Mom to Mons-ters

Summer break anyone?

2011-05-18T08:50:00.000-04:00

Jamo asked me for a sentence for "suggest". I said, "I suggest you get your homework done quickly."

It all went down hill from there. LOL!

( spelling word in caps)

*I'd SUGGEST you stop giving us homework. (underlined multiple times)
*I'm not CAPABLE of doing homework.
*I'm RELUCTANT to do my homework.
*I'm DRIVING to boring school.
*Do I have PERMISSION to stop doing homework?

Hmm, is someone ready for summer break???

Kiddos

2011-05-04T13:51:00.001-04:00

*Scene - Jamo doing his spelling sentences*

"Mom, what does monthly mean?"
"It is something you do every month."
"What do I do monthly?"

*he shoots down several of my ideas*

...*snickering* "What about cleaning your room?"
"No, that is yearly."

*Scene - Mother and Daughter tea preparation*

"Don't touch that Sugar, it is really hot." (speaking of a curling iron)
"What is that?" (showing my utter lack of primping, my poor 4 yr old doesn't recognize a curling iron)
"It is a curling iron. I'm going to use it to curl your hair."
"Don't touch me with that thing! It will burn me!"
"No, as long as you are careful, it won't hurt you. Your hair won't feel it."

Poor, deprived Sweet Pea.

*Scene - at Mother and Daughter Tea Party*

I have just finished cleaning up the cup of milk Sugar has spilled trying to put a lemon into and the mothers are sharing what the daughters said for the cards. Here is mine from Sugar:

"I love you because we bake cupcakes and you give me kisses and I say, "GROSS!"

And they all laugh, but it is true. Every time I kiss her, she says "GROSS!"

*Scene - at Mother and Daughter Tea Party*

Sugar is up singing with the other kids the song called "Jesus rocks my blues away." I'm sure she was the only one singing, "Jesus rocks my boobs away." *sigh*

Poison

2011-05-03T11:59:00.004-04:00

I know, I know. I've already said I hate this house. Now I have more reasons. As if I didn't have enough already. :o)

Brad decided to fix up the yard now that the sun is out and the temps have warmed up. He was out there for a few hours, mowing the lawn with a push mower, trimming the hedges, etc.

And in thanks for his efforts, he woke up the next morning with a nasty rash down the entire length of his right forearm. When I say nasty, I mean oozing, disgusting, NASTY. Poor boy. And forgive the TMI, but I need to explain. Most nights, Brad sleeps with his arm around me. Yup. I have an itchy, nasty, gross rash along my waist. Oh fun.

I can't believe I survived 2 yrs in this house. And even more, I can't believe I have another year to go. Boo.

Here is your chance to avert your eyes if you'd like to avoid seeing the oozing arm that is actually improved from a week ago. And my poor hip.

2011-04-27T20:09:00.001-04:00

I posted this on Signing Time's Facebook page today.

My 7 and 9 yr old boys tease each other, as brothers often do. Today, we were watching Baby Signing Time with their little sister. Rachel was singing The Bug Song when my 7 yr old says to his older brother, "I'm going to bug you." Expecting a tease, I started laughing when he went to his brother and signed bug on his brothers nose. LOL!

Do you want to be organized?

2011-04-26T11:28:00.004-04:00

You know I do! I'm incredibly organized when it comes to my paperwork, my digital files on my computer, my money and sales receipts, etc, but when it comes to my home, uh, not so much... Well, at least not this house.

I just found out that one of the moms from my Baby Signing Time class is a PROFESSIONAL ORGANIZER! Not only that, she even wrote the book on it. To be more specific, she wrote, The Pregnant Entrepreneur: How to Hand Pregnancy's Physical, Emotional and Financial Baby Bumps - While Running Your Own Business.

While I am not pregnant, and don't have pregnancy on any future agenda of mine, I could definitely use some advice about balancing my home and work life. I'm sure most of us could use those tips! So, this book may specifically cater to pregnant ladies, but I think any working mom could use this book!

And just because I love to share, Darla gave me a book that I can give to one of you. Entry is easy, just go to her website, read the About the Organizer tab and tell me one thing you learned about Darla in the comments section. You can also be a fan of HeartWork Organizing and leave another comment. Contest ends on May 1st at midnight so I can announce the winner on Brad's birthday. hee hee

Traffic law

2011-04-15T10:07:00.004-04:00

As I am sure I have mentioned, I'm just not a fan of Philly traffic. Ugh. So, I'm calling on people with knowledge of traffic laws to help me out. What do you make of this intersection?

Like my stop signs? And my lovely house really is that long and narrow. So, knowledgeable people of traffic law, who has the right of way in the following situations?

Turning onto "My Street" from Main

Turning on Main from My Street

I try and turn onto My Street and the people "stopping" at Bad Street don't even pay attention to that sign and stop at the My Street sign, effectually blocking my turn onto My Street since they are stopped across the street.

I was trying to turn onto My Street today and the lady completely blew through the Bad Street sign WHILE I WAS TURNING onto My Street. I'm still shaking. I honked and she stopped, but I'm really tired of this happening.

Any ideas on how to deal with this besides moving, which is obviously my first choice. I called the Traffic Safety number and he said to treat it like it is an intersection, so, the people on Bad Street don't have to stop for people coming down My Street if they got there first. Okay fine, but the fact is, even if I DO get there first, they still go while I'm there. Freaking annoying. Don't you take TURNS at an intersection???

Have I mentioned I am really, as in REALLY excited to move? Is 52 weeks to soon to start my count down?

Dodging a bullet

2011-04-12T19:45:00.002-04:00

While some of you might believe I asked Roo to put his DS away after the fiasco last week because I am either A) saintly or B) spineless, neither is in fact true. Before causing a commotion, I wanted to make sure that there really was no rule about playing with a silent DS. This was my first time at this office and I wasn't entirely sure of the rules. I emailed the lady in charge and without revealing the situation, confirmed that silent DS games are allowed. Thus armed with knowledge, I brought Roo's (and Sugar's) DS games to the meeting today. The mom didn't even come. The baby sitter brought the older brother attending the meeting with Jamo. Roo happily played his DS for about 30 minutes, and then spent the remainder of the time reading National Geographic Kids. With about 10 minutes left, the mom and younger brother came. But Roo was no longer playing his DS, and while tempted to hand it to him and say, "Here, hurry up and play," I'm not exactly trying to instigate a confrontation either. So, if things continue this way, it looks as though the problem is solved. I can hope, right? :o)

Tax time!

2011-04-07T23:07:00.002-04:00

Anyone else still trying to get their taxes done? Uh yeah. That's me. One week to go and still working on my taxes. Somehow, I'm not as motivated to get it done when we have to pay... We are doing our own taxes; 'we' being Brad. And since he knows about blood and guts, not as much about taxes and deductibles, any help with understanding the W2 form is greatly appreciated. How about you? Do you do your own taxes? Are you done yet?

Liar, liar, pants on fire

2011-04-06T09:19:00.004-04:00

This is one of those posts where I come to my brilliant readers for advice. I'm not quite sure what to do and would love some feedback. We were at an appointment for Jamo yesterday afternoon. Roo, Sugar and I had an hour in the waiting room to chill. They did a fantastic job of sharing, playing nice, etc. I was really proud of them. About 10 minutes before it was time to go, Roo got tired of playing with the toys and got out his Nintendo DS to play. I have no problem with him using his DS in a waiting room. I think waiting rooms can be boring too. The problem is that this other little boy didn't have one. Roo was willing to let him watch, and might have let him play had it been more than a few minutes. BUT, this little boy goes and complains to his mom that he doesn't have his DS. The mom says to him, "You aren't allowed to play with electronic devices here. Do you see that sign? It says "No electronics." The boy of course whines, "But he has one!" She replies, "Well, he is breaking the rules." Um, excuse me? I see 3 signs hanging on the wall:

Please enjoy the toys but clean up when you are done.

Please inform the secretary that you have arrived.

Please do not use cell phones in the waiting room.

That's it. Nothing about electronics. So the boy goes and tells Roo, "You are breaking the rules." Surprised, Roo asked, "What rules?" The boy points to the signs. Roo, who has read chapter books since pre-kindergarten, says, "I don't see that rule anywhere." The boy comes up to me, "He is breaking the rules." I kid you not, the mom was sitting right next to me. She had to have heard all of this. Did she expect me to lie to him too? I'm sorry lady, but just because you lie to your kid doesn't mean I'm going to go along with it.

I said, "Oh really?" "Yes. Look at the sign." Resisting the urge to walk him over to the sign and read it word by word to him, I said, "Thank you." I called Roo over and asked if he could put it away since it was causing problems. He did, to his credit, though disappointed since they rarely get to play with their DS during the school week.

Now my questions: What would you have done in my situation? Would you have lied to the kid and said, "Oh yes, it does say that." Would you have told him it didn't and maybe read it to him too? Would you have said something to the mom?

Keep in mind I have 7 more weeks of this as it is an 8 week course. Do I let Roo bring his DS next week??

Advice is appreciated!

Lore's Chocolate Party

2011-03-27T15:53:00.009-04:00

There are some experiences that you will remember for years. If you want a memorable experience, the Lore's Chocolate Birthday party is one you won't soon forget! Lore's is a short walk from the Liberty Bell and Independence Hall and worth the effort to go visit!

I was able to bring both of my boys to experience a Lore's Birthday Party yesterday. There were snacks and drinks available as we got ready to learn. The kids each got an apron, as chocolate was sure to fly! Tony taught us where chocolate comes from. The kids got to hold the cacao pod and see the different ingredients you can make from the cacao. We even got to hear a brief history of Lore's in Philadelphia. There are many reasons I love living in Philly, and the rich history is one of them!

Then the kids split into 2 groups to make their own chocolaty treats. My boys started at the molding station, where we learned how they make hollow chocolate shapes like bunnies and in our case, a turtle and Liberty Bell. Roo fell in love with that turtle! Then the boys got to fill their own molds. And dip pretzels in a chocolate vat and cover them with sprinkles. Oh, and how could I forget that they got to try their hand at making nonpareils. They weren't pretty, but I bet they tasted amazing! I get the feeling that those are harder to make than it looks.

