Ch-ch-ch-ch-changes

Yesterday was a pretty big day for Sarah. The optical shop called and said her glasses were in. We went to go pick them up while Emma was at school. They're so cute!!! The lab had shortened the temples so they weren't gargantuan on her. They're still a little too long in the temple, but not nearly as bad. They also have an elastic band that goes around the back, but even on it's smallest setting, is too big. I'll need to modify that a bit. Sarah has already shown her disdane for these glasses. While the guy was fitting them to her face, she starting throwing a major fit, trying to grab them off her face. The fit miraculously stopped as soon as they were off. She then shot the guy the EVIL EYE, and proceeded to look at me, and raise her arms to be picked up. It was too funny.
We went over to Jeff's office to show him her new specs. The first thing out of his mouth was, wow, those are thick. It's true, they are pretty big lenses. Poor thing must have been REALLY blind. Now it's just going to take some time for her to realize she can see better, albeit differently, with them on.
She seemed kinda depressed in the first few hours after we got them. She kept shooting me these, WHAT did I do to deserve THIS????, looks. She was quieter than usual and didn't seem very social. But, after a little while she seemed to perk up.
Emma, Sarah & I went to go check out the charter school that's just outside of town. This was the one I as drawn to at the Kindergarden Info Night. It's technology based and seems to be really good. I had planned on checking it out 2 weeks ago, but then the sickness came and has just recently (within the past 4 days) decided to relinquish it's grasp on me. I wasn't able to see much of the work inside, as it was recess/almost lunch time. But I saw both the K classrooms and saw some of the kids during their centers. Some of them were working on the computers and some were working on the letter "Y", using sand in a container to draw out the letter over & over. Very clever. So far I'm pretty impressed with how they teach. I enrolled her after the tour. They have a "Kindergarden Round-Up" on the 26th. That's basically where they do all of their assessment tests to see where Emma is academically. I think they also do a hearing & vision test. It should be interesting.
We also cut Sarah's hair last night. Emma got her first professional haircut on Sunday, and we probably should have had them do Sarah's too, but I did Emma's first big one, so out of nostalgia, I guess, I did it myself. We cut about 4 inches off, and trimmed her bangs. It's about an inch above her shoulders now. It's kinda hard to cut hair on a moving baby, but I did my best. There's pictures on the website. Emma did very well during her haircut. She even let the lady wash her hair in the big sink. She basically got a bang trim, about an inch or so off the bottom, and some face framing. It looks really good!
The weather here is really turning around. There was no snow on Saturday like it said there would be, but that's how Michigan weather is. It changes hourly. It's supposed to be 75 today, but then between 50-60 for the next week and a half. Like I said, it can change hourly.

Making Strides

I feel less of a complete lump today. I actually started feeling a little better yesterday, with the pressure in my face a lot less and also less of a pounding in my head. Still a snot-face though.
Jeff & I are going to a LAN party tonight. Basically, a bunch of geeks sitting around for 12 hours, playing video games. Jeff went to one a few months ago. I told him I wanted to go to this one. I'm probably not going to do that well, as I don't have a lot of time to practice on the games that they play, but it'll be fun. A girl named Jessica is going to come over and watch the kids for us. This will be the first time I've been away from Sarah for overnight. Even though I'll just be down the street at the college, I know I'll probably be worried about her the whole time. She's been getting up at about 1:30am for the past few nights. Then she's up again at about 6:30am. But, this girl seems pretty competent. She's watched really young children overnight for the past few years. And she's not a freshman, lol. I think she's about 23. Plus, she's getting her degree in Special Education, which I thought was really neat. She was recommended by a student co-worker of Jeff's (who's going to be at the LAN party, the only other girl) and Jessica said she was really excited when she heard that Sarah had Ds. She's worked with kids with Austism and Cerebral Palsy.
I'm going to pump to make sure she has something to give Sarah in case she wakes up. Emma's excited to have someone new come over. She met Jessica last night and was happy that she was coming back tonight. She told her to bring her pj's and that they're going to have a party. With popcorn and everything. It's a "Girls Only Party", lol.
On a different note, Emma has been doing really well with her chores. All this week, she has made her own bed, without any prompting from me. And she does really well at it. She's kept her room practically spotless all week, as well. This must be her genes from Jeff kicking in, as I am NOT innately a clean freak. Although she does need some help remembering that her toys on the floor of the living room are her responsibility, too. Apparently she thinks that she only needs to take care of them once they're in her room, and I'm the one who needs to get them there. Sounds like someone else I know...

Sick & tired

Everytime I've written in the past week or so, I keep thinking the worst of this nasty cold has passed. But, I was proven wrong again. A few days ago, I started feeling pressure in the left side of my face, all the way down to my jawline. I knew it was something else besides just a viral infection. So, I went back to the doctor yesterday and sure enough, I have a sinus infection. Yay. I was put on Amoxicillin 3x a day for 10 days. This morning, the pain is now in BOTH sides of my face. I swear, I am so sick and tired of being sick and tired. I'm now on 3 prescription medications. Well 4, if you count my birth control pills. Which are negated by the antibiotics I'm now on. Grrr.
Emma went on her first trip around the block on her bike today. She was very excited. Sarah & I followed her with the stroller. She did really well, only having one minor accident. One of her training wheels went off the sidewalk and she tipped over. This was where I inserted my "that's why we wear helmet's" speech. Which she does, but I just wanted to reinforce the issue. There were a few places where we had to ride on the side of the road, because there are no sidewalks. Apparently the seam between the asphalt & the concrete gutters weren't level because the back wheel ended up off the ground, while the two training wheels still had contact with the street. So, she ended up pedaling nowhere, with the back wheel just spinning in the air. It was kinda funny.
It's instantly spring around here. It was about 60 degrees today, and supposed to be 67 tomorrow. It's also supposed to rain for the next few days with a chance of snow showers on Saturday. What??? Did I just read that right? Grrr, Michigan weather is SO crazy. It won't stick, as the temp's supposed to be in the high 40's. Hopefully the rain will melt all the remaining snow on the ground. It's mostly just in humongous piles in parking lots and such. I think we can officially put away the "fluffy" coat and snow pants. Today was the first day in about 5-6 months where I haven't had to send Emma to school looking like the Michelin Man.
Sarah's glasses should be in by the end of this week, hopefully. I'm so tired of waiting for medical personnel to get on the ball. It seems to take forever to get things done. I think she's going to look so cute once we get them!! If I can keep them on her. I'm really hoping for a surge in gross motor skills once she starts wearing them. I think she really is just scared to move anywhere by any other way except rolling due to the fact that she can't see very well. She IS making progress in moving from a sitting position to a crawling position. She mostly ends up on her tummy, but she's trying really hard! We have her annual IFSP (Individual Family Service Plan) meeting on the 7th of April. Her PT told the coordinator that she thought Sarah might benefit from OT & the Infant Teacher. I'm glad they agree, because I thought she could have used those service 6 months ago, but I digress. At least we're starting down the road now. I'm going to push for PT, OT & the Infant Teacher at least once a week each, for 30 minutes. I also want to push for ST as well, but I doubt they'll approve that. I also need to find out if services are going to be halted during the summer, as all this goes through the school system. I really hope not. What's the point of doing all this work, only have it negated by 3 months of nothing? That's probably what most parents think about the summer break, lol.

Happy Easter!!!

I hope everyone had a wonderful Easter. Ours was relaxing, to a point. We went to church, which we don't get to do very often, as our church is 65 miles away. But, we went. I was happy we did. It was nice. We met a lot of people, Emma had fun and we all got Krispy Kreme on the way. But, as with any drive into Lansing, we had to do something else to make the hour and 15 minute long drive just a little more worth it. So, we went to Applebee's for lunch. Sarah sat in a high chair and didn't want to eat her fruit puffs. She instead, wanted my pickle. I had 2 slices of pickle with my chicken fajita roll-up and she wanted them. She went after that thing. She was sucking all the juices out of it & trying to eat the middle flesh, all with this look on her face like, this tastes weird, but I like it! Like when Jeff eats a pickle and he does this all over body shiver. I guess pickles just have that affect on our family.
Emma got a bike from the Easter Bunny. Santa was going to get her one, but didn't feel it was fair to give a child a bike in the middle of winter in Michigan. She wouldn't have been able to ride it until, well, now. So, it was the Easter Bunny's dubious job to get one for her. He found one on sale, not bad. He had some help, as mommy & daddy put it together at midnight, while cursing the vague directions (why do they give me instructions for handle brakes, when there ARE NO handle brakes on this bike??). It's purple & pink, Emma's 2 favorite colors. Now all we need is a trailer for Sarah & I can go riding with her.
The day would have been that much better if we all still weren't sick. Not Jeff, though, that super-human immune system he has is still in full swing. Emma's still coughing & snotty, Sarah's just snotty, and me, well, I've been better. When I went to the doctor's last week, she said to come back in if things got worse. Mind you, I'm already on nasal spray & Rx decongestant. Yet, things have gotten worse. The entire left side of my face HURTS! I think my sinuses are backed up to my chin, if that's possible. And this morning, green snot. Yay!!! More infection. Things could be worse, though. I read this online journal at Babycenter.com, entitiled "Bringing up Ben & Birdy" about a Mass. women who has 2 kids, Ben, 5, and Birdy (Abigail), almost 2. Her kids tend to be sick...a lot. This last weeks entry talked about Birdy puking numerous times in the car, and then EVERYONE getting sick, as well. Her son Ben had a 10 day fever a few weeks ago. While I've dealt with the puking in the car (on a road trip with Emma in CA by myself, before Sarah), I don't think I could handle the kids being that sick, that often. Emma, of course, thinks she's fine, and it doesn't seem to bother her that she's constantly sniffing or that her cough sounds just it did a week ago. Grrr, I hate all this sickness.

