It's been a while. I admit I am guilty of slacking on these. I'm missing some really good ones and I'm mad at myself because my kids have had me in stitches with some of the random things that have been coming out of their mouths lately! I love the thoughts that will just escape from their little minds! I've got two good ones this time around.
Aidan:
I want Ryan to be my kids Godfather so he can teach them to face the facts and take bullies off the school property and kick their butts so they stop being bullies. (yes, all one sentence and one breath. Oh my.)
Me:
But won't that make YOUR kids the bullies if they are beating those kids up?
Aidan:
Oh yeah. Ryan, you can't be the Godfather then.
Me:
Well, he could still be the Godfather, he just doesn't need to teach your kids to beat other kids up.
Aidan:
Good point Mom. You're back on Ryan.
Ryan:
Hey! There's that 8-ball thing!! (We were camping for Halloween and at a party) I'm gonna go and ask it my future. See if it knows. My dream is to be a cool dude and get a hot ride.
I love them. They keep me laughing!
Monday, November 18, 2013
Tuesday, October 29, 2013
Ladies and Gentlemen, she's done it again!!!!!
I've got more than just a sneak peek here and there!! I've got a REAL smattering of photos from our family photo shoot!! I am just completely in love with Stephanie's work. Every year I am blown away with the images she takes. I know I say the same thing every year - we give her nothing to work with. But that is how I really feel!! I feel like I have to walk in and say "Good luck sister, you've got your work cut out for you!" LOL. But, every year, she puts up these proofs and I am just blown away. I see my kids faces and she just captures these moments. The looks on their faces, the joy, the smiles, all of it. LOVE LOVE LOVE!!!
I am very lucky to have such an amazing photographer in my life. I will never regret doing these photos. Some people make fun, they tease - I say have at it. But they will be the ones who regret not having the pictures to look back on. Every year, once a year I get these photos done and I'm so glad we do.
So thank you, once again, Stephanie for giving these amazing pictures of my family. You have absolutely made my heart sing and brought a tear to my eye. I can't wait to see the rest and get my prints made up!!!
For anyone local - please, do yourself a favor, check out Stephanie Christine Photography. Stalk the hell out of this woman! Give her a call - check out her Facebook page or her website. You won't be sorry!!
Proofs:
I am very lucky to have such an amazing photographer in my life. I will never regret doing these photos. Some people make fun, they tease - I say have at it. But they will be the ones who regret not having the pictures to look back on. Every year, once a year I get these photos done and I'm so glad we do.
So thank you, once again, Stephanie for giving these amazing pictures of my family. You have absolutely made my heart sing and brought a tear to my eye. I can't wait to see the rest and get my prints made up!!!
For anyone local - please, do yourself a favor, check out Stephanie Christine Photography. Stalk the hell out of this woman! Give her a call - check out her Facebook page or her website. You won't be sorry!!
Proofs:
Tuesday, October 22, 2013
Just a girl with an iPhone
Clearly not a professional photographer by any stretch of ANY imagination but I did take some photos on Saturday while waiting in between pictures with Steph.
I love love LOVE this picture of my boys. They were having so much fun throwing the leaves up in the air and I caught them just right. Aidan's face in this is one of my favorites in a long time. He's just smiling and SO full of joy. They both had fun playing together in this moment and I love all the colors and their big, bright smiles. I need to frame this one and put it up for sure.
This one almost makes you think he's all sweet and innocent. OR that he's going to take that branch and smack me right in the face with it........right?! Well, he didn't do the latter, I can tell you that much!!! He just wanted to peek through and have me take the picture.
We took this one while Stephanie was doing a little mini shoot with Aidan. I will never get tired of taking our photos in this park! Look at all of the gorgeous colors there are!
She really couldn't be any MORE like me, could she?! Erynn is definitely a little version of her Mommy, that is for sure. I love that she wanted to make sure that she and I matched........right down to our brown boots.
I love this pic of my little family. Sometimes I look at them and think how did I get so lucky??? I don't know what I did but I did something right because I am living a really good life. I'm grateful for all that I've been through because without it I wouldn't be who I am and I wouldn't appreciate what I have. These four are my life, heart and my soul and I wouldn't change a thing.
Steph posted another TEASER to my Facebook page. I came into work today and I had 18 likes. I had no clue what everyone was liking because I had already gone to bed. Cracked me up that everyone got to see before me! LOL. Can't wait for the rest!! Love love love.
I love love LOVE this picture of my boys. They were having so much fun throwing the leaves up in the air and I caught them just right. Aidan's face in this is one of my favorites in a long time. He's just smiling and SO full of joy. They both had fun playing together in this moment and I love all the colors and their big, bright smiles. I need to frame this one and put it up for sure. 
Monday, October 21, 2013
Two Months?!
That may be a new slacker record!!!
Busy doesn't even begin to describe. I honestly don't even know how two months has gone by. I could list it all out but I'm not going to.
School has started. I now have a third grader, a second grader and a kindergartner Oh my goodness, three kids in full time school!! That means I have Fridays all to myself. What to do, what to do?! Well, the first thing I did was sign up to volunteer at the school. What? That doesn't make sense to you?? LOL. Ryan's teacher, Mrs. Verlicco, emailed me the first week. (Yes, this is the same teacher Aidan had last year - we love her!!) She asked if I would come in EVERY single Friday and photocopy for the classroom. Ummmmm, sure. So, my "day off" consists of getting up at 6:45a, getting myself up and dressed for the day. Get Erynn up at 7a, dressed, hair done. Send her downstairs to get her breakfast. Wake the boys up. Tell them to get dressed and shuffle them downstairs. Make sure everyones backpacks are ready to go for the day, lunches are in them, water bottles, etc. Walk Erynn down to the end of our driveway because that is where her bus stop is. Wait for the bus. Go back to the house and make sure the boys have REALLY eaten breakfast and gotten their teeth brushed. Quiz them on their spelling words for the week because they have their tests on Fridays. Leave the house at 8:20a, go pick up my nephew. Pull into school drop off line. Doors open at 8:40a, get Aidan and Christopher out of the car, pull around to front of school and park. Walk inside with Ryan. Sign sheet, get volunteer badge. Walk to Ryan's classroom, chat with Mrs. V for a few minutes, take my stack of papers for the day and head to the copy room. I'm there for at least an hour, the longest so far is an hour and 45 minutes. My norm is about an hour and 15 min. Last week I went through 5 reams of copy paper. 5 reams. So much for being green!!! I do the copying for her and the teacher next door. Sort all of the copies into two piles, paper clip, staple, etc. Bring back to classroom and break out of there lol. Go home, start laundry, clean house. Run to grosh if I need to. Go to any appts I have scheduled that day - Dr, Dentist, Wax, you get it. (TMI? Sorry. HA!) Get Erynn off bus at 2:40p, get in car and go pick up boys at 3p. Let them all play at the playground for 30 min. Drop Christopher off at home and bring my kids home. Figure out what we are having for dinner. Sit for 30-45 min. That, ladies and gentlemen, is my "day off" on Fridays. I wonder why I don't get more done???
Oh. Mrs. Wauchope sent home the volunteer schedule for Erynn's class this week. Starting Nov 1st I'll be in her classroom from 10 - 11:15a every other Friday morning. No problem - I'll squeeze that in there too. I've got plenty of time. HA! I kid, I kid. I signed up for it. I'll only have this time for so long. Aidan is only in third grade and they never ask for volunteers so I'll take it while I can!
What else have we done? John and I went on one date night. Yup, just one. We are supposed to go once a month but we've been totally slacking on that. We just haven't had any time! Too many birthday parties, kids things, just stuff going on. You know what that's like. I'm sure it will slow down in the winter time and we can get back to it.
We did our yearly Apple Picking trip to C.N. Smith Farm. Had a GREAT time. Downtown Stephanie B was in town so she came with us. We had so much fun. The apples were amazing, the kids were great.........for the most part. Aidan was acting up a bit but I'll attribute that to general moodiness. Or he got his period. One or the other. I'm sorry, but if you have a little boy, watch out for age 8, almost 9. He is SO moody! I thought Erynn would be the one I'd need to watch out for!! I have NO idea what has gotten into this child!!
Here are some pics from that day.
A week after apple picking we did our annual fall photo shoot!!!! Stephanie posted a TEASER photo on Facebook and I cannot WAIT to get out full proofs. (Apologies for the blur but it's a picture of a picture on FB. You can't see us that great but look at the gorgeous background!!)
I must say I am very proud of myself. For the first time........I think EVER.........I did NOT wear black. Yes, you read that right - I did not wear black. I actually wore color. Pick yourself up off the floor and take a minute. It's okay. It was tough for me because I am a big believer in black is slimming but I really need to get over myself and accept the fact that I look much different than I did a year ago. The whole family wore nice, bright colors and the shoot went really well. 40 min, in and out. Stephanie always does such a GREAT job - I say it every year. We give her nothing to work with and every year I get these AMAZING photos that I can't wait to put up on my walls. Now if I could only be patient while I wait for them. That's the hard part!!!!