After that, they moved to the enrobing line. Each child got their own box filled with marshmallows, pretzels, animal crackers, etc. They got to put them on the belt and watch their own treats disappear beneath the chocolate falls. After getting coated, they were supposed to use their fingers to decorate the top. They loved that part. Then the treats went to cool down before getting to the end of the line where they put them in their own box.

Tony and Maureen were so amazing and patient with that many little people running around. Roo was busy posing for a picture with his beloved chocolate turtle and ended up getting an arm doused in chocolate. Maureen didn't even bat an eye, she was calm, cool and collected. Of course, leave it to my boy to end up chocolate coated. *sigh* And at the end, as if things couldn't get better, we got a bag to fill with all of the treats we had made! And it even had a pre-made personalized egg! The kids were thrilled to see their own names in chocolate!

What an amazing experience it was for us! Now that is how to celebrate your birthday! Lore's is taking reservations for Saturday birthday parties, and will include weekday hours in the summer. I wish MY birthday were coming up soon!

By a hair

2011-03-23T23:27:00.003-04:00

In good news, the parking ticket was dismissed. Wise of them. I would have fought it tooth and nail had they not.

Brad went on a fellowship interview on Sunday. He had forgotten to hand off the pager, so I went to another resident's house to drop it off. Unfortunately, the road to their house was ripped up by construction and I had to do a scenic detour.

As I was leaving their street, I turned to go down another tiny street to the main street. I turned down it before I saw what I was up against. It was so narrow. And there were cars parked on both sides. I knew there was no way I could get past the 2 cars without some damage to Odie. So, I thought about reversing. But there was a line of 4 or 5 cars behind me also on narrow, one way streets. Going back wasn't an option, so I'd have to go through. Odie has already had his share of bumps and bruises in Phreaking Philly, so I wanted to keep the damage as minimal as possible.

I started to go past the two cars and saw that the one on the right was scratched like crazy. I was obviously not the first wide car to try this treacherous path. Why would the idiot park there, I'd like to know?! I went ever so slowly through the two cars. I'm not even exaggerating when I say there was MAYBE 6 inches between Odie and the car on the left. And I was so close on the right, I couldn't even see how close it was. But, somehow, Odie made it through unscathed. Wow, I may almost get the hang of this Philly driving thing.

Getting lucky!

2011-03-21T23:13:00.002-04:00

The rest of my St. Patrick's Day was an improvement.

The medication pen that had previously very painful, was actually the most pain-free shot I've had in months! I even did it myself! That is a big deal for me. In 18 months of twice monthly shots, this is only the 3rd I've given myself. I guess it helps to be married to a doctor and always have someone around to give me the shots.

We had our traditional green dinner. This time it was green eggs and ham. And green pancakes, green toast and green milk. Yum.

Brad won the most green contest.

I ditched the green shirt, which hadn't done me any favors keeping me lucky, and instead put on my BYU blue and headed over for the basketball game. Tons of fun

Luck of the Un-Irish

2011-03-17T13:30:00.004-04:00

Apparently only the Irish get to be lucky today, because I'm sure not feeling it!

On Tuesday, Sugar had been sick since Friday and finally seemed over it, but I decided to keep her home one more day just in case. And that afternoon I got a call from Jamo's school that he had a fever over 100 and had to come home.

I kept Jamo and Sugar home on Wednesday. Today, I was ready to send all 3 kids back to the school for the first time in a week and hit the gym. Yoga to be exact.

Upon arriving at the boys school, there were 4 of those trucks with buckets and tree grinders right in front of the drop off. You have got to be kidding me. Could there possibly be a worse time to trim trees? During school drop off? Really? Kids walking while branches are getting chopped, closing lanes during peak traffic, blocking the entrance to the school... someone really didn't think this one through.

After dropping Sugar off, I got to the gym parking lot. I parked a little funny, so I got back in and reparked. Then I put my quarter in the meter. It didn't drop. Odd. So, I put in a second to push the first one through. And that one got stuck. I grabbed a popscicle stick on the ground and tried to push them through. Nothing. So, I wrote a note and stuck on saying, "Look in the machine, the quarters are stuck."

This all made me late to yoga, but it was fun being there. I went out to Odie and there was a parking ticket.

Argh. So, I called the number on the ticket and explained it. She said to call back later after they looked at it. I took pictures just in case.

How hard would it have been to look in and see a quarter sitting there? Argh. On the principle of it, I'm going to go to court if they dare try to make me pay. Hopefully when I call, they will have it resolved because I'm not paying it.

I will, however, pay for my overdue library fees, which was my next stop in Funville. I couldn't complain about that though. It was my fault. I took the other videos back not realizing the boys left one upstairs. I should have checked. I won't argue that one, it just sucks to pay huge library fees.

Oh and then while I was digging through my emails today, I heard a drip, drip, drip in the dining room. Sugar has a Barbie pool that she was playing with in the bathroom. We aren't talking a lot of water here. But any water that gets on the floor in the bathroom goes straight to the dining room. At least it wasn't toilet water, right?

Then I got a package from Fed Ex. That's always fun, right! Um, medications for RA aren't so fun. But then I got excited because it was 3 months of meds! Yay! I wouldn't have to keep calling for more! But then, wouldn't you know, they sent me the pens, which are a lot more painful than the syringes. *sigh* Stinkin' luck of the un-Irish.

Communication with a doctor

2011-03-13T11:10:00.002-04:00

I say: "Wow, my fingers look wonky."

He says: "You have ulnar deviation."

Uh, yeah, what he said. His way sounds better at least. :o)

Handipoints!

2011-03-11T20:44:00.002-05:00

I know, you are in shock I'm posting again so soon. I know I've said it before, but if you have kids old enough to use a computer, you should really look at Handipoints! I added some goals for the boys to earn a Wii game, and they have been fighting over who gets to wash, sort, and put away laundry. I'll enjoy it while it lasts until they earn their game. I remember being at a parenting class and the teacher said that our job as a mother is to work ourselves out of our job. Basically meaning, we need to be teaching our kids how to do laundry, clean, work, and cook for themselves before they leave our homes.

Wednesday was a bit rough for me. My host for my Signing with a Smile stopped hosting me, so I spent the day in a near panic that I didn't have a website. It's not good for business when the website doesn't work!

I did get to go Dragon Boating that night. You are thinking that it is super cold to be on a river right now, and you would be right. There is a place that has an INDOOR Dragon Boat facility. Who knew?! The trainer worked us pretty hard and we were all pretty beat by the end. Just in case you were wondering, it is a lot harder than it looks. ;o) My RA flare isn't calming down with the steroids yet, so between sets, I was sticking my hands in the cold water. Oooo, felt soooo good to get them chilled.

I came home and had to make crepes for Jamo's French Festival. Oh la la! I love crepes, but I like Brad's recipe better. By the time I was stirring the batter, my hands were beat down. I kept a bowl of ice water by the stove to chill my hands between flipping the crepes. It took me almost 2 hours just to make 24 crepes. Not cool. I wonder how Brad does it so fast?

And today has just been one nutty day too. The boys didn't have school for teacher meetings. I slept in until 9:30, but I'm pretty sure Sugar was up at 7 am. When she fell asleep on the couch at 11 am, I just thought she was tired from waking up early. My childcare arrangements didn't work out, so I bribed the kids and took them to my class with me. They were so well behaved. I know I have amazing kids and they are usually extremely well-behaved. I feel blessed. The class went great and there were no problems. I had bribed them with McDonald's and Sugar was asleep before we got home. I thought that maybe that first nap wasn't long enough, but I still wasn't suspicious.

After eating half of her lunch, she went back to sleep, and then I knew she was sick. The next time she woke up I took her temperature and sure enough, there was a fever. She spent the rest of the afternoon asleep. Poor sweet baby girl.

Then I got to spend the remainder of my afternoon working out some misunderstandings and miscommunications with one of my class locations. I think we have it worked out now.

It has just been a long an exhausting day and I see myself in bed in the very near future.

Vindication

2011-03-08T21:08:00.005-05:00

You know that feeling, when your kid says he is on his death bed, and so sick he can't stand it. You take him to the doctor and he is miraculously healed before the doctor walks into the exam room and you end up feeling like an idiot with a chunk of change wasted on a co-pay? You do?! Glad I'm not the only one! Well, it feels even worse when the one that is so sick is YOU!

I finally made it in to see my Rheumatologist today. Unfortunately, it takes me far too long to go to the doctor, namely because of the reason above. You don't want to waste your money and the doctor's time if you aren't really sick, ya know? So then I end up waiting too long to go and spend weeks in pain.

Like I said, I finally made it in, and my symptoms were still there (phew!). She was sufficiently impressed by the level of swelling in my hands (my knuckles look like dimples they are so swollen on my left hand). And she was even impressed by the way my fingers bend sideways now on my right. So gratifying to have someone impressed by my symptoms. No one wants to feel like a hypochondriac, ya know?

I still need to upload some way cool pictures of Brad shaving off his beard. He won the contest between the other residents. Yay, Brad! And yes, the yearly exam is over. Happy happy joy joy! Hopefully I'll get those pictures up soon.

Jamo's birthday!

2011-03-01T21:26:00.004-05:00

Somehow I blinked and Jamo turned 9. Wow. Next year it is double digits. How did it go so fast?

I stayed up way too late making Hopkins cupcakes.

It was worth it though. Every month I go to both of my boys' classes and teach them a Signing Time lesson. So, the kids all knew it was Hopkins and loved it. :o)

Between my 2 scheduled classes, I also managed to make it to help at Roo's lunchroom at school. I'm having some kind of RA issue or something right now. And I spent the lunch time running around opening milk bottles, thermoses, etc. Owie! And tomorrow I have 9 classes. Oh please let my hands work tomorrow!!! I can barely open the jelly jar for my kids in the morning. And before you ask, mommy, yes, I have my appointment scheduled with my Rheumy. :o)

I've never shown a picture of my RA hands, have I? This is my good hand, only some of the knuckles are swollen. On my right hand, my fingers are starting to go wonky and won't straighten out.

We had a wonderful evening. Jamo shocked us all and picked Pizza Hut for dinner over his beloved IHOP. Then the kids decorated the cake and we opened presents. If you didn't know, we have a recently started tradition of letting the kids decorate the cake. They are much better than I am at it anyway! Here it is:

Leftover frosting from the cupcakes and sprinkles. Lots of sprinkles. haha! It is a penguin with a 9 on his tummy. Can't you tell?? And do you know what I *just now* realized? We forgot to actually EAT the cake. Oops. The kids were really excited about the presents, so I don't think they noticed.

