shore duty for three years. With the switch from shore duty to sea duty, it will also bring a possible re-location.
This is why we had hoped to extend from July to January and then re-enlist. Then, we would have had a little leverage in asking for locations we want...he could say he is going to get out if he doesn't get the orders he likes. However, now he will be enlisted for at least 2.5 more years when he is up for orders. This means they don't care a lick what he prefers, they know he can't do a thing about it.
We also found out that he will be getting NO re-enlistment bonus. This is always touted as a "bonus" and not to be "expected" but it seems very cruel when you have friends getting from $60,000 to $100,000 bonuses and you get nothing. He is bummed but okay. I'm flat out ticked off.
He also found out that they have started to have a test for anyone wanting to re-enlist. If you do not pass the test to their standard, you do not get the option to re-enlist. He says he is not worried at all about this, as his record is stellar (not that you'd know that by his bonus :-) but it is yet another hoop he has to jump through.
The new uniforms did indeed come out and are available at the stores starting January 15, 2009. However, they cannot wear them to work yet. There is no date for when they can wear them to work. We are going to try to make sure he passes this "re-enlistment test" before we spend $500 on new uniforms.
I love the Navy, I love the Navy, I love the Navy....
We did get a pay increase and are anticipating another one in July (although not counting on this, anymore).
We do have free healthcare, although it requires an insane amount of time ensuring you get the care you need and that you do not get improperly billed for anything.
On another positive note, we lost a third of our stock accounts this year. We lost double what we put in. Whooooooooooo Hoooooooooooooooooo!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
They just changed Navy policy to state that no one is allowed to extend. Therefore, Richard will be required to re-enlist (unless someone has a marvelously better offer for us, preferably in Iowa or Michigan) in July 2009. He can choose to re-enlist for three, four, five or six years.
He is still up for rotation in January 2010. This is when he will switch from shore duty (no deployments) to sea duty (as many deployments as they want). He will be on sea duty for three years before rotating back to shore duty for three years. With the switch from shore duty to sea duty, it will also bring a possible re-location.
This is why we had hoped to extend from July to January and then re-enlist. Then, we would have had a little leverage in asking for locations we want...he could say he is going to get out if he doesn't get the orders he likes. However, now he will be enlisted for at least 2.5 more years when he is up for orders. This means they don't care a lick what he prefers, they know he can't do a thing about it.
We also found out that he will be getting NO re-enlistment bonus. This is always touted as a "bonus" and not to be "expected" but it seems very cruel when you have friends getting from $60,000 to $100,000 bonuses and you get nothing. He is bummed but okay. I'm flat out ticked off.
He also found out that they have started to have a test for anyone wanting to re-enlist. If you do not pass the test to their standard, you do not get the option to re-enlist. He says he is not worried at all about this, as his record is stellar (not that you'd know that by his bonus :-) but it is yet another hoop he has to jump through.
The new uniforms did indeed come out and are available at the stores starting January 15, 2009. However, they cannot wear them to work yet. There is no date for when they can wear them to work. We are going to try to make sure he passes this "re-enlistment test" before we spend $500 on new uniforms.
I love the Navy, I love the Navy, I love the Navy....
We did get a pay increase and are anticipating another one in July (although not counting on this, anymore).
We do have free healthcare, although it requires an insane amount of time ensuring you get the care you need and that you do not get improperly billed for anything.
On another positive note, we lost a third of our stock accounts this year. We lost double what we put in. Whooooooooooo Hoooooooooooooooooo!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Thursday, January 15, 2009
Click on the photo and it will open larger in a new window.Wednesday, January 14, 2009
Lillian, the youngest teenager
My daughter, who has not yet had her first birthday, has effectively become a teenager. She has evidenced this by:
her desire to be tall and skinny,
being awake at all hours of the night,
refusing to eat,
refusing to take naps,
telling her parents "No" or "na" in her dictionary,
refusing to listen,
throwing tantrums,
and definite PMS and mood swings.
In short, I miss my baby and am not at all looking forward to 14 years from now.
her desire to be tall and skinny,
being awake at all hours of the night,
refusing to eat,
refusing to take naps,
telling her parents "No" or "na" in her dictionary,
refusing to listen,
throwing tantrums,
and definite PMS and mood swings.
In short, I miss my baby and am not at all looking forward to 14 years from now.
