And It's May

Yesterday Baby T turned 23 months old and I realized this is the last month that I'll say his age in months. And I wanted to cry but I didn't. Although when we went to pick his Easter pictures up at JCP on Saturday, there was a newborn getting his picture taken and when I saw that little ball of naked cuteness laying all curled up, I got teary. And I'm sure Baby T's dad thought I was crazy, but it was so sweet and such a reminder that by BABY T is not really a baby anymore. And he's been proving that daily by letting us know when he "pee pees" and going to the bathroom and touching the potty. He won't sit on it yet, but he'll tell everyone in the house who's in the bathroom and what they're doing. For instance, if I'm in the bathroom, he let's everyone know "Mama, pee pee! Mama, pee pee!" I can't say getting him potty trained would hurt my feelings.

Our weather has been so crazy. Hot, cold, nice, stormy... a little mix of everything. As long as there's no snow or freezing temps, you won't hear me complain.

I have to go to the dentist this month. NOT looking forward to it. I've already told the receptionist that I will be the biggest anxiety filled baby that office has ever seen. She was very nice and told me that I would be fine and if I needed her, she'd even hold my hand. I kind of laughed at her "joke" and then she told me that "No, I mean it... I will go back and hold your hand if you need me to!" Really? Well, that's nice! Do you know that I may take you up on that offer? ha Anyway, I need to go and I need to get my kids in for a cleaning, so I'm glad I got that off my "to do" list.

Next stop... check-up at the doctor's. Much easier.

Totally random... I've been thinking of starting a garden. I'm bored. I think perhaps I should start with the Topsy Turvy this year and see how that goes. I would love to have cumcumbers too, but I can't keep an aloe plant alive so I need to start out slow. Actually, my best bet would probably be to just try and grow some herbs in my kitchen window and see how that turns out. I could use the little packs of seed we keep getting out of Baby T's Dan-o-nino yogurt.

And that's all I got for now.

Happy 2011 To Me... Happy 2011 To Me...

That's right. 2011. March 23, 2011 to be exact. I swear I'm gonna get better about this whole blogging thing. Swears!

So, what have we been up to, you ask? Well, all but 1 of us is a whole year older. I turned 38 last Thursday and I gotta tell you I don't feel a day older than 37. I think once you past 35, it's just a waiting period until the big 4-0. Par Tay!

My b-day was a good one. I went to a casino for the first time in my life and actually came out $110 richer. I didn't understand the computerized slots worth a crap, but I gotta tell ya that any machine you just sit and hit buttons on has to be a brain stumper. And how I lost $5 in the penny slots in less than 1 minute is beyond me. I figured I'd have 500 plays that would keep me there with the other ladies in their Hoverounds for hours. Didn't happen but that's probably ok, when old ladies start stroking the screen and kissing stuffed animals for luck, that's when I gots to go.

My attire was somewhat disappointing. I forget I can't wear heels, but about a week before my birthday I decided I'd get more "dressed up" and I found these CUTE heels that matched my cute cute sweater (for the unexpected 70 degree day) and I just thought I was so cute and are you sick of that word yet? Anyway, those heels did me wrong! Can you say 3rd degree blister? If they don't have "degrees" they should because mine is more than just a little blister, it is a major BLISTER! But thankfully that's just the one on the side of my big toe. I have 1st and 2nd degree blisters on my middle and fourth toes. I am still wearing flip flops which has been ok for that last week but tomorrow it's suppose to snow and be in the 30's. Guess my luck at the 'Spin N Win' has worn off.

Moving on... Everyone is good. The boys are good. The parents are good. I am good. Most of all God is good! And although He doesn't have to prove that to me, He does. He has. The truth is, I had a very rough start to 2011 and it took a lot of strength to get through. Strength I didn't know I had. Strength that only the good Lord above could give. And even though I thought things were at their worst, He showed me that HE has the authority over everything. He can change situations that seem unchangeable. Praise God!