After this action packed day of making cakes, wrapping presents, making a mess etc, I got a call to show the house tomorrow. Oy. I guess it is better than today, but since I'm working all day tomorrow, I'll have to clean it all tonight. It's going to be a rough night!

My Valentine

2011-02-14T09:57:00.003-05:00

We printed cards off from Signing Time and I added a Hopkins finger puppet. I think they are pretty cute. I'm showing you this one because this story makes me smile. I had the boys cut out all of their Valentines and write the names on the back. Well, while they were cutting, Roo said, "I really like Jordan. She is always nice to me." And then the next day, when he was ready to write the names on, I saw him kinda grin, pick up this specific Valentine and write her name on it. First one he wrote. Then he went back and started with the "A" names. CUTE!

As for my Valentine, I could go on and on about how fantastic he is, but really, if you know him at all, you already know he is fantastic. So, here are some things I love about Brad that you might not know:

*He can cook with anything. He can walk into a kitchen with 5 ingredients and walk out with a gourmet meal.

*I love that his GPS is set to French, even though it makes me crazy trying to get it off French so I don't get lost.

*I love that he calls me almost everyday when he is leaving work and asks me if I need him to pick up anything on the way home.

*I love that he makes up lyrics when he forgets the real ones. And this happens frequently! LOL! It just cracks me up to hear what lyrics he'll come up with this time.

*And finally, I love that he'll kiss my forehead at night while he is asleep. He is dead to the world when he is sleeping, but if I get close to him, he'll reflexively kiss me. Love that.

Best mommy in the world

2011-02-12T14:39:00.003-05:00

Conversation with Roo while making Signing Time Valentine's with him:

Roo: You are the best mommy in the world.
Me: Because I printed Signing Time Valentines?
Roo: Yes, because you work for Signing Time and that is really cool.
Me: Aw thanks!
Roo: And do you know who is the second coolest mommy?
Me: Who?
Roo: Rachel.
Me: She is pretty cool.
Roo: In your opinion, you might think she is the coolest because she started Signing Time.
Me: But not in your opinion?
Roo: No, in my opinion you are still the coolest and that won't change.

At least not until he is a teen. :o) Sure love my little guy!

Blue's Clues and cakes

2011-02-10T19:45:00.003-05:00

***scene - family dinner***

Sugar - Daddy can I have some Blue's Clues?
Brad - Do you mean cous cous?

and a little later at dessert...

Sugar - Daddy can I have some cake?
Brad - Do you mean crepe?

Ah, a child's interpretation!

Twinkle, twinkle little star...

2011-01-30T16:32:00.004-05:00

This is the song I usually dread most when teaching ASL signs. The sign most children learn for diamond is HIGHLY inappropriate in ASL.

Imagine my shock today at church when I start signing Twinkle, Twinkle with Sugar and she signs said HIGHLY inappropriate sign.

"Sweetie, that isn't the correct way to sign diamond. This is how to do it." *shows correct way*
"No. It is like this." *signs HIGHLY inappropriate sign*
"That isn't the way. You need to do it like this." *shows correct way*
"No. My teacher said to do it like this." *again signs HIGHLY inappropriate sign*

I finally told her we'd talk about it later just to get her to stop signing it wrong. eek!

***to sign DIAMOND, make a "D" with your right hand (fingers all touching the thumb except the pointer finger is up) and tap it on your left ring finger, where a diamond would be.

Here are some online dictionary results:

Click to sign DIAMOND (the object, like what is in the sky)

Click to sign the shape DIAMOND

Choices

2011-01-27T00:20:00.002-05:00

*scene - dinner table having a family meal, Sugar wanting to be excused*

Brad: "Sugar, you need to sit at the table for dinner time."
Sugar: "But I want to be excused..."
B: "You have 2 choices, you can sit at the table or you can go to bed now."
S: "Daddy, I want 3 choices."
*me snickering*
B: "Okay, you can 1)sit at the table 2) go to bed or 3) go sit in bed.
*me hysterically laughing now*

Ahhhh, family dinner time...

Brownies versus Vai

2011-01-18T14:26:00.002-05:00

On Sunday, we went to a church meeting where Vai Sikahema was speaking. I listen to Sport's Talk Radio every day (much to my husband's and children's displeasure), so I was quite familiar with who he is.

We got to listen to his lovely wife first, and then he gave a great talk afterwards. It was wonderful to hear him. Since Roo really adores Andy Reid (because he ALWAYS shakes Roo's hand), I thought he'd like to meet another Eagle.

Not so much. As soon as the final "amen" was said, the kids bolted to the brownies in the back of the church.

*sigh*

When daddy is away...

2011-01-15T23:05:00.003-05:00

I made the kids a dentist appointment 6 months ago. And wouldn't you know, Brad is working today. Isn't it just so much fun to take 3 kids to the dentist office? Oooo, party!

Sugar screamed, and by screamed I mean, the windows are shaking, people are looking for ear plugs, I have to sit in the chair, wrap my legs around her, have the boys hold a leg, screaming. So much fun. I can't wait to do it again in 6 months. Ugh.

*the bright side is 3 kids and 0 cavities*

When you are married to a doctor...

2011-01-09T20:32:00.002-05:00

Today I was teaching a Sunday School class to 4 year old kids, one of which was my daughter.

I had printed my lesson out on some scratch paper we have in a pile. While at church, I was looking at my lesson for a specific scripture. Suddenly, Jamo asks, "What is THAT?!"

I looked on the back of my lesson, and what is on it but pictures of tracheas being sutured and the accompanying research notes. Lovely. Good thing it wasn't a 4 yr old that saw the picture. They might have been traumatized for quite awhile.

Smart little cookie

2011-01-05T22:11:00.002-05:00

*scene - Scrubs on the TV on pause. Me typing an email. Sugar on the couch getting ready for bed.*

Sugar: "Mom, why aren't you watching this?"
Me: "I'm waiting for daddy."
Sugar: "Why?"
Me: "I love him."
Sugar: "Do you love me?"
Me: "I love you tons, baby girl!"
Sugar: "Does that mean I get to stay up and watch this with you?"

Nice try, little one.

11 years

2010-12-18T12:20:00.003-05:00

Yesterday, Brad and I celebrated being married 11 years. And I couldn't be happier. I sure love that man.

I thought I'd tell this story, just to show how far I've come in 11 years. ;)

We decided to go out to a really nice restaurant for our anniversary. I found the sitter, and since Brad has much more experience with the restaurants here, he was going to find the place to eat. He made reservations for 7 pm and we were going to walk around the Christmas village for a little while before eating.

But, when you are married to a doctor, things tend to not always go as planned. He called me at 5 to say that he was still with a patient coming out of surgery and he might be late. I said it would be fine if we skipped the walk and just went to dinner. But then he called again, saying he was going to be even later than planned, could I drop off the kids, bring him a change of clothes, etc. Years ago, that might have stressed me out, especially since we were having plumbing issues, Roo broke the silverware drawer, and there was typical dinner chaos. Now, however, I've adjusted to the uncertainty that is life with a doctor. 11 years and I'm getting the hang of this gig. ;o)

We went to an amazing restaurant. It was so gorgeous in there! The architecture alone was stunning. I told the hostess it was our 11 year anniversary. She asked me if I got married at 10 because I looked way too young to be married that long. I didn't tell her I am 34. haha!

We got a Wagyu steak, Chateau potatoes, King crab gnocchi and a fabulous chocolate souffle for dessert. We shared all of it and still couldn't finish it. Incredibly delicious.

I love being married to the man of my dreams and look forward to the rest of eternity with him!!

4 yr old!

2010-12-05T16:47:00.003-05:00

Wowza. My "baby" is 4. I keep forgetting she isn't a baby anymore. Sigh.

We had lots of fun for her birthday. We went to an older kid version of Chuck E Cheese (batting cages, mini-golf, laser tag, basketball court, Jupiter Jumps, arcade, etc). Roo was invited to a party there, and I figured if I was going to drive for 40 minutes just to get there, I might as well make a family activity of it all. We all had a blast and thankfully Brad didn't get paged. *phew*

Then we had a spontaneous birthday party with some friends. They even made a cute banner for her. We had pizza and crab legs. I'm not usually a sea food person, but these were really good! And, I continued my tradition of letting the birthday kid do the cake decorating. She did a great job.

Happy birthday, little pea!

Swedish meatballs

2010-11-30T22:13:00.002-05:00

Sugar has a friend in school with a Swedish mother. They are super sweet and invited us over for lunch after school today.

The girls had a blast playing and I loved talking to Sonia. So much fun learning about Sweden. She asked if we'd like Swedish meatballs for lunch. I said sure! I was thinking of the mushroomy gravy kinda meatballs that I usually make when I say Swedish meatballs. It turns out, in Sweden, they don't really put marinara or gravy on their pasta. They put ketchup. They use ketchup for pasta and not much else. I was a little skeptical, but it was quite tasty! Who knew?!

Giving thanks!

2010-11-25T12:51:00.002-05:00

I have so much to be thankful for today!

Brad's dad is here for Thanksgiving from OK. He took us out to a delicious Indian restaurant the other day. Yum. My aunt Stacy came down from NYC too. She has been incredibly helpful which has been fabulous since RA has my knee looking like a grapefruit. Sugar just adores her too. Stacy has been having Sugar help with cooking and she is just in heaven. Plus since our house is tiny, space is at a premium. Stacy has been sleeping in Sugar's room, and she just LOVES having a roommate.

And for Thanksgiving dinner, we are having another last minute addition, missionaries. We aren't sure where we will have everyone sitting, but nothing warms the heart like a full house, right? Oh, and we have Jasper the dog visiting too. :o)

It has been snowing off and on this morning, which has been beautiful. And Brad has been able to use his medical expertise. First, he used a needle from his kit to inject the turkey with seasonings. Then he drained my knee of fluid. I had been fighting letting him do it for a long time. Draining just hurts so dang much that I didn't want to associate him with incredible pain. But, the pain of the fluid finally outweighed the pain of the drain. He managed to get 10 cc's out, but it hardly made a dent in the fluid level. Looks like I'll be going in for another knee drain next week.

