sending wishes for happy travels to my brother and my sister-in-law......

see you soon





70's



March 9, 1996



2003, pregnant with Little One

Little Einsteins

Little One just came in the room & said "preshendo!" with great gusto. After a sec, I realized she was saying "crescendo" . Oh, how I love the Little Einsteins on the Disney Channel! Both girls have been learning crescendo, decrescendo, staccato, the differences in the sounds of the instruments (Dancer Girl already knew most of them). Each show has a piece of theme music, and some theme art that is used for the the little cartoon children to complete their mission.

I suppose I am particularly happy about all of this because I am a musician (or at least I have a Bachelor of Fine Arts, with emphasis on oboe--I guess that qualifies me, though I graduated from college in '95). Well, I have recently heard them singing themes from Grieg, Tchaikovsky, Beethoven, and Bizet.

What a wonderful head start they are getting. Dancer Girl can sing an arpeggio, and can tell you if she is hearing Mozart or part of Tchaikovsky's Nutcracker Suite.

I guess I am just a little proud....

Family Day

Still here

Husband took off part of today to have some family time with us. We rented a Mulan II and some My Little Pony Paradise movie from the video store, got some take-out, and spent some time at home.

We were going to eat lunch at the park but it was a little too breezy and chilly for the little ones.

My daffodils are still blooming, though I have to say they never turned pink. The middle started orange and kind of morphed into a peachy color, but maybe they are not finished changing colors. I have a few little purple hyacinths still blooming, too, and the redbud is almost ready to bloom.

Tomorrow will be back to the grind, but it was nice having a family day today.

The party was a hit!

Hurray! Little One's birthday party was wonderful! It has been so great to have so many friends and family visit. The children had a wonderful time. They loved making bean bags and icing their own cupcakes. They loved the bubble machine and the balloons. In a little while, everyone will get up, and the family will meet for breakfast before they head on the road home.

On Friday night the girls and I got to go swimming in the hotel pool. My Dancer Girl has been looking forward to doing that for almost a year. She is so grown up. Both girls had on their life jackets, but Dancer Girl just jumped in and started swimming. Last year in the pool she was timid, but I was so proud to see her just swim around on her own. It will be a fun summer now that Motherkitty and Tomas (my mom and dad) and Long Hair Daddy's parents both have a pool.

The next big events are Motherkitty's birthday and upcoming knee replacement surgery and a possible visit from my brother from California. She and I are both very nervous about it, but are optimistic that it will go well. Hopefully my brother and his wife will be able to come in. I miss him so much, and I don't want the girls to grow up without knowing him. Dancer Girl remembers him, but Little One only saw him when she was less than a year old, so she may have to meet him "for the first time."

Her favorite gift was this ball.

Your prayers for everyone's safe travels and safe surgeries would be appreciated. I would like to be with mom for her surgery, but am unsure if I will be able to arrange childcare for a couple of days. I am sure it will all work out, though. Thank you to everyone who helped with the party and who came to visit, you know who you are :)

I love you all, and you have made me very happy!

Big Plans

Well, my parents Motherkitty and Tomas will be coming down this morning after Dancer Girl's dentist appointment, and then some of Tomas' family will be here later today. I pray that everyone travels safely. We are all so excited! I still have to wrap Little One's presents, make the goody bags, and get the food for the party ready today, but Motherkitty will be here today to help. We will have lots of fun. I decided to make PB&J sandwiches (and maybe another kind), make cupcakes the children can ice themselves with cool whip, Goldfish crackers, some chips and some fruit, thanks to Long Hair Daddy's mommy. She and her husband came up yesterday to celebrate Little One's and Daddy's brother's birthdays. We had a lot of fun. I guess the party is just beginning! While all the family is in town, we will be meeting at the hotel for some pool parties, too!

I haven't got all the details of the party together, but it will mostly be 2 yr olds, so I have a feeling that most of the plans will just fly out the window. I am not worried though, because I am sure it will be memorable. I will be bringing Dancer Girl's tunnel that my brother got her so the children can crawl through when they arrive to get to the first craft table. They will be making bean bags. I will have an area for bean bag activities, and hopefully this will keep everyone busy til all the guests arrive. Then they will have snacks, then bubbles/balloons/songs. After that, we will do the cupcakes, then presents. By that time I am sure it will be time to go. On their way out, the children will fish for their goody bags (hopefully.... I have to make one or two clothespin fishing poles today). That just gave me an idea....I think I will get the girls to help me make them today, and then they can help the children "catch their bags" at the end....this sounds like a good project for Grandpa, he is very artsy & crafty. What do you think, Dad, I supply the materials, you help the girls make fishing poles??? I guess we'll see how the day goes.

This is going to be great! I am sooo, excited and it is not even my birthday.

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now if you can understand that, hurray for you...

Raindrops

my new daffodils were blooming this morning, so i went out after it rained to take a few pictures, which i will post later...

my redbud is about to bloom, hostas are coming up, tiny purple hyacinths are blooming

the daffodils i got are white and orange right now but will become white and pink, which is the reason i picked them

----------------------------------------
busy day, lots to do, hope your flowers are blooming too

Countdown to 2

Little One's birthday is on Tuesday, and it seems like the celebrating has already begun. She is sooo excited. Lots of friends and family will be visiting next weekend to party with us.