So... don't give up. You might end up a winner.

Last Week

-My family was in town. The WHOLE week. Whoohoo. It was awesome.


-We did not go to the State Fair as planned due to the high temps and even higher humidity. (Didn't think it would be wise to drag Baby T out in that and we weren't really up for it either.)


-We had lots of good food and I didn't gain any weight. Whoohoo.


-My therapist let me go. He "said" there was just nothing more I needed from him and that I did what I went in to get help for and that he believes I'm strong and ok and blah blah freakin blah... I'll save the rest for another post, but for now I'll say he might just get a letter from me someday soon letting him know I believed every word of what he said to me.


-Mr. R and I took Baby T to a carnival and we actually had a very good time. (My therapist would have had a hayday with this one, but now he will never know. Because I'm all better now. And if the words "Mr. R and I... had a very good time." don't tell you how very wrong my therapist is, I don't know what will.)

-We were getting ready to leave my parents' and had the car packed, it running with the a/c on and both the dogs in. Next thing we know, the Yorkie jumped up to look out and locked the doors. Thank goodness for AAA.

-I just realized how uneventful last week really was.


-I just realized uneventful could very possibly mean it was still a really great week.

Another Update

We had another OB appointment yesterday. Just the normal belly check, weight check, and listening to the heartbeat. I didn't gain any weight over the last week. (Yay!), the heartbeat was great and I'm measuring right on schedule.

I took my list of a few questions and asked Dr. S about the whole "inducing" thing. They will not induce me because of me trying for another VBAC... so, I asked what would happen if I went over my due date and if that would mean an automatic c-section. He said that was a good question and they would probably induce but it would be watched very closely. My thinking is, if they are going to end up doing a c-section, I'll go early and get it over with. lol We also talked about Baby T's weight and that he'll most likely be big... well, that's when Dr. S decided it would be a good idea to do an ultrasound next week to get a better idea of how much Baby T weighs so we can decide what to do from there. I'm very excited about this because they will be using the 3D ultrasound and we will get an actual look at his little face.

OH MY GOSH, we are SO excited to see him!! :)

A friend of mine just had this done last week and she said she saw her baby clearly and she (the baby) looks just like her other daughter did. Hopefully I'll make it over to her house some time this weekend to see the pic of her. She said you can really see the baby good when they do it in 3D.

I can't wait!

We have all the baby clothes and blankets washed and I have all his things packed and ready for the hospital. Mr. R and I still have to pack our bag. T1 and T2 got the bassinet and bouncy seat put together last weekend. (Awwww... Baby T's big brothers are finally getting a little excited about him.) We got our Coach diaper bag ordered and are waiting for it to come in. Today we can clean out the daycare room and bring his new furniture over. We still need to put the car seat in the car, but that shouldn't be too hard. We still need to get a chair for my room and the mattress for his big crib, but other than that, I think we have everything pretty much bought and ready to go. I need to get a little bag of snacks and stuff together for the boys and make sure they have a bag packed of stuff to do at the hospital and we should be set.

After we got done at the doctor's yesterday we went over to Mr. R's house and worked! Well, I didn't work much but the boys helped him power wash the house and move things. He's getting ready to paint the outside of his house today and tomorrow.

His mom made us chicken n dumplings and brought it down right about the time we were ready to come back here for the night, so we took it and stopped at KFC for some side dishes to go along with it. We watched American Idol and had a YUMMY dinner. I can't believe Kris won! I was hoping he would but figured it would be Adam. I think a lot of people were surprised. I wanted Danny to win but I'm sure he'll end up doing something with his talent.

It's suppose to be in the mid-80's today... I sat out at Mr. R's house yesterday and got some sun so maybe I'll sit out for a little bit today too. I need some color!

Another Big Baby?