Please Touch Museum

2010-11-15T07:32:00.002-05:00

Sugar and I went to the Please Touch Museum on Saturday while the boys went to the Constitution Center for a cub scout activity. It took us 40 minutes just to get through the toy store. Then we spent another hour at the Water Works. After that, we made it through the rest of the museum pretty fast. (Pretty fast being another 2 hours) She really loved the grocery store. She told me I was the sister and kept telling me no when I asked for stuff. LOL! She had fun loading her cart, going through check-out, and then putting the groceries away. When did all of that stop being fun for me? It was so much fun to just spend some girl time with her. I can't wait to take the boys!

Long time, no see!

2010-11-10T16:23:00.002-05:00

Yes, I had a birthday last week. Another year older and wiser too!

And the new press release is out for the new Signing Time Associate Directors. Look! It's me! Yay!

This weekend is the Neighborhood Toy Store Day! Check out a local toy store near you! And if you are in the Philly area, please come to the Please Touch Museum. There will be tons of fun activities and characters to entertain the kiddos. Christmas is coming up and it would be great if we could support our locally owned toy stores! Hope to see you there!

Lots of pictures!

2010-10-31T18:27:00.002-04:00

Wow. It has been awhile since I've put up pictures. So, I put up 9, yes 9, slide shows over on the Cookie Monster blog.

What's over there? Well, lots of stuff: Halloween, first day of school, Roo's birthday, me Dragon Boating, the zoo, Sugar at the farm, golfing... lots. You are under no obligation to go check it out. But if you want on and don't yet have an invite, let me know.

For Halloween, I was sick (I colored my nose read and put purple bags under my eyes) and Brad was my doctor. Jamo was Anakin Skywalker. Roo was Bidoof, a Pokemon. Sugar got a horse where she is two of the legs. We went to our church last night to trick or treat from room to room. We filled our room with balloons. Quite a mistake as it turned into a mosh pit and the older kids weren't always gentle with the young ones. But, the kids liked it.

Roo is 7!

2010-10-17T22:41:00.002-04:00

Well, it has been awhile, eh? We had a fabulous time with my mommy in town. We love it when we have visitors!

Roo had his 7th birthday party. We caved and took him to Chuck E Cheese. Once or twice a year can't be too bad, right? It is actually getting a lot better now that the kids are older.

I have his SUPER cute pictures over on the Cookie blog (let me know if you need an invite please!). Sonja did an amazing job!

What a drag!

2010-10-04T21:56:00.002-04:00

The Dragon Boat Festival got delayed.

Statement Issued by Local Official:
"The City’s Emergency Management Center is predicting devastating flooding along the Schuylkill River, perhaps as great as anything we’ve had in the past 25 years (this includes Hurricane Floyd). They are predicting flood waters reaching the CSX RR tracks and possibly into the neighborhoods."

Here are some stats that were passed along to me:

For the month of September, the river was running at less than 1,000 cfs (cubic feet per second).
Right now it's running at 76,300 cfs
Anything over 18,000 cfs, and all paddle sports are PROHIBITED

I am quite sad as it was the only Saturday Brad has off in October. Now, I either need to find a sitter at 6 am on a Saturday or not go. Boo.

Comedy of Errors

2010-09-22T23:44:00.004-04:00

Wow. Nights like this are the reason my blog exists.

Brad convinced me that we really needed to go to a Japanese Sushi bar for Philly's Restaurant Week. Philly has some amazing places to eat, and getting them for a discount, well, that is hard to beat. And truthfully, the food was quite delicious! I still can't believe I ate an entire meal with chopsticks (except for the Hot and Sour soup) and that I ate so much raw fish. But, I love to try new things, so why not.

I digress. We left the restaurant before the dessert came so that I could get back in time for my first belly dancing class here. We walked down the street to the car, only the car wasn't there. Have I mentioned I hate Philly parking? (He was 6 inches into the No Parking zone. So petty) Our friends at the restaurant drove us to the impound lot, in a lovely area with such businesses as Club Risque and Show and Tel. Nice. Our friends played football out in the parking lot while Brad and I waited in a ridiculous line to get our car back. I can't even explain in words how incredible ridiculous the entire system was. Wait in line to pay the fee. Then wait in another line to fill out paper work. Then be told you need insurance and registration which is obviously in the car, so get it and wait again. There was one of those motivational posters on the wall that said 'Serenity', and I think it had the opposite effect on me. The irony was thick. During this waiting, our friend Jim took a football to the eye, which pushed his glasses into his eyelid. It was quite gross actually. I've been exposed to enough blood and guts to have a pretty strong stomach, but I couldn't look at it for very long.

This is a great time to have 2 ENT residents, and ER resident, and a PA hanging out. However, they wouldn't let Brad get his "tool bag" out of the car. We had to fill out a request form, and yes, wait in line again, just to get permission to get it. We were all trying to convince Jim, that yes, he needed stitches or something on his eye when the ER resident said, "Don't worry, Jim, I'll stitch you up right." Jim responded with, "Okay, listen, nothing personal, but if anyone is going to be stitching up my face, it is going to be the Facial Plastic Surgeon. I'm sorry, but if I have the choice, I'm going with Brad." We couldn't help it, Cathy and I just busted up laughing.

I eventually got the paperwork necessary to get the bag out of the car and ran it to Cathy. We had just used some Dermabond at church on Sunday when Roo had a lovely gash above his eye from hitting a pew. But, thankfully Brad had another Dermabond in the bag and they were able to close up his eye.

Now the problem was that we didn't have a registration card, only the sticker. Long story short-ish, we were at the impound lot for 2 hours. And I never made it to belly dancing.

Doctors can be pretty useful people to have around. Especially when they have tool bags. LOL!

Daily rituals

2010-09-17T21:20:00.001-04:00

Sugar and I have a game we play. Every day. She tells me she is tired and she wants me to go lay down with her. I say okay. Then she squeals, "I'm gonna take your pillow!!" as she dashes up the stairs. My gimpy RA knee and I get up the stairs with much less agility. I get to my room and she is laying on my pillow, giggling hysterically.

I lay down next to her and we lay there for a minute, maybe two, before she says, "I'm thirsty".

"I think you need to go get a drink."
"Why, mommy?"
"So I can steal my pillow back."

Then we will spend about 5 or 10 minutes of me pretending to sleep, her pretending to get off the bed, etc, until at some point I ended up tickling her and dangling her over the bed where the lava pit is. Don't worry though, the lava pit has a side walk.

Today we were Baby Armadillo and Mommy Armadillo. I haven't been allowed to call her by her name all day. And her jelly sandwich had grass and leaves in. 'But just pretending, mommy." At night, she snuck into my bed. I picked her up to take her back to her room and she started whining so I said, "Sugar, you sleep in your bed." "Okay, but I'm not Sugar, I'm Baby Armadillo." At 4 a.m. LOL!

Oh, to be 3 and carefree!

My son

2010-09-16T19:21:00.002-04:00

In case there was any doubt that Roo is my son, he said this before dinner tonight:

"There is nothing better than spending the evening reading a good book."

Yup. Definitely my son!

Good call

2010-09-15T20:33:00.002-04:00

Wow. Somehow when I have so much to write about, I just end up not writing about anything. Oops. It has just been so busy with last minute zoo trips, friends visiting from Canada, school starting, my classes starting, Cub Scouts starting, etc. I was even so busy with Signing Time stuff emailing things that Hotmail actually blocked me, considering me a spammer. Sigh.

And so I get behind, and therefore I avoid my blog. Much the same reason I haven't opened Google Reader in months. I'm so behind on reading blogs, it is overwhelming. Avoidance is such a mature coping mechanism. :o)

You know that pit in your stomach that you get when the phone rings, you say hello and then hear, "Hi, the is Miss Manners, you son's teacher." Eeek! What did he do today? I didn't say that, of course, I just let her proceed. So, she then when on to tell me what a fabulous and wonderful kid he is. And that he is a pleasure to have in class. Wow. Teachers call parents just to praise kids? I think I love his teacher! And then we talked about ASL, and apparently she took it in college and would love to have me come teach in her classroom. WHEEEE!

Life is busy, but good. I even had a cleaning lady come on Monday. It was soooo amazing to leave in the morning and come home for dinner to a clean house! WOWZA!

Where could she be?

2010-09-05T19:09:00.000-04:00

After a long afternoon at the pool, we came home, piled the towels and suits to get washed, I started dinner, sent the boys to clean their room, then I went to work on my Signing Time stuff for a little while.

Dinner was done and I realized I had not heard Sugar yelling at her brothers in probably 30 minutes. I sent Roo up to look for her. He said she was gone. I figured she fell asleep after a busy day, even though she has given up napping. I looked in her room. No Sugar. I looked in my room. No Sugar. I look in the boys' room and the toy room. No Sugar.

Panic starts to set in a little. This house is small. There are storage containers under every bed, she couldn't be there. The closets are too small to fit a human being laying down. I would have seen her go out the front door. The back door is locked. All of the windows are locked. Where in the world could she be?!

I finally opened up our IKEA storage and there she was, asleep. She had shut herself in. Little stinker.

Conversations with a doctor

2010-09-03T18:25:00.005-04:00

I'm sure every wife out there has heard this from her husband:

"I'm sorry honey, I'm tied up at work and can't make it home for dinner."

I had this one:

"I'm sorry honey, I'm trying to get these leeches on a guy's ear and they just won't bite. I won't be able to make it home for dinner. I promise they won't get lost this time."

I love my life. There is never a dull moment!

Blog Tour - Residency

2010-09-03T11:18:00.004-04:00

Last stop on the blog tour! Our residency experience started out a little different. Brad had been set on ENT since he got his MBA between MSII and MSIII. He worked with a doctor during that year and loved the cases. However, he didn't match in ENT and scrambled into a General Surgery spot. He loved it and enjoyed being in the OR. We loved the town and the program and while intern year can be a bit, um, intense, it was over all a good experience for us.

Then, out of the blue, he was contacted by a med school friend and told about a position in ENT that opened up. He couldn't ignore the siren call of his first love and ended up applying for the spot. When he got it, it meant a little bit of craziness for our family. He only had a couple of weeks to move hundreds of miles, and we owned our house in MI. Thankfully, the friend that told him about the spot let him stay with him. Meanwhile, I stayed in MI with our 3 kids waiting for the house to sell. Waiting, and waiting. I had hoped and planned on a couple of months, but it ended up being 7 months. It was a LONG 7 months, and things were crazy at times. :o) We still own our house in MI and rent it out to some resident friends of ours.