I love my little sweetie. She loves to sing. As you can see, she also loves to brush & comb dolls & ponies with long hair.

For her birthday I signed her up for a Mom 'n Tot gymnastics class. She loves that too. Long Hair Daddy surprised us today & took us all to see Curious George--how cute! This was Little One's first movie theatre experience, and she did great!

Happy Anniversary

We made it ten years!

Hurray for us!

1John 4:7 Beloved, let us love one another: for love is of God; and every one that loveth is born of God, and knoweth God.



Thanks goes to Mrs. Gardener for her wedding gift to us, this precious album filled with her photographs of our wedding. Thanks to all our wonderful family for their love and support. Thanks be to our God who has helped us make it this far.

Happy Sunday

Duchess sleeping on baby afghan I made for Little One, who will soon be 2.


Close-Up of reverse side of baby's afghan that I crocheted for her. Front has little bubbles on it

Hubby's Doctor Visit

My husband gave me permission to share this info he sent me in an e-mail today to tell me what the doctor said. He has been sick all week, bad sore throat, etc. Apparently he was pretty bad or he would not have gone to the doctor. So, since he doesn't have his own blog, and I thought it was funny, here it is:


Temp.: 102.3

Blood Press.: "Slightly elevated"

Heart Rate: 128 ("Very high"), causing him to check my oxygen levels,
which were OK at 96.

Chest X-Ray: "Mostly clear" (now he's a weatherman)

WBC Count: "Elevated"

Other: "I'm concerned that these symptoms keep returning and persist
so long." Join the club.
"signs of dehydration," "signs of sinus infection," "breathing
*very* raspy," (gasp)
"obvious signs of throat irritation" (duh. Remember, he went
to school for this.)

Contagious: Yes, for at least 48 hrs.

Instructions: Get the fever down in order to reduce body aches/dehydration
and increase appetite.
Use inhaler, eat, drink, rest, Levaquin (levofloxacin) 750 Mg
for 10 days.
"Very potent antibiotic." Right. He said that the last two
times he gave me meds, too.
"If you're not better by Monday, come back." (sigh)

Prognosis: "Sounds like you may lose your voice for a couple of days,
but hopefully you'll get better." (rolls eyes)


It's not often I meet a doctor I don't want to punch in the mouth.
Relatively speaking, I really like this guy. I just hate having to pay him
to tell me the bleeding obvious.

He did give me $100 of free antibiotics, which partially atones for the $473
he cost us in December.

So I hope you feel better Sweetie. We gotta make to next week and our Ten Year Wedding Anniversary. I got you a bottle of NyQuil.....just teasing.

By the Shores of Silver Lake

That's right, folks, I am reading a Little House book. Actually, it is book number 5 in the series, and it is my current escape from reality. Motherkitty wants to borrow these books she got me for Christmas when I am done with them. At this rate, it won't be long....only 4 after this one. I only read when the baby is nursing to sleep and at night-time. Yeah, right. And if you believed that, I have a marshy patch of ground to sell you way down south. In my life I find I read in binges. Don't get me wrong. I am always reading something. But there are times when I start and won't stop until all the books are read...Apparently, some part of me finds this necessary at this time of sicky-poo kids, overtime working hubby, and general why can't I find any clean socks and underwear stress.

I think my little white Duchess cat is pregnant. I am not for sure, but I just couldn't take her to her special date with Vet when I found out they would spay anyway, even if she were pregnant. I just couldn't deal with that right now. Some would say she is just an animal, and that there are too many homeless animals out there. Well, I agree. She is just an animal, and there are too many homeless animals out there. Yes, and most of those that go to the Shelter don't come out alive. And yet, I cannot bring myself to take my cat in to abort baby kittens, even just the possibility of kittens.

So, here I am, with a very annoying Duchess cat-in-heat. I am keeping her in the house for a couple of weeks to see if she shows any pregnancy signs. If yes, then does anyone want a pretty little calico kitten? If not, then I will reschedule her Date with Destiny at the vet. Did I mention very annoying? Pawing the windows and climbing the front door annoying. Mewing and mweeping annoying. And yet, I would rather put up with that for a few weeks than live with myself after possibly killing baby kittens.



So, anyway, I thought I was talking about Little House on the Prairie....

but it morphed into Nines Lives on a Sunny Street.

What are you reading?

Don't forget to Wash Your Hands

We have been under attack from the Great Gushing Gooey Stuffy Nose Syndrome. For a week now we have all been dodging bullets-- sore throats, sick headaches that makes you feel nauseaus(and throw up if you are 4.5), runny gooey noses, slight fevers, random cough...you name it, I guess it has come our way a little bit. All of the symptoms are off and on, hit and miss. A couple of times this week I thought the girls were well enough to go somewhere only to find them totally drained and feeling yucky again by the time we got home. Thank God I only felt bad for a few hours last Thursday.
http://www.21kc.cn/content.shtml?id=3432

Just posting today to let everyone know we have not dropped off the face of the planet. The Little One barely has any symptoms besides an intermittent runny nose, and yet she is clingy, whiny, crying at the drop of a hat, and apparently unable to sleep without being on top of ME.

So, how was you your day? I had leftovers & burnt frozen pizza for breakfast & lunch, and I have no idea what we are having for dinner. Any volunteers coming to make me dinner?

[just kidding, Motherkitty! you had better not show up til Saturday :)]