More to come!!
Busy doesn't even begin to describe. I honestly don't even know how two months has gone by. I could list it all out but I'm not going to.
School has started. I now have a third grader, a second grader and a kindergartner Oh my goodness, three kids in full time school!! That means I have Fridays all to myself. What to do, what to do?! Well, the first thing I did was sign up to volunteer at the school. What? That doesn't make sense to you?? LOL. Ryan's teacher, Mrs. Verlicco, emailed me the first week. (Yes, this is the same teacher Aidan had last year - we love her!!) She asked if I would come in EVERY single Friday and photocopy for the classroom. Ummmmm, sure. So, my "day off" consists of getting up at 6:45a, getting myself up and dressed for the day. Get Erynn up at 7a, dressed, hair done. Send her downstairs to get her breakfast. Wake the boys up. Tell them to get dressed and shuffle them downstairs. Make sure everyones backpacks are ready to go for the day, lunches are in them, water bottles, etc. Walk Erynn down to the end of our driveway because that is where her bus stop is. Wait for the bus. Go back to the house and make sure the boys have REALLY eaten breakfast and gotten their teeth brushed. Quiz them on their spelling words for the week because they have their tests on Fridays. Leave the house at 8:20a, go pick up my nephew. Pull into school drop off line. Doors open at 8:40a, get Aidan and Christopher out of the car, pull around to front of school and park. Walk inside with Ryan. Sign sheet, get volunteer badge. Walk to Ryan's classroom, chat with Mrs. V for a few minutes, take my stack of papers for the day and head to the copy room. I'm there for at least an hour, the longest so far is an hour and 45 minutes. My norm is about an hour and 15 min. Last week I went through 5 reams of copy paper. 5 reams. So much for being green!!! I do the copying for her and the teacher next door. Sort all of the copies into two piles, paper clip, staple, etc. Bring back to classroom and break out of there lol. Go home, start laundry, clean house. Run to grosh if I need to. Go to any appts I have scheduled that day - Dr, Dentist, Wax, you get it. (TMI? Sorry. HA!) Get Erynn off bus at 2:40p, get in car and go pick up boys at 3p. Let them all play at the playground for 30 min. Drop Christopher off at home and bring my kids home. Figure out what we are having for dinner. Sit for 30-45 min. That, ladies and gentlemen, is my "day off" on Fridays. I wonder why I don't get more done???
Oh. Mrs. Wauchope sent home the volunteer schedule for Erynn's class this week. Starting Nov 1st I'll be in her classroom from 10 - 11:15a every other Friday morning. No problem - I'll squeeze that in there too. I've got plenty of time. HA! I kid, I kid. I signed up for it. I'll only have this time for so long. Aidan is only in third grade and they never ask for volunteers so I'll take it while I can!
What else have we done? John and I went on one date night. Yup, just one. We are supposed to go once a month but we've been totally slacking on that. We just haven't had any time! Too many birthday parties, kids things, just stuff going on. You know what that's like. I'm sure it will slow down in the winter time and we can get back to it.
We did our yearly Apple Picking trip to C.N. Smith Farm. Had a GREAT time. Downtown Stephanie B was in town so she came with us. We had so much fun. The apples were amazing, the kids were great.........for the most part. Aidan was acting up a bit but I'll attribute that to general moodiness. Or he got his period. One or the other. I'm sorry, but if you have a little boy, watch out for age 8, almost 9. He is SO moody! I thought Erynn would be the one I'd need to watch out for!! I have NO idea what has gotten into this child!!
Here are some pics from that day.
A week after apple picking we did our annual fall photo shoot!!!! Stephanie posted a TEASER photo on Facebook and I cannot WAIT to get out full proofs. (Apologies for the blur but it's a picture of a picture on FB. You can't see us that great but look at the gorgeous background!!)
I must say I am very proud of myself. For the first time........I think EVER.........I did NOT wear black. Yes, you read that right - I did not wear black. I actually wore color. Pick yourself up off the floor and take a minute. It's okay. It was tough for me because I am a big believer in black is slimming but I really need to get over myself and accept the fact that I look much different than I did a year ago. The whole family wore nice, bright colors and the shoot went really well. 40 min, in and out. Stephanie always does such a GREAT job - I say it every year. We give her nothing to work with and every year I get these AMAZING photos that I can't wait to put up on my walls. Now if I could only be patient while I wait for them. That's the hard part!!!!
More to come!!
Tuesday, August 6, 2013
So we're back to this again?
Looks like we're back to the monthly update again. Whoops. But you all know how life gets in the summer. Especially when the summer feels even shorter than it normally does! Or is it just me? Because I feel like this summer has just FLOWN by. My kids go back to school three weeks from today for crying out loud! How did that happen!? I mean, we've done a lot this summer. But I don't feel like we've done as much as we normally do. We've done the camping trips but not more than one a month. Last year we definitely went more often. I can't explain where all the time has gone but we've been booked up solid the entire summer! Even our beach trips suffered. We've only gone twice this year and last year we were there at least once a month. But, what can you do.
Now we're preparing for our big trip to Florida. YAY!!!! Our first REAL family vacation in three years! We're all SO excited. We're heading to our timeshare down in Pompano Beach and I couldn't be any more excited if I tried. We haven't been since Erynn was two years old. I am SO looking forward to nothing but a week of laying out by the pool and relaxing. And of COURSE a spa trip. Clearly no trip would be complete without a trip to the spa for the girls LOL. The Donaghy's are coming with us and that's like going with family so what could be better????
Before you ask, yes we will be seeing my sister. This should be interesting, to say the least. I haven't seen her in just about two years and I only just started speaking to her - through email - about two months ago. Sporadically at that. I'm not ready to dive back into anything. But. The kids know that Auntie Cheryl lives in Florida and they don't know anything went on between us (and they shouldn't b/c it's none of their business) so obviously they want to see her. It has nothing to do with them so I did the right thing and I let her know we are coming. I told her that of course we should get together but I also told her that I wanted a full explanation of what went down two years ago. That I deserved one. She told me I would get one and she full on apologized. Told me she was so sorry and that my cutting her off was her rock bottom. That she was in a really bad place when everything happened and that she doesn't even remember sending me the email she did and doesn't even know what she wrote me. Oh boy. I'm honestly not surprised and I almost expected that. I remember after the first horrific email she emailed again a week or two later asking why she hadn't heard from me. Like nothing had happened. I wondered if she'd fallen off her rocker. I thought something was going on but I wasn't adressing it then b/c I was too upset at the initial email. I needed to get away from that for a while. So I did. Regardless. We'll be seeing each other in less than two weeks. She's not going to be staying with us b/c I'm not ready for that but she and I will be going out to dinner alone where I told her, in no uncertain terms, that I expected and deserved a full confession. That what's done is done but at the very least I deserved to know why I was treated so poorly. She agreed and we'll see what happens.
SO, back to our trip. John, Neil and the four boys leave on the 16th. They are driving down. They'll stop somewhere on Saturday and spend the night. Christy, Erynn and I will fly out on the 18th. Cheryl will pick us up at the airport. She'll either rent a room at our resort or at a hotel. She'll stay for two days. Then she goes back to work. We are there for a week. The boys leave on Saturday and the girls fly back home on Sunday. Can't come fast enough as far as I'm concerned!!! I even get a girl day / night with Erynn to boot!! Life is good!!!
Now we're preparing for our big trip to Florida. YAY!!!! Our first REAL family vacation in three years! We're all SO excited. We're heading to our timeshare down in Pompano Beach and I couldn't be any more excited if I tried. We haven't been since Erynn was two years old. I am SO looking forward to nothing but a week of laying out by the pool and relaxing. And of COURSE a spa trip. Clearly no trip would be complete without a trip to the spa for the girls LOL. The Donaghy's are coming with us and that's like going with family so what could be better????
Before you ask, yes we will be seeing my sister. This should be interesting, to say the least. I haven't seen her in just about two years and I only just started speaking to her - through email - about two months ago. Sporadically at that. I'm not ready to dive back into anything. But. The kids know that Auntie Cheryl lives in Florida and they don't know anything went on between us (and they shouldn't b/c it's none of their business) so obviously they want to see her. It has nothing to do with them so I did the right thing and I let her know we are coming. I told her that of course we should get together but I also told her that I wanted a full explanation of what went down two years ago. That I deserved one. She told me I would get one and she full on apologized. Told me she was so sorry and that my cutting her off was her rock bottom. That she was in a really bad place when everything happened and that she doesn't even remember sending me the email she did and doesn't even know what she wrote me. Oh boy. I'm honestly not surprised and I almost expected that. I remember after the first horrific email she emailed again a week or two later asking why she hadn't heard from me. Like nothing had happened. I wondered if she'd fallen off her rocker. I thought something was going on but I wasn't adressing it then b/c I was too upset at the initial email. I needed to get away from that for a while. So I did. Regardless. We'll be seeing each other in less than two weeks. She's not going to be staying with us b/c I'm not ready for that but she and I will be going out to dinner alone where I told her, in no uncertain terms, that I expected and deserved a full confession. That what's done is done but at the very least I deserved to know why I was treated so poorly. She agreed and we'll see what happens.