It warms my heart when Brad comes home after 10 pm because of a 14 hour surgery to see him beaming from ear to ear because he loves it so much. Yes, it is hard, but I know this is exactly where we are supposed to be and this is EXACTLY what Brad is supposed to be doing. It makes the hard times easier on me.

Now, we are getting to the fun part of residency. Brad can finally moonlight and make up for the paltry resident salary. Philadelphia is not a cheap place to live. And call schedules are getting better too! Most days, his pager doesn't even go off! And finally, we are starting to interview for after-residency jobs. Oh my, that is fun!

I am one very happy wife of a resident. :o)

Medical school journey

2010-08-30T10:47:00.003-04:00

I thought I'd participate on a blog tour. It has been awhile since I've thought about medical school. I'm trying to block it out. ;o)

I think the thing I hated the most was the applying for medical school part. Sooooo much time and money spent on taking the MCAT, applying to schools, flying out for interviews, etc. I just wanted him to get in, and I didn't care where. It was such a huge relief when the acceptance letters started coming in.

We had 3 kids by the time Brad finished med school. And somehow it took me until MSIV to realize that I was going to have to start planning and doing things without Brad. We'd plan dates, or get invited to activities, and somehow I kept thinking he'd always be able to attend. It was a very freeing day when I finally realized that I could go places and do things without him. And it probably helped prepare me for the 7 months we lived apart after a residency change.

And I really remember how great if felt to be done with medical school. If only I'd realized we were only half-way there! LOL!

Here is where to find the tour:
http://queseraaasera.blogspot.com/2010/08/life-as-medical-school-wife.html

Pictures up!

2010-08-27T13:03:00.005-04:00

I finally got pictures put up over on Cookie. Took me long enough! LOL!

Brad got a week of vacation this month. We used part of it to go to South Dakota for some job interviews. Oh my lands, it was fun! They paid for plane tickets for us and our 3 kids. They even got us adjoining hotel rooms so our kids wouldn't keep us up all night. There was a beautiful fruit and snack basket waiting for us in our room. They arranged for childcare during fancy meals with the other doctors. Took us on tours of the town. Had realtors to show us around neighborhoods. Arranged a meeting with the school superintendent.
Then we got to talk about salary, signing bonus, loan forgiveness, moving expenses, housing payments, stipends, etc. It just feels so wonderful to be getting spoiled like this. There is a light shining at the end of the tunnel and it is beautiful!

We really liked the towns we visited. I could definitely see myself ending up there!

Then we used the rest of the vacation to go to Niagra Falls. Wow. I am at a loss for words to describe how truly incredible it was there. I tried to convince Brad we needed to move there. haha! It was absolutely stunning! We wanted to do everything we could while we were there.

The first thing we did was go on the Maid of the Mist. Aaaaaaaaaamazing. I couldn't wipe the silly grin off my face. It was complete bliss for me. I love waterfalls, and being right under there was unbelievable. The Observation Tower was great too!

The next thing we did was go to the Aquarium. There was also a seal show and a magic show there. We went to the Discovery Center for some hands-on fun, rode around on the Trolley. Walked over to Luna Island. That was a little freaky actually. You are right over the rushing river and it didn't seem like there was much of a guardrail. It was a little intimidating to realize how close you are to water that is about to plunge 180 ft. And I loved every second of it! I couldn't help but think about white water rafting seeing all of those rapids. :o)

Not content to be merely above the water, we next went down for the Cave of the Winds tour. Absolutely INCREDIBLE. You stand under the Bridal Falls, only a few feet away. The water is extremely powerful and you feel like you are going to blow away! The water just pounds down on you with amazing force. We couldn't get enough of it! Jamo and I kept going back up for more. We even did it without our plastic covers! Well, I only went up to the Hurricane Deck. Jamo actually went under the falls. That's my boy! He was soaked!

Then we ate dinner at the Top of the Falls restaurant. We ate on the outside deck with a gorgeous view and tried to dry off. We went over to Terrapin point for another stunning view. We went to watch the movie playing in the Visitor's Center. The boys bought super cool rocks and Sugar bought a fishing pole.

We waited for night to fall and enjoyed the beauty of the color lights on the falls. I still get speechless thinking about it. Then there were fireworks! I can't think of a more spectacular way to end the day. I'm already plotting a trip back so we can do the Canadian side!

Excitement galore!

2010-08-21T15:41:00.003-04:00

Oh, there is soooo much to blog about! But, I'll start with the news that has made it hard to blog in the first place!

I just got a new job as the Associate Director for the Central Atlantic Region of Signing Time Academy! YAY! I am super excited for all of the wonderful experiences I will have doing this.

To celebrate, I'm having 2 separate giveaways. One is on my Facebook page and the other one is at Allison's giveaway blog. If you've been waiting to get a Series 2 DVD, you might want to enter!

And keep an eye out for these upcoming posts:
Niagra Falls
Sioux Falls
And cute stuff with the kiddos

My turn!

2010-08-02T17:16:00.002-04:00

Sorry to post so much, I just want to remember the funny stuff. :o)

Today I had my kids go outside and clean up the dog poop to earn Handipoints. We have them earn Handipoints to do pretty much everything fun (Wii, Nintendo DS, TV, eat out, computer). It is great because it keeps them from having unlimited access to goofing off. LOL! They were bored and needed some Handipoints so I had them clean poop from the dogs we were watching.

Sugar even wanted to get in on the action. I suspected it was just because she wanted to wear the gloves, but when we were out there, she started to yell, "It's my turn to pick up poop!" I started to laugh and she said, "It's not funny! I want to pick up poop too!"

Three-year-olds are awesome! What other age group complains about not cleaning up poop!?

Ruby slippers

2010-08-01T17:19:00.003-04:00

SugarPea is growing fast. I bought her some new shoes yesterday since her old ones were too small. She picked out some red, sparkly ones. When she wore them to church today, her teacher said, "Those are beautiful ruby shoes you have!" Sugar said, "They aren't booby shoes! They are red!" The whole way home Brad was trying to explain that a ruby is a red stone.

"Ruby, Sugar. Ru-ru-ru-ruby."
"Wooby. Wu-wu-wu-booby."

Oh so funny!

Sugar has been asking me to help her form signs lately. In ASL, the number 3 is done with your thumb, index, and middle fingers and the number 6 is done with your thumb and pinky touching. We've been working on her 3 lately, since she is 3 and is frequently asked how old she is. Today at church, she was signing water. Water is signed with the same handshape as the number 6 (forming a W) bouncing on your chin. But she was signing it with a number 3 on her chin. Such a cute little girl!!!

That is just sad

2010-07-27T20:46:00.000-04:00

Our family was asked to sing in church with some other families. Our family is not the most musically gifted family around, so it took some convincing (read: bribery) to persuade the kids (and me) to sing in front of an audience.

We had a couple of practices before and after church, plus time practicing at home. I asked the kids what they wanted as a reward for doing such a great job. They wanted to go to McDonald's and get desserts there too. And they didn't want to pay for the toys in the Happy Meals. We use the Handipoints system (linked on the side). If they want their toy in their Happy Meal, it costs them 25 Handipoints.

Sadly enough, on the way home, they couldn't stop talking about how this is their first time to get dessert at McDonald's, like it was the greatest.thing.ever. Sundaes off the Dollar Menu are the highlights of my kids' day. And for the record, I don't think it is the first time they've had dessert at McDonald's, but it has been quite awhile...

The wrath of Melisa

2010-07-26T13:57:00.004-04:00

I *try* to not complain about this house as much as I want to. Honestly, if you knew how frequently I encounter something about this house that makes me mentally scream, you'd be surprised. Unless you've seen my house. Then you wouldn't be shocked.

Anyhoo... I've earned a venting post and this is it. Read at your own risk. It will get ugly. :o)

Yesterday we were blessed with a nice big storm. It took the temperature from 99 degrees to 76. It was lovely. We had been at church, driving home in the pounding rain. We pull into the driveway and before we can even open the doors to get out, a huge (and by huge I mean longer than 6 feet) branch lands on top of poor Odie. If only we'd been a few minutes later, Odie wouldn't have (yet another) huge dent on the roof thanks to the neighbor's tree. Maybe the tree is doing it on purpose because I called the police when this car was parked in front of my house for over an hour. How was I to know he was visiting my neighbor???
After most of the rain stopped, I went to visit my friend Bea and pick up a book. I wanted nothing more than to just sit and chat in her house for hours on end and play with her adorable baby, but alas, Brad had to be somewhere in an hour and I had more errands to run. So, off I dashed with my gas light on, when I come to a firetruck and police tape blocking an entire block. Ever find out what it was, Bea?? Thanks to GPS, I was able to find a way out of the neighborhood and into the city.

Did you know that in the city of Philadelphia, when stoplights go out, you don't treat them as a stop sign? Really! You just keep driving as if you are the one with a green light. And be sure to honk at anyone who does treat it like a stop sign. I'm pretty sure honking at people is a law too. Drive in Philly, take your life in your hands...

I did manage to make it home on fumes, and thankfully there is a gas station across the street from me, so I can fill Odie up before we go anywhere.

Without ever intentionally doing so, we've started a dog-sitting business. We've had Dax twice, Jasper once, and now have a sweet and adorable little puppy named Brynleigh (welsh puppy=welsh name). She still isn't sleeping through the night. We were asked to bring her crate into our room for her to sleep at night, but it wouldn't fit in our room. And even if it did fit, I'm pretty sure dogs don't enjoy sleeping in rooms that are 85-90 degrees all.night.long. So, that means leaving her downstairs and me running up and down the stairs all night. I've taken her out no less than 8 times since 3 a.m., and yet she still has peed twice and pooped once in the house today. I really believe puppies are cute as a survival mechanism. How else can you explain her surviving after chewing my only pair of strappy shoes?

Here is where it gets graphic. Feel free to stop reading now if you haven't already. :o)

I ran up the stairs to discover that the only toilet in the house was being sat upon. I asked if he was almost done. He said, and I quote, "Yes, but be careful flushing because it was almost overflowing this morning." Ummm, why wasn't I informed of that this morning instead of after you've already done your business in there???