I had my OB check yesterday with Dr. J. I really like him. I asked him about the tonic water that another doctor said I should take for leg cramps and he said he would not advise it. I'm glad I wasn't overreacting when I decided not to take anymore of it. I told him I'd stick with eating bananas and drinking juice with potassium.

I gained 2 pounds. I guess that's ok since I hadn't gained anything in a month.

We asked the doctor if he thought the baby would be big and he said from what he can guess, he'd say it would be at least an 8 pounder. Aww, I want a little baby!!! A nice little 6.5 pound baby would be so nice. He looked at my chart and said I just grow big babies. I guess as long as they're healthy that's all that matters. It's not like the boys are very big now... they're both skinny as rails.

My next appointment is in two weeks and they'll do an exam and the Strep B test. After that I'll start going every week and then... baby time! I'm nervous about the labor and delivery but I try not to think about it. It is what it is. I'm just praying I get the doctor I'm suppose to get and there's no complications.

I took in my VBAC consent form yesterday, so that's all done. Hopefully I can do that and not have to have another c-section.

We still have to go to the hospital tour, get the room ready, the bed and dresser set up, pack our hospital bag and wash the baby clothes and I think we'll be all set.

It's raining here today and very dreary. I didn't sleep at all last night and I'm tired and a little bit grouchy. My legs were hurting so bad and the baby was moving all over the place... kind of hard to sleep when there's a party going on inside your stomach. So, hopefully the daycare kiddos will be good and I can make it through the day. I'm sure I'll be ready for a nice long nap by 5:00!

I talked to my mom yesterday and she said my dad's sick with the flu. OH GOSH!

In Which I Whine About Swine

You know, when you're less than 6 weeks away from having a baby, you really have better things to be scared about than "swine flu".

We're stupid... shut the freakin borders already, keep people out of Mexico and keep the people in Mexico out of the U.S.! I mean really, does it take a brain?

I'm irritated. Mostly because we haven't had the flu yet this year and of course if we get it now we'll be all freaked out. Do I really need this right now?!

I hate the media. Why put everyone in a panic? And does anyone see the way this is correlating with the President's first 100 days "review". Whatever. I'm so over it.

The melodramatic United States.

And how wonderful that there has been at least one case reported in my state. I hope the person is responsible enough to stay home and away from the rest of us.


Anyhoo... enough of that whining. Nothing much is happening here. The temps have been in the 80's and I have a new respect for women who are pregnant during the summer months! Yikes! I got my taste of it over the weekend and it was not fun! I was miserable to say the least. I ended up turning the A/C on. In April!

I have another OB appointment tomorrow. I'm anxious to see if I've gained any weight or if I've lost again. Of course a part of me is hoping I've lost, but I certainly don't want that to effect the baby. I'm also wondering if he's still facing down or if he moved back up. He sure has been moving around a lot for having such a small space to move in. Trust me, I feel every little and big move he's making right now!

I'm getting about 4 hours of sleep a night. The night before last I laid there until 5am. I'm so happy I'm not working full time right now! I'd be ok if I didn't have to lay on my sides. I just get comfortable on one side and my leg and hip decide to go numb. Ahh, the joys of pregnancy.

Trust me, even during the harder moments, I'm not complaining. This has been the easiest pregnancy ever and I have nothing to complain about. I know it's going to be over all too soon and I'll miss it, so I'm really trying to enjoy it as much as I can.

Hello, Mr. Hicks

Ahhh, lovely little things called Braxton Hicks contractions. I've had them since 7:00 this morning. At first I thought it was a little too early to be having them because I didn't remember getting them this early with the other two pregnancies but the book says they can start as early as 20 weeks.

The baby also didn't move much yesterday or today, so with that and the B-Hicks combined, I thought it would be ok to call the doctor's office.

A nurse called back and confirmed that yes, it was Braxton making his appearance and unless they totally take my breath away, or if I can time them 2-5 minutes apart, or if there's any bleeding, I shouldn't worry about it.