Spring comes to the Midwest

Could it be? No snow in the forecast? Temp's in the high 40's & low 50's?! YAY! I think spring has finally decided to show up!!! The snow's melting, I hear birds (well maybe it's just seagulls), and I don't need to wear 5 layers of clothing! I think this has been the longest winter of my life. Even longer than last year, when I was pregnant.
This will definitely help all of our moods, which are pretty sour from being sickly. We're all still snotty & coughing, but at least it's not snowing! See, I'm trying to be optimistic.
Sarah's PT didn't show this morning. I had heard a rumor that it was Spring Break at the school where the EI team is, and that she wasn't supposed to come this week. But I think I distinctly remember her saying that she would. Oh well. I got up, and made Emma & I pancakes this morning, so it wasn't a total loss. Otherwise, I would have slept in as much as the kids would let me.
We're going out to lunch with Jeff & a few guys from work. Pizza Hut buffet. Yummy. Apparently the college kids know exactly where to go on each day of the week to get the most food for the littlest money. They have this town wired. Ah, to be in college.

Pass the tissue

We're all still sick here. I went to the doctor yesterday, and I have a viral infection. Yay. More drugs. Poor Sarah's face is chapped from all the wiping of snot, Emma's got a bad cough & mommy sounds like a frog has taken up residence in her larynx. Sarah had an ENT appointment this morning, and all's well. Her hearing tested fine, and her ear canals aren't so small that they can't see her ear drums, which is a good thing. He also said, as of right now, she doesn't have an ear infection. I'm hoping that stays true until her cold is gone. Emma stayed home from school again today. She went yesterday, but her cough got worse through the evening, and I just decided it wasn't worth it. I just hope she didn't spread her germs to the entire class.
We got Sarah's new car sat in today!!! I installed it, very easy, and she had her first trip. To Rite-Aid & Meijer, what fun! She seems to like it, as she fell asleep in it on the way home. I guess that means it's comfortable. It's going to be an adjustment to having to take her to & from the car now without the infant seat, but it should be fine. She likes sitting in grocery carts, so that's not a big deal.
After I start feeling better, I'm going to need to sterilize this whole house. Get out the rubbing alcohol. Spring better "spring" soon, otherwise, we're all going to end up with pneumonia. On a positive note, there's only 2 days of snow forecast for the next week and a half. Yay, maybe by May, all the snow will be gone! Grrr. I hate the midwest right now. I can't even remember what green grass looks like anymore. How sad is that. At least Emma is trying to be optimistic. She keeps saying that "spring is coming!" She's finally tired of winter, too. She says her coat is too "fluffy". We bought her an Easter dress today, complete with shoes & a cute little purse. It's sleeveless, so unless something drastic happens between now & Sunday, no one's going to see it under her "fluffy" coat. I think we're going to church on Sunday. With a quick stop at Krispy Kreme on the way (bribery for Jeff). I know my dad's family will probably be meeting at Marie Callendar's for brunch. And it'll probably be warm. (Insert image of me green with envy) Anyone for hunting Easter eggs in the snow?? If we leave them white, it'll add to the fun!!!

I think I see the light

Ok, yesterday was just about the worst day I've had in a long time. Everyone in this house is sick. Like I predicted, Jeff has it the least. He's got a slightly runny nose. Immune system, I curse you! Sarah, poor baby, has been snotty & miserable for 36 hours. She seems better this morning. She actually slept the whole night. She was asleep by 9pm and didn't wake until 6:45am. Well, actually, if she did wake up during the night, I wouldn't have noticed. I took some Nyquil last night before bed. I had a fever of 100 degrees and had barely slept the previous night. I was getting sleep, no matter what. Emma climbed into bed with us about midnight. She slept with us until Sarah got up, then she went out to watch TV.
I was supposed to go out to Morey Charter school today to check out their Kindergarden, but that's not going to happen. We're all staying home today. Well, not Jeff, he went to work. He was going to stay home, but I told him I felt a lot better. No more fever and the congestion's not as bad. Still feel crummy, though. So, no school for Emma. Thank goodness there's no gymnastics tonight.
Gotta go take care of my sicky kids.

Quarantine

I think we all need to be hosed down & sterilized. Someone brought a bug into this house & now we ALL have it. Emma's got a cough & a mild fever, Sarah & I have the runny nose and sore throat and I don't know what Jeff has, as he's still sleeping. Today's his day to sleep in, lucky bum. Sarah kept us both up last night, so I'm running on maybe 3-4 hours of solid sleep. She finally fell back asleep about an hour after I finally admitted defeat & rolled out of bed. Emma's lounging & coughing on the couch while watching "The Smurfs". I told Jeff last night that I was getting sick. Argh, I hate that I can feel it coming on, but there's nothing I can do about it. But I'm sure if Jeff has caught what we did, he'll be over it in about a day. That guy's got an immune system of steel. He once had an abcessed wisdom tooth which spread into strep throat and he was still joking (it WAS kinda funny that this happened on his birthday, while he was on leave from boot camp). I think it's this climate we live in. I don't think I've ever been as sick as I have been since we moved to Michigan. While I was pregnant with Sarah, I had 2-week colds 3 times, one of which turned into bronchitis. Nasty. Not to mention, here it is, 2 days before spring, and it's SNOWING AGAIN!!!!
Yesterday was the college's Easter Egg Scramble. it was pretty fun. They had different age groups go at different times, so it wasn't so hectic. Emma had a blast running around. She got a few eggs and pieces of candy. Sarah just loved being there. She watched Emma play with the kids. Afterwards, we went to Coldstone. What else would you do on a snowy mid-western afternoon? Speaking of which, we have discovered that Sarah LOVES ice cream. She will throw a baby fit if you take it away from her before she's finished. She could be screaming her head off, but if you put the spoon with some ice cream on it in front of her face, it's instant silence. It's too funny.

School Daze

Ok, I'm completely overhwhelmed with all the choices for K next year. We have 2 private religious (read: expensive) schools, the 4 public schools & 2 charter schools. I really wasn't thinking about the charter schools because I'd heard some pretty bad stuff about them. But, I've also read that each one is different and can be great or horrible. I've talked to a few moms (including Emma's preschool ) teacher, who speak very highly of one particular charter school. It's out of town, about a 10 minute drive, and it's technology-based. They utilize computers a lot, even in Kindergarden. I'm going to go view their class on Monday. They have the longest school day & the longest school year (about 10 days more than other schools). They also have one of the smallest class sizes. They have gym, art, music every week, with occasional foreign language (I think she said Spanish & Japanese). So, it'll be interesting.
Sarah had her first in-home PT session this morning. Although it was early (8:30), it was nice not to have to leave the house. And, since it's with a Pediatric PT, I know Sarah will be in good hands. Her other PT was very nice, but he acknowledged not working with little kids for about 18 years, so I didn't think she was getting the best out of it. He agreed and pushed to have the pedi PT fit Sarah into her schedule. She gave me some practial tips to help Sarah feel more comfortable in the crawling position and getting into & out of different positions. I'm sure once she gets her glasses, she'll feel more comfortable moving around, too.
Speaking of which, grrr. It's taking forever to get some frames in that will fit her little face. It's ridiculous. They fit her eyes just fine, but the temples (the part that goes behind her ears) are WAY too long. They can heat them up & bend them, but the ends will end up right by the front of her face. Not exactly comfortable.
On a good note, I bought Sarah's new car seat this morning. Babycenter is having a sale, and the Britax convertible car seat was $20 off, plus I got an additional 10% off. So, even with shipping (yikes), it was practically $20 cheaper than the original price. This is the mondo-expensive, but very highly regarded car seat. It better be good. All the other ones I looked at that were cheaper just didn't look cushy enough. Sarah's still so small, I want her to be comfortable in this thing. She's still going to be rear-facing, at least until she's a year, maybe longer, depending on how comfortable I am. Because she's still so small, I don't think she'd be safe forward facing just yet. When she gets closer to 20 lbs. maybe. That might take awhile, as she's barely 15 lbs. now. She's mon petite fille. Plus, she'll probably still fit in this for many years to come (Emma was in her convertible car seat for 2 1/2 years).
I can't believe Easter is so early this year. I remember last year, Easter was a week before I had Sarah. We'll probably have to hide eggs in the snow this year. CMU is having their annual easter egg hunt tomorrow. We're taking the girls. They have different hunts for different age groups. It should be fun. They don't have one for Sarah, but I know she'll probably just end up licking the eggs anyway.
The Mt. Pleasant Parks & Rec schedule is out. We're probably going to put Emma in Summer Soccer. The preschool has a summer session from the middle of May until the end of June, so that'll help occupy her until soccer starts. We might even do swim. I'm thinking about getting Sarah into it for at least a session. I know Emma needs to learn how to swim. She doesn't like big pools and we're going on a cruise sometime within the next 2 years, so she needs to get over her fear of "big water". They also have T-Ball, but it's around the same time as preschool, and I think that might be too much. Next year she'll be able to do the PEAK program.

Back to school

Emma started school again yesterday. After having 2 weeks off, she was glad to go back. Of course, we were late the first day back, as we had to drive to Bay City to get our car fixed. They had a recall on our Odyssey, something about a fuel pump connector. Anyways, it required I drive an hour to get it fixed. It (along with a standard oil change) was supposed to take an hour and half. Two and half hours later we left. I was racing back towards home, to try & get Emma to school as on time as possible. We were only 20 minutes late. She didn't even miss snack.
Emma also had gymnastics last night, which she was very excited about. She and her friend Morgan always have so much fun together there.
Jeff also started back to school yesterday, after his one week off for Spring Break. He's not as excited as Emma. But, at least this means the semester is half over.
We have "Kindergarten Night" tonight. I asked Sue (Morgan's mom) what this all entailed and she said basically, they tell you about registering and the dates for everything. She also said that they've decided to changed the school schedule for K next year. So, instead of going full days on Monday & Wednesday and only a half day on Friday, I think Emma will be going everyday, for at least a half day. I like that a whole lot better than the other schedule they had. That was ridiculous. Jeff, unfortunately can't go tonight. He has a business meeting with a company called APC. He has to go schmooze (or get schmoozed) at a business dinner at the Embers. Oh well, hopefully they'll send us home with lots of hand-outs. I think Sue also said something about testing. Yikes, I hate that word. I never liked the idea of someone, who doesn't know my child, using an arbitrary test to determine what her strengths and weaknesses are and therefore putting her in a little box with a label. But, I guess that's what the school system is known for and I better get used to it.
I'm feeling much better this week after my trip to the ER last week. It took me until about Friday to feel 100%. Whatever caused the gastritis was just too weird & flukey. But, I'm back to my old self again. I don't what caused it, so it's kinda hard to try & keep it from happening again.
Jeff & I are once again WAY too involved with an MMORPG (MAssively Multi-player Online Role-Playing Game). Instead of Final Fantasy XI, which we quit playing a few months back, now we're into World of Warcraft. I'm thinking I like this one better. I am, once again, a magic dealer and Jeff's the smash-em-up guy. He's a Paladin, so that means he can also heal, which is nice. The only thing that's different now is that we're playing together, at the same time. So, we go out on quests together & are staying the same level. It's nice because his character can hit harder than my character but I can deal more damage from far away. And if we get into trouble, he can heal my character. Jeff's job bought him a new laptop, so he's very excited about being able to play the game on that. So now you know what we do after the kids go to sleep...play games online, just like the other geeks.