After 20 minutes, I gave up trying to plunge it myself. I called 5 plumbers and none would answer there phone. Is today a plumber holiday I don't know about? Keep in mind again, this was our only toilet. I'll spare you the goriest details, but I will say that most of the room, myself included, was covered in poo water before I finally got it to work. For the briefest of moments I considered taking a picture of the horror of it all. But then I realized that there will NEVER be a moment in my life that this will be amusing and worth reliving via picture.

The clean up stage took longer than fixing the toilet. As we ALL know, most disasters in the home occur during meal time. It isn't a disaster until you are covered in poo water with kids crying about how they are starving! I had the puppy outside on a chain during all of this. And boy, was that puppy mad. But really, I can only handle so much at once, and a puppy chewing on things, and kids, was not an ingredient I wanted to add to this mix. My bleeding heart daughter couldn't stand to hear the puppy's whines, so she decided to go and let the puppy off the chain. Which would be fine since our yard is fenced, expect that the puppy is small enough to fit through the closed gate. And who doesn't need a puppy running around loose while you are covered in poo water?

And now, it is nap time. The toilet is working, the bathroom is cleaned, I have showered, the kids have been fed, and I have vented. Brad is working late tonight and I'm supposed to take dinner to someone. I think pizza is a perfectly logical choice at this point. :o)

River rat

2010-07-24T19:38:00.002-04:00

My grandparents owned a rafting company when I was growing up. It was great during family reunions because we had all of the equipment for rafting and half of my family has been a river guide at some point.

I love the excitement and adventure of the white water. Dodging boulders and avoiding whirlpools can be quite the rush. Then I heard about Dragon Boat racing. White water rafting it is not. It is, however, still a blast. And such a workout! I really had no clue it would be so exhausting! Of course, we did practice our starts numerous times and do a couple practice races all in the space of an hour, so that could be part of it! LOL!

I still miss rafting, but it feels great to be back in the water with a paddle!

How to...

2010-07-19T13:07:00.002-04:00

As moms know, sometimes you feel like a short-order cook. Everyone wants something different. Here is how I make 3 kinds of sandwiches with only 1 knife getting dirty.

Butter the bread for grilled cheese and wipe the knife on the bread as best you can.

Spread the mayo and mustard around on the ham and cheese sandwich and wipe again on bread.

Next comes the jelly because it wipes off easier than PB.

Finish off the PB&J with the peanut butter. Once you've used it in PB, it isn't going to wipe as clean, so you're stuck after that.

And don't forget to flip the grilled cheese or it will burn. :o)

Time flies

2010-07-16T23:32:00.003-04:00

Has it really been this long since I've posted? Oops. :o) Things get a little crazy when kids get out of school. And when I develop an addiction to Burn Notice. hee hee

We are getting ready to enjoy Brad's week of vacation for this 6 month period. We will be in South Dakota for a few days and then spend some time traveling in the East. Yay for vacations!

Brad is now a Post Grad Year 4 (PGY4) resident, and better call hours come with that. It has been super nice. Sometimes I even forget he is on call. It is a little crazy to think we only have 2 years left, assuming he doesn't do a fellowship.

I've signed up to row on the river with a club called Dragon Ladies. I'm pretty excited about it. Our first practice is next Saturday. I've seen boats on the river and I thought it looked like a blast, and now I'm going to be on there! I can hardly contain my excitement!!!!

Dream come true

2010-06-10T16:57:00.004-04:00

There is so much I can do here in Philadelphia. I'm coming up with a list of things to keep the kids from driving me crazy while they are home this summer.

Pool

Park

Berry picking at Linvilla

Please Touch Museum

Longwood Gardens

Beach

How great would it be to have affordable cleaning and do all of that stuff and then come home to a nice, clean house? Cleaning with the kids home is like shoveling during a blizzard. I could take them out, tire them out, have fun, and then come home and not have to worry about cleaning up. Sounds heavenly, huh. And, if you happen to have a house in another state for sale and need a reliable cleaning service before a showing, how great would that be?

What would you do while your house was being cleaned for you? I made a list of 101 things to do before I leave Philly. So much I could do!

Candlelit dinner

2010-06-08T22:59:00.003-04:00

Last week, something broke in the box for the dining room light. Brad was on call and ended up being gone most of the weekend. Last night he was in a laryngectomy and didn't get home until after midnight. Today, we were having company for dinner. And the light was still broken. Thankfully, it stays light longer since it is the summer, but I wish I could have found some candles so we could have all eaten by candle light. Oh, the stories I'm living in this house.

Pictures

2010-06-07T16:01:00.002-04:00

Here are some fun pictures of our basement.

I was going to get a video of the wall crumbling when I touched it, but I got was running late. Maybe if I have to go down there again. I try to avoid it for some reason...

We had two fun visits last week, so we've been keeping busy! I put 2 slide shows over on Cookie with our visitors, Jessi, Randy and Hannah, and my brother Jeremy and his friends. It is nice living in a place that lots of people come to visit!

Bad kitty

2010-05-30T17:17:00.004-04:00

We have a long history of cats trying to adopt us. Now there is another.

We get terrible cell reception in our house, so Brad went outside to talk and the cat tried to break in.

Also, I put up a bunch of pictures over on Cookie, including pictures of the kids while we were dog sitting.

Fun with paint!

2010-05-17T19:38:00.003-04:00

Today at Young-In-Arts, the kids got to paint with their feet. Yes, it was as fun as it sounds! I put a slide show over on Cookie along with a picture of Roo's lost tooth.

Laughing out loud

2010-05-16T18:59:00.002-04:00

As a general rule, I try to avoid laughing out loud in church. But sometimes, it cannot be helped. Take today for instance. I was showing Roo that magic trick of moving half of your thumb, when really it is actually the thumb from the other hand (see video below if you have no idea what I'm talking about). Anyway, Sugar was watching us intently, and then asks, "Mommy, what sign is that?" I couldn't help it. I was laughing before I could stop myself. I guess that happens when your kids know American Sign Language.

You might be a resident if...

2010-05-13T20:36:00.004-04:00

You have 3 pagers and a cell phone so you can be reached at all times.

Check out this funny video for Mommy's Day!

And yet again

2010-05-11T15:57:00.002-04:00

The car owner was working on my neighbor's roof, so I was able to tell him to move his vehicle. Gotta love Philly.

Spaghetti Soup

2010-05-10T20:00:00.000-04:00

This is what Sugar calls Ramen Noodles. Cracks me up every time.

Happy Mother's Day!

2010-05-09T19:05:00.002-04:00

What a wonderful Mother's Day! Yesterday, Brad made me an appointment for a pedicure. I have pretty toes again! The last time I got one was at Gerrick's wedding in August of '08, which is also, incidentally, when the whole change residency thing happened. No wonder it is seared into my memory. :o)

This morning, I got to sleep in until 9:30 and then got presents in bed. Lots of hugs and kisses from adorable kiddos! Jamo made me a bracelet in cub scouts last week and a tissue paper flower in school. They are beautiful! And then when I went downstairs, Brad had made me Cinnamon Bun Pancakes from Pioneer Woman. Oh yes, they are as good as they sound. I love cinnamon!!! He even made the powdered sugar syrup. So delicious.

At church, all 3 of my kids were finally old enough to go up front and sing. They were soooo cute!!! We got such a cool gift in church. It is Spikenard oil. (John 12:1-8, Mark 14:3-9, and Matthew 26:6-13). It smells amazing. Such a creative and thoughtful gift for the women in the church.

Now we are all hanging out and watching Netflix together. Ah bliss. :o)

Phreaking Philly!

2010-05-07T13:13:00.004-04:00

I really do love living here, except for when I don't. Here being Philly, not this nasty house. More often than not, I don't like living here (here being the house, not Philly). Like last night when the water on the floor in the bathroom dripped into my kitchen. Or when I found this little piece of nasty running around my living room. GAG!

But then there are times when I don't like living in Philly either. Like when I can't find a parking place at Sugar's school and have to drive around for 10 minutes even though I'm already late. Or when some inconsiderate person decides that my driveway entry looks like an acceptable parking space.

Since when is this kind of parking job considered okay?! Even a parking job like this makes it hard to get out of my already highly annoying driveway.

And now I need to clean and pray that the person coming to look at the house today wants to buy it. :o)

Pictures

2010-05-05T17:12:00.001-04:00

I forgot to mention, to those so inclined, that there are 5 slides over on Cookie. Let me know if you need an invite to it. I got behind on pictures. :o)

New York!

2010-05-04T15:23:00.002-04:00

Oh, NYC, what a trip! We went to NYC to meet my sister and her hubby. We were supposed to meet them at the Yankee's game, but it took us an hour just to get through the Lincoln Tunnel. Then we checked into the hotel and took a taxi ride to Grand Central Station. Man, taxis in NY are sweet! GPS, video screen, all in the back. We should have taken it all the way to the game because we accidentally bought the train tickets instead of subway tickets and had to wait in line to do a refund. We finally did make it to the game, just in time to watch Pettitte pitch for an inning. The game was a blast. Roo especially was in love with the whole scene. Sugar just wanted to eat popcorn and sit with Grandma (Aubrey). Sugar made it onto the Jumbotron, but I didn't get it on camera. My baby girl was on the big screen at Yankee's stadium! And there was a drunk headbanger, who was on the Jumbotron for ages. Afterwards, he saw Aubrey carrying Sugar and went on and on about how gorgeous she is. He probably thought Sugar was Aubrey's seeing as they are both blue-eyed blondes. LOL!

The next day we met the Meyers' at Junior's for a super yummy breakfast. Scott Meyers was the doctor that Brad worked with during his MBA year many moons ago. Thankfully, we've kept in touch via Facebook and when we saw we were going to NY, he said they would be there too! We had a wonderful breakfast before taking the Staten Island Ferry to see the Statue of Liberty. The excitement came when the boat we were on crashed into the bumpers when returning to the dock. It made such a ghastly sound and we were right there because we were on the lower deck. Ugh.

Other excitement included going to Nintendo World and M&M World. Then we went to Dylan's Candy Store. We might have made different choices had we not had 3 small children with us. :o) We actually saw a BUS, yes, a BUS, parallel park between two cars. Sure made me feel like an idiot since I still can't parallel park our minivan. Oh, and we got to eat at Carnegie Deli. Yum.

And, in case you were curious, we were only a couple blocks from Times Square about the time the whole bomb incident happened, but we didn't know about it until we got home. Glad to have missed that one!