As for the baby not moving around, I can drink something with caffeine and lay down on my left side and that should work and should get him moving. Hmmm, maybe that's why he's so active between 2 and 3 am every night??

I'm so glad we have a doppler here. Of course I had to get that out and check his heartbeat. Still high and going strong so that eased my mind.

I think I'm just overly worried because EVERYONE I know who has been pregnant in the last few months has delivered early. Thankfully all their babies seem to be doing fine but it's still scary!

In unrelated news... we got between 9 and 12 inches of snow Tuesday night/Wednesday morning. The dogs didn't know what to do and wouldn't even go out until the boys shoveled a path out the back door and into the yard. Mr. R came over last night and he and the boys shoveled out the driveway. They were covered with snow when they came in.

After dinner we watched Fireproof and Taken. Don't ask me how someone in Mr. R's family got a dvd of Taken, but they did and we borrowed it and it was GOOD!

I am actually tired tonight! I worked today and naptime was a nightmare. For some reason my little almost 2 yr old did not want to nap. Very unlike her. She kept waking her brother up and the poor thing was so tired she really did want to sleep but just wouldn't let herself. She finally gave in and went to sleep but only got about a half hour nap in. She was fine the rest of the day and was happy when her mom got here so it must not have bothered her too much. It's so cute because she can't say my name, so she calls me "Honey". She tells her mom she wants to go to Honey's house. Anytime she wants or needs something she'll come looking for me saying "Honey... Honey... Honey...". So cute!

One More Day

Hopefully by tomorrow afternoon we'll know what we're having. Neither one of us really care, but it will be fun to find out. Mr. R wants to go shopping this weekend and get EVERYTHING. That's nice, but what will we do for the next 5 months? I have a feeling that we're going to get really impatient towards the end.

We finally got snow yesterday. I wasn't really holding my breath but it happened. Not only did it snow, but the temps dropped too. It's -4 degrees right now. Brr!

Here's T2 doing what he does best... working outside. That child hates being trapped indoors and shoveling to him isn't work, it's fun. Why can't we adults think like that about more things in life?!

Someone Is 12 ?!?!?!

Wow! I can't believe T2 is 12 today! 12? Really? When did THAT happen?

The poor thing had a rough night last night with a sore throat and stomachache and didn't get to bed until after 3am, so I decided to let him sleep a little this morning and not try to make it to church so early.

We did go to Muncie later. T2 wanted to have his birthday lunch at Cheeseburger In Paradise, so we met my parents there at noon. Afterwards, they took T2 back to their house and T1 and I went to pick up the cake and headed to Old Navy. T2 requested clothes from me, so I loaded up on sweats, long sleeved tees and socks. (He loves comfy clothes.) Of course I also put $12 in his card. Tradition.

We went back to my parents' and let him open his gifts. We had cake and sat around and talked for awhile. On our way home he wanted to stop by Best Buy. He got a WWE wrestling game and T1 got a dvd.

We came home and the house was freezing... it was almost 70 yesterday and today it's back down in the 30's. Crazy! No wonder I've had a headache most of the day.

Well, I need to get my laundry out and clean the kitchen up. Mr. R is coming over tonight and we're getting pizza and will watch a couple of movies.

Ice Ice Baby

Our second ice storm of the season. I'm thinking I do not like ice. However, as long as it just stays around for a few hours, warms up and melts, I guess it's better than a ton of snow.

Mr. R and I went to start (yep, start) our Christmas shopping this morning. By about 2:00pm we came out of Kohls and it was just starting to sleet. The roads were getting bad and everyone was going slow.

We thought we'd try to beat the horrible Walmart crowd and go late tonight instead of tomorrow... I just looked outside and everything (including my car) is solid ice. I checked the weather online and the freezing rain is suppose to stop around 1:00 am. Hmmm... guess who may be going shopping around 1:00 am?!

Weather!