SO, back to our trip. John, Neil and the four boys leave on the 16th. They are driving down. They'll stop somewhere on Saturday and spend the night. Christy, Erynn and I will fly out on the 18th. Cheryl will pick us up at the airport. She'll either rent a room at our resort or at a hotel. She'll stay for two days. Then she goes back to work. We are there for a week. The boys leave on Saturday and the girls fly back home on Sunday. Can't come fast enough as far as I'm concerned!!! I even get a girl day / night with Erynn to boot!! Life is good!!!
Wednesday, June 26, 2013
Kid-isms
It's been a while since I posted any of these but I've been writing them down!
Ryan: So, there's this girl named Hope in my class and she's the Awesomest! If she stares at you it means she likes you. Today she was staring at me. That means she likes me.
Me: Blank stare.
Ryan: Mom. Why are you looking at me like that?
Me: Because I love you.
Ryan: And because I'm cute. Yeah, I'm cute.
Aidan: Mom. I can't WAIT for the spelling test. I am going to ROCK that spelling test like nobody's business. I am going to OWN it. I can't wait! I wish the test was today. I wish we had school!!!
We took the kids to Outback for dinner with Mike and Brandon. Erynn has tic tac toe on her kids menu and Ryan finds out.
Ryan: Wait, we have tic tac toe??
Brandon: Yes, and Erynn already won.
Ryan: Well played, Erynn. Well played.
Erynn: Last night when I was in my bed and Papa woke me up this morning I stretched out in my bed and I was super long like SUPER LONG!!! How long am I anyway??
Ryan: Mom, did you go for a run today?????
Me: No, why?
Ryan: Because you look like you lost weight!!
Me: Thanks Ryan.
Ryan: Mom!! No! I really mean it!
Me: I know Ryan, that's why I said thank you.
Ryan: Oh. Okay. Because you look good.
This one might be the best one yet. Hold on to your hats.
Ryan was at Papa's house apparantly flipping through the Victoria's Secret bathing suit catalogue. It still comes to the house from when we were living there.
So, he's flipping through and he says Wow, these girls look just like my Mom!!
God love him. First, I'd knock an old lady over to look like the girls in the VS catalogue. Thanks buddy. Just sayin.
So then Papa says to him, what are you doing over there?
Ryan turns and says Just looking. A guy's gotta do what a guy's gotta do Papa.
So, Papa tells me the story and I ask Ryan. He just starts giggling. When he says the a guy's gotta do what a guy's gotta do part I say well, I'm a girl, what does that mean? He says a girl's gotta do what a girl's gotta do Mom!!
Dear Lord help me with this child! I don't know where he learned that or heard it but I am in TROUBLE with this one!!!
Ryan: So, there's this girl named Hope in my class and she's the Awesomest! If she stares at you it means she likes you. Today she was staring at me. That means she likes me.
Me: Blank stare.
Ryan: Mom. Why are you looking at me like that?
Me: Because I love you.
Ryan: And because I'm cute. Yeah, I'm cute.
Aidan: Mom. I can't WAIT for the spelling test. I am going to ROCK that spelling test like nobody's business. I am going to OWN it. I can't wait! I wish the test was today. I wish we had school!!!
We took the kids to Outback for dinner with Mike and Brandon. Erynn has tic tac toe on her kids menu and Ryan finds out.
Ryan: Wait, we have tic tac toe??
Brandon: Yes, and Erynn already won.
Ryan: Well played, Erynn. Well played.
Erynn: Last night when I was in my bed and Papa woke me up this morning I stretched out in my bed and I was super long like SUPER LONG!!! How long am I anyway??
Ryan: Mom, did you go for a run today?????
Me: No, why?
Ryan: Because you look like you lost weight!!
Me: Thanks Ryan.
Ryan: Mom!! No! I really mean it!
Me: I know Ryan, that's why I said thank you.
Ryan: Oh. Okay. Because you look good.
This one might be the best one yet. Hold on to your hats.
Ryan was at Papa's house apparantly flipping through the Victoria's Secret bathing suit catalogue. It still comes to the house from when we were living there.
So, he's flipping through and he says Wow, these girls look just like my Mom!!
God love him. First, I'd knock an old lady over to look like the girls in the VS catalogue. Thanks buddy. Just sayin.
So then Papa says to him, what are you doing over there?
Ryan turns and says Just looking. A guy's gotta do what a guy's gotta do Papa.
So, Papa tells me the story and I ask Ryan. He just starts giggling. When he says the a guy's gotta do what a guy's gotta do part I say well, I'm a girl, what does that mean? He says a girl's gotta do what a girl's gotta do Mom!!
Dear Lord help me with this child! I don't know where he learned that or heard it but I am in TROUBLE with this one!!!
Lyme's Disease
DAMN TICKS!!!!!
I despise them. I can say I hate them and I never use that word. But I am so sick of them munching on my children. Erynn has had four ticks this year. Yes, FOUR! I've pulled off three of them, John pulled off one. Well, almost. He left the damn head stuck in her so that was just buckets of fun trying to get it out of her. Poor thing was traumatized. Of course it was the first one which paved the way for Mommy quite nicely. Once I removed the second and showed her how it should have been done in the first place she's been much less reluctant. Now, before you jump to conclusions, I don't let my kids go frolicking off through the woods looking for these stupid things. I have yet to figure out how the heck she keeps getting them. They steer clear of the woods around our house. But they keep finding her!
Moral of the story - please please please check your kids super closely for these damn ticks! I know we never saw the one on Ryan and Erynn, who we've pulled the ticks off of, hasn't had any issues or symptoms but you just never know. It's so damn scary!!!
I despise them. I can say I hate them and I never use that word. But I am so sick of them munching on my children. Erynn has had four ticks this year. Yes, FOUR! I've pulled off three of them, John pulled off one. Well, almost. He left the damn head stuck in her so that was just buckets of fun trying to get it out of her. Poor thing was traumatized. Of course it was the first one which paved the way for Mommy quite nicely. Once I removed the second and showed her how it should have been done in the first place she's been much less reluctant. Now, before you jump to conclusions, I don't let my kids go frolicking off through the woods looking for these stupid things. I have yet to figure out how the heck she keeps getting them. They steer clear of the woods around our house. But they keep finding her!
Now Ryan - we never even SAW a tick on him. But he started complaining of a headache last Wednesday night. I didn't think anything of it, just gave him some tylenol and sent him off to bed. Thursday I had a work function (okay, okay, it was a social hour....fine) and I got home late. Friday we went left for our glamping weekend. He felt warm so I gave him some meds before bedtime. Saturday I noticed this rather large rash on his lower right side. But it definitely didn't look like a bullseye. Aidan got Lyme's two years ago and it was clear as DAY that he had a bullseye. Ryan - nope. I thought for sure he had been bitten by a spider at some point. His bite actually looked more black and blue in the middle. But over the course of the weekend he still complained off/on of a headache and still had a temp that went up and down. When we got home on Sunday John took him to the minute clinic at CVS (a local drugstore) to get it checked out because, of course, everything is closed on Sundays. They looked at it there and said while the bite didn't look like a clear bullseye they definitely thought he needed to be seen by Urgent Care at the hospital. So off they went. John and Ryan were at the hospital for a little over 2.5 hours. In that time Ryan's temp went from 98.3 to 101.3. They saw the rash, listened to his symptoms and said they absolutely, 100% think he has Lyme's. They didn't want to do a blood test because this soon it would most likely give a false negative. He will be on 1200mg of abx for the next 21 days. I need to take him to our Ped in a week for a formal blood test to confirm but the ER doc again said she is positive after looking at the bite, the rash, watching his temp and hearing his symptoms. My poor little bub. He's taking it like a trooper though. I'm just keeping my fingers crossed that just one round of abx knocks it out of him. Aidan had to go on two rounds, for John it took three. Maybe it's different in adults? Who knows.
Moral of the story - please please please check your kids super closely for these damn ticks! I know we never saw the one on Ryan and Erynn, who we've pulled the ticks off of, hasn't had any issues or symptoms but you just never know. It's so damn scary!!!
Tuesday, June 11, 2013
Happy 7th Birthday Ryan!!!!
So I'm a few weeks behind (as usual) yes, go ahead and say it! It's fine, I'm used to it. I'm totally okay with it too, I am who I am - love me or leave me! HA! May 26th was Ryan's 7th birthday. I don't even know how that happened! Buckle up, you know this is going to be a long post.
Usually we have family over on our kids actually birthday evening and we have cake/ice cream, what have you. But Ryan's birthday fell on Memorial Day weekend and we were camping so that didn't happen this year. We still had cupcakes and ice cream for him, we just did it camping style! Auntie Jan happened to be camping that weekend so we did have some family join us for the celebration. Christy, Neil, Jack and Shea came with us that weekend (I know, you're totally shocked by this aren't you?) so they were partying as well. We spent the weekend hanging out, swimming at the indoor pool b/c it rained the first few days, going to the dance on Sunday night and then hanging by the outdoor pool all day long on Monday.