Fun times at the ER

Jeff had to take me to the ER yesterday morning. I'd been having severe abdominal pain, plus vomiting and diarrhea since Monday night. After 3:30am, neither of us got any sleep. I was in too much pain and the kids kept waking up. I spent most of the time between 3:30 and 6:30 pacing, trying to get into a comfortable position, checking my symptoms on the internet (not a good thing to do when you're in pain and irrational) and running to the bathroom. Finally at 6:30am I told Jeff we needed to go to the hospital. We got there around 7am and didn't get into a room until around 8am. Jeff & the girls couldn't come back with me, so they had to wait in the waiting room. I tried to get comfortable on the tiny bed, but it really wasn't working. Of course, every 5 minutes, someone had to come in and ask me the same questions someone else had asked about 5 minutes before. I told them, whatever's wrong with me, just give me something for the pain. The vomiting and other stuff I can handle, but the pain is almost as bad as labor.
After about 2 hours, they came in and told me that I had gastritis or gastroenteritis (I think they're the same thing). They gave me an IV to give me some fluids and something for the nausea (I told them again, the nausea I can handle, but the pain I can't). They said it would help with the pain, too, but I don't think it did. So, after 4 1/2 hours, I was allowed to go home. Poor Jeff had to stay in the waiting room that whole time with 2 hungry kids. They gave me a Rx and we went home. I pretty much slept the rest of the day. I was exhausted and in pain. Jeff went to go get my Rx and only after I had taken it did I read that it's considered a barbituate and can go into breastmilk. I had told them a few times that I was still nursing, but do doctors ever listen?? So, I decided not to take it anymore. I found some Tylenol 3 from when I had Sarah that I'm taking now. It seems to be working. I'm still in pain, but not nearly as bad as it was. We all got a good night's sleep last night, which helped a lot. It also helped that Sarah slept from about 9pm to 7am. I wasn't allowed to eat any solids for the first 24 hours, and even now I'm supposed to be eating bland things, as to not upset my stomach. So, it's Carnation Instant Breakfast for me for awhile.
Time for me to go make the kiddos lunch!!

Ray of light

The sun came out today, which helped my mood a little. I'm still seriously upset over Ike's death. It hit a little too close to home. While Sarah doesn't have nearly the health problems that Ike did, he was only a little older than her. And this cold weather & all this snow isn't helping matters. I need warmth & sunlight on a regular basis. I've been trying to figure out a time when I could go on my "no hubby/no kids" weekend trip, but I'm having trouble. Jeff is going to be in school practially non-stop until August. Yay. By that time, I think Jeff will need a "no kids" weekend, as well.

Emma's getting a little stir crazy from not being in school. And we've got another whole week left. Hopefully the weather will cooperate & we'll be able to go somewhere this weekend or next week. I don't like driving in the snow. Makes me feel uncomfortable. It's ok once the snow has stopped, but driving in it while it's falling is just dangerous. Slippy & slidey and me in a big van that can't stop on a dime.

I think Sarah's getting her top two middle teeth. I think I see a little white under her pink gums. She already has the bottom two middle ones and the top ones on either side of the middle. It looks a little funny when you look at her mouth, but whatever.

Ok, Sarah needs to go down for a nap. See you later.

Sad day

An online friend of mine lost her little boy yesterday. He was 17 months old and had Down syndrome. It's very sad. He'd had a lot of health issues and was doing so well! I've been in shock all day. The outpouring of love for this little boy has been awesome. His mom has always been a pillar of strength, always encouraging others when they need it, and all the while being a wonderful and supportive mom to 3 kids. I can't imagine her pain right now. My heart is breaking for her. I couldn't even comprehend the thought of losing Emma or Sarah. It would thoroughly break me. Jeff thinks I'm paranoid by always checking on them while they're asleep, but you never know. This little boy was taking a nap and he somehow pulled out his trach and suffocated. It's just so sad. I'm going to go kiss my sleeping babies now.
 

More snow

I kid you not, it's been snowing (albeit lightly) non-stop for 36 hours. We got about 12 inches last weekend, and approx. 10-12 more inches since Sunday night. This is insane. Driving around last night, between gymnastics & picking Jeff up from work, was nerve-wracking. I was slipping & sliding all over the place & people take serious risks around here. College students (no offense to any who read this) can't drive worth anything. And since they make up 50% of the population of this town, that means there's a good chance that the person in the car next to, in front of, and behind you are ALL college students. Doesn't make me feel too safe. Oh, I'm sure, in normal conditions (i.e. NO SNOW) they would be great drivers. But, something about falling white stuff makes them completely incapable of making good decisions.
Ok, enough of my rant.
Don't get me wrong, when I don't have to go anywhere, the snow is beautiful. It's certainly better than looking at a yard full of dead, yellow grass and puddles everywhere. But trying to function while having to bundle up 2 kids in layers of clothing and schlep them to appointments/school/anywhere is not fun. I am SO craving spring. This is about the time of year when you forget what green grass looks like and how nice & warm the sun is supposed to be. That's when you know the novelty of winter has worn off. The same thing happens during the summer. You forget how cold & brutal the winter can be. But, at that point, you don't care.
I'm going to sign Emma up for some sort of sport during the spring & summer. I know she'll be bored to tears if we don't get her involved in something. I think they have T-Ball and swimming. That would be fun. She's doing gymnastics again and she's really enjoying it.
We went to Midland mall over the weekend to pick up a book from Barnes & Noble. While we were there, we decided to go to Payless Shoes to see if they had any that Jeff liked. Poor guy only has one pair that fit him right now. He's got wide feet. I thought, just for kicks, we'd see if there were ay that Emma might like. I remembered that I really didn't know what size her feet were. We measured and she's practically a size 12. A 12!!!! She was a 10 1/2 about 6 months ago. That made me feel terrible, because I realized that meant she had no shoes that were the correct size. This kid is growing like a weed. So we bought her one pair of sneakers. Hopefully those will last until the snow's gone, and then we'll buy her a few more. Snow boots and sneakers are all she really needs at this time of year. Thank goodness for hand-me-downs, otherwise this kid might not have any shoes! She grows out of them too quickly.
And Sarah, on the other hand, seems like she's never going to grow. A little boy, who has Ds, and was born on the same day as Sarah, albeit 9 weeks early, and was only 3 lbs. at birth is now bigger, in weight & length, than Sarah. You'd think I was starving her or something. She's such a tiny thing.
One good thing is I think she's finally learned how to put herself to sleep. I put her down for a nap yesterday & today and down to sleep for the night while she was awake. 2 out of the 3 times she went down without even a whimper. She talked to herself for a little while, but fell asleep pretty easily. And she slept from around 10pm last night to 7am this morning. Now, if only spring would hurry up and get here, life would be perfect.

California Dreamin'

Ok, so just the other day, I was remarking to Jeff how this winter has been so much milder than last winter. Last winter, we got a huge snow in early January and it just accumulated & accumulated until it started melting near the end of March. This year, we've gotten little dustings here & there, but nothing huge. Until yesterday. 12 inches in a day. A whole freakin' foot of snow. We had to RAMP out of our driveway this morning. And that was AFTER poor Jeff spent 20 minutes trying to shovel it so we could back out of the garage. This is insane. This is only about halfway into the snowstorm. We had a ski ramp on our front porch. It got about 6 inches higher by the time the snow stopped.

Not that life in California is any easier at this point. More rain & mudslides. Fun fun. I think the snow might be the better of the two. At least Emma will have a blast at school today. They get 30 minutes at the end of class to go outside for recess. Because it's stopped snowing, they should be allowed outside. It's not that cold out, so they should be fine.

I had been hoping for one more big snow before spring so we could get the kids out in it to get some great pictures. But, I wanted them to be able to play in it, not get lost in it.

Sarah's intestinal problems seem to have worked themselves out. Now that she's on baby 2nd foods, I think it's just how she's going to "go" now. It was a big change for her little body, so it's taken a little while for her to adjust. But she seems to be doing better. Now, if only her teeth would hurry up & come in so we could get some sleep. Poor baby. Her body's just getting attacked from all angles.

Nothing new

I don't think I could say my life has been boring, as of late, just routine. Lack of sleep, housework, Emma's school, Jeff always gone because of work/school, PT, playgroup and more lack of sleep. That pretty much sums it up. Oh, Sarah popped another tooth this week, so that's good. Only 3 more to go in this round, that I see. There could me more on the horizon, but they haven't started showing yet. She's being pretty consistent with her sleep routine, though. She'll go down between 9-10pm, and wake up somewhere between 2-4am. I TRY not to feed her, but it really all depends on how well she goes back down. Most of the time, though, I give in, only because of exhaustion. Jeff tried to give me a break and takes the car on Friday mornings, so I don't have to get up with the kids & schlep everyone into the car. That would be great, if only the children didn't get up on their own about the same time as Jeff's leaving. So much for sleeping in. Oh well, it's the thought that counts. We each get a "sleep-in day" on the weekends. Mine's Saturday, most of the time. So, I'm SO looking forward to tomorrow morning.
Survivor started last night. Very cool. We're in a CMU fantasy league, and we conned Jeff's cousin Ashley to join us. She's never watched Survivor, so this should be interesting.
Emma took a tumble at school the other day. If you ask her, she was pushed by a girl at school (who ALWAYS seems to be harassing her, in her opinion), but the teacher said she and another child were running and tripped and she scraped her chin on the concrete. She's got a bump on her nose and a boo-boo on her chin, but she'll be ok. Apparently she was more upset about having to come in from recess in order to get patched up, as she was bleeding everywhere. She doesn't like to miss out on all the action.
Little Miss Sarah aka mon petite fille, had her 9 month well-baby check-up this week. Fortunately, no shots were required, which was nice for her & me. She weighs in at 15 lbs. 3 1/4 oz. and 25 3/4 inches long. I had a rough time emotionally while sitting in the waiting room, as apparently it was "baby" day and there were about 3-4 other babies in there, all roughly Sarah's age. Some even younger, were already crawling & cruising along the furniture. I don't normally get upset when I see other babies, but this just kinda hit home that Sarah IS behind developmentally. It's not that I've been in denial about it, but I haven't been faced with it in such a grand scale. She's doing great and is starting to tolerate being on her hands & knees for longer periods of time. Everyone keeps telling me they think she'll walk before she crawls, as she can pull herself up to standing and seems to love to be in that position. She's starting to take steps when you hold her hands, but not very well.
She started on 2nd foods this past week or so, and she seems to be tolerating it pretty well. Although, she's become a little constipated. Sorry to be so graphic. I think it's a combination of the new texture of food & being on oral antibiotics for 10 days. Poor little thing is in pain. I've never had to deal with this, as Emma always had (and continues to have) a great digestive track. I know, TMI, but this is my life.