I woke up this morning to a phone call that my little daycare boy was sick so they would not be coming today. It was nice news not to have to get up (because I was tired and cold and didn't want to get out from under my cozy blankets) but sad that my little guy is sick! I'm so thankful that the mom didn't bring him though. I'm trying to stay away from any and all people who are ill. I ended up not getting a flu shot (yet) so I'm trying to stay as healthy and germ free as I can.

So... since I had the day off I decided I'd use my time wisely. I cleaned up the kitchen, dusted and vacuumed, cleaned my room and did some laundry. Oh, and I got my baby chain made. :)

Mr. R called and asked if I was having a good day with the daycare kids and when I told him they weren't here, we decided we'd take the boys and go see a movie. We were going to see "Four Christmases". He really wanted to see "Australia", but it was my turn to pick the movie.

Anyway... it had snowed earlier but didn't stick to the grass, just the sidewalks and roads. It looked like it was pretty much just a light dusting of powder, but we soon found out it was super slick and icy out.

When Mr. R tried to get on the highway to head over to my house around 3:30, it was at a standstill, so he turned around and went back home. We figured we could go to a later movie and he'd just wait it out until they salted the roads better and all the going-home-from-work traffic died down.

Then we started watching the news and decided the movie could wait until another day and he probably should stay put at his house. (He's lives 45 minutes away.) There were accidents everywhere, people sliding off all over the place, parts of the highway actually closed down and it was taking people 45 minutes to get places that normally took them 15.

So, no movie and no Mr. R tonight. So what's the next best thing to do... eat, of course. I made bow tie pasta with alfredo sauce and garlic bread sticks. We have cookies that my mom sent home and brownies I made a few days ago, so we can snack on those later. Hopefully there's a good Christmas movie on tonight and we can cuddle up on the couch and watch it. (Although I doubt my teenager will go for it. Oh well, I try.)

I do not have ONE thing bought for Christmas yet. That's scarier than the roads!

Cause 2 People Are Reading

I have to keep up on my bloggin'.

This week is going fast. I can't believe it's almost Thanksgiving.

Mr. R informed me he's going hunting again this weekend. I was a little irritated (maybe that's too strong of a word) ok, perhaps I was a little shocked because he was just gone for 5 days... little did I know, there is a time limit on hunting. Hmmm, I thought it was like all winter long, guess not. Anyway, yippeee... another weekend to myself. (And he thinks I don't like it when he leaves. Shh!)

BTW... he goes for an MRI this Friday. He's still throwing up many times a day. The boy has a problem and I hope they can find it. The sad thing is, I know exactly when he's about to get sick or not feeling good because he gets this sad tone in his voice or gets really quiet.

Another friend of mine is getting an MRI. She's having bad headaches and hopefully they'll find something too. (See how I added you into the mix of aliments... I wouldn't forget you, my BFF!!) She's got a lot on her plate and this is just another thing she doesn't need to deal with.

My grandpa is not doing good. His stroke has really done him in. My parents, aunt and T2 just went to visit him yesterday. They went to the doctor to see if he needed surgery and the good news is, he doesn't. At least not for now. The bad news is some idiot thinks he needs a feeding tube. UGH!

So anyway, if you pray, say a prayer for those 3 people I love dearly! Thanks!

Anyhoo... not much is going on here. I'm making the trip to Muncie tonight to get T2. I miss him. I miss my kids when they're gone. I don't know what I'm going to do when they move out or go off to college.

Right now I'm getting ready to go run errands. Gotta go to the bank, get a car wash (I got tons of salt on it coming home yesterday morning.) and then I need to go somewhere and get kleenex, fabric softener and aluminum foil. Sounds fun, huh?!

(LOL- side note: Do you know anyone who can't say "aluminum". I do... my children's "father". Oh gosh it use to crack me up.)