This is all of the kids crammed at the camper table. Christy and I ran to Cupcake Charlie's and bought enough cupcakes for everyone because John had only purchased a teeny circle ice cream cake LOL. We had 5 adults and 7 kids to split that little baby cake between! No worries, Mom's rushed in and saved the day!
All in all, Ryan had a fantastic birthday weekend!
Usually we have family over on our kids actually birthday evening and we have cake/ice cream, what have you. But Ryan's birthday fell on Memorial Day weekend and we were camping so that didn't happen this year. We still had cupcakes and ice cream for him, we just did it camping style! Auntie Jan happened to be camping that weekend so we did have some family join us for the celebration. Christy, Neil, Jack and Shea came with us that weekend (I know, you're totally shocked by this aren't you?) so they were partying as well. We spent the weekend hanging out, swimming at the indoor pool b/c it rained the first few days, going to the dance on Sunday night and then hanging by the outdoor pool all day long on Monday. 
This is all of the kids crammed at the camper table. Christy and I ran to Cupcake Charlie's and bought enough cupcakes for everyone because John had only purchased a teeny circle ice cream cake LOL. We had 5 adults and 7 kids to split that little baby cake between! No worries, Mom's rushed in and saved the day! All in all, Ryan had a fantastic birthday weekend!
Soooo, after the family birthday comes the friend birthday. Yep. Not getting out of this one so easy. We invite our friends and then Ryan wanted to invite his entire class. Oh boy. But I'm not going to say no, so off we go. This year was a clusterf@#$. I'm sorry, but it was. I planned for a certain amount of people.....got the favor bags, got the food the day before. I thought I was all set. I should have known better. The food wasn't so bad because I always buy extra. But, the favor bags, I got screwed. I bought those ahead of time. Well, I had people call all the way up until THE DAY OF THE PARTY to tell me they were coming!!! OMG!!! What was I supposed to do? Tell them they couldn't bring their kid? Heck no. That's not who I am. Then, I had people show up at the party with EXTRA KIDS!!! That, honestly, IMO is even worse!!!! I had one of my friends bring a kid that had spent the night at her house the night before. Two Moms from Ryan's classroom brought the invited kids older sibling. That's three extra kids right there, not counting all of the last minute RSVPs. I literally was short *9* favor bags. Needless to say, I didn't end up passing out the favor bags. I felt awful about it. I did explain to a few of the Moms why I didn't have any and they totally understood, but I still felt really badly about it. I had water guns for the kids to play with during the party, b/c it was a warm day, but I couldn't even pass THOSE out b/c I didn't have enough for each kid with all of the extra ones that showed up.
ANYWAY. Vent over. Once again, thank you Pinterest for helping me pull off another party. Ryan decided this year he wanted a Lego Ninjago party. A what the what now? I had no damn clue what this was but I think I pulled it off fairly well. I did all regular color tablecloths, plates and utensils. I went cheap and plain on those suckers thankyouverymuch. But I went big on the *cough48cough* cupcakes I made LOL. I also made Ninja Sushi. Holy were those a big hit. They were really easy to make and the kids AND adults raved over them. Really cute. I pulled off balloons just like last year - found Ninjago eyes on line, put them into Photoshop, played with them, brought them into Word, printed, cut them all out and taped them to plain old Latex balloons. Everyone loved and wanted to take them home. Easy peasy. The kids from school stayed for 2 hours or so. The friends stayed for 3-4 hours but that is to be expected and totally fine. We had a great day. The weather was awesome and I couldn't have asked for a better time. Here are a couple of pictures from that day!
Seven years of Ryan Joseph:
Wednesday, May 15, 2013
Glamping has OFFICIALLY begun!!! Oh and Happy Mother's Day too!
Yeeeaaaaah Buddy!!!! Bring on the Glamping Season!!!!! I will never get sick of uttering.....er typing those words. We just have so much fun as a family on these weekend trips. It's almost like a holiday because we get to go away but without all of the craziness of having to actually go too far. There are all kinds of activities, the pools, the shopping nearby (HA!), the dances at night, the campfire, I could go on and on.
This weekend was no different. The Donaghy's came with us for the first time ever and we all had such a great time together! This weekend was also Mother's Day weekend which made it that much better. We always start off our camping season with MD weekend. It's tradition. Neil and John totally did right by Christy and I. Saturday they took the kids to Bass Pro and let us have "down time" to read and/or relax. Then they sent us for a massage nearby on Saturday evening and had dinner ready for us when we got back to the camper. We took the kids to the dance Saturday night and then we sat by the fire and just hung out talking until we couldn't stay up anymore. The guys sent us to the outlets on Sunday to do some shopping........granted I did MUCH more shopping for the kids than myself but that's typical of me. I think I bought myself one outfit for work and then a workout outfit. What's the fun in that?? LMAO. After shopping we came back to the camper and got to read some more. It was just such a wonderful weekend!
Of course the gauntlet has now been thrown for Father's Day weekend. But, come on, seriously? We're women. Of course we can top that. It's almost not even fair. :-)
This weekend was no different. The Donaghy's came with us for the first time ever and we all had such a great time together! This weekend was also Mother's Day weekend which made it that much better. We always start off our camping season with MD weekend. It's tradition. Neil and John totally did right by Christy and I. Saturday they took the kids to Bass Pro and let us have "down time" to read and/or relax. Then they sent us for a massage nearby on Saturday evening and had dinner ready for us when we got back to the camper. We took the kids to the dance Saturday night and then we sat by the fire and just hung out talking until we couldn't stay up anymore. The guys sent us to the outlets on Sunday to do some shopping........granted I did MUCH more shopping for the kids than myself but that's typical of me. I think I bought myself one outfit for work and then a workout outfit. What's the fun in that?? LMAO. After shopping we came back to the camper and got to read some more. It was just such a wonderful weekend!
Of course the gauntlet has now been thrown for Father's Day weekend. But, come on, seriously? We're women. Of course we can top that. It's almost not even fair. :-)
Tuesday, May 7, 2013
Come on now
Over a month without an update..........yes, I fully agree.......that is just plain ridiculous. I don't even know where to begin with all that has gone on in the last month. Do I throw it out in bulletpoint style? Do I try and paragraph it? I'll be here all damn day! We can start with a lot! LOL.
Let's see what we've got.
We went on a family vacation with the Wronski's to the Red Jacket Inn / Kahuna Laguna for a weekend. It's a hotel that has an indoor water park. They ran a special, Lisa said hey, do you want to come and we said why not? We all had a BLAST and are thinking about making it a yearly event. If you have the opportunity to go - you definitely should. They run specials all the time and it's SO much fun.
We celebrated John's birthday. Went to dinner at Ruth's Chris in town (OMG, YUM!! I love love love this restaurant - total indulgence, be prepared to spend boku bucks but it is the BEST meal and totally worth the money!) with Mike and Brandon. Afterwards we met my co-worker, Stephanie, for drinks at the Omni Parker House lounge and had a fabulous time.
Our Easter Brunch tradition with the Tasker family continued. This year we went to the Cask 'n Flagon. Totally recommend! The food was fantastic, the prices were even better and we had a wonderful time! Susan had an egg hunt for the kids after brunch - yay, more candy - LMAO! They had such a good time! We went home after that and just had a great family day. The easter bunny brought my kids movies so we spent the day watching those and just spending time together. Perfect.
Most of April was playdates and family time. The best kinds of times. We've spent a lot of time with the Donahy family. Love love love them! The five kids love playing together. We love spending time with Christy and Neil. Date nights, family nights, you name it - we have so much fun!!
We booked a vacation! August 18th - 25th we're going to Florida, down to our time share, with the Donahy Family. The time can't pass fast enough!
So April flew by in a blur and was a great month. Until Marathon Monday. The first day of school vacation. I'm not going to spend a lot of time on this because I just can't think of what could have/might have happened. I can't. I have spent a lot of time thinking about it and I'm just very lucky. My family is blessed. Two bombs went off at the end of the marathon. John was working a detail 3/4 of a mile away. I was at the movies with my kids, Christy and her two kids. I had NO idea what was going on until my cell phone started vibrating like crazy. Steph, my co-worker, knew John was working the marathon and wanted to make sure he was okay. Thank God he was. The kids heard bits and pieces of things on the news because kids will hear things. Driving home from the theater I couldn't turn the radio dial fast enough and they heard someone say in an interview that he had seen a child lose his leg in the explosion. Erynn couldn't understand what kids were even "doing in Boston?!" For her, Boston is where Mommy and Daddy work. Not a place kids go. We talked a little bit about it to ease their minds but that was it. I want to keep my kids innocent for as long as possible. Fast forward to Friday and I am woken up by my phone going nuts again. This time from friends in MD and FL texting me asking me if I'm okay?! I'm thinking to myself, Oh God, what am I missing now??? The police have basically shut down Boston / Watertown and are in a manhunt for one of the persons responsible for the bombing. I text John and he is trapped in his building, has been forced to shut it down (he's the highest ranking officer in his office) and is surrounded by SWAT. He'll keep me posted. I text my friends and let them know this is going on 30 min from me and I'm doing just fine, but thanks for checking on me. I love my friends and am a very lucky person to have people that care so much about me. Bottom line, John got send home around 2p that afternoon. They caught the bomber later on that evening and of course we'll hear about this in the news for months to come. I pray for the people that were effected by these two men every day and I thank God for watching over my husband. Again, I am blessed and I appreciate my life and everything I have in it.