Three Bedroom
We are NEXT ON THE LIST for a three bedroom. We have been waiting more than 9 months for this opportunity and are now just waiting for someone to move the heck outta dodge. We have toured the three bedrooms and are very excited because:
They have a HUGE pantry. Our pantry now consists of our washer and dryer and one 10" shelf above them. Our pantry then will consist of washer, dryer, 10" shelf above them, on the LEFT. Then we have the whole right side which is a wall full of 10" shelves, floor to ceiling. AND it leaves room straight ahead for a shelving unit of our own. I'm excited about all the stockpiling opportunities this will bring.
Lillian will finally have her own room and we will begin the process of moving her to a bed rather than a crib.
We will have a separate guest room (told you you should come visit). And therefore, a whole nother closet!!!!!!!!!!!! That means R's uniforms, our games, and other random storage things can move out of Lillian's closet and into that one. Then all of L's crap might fit inside her closet! Whee, whee, whee!
We are going to be able to put our filing cabinets, bookshelves, and craft drawers in the guest room and therefore move them out of the living room and dining room.
We will have two full bathrooms!
We will have a bathroom in our bedroom that you don't have to dance with the door in order to pee!
We will have a bathroom down the hall by Lillian's room and the guest room. This means, Lil's toys will not ever again puncture my foot during an early morning, rushed shower attempt.
Lillian's room and the Guest Room are quite far down a hallway from our room and the Living area of the house. This means that when she is sleeping, I can go in my bathroom, use it, AND (get ready, its exciting...) FLUSH IT. Right now, our toilet is right by her crib and although she will sleep through the vaccuum, tv, phones, etc she WILL NOT sleep through a toilet flush for some reason.
One of the best things of all....We will have a playroom! Yes, it will be at the expense of a dining room, but who really needs a dining room anyways? We would only use it when we have lots of friends over (since family is not close) and when that happens we are more than excited to lock the kids in, um, uh, I mean, let the kids play in, the playroom and eat on plates on couches and chairs, peacefully. Our table, which is old and rickety but FANTASTIC has tons of leaves which means we can put it in the dining room and extend it out for 10 people if we want to, but for the most part, it can fold up and be a peaceful sitting area for two chairs and a highchair in the kitchen.
We will have more room in our living room because all of the other things that do not generally belong in a living room will actually have a home in other places in the house!
On a sad note...we will lose the infamous "closet from hell". Although that might very well be a good thing. I think all the above things will make up for that.
Some things to pray about for our move:
a. That the availability comes soon but also at a good time to move (ie. NOT the third week of May). We would love for my dad (and everyone else) to be able to come down and help. And our church group is low on guys this spring due to many deployments, so a date that works for most of the guys who are still here would be uber helpful.
b. That we get a good location. The bad thing about the three bedrooms is that they are on the first floor of the building and in the way our buildings are set up, this means, the entrance is in the back of the building. We would like to be in the middle of the complex, rather than on the outer edges, having our door face nothing ness (a little scary for me when R deploys next January). And parking is an issue in some spots more than others. Not a big deal generally but once R leaves, it would be helpful not to have to walk 5 miles from the car to the door with two toddlers and groceries in the rain.
c. That we are able to pay the additional rent and utility fees without taking away from our monthy savings and house fund deposits.
They have a HUGE pantry. Our pantry now consists of our washer and dryer and one 10" shelf above them. Our pantry then will consist of washer, dryer, 10" shelf above them, on the LEFT. Then we have the whole right side which is a wall full of 10" shelves, floor to ceiling. AND it leaves room straight ahead for a shelving unit of our own. I'm excited about all the stockpiling opportunities this will bring.
Lillian will finally have her own room and we will begin the process of moving her to a bed rather than a crib.
We will have a separate guest room (told you you should come visit). And therefore, a whole nother closet!!!!!!!!!!!! That means R's uniforms, our games, and other random storage things can move out of Lillian's closet and into that one. Then all of L's crap might fit inside her closet! Whee, whee, whee!
We are going to be able to put our filing cabinets, bookshelves, and craft drawers in the guest room and therefore move them out of the living room and dining room.
We will have two full bathrooms!
We will have a bathroom in our bedroom that you don't have to dance with the door in order to pee!
We will have a bathroom down the hall by Lillian's room and the guest room. This means, Lil's toys will not ever again puncture my foot during an early morning, rushed shower attempt.
Lillian's room and the Guest Room are quite far down a hallway from our room and the Living area of the house. This means that when she is sleeping, I can go in my bathroom, use it, AND (get ready, its exciting...) FLUSH IT. Right now, our toilet is right by her crib and although she will sleep through the vaccuum, tv, phones, etc she WILL NOT sleep through a toilet flush for some reason.