Yeah... about my trip home yesterday morning. Let's just say Muncie gets much more precipitation than where I live. It could be bright and sunny here and Muncie could have 3 feet of snow. Long story short, I had to work yesterday and so I got up to come home, got to 69 south and traffic was at a standstill. Well, if you know my anxiety about traffic, you'd know there was no way I was gonna get on that highway. So, I went back to my parents and waited about 45 minutes, tried it again and it was all clear. Amazing what a little morning sun can do.

T2 is starting Upwards again. He goes for his "evaluation" this Saturday. He didn't have to do that last year. Of course we'll be in Michigan the day he has his first practice. That is usually what happens every year because we do our family Christmas late. I hope they get his name right this year! They called him by his last name almost every week last year. Oh well, we knew who he was. :) This will be his last year unless they extend the grades. I thought some went to 8th but this one ends at 6th. I'll be sad. It's really fun to go watch the games every Saturday. Let's hope he plays at a later time again!

We watched Tropic Thunder last night. Unless you can rent it at Redbox for a dollar, save yourself the money. There were some funny parts and seeing Jack Black with blonde hair was interesting. OHHHHH... I'll tell you who is hilarious in that movie... Tom Cruise!! Ok, so for a dollar it would be worth it.


Have a wonderful day!

Hey Good Lookin'

whatcha got cookin'...

I have been quite the cook lately. Mainly because we are SO broke that eating out just isn't an option right now, but that's ok because we need to eat at home more.

In the last week I've made pork chops, a roast, chicken... Yep, I can make more than just spaghetti and mac n cheese.

Tonight I made honey bbq chicken wings, fried potatoes and a salad with cucumbers, green peppers and croutons. A little later I'll either be making brownies or oatmeal cookies for dessert. Or maybe both.

I already made a big batch of brownies and peanut butter cookies this morning, but they're all gone. They left this afternoon with Mr. R on a 5 day hunting trip. It's been raining all week (with no end in sight) and we're suppose to get snow tomorrow. What men will put up with to hunt. Of course I'm sure they think we're crazy when we spend hours at crowded malls and stand in long check out lines. Mars/Venus.

Oh snap! The Wizard Of Oz is on. I wish we were at my parents' house so my kids and I could watch it with my mom. We're planning on going over tomorrow night to spend the night and we're going to be making some kind of dessert thing with some new gadget my mom just got. I guess you can fill these little pastries with pudding or icing or some kind of stuff? Anyway, hopefully there will be another good movie on. I'm ready for some good Christmas movies. Of course National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation is one of my favs. And of course you can't have Christmas without A Christmas Story! The part where they're at the Chinese restaurant is the best.

My aunt is coming up again next week. My grandpa has to have surgery on Tuesday so her and my mom will go up again for the day. We'll go over and spend the night Tuesday night so we can see her. It's fun to see her so much, but unfortunately it's not under good circumstances.

Oh, before I forget... T2 had an appointment with his allergy/asthma doctor on Wednesday and he blew a 100% on his breathing test. YAY! He's doing real good and all his meds are working great. Plus, we didn't have to deal with the NP that we don't care for, instead we got to see the one we LOVE!!! She's just the sweetest woman and it was great to see and talk to her. She just got back from visiting her son, daughter-in-law and grandkids in Australia and from the sounds of it, she had a great visit. We talk about homeschooling with her because her grandkids are homeschooled. She said she got to teach them when she was there and really enjoyed it. We found out she's only working part-time now on Wednesdays and Thursdays, so we made sure to make our 6 month check up on a Wednesday!

Well, I'm off to clean up the kitchen and then relax. I just realized that I don't have to make dessert. Mr. R brought over doughnuts and brownies from an awesome place called Long's Bakery... so, we can just have that. Yippeee!

Have a great weekend!

Migraine

Yesterday was busy. Normally my Mondays are low key. I missed that. I had to be up early for an appointment in another town, then that appointment led to another appointment at another office and I got back home a lot later than I wanted to.

