Last Weekend at the Home Days

I finally found my memory card reader, so I can post our pictures from the weekend. We went to the carnival with Joe and Heidi, and Joseph and Anthony. Joseph and Anthony were really good sports and rode all the baby rides with Isabella.

On Sunday we went to the parade with Nick's parents, and Joe and Heidi and the boys.

This is Getting Ridiculous

When we got to school today, Shea informed me that she did not grab her lunch off the counter. I angrily told her that I was NOT making another trip to the school to bring her lunch. She got out of the car looking very distraught. On the way home, I remembered that not only will she have no lunch, but she will not have the $1.00 that I put in her lunch to buy a bottle of water for cross country practice. I have been feeling guilty for the last 2 hours. So, guess what? I am going to drive to the school to drop her lunch off, and will make the tally of round trips to the school today at number 4. I have designated this week as "free pass week". Starting next week, they will need to get it together.

Nick kindly reminded me that every time I drive to the school, it costs $4.00 in gas. So, today alone, I will spend $16.00.

Starting Bad Habits

Yesterday went very well for the kids on their first day of school. Taylor said that High School was not too overwhelming and she got to each class on time. Shea was originally disappointed about the team of teachers that she was assigned this year, but yesterday, she found that most of them were pretty cool. And the one who's not, she will just have to deal with and do her best.

Taylor overslept yesterday and was running around like a maniac with her crying and whining voice in full swing. If you read my previous blog about Taylor's lack of coping skills, you can imagine how it went over yesterday. When I get up with the kids on school days, I literally get out of bed, make their lunches, and then drive them to school in my pajamas. I am hardly awake during any of these activities, which is probably a little dangerous since I am driving a car. So, anyway, it is a shock to my senses to listen to "the Voice" as I like to call it, at 6:45 in the morning. But, because it was the first day, and I know she was freaking out for that reason alone, I kept my cool and helped her flat iron the rest of her hair. We were out the door, and on time to school. Today, Shea remembered half way to school that she didn't bring any clothes for cross country practice after school. She quickly came up with the solution of me bringing her clothes at some point during the day up to the school. What's the big deal, right? Now I have to drive 15 minutes back to the school, take both kids out of the car, and wait to be buzzed into the school so that I can give the secretary the bag of clothes. Now do you see why I like the summer???

The First Day of School

Today was the first day back to school for Taylor and Shea. I dropped Taylor off first in front of the High School. She is already on the small side, but when she walked by a large group of guys, who all looked about 6 feet tall, she looked completely out of place. I can't believe this kid is in High School already. I hope she does okay. I waited the appropriate amount of time, and did not dawdle to watch her walk into the school. As soon as the car door closed, I drove away, biting my lower lip. Shea is in her old stomping grounds since this is her second year at the middle school. I have nothing to worry about with her. She is very confident and outgoing and walked into the school like she owned the place.

For all you people who were counting the days before school started, I don't share your feelings. I am bummed out that they are back in school. I am going to miss them being home. I enjoyed hanging out with them this summer, and they were a big help with the little kids. I liked the relaxed, non-regimented days. I will not lie; we had our days where I was ready to pull my hair out, but I have those days all year round whether they're in school or not. The summer flew by, and I didn't get to do nearly all the things I wanted to do with the kids. I feel like I missed out on half the summer because they were gone so long on vacation with their Dad. For those of you who are lucky enough not to have to share your kids with someone else, count your blessings. It stinks when they are gone for days at a time, and your only form of communication is text messaging.

OK, I am done feeling sorry for myself. On a lighter note, Shea has her second Cross Country meet this afternoon. Her first one was on Saturday at 7:00AM. We got home from the Jonas Brother's concert at 1:15 on Friday, and had to wake up at 6:15 to get her to the school before the bus left. After 5 hours of sleep, she did not run her best time, and was very discouraged with herself. Today, I think she will do much better, and I am excited to see her run again. Taylor, Isabella, Nicholas and I will all be there to cheer her on. Hopefully Isabella doesn't embarrass her and start running after her calling her name! She is going to be confused as to why Shea is running away from her.

We Love the Jo Bros!!!!!!!!

Last night, Taylor, Shea and I went to the Jonas Brothers Concert with my sister and nieces, and each girl brought a friend. We got there and waited in a very long line to get into to gates. We found pretty good seats on the lawn to the right of the stage. We sat down at 6:00 and the concert was supposed to start at 7:00. They had an opeing act, which lasted about 30 minutes, then Demi Lavato (another new Disney singer) came on after that and sang for about an hour. Then finally at 9:00 the Jonas Brothers came out. The screaming was so loud. It was like nothing I have ever heard before. There were about 100 men, maybe 50 boys, and about 15,000 girls/women.