One of the best things of all....We will have a playroom! Yes, it will be at the expense of a dining room, but who really needs a dining room anyways? We would only use it when we have lots of friends over (since family is not close) and when that happens we are more than excited to lock the kids in, um, uh, I mean, let the kids play in, the playroom and eat on plates on couches and chairs, peacefully. Our table, which is old and rickety but FANTASTIC has tons of leaves which means we can put it in the dining room and extend it out for 10 people if we want to, but for the most part, it can fold up and be a peaceful sitting area for two chairs and a highchair in the kitchen.
We will have more room in our living room because all of the other things that do not generally belong in a living room will actually have a home in other places in the house!
On a sad note...we will lose the infamous "closet from hell". Although that might very well be a good thing. I think all the above things will make up for that.
Some things to pray about for our move:
a. That the availability comes soon but also at a good time to move (ie. NOT the third week of May). We would love for my dad (and everyone else) to be able to come down and help. And our church group is low on guys this spring due to many deployments, so a date that works for most of the guys who are still here would be uber helpful.
b. That we get a good location. The bad thing about the three bedrooms is that they are on the first floor of the building and in the way our buildings are set up, this means, the entrance is in the back of the building. We would like to be in the middle of the complex, rather than on the outer edges, having our door face nothing ness (a little scary for me when R deploys next January). And parking is an issue in some spots more than others. Not a big deal generally but once R leaves, it would be helpful not to have to walk 5 miles from the car to the door with two toddlers and groceries in the rain.
c. That we are able to pay the additional rent and utility fees without taking away from our monthy savings and house fund deposits.
2009
I (mistakenly) thought after we got home from our vacation to Michigan, things were going to be pretty dull around here for awhile. Turns out that's the farthest thing from the truth!
We had a rockin New Year's Eve party at Eric and Teresa's (although I was sick and out of it for the most part, there were some great memories made)
Tomorrow, Thursday, January 15th brings a PAYRAISE!!! Much needed and greatly appreciated. It also brings something Richard is very excited about....the release of NEW UNIFORMS!!!!!!! This is a much anticipated move by the Navy to reduce the number of uniforms one is required to have (currently an insane number). I'm not up on the details but I think it brings cami's that they can wear to work. Not positive though, I just know Richard is so excited he wants to go right to the NEX that day and get his new uniforms. Good thing we saved our uniform allowance from last year and have money set aside.
We have Lillian's first birthday next Friday, the 23rd. It DOES NOT seem possible that she's been here for a year already, but it also seems like she's been a part of our family forever. We all work so well together, I couldn't have asked for a better daughter (well except for this week, but more about that later).
We have Lillian's One Year pictures and her birthday party next Saturday, the 24th and I am busily (and slowly, thanks mono) preparing for that. As OCD as I am, you know everything has to be color coded and theme oriented and blah blah blah. Our photographer is going to do her one year portraits before the party and stay and photograph the party, I'm so excited.
Also next weekend, Richard's parents and grandparents and nephew are coming for a visit. We are so excited! We love having company. It's just too bad they'll only be here for a little over two days.
February first is our ledgendary Super Bowl party at the home of the fabulous Owen family. This was Lillian's first introduction to the madness of our group last year.
February 14th brings a triple 2nd birthday party. With a theme of Dora, Elmo and Cars. Whew! I'm tired already.
February 28th brings Spectacular Miss Kylie's First Birthday Party. A party for a princess.
March 4-8 we are having a "Girl's Weekend" at Whitney's family lakehouse in Georgia. I CANNOT wait for this. Not only to hang with some of the best women I know, but to get away for a few days and best of all, to have NO KIDS around. The men of our group, mighty as they are, are all taking leave to stay home and babysit the children. Go men!
The middle of March brings my 27th birthday and a much anticipated surprise from my wonderful husband. It involves Lillian, Ashley and a trip, that much I know. I can't wait for my annual "spring break with Ashley".
The end of March will be Miss Makailyn's birthday, the last of the "baby girls" who are no longer the "baby girls" of the group, as they got booted in November by Laynee, Eden and Ruby. (We have two women in our group pregnant now and every other one is fasting and not drinking the water until the third unlucky subject is chosen.)
April (or sooner hopefully) will bring us a (hopefully) large tax refund. It will be our first tax refund having three members in our family.
