steph's stuff

Whoa

Second post today - LOL!

Um..........whoa at this. And I have to say that his album totally ROCKS!!!!!!!!!! Go figure!!!

And since I don't know how to imbed this, here's the link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6FmykdoDAt0

And it begins

Spring Break, that is. And two weeks of it! Why, oh why, do kids need two weeks for Spring Break??? Geesh.

I knew that I was going to have to find lots of things to do to keep us all sane for that long. So, first part was to go through all the outside toys to see what had survived the winter. It became apparent very quickly that we needed balls. Some had been run over (insert innocent smile here), some were just threadbare, and some were simply gone. And the sidewalk chalk was down to nubs and a congealed mess. So, off to Target I went with all 3 kids on Saturday morning. We came home with a jumbo box of sidewalk chalk, 5 new balls (everyone has their own basketball, a football, and a small ball that Andrew can carry around with him (basically, he just sleeps with it, but we'll pretend that he actually uses it). While outside, though, the basketballs are the hit!!!

 

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But, by far, the most popular purchase was the bug house. Elizabeth has been collecting bugs for the past year or two and I can't tell you how many plastic containers we've gone through and how many bugs we've killed - either the holes have been too big and the bugs escaped or drowned because they got stuck out in the rain or the holes weren't big enough and the poor things suffocated. So, in an effort to make sure the bugs died in a humane way ('cause seriously, the bugs are gonna die after the kids catch 'em, right?), I bit the bullet and bought the bug habitat. And it has made Elizabeth a very happy little kindergartener, I will say!

So, we are ready for Spring Break!!! Now, if it rains the whole darn time, well, I'm gonna have to have a plan B, but right now, the plan is to keep the kids outside as much as possible! We also have some visits with friends planned, a trip down to Indy for Em's appt at the childrens' hospital combined with a night or two at my sil's house to visit the cousins, and my mom's coming out for Andrew's 4th birthday and Easter. I think we're ready for Spring Break!

It's been a week!

What a week!

Monday - I went up to visit Sharyn on Monday and we had so much fun! We talked, checked the web for HOF calls, she tortured me into admitting that I had entered HOF and no one knew, not even dh, I rocked her precious little baby for 2 hours, we checked the web again, she scrapped a bit, we ate M&Ms, I rocked a baby again, we ate brownies, we checked the web again, I held little Brian's hand and fell in love with him, we ate M&Ms and I came home. And I was sooooo sure that I wouldn't hear anything about HOF that I was gone all day on HOF call day. See, I truly had entered on a whim and then never thought much about it after that. Like I told Torm on Monday, it didn't feel like I had entered because it was just some digi layouts that I had just learned how to do. So, it didn't feel like a "real" entry, ya know?

Tuesday - busy day at home, watched some of the HM calls go out, and never thought about it past trying to guess which of my friends had won HOF. Sherry called me screaming at one point that she had gotten an HM and I was so happy for her and that was Tuesday.

Wednesday - I had to work at the kids' school all morning and got home around 11. Andrew had kept us up all night and I was soooo exhausted. Never really thought much about HOF at all, although I did think at one point that I was so grateful that I hadn't told dh that I had entered because he would have been bugging me all day. At about noon, I couldn't stand the fatigue anymore and I sat down on the couch and was asleep within seconds. At 12:16 pm, the phone rang and it was Fred calling with an HM for me. I was SHOCKED!!!! I called Sharyn first - I knew I hadn't told anyone and never, ever expected to have to tell anyone. And then I immediately emailed a few friends and 'fessed up. Oh yeah, and I called dh and had to tell him, too.

So, go figure! I got an HM in the '07 Hall of Fame Contest! With 9 100% digital layouts and 1 traditional layouts. Holy cow!

It's a new day!

Woohoo!!!!!! Kids are mostly better!!! Only 2 have temps and they are down to 99 - woohoo! If I could do the cute little what we call "butt wiggle" dance that my two youngest do when they're happy, I sure would right about now!

And I got out of the house again!!!! I grabbed Elizabeth (the only kid with a completely normal temp) and we went to:

1. LSS (didn't have the Hambly, Torm :( )
2. Gas station - almost didn't make it :O
3. Office supply store - got photo mailers to get clients' photos out in the mail
4. Best Buy - finally bought a new iPod cable to replace mine that I lost almost a year ago :p
5. Target - had lunch with a really silly giggly 6 yo who was just as happy to get out of the house as I was - and lots of groceries to fill up an empty pantry
6. Pet store - the parakeets are beyond happy to have treat bars and a new bird kabob (they are happily singing to me as I type)
7. Post office - mailed the client pics
8. Dry cleaners - got dh's clothes so he doesn't have to go to the office in jeans on Monday

Now, normally, I totally hate days like that - too many errands and that much running around just is not fun for me. I'm a 2-3 store per outing kinda girl. But, today, Elizabeth and I could have gone to 8 more stores and we still would have been laughing and singing.

And, ya know, I gotta remember this - it is soooooo good for me and the kids for me to take them out one at a time. The things you learn are amazing!!! Elizabeth told me all about her favorite kind of music (she's a little rock 'n roller and wanted me to blare Chris Daughtry for her!), her favorite parts of school, and the things that make her sad (she's not allowed to lock the bathroom door at school because of her seizure disorder  :(   that broke my heart). And throughout it all, she's singing and laughing and pulling pranks on me kindergarten-style ("Quick, Mommy, Look!!!!!!"  And there's nothing there and she bursts out lauging, "Gotcha, Mommy!!!!"), and telling me "I love you soooooo much, Mommy!"  And that's what parenting is all about!

The very best ...

kind of Tupperware parties have more margaritas than Tupperware.