Now we are full into sports mode. Aidan has started Baseball which is quite the commitment. Two nights per week starting at 5:30p which means I need to leave work early two nights per week. Joy. My boss laughed at me when I asked her if this would be okay. She rocks. Ryan started Teeball as well but this is only every Saturday morning so it's not as bad. Aidan isn't the most athletic child, poor thing, but I'm hoping he gets better. He WANTED to play baseball, even when I tried talking him out of it LOL. Ryan is definitely more athletic. That kid has quite the arm on him! Honestly, I'm not surprised. I couldn't want for him to start because I just knew he'd get up there and own it. He does.
Last, but certainly not least........GLAMPING season 2013 is upon us!!! OH yes, it's here! This weekend officially kicks it off! Every year, Mother's Day weekend is when we officially roll out for the first time. Normandy Farms, here we come! I can't wait. I've been looking forward to this for weeks and now it's finally here. Christy, Neil and the boys are coming with us and we're going to have such a good time. Can't wait to post the recap on that one lol. I'll try to get some pictures up as well - this post was just WAY too long for pictures.
See you soon!
Let's see what we've got.
We went on a family vacation with the Wronski's to the Red Jacket Inn / Kahuna Laguna for a weekend. It's a hotel that has an indoor water park. They ran a special, Lisa said hey, do you want to come and we said why not? We all had a BLAST and are thinking about making it a yearly event. If you have the opportunity to go - you definitely should. They run specials all the time and it's SO much fun.
We celebrated John's birthday. Went to dinner at Ruth's Chris in town (OMG, YUM!! I love love love this restaurant - total indulgence, be prepared to spend boku bucks but it is the BEST meal and totally worth the money!) with Mike and Brandon. Afterwards we met my co-worker, Stephanie, for drinks at the Omni Parker House lounge and had a fabulous time.
Our Easter Brunch tradition with the Tasker family continued. This year we went to the Cask 'n Flagon. Totally recommend! The food was fantastic, the prices were even better and we had a wonderful time! Susan had an egg hunt for the kids after brunch - yay, more candy - LMAO! They had such a good time! We went home after that and just had a great family day. The easter bunny brought my kids movies so we spent the day watching those and just spending time together. Perfect.
Most of April was playdates and family time. The best kinds of times. We've spent a lot of time with the Donahy family. Love love love them! The five kids love playing together. We love spending time with Christy and Neil. Date nights, family nights, you name it - we have so much fun!!
We booked a vacation! August 18th - 25th we're going to Florida, down to our time share, with the Donahy Family. The time can't pass fast enough!
So April flew by in a blur and was a great month. Until Marathon Monday. The first day of school vacation. I'm not going to spend a lot of time on this because I just can't think of what could have/might have happened. I can't. I have spent a lot of time thinking about it and I'm just very lucky. My family is blessed. Two bombs went off at the end of the marathon. John was working a detail 3/4 of a mile away. I was at the movies with my kids, Christy and her two kids. I had NO idea what was going on until my cell phone started vibrating like crazy. Steph, my co-worker, knew John was working the marathon and wanted to make sure he was okay. Thank God he was. The kids heard bits and pieces of things on the news because kids will hear things. Driving home from the theater I couldn't turn the radio dial fast enough and they heard someone say in an interview that he had seen a child lose his leg in the explosion. Erynn couldn't understand what kids were even "doing in Boston?!" For her, Boston is where Mommy and Daddy work. Not a place kids go. We talked a little bit about it to ease their minds but that was it. I want to keep my kids innocent for as long as possible. Fast forward to Friday and I am woken up by my phone going nuts again. This time from friends in MD and FL texting me asking me if I'm okay?! I'm thinking to myself, Oh God, what am I missing now??? The police have basically shut down Boston / Watertown and are in a manhunt for one of the persons responsible for the bombing. I text John and he is trapped in his building, has been forced to shut it down (he's the highest ranking officer in his office) and is surrounded by SWAT. He'll keep me posted. I text my friends and let them know this is going on 30 min from me and I'm doing just fine, but thanks for checking on me. I love my friends and am a very lucky person to have people that care so much about me. Bottom line, John got send home around 2p that afternoon. They caught the bomber later on that evening and of course we'll hear about this in the news for months to come. I pray for the people that were effected by these two men every day and I thank God for watching over my husband. Again, I am blessed and I appreciate my life and everything I have in it.
Now we are full into sports mode. Aidan has started Baseball which is quite the commitment. Two nights per week starting at 5:30p which means I need to leave work early two nights per week. Joy. My boss laughed at me when I asked her if this would be okay. She rocks. Ryan started Teeball as well but this is only every Saturday morning so it's not as bad. Aidan isn't the most athletic child, poor thing, but I'm hoping he gets better. He WANTED to play baseball, even when I tried talking him out of it LOL. Ryan is definitely more athletic. That kid has quite the arm on him! Honestly, I'm not surprised. I couldn't want for him to start because I just knew he'd get up there and own it. He does.
Last, but certainly not least........GLAMPING season 2013 is upon us!!! OH yes, it's here! This weekend officially kicks it off! Every year, Mother's Day weekend is when we officially roll out for the first time. Normandy Farms, here we come! I can't wait. I've been looking forward to this for weeks and now it's finally here. Christy, Neil and the boys are coming with us and we're going to have such a good time. Can't wait to post the recap on that one lol. I'll try to get some pictures up as well - this post was just WAY too long for pictures.
See you soon!
Wednesday, March 27, 2013
Drive by......
I so WANT to post!!
I have updates, have things to share!
Funny things, a weekend getaway, pictures, news.......it's just a matter of finding the time.
Work has been INSANE. Seriously. I left the house today at 5:40a and got back home at 8:00p. What in the?! Yes, that sucks.
So, here's a drive by posting to say I DO have updates, they ARE coming and hopefully it will be soon!
To be fair, I do specifically say oh-so-random in my byline, yes? :-)
I have updates, have things to share!
Funny things, a weekend getaway, pictures, news.......it's just a matter of finding the time.
Work has been INSANE. Seriously. I left the house today at 5:40a and got back home at 8:00p. What in the?! Yes, that sucks.
So, here's a drive by posting to say I DO have updates, they ARE coming and hopefully it will be soon!
To be fair, I do specifically say oh-so-random in my byline, yes? :-)
Monday, March 4, 2013
Happy Birthday Mom
so happy. Who knew that in just over a month you'd be gone. That my heart would be broken. That I'd have lost the only parent I'd ever had, my Mother AND my Father, my best friend. The one I could go to when I needed to talk, cry, laugh, when I needed anything or when I needed nothing at all.....when I just wanted to be with my Mom. Even though our roles had become reversed in the last several years of your life......it didn't matter to me. You were my Mom and I would do anything for you. Anything at all.
I have had the biggest hole in my heart ever since you left. They say time heals all wounds. I say they are wrong. I can honestly say there isn't a single day that goes by that I don't think of you. I miss you every single day. Especially now that I have a daughter of my own. Oh my, would you LOVE her. You always told me you wanted me to have a daughter of my own and I'm so happy I do. The crazy part is she reminds me SO much of you sometimes. The way she cocks her hip, or stomps her little feet when she is walking through the house. The way she'll look at me or talk to me. I swear I hear you in her voice. See you in her face. She has your hands. It sounds crazy but when we had our 18 week ultrasound both John and I said she looked just like you. I don't know whether to laugh or cry. I just wish you were here to see her too.
We still talk about you all the time. I want the kids to know who you are, even if they can't see you. The boys have this same picture of you in their bedroom. We look at your pictures, I tell them stories. They ask questions, especially Aidan. He is so curious. I think it's the age. We look at the book I had you fill out after he was born. I'm so grateful for that book. There are things in there that even I didn't know. It's like having a piece of you around still. I wish there were more. They were so young when you left. There aren't many pictures of you with them at all. It breaks my heart. I'm glad I at least got to tell you I was pregnant before you were gone. I still remember your exact tone and you saying "That's woooooonderful" when I told you that you had to get better because you were going to be a Grandmother again. If only you could have. But less than a week later you were gone. Some days it feels like you've been gone a lifetime. Other days it feels like just minutes have passed and the pain is so fresh. There are nights that I just sit in my room and cry. I question everything. I don't understand why you had to go so soon. You were 60 years old. You had so much living to do. Why did you have to miss out on so much? Selfishly speaking, why did I have to lose the only parent I ever had? It was bad enough that I didn't have a father.....it's bad enough that I have to see him around town and know that he chooses not to be in my life. Why did I have to lose you so soon? It's not fair. I know, I know, life isn't fair. I try to pick myself back up again and get on with it. Well, try isn't the right word. I do pick myself back up again and get on with it because there's no time for pity. Life goes on, it has to. But days like today.....your birthday......and the anniversary of your passing are the worst days for me.