April 21 brings Richard's 27th birthday.
And most anticipated of all.....
The third week of May will see us in Florida at The Happiest Place on Earth, Walt Disney World!! And spending the time there with Brandon, Lindsey and Kylie, just makes it so it couldn't get any better than that. This is our first VACATION that is not a trip to go see family. Not that we don't love seeing family, but we love to travel and see new places and have been wanting to, but leave time doesn't always allow both. We are excited to start our family travels at DISNEY WORLD!!!!!!!!!
And we will be back on Saturday before Labor Day so we will have Sunday and Monday to relax before getting back into the routine of things.
This summer, we are hoping to be able to see the Coffman family as they are trying to make a trip to Virginia Beach. I love those kids so much and can't wait to see the entire family.
July brings a life altering decision, to re-enlist or not to re-enlist. Well actually, it looks like July is going to bring an "extension" until January 2010 when we will then make the decision to re-enlist or not re-enlist. Not that we are having thoughts about the second option but it is still always an option. July will bring another pay raise though, as Richard will have completed 8 years of service!!
Hopefully somewhere in there, we will insert a move into a three bedroom!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! That might actually top Mickey as Most Anticipated Event of early 2009. And even better, my Dad is going to try to come down (depending on date and work and all that stuff) and help us move.
As you can see, we are very busy and are actually taking quite a bit of leave the first half of this year. This probably means that we will not be getting up to Michigan during the year at all this year. So people, that means that when you're planning your vacations for this year, you should schedule in a trip to Glorious Virginia Beach. We would love to see you, and pretty soon, you should be able to stay with us without having to stay in the same room as Mis Lil.
We had a rockin New Year's Eve party at Eric and Teresa's (although I was sick and out of it for the most part, there were some great memories made)
Tomorrow, Thursday, January 15th brings a PAYRAISE!!! Much needed and greatly appreciated. It also brings something Richard is very excited about....the release of NEW UNIFORMS!!!!!!! This is a much anticipated move by the Navy to reduce the number of uniforms one is required to have (currently an insane number). I'm not up on the details but I think it brings cami's that they can wear to work. Not positive though, I just know Richard is so excited he wants to go right to the NEX that day and get his new uniforms. Good thing we saved our uniform allowance from last year and have money set aside.
We have Lillian's first birthday next Friday, the 23rd. It DOES NOT seem possible that she's been here for a year already, but it also seems like she's been a part of our family forever. We all work so well together, I couldn't have asked for a better daughter (well except for this week, but more about that later).
We have Lillian's One Year pictures and her birthday party next Saturday, the 24th and I am busily (and slowly, thanks mono) preparing for that. As OCD as I am, you know everything has to be color coded and theme oriented and blah blah blah. Our photographer is going to do her one year portraits before the party and stay and photograph the party, I'm so excited.
Also next weekend, Richard's parents and grandparents and nephew are coming for a visit. We are so excited! We love having company. It's just too bad they'll only be here for a little over two days.
February first is our ledgendary Super Bowl party at the home of the fabulous Owen family. This was Lillian's first introduction to the madness of our group last year.
February 14th brings a triple 2nd birthday party. With a theme of Dora, Elmo and Cars. Whew! I'm tired already.
February 28th brings Spectacular Miss Kylie's First Birthday Party. A party for a princess.
March 4-8 we are having a "Girl's Weekend" at Whitney's family lakehouse in Georgia. I CANNOT wait for this. Not only to hang with some of the best women I know, but to get away for a few days and best of all, to have NO KIDS around. The men of our group, mighty as they are, are all taking leave to stay home and babysit the children. Go men!
The middle of March brings my 27th birthday and a much anticipated surprise from my wonderful husband. It involves Lillian, Ashley and a trip, that much I know. I can't wait for my annual "spring break with Ashley".
The end of March will be Miss Makailyn's birthday, the last of the "baby girls" who are no longer the "baby girls" of the group, as they got booted in November by Laynee, Eden and Ruby. (We have two women in our group pregnant now and every other one is fasting and not drinking the water until the third unlucky subject is chosen.)
April (or sooner hopefully) will bring us a (hopefully) large tax refund. It will be our first tax refund having three members in our family.
April 21 brings Richard's 27th birthday.
And most anticipated of all.....