Living Dead Girl

Sarah is teething and none of us are getting any sleep. Sunday night was the worst. I think Jeff & I got about 3 hours sleep, total. Sarah ended up sleeping (HA, not the right word) in our bed because we were too exhausted to climb up and down the stairs to her room. She's getting all 4 of her top teeth and the poor child apparently can't sleep because of it. She's constantly squirming in her crib, gnawing on her hand & fingers, writhing in pain. I decided to give her Tylenol last night before bed, thinking that would help. It did, until about 3:30am, when it apparently wore off. I couldn't get her calmed down, so I gave her some more medicine and basically had to let her cry it out. I'm desperately trying to stick to my guns about not feeding her at night. But another couple of nights like the past 2 and I might reconsider. But, I think one of the teeth finally broke through her gums, so hopefully we'll all have some relief soon.
Happy Belated Valentine's Day! I was a walking zombie yesterday, we were all lucky we had dinner before midnight. Emma's school doesn't really celebrate anything, but we were told the kids could bring valentines to give to each other, but there wouldn't be any special time. Just put them in each of their cubbies. I decided at the last minute to do something. So while Emma was in school, Sarah & I went grocery shopping and I bought a valentine's kit to hand out. I did all the work and gave them to the teacher to put in the kids' cubbies before they went home. Only 2 other kids brought valentine's but it was still nice.
Emma went to her first real birthday party on Sunday. It was for a little boy who's in the playgroup that Sarah attends. His name is Blaine. He was turning 3. He's the one that follows Emma around like a puppy dog at playgroup. It was a neat party. It was at the Mount Pleasant Country Club (which sounds more glamorous than it is, this IS Mount Pleasant, not San Diego), and they had hired a clown, which was neat for the kids. Emma was mostly interested in when Blaine was going to open his gifts. She LOVES helping to open gifts. She got kind of upset when they weren't allowed to play with the gifts after he opened them, which is what we did at her party. But, she had a blast. She came home with 2 balloon animals and a bag of candy, it was a good day.
Sarah has her 9 month well-baby check-up this afternoon, even though she's almost 10 months old. I think she's getting at least 2 shots, but I'm not sure. I'm anxious to see how long she is. I know she weighs about 15 lb. 5 oz., due to having to take her in on my birthday for the pink eye. She's still such a petite thing. She's starting to get such a personality. She loves playing in the bathtub. She'll splash the water & play with her rubber duckie. She & Emma get along so well. Sarah loves watching her big sister play, even if only to watch for a chance to grab Emma's hair and eat it. I know that Sarah is anxious to be able to move so she can follow Emma around.

Medical mix-ups

Ok, so the whole 130 mile round trip drive to Lansing WAS pointless. I could have gotten the same information over the phone from the opthamologist. Stupid people that I spoke to yesterday weren't at the actual doctor's office, it was a message center. Grrr. Oh well, I got Sarah's eyeglass Rx. It's actually pretty strong, a +5.50 with a +1.0 astigmatism. Considering my nearsightedness was about -8.75, it's pretty bad for a baby. I feel so guilty now, knowing how hard it's been for her to see. I'm wondering how much it's held her back from her gross & fine motor skills.
Jeff & I went to get our flu shots yesterday at the health department. We went while Emma was in school, as to minimize our stress. It cost $40 for both shots. We made small talk with the nurse while we were getting them. Jeff had mentioned that he was a Veteran and had been given numerous different shots, including small pox & anthrax vaccines whil in the Navy. We had to wait about 15 minutes after the shot to make sure we didn't have a reaction to it. While we were waiting, the nurse who had administered the shots came back & asked us if Sarah had Down syndrome. Of course, we said yes. She then asked us if we'd been in contact with Children's Special Health care. I told her yes, but that I always ended up forgetting the paperwork before doctor's appointments and that most of the medical costs had been covered by our insurance. But, we went back & spoke to the lady in charge anyways. I'd spoken to her back in September before Sarah's genetic appointment in Lansing. I told her about Sarah needing glasses and she said because it was considered a medical need, that CSHC could probably cover it. But, it would take about 3 weeks to find out yes/no. We decided to go with it, because, what could we lose? While we were talking to her, the nurse came back in and handed us our check that we had given them to pay for the flu shots. She said that the person in charge wanted to thank Jeff for his service to our country & that we didn't need to pay for the shots. We were pleasantly surprised. That's really the first time since Jeff got out of the Navy that we'd experienced anything like that. Talk about a perk!
So, when I got home, I did a little research to find out if I could wait the 3-6 weeks for CSHC to approve/disapprove Sarah's diagnosis for glasses and pay for them. I'm thinking we're going to have to wait & see, because her glasses are going to cost roughly $170. Oh fun. Since we can't sign up for Vision coverage until open enrollment, which I think is in September, we'll just have to wait.
Oh, by the way, Emma got her flu shot on Monday. Not a fun time had by anyone. She hasn't had any shots of any kind since about age 2, so she was not happy about it. I tried to take her mind off it, but she was too freaked out by the needle. I felt so bad, the poor kid was screaming and thrashing around, which probably didn't feel very good when she got poked. Needless to say, she milked attention and extra cuddles from Jeff & I the whole day. But, she had pulled off her band-aid by gymnastics that night, so apparently it wasn't too bad.

Super Bowl Sunday

Even though our favorite team (the 49ers) or even our second favorite team (the Chargers) weren't in the Super Bowl, Jeff & I still made it a priority to watch it. We love football, it's that simple. I, having gone through high school surrounded by football between friends/boyfriends/cheerleading, still have no clue about certain aspects of the game. I couldn't distinguish a middle line backer from a defensive end. But that doesn't matter to me. Jeff is the one who knows all about football. He played it in high school, he plays Madden, he was even part of a local "Fantasy Football" league this past season. He didn't do so well, but that's because his players got hurt/sucked. It was nice that we had NFL Sunday Ticket this season, as it allowed us to watch the games that we wouldn't get locally.
I had my birthday gift on Saturday. Jeff got me a spa package at a local salon & day spa. I had a facial, massage, manicure & pedicure (both of which I'd never had before). It was really nice. I definitely felt pampered for a few hours. Jeff was home alone with the kids for about 4 1/2 hours. Poor guy had tons of homework to do, but it was kinda hard with the children wanting attention the whole time. He basically spent every waking moment from Saturday afternoon til kickoff yesterday evening finishing it so we could watch the game in peace.
I also got my Valentine's Day gift early yesterday. A few weeks ago, we sent my wedding ring in to be fixed. A diamond had fallen out of it and I've been wearing my Anniversary ring in place of it. It finally came in this week, so we made the drive over to Midland to pick it up. It's nice to be wearing it again. Now Jeff thinks he's racked up"good husband" points and can ask for some frivolous stuff for Valentine's Day (i.e. video game). Apparently a $55 video game is equal to a wedding ring. Whatever, as long as it makes him happy.
I was trying to get out of driving to Lansing tomorrow for Sarah's eye appointment. I already know I want her to get glasses, so I was hoping the doctor could just call or fax her prescription to where I'm getting her glasses. No such luck. Looks like I get to drive 60 miles each way in the snow, yay.
Emma lost another tooth! She was brushing her teeth on Friday and her other bottom tooth fell out. So now she has trouble biting things, like food. She has to use her side teeth to get a good bite of something. I don't see her permanent teeth coming in anytime soon, so looks like she'll be toothless for a little while.

Happy Birthday to me

Today's my birthday. I'm 27. Whoo-hoo. Jeff took me out to dinner last night with a couple of friends of ours. We had a last minute babysitting snafu, but we got it worked out. The girls did fine with a new sitter. Emma, of course, had to show her ALL of her toys. Sarah, surprisingly, fell asleep before we got home, but, woke up just as we were going to bed. She's got great timing.
Dinner was great. We went to the Embers, which is the most expensive place in town (practically). They even have real cloth tablecloths & napkins. Trust me, I don't see that very often. They don't have a huge repetoire of entree selections (their menu is only two pages) but it's all really good. I had the Asiago chicken, which is breast of chicken stuffed with herb cream cheese, roasted red & yellow peppers and proscuitto ham, Italian breaded, and served with Asiago cream sauce. YUM!!!! Talk about decadent. Jeff had the one pound pork chop. You could barely see it under all the sweet & sour sauce. The menu says it's marinated for 24 hours before cooked. At the end of the meal, they brought out a dessert cart. Our friend Andrea & I were just drooling over all the choices they had. It was so yummy. Gabe & Andrea got me some "smell-good-stuff" from Bath & Body Works. I can always use that stuff. One of them was bubble bath and she told me that they were discussing whether or not I have time to take a bath, with two kids. I told her I'd make time, if I had bubble bath.
Ok, so we just got back from the pediatrician's office. Sarah has pink eye. What fun. But, that gives me an excuse to not go anywhere & just stay indoors, watching TV with the girls. So she has to take antibiotics for 10 days & eye drops for 4-5 days. This also means I can't go in to take Emma to school. They're going to have to come out to the car & get her and also bring her back. Which is something she's been wanting to do, along with ride the bus to & from school. But I think that's going to wait until after Spring Break, when it gets a bit warmer.
My mom sent me some money for my birthday and I spent it yesterday. I've been hearing all this wonderful stuff about this Bumble & Bumble shampoo. So, I went to the only place that sells it in town. Holy cow, that stuff is expensive. I bought shampoo, conditioner, hair straightening gel and some spray that's also supposed to help straighten. Over $50. I about dropped my purse. This stuff better make my hair look like a supermodel's for that much money. I also bought a hair straightener. You get the idea that I'm tired of curly hair? I also need a haircut, but that might have to wait a little while.
We pushed Sarah's check-up appointment at the opthamologist's office to next Tuesday. Hopefully we can get her prescription and get her glasses soon. I feel so bad that she needs them this early, but I know I can't put it off. She needs to be able to see! We found a cute pair at a local optical shop. They actually remind me of the little glasses that my Cabbage Patch Doll had when I was younger. I almost considered asking my mom to find them & mail them to me, as they'd probably fit her.