I love you Mom. I miss you every day. Wherever you are, I hope you are celebrating your birthday in style. I'll see you again someday. Until then.....
Monday, February 25, 2013
Sharks.....I'm raising sharks.....
Bowling sharks!!! We took the kids bowling this weekend.......again, thanks to Groupon......could I pimp this site out any more often?! LOL. $19 got all 5 of us two hours of bowling with shoes. Um, score!
We don't bowl often at all. The kids do love it so we really should take them more often, we just don't think to go I guess. But then I see a deal pop up, I snag it and off we go. We took them up at 11a on Saturday before I was cashing in on yet another Groupon massage.......have I mentioned I'm a spa whore? Thank you again Groupon for keeping me in spa treatments for short money lol. Thanks to Tiffany for making sure I keep up on the latest deals and texting me every time a good one pops up. (3 One Hour Massages for $99?? You can't beat that!!!) Anyway, I wanted to take the kids bowling before my appointment. I make it a priority to spend time with my kids - must must must. If I'm getting in some pampering I don't want to miss out on any time with my kiddos. I have to cram it ALL in there!
So we get to the bowling alley and there is a bit of a wait but that's okay. The kids are really good about it and we keep them entertained. We get our lane and they start going to town. I have NO idea where they got their bowling skills from. Certainly not from me. First string went like this: Aidan - 8, Ryan - 9, Erynn - 9, John - 9 and Me - 3. Ouch. Yup, definitely not from me. It was rough. I didn't fail too miserably in the end but I did get last place for the first string. Second string I was second place. Ahhhh, redemption. But the kids - good Lord! Ryan scored a 75 in his first string and a 73 in his second. Aidan scored a 61 and a 75. Erynn scored a 62 and a 61. I wish I could post her technique. I totally took video, it is to die for. She takes the bowling ball, goes all the way back to the end of the loader, holds it to her side, runs up to the line and just LAUNCHES it down the alley. She stands there with her little hip cocked out waiting to see what happens. Funniest thing I have ever seen. Then you just sit there slack jawed as you watch all the pins fall down and wonder what the heck just happened. I love it. Aidan and Ryan even managed to get a spare each! My kids have skills! The people next to us were cracking up. So much fun. It's the little things that make them the happiest. $19, 2 hours of bowling fun and they had the best day EVER (in their words) and that just makes my heart melt. :)
We don't bowl often at all. The kids do love it so we really should take them more often, we just don't think to go I guess. But then I see a deal pop up, I snag it and off we go. We took them up at 11a on Saturday before I was cashing in on yet another Groupon massage.......have I mentioned I'm a spa whore? Thank you again Groupon for keeping me in spa treatments for short money lol. Thanks to Tiffany for making sure I keep up on the latest deals and texting me every time a good one pops up. (3 One Hour Massages for $99?? You can't beat that!!!) Anyway, I wanted to take the kids bowling before my appointment. I make it a priority to spend time with my kids - must must must. If I'm getting in some pampering I don't want to miss out on any time with my kiddos. I have to cram it ALL in there!
So we get to the bowling alley and there is a bit of a wait but that's okay. The kids are really good about it and we keep them entertained. We get our lane and they start going to town. I have NO idea where they got their bowling skills from. Certainly not from me. First string went like this: Aidan - 8, Ryan - 9, Erynn - 9, John - 9 and Me - 3. Ouch. Yup, definitely not from me. It was rough. I didn't fail too miserably in the end but I did get last place for the first string. Second string I was second place. Ahhhh, redemption. But the kids - good Lord! Ryan scored a 75 in his first string and a 73 in his second. Aidan scored a 61 and a 75. Erynn scored a 62 and a 61. I wish I could post her technique. I totally took video, it is to die for. She takes the bowling ball, goes all the way back to the end of the loader, holds it to her side, runs up to the line and just LAUNCHES it down the alley. She stands there with her little hip cocked out waiting to see what happens. Funniest thing I have ever seen. Then you just sit there slack jawed as you watch all the pins fall down and wonder what the heck just happened. I love it. Aidan and Ryan even managed to get a spare each! My kids have skills! The people next to us were cracking up. So much fun. It's the little things that make them the happiest. $19, 2 hours of bowling fun and they had the best day EVER (in their words) and that just makes my heart melt. :)
Wednesday, February 20, 2013
Steroids? Sure, why the hell not?!
If I blogged about my migraines I'd be back to blogging on a daily basis lately. Maybe that is what I should do to get back on track! Hmmmmm.
It's been 3, almost 4 weeks I think, that I've had this migraine/headache. Same one. At worst it's a migraine and at best it's a headache. I went on a 9 day Maxalt coupled with 3 Aleve at the same time pill course and that did nothing. Now I'm on a 5 day course of steroids. The last time I had to do the steroid bit was a couple of months ago and it actually worked so, *fingers crossed*, this does the trick again.
My neurologist has increased my Topomax again as well. Now I will take 50mg every morning and 100mg every night. I'm hoping this will lessen the frequency of my migraines. I was on a great streak for a while there. Life was good! But lately they have been back on an upswing and then I fell into this rut.
People ask how I function, how I can just go on with my day / week / life with a migraine. Well, I ask how can I stop?? My world can't just be put on hold because I get a migraine. Those of you who have migraines will know what I'm talking about. Sure, there are days where I would do anything to not have to get up and go to work. Or,if it's a weekend, get up and deal with my kiddos, do the laundry, the housework, the day-to-day. But what choice do I have? That's just not a reality. Nor would it be fair to those around me. There are days that I go home and I cry myself to sleep because the pain is so bad. There are days that I go home, kiss my husband and my kids and then I go straight to bed. I am VERY lucky because I have a husband that puts up with this. He may not understand what it's like to have a migraine but he can take one look at me and see how much I am suffering. Actually, most people can take one look at me and see because I'm not very good at hiding it. But, I push through because I have to. That's just the way it is. Again, if you get migraines, you know what I am saying.
Hopefully the steriods break this cycle. Hopefully the med increase will put me back on the right track and get me back to less migraines. I'm keeping a positive outlook - I know I can get back to where I need to be!
It's been 3, almost 4 weeks I think, that I've had this migraine/headache. Same one. At worst it's a migraine and at best it's a headache. I went on a 9 day Maxalt coupled with 3 Aleve at the same time pill course and that did nothing. Now I'm on a 5 day course of steroids. The last time I had to do the steroid bit was a couple of months ago and it actually worked so, *fingers crossed*, this does the trick again.
My neurologist has increased my Topomax again as well. Now I will take 50mg every morning and 100mg every night. I'm hoping this will lessen the frequency of my migraines. I was on a great streak for a while there. Life was good! But lately they have been back on an upswing and then I fell into this rut.
People ask how I function, how I can just go on with my day / week / life with a migraine. Well, I ask how can I stop?? My world can't just be put on hold because I get a migraine. Those of you who have migraines will know what I'm talking about. Sure, there are days where I would do anything to not have to get up and go to work. Or,if it's a weekend, get up and deal with my kiddos, do the laundry, the housework, the day-to-day. But what choice do I have? That's just not a reality. Nor would it be fair to those around me. There are days that I go home and I cry myself to sleep because the pain is so bad. There are days that I go home, kiss my husband and my kids and then I go straight to bed. I am VERY lucky because I have a husband that puts up with this. He may not understand what it's like to have a migraine but he can take one look at me and see how much I am suffering. Actually, most people can take one look at me and see because I'm not very good at hiding it. But, I push through because I have to. That's just the way it is. Again, if you get migraines, you know what I am saying.
Hopefully the steriods break this cycle. Hopefully the med increase will put me back on the right track and get me back to less migraines. I'm keeping a positive outlook - I know I can get back to where I need to be!
Tuesday, February 19, 2013
Weekend Wrap Up
It's been a while since I've done one of these! I'm slacking off on the blogging again.....need to find me another blogger challenge to get back into the swing of things. Life, Work, Kids, etc - they all keep me busy. In a GOOD way, don't get me wrong, but I do miss getting my thoughts out. I'll think of something I really want to get written down but then I'll not have the time in that moment and it gets forgotten. You know how it goes.