Ew!

2010-04-25T17:48:00.002-04:00

I have a few stories to share. :o)

Andy Reid, the Eagles head coach, attends church with us here in Philly. Roo is quite star-struck by him. Roo saw him a couple of weeks ago and asked if he could talk to him. I said, "Sure!" Well, Roo goes over, stands in front of him, and all of a sudden can't talk. This kid has been "talking" one way or another since birth. He is one of the most verbose kids I've met. But, put him in front of Andy Reid, and all of a sudden, he can't form a sentence. It was so amusing! Well, Roo saw him again at church today and again asked if he could talk to him. Again, Andy shook his hand and Roo just kinda stood there with his mouth gaping open. And now Roo insists that he won't wash his hand again (or his hair since Andy ruffled his hair). So funny!

Andy's wife, Tammy, is a lady who thinks girls should look like girls and have bows and stuff in their hair. Which is great, but since her birth, I've never been able to keep a bow in Sugar's hair. At first because she had no hair, and later because she just didn't want one. Well, we had an activity at their house, and Tammy taught us how to make bows. I made 2. And to my utter shock, Sugar loves them and actually asks to wear them! I need to take a picture of them in her hair.

And here is my Jamo story. Brad is on call this weekend and has been gone all day. He got home and I gave him a kiss, it was a long one, but a tame one. :o) And Jamo, at 8, started to go, "EWWWW!" So, is 8 when it gets gross to see your parents kiss? LOL!

Blue-eyed beauty

2010-04-19T13:42:00.003-04:00

I found out today what a pair of beautiful blue eyes can do. I took my paperwork to the Parks and Rec department today so we could get cards to attend the pool this summer. There is a long list of things you can bring to prove residency, none of which I had. I had a lease with Brad's name, but I was in MI so my name wasn't on it. I had report cards with the boys' names. And a birth certificate worked for Sugar. So, I brought in my marriage license, thinking surely they would see that with Brad's name on the lease and my name on the marriage license (AND THE CHECK!!!) that it would suffice. Nope. I had to have something with my name and the Philly address. Grrr. Finally, I got him to agree to let me fax in a electric bill with my name on it. I wanted to whine about how ridiculous that was, or ask for a supervisor, but instead, I bit my tongue, which has been used far too much to argue lately (not with anyone in particular, I've just felt feisty lately). While I was waiting for him to fill out the cards, Sugar started charming the socks off the guy's co-worker with her signing and general adorableness. Before you know it, he's got some dog puppets and toys and has Sugar cooing. And don't you know, I leave with cards for everyone, including me. Thanks, my little Sugar Bean!

Dinner guests

2010-03-21T21:55:00.002-04:00

Today, we had some friends over for dinner. And in true Mons fashion, is was not without some excitement.

Brad is amazing and went shopping last night. Olive Garden's Chicken Gnocchi Veronese was on the menu and ingredients were needed. I had to laugh this afternoon as I was getting out the bell pepper and zucchini and instead found a cucumber. That's okay though. We just added green bell pepper and put cucumber in the salad. :o)

Jamo and Roo don't always get along great, but they do NOT frequently have fist fights. Of course, today with company over would be the day that they do. Sigh.

Then, as is typical in this house, the toilet flooded when the boys used a too much TP to flush a bug. In their eagerness to get it down, they kept flushing it even as the water rose. Thankfully we were no longer seated at the table as the water from the toilet rained down into the dining room.

Are we great hosts or what? Wait, don't answer that.

Happy St Patrick's Day!

2010-03-17T19:44:00.002-04:00

This was our green dinner. Green spaghetti, green alfredo, green chicken, asparagus, salad, bread with green butter, and limonade. And green cream puffs for dessert. Such a fun tradition! This was our first year trying green spaghetti and chicken. :o)

Cookie has Jamo's baptism and 8 yr slideshows, plus St Patrick's pictures and some of our company.

Lots going on!

2010-03-13T14:56:00.002-05:00

Wow. The last few days have been quite a whirlwind.

First off, Travis and Resa got an adorable new baby. He is such a doll! I'll put the pictures up on Cookie if you want to see them.

Second, we've had some kind of bug going around here. Sugar was sick on Tues. Jamo got sick on Thursday, and this morning Roo, my mom, and Brad's dad were all puking. Not a good time to only have 1 bathroom when there are 8 people in the house!

Third, I got named to the Signing Time Academy Dream Team! Check out my Signing with a Smile if you want more info.

And most important, Jamo was baptized this morning. We are so proud of him! He is a remarkable boy and we are blessed to be his parents. My friend Sonja took pictures that I will be putting on Cookie soon.

Jamo's birthday

2010-03-04T12:07:00.003-05:00

We just did a little celebration for Jamo's birthday. Brad always works late on Mondays, so we just did presents, cake and ice cream. Probably the big party will be later on when we celebrate his baptism next week.

I have made a new tradition for birthday cakes. The kids get to do their own. I don't like decorating and they do. Plus, I don't have to feel bad if they don't turn out nice. Win win! So, here is Jamo's cake this year:

He loved decorating his own cake! I loved not feeling the pressure!

The slide of his birthday and his super handsome 8 yr pictures are over on Cookie. There is a sneak peek on Danica's amazing site.

8 is great!

2010-03-01T12:22:00.002-05:00

I can't believe my little baby boy is 8 today! Wow! That sure went fast, didn't it!

I had his birthday pictures taken at Danica's and I can't wait to see how they turned out!!!

Wherefore art thou, Spring?

2010-02-26T13:44:00.002-05:00

More snow has slammed Philly. Yet another early release from school, and canceled the next day. We played Wii and had a blast. Brad is back from CA, without a tan. LOL! We missed him bunches and love having him home!

Long weekend

2010-02-21T20:49:00.003-05:00

Well, it has been busy! Yesterday, we got Brad packed, dropped Brad's still dying car off at the mechanic, got Roo to a birthday party, took Brad to the airport, found out that Jamo invited a friend over, had his friend come over, parallel parked the minivan, picked up Roo and stayed sane. Ah yeah.

Today was getting the kids ready and getting to church EARLY. Okay, it was only 10 minutes early, but I was impressed. LOL! I also made beef stew from scratch and some rolls. And Sugar decided to crack an egg into my flour container. Phew. I still have to clean the house and get ready for a playgroup and showing tomorrow. It could be a long night....

Yes, they picked out their own clothes. Even the socks.

Can I just go back to bed?

2010-02-16T09:24:00.002-05:00

Oy. What a day. And it is only 9:24.

After a week of no school and lax sleeping schedules, getting the kids up this morning was a challenge. Then Jamo's school didn't have volunteers to help with Game Club, so I offered to go, with my 2 other kids of course. We got everyone ready an hour earlier and I packed some DVDs and the DVD player for Sugar. Thankfully, Brad got the snow off the windshield, but it was a mess outside. Of all the days to NOT have a snow delay! Sheesh! It took me 3 tries to get all the way up the hill on our street. I finally got to the school, and there is no parking. Anywhere. Like most Philly establishments, there is no parking lot, so you park on the street. Only the streets are lined with huge piles of snow. You end up parking practically in the middle of the street. I drove around awhile, but finding nothing but snow and more snow, I just decided to become a true Philadelphian and park halfway into the street.

I finally got the 3 kids into the library, and the guy in charge looked none to pleased I had extra kids. Can't say I blame him. Sugar, in her sleep deprived state, was especially whiney and clingy. I managed to bring the wrong cord for the DVD player, so that wasn't an option. Instead she whined and complained that she couldn't play Mastermind like the other kids. Finally, the guy in charge said, "You can go ahead and go, there aren't very many kids." Hint hint. But Roo was in the middle of a game with Jamo, so I decided to distract Sugar with Othello. The poor guy saw us playing and said, "I don't know if that is a good idea." I told him I was playing it with her, not leaving her alone. To his credit, he kind of shuddered and then walked away. Smart man.

We left to go home because I watch a 2 yr old and 6 mo old on Tuesdays. But I couldn't get back up the driveway. There are huge ruts you can't really shovel that get icy. It took me 4 tries, but I got up the driveway enough to park. I couldn't park in the street because the snow piles in the street are so big, if you were to park on the side of them, you'd block the entire street, not just half of it.

We have one of those lovely dishwashers on wheels. You have to hook it up to your sink, and plug it in to get it to work. Yeah, it's a party. Brad, being Mr. Amazing, started the dishwasher this morning. But, being the tired resident he is, he didn't turn on the water. LOL!

So, I will be spending the day with 4 kids and thinking my child bearing days are over. Can I just go back to bed?

Happy Valentine's Day!

2010-02-15T18:27:00.002-05:00

I hope everyone had a wonderful Valentine's Day!

My kiddos got Zsu Zsu pets from their Grandma Jessie and they are in love. Seriously, I have gerbils going every place we go! Sugar loves her's a bit too much and we've had to cut it out of her hair twice. She just can't stop snuggling it. That's okay though. It just goes with the haircut she is already sporting from finding daddy's haircutting scissors.

The kids haven't had school since last Tues. Yes, I'm still mostly sane. Why? Brad had this past week off of work. Yay for vacations!!!! It has been amazing having him home! The kids had a 2 hr delay on Monday, school on Tuesday, then it got canceled on Wednesday and Thursday. Friday and today were already scheduled to be off. It is snowing right now. Please let the kids go back to school!!!!!

Slide show of, yes, more snow over on Cookie!

sNOw way!

2010-02-07T13:29:00.002-05:00

Apparently we brought MI snow with us when we moved here. Sheesh. Maybe we should have brought a snow blower!

I have pictures of the snow over on Cookie. Oh, and it is a good thing I put up pictures of Sugar's hair because she decided to cut it this morning. Argh. I was really hoping to avoid that little life experience. So, go to Cookie to see Sugar looking guilty. LOL!

Hair today, gone tomorrow

2010-02-05T23:03:00.004-05:00

It was a year ago this month that my mom was diagnosed with lymphoma. Because I'm so grateful for her recovery, I decided to cut my hair and donate it.

Also, Cookie has funny pictures of SugarPea.