Happy Friday!

Emma ended up going to school yesterday. I gave her some cough medicine and that helped, but I keep having to give it to her every 8 hours or so. She doesn't have many other symptoms, just the cough, little stuffy nose and occasional sneezing, but no fever. Whatever it is certainly isn't stopping her from running around & playing.
We went to Wal-Mart yesterday after school so Emma could use the money she's accumulated from Christmas & the Tooth Fairy. It was only $3 (as she spent her other Christmas money). We spent AN HOUR walking through the toy section, with Emma pointing out things she wanted, but I kept having to tell her that she didn't have enough money. I reminded her that if she wanted to wait and save up her money to buy something bigger she could do that. But, like most children, she needs immediate gratification and didn't want to do that. She picked something out after a long time & although it was more than $3 (almost $6), I decided it wouldn't kill us to pick up the slack in price. The other things she'd been wanting were $20+ so $6 wasn't too bad, in comparison.
Sarah is starting to eat so much better. I bought some Gerber baby food yesterday (I'd been buying Del Monte's, but they don't have a great selection of foods) in some varieties that she hadn't tried before. We tested peas last night, and she ate the whole thing! So, now she has 2 favorites: sweet potatoes and peas. Since Jeff doesn't like peas (I can never get him to eat them voluntarily) I told him she must get her eating habits from me. Although I don't think any of us like sweet potatoes, so that must just be a Sarah thing. We tried peaches this morning, but they weren't such a hit. So far, it's "no" to peaches, green beans and squash. We'll have to try those again later. I'm planning on starting her on 2nd foods once she's tried all the 1st foods. They have a bigger selection of tastes with the 2nd foods, along with little complete meals, that include meat, pasta & dessert. We're still introducing her to table foods, but not very often. She had a reaction to Cheerios last week, so I want to keep her on the baby (bland) food as long as possible.

Home sick

Emma's no feeling too well this morning. She's been coughing for a couple days & now she says her tummy hurts. I'm thinking she'll probably be kept home from school today. I'm going to give her some medicine but I don't think it's going to make it any better. It'll be fun trying to run my errands today with both kids. I need to go grocery shopping, which is always interesting just with Sarah, but with both kids, it's like a marathon, long & arduous and by the time I get home, I'm exhausted.
It helps that Sarah's Gross Motor Playgroup was cancelled this morning. The person who was going to be in charge of it had surgery recently and isn't very mobile. So that's one less thing to make me go outside in this frigid weather.
I just found out that Emma doesn't qualify for the PEAK program. They require that the kids have finished Kindergarden. Bummer, that would have been really fun for her, not to mention 6 weeks of freedom for me. But, oh well, I'm sure we'll find lots of interesting things to occupy her time this summer.
Ok, I've gotten past the point of looking at cute spring clothes for the girls and have started obsessing over spring clothes for me. Now I know I'm tired of winter.

Toothless wonder

And no, I'm not talking about Sarah. Emma has lost her 1st tooth!!! After she got home from preschool yesterday, she told me it hurt to eat "crunchy" things, so I looked at her teeth. One of the loose ones was REALLY loose. Wiggly & wagging back & forth, so I knew it wouldn't take long. I was afraid it was going to fall out at gymnastics, so I sent a plastic baggie along with her (her friend Morgan's mom picked her up & dropped her off). She didn't loose it there, and we went through dinner & brushing of teeth without loosing it either. Emma had been in bed for about 45 minutes, still not asleep, when we heard her yelling down to us (we were doing our taxes, yay). We told her to come down to us, as we don't like her yelling for us to come to her from across the house. She comes down, running & all excited and said, My tooth fell out! Well, I was shocked, although I knew it would happen soon, I wasn't expecting it THAT soon, especially after staying in through eating, gymnastics & brushing. I asked her if she'd been messing with it, and she said no, just playing with it with her tongue. Too funny. It was a good thing the "Tooth Fairy" had notice, otherwise she might not have been able to show. Cause you know she's a busy fairy.
But, we made a big deal out of putting the tooth in her pillow that my friend Margaret made about 5 years ago (in a plastic baggie, so it wouldn't get lost) and put the whole pillow under HER pillow. We told her the Tooth Fairy is like Santa, she doesn't show up unless you're asleep. Well, after having been in bed BEFORE the tooth fell out for about an hour & not being asleep, it took her less than 15 minutes to conk out afterwards. So, the Tooth Fairy went in & took her tooth, and put a dollar bill in it's place. The Tooth Fairy then surepticiously hid the tooth in the bookshelf, high above where Emma can see, so that she can then put it somewhere safe at another time.
She has another one that's loose, and I expect she's going to want that one to fall out sooner rather than later. Now that she realizes she gets money for teeth, she wants as much as she can, so she can buy a toy. Jeff & I are going to start her on an allowance and make up a chore chart for her to follow. It will contain the usual chores for a 5 year old: make your bed, keep your room clean, and eat your dinner. That last one is a deal breaker, as she is again not being very cooperative about eating. She thinks everything is gross and is a little negotiator when it comes to food. She'll say, ok, I'll eat 5 bites and then I'll be done, ok? Only her "bites" wouldn't feed a mouse. It's a never ending struggle.

Winter blues

Is it too early to be wishing for spring? I'm looking at the Old Navy website, lusting after all these cute spring-time clothes that I know will not be able to be worn until April, at least. But the sad part is, the clothes aren't for me. They're for the girls. I have this vision (ironically enough, roughly the same vision as last year about this time) of Emma running through the tall green grass in a park, kicking a ball, with Sarah looking adorable in a sundress, playing in the sand. What really happened last year, after all this snow melted, was we stayed indoors, watched way too much TV and silently cursed the hords of mosquitos that had conquered our backyard as their own breeding ground. Now I really understand how lucky people have it where it doesn't snow. Like San Diego. Oh, the sweet visions of San Diego running through my mind. Especially this week, when the mercury's been dipping BELOW zero, and it's 80 degrees in SD. I have to bundle the children up, so they end up looking like mattresses siting in their carseats, fighting the bitingly cold wind and trying not to slip on the copious amounts of ice that have formed on my driveway. It's not as bad here as it is elsewhere, and boy am I glad it's not. Somewhere in Minnesota it got down to about -54? Ok, WHY DO PEOPLE LIVE THERE? If it got that cold here, I don't care HOW much more school Jeff has, we'd be gone. Especially since this whole "winter" season really lasts about 6 months instead of the 3 that it says on the calendar. It starts getting cold about mid October & doesn't really warm up until the end of April. There aren't 4 seasons here, there's 2 1/2 - winter, about 1 month total that could be considered spring and fall, and summer.
You'd think with all the things that we have going on during the winter that it would make it go by quicker, but you'd be wrong. All these birthdays, holidays & trips to places that aren't considered "tundra" just seem to elongate the cold. I now see why people here try to take advantage of the warm weather when it's here. Last year, after the thaw, people were buying plants & flowers like crazy, every day there were long lines at Doozie's (a local ice cream place), and everyone seemed to be outside all the time. At first, I didn't get it, especially about the plants (what's the point, they'll be dead in 6 months). But now I realize that they KNOW the weather's not always going to be pleasant, so they get as much out of it as they can. Hopefully this year we'll be able to do the same. They have a lot of activities during the spring & summer, most of which I put on the calendar last year & never did. But, I plan on putting Emma in swim this summer, and going to the park at least 3 times a week. They also have the program called PEAK, which is from 9-5pm everyday for 6 weeks. It's educational, but fun. It's for kids in grades K-6, but I'll have to see if Emma qualifies, as she won't be in Kindergarden until August.
Speaking of which, we finally had Emma's Fall semester review with her preschool teacher. Mrs. Wright says Emma's doing really well on the goals that we'd set out for her before the school year. She still has some problems with transitioning from one activity to another, but not nearly as bad as she was. She's good with helping other kids resolve their differences, but it's another ballgame when SHE'S the one who's arguing with another child. Mrs. Wright says her pre-writing skills are great and that she's really bright (which of course, we already knew). So I feel better after that. She doesn't think her speech delay will affect her adversely in Kindergarden.
So, even though it feels like this winter is dragging on forever, I know I still have a lot to accomplish before spring. And, knowing me, I'll probably procrastinate and then wish it were still winter so I'd have more time.