And that's all I'm saying. :D

Days 3 & 4

Come on, you knew it was going to happen, right?

There's no way that both girls can be sick and Andrew can stay well, right?

Meet sick kid #3. 103.6 temp for 2 days running now.

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So, we headed out to the ped's office yesterday before everyone was even finished dressing.

The tally is:

Emily has some nasty virus that we're hoping will not turn into pneumonia. Influenza and strep tests were negative, but ped has declared that she can't go back to school until Monday.

Elizabeth has strep throat and some tiny symptoms that might indicate that she's also getting Emily's nasty virus, so keep her home from school until Monday, too.

Andrew's temp shot up about 1/2 an hour after we left the ped's office. Greeeeeeeeeeeaaaaaaaaaat. So, he will probably go in tomorrow for a strep test and Emily will be checked again to make sure the nasty virus is on its way out. Oh, and Andrew doesn't have preschool again until Monday, anyway.

During the past 4 days, we have had multiple kids in our beds at any given time day or night, Tom has slept in Emily's bed so that I can have both girls sleep with me, we've had Andrew sleep between us, we've put both girls together in Emily's bed, and I've also been sleeping on the couch with Andrew. Whatever kind of freaking combination gets us through the night.

And, tonight, I am going to a Tupperware party. Yes, you heard me right. I didn't even know these things still existed, but I was invited to go to a Tupperware party. And ya know, she could have invited me to a laundry folding party and I would have taken her up on it. Because, for 2 glorious hours tonight, I will not have 3 sick, crying, burning hot, whining, miserable children on top of me. (not that I don't totally sympathize with the poor little buggers, but holy cow, i'm going out of my mind)

Wanna peek?

Here's a very real peek into my life.

*eta: it's day two and we're still in the same positions. :p

Girl #1 sick on one end of the couch.

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Girl #2 sick on the other end of the couch.

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That spot in the middle???? That's where I am. If you look carefully, you can see the laptop at the bottom of the picture. In this photo, I put it on the ottoman, but right now, it's on my lap in the middle of two girls with 102 temps. Gonna be a great day. :p

Be very careful

Be very careful about what you wish for. This little stinker sassed her kindergarten teacher for the first time ever yesterday. Sigh.

We disciplined her and made sure she knew that it wasn't appropriate - I even made her write a letter of apology to her teacher. But, secretly, inside her teacher and I were both cheering and grinning just a little bit. ;)  When the teacher called me to tell me, I instinctively said, "Put her little bottom in a time out!" And the teacher adores Elizabeth soooooo much - she said she was going to pretend to have static on the line when I said that, "What?! Can't hear you. Sorry!" because she simply couldn't bear to put her in a time out. LOL! It's going to be a very sad day when we have to say good-bye to Mrs. Snyder.

And thanks for all the comments on my last post - it's such a relief. I mean I don't think I can even put into words how relieved I feel. And how grateful I am that modern medicine can help with this. That taking a pill morning and night can bring her personality back - it's astounding to me. And they don't even know exactly how anti-convulsants work - a modern mystery that I am very grateful for.

And, on a completely unrelated note - I am sooooooo loving having another sweet nephew - little Lincoln (or baby Lincoln as we've been calling him) is just a bright spot in our family!

She's baaaaaaaaaaack!!!!!

My Libby is back!!!!

It's been 14 months since we noticed Elizabeth's personality changing a bit. She became withdrawn, a bit spaced out at times, and looked sad. We took her to the pediatrician, talked to her, worked with her teachers and even had my mom (who's a therapist/MSW) talk to her. We couldn't find any reason for the changes. So, we chalked it up to little girl attention seeking behavior.

And then over the summer, she started having headaches, along with the sad, quiet, withdrawn behavior. Just as I started to realize that something was wrong - something besides wanting extra attention - she had her first grand mal seizure. And we started down the road that led us to the diagnosis of a seizure disorder, also known as epilepsy. We put her on meds and she immediately became too tired to function well, was slower to respond to reading lessons, and lost way too much weight. So, we started down another road and switched meds. It was a long, nervous 8 week titration schedule.

But, we quickly noticed that she was eating more. And laughing! Oh my gosh, she was laughing - and we realized how long it had been since she had laughed that much! And then she started asking for more food, even after meals were over. And her teacher had to ask her to stop talking in class one day. And then one day, she started pulling pranks on us again. How did I forget that she was a sneaky, mischievous little girl????? How did I forget that??? And today. Today, we got the results from her latest blood tests and she is holding very steady on this new med. Which means she can stay on it. And I took this pictures last night and realized that she's back!!! Her little, silly, tongue-sticking-out, mischievous personality is back!!!!!!! I am a very happy mommy!

Itchy, itchy

Fingers, that is. I have itchy fingers.

In the past 2 months, I think I've made about 20 layouts. And only 3 of them have been with paper and glue. I truly have an addictive personality. I taught myself to digi scrap on my birthday weekend - January 7th. And when I find a new something that I love, I become addicted. Instantly! And it continues without control until something happens to derail it. I was digi scrapping away most every evening until sometime last week. And I suddenly got very busy with photography clients again, so I was derailed from the digi world.

And, after tonight, I'll be caught up with client's photos. And so now I keep glancing at my desk. And then glancing again. And getting itchy fingers. I have 3 Scrapologie kits, Basic Grey's Scarlett's Letter, and the new 7gypsies stuff hiding under the dust on my desk. The itch to play with it all is getting to me. I think I'm going to dig into it all this weekend. And, if nothing else, at least Sharyn will be relieved that I haven't given up on paper and glue. :)

In the meantime, here's a digi layout from last week. ;) I truly love doing 2 page 12 x 12 digi layouts - it is such an easy way to scrap multiple pictures!