My old plant

2010-02-01T12:21:00.002-05:00

Well, my cousin Jenn is the winner. I've had this Monstera plant since college, specifically Aug of 1998 when my Aunt VaLynn moved and gave it to me. So, I've moved this plant from UT to CO, to NM, to OK, to MI and now to Philly. He didn't make the trip to France though. Brad's dad watched him. :o)

The website is done! YAHOO!

2010-01-26T13:46:00.004-05:00

I'm so excited to announce that my website is all done! I finally accepted that it wasn't going to happen if I was making it, so I turned it over to my friend Jared at NetProCity. I couldn't be happier with the way it turned out!

To celebrate, I'm giving away some Signing with a Smile products. 2 people will get to pick a gift from the Promotion album on Facebook. All you have to do is go and check out my amazing new website and then come back and leave a comment on the promotion post on Signing with a Smile's Facebook page giving me some feedback (good or bad) about it. I'll randomly draw 2 winners on February 1st. Good luck, and thank you so much for supporting me in this journey!

Friendly reminder

2010-01-25T12:05:00.002-05:00

Just a reminder to please not leave surgical body markers around 3 yr olds. Thank you.

Let's play a game!

2010-01-24T16:44:00.004-05:00

How long have I had this plant?

The only hints I will give you are to not let its looks deceive you. It has been clipped and shared many times over. It has died and been brought back to life.

What is the prize? Well, how about a Signing with a Smile calendar magnet? It's better than nothing, right? :o)

*UPDATE* Yes, the holes are naturally occurring in the plant and not the product of a my children playing with them. LOL!

*UPDATE UPDATE* I promise I'm not making this up! This plant is actually called a Monstera! HOW COOL IS THAT?!!? Check out this link to learn more!

Video to share

2010-01-12T09:35:00.003-05:00

My family is so grateful for the outpouring of love and support we received after Tylerr's car accident in November. It was ruled an accident that couldn't be avoided and he will not be charged. Here is a video about the good that came out of the tragedy.

http://www.krqe.com/dpp/news/health/nm-boy's-death-saves-three-lives

Pictures a plenty

2010-01-06T15:18:00.002-05:00

Hopefully, I will get to the stories behind all of the pictures, but until then there are 5 or 6 slide shows over on Cookie. The first slide has my handsome little Jamo with his new glasses.

Dinner's ready!

2009-12-30T20:03:00.001-05:00

I was saving this post for the next time I burn dinner, but in the off chance that this will (hopefully) be a long time in the future, I wanted to share my gift from my fabulous SIL, Brooke.

She picks out awesome gifts. She really does. I wish I had her gift-sense. Plus, it shows that she reads my blog! LOL! Thanks, Brookie!!!

Weird kids

2009-12-28T19:49:00.003-05:00

I have a billion things to post. I'm in such a slacker-blog mode. Sigh. But it isn't going to happen tonight because I have the final episodes of Monk in my hot little hands.

However, because the grandparents wanted pictures of my kids so badly they were willing to give us cameras, I can't deny them this gem from dinner tonight.

Yes, my kids are weird enough that they will eat heads of lettuce. I KNOW this comes from their Grumpus. Seriously. If you know my dad, you know this is true. Love you, daddy!

Snow? In Philly?

2009-12-19T19:53:00.005-05:00

I wish people would stop telling me that it doesn't snow much when I move to a new place. I moved to MI and they told me that it snows a few time, but nothing to worry about. And the 2 winters I was there, it snowed. A lot. Everyone said it was a fluke. Uh huh.

Then I move to Philly. And people told me that it doesn't snow much. And now I'm snowed into my house and Brad's flight from OK is cancelled. Doesn't snow much. Uh huh.

At least I was able to throw the kids out there today to burn some energy. I'm so grateful to have a working camera. This was our old one when Brad was trying to fix it.The slide of the kids in the snow is on Cookie if you want to check it out.

And in other fun news, our landlord is trying to sell this house, so we've had quite a few people coming to look at it. Ugh. I hope it sells quickly because this is kind of a pain.

10 glorious years!

2009-12-17T09:55:00.003-05:00

I was in a bit of a rush this morning (see story below), but when I finally got on my laptop, this is what I found. Awwww. I sure love him! Today we are celebrating 10 years! I am blessed to still be so crazy in love with him.

Story

I woke up this morning and looked at my alarm clock. It said 10:53. What in the world! I ran downstairs to find Jamo casually finishing his spelling.

"What are you doing?!" I asked. He looked at me quizically while I ran into the kitchen and saw the time on the oven was 8:53. Huh? I ran back upstairs and my clock still said 10:53. This is weird because it is one of those atomic clocks that gets a signal of the time via satellite or something. It is supposed to never be wrong, even if the power goes out or it is Day Lights Savings. Weird. I'm going to have to look into that.

Adopt a grandparent

2009-12-14T16:41:00.003-05:00

It is hard to be so far away from our families. Thankfully, we have had lots of visits, though we could always use more! (hint hint!)

Sugar has always been an outgoing little girl, but she really gravitates towards older people. I didn't think she would freak out with Santa, and I was right, and I was grateful she didn't call him grandpa either. She adopted a man from our church as her grandpa. We've given him rides to church, and Sugar has decided to make herself comfy sitting with "grandpa" during the services. He is such a good sport about it. Good thing, because keeping her away from him causes lots of screaming. We are grateful to have stand-ins while we are here, but we are also really looking foward to living closer to family!

Horrible

2009-12-09T00:24:00.002-05:00

So, I was making Desiree's delicious white chili last night. Brad wasn't home so I turned it off to wait for him. He called to say he was coming home so I turned it back on. And then I got distracted cleaning. And burnt the chili. I need a sign that says, "Dinner will be ready when you hear the smoke alarm go off."

Brad still wasn't home and the natives were restless, so we started dinner. When Brad came home, he asked how it was.

Roo said, "Daddy it is h-o-r-l-b-e." aka horrible. LOL!

Then later when we told him he had to finish dinner to get dessert, he said, "But I need my health!"

He cracks me up.

And if you want to see some ADORABLE pictures from Sugar's 3rd birthday session with Danica, go check out the links on Cookie!

DC

2009-12-08T10:32:00.003-05:00

What a crazy busy month November was! And we wouldn't have it any other way! It was wonderful!

My birthday was great because we had a live-in babysitter, aka a med student living with us for the month. We actually knew him back in OK, so it was fun to have a friend in town. Todd watched the kids so Brad and I could go out to Thai. I love Thai.

Brad's mom Jessie came to Philly with her hubby Lee. It was so wonderful to see them again since we hadn't had a chance to get back since we started residency back in 2007. We got to see sites in Philly we hadn't even seen yet! And then we went to DC for a day. We spent most of our time there in Arlington National Cemetery, which was such an amazing experience. Truly humbling. We also got to see the National Monument for Fallen Law Enforcement Officers. Jessie's grandpa has his name engraved there. And we got to ride around on a big ol' tour bus, which was great since we didn't have to worry about getting lost!

Well, there is a ton more to update on, but I wanted to get started somewhere. I just got way too behind. There are a ton of pictures over on Cookie from our time with Jessie and Lee and our trip to DC.

Black Friday Sale

2009-11-27T12:16:00.001-05:00

Today only! Shop in my store! www.signingtimeacademy.com/melisamons

Friday, November 27 - 50% off orders over $25

* All single DVDs, CDs, Books and Flash Cards are 50% off on orders over $25
* No Coupon Necessary
* Excludes ALL GIFT SETS AND COLLECTIONS
* Not Valid with any other offer
* Good one day only
* Not available to wholesale and distributors

Big sale!

2009-11-23T21:22:00.001-05:00

Head over to Signing with a Smile to get a huge discount on Black Friday and the rest of the weekend!

My brother Tylerr

2009-11-20T15:33:00.004-05:00

My brother was recently in an accident where a boy was fatally injured. He and Becca are both devastated and could really use some encouraging words. I would really appreciate any emails, phone calls or cards that could be sent his way. I'm putting his address on Cookie if you would like to write him, or you can contact me and I'll email it to you.

Logan's family also needs prayers and support. If you would like to donate money for his memorial fund, it is at Los Alamos National Bank with the name Logan Collins Memorial Fund.

Thank you so much for the support.

DC

2009-11-18T21:41:00.006-05:00

Oh my. So much to blog about! I think I took 300 pictures last weekend with Jessie and Lee here. But, I can't do it right now, so instead, I want to put this up:

Let's write a letter of support to our troops! www.letssaythanks.com

I just visited Arlington National Cemetery and left with a deep appreciation and gratitude for our troops. We already pray for our soldiers every day, but it becomes so much more real after that kind of experience. Let's do what we can to show them that we appreciate the sacrifices they and their families are making.

Up and running

2009-11-13T16:01:00.003-05:00

Okay, while I make some tweaks and changes, I thought I'd put up my first draft of my website so you can get an idea of what I'll be doing. :o)

http://www.signingwithasmile.com

So close!

2009-11-10T01:04:00.004-05:00

I am almost ready to share my new website for my Signing Time Academy business. I am soooo very excited! But, while I finish a few more details on it, please enjoy this picture. :o) I hope it will get bigger for ya if you click it!

If that doesn't work, go here.

Calling Philly Phriends

2009-11-06T12:59:00.004-05:00

I had a wonderful birthday yesterday. I feel very blessed to have such amazing people in my life.

I am going to have a 'practice' class for my friends for my first Signing Time class. I have curriculum for both a baby signing (1-3 yr olds) and for Signing Time (3-8 yr olds). Since it will be my first class, I don't want to have so many people that I get overwhelmed. Please leave a comment or email if you would be interested in a class and for which age group. Feel free to tell your other friends about it too. Thanks for the support!

If I'm another year older, shouldn't I be wiser too?

2009-11-05T10:13:00.002-05:00

Okay, I'm going with Signing with a Smile. But now, how to emphasize the 'a smile' part so people know that I don't just mean with a smile?

1. Signing with a Smile

2. Signing with a Smile

3. Signing with A SMILE

4. Signing with A SMILE

5. Signing with A SMILE

6. Signing with a Smile

Too many options. I may just go crazy. Any thoughts?

A good sign you are distracted

2009-11-03T14:55:00.002-05:00

I'm distracted because I'm trying to come up with a name for my new business teaching sign language to children and adults. I was thinking something along the lines of Signing with 'A Smile' since 'a smile' is an anagram for Melisa. So, go vote in my poll and help me decide so I can stop making jelly and ham sandwiches for Jamo.