Old habits die hard

Sarah is once again, a sleepless baby. She's been taking minimal naps during the day (as in, less than 2 hours TOTAL for the whole day) and barely sleeping at night. We resorted to bringing her to bed with us last night, which we haven't had to do since she started sleeping in her crib almost 2 weeks ago. She was doing so well!!! I think it may have something to do with teething. It looks like her top FOUR teeth are coming in. There are bulges in her gums, although it doesn't look like they're going to be coming in anytime soon. Poor baby. Not to mention, poor us. You'd think with the non-napping during the day that she'd be exhausted (I know I am) but you'd be wrong. She seems to thrive on exhaustion and will stay up, unencumbered, until midnight if we let her. But she had playgroup & PT today, so I'm hoping for an early night. And if it doesn't work, we're bringing out the big guns (AKA Baby Tylenol). We may ever resort to using Dimetapp or Benedryl if this continues. We all need some sleep, or else we will cease to function.
Emma had gymnastics on Monday. Because of the huge class sizes and ALL the parents wanting to watch, the coaches decided that no one will be allowed to sit inside the gym during class, except for a few occasions during the 12 week camp. So, we all get to sit outside in the hallway. Yay, what fun. Emma, apparently, had a breakdown during class because she wasn't allowed to go on the big trampoline like she wanted. I could hear her crying from outside the room. She was still weepy when the class was over. Hopefully she'll have better luck next week.
Sarah had her second session of PT this afternoon. She's seeming to do really well. There's only so much you can do with a 9 month old in 30 minutes, but it's going well. There are some things that i have noticed during therapy that I can help her with during the week, mostly to help her learn to crawl sooner. She doesn't like to be on her hands & knees, and normally one of the two sets of appendages end up collapsing, so that's our main focus. Getting her arms & legs to be strong enough to work together to learn how to crawl.
The weather here has been nasty lately. Monday & Tuesday were the worst, with temps hovering at about 0 degrees, and with the windchill it was 10 to 15 below. Ucky. Not exactly "go outside to play" weather. Emma was bummed because her class kept being held inside instead of going outside for recess, like they do everyday for the last 30 minutes of school. It was either too cold or snowing too hard.
We bought Emma a new bookshelf this weekend. Her countless books were overflowing the 3 shelf one she had. So she was upgraded to a 5 shelf one and her old one will be repaired & painted & given to Sarah. Which will probably take me another 8 1/2 months to accomplish.

Paging the Tooth Fairy

We're going to need the Tooth Fairy on-call. Emma has her first loose tooth! Actually, I think she has 2, both of which are in the beginning stages of coming out. They're the front 2 bottom ones. This is so exciting! It's kinda early, in my eyes, as I didn't think this happened until about age 6-7, but since Emma got her first 2 teeth (ironically enough, these exact 2) by age 4 months, I guess it's fitting that she lose them early, as well.
Sarah is getting the hang of sleeping through the night. Last night she mostly slept from 10pm to 7:30am. Jeff said she woke up once and was whiny for about 5 minutes, but fell back asleep. I think she's finally getting into a routine, which is nice. Now if we can stick to it, it'll be great.
My sister Tracey is leaving today for Fiji. She's going with her church to help the people on a few of the islands there, including a stint on Vanuatu, where the last Survivor was held. She's going to be gone for 6 months.
Emma starts gymnastics again this Monday. We weren't able to get her in last fall, as there was a big interest in it due to the recent Olympic games. Apparently everyone wanted their daughter to be the next Carly Patterson. Plus, since this is Michigan in January, there is snow everywhere. And most people don't want to schlep through the snow just for a sport. Last year, it was a pain because there were Men's Basketball home games practically every week, so we had to park way out in the boonies, and walk even farther in the snow (and I was pregnant at the time). This is, fortunately, her class is on Monday & there are no home games on those nights, so we can park anywhere. Which will make it easier, since I have to now carry Sarah and all of her paraphernalia. Emma's little friend Morgan, whom we used to live by, is also going to be in her class, so that will be fun for the girls.

Strike one for Michigan

Ok, I get it, it snows in Michigan. I understand that now. I've dealt with it & adjusted accordingly. But where did this sleet/freezing rain come from? I thought that was something that only happened on the far East coast. I come back from taking Jeff to work, after only being gone less than 15 minutes, to find my driveway completely iced over. I was sliding all over the place trying to get the van into the garage. I ended up having to back out into the street to get enough traction & speed to propel myself up the driveway & into the garage. And now, to add to this freaky weather, they say it's going to warm up to 49 degrees by this afternoon. Huh? Ok, the snow in Las Vegas was humerous, and the massive amounts of rain in California are scary, but this weather sounds almost apolcalyptic. I don't get it. I guess the old adage about Michigan is true: if you don't like the weather, wait 15 minutes, cause it'll change.
On a much happier note, Sarah finally has her first appointment with the Physical therapist. It's taken 2 months to get in to see this guy. We had a mountain of bureaucratic red tape to get through (IEP's, group meetings, them telling me they don't have anyone to give PT to infants...) but she has an appointment this afternoon. I'm hoping to be able to get a schedule of at least once a week, if not more. I have very high hopes for Sarah, developmentally. She's already been so on-track for most of her milestones that I don't want it to start backsliding. Pretty much the only thing she isn't doing that some other kids her age are is crawling. And even Emma didn't crawl until she was 9 months old. Sarah has beat Emma when it comes to some milestones. So I know things will even out, but I don't want her to get really far behind before they strat intervening.

Eye see you

Sarah had a pediatric opthamologist appointment in Lansing this morning. Her left eye has been acting weird, crossing by itself, while her right eye stayed put. I suspected strabismus, a common childhood eye problem that is mostly corrected by eye patches or at worst, surgery. The doctor said Sarah's farsightedness (which almost all babies are) is a little bit more than normal for her age, which is most likely causing eye strain, leading to the eye crossing. So, it looks like little Sarah will be getting baby glasses within the next few months. This should be fun, trying to keep glasses on a 9 month old. They have elastic bands that wrap around the baby's head, but they don't keep them on her face. Something tells me Sarah's going to end up chewing on the glasses more often than wearing them.

Halleluiah!!!

Sarah's crib is FINISHED!!!! I put the final coat on one piece this afternoon, and then scrounged around trying to find all the pieces that have been scattered over the past 2 years of it being dismantled. Emma & I had a fun time putting it together, with me silently smacking my head with my hand at times. I found all but one piece, a screw, that's needed, but not immediately. I'll have to go buy one to replace it. We put all the bedding on (thanks mom) and it looks perfect!
Sarah's in bed right now, probably not asleep, as she woke up right as I put her down. I'll probably be spending the night on her floor, making sure she gets back to sleep after waking up during the night. It's going to be a transition, to be sure, but hopefully soon she'll be sleeping through the night. Or at least able to put herself back to sleep if she wakes up. I've got almost 9 months straight with not one night of uninterrupted sleep. I know I could sure use it.

Just us girls

The girls & I drove Jeff to Detroit (Novi) for Citrix training this week. We've been there before. When I was pregnant with Sarah, he had Dell training & stayed at the same hotel. So we drive him there Sunday evening, stayed the night & drove home on Monday afternoon. He's getting a ride back home on Friday from a co-worker. So it's just the girls this week. We've been making the most (or least, depends on how you look at it) of it. I haven't gotten out of my pj's since Monday night, Emma's running around the house either in just her undies or in a some form of dress-up clothes and hasn't had a bath since Sunday. Sarah is getting lots of practice sitting up, as she watches me paint her crib (which I'm ALMOST finished with). And we're all watching a lot of TV & not really eating all that well. I know that's going to have to change here soon, as it's already Wednesday & Jeff comes home in 2 days. The house still needs to be cleaned from BEFORE we left for CA, but now all the clothes & dishes we've used since we got home last Friday night are just piling up on top of all that was there when we left for CA. It's not a pretty picture, but I'm bound & determined that this crib will be finished before Jeff gets home. I'm on the home stretch now, as all I have left to do is the final coat of paint on 2 1/2 pieces. Then I have to go out & buy a crib mattress & put it all together, but that will be the easy part. Then comes the fun part, putting Sarah in there for the first time. Yay. Something tells me I'll be sleeping on the floor or her room the first night she's in it, which I'm hoping will be tonight. But that's fine, as long as she's in it. It's only taken me 8 1/2 months to get to this point.
I got my Nancy Noel print in the mail when we got back from vacation. She's an artist who paints beautiful pictures of angels, Amish children & animals. She painted one of a little girl angel, who had Down syndrome. A portion of the proceeds from the sale of it is going to Down syndrome research. It was a Christmas present from Jeff. I really think the little girl looks like Sarah. She's got long blonde hair & blue eyes. I still need to buy a frame for it. I'm going to put it up in Sarah's room. I want to buy another angel print for Emma's room, but haven't found one that really personifies her. There's one called Angel of Mercy that looks like Emma about 2 years ago. There's also an Amish one called "Emma". Once I get Sarah's room finished, I'll post pictures.
Emma's got her 6 year molars coming in. She came to me yesterday telling me that her teeth hurt. My first reaction was, uh-oh, cavity. But then she showed me where & I felt both her bottom molars bulging up under her gums. Oh yay. But she won't take any Tylenol to help with the pain. She's a martyr. It'll probably take a little while for them to completely come in, so this should be fun. Once they do, I think I'm going to get sealant put on them. I had sealant put on mine & I really think that helped with me having no cavities when I was younger. I still have no cavities, or at least I don't think I do. ::Note to self: make dental appointment::

I promise I didn't fall off the face of the earth...

I found that writing in my blog while trying to visit everyone in our collective families with only 2 weeks to do it was something that didn't allow for much downtime. It got to the point where we were scheduling visits & having to cut things short. I don't like doing that. And I didn't even get to see some of my friends. Bummer. But even with all the stress, and there was a ton of stress, it was nice to visit & see everyone we could. Jeff saw his brother & our niece, Ariel. We also met our other neice & nephew, Garrett & Ashley, for the first time.
We once again found out some of the cons to living in CA. 1) Traffic: we drove to Taft from Ventura & got stuck on the Grapevine for 2 1/2 hours, making a trip that should have only taken 2 hours, into a 5 hour ordeal. We had to make a makeshift toilet for Emma out of a diaper because she was about to pee her pants. It was fun.
2) Crowds: I know they have crowds here in Michigan, but not where we live. Apparently we'd have to deal with this if we wanted to live in civilization again.
But at least people both in Michigan & California are rude & can't drive, so it's universal.
One of the other issues was trying to figure out how we were going to get all of our stuff back into our suitcases. We didn't realize how much we were going to be blessed with for Christmas, and were completely unprepared for it. We borrowed one suitcase and had to buy another one to replace one of ours that broke during the trip, and we still had to leave stuff behind. But, with the promise that it would be mailed to us.
Emma is starting to understand the concept of different generations a little better. She knows that her aunts & uncles are mommy & daddy's sisters & brothers. Though the concept of cousin is still a little foggy for her. And she now is calling our grandparents "great-grandpa & great-grandma". Before, EVERYONE was grandma or -pa. Now it's a little more clear. Although she still insists on calling my brothers "boy" and "small boy", even though they're now 17 & 12. I guess right now there's just too many names to process in such a short amount of time.