The show was spectacular! The lights were great, and the guys sang, danced, and jumped around the stage for at least an hour and a half straight. I had to keep reminding myself that they were just kids. They are so incredibly talented. I hope that their parents will be able to keep them grounded and out of trouble. That will be a difficult task since this group is probably the biggest phenomenon for young girls from the ages of 6 to 20. Even their 38 year old mothers love them.

Kevin, Joe and Nick - After a performance like that, I am a fan for life!

Tomorrow is the Big Day

Our entire summer has revolved around talking about the Jonas Brothers, listening to the Jonas Brothers, watching the Jonas Brothers, dreaming about the Jonas Brothers, etc., etc., etc. Tomorrow is the long awaited event of the century! The Jonas Brothers Concert!

For those of you who have had the pleasure of knowing Taylor her whole life will understand what I am talking about. The closer we get to the concert, the more unravelled she is becoming. Taylor is a very tightly wound child, and needs to be in control. She is also slightly obsessive compulsive. (No medical professional has ever told me that Taylor is an OC, but as far as I'm concerned, there is no other explanation.) If she feels like things are not going to her plan, her whole world comes to a screeching halt. Since she was a small child, birthdays and holidays have always been very stressful. She can't cope with the excitement like most people can, and gets overwhelmed very quickly. So, as you can imagine, this concert tomorrow is throwing her life into complete turmoil. The crying and the whining are in full swing. We aren't leaving early enough; how are we going to see them if we are on the lawn; what if everyone is screaming so loud we can't hear the songs? There isn't going to be any space left on the grass to sit and we will be stuck standing in the very back. The concerns are never ending.

To make matters worse, she and Shea are spending the night at their Dad's house tonight. So, today there were several new issues regarding packing all of her belongings so that she could get ready for the concert at her Dad's. 5 bags later, she packed everything that she needed, and they were out the door at 3:30 this afternoon. Meanwhile, Shea legitimately had a lot to pack because she has cross country practice in the morning, but walked out of the house with a small bag that was not full. The 2 kids could not be more opposite.

I will be picking them up at 3:00 tomorrow afternoon, and we are leaving for the concert shortly after that. Once we are there, she will have a blast. Until then, I will try to remain calm and not lose my patience with Taylor.

Poor Nicholas

I made the decision to banish Nicholas from our bedroom and put him in our office. I think he might be waking up at night because we are making too much noise. (And don't snicker. I am not talking about that noise!) I am not going to name names, but someone has a snoring problem and a recent talking in his sleep problem. I think Nicholas is a light sleeper, and we are waking him up. I also hear every move the child makes since he is 5 feet away from our bed. Even if he is just tossing and turning, I wake up and lie there listening to him for 15 minutes wondering if he is going to wake up. I am getting more and more grouchy from lack of sleep as the months go by, and it is not fair to my family. I like to think of myself as a generally happy person, but the every three hour thing is wearing on my nerves.

Once he can sleep for 8 0r 9 hours at a time, we will move him upstairs with Isabella. In the meantime, his bedroom consists of a crib amidst a desk, bookshelves and a copy machine. No blinds on the windows, and glass doors. As Isabella says it so well......."Poor Naa, Nobody wub Naa".

A couple years ago, I discovered that we had several blackberry bushes in our front yard on both sides of our driveway by the tree line. Isabella loves to pick berries with me and asks all the time if we can go. She loves to eat them as much as she loves watching me pick them. I usually get a small container full, and by the time we walk back to the house, most of them are gone. She eats them by the handful since she hasn't learned the art of savoring. I am hoping that this will become a activity that she and I will enjoy for many years. I will always have fond memories of my little girl following close behind me with purple fingers and teeth stained from the berries and asking for more before the last one hits her mouth.

Isabella's Least Favorite Birthday Present

We hung Isabella's new swing that we got her for her birthday yesterday. As you can see, she loves it. At least Nicholas had a good time.

I Really Need to Get This Kid Some Gender Appropriate Toys

A Stressful 2 Days

My Mom found out 2 months ago that she has breast cancer. I haven't mentioned anything about my Mom on my blog because she is very private and for a while was not ready for everyone to know. As anyone can imagine, this was a devastating blow to our family. No one in our family has ever had breast cancer, so we previously felt immune to this disease. The initial discovery was bad enough, but when she went back for an MRI, they found another lump. They were fairly certain that the second lump was not cancerous, but wanted to remove it and do a thorough biopsy, just in case.

Yesterday, she had a lumpectomy to remove the cancer, the second lump and 2 lymph nodes. The surgery lasted almost 4 hours, and she had 3 and 1/2 hours of prep work prior to the surgery. My Dad, sister, and I waited in the waiting room watching each person walk through the door hoping to see her surgeon. Finally, she came out and told us that they were finished with the surgery. In her words, everything went perfectly. You can't get better than perfect. The preliminary lab results revealed that they removed all the cancer, and it has not spread to the surrounding tissue. Most likely, all she will require is radiation treatment, which should begin a week from Monday. After weeks of bad news we were so relieved to finally hear some good news. We will know for sure on Tuesday what the final lab results are.