This was a long weekend and it was a great one. Friday night was a big deal. The boys had their FIRST sleepover! They went to sleep at Sean and Nathan's house and they had a fantastic time. I am happy to report there were no middle-of-the-night phone calls asking to come home. Stephanie (our niece) came over to babysit Erynn and have a sleepover. For us, it was date night (yahoooo, totally sticking to my New Year's resolution I am happy to report - we've had many dates!) and we went out with Christy and Neil. We came into Boston to celebrate the birthday/engagement of a mutual friend, D. We went to this TOTAL dive karaoke bar but it was a great time. Aren't dive bars always the most fun? Bad decor, interesting clientele - then you add in karaoke and it's a total trifecta. Score! THEN we were all hungry so we stopped at a diner. Yes, LOVE that Boston still has diners! We didn't get home until 2:30a. Great night!
Saturday I had a spa visit with my girlfriend Tiffany. Thank you Groupon! I swear, the best thing whoever it was did was come up with Groupon, Living Social, all of those deal sites. I don't do any pampering at all anymore unless I have a groupon or a gift card or something. You get some really amazing deals and there's also the benefit of trying new places or treatments you may never have thought to try before! Amazing! I am a total girly girl who loves any kind of pampering so I love being able to take advantage of these types of deals! Saturday was a body wrap. It was just okay. I've had one before so I knew what to expect. The scrub was amazing, the "cocoon" was very relaxing but the girl totally skipped the last (and most important, IMO) step - the moisturizing!! The spa was overbooked. They took me in 10 min late and I heard the manager tell her she needed to be out of the room by 10 of. Well, my wrap was supposed to be for an hour and you are already taking 20 min off of my time!! I was not happy. I ended up getting out at 3 min of. Yes, I looked at my watch the second I got up. I thought maybe this place just didn't do the moisturizing but when Tiffany asked me how mine went and I told her she told ME that she absolutely got moisturized and I should say something. Well, y'all know how I am and I am not a complainer. While I was getting dressed I thought about it and I paid good money for this treatment. (In retrospect I honestly would NOT have paid what I did for it had I known it was only a wrap. I didn't feel it was a good Groupon deal at all - Tiffany bought it for both of us and I paid her back when we went. For what we paid I assumed we were getting more than one treatment. No, not so much. Definitely not a good groupon deal for this one.) Anyway, I decided I was going to say something to the manager when we checked out because I didn't think it was fair that I lost 15 min of my time and then I didn't even get the full treatment. When I got out front, it was just in time to see the manager walking out. Great. THEN I see that it's MY girl checking us out. Even better. I just couldn't do it, I couldn't call her out. I felt like I'd be making a scene and that is just not who I am. I despise confrontation. Say what you will, that's just not me. If you ask me my opinion I am very direct but I hate confrontation. There were other people in the waiting area as well. I think if it were just the three of us I would have spoken up but I just felt like it would have been a scene if I had in front of others. So I didn't. I suck.
Saturday night was lowkey. John actually WENT OUT WITH A FRIEND!! Oh my!!! I have been trying to get him to go out FOREVER! I just feel bad because I have a lot of girlfriends who will ask me to go out for a drink, or dinner, or a spa visit (HA!) or whatever and he is perfectly fine to sit at home and do nothing. He is such a homebody! But I have been pushing him to go out once in a while just because I feel bad that I go out more often than he does. Not that he keeps score, he doesn't and that is not what I am saying, I just want him to get away too. Everyone needs a little time away. It's good for all of us! So, one of his coworkers asked him to meet up with him in Quincy. John asked me and I said abso-freaking-lutely! Go for it! So he did! He went out, I put the kids to bed, did some cleaning, watched some tv and read a bit. It was just lovely lol. He got home at 1a (I was long asleep) and he said he had a good time. That is all I needed to hear. I hope he does it again soon!
Sunday was a 'jama day. The kids love 'jama days and I do too! I love having our little family days in the house with nothing to do!
Yesterday we all needed to get out of the house LOL. 'Jama days are nice, but once they are over, it's time to get OUT! I have a Groupon for Bowling (see, LOVE Groupon!!) so we headed to the bowling alley. That didn't pan out. 7 family wait in front of us so that could have taken hours. We took the kids out to lunch and then went to paint pottery instead. My children couldn't be any more different when it comes to painting pottery. The boys did pick out the same piece to paint....they both wanted zombies.....but that's where the similarity ends. Aidan was soooooooooooooooooo slow. He was painstakingly painting his - he wanted it to be perfect. Ryan was painting his pretty well but he wasn't so anal about it. There are smudges, he put pupils in the eyes and they are WAY off and he was just like oh, it's cool. Erynn - now that girl makes me laugh. She picked out a puppy. Very cute. But good Lord that puppy has a bunch of colors all over it. Poor thing is a hot mess. I LOVE it. She won't let anyone get her creativity down and I hope she never does. They had a blast. I love that we can take our kids out to do little things like that. I love the memories we can create with them. I know they appreciate them and I hope they will always remember the times we spend together as a family. I am truly blessed!!
This was a long weekend and it was a great one. Friday night was a big deal. The boys had their FIRST sleepover! They went to sleep at Sean and Nathan's house and they had a fantastic time. I am happy to report there were no middle-of-the-night phone calls asking to come home. Stephanie (our niece) came over to babysit Erynn and have a sleepover. For us, it was date night (yahoooo, totally sticking to my New Year's resolution I am happy to report - we've had many dates!) and we went out with Christy and Neil. We came into Boston to celebrate the birthday/engagement of a mutual friend, D. We went to this TOTAL dive karaoke bar but it was a great time. Aren't dive bars always the most fun? Bad decor, interesting clientele - then you add in karaoke and it's a total trifecta. Score! THEN we were all hungry so we stopped at a diner. Yes, LOVE that Boston still has diners! We didn't get home until 2:30a. Great night!
Saturday I had a spa visit with my girlfriend Tiffany. Thank you Groupon! I swear, the best thing whoever it was did was come up with Groupon, Living Social, all of those deal sites. I don't do any pampering at all anymore unless I have a groupon or a gift card or something. You get some really amazing deals and there's also the benefit of trying new places or treatments you may never have thought to try before! Amazing! I am a total girly girl who loves any kind of pampering so I love being able to take advantage of these types of deals! Saturday was a body wrap. It was just okay. I've had one before so I knew what to expect. The scrub was amazing, the "cocoon" was very relaxing but the girl totally skipped the last (and most important, IMO) step - the moisturizing!! The spa was overbooked. They took me in 10 min late and I heard the manager tell her she needed to be out of the room by 10 of. Well, my wrap was supposed to be for an hour and you are already taking 20 min off of my time!! I was not happy. I ended up getting out at 3 min of. Yes, I looked at my watch the second I got up. I thought maybe this place just didn't do the moisturizing but when Tiffany asked me how mine went and I told her she told ME that she absolutely got moisturized and I should say something. Well, y'all know how I am and I am not a complainer. While I was getting dressed I thought about it and I paid good money for this treatment. (In retrospect I honestly would NOT have paid what I did for it had I known it was only a wrap. I didn't feel it was a good Groupon deal at all - Tiffany bought it for both of us and I paid her back when we went. For what we paid I assumed we were getting more than one treatment. No, not so much. Definitely not a good groupon deal for this one.) Anyway, I decided I was going to say something to the manager when we checked out because I didn't think it was fair that I lost 15 min of my time and then I didn't even get the full treatment. When I got out front, it was just in time to see the manager walking out. Great. THEN I see that it's MY girl checking us out. Even better. I just couldn't do it, I couldn't call her out. I felt like I'd be making a scene and that is just not who I am. I despise confrontation. Say what you will, that's just not me. If you ask me my opinion I am very direct but I hate confrontation. There were other people in the waiting area as well. I think if it were just the three of us I would have spoken up but I just felt like it would have been a scene if I had in front of others. So I didn't. I suck.
Saturday night was lowkey. John actually WENT OUT WITH A FRIEND!! Oh my!!! I have been trying to get him to go out FOREVER! I just feel bad because I have a lot of girlfriends who will ask me to go out for a drink, or dinner, or a spa visit (HA!) or whatever and he is perfectly fine to sit at home and do nothing. He is such a homebody! But I have been pushing him to go out once in a while just because I feel bad that I go out more often than he does. Not that he keeps score, he doesn't and that is not what I am saying, I just want him to get away too. Everyone needs a little time away. It's good for all of us! So, one of his coworkers asked him to meet up with him in Quincy. John asked me and I said abso-freaking-lutely! Go for it! So he did! He went out, I put the kids to bed, did some cleaning, watched some tv and read a bit. It was just lovely lol. He got home at 1a (I was long asleep) and he said he had a good time. That is all I needed to hear. I hope he does it again soon!
Sunday was a 'jama day. The kids love 'jama days and I do too! I love having our little family days in the house with nothing to do!