Welcome to sunny California

We flew into Sacramento last night for our two week vacation in CA. We took a later flight, we left Michigan at 7pm and got into Sac at 11pm, which is 2 am our time. Needless to say, we were exhausted. The girls & I were able to sleep on the plane a little bit, but Jeff wasn't so lucky. Jeff's brother Tim & his daughter Ariel also flew in last night, at roughly the same time as us. The kids got a little rambunchous and the boys (Jeff, Tim & Tim's friend Justin) wanted to show off all their new toys and such. We didn't get to bed until around 1:30am. Sarah then kept us up practically all night, and then got up for good at around 7am.
We pretty much lounged around all day, with Ariel & Emma going in the spa. They got along pretty well, only Emma's not used to sharing toys & stuff with someone who's Ariel's age. She knows Sarah can't actively play with her stuff, but Ariel can, and it's been an adjustment for Emma. She keeps referring to Ariel as "sister" which is funny. She has no concept of "cousin".
We went to go see my mom and all the renovations she's been doing for the past month. Sarah got to show off all her new tricks, such as sitting up & laughing.
Jeff's been hanging out with his brother, Tim, along with Tim's friends Mario & Justin. Whenever the boys get together, their collective ages dwindle down to about 5 years old. They tell fart jokes & oogle over computer & video game stuff, and tackle each other to the ground. Tim will be in town until Monday night so Jeff's getting as much time as he can with him before he flies back home with Ariel.

Behold the Leper

Just a quick note to say, I hate cold sores. I woke up yesterday with 2, count 'em, TWO of them. One on each side of my lower lip. Argh. I'm a beauty, that's for sure. I must have been stressed out. Or not drinking enough water. Or both. Emma's birthday party (well, the planning & last minute driving around for stuff) stressed me out. And I definitely haven't been sleeping very well. That could be a big part of it.
Last night, I think I got maybe 2 full hours of sleep. Sarah was just up constantly. I don't even think she's hungry. I just think she doesn't know how to put herself back to sleep. Jeff thinks it's too cold for her. I think she needs more room to stretch out. So, I promised myself, my tired, dragging my butt through the dirt self, that I would get her crib finished, finally and put together. We'll see how that goes.

Fixed at last!

We finally got our broken window in the living room downstairs fixed. It's taken over 2 months. I guess it's a good thing the rock that hit it didn't go through both panes otherwise we'd have rain & snow in our living room. But now our garage door is broken (well, bending) again. We leave on Friday afternoon, and I don't like the idea of leaving with it not being fixed. It's a real safety issue. Before we got the opener installed, we had to put a screwdriver through a couple of holes in the door & the frame in order to keep it from opening.
It's always something with houses, isn't it? And this place is brand new, so apparently we get more problems than normal. You'd think it would be otherwise, but oh well.
Jeff had 3 of his 4 finals yesterday, and the only one remaining is a cakewalk, since it's in his computer class. He thinks he did pretty well, and I'm sure he did, since he studying his bootie off. Now he doesn't know what to do with himself. It's been practically 4 months since he hasn't had to do homework or study for a test. But I know he'll figure something out.
I got one of my Christmas gifts early. I had bought a video game for Jeff, with the intention that I would play it, too. I told him, because I was afraid he wouldn't want it, only to have him tell me that he'd been planning on getting ME that exact same game. So, we decided, since I already knew, that we would just open it & play it. It's called "Katamari Damachy" and it's probably one of the strangest games you'll ever see. It's a Japanese import game, so that alone gives you mental images of weird stuff. You play this Prince, and your dad is the "King of All Cosmos". Basically, he's gets wasted & knocks all the stars out of the sky. It's your job to put them back. And how you do that is roll up everything you can on this giant ball called a Katamari. It's like a giant sticky vacuum. The more you roll up on it, the bigger the ball gets, thus you can roll up bigger & bigger things, like shoes, cars, people & ultimately buildings. Every katamari you finish gets booted into the sky to create a star. Weird, yes, but entertaining. They even have a 2 player version where you go against someone. Jeff kicked my tail last night, but I finally beat him twice in a row, and then I quit while I was (somewhat) ahead. He even rolled ME up and I had to scramble to get away. Not amusing.
Emma was supposed to have her Parent-Teacher conference this afternoon, but for some reason, it was cancelled. I'm hoping they can get it in before we leave. I would really like to hear from the teacher how Emma's doing. I know she's had some issues, mostly having to do with sharing and learning she can't always get what she wants, so I'm hoping she's made some progress in that area.

Sole Survivor

Last night was the finale for Survivor. It's sad that Jeff & I like this show so much. We really only watch 2 reality shows, Survivor & The Amazing Race. We're not into the Bachelor and other shows like that. We like shows that test people's physical, mental & social skills, not just who catches the eye of some doof who can't get a girlfriend.
I've been seriously contemplating trying out for the next Survivor. But I think that right now would not be the best time to go. First of all, Jeff would have to fly someone out here to take care of the kids while I'm gone. Secondly, I'd probably miss Sarah's 1st birthday & I would never be able to forgive myself if I did that. We both think we'd kick some butt in The Amazing Race, but that would require us BOTH to be gone, and that might be hard on the kids right now. Plus, I'm thinking, what would make me stand out from all the other people trying out? Jeff would most likely get on if he tried out. He's an ex-Navy sailor, who's been all around the world, he's practically the smartest person I know, and he won't take crap from anyone. The only down side is he wouldn't eat bugs, or anything else that was gross. The good thing about The Amazing Race would be that we could play off each other's strengths. I could do all the eating of nasty stuff and all the stunts that required doing something crazy, like jumping off a building (cause I'm nuts like that) and he could do all the other stuff, like anything that requires directions. LOL We always quiz each other about what the other would do in a certain situation. Most of the time we're right on with each other, but there are definitely times when we each have our own opinion about something. We just sit & watch & laugh at some of the people on these shows. There's this one couple on The Amazing Race this season. They're married and the husband is CONSTANTLY yelling at his wife. He treats her like she's a moron. I told Jeff if he did that me, I'd smack him. I felt really bad for this one team, two friends, because neither of them could drive a stick shift. And most of the cars in Europe are stick shifts. So this poor girl kept stalling the car they were in and holding everyone up who was behind them. I know that if we ever did that together, there would definitely be some things that we would study up on. I want to become fluent in French...again. I wasn't really fluent before, but I could have a decent conversation with someone. You have to go into something like that prepared, not just automatically thinking they can deal with anything they come across.
So maybe one day Jeff & I will do one of those shows. It would be fun.

Party hard

We had Emma's birthday party yesterday afternoon. It was pretty successful, I think. Nothing got broken & there were only a couple of "selfish" moments, where someone didn't want to share a toy. I think the party went pretty smoothly considering the stress that came before it. I, of course, being the huge procrastinator that I am, waited until the last possible moment to get things I should have gotten earlier this week, leaving Jeff at home with the kids while I went and bought some last minute things. By the time I got back, which was a lot later than I had anticipated, Sarah's screaming and Jeff's running around the house trying to get everything finished. I felt so bad. Poor Jeff had to change his shirt because he was sweating from all the stuff he was doing. But we were able to pull it together before anyone showed up. Everyone came except for one person. I think that they might have had an emergency, but I don't know their phone number, so I'll have to wait until school starts next month before I can find out, unless they call me. I'm going to save the goody bag I made for the little girl & give it to her when I see her next.
The goody bags consisted of a package of hair clips that came with a keychain that had a brush and some lipgloss on it. I don't know how they managed that, but oh well. I also got 30 pairs of stick-on earrings and a butterfly wand. The wands were a big hit. Emma has one from my mom and everyone wanted to play with it, so I gave out the bags early so everyone could have their own. Quite a few parents stayed behind, so we were able to have some nice conversations.
The girls played dress-up with all of Emma's playclothes. Some of them even brought their own. Jeff played a couple games of CandyLand with them. Sarah was a good baby for the party. She was just looking around at everyone and making funny faces at them.
Instead of a cake, I made cupcakes and put frosting on them and the girls were able to decorate them themselves. They had fun with that.
Emma got some really nice gifts. She was excited about all of them, but as soon as the wrapping paper came off, she was like, "What's next?" She wanted to make sure all of them were opened before getting really excited about any of them. She received the My Little Pony Dance Studio, and 2 extra My Little Ponies, 2 ballerina Barbies (different kinds), a Polly Pocket set, a Clickits jewelry set, a Princess Activity set, a Dora computer game, Junior Scrabble, and a Funfoam acitivity set. After she opened them all, we got all the toys out of the packaging so the girls could play with them. Well, all except 3 of them. All of the activity & jewelry sets we didn't open because they all small parts, glue & glitter. I told Emma she could play with those when everyone had left. The kids played with the toys until it was time to go. I think all in all it was a great time, but Jeff's thinking next year we need to hire someone to entertain the kids. I said anyone but a clown. Or maybe we'll just have the part at McDonald's. Emma's friend Ryan had his birthday party there.
I wasn't able to get the Bella Dancerella thing for Emma like I wanted, but oh well. It's a hot ticket item this season, apparently. So I'll have to keep looking once we get to CA. Emma played her Dora the Explorer computer game last night and already beat it. I'm thinking we're going to have to start her on some more advanced stuff in order to keep her mind occupied.
Jeff has finals tomorrow & Tuesday and then he came relax (sorta) until we leave on Friday. We're taking a later flight, getting into Sacramento at 11pm their time. It'll be 2am our time, so hopefully the children will be asleep. It should be fun carrying them both through the airport.
We're finally figured out our itinerary for the 2 weeks we'll be there. We're going to drive down to Southern CA on Christmas Eve to spend Christmas with my dad. Then we're going over to Bakersfield for a couple days, then back up to Sacramento to catch our flight home. It's going to be hectic, but we're hoping to be able to see everyone we can.

Happy Birthday Emma!