My parents were here to stay with the boys and my mom cleaned up the whole kitchen for me. Awww, how nice, huh? Don't you wish she was your mom.

Last night I started getting cold, because the weather started getting cold. When I start getting cold, I start feeling sick. Before bed I had a headache and a stomachache. Of course I did what I always do (and always regret) and thought, "oh, I don't need to take anything, I'll just go to bed and when I wake up my headache will be gone". You'd think I would have learned my lesson by now, but noooo. So, I went to bed and by 6am my headache had turned into a migraine and hurt so bad the pain woke me up. I got up and took some Tylenol and had to prop myself up on pillows to try and get back to sleep.

I got up at 8am for work... and the Tylenol hadn't done jack.

I am miserable. I'm not sure I can tolerate the last two hours of my work day. And on top of it all, my sweet little daycare girl ran and fell straight into the corner of the wall and got a scrape and huge goose egg. I felt SO bad! She cried for about a minute and then was running around, but it had to hurt! Since her mom works real close to my house, I called her and asked if she'd come down and take a look at it. By the time she got here, the little girl was running all over, going down the slide and laughing. We both agreed she was ok, but her bump looks horrible. She ate her lunch fine, so I think she's going to be ok. I hate it when kids get hurt at my house.

My Tuesday feels like a continuance of my Monday. :(

I Need Warm Sun

I can't believe it's been almost a year since we went to Florida. I really want to go back. I think I'd enjoy it more. Not that I didn't enjoy it immensely the first time, but you know, when you take your kids to Disney for the first time ever, you spend more time watching THEM than anything else.

I'd also like warmer weather and SUN. Sun makes things warm and I'm having issues with cold air. I'm pretty sure I have a nasty little thing called Cold Urticaria. Really, it's a horrible thing. Anytime I'm in cold air lately, any skin that is exposed, it turns to hives and itching. When we were up in Michigan on vacation, I went down to the beach one evening and it was rather cold. Well, by the time I got back to our room I was covered in hives. So bad that my mom went down to the desk to find out where the closest hospital was. I used Benedryl cream and tried to get warm and after about 30 minutes they started going away. I was really hoping that it was just a fluke and perhaps something that was in the lake air/sand/etc. But no... I got home only to leave the A/C on too high one night and the next morning I was sitting at the computer freezing and my ankles and feet and hands started to break out. Yesterday was a little chilly in the morning and I was out in the backyard looking at the mess left by the winds from Ike and when I came in, the itching started. I had shorts on, so my knees were covered in hives and were red and swollen. So, I started researching it online and found out I'm not crazy, it's a real condition AND I could die. Seriously, from what I've read, if it gets bad enough, it could lead to Anaphylactic Shock. Not cool. When I read about cold water and swimming pools, T1 reminded me that a couple of years ago when I went swimming in our pool I got out and was covered in hives. It was cold. I remembered showing my mom all the red welts and asking her what it was and we figured it was from the chemicals. I took a hot shower and they seemed to go away and I never thought about it again. But now... it's happening all the time. I'm wondering how people make it through the winter with this. I guess time will tell. All I know is, I'll be covering up when I go out. And I think I may want to go get an Epi pen... just in case.

It also stinks because fall is my favorite season... not now. I dread the colder weather. Plus, I just can't get into the spirit of fall. It doesn't seem like it should be here yet. I'm not over summer yet.

In other news... I guess I'm going back into the daycare business. I have a couple of ideas and I think I'll be doing things differently so hopefully that will make the transition back into working full-time a little easier. I'm not really looking forward to it, but you deal with what life hands you and you get over it.

I guess we'll see what happens.

Happy NPAD!

Did you know today was National Provider Appreciation Day? I actually forgot myself until I got a call from a former dc parent who mentioned it. I had the day off, so I'll consider that my gift.

I really wanted to sleep in a little this morning, but that's almost impossible when your daycare is IN your house. I tried, but was fully awake by 7:50 so I decided to get up and get breakfast for me and the boys. I watched some tv then got ready for the day.