Yesterday we all needed to get out of the house LOL. 'Jama days are nice, but once they are over, it's time to get OUT! I have a Groupon for Bowling (see, LOVE Groupon!!) so we headed to the bowling alley. That didn't pan out. 7 family wait in front of us so that could have taken hours. We took the kids out to lunch and then went to paint pottery instead. My children couldn't be any more different when it comes to painting pottery. The boys did pick out the same piece to paint....they both wanted zombies.....but that's where the similarity ends. Aidan was soooooooooooooooooo slow. He was painstakingly painting his - he wanted it to be perfect. Ryan was painting his pretty well but he wasn't so anal about it. There are smudges, he put pupils in the eyes and they are WAY off and he was just like oh, it's cool. Erynn - now that girl makes me laugh. She picked out a puppy. Very cute. But good Lord that puppy has a bunch of colors all over it. Poor thing is a hot mess. I LOVE it. She won't let anyone get her creativity down and I hope she never does. They had a blast. I love that we can take our kids out to do little things like that. I love the memories we can create with them. I know they appreciate them and I hope they will always remember the times we spend together as a family. I am truly blessed!!
Tuesday, January 29, 2013
Ryan-isms
Disclaimer:
I feel like my "kid-bits" are mostly Ryan focused. It's not because I favor him, I swear! I don't know if it's his personality or what but he is the one who usually comes up with the wise cracks or the random funny things that I need to write down. Maybe he'll grow up to become a comedian - who knows??
Again, these are both from Ryan. Maybe I'll sit with Aidan and Erynn and force them to come up with stuff going forward. I kid, I kid!!
"Hey Mom? Does Boston have a car shop? Like where you buy a car?"
Yes.
"Can you take me there so I can buy a car with my own money and then drive it home? Not now. When I'm a grown up."
Sure honey.
"Okay! Thank you!"
I needed to go upstairs to get ready for all of us to go out to dinner and I hadn't had a chance to shower yet that day. What? A mother of three home and not having time to get herself ready for the day? Shocking!
"Can you guys behave yourselves while I run upstairs and take a shower?
Ryan: Yes! Mom can you be beautiful like you were last time??
"What does that mean exactly?"
Ryan: Last time you went out you were the most beautiful Mom I have ever seen!!
Awwwwww.
I feel like my "kid-bits" are mostly Ryan focused. It's not because I favor him, I swear! I don't know if it's his personality or what but he is the one who usually comes up with the wise cracks or the random funny things that I need to write down. Maybe he'll grow up to become a comedian - who knows??
Again, these are both from Ryan. Maybe I'll sit with Aidan and Erynn and force them to come up with stuff going forward. I kid, I kid!!
"Hey Mom? Does Boston have a car shop? Like where you buy a car?"
Yes.
"Can you take me there so I can buy a car with my own money and then drive it home? Not now. When I'm a grown up."
Sure honey.
"Okay! Thank you!"
I needed to go upstairs to get ready for all of us to go out to dinner and I hadn't had a chance to shower yet that day. What? A mother of three home and not having time to get herself ready for the day? Shocking!
"Can you guys behave yourselves while I run upstairs and take a shower?
Ryan: Yes! Mom can you be beautiful like you were last time??
"What does that mean exactly?"
Ryan: Last time you went out you were the most beautiful Mom I have ever seen!!
Awwwwww.
Monday, January 28, 2013
It's Monday........and I'm okay with that!
Who ever says that? I know, I know, you're wondering if my crack pipe is still warm. Or even hot for that matter. I assure you, that was not one of the activities I picked up over the weekend. But my weekend was just SO good that I didn't even mind waking up to a Monday morning. Le sigh.
Friday morning I had parent/teacher conferences for Erynn. Truthfully I expected this meeting to go off without a hitch. Erynn is not a worry. Not bragging, honestly, just stating a fact. She really is easy.....come on, how many times have I been told she is just like her Mother? HA! But seriously, I shit you not, Mrs. Cicci told me she wishes she had a class FULL of Erynn's. Oh my. I thought my heart was going to burst right out of my chest. What Mom wouldn't want to hear that about her child?! Mrs. C said that Erynn is a joy to be around. Very easy going, always happy, always making sure that everyone is included. She said if there is a child who is shy or on the "outskirts" of the group Erynn is the one who gets up, goes over and brings them in to play with everyone. She is very motherly. Yup, that's definitely my little girl. I am so proud of her!! Mrs. C asked what I was thinking about Kindergarten next year and I told her I've already enrolled Erynn in the full day class. She said that's great and that Erynn is more than ready for it - that she thinks she'll do wonderfully. YAY!
Next stop was Aidan's school. I volunteered to help his teacher, Mrs. Verlicco, sort books. Oh my - I didn't know what I was in for lol. She had a table stacked high plus a 3-shelf bookcase. All of them were labeled with the numeric system but needed to be sorted and filed accordingly. Mrs. V said she didn't expect me to do them all. Does she realize who she had in her room? ;-) I had expected to be there for 3 hours so I knew I was most likely going to get it done. First - that woman is a saint. I have NO idea how she does what she does day in and day out. Some of the kids in her class are TOUGH!! They are fresh, they don't listen, they interrupt, they are rude. OMG. I was shocked. When I arrived the music teacher was in there and he had about 10 min left. He said he was disappointed that he didn't get to show the kids what was in the box of instruments he'd brought because some of them couldn't pay attention and stop talking so he didn't get to go through everything he intended on doing. Awful. It didn't get much better. I now know why Mrs. V said there were definitely some kids she didn't see Aidan having playdates with and thank you Mrs V for steering me clear of them. Aidan was very excited to have me in his classroom so his attention did wander a bit but I would sternly put him right back on course. I wasn't there to distract, I was there to help out his teacher. Lunch time rolled around and I was still sorting. Aidan wanted me to eat with him, Mrs. V said it was up to me. I had a raging migraine so the last thing I was up for was heading into a cafeteria with screaming children but how could I say no? Interesting little tidbit.....parents are not allowed to eat in the lunchroom with children. What?! I was pulled out of the lunchroom by the Asst Principal. Oh my. She brought me in to see the Principal who informed me that they have a rule - parents aren't allowed. Um, okay. She said 1. they don't have enough seats.......2. they don't want the student to feel singled out by having their parent eat with them.......3. they don't want the other children whose parents can't eat lunch with them to feel badly. Now I can get down with the reasoning behind #3 but the other two? Not so much. However, it's not my school and I have respect so I said I completely understand I sat out in the lobby for 30 min until I could return to Mrs. V's room. I let her know that parents weren't allowed in the lunchroom and she apologized profusely - I told her it wasn't her fault, I only wanted her to know in case this happened in the future. I wasn't mad at all. Aidan was really upset, he got all teary eyed and asked why I hadn't returned to the lunchroom as the Asst Principal had told him she was only "borrowing" me for a minute. I explained briefly and told him we'd talk more later. I stayed for another 30 min, finished up all of the sorting and went on my merry way. My time in 2nd grade was done for the day. :)
Saturday was jam-packed. Aidan had an eye doctor appt in the morning so I decided to make this a Mommy/Aidan day. I took him to his appt where we learned that he is going to try a new treatment for his eye turning in. The eye is working too hard to keep straight which could cause him trouble later in life so the Dr is having a prism put in the right lens. He'll wear an eye patch for an hour a day, every day, over the next year which will train the eye to stay straight on its own without relying on the muscle to do all the work. The prism will be intensified over the year and will hopefully do the trick. We'll pick up his new glasses this week and begin the treatment. Fingers crossed! After the dr we went to B&N for Aidan to pick out a special book as a reward for getting 102 (with extra credit) on his book report! He's been having trouble in school and is being tested for a learning disability soon so this was a HUGE accomplishment. I am SO proud of him! He wanted to get a book on the human skeletal system as he's been learning about it in school and we found one perfect for kids. He also picked out one of the Diary of a Wimpy Kid books. He and I will practice his reading together - I'm hoping chapter books will be a good step for him. He then asked if he could pick out a special book for his brother and sister. (I love how my kids think of one another!!) After the bookstore we went on a lunchdate where he told me that "this has been the best Mommy day EVER!" It's the little things. Just spending a little alone time with each kid is all that matters. I used to do this all the time but life gets in the way. I'm going to refocus on this again.
After we got home Ryan's two friends came over. Twin 7 yr old boys named Sean and Nathan. They were coming for a sleepover - our first friend from school sleepover! They are right in the middle of Aidan and Ryan's ages. We went bowling with them and then took all 5 kids out to dinner. Oh if you could have SEEN the looks we got. Some people were even bold enough to ask if all 5 kids were ours. Ballsy people, really ballsy. I was tempted to say yes but I can not tell a lie. I was just floored that people would even ask!! The kids were all amazing and we had a really great time. Everyone came back to the house, we all got in our pj's and we settled the boys in their beds to watch a movie. Um, at 10:30p they were still awake! Well, 3 out of 4........and it was AIDAN who had passed out lol. The youngers were still awake. They finally fell asleep but they were wide awake and ready to go at 7a. We had pancakes and bacon for breakfast and Andrea picked the twins up at 10a because they had a birthday party to go to.
Not much more after that. I got a TON of kid time in, John helped me out with the laundry, he and I got in cuddle/couch time AND I managed to finish up book 4, start and finish book 5 and start book 6 in a series I'm reading. That's a kick ass weekend if I do say so myself........hence the total satisfaction I'm having this fine Monday morning!!!
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