Today is Emma's birthday. I can't believe that 5 years have gone by since she was born. It truely doesn't seem that long ago. She was born after 22 hours of labor, and 2 1/2 hours of pushing, most of which I don't remember. She was born at 7:01am, weighing 8 lbs. 10 oz. and was 19 1/2 inches long. She had inch long dark brown hair, which she got from me, and her daddy's nose. Right after she was born, she cried for about a minute, but fell right to sleep after the doctor laid her down on my chest. I could tell that she was going to be a stubborn one, as she was born face-up (thus the 2 1/2 hours of pushing). She had jaundice and her nickname was "spike" after her first bath, as her hair stood straight up and was fuzzy. Her eyes were like mercury, deep, dark pools of blue, which were also a gift from her father.
As I look at pictures from when she was little, she still has the same looks she gives me now. Her eyes have lightened just a little but are still big & blue. Her hair has changed from dark brown to strawberry blonde to light blonde and slowly back to a light brown. She's been through numerous ear infections, colds, coughs, and an episode of Bell's Palsy. She's learned the fine art of sarcasm (thanks Jeff), can draw a family portrait like no other (complete with belly buttons), and is a wonderful big sister to Sarah. She's in preschool, has lots of friends and loves to play dress-up. She's a Disney Princess in training. She loves horses and the colors purple & pink. If it were possible, she'd eat a quesadilla at every meal. Her favorite vegetables are black olives. She's not extraordinarily kind, but takes it personally when someone else's feelings have been bruised. Her only desire is for everyone to be happy and will do her best to make that possible. As one of her teachers from preschool said, "She's just Emma", which is just about the only way to describe her. She's like no one else. She even had her own language "Emma-ese".
Emma brings such immense joy to our family, it's hard to think of what our lives would be like without her.
Happy Birthday, Goober!!!!

Christmas fun

Holiday Eating Tips:

1. Avoid carrot sticks. Anyone who puts carrots on a holiday buffet table knows nothing of the Christmas spirit. In fact, if you see carrots, leave immediately. Go next door, where they're serving rum balls.

2. Drink as much eggnog as you can. And quickly. Like fine single-malt scotch, it's rare. In fact, it's even rarer than single-malt scotch. You can't find it any other time of year but now. So drink up! Who cares that has 10,000 calories in every sip? It's not as if you're going to turn into
an eggnog-aholic or something. It's a treat. Enjoy it. Have one for me. Have two.

3. If something comes with gravy, use it. That's the whole point of gravy. Gravy does not stand alone. Pour it on. Make a volcano out of your mashed potatoes. Fill it with gravy. Eat the volcano. Repeat.

4. As for mashed potatoes, always ask if they're made with skim milk or whole milk. If it's skim, pass. Why bother? It's like buying a sports car with an automatic transmission.

5. Do not have a snack before going to a party in an effort to control your eating. The whole point of going to a Christmas party is to eat other people's food for free. Lots of it. Hello?

6. Under no circumstances should you exercise between now and New Year's. You can do that in January when you have nothing else to do. This is the time for long naps, which you'll need after circling the buffet table while carrying a 10-pound plate of food and that vat of eggnog.

7. If you come across something really good at a buffet table, like frosted Christmas cookies in the shape and size of Santa, position yourself near them and don't budge. Have as many as you can before becoming the center of attention. They're like a beautiful pair of shoes. If you leave them behind, you're never going to see them again.

8. Same for pies. Apple. Pumpkin. Mincemeat. Have a slice of each. Or, if you don't like mincemeat, have two apples and one pumpkin. Always have three. When else do you get to have more than one dessert? Labor Day?

9. Did someone mention fruitcake? Granted, it's loaded with the mandatory celebratory calories, but avoid it at all cost. I mean, have some standards.

10. One final tip: If you don't feel terrible when you leave the party or get up from the table, you haven't been paying attention. Reread tips; start over, but hurry, January is just around the corner.

Remember this motto to live by:
"Life should NOT be a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in an attractive and well preserved body, but rather to skid in sideways, chocolate in one hand, martini in the other, body thoroughly used up, totally worn out and screaming "WOO HOO what a ride!!!!"

Rainy days & fire alarms

Oh the joys of going to preschool at a college. After getting about 5 inches of snow 2 days ago, it started raining last night, which pretty much melted most of the snow. That's the way it is around here. It wasn't bad, just enough to be a nuisance. I dropped Emma off at school & went home. When I drove back to the school to pick her up, I noticed that a lot of the students from Wightman Hall, where the preschool is located, were outside the building, milling around the sidewalks & parking lots. I parked, got out of the car, and only then realized that I heard the faint buzzing noise of a fire alarm. It didn't really hit me until I was walking up the stairs to the classroom that that probably meant the kids weren't there. I turned around & saw a teacher running towards me, telling me that the kids were at the back of the parking lot. I walked over there, and saw about 10 kids in a huddle, being surrounded by the teachers & assistants, trying to keep them warm. Because this wasn't a drill, and was completely unexpected, the kids hadn't been able to grab their coats on the way out. So they were stuck out there, in the rain and cold, until they determined if the alarm was warranted, just a mistake, or a prank. Poor kids. I took off my coat & wrapped it around Emma to walk back to the car. Then we had to sit & wait for the teachers to be allowed back into the classroom in order to get Emma's jacket & backpack. So, it was an exciting day.
So far, we have 5 kids coming to Emma's birthday party on Saturday. I even got an RSVP via a teletype, with someone transcribing my words for the person on the other end. Apparently, one of the girls' mom is either deaf or very hearing-impaired. I know a few of the other parents are staying, as well, so it should be fun.
Sarah will be getting her 2nd flu shot tomorrow. Because she's so young, she needed to get it in 2 doses. Of course, I have to pay $20/each, which seems pointless, especially since she's getting the same shot as older people, just 1/2 & 1/2. Oh well.
School ends this week for both Emma & Jeff. We have a pizza party to go to on Thursday evening for Emma's preschool & we have a parent-teacher conference next week. I'm really nervous about this. I'm afraid they're going to tell me what a hellion Emma is and how they don't want her coming back next semester. Either that or they're going to tell me, I think Emma needs to be in preschool for another year, as she isn't ready for Kindergarden. Either way, I'd feel like a failure as a mother.
Jeff has finals next Monday & Tuesday. Then he can relax until we fly to California on the 17th. We're still trying to figure out when & how we're getting to Southern California to visit everyone there. We're looking into renting a car one-way for each leg of the trip, but not sure if that would be cost-effective. It's nice that both Jeff & I are 25, so we don't have to pay that extra "you're under 25 & therefore must be a terrible driver" fee. When we came out here last year to check out the job at CMU, I was the only one who could drive because I was the only one who was 25. So hopefully we'll be able to find a way down south to visit everyone.

Food for thought

Creed for babies with Down syndrome

My face may be different

But my feelings the same

I laugh and I cry

And I take pride in my gains

I was sent here among you

To teach you to love

As God in the Heavens

Looks down from above

To Him I'm no different

His love knows no bounds

It's those here among you

In cities and towns

That judge me by standards

That man has imparted

But this family I've chosen

Will help me get started

For I'm one of the children

So special and few

That came here to learn

The same lessons as you

That love is acceptance

It must come from the heart

We all have the same purpose

Though not the same start

The Lord gave me life

To live and embrace

And I'll do as you do

But at my own pace

Welcome to Holland

By Emily Perl Kingsley

I am often asked to describe the experience of raising a child with a disability - to try to help people who have not shared that unique experience to understand it, to imagine how it would feel. It's like this......
When you're going to have a baby, it's like planning a fabulous vacation trip - to Italy. You buy a bunch of guide books and make your wonderful plans. The Coliseum. Michelangelo's David. The gondolas in Venice. You may learn some handy phrases in Italian. It's all very exciting.
After months of eager anticipation, the day finally arrives. You pack your bags and off you go. Several hours later, the plane lands. The stewardess comes in and says, "Welcome to Holland."
"Holland?!?" you say. "What do you mean Holland?? I signed up for Italy! I'm supposed to be in Italy. All my life I've dreamed of going to Italy."
But there's been a change in the flight plan. They've landed in Holland and there you must stay.
The important thing is that they haven't taken you to a horrible, disgusting, filthy place, full of pestilence, famine and disease. It's just a different place.
So you must go out and buy new guide books. And you must learn a whole new language. And you will meet a whole new group of people you would never have met.
It's just a different place. It's slower-paced than Italy, less flashy than Italy. But after you've been there for a while and you catch your breath, you look around.... and you begin to notice that Holland has windmills....and Holland has tulips. Holland even has Rembrandts.
But everyone you know is busy coming and going from Italy... and they're all bragging about what a wonderful time they had there. And for the rest of your life, you will say "Yes, that's where I was supposed to go. That's what I had planned."

And the pain of that will never, ever, ever, ever go away... because the loss of that dream is a very very significant loss.
But... if you spend your life mourning the fact that you didn't get to Italy, you may never be free to enjoy the very special, the very lovely things ... about Holland.

Girls only

Well, we passed out the invitations to Emma's birthday party next week. We decided that it was going to be a "Girls Only" party because 1) there are too many kids in her class to invite everyone, including all the boys & the party's here & 2) I figured everyone would end up playing dress-up and I doubted any boys would want to do that with all the frilly, pink stuff Emma has. But, forgetful me, accidently left out one girl, so I printed out another invite & will put it in her cubby when I pick Emma up from school. I'll have to double check that I didn't forget anyone else, but I think I got everyone.
At first, I was thinking about a party at "Let's Do the Dishes", a ceramics place in town. The kids could paint their own piece of pottery & have it firebaked and take it home, in place of goodie bags. Well, that would have worked but they said it would take a week to get everything firebaked & then I'd have to come back & pick everyone's pottery up and deliver it to them. Too much hassle. We don't have a Chuck E. Cheese's around here or any other cool place to have a party. Plus, there's snow on the ground, so an outdoor thing at a park was out of the question. Even though I'm not thrilled with the idea of clean-up, at least here they can play with Emma's toys and hopefully not fight over anything.
Now all I have to do is figure out decorations and something for a goodie bag. I'm going to bake cupcakes and have the girls decorate them themselves with frosting & stuff. I already have Emma's gifts, I just have to wrap them.
Even if only a couple girls out of the 8-10 we invited show up, that would still be great. I'm letting the parents know that they're welcome to stay if they want. That way we can get to know each other a little better.