The third week of May will see us in Florida at The Happiest Place on Earth, Walt Disney World!! And spending the time there with Brandon, Lindsey and Kylie, just makes it so it couldn't get any better than that. This is our first VACATION that is not a trip to go see family. Not that we don't love seeing family, but we love to travel and see new places and have been wanting to, but leave time doesn't always allow both. We are excited to start our family travels at DISNEY WORLD!!!!!!!!!
And we will be back on Saturday before Labor Day so we will have Sunday and Monday to relax before getting back into the routine of things.
This summer, we are hoping to be able to see the Coffman family as they are trying to make a trip to Virginia Beach. I love those kids so much and can't wait to see the entire family.
July brings a life altering decision, to re-enlist or not to re-enlist. Well actually, it looks like July is going to bring an "extension" until January 2010 when we will then make the decision to re-enlist or not re-enlist. Not that we are having thoughts about the second option but it is still always an option. July will bring another pay raise though, as Richard will have completed 8 years of service!!
Hopefully somewhere in there, we will insert a move into a three bedroom!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! That might actually top Mickey as Most Anticipated Event of early 2009. And even better, my Dad is going to try to come down (depending on date and work and all that stuff) and help us move.
As you can see, we are very busy and are actually taking quite a bit of leave the first half of this year. This probably means that we will not be getting up to Michigan during the year at all this year. So people, that means that when you're planning your vacations for this year, you should schedule in a trip to Glorious Virginia Beach. We would love to see you, and pretty soon, you should be able to stay with us without having to stay in the same room as Mis Lil.
Disney World!
Did I mention we're going to Disney World? Wheeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!!!!!!!
For SEVEN DAYS!!!!!!!!!!!!! Septuple wheeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!!!!!!!!!!!!
For SEVEN DAYS!!!!!!!!!!!!! Septuple wheeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!!!!!!!!!!!!
The never-ending sickness
It turns out that the reason I just couldn't get better and kept getting more ailments was that behind it all, I was having a grand case of Mono. Now that they have that figured out they gave me steriod shots and steroid pills as well as sleeping pills (I have lots of trouble falling asleep anytime before 2am) and "wake up" pills (to make me more awake at 6am) as well as antibiotics for the rest of that stuff.
I found out a week or so ago and am actually feeling pretty good now, all the sickness is gone, I have most of my hearing back, although not all of it, and all thats left is utter exhaustion.
He said it was okay to still do moderate exercise and that while typically the directions for mono are bed rest he realized that wasn't possible with two little ones so just to take it easy, not do things I don't have to do and try to get a nap in each day. He said the sleeping pills to get my body sleeping at the right times of day (night) will help too.
I found out a week or so ago and am actually feeling pretty good now, all the sickness is gone, I have most of my hearing back, although not all of it, and all thats left is utter exhaustion.
He said it was okay to still do moderate exercise and that while typically the directions for mono are bed rest he realized that wasn't possible with two little ones so just to take it easy, not do things I don't have to do and try to get a nap in each day. He said the sleeping pills to get my body sleeping at the right times of day (night) will help too.
Thursday, January 8, 2009
The Happiest Place on Earth!!
We are officially going to Disney World the third week of May, this year. I am BEYOND excited. Disney is offering a superbly fantastic military ticket package that we are taking advantage of, and we found availability at the Military Resort on Disney property. Total, for seven days of hotel, and two five day park hopper passes, it will cost us under $800. You CANNOT pass that up. We will still have to get there, but we're going to drive, so that will save money over flying and we might carpool with friends.
Oh, didn't I mention that yet? Brandon and Lindsey and Miss Kylie are joining us on this excellent adventure. Whee!!!!!!!!
We are busy, busy, busy researching restaurants that are cheap but good, fantastic but expensive, shows and shops we cannot miss and the most kid friendly things to do. Any of you that have been there recently, feel free to leave your input on things we cannot miss or should skip.
Oh, didn't I mention that yet? Brandon and Lindsey and Miss Kylie are joining us on this excellent adventure. Whee!!!!!!!!
We are busy, busy, busy researching restaurants that are cheap but good, fantastic but expensive, shows and shops we cannot miss and the most kid friendly things to do. Any of you that have been there recently, feel free to leave your input on things we cannot miss or should skip.
Thursday, January 1, 2009
New Pictures
Fifty bazillion (or at least 400) new pictures are up on the website (no joke), but these are my favorite... And it appears the demon photo software issues have popped up again. Ignore the sideways, focus on the delight at the gift of a cell phone. And the family picture isn't so much for the family, but for my HOT husband, whom I have cropped out about four times but the rest of the family refuses to leave the picture apparently.