Then it was off to run errands. The boys and I went to get gas, Aldi's, the newspaper office, Walmart and Bath & Body Works.

Isn't it weird when you see someone out and about that you know and you know that they know who you are and you both look straight at each other but neither of you say anything. Not a "hi", "hello", "how are you"... nothing. Why do people do that? It happened to me today, twice. I'm never sure how to handle those kind of situations so I usually say nothing and just walk away.

We got Chinese for dinner tonight. (vegetarian T1 got Subway) T2 and I split and order of sesame chicken, white rice and crab rangoons. It was good, but spicy. We haven't ordered from this particular place in probably over a year and they've really spiced up the sauce on the sesame chicken. Hopefully that will clear up my sinuses.

I got a call this afternoon from a former daycare mom wanting to know if it would be possible for her to bring her daughter back. I would be so excited for them to come back! I was really sad when they left as they were really good dc parents! And well, of course I just love their daughter... talk about a FUNNY little girl! She kept me in stitches daily. And the mom... just a doll!! Loved the family and will totally welcome them back! "K" is starting Kindergarten this fall and needs somewhere to hang until mom can get her. I hope it works out.

I'm over the "beautiful" rain (yesterday's post). It's cold today, and wet AND cold don't mix.

"Home Alone" just started on FX. T2 and I are going to get our blankets and cuddle up on the couch together. I love that movie and I love cuddling with my kid so it looks like it's going to be a good night!

PS- BTW, the hair... it's brassy. But not enough to have to wear a hat. :)

It's Raining, It's Pouring

Almost every one of my daycare parents came in this morning and mentioned something about the rain and what a lousy day it was. I woke up to the rain and when I went out to get the paper, I said "What a beautiful day!". Do we forget that we need rain? Our grass really needs the rain. Plus it's actually cooled down some and it feels good. I was up at 4am the other night because it was so hot I couldn't sleep. I'm still refusing to turn on the A/C. I figure it will be a nice break on the bills to not use the heat or air for a couple of months. Anyway, I thought it was a great day.

Right at this very moment I'm coloring my hair. Click here to see the color. It claims on the package that it has a "Pure Blonde Guarantee", even on dark brown hair. Well, most of my hair is light brown/blonde so it better work. Mr. R told me to make an appointment at the salon and it would be his Mother's Day gift from him (or rather from the boys) but I don't trust salons. The last time I went to have my hair colored blonde for my best friend's wedding, it ended up a nasty light brown. Now I do it myself. They've really come a long way with packaged hair color, you don't have all the brassiness with the newer ones. And, if I have to wear a hat for a couple of days, oh well. :)

I got it... Monday I start "The Firm" program. I looked through the menus and I can't say I'm excited about that, but I'll try it and see. I have to do something or I'll be wearing a parka all summer.

Kathy Lee Gifford is still the same train wreck she was when she was on Regis. I don't know WHAT The Today Show was thinking. She still talks nonstop about those freakin kids. I swear, I turned it on yesterday morning to watch HER interview and within 5 minutes Kathy Lee was spewing out Cody's name. Then I SWEAR it was only 5 minutes later and she had to bring up Cassidy. GOOD NIGHT lady, we don't want to hear about your dang kids anymore! And the funny thing was, she was all against Heather's blog giving out info on her daughter Leta, and how that's so unsafe, and yet she's been talking about her kids for how many years now? Remember every Christmas when she'd make them come out and perform? GAG! Good job NBC, you just ruined your ratings. I mean, you put Kathy Lee up against Ellen. Not the smartest move.

Well, I'm now 8 minutes past the time I was suppose to rinse my hair so I guess I'd better go do that. I'll let you know how it turns out and if you're lucky, you may get a pic. I know the excitement of that makes you weak in the knees, but try to contain yourselves. :)