Today, she was walking around, playing with the kids, acting completely normal. Our most difficult task will be getting her to sit and take it easy for the next several days.

Thank you to everyone who kept her in their prayers. It worked!

Today, I made my first 911 call. This morning, I bought some flowers for my Mom, and Taylor and I were putting them together in a vase at our kitchen counter. Isabella took one of the powder packets that come with flowers off the counter and put in in her mouth while I wasn't paying attention. I noticed that she was chewing something and discovered that the entire packet was in her mouth, and was very soggy. I could not tell if the packet had broken or not so I called 911. They told me that an ambulance was on the way and put me on the phone with the poison control center. The woman informed me that the powder does not have a high toxicity level in small doses, and all I needed to do was wipe her mouth out with paper towels, and give her a lot of liquids for the rest of the day to flush out whatever was digested. 2 minutes after I hung up to phone, the ambulance arrived. We live in a very small township with a volunteer fire department. Today must have been a slow day. 2 ambulances with 4 paramedics, the Sheriff, and the fire chief all came to our house. I had 6 men in my kitchen all checking Isabella out and dissecting the packet of flower food. They determined that some amount must have come out because the inside of the bag had turned to liquid from her saliva. They took her pulse and blood pressure, filled out the necessary paperwork, and were on their way. What a relief! I feel very confident that if we ever have a serious emergency, they will be at my house within 5 minutes, and will know exactly what to do. I also know that in a matter of seconds when your mind is preoccupied with other issues, a child can get into SERIOUS trouble. This was my warning.

My Schedule this Week

6:45 - Drive Shea to Cross Country practice

7:45 - Wake up the little kids

8:05 - Drive Taylor and her friend Stephanie to Cheerleading practice, first stopping to pick up Shea from her practice at 8:30.

12:00 - Taylor's practice is over - Stephanie's Mom or Brother to drive Taylor home.

6:00 - Drive Taylor to 2nd Cheerleading practice. (can't carpool because girls have to be there at separate times)

8:30 - Alternate picking up girls with other Mom.

I have to fit in grocery shopping, house cleaning, laundry, lunch and dinner in there somewhere.

Yesterday, to add to the madness, Taylor and Shea had Dentist appointments at 11:45, and the office was 45 minutes away. I had to pick up Taylor an hour early at the school, which is 15 minutes away from our house, and in the opposite direction of the dentist's office.

Bob, my ex-husband was supposed to have the kids this week, so I was only supposed to be responsible for taking Taylor and Stephanie to the first practice. Coincidentally, he was called out of town on an "emergency job", and asked if I could switch weeks. Next week, Taylor is done with her 2-a-days. How convenient.

Nicholas, by the way, still doesn't care that I have to get up at the crack of dawn, or that I am running around like a maniac and should probably get a good night sleep.

Orange Sunscreen Stains

I did a little research on the stains that were ruining the kids clothes. Apparently, the zinc oxide found in sunscreen is a form of iron. If it is mixed with sweat, or more iron which is found in well water, it attaches to the fibers of the clothing. Hence, the orange stains that are destroying our clothes. One woman suggested using a bathroom cleaner specifically created to remove rust. She recommended The Works Tub and Toilet Cleaner. I am willing to try anything, so I am going to buy it the next time I am at the grocery store. I will let you know how it works.

Isabella Turned Two Yesterday!

Yesterday we celebrated Isabella's Birthday. Elmo was the theme since he has been her fave for as long as we can remember. She was totally in to opening presents and had to open each toy before the next present was opened. She got a lot of really great things, and loved every one of them.

I can't believe she is 2 already, although her behavior suits her age perfectly! She is a mojor stinker, but we wouldn't change her for anything. She has brought our family so much joy since her arrival. We can't remember our lives without her.

Happy Birthday Isabella Grace! We love you so much!

Seven Springs Pictures (Better Late than Never)

Date Night

Last night, my parents graciously offered to come to our house to babysit the kids so that Nick and I could enjoy an evening out. It was heaven! We went out to dinner and to a movie. We have not been out very often since Isabella was born. In fact, we were discussing last night that the last time we went out without children was for Nick's company Christmas party in 2006. She was only 5 months old.

It was so nice to have a conversation without any interruptions. At one point, Nick said he could not believe we were alone. We love our children very much, but a year and a half is way too long. The two little kids are a lot to handle, so we decided that Taylor and Shea were not ready to watch both kids at the same time. I have a couple of new babysitter prospects who live very close to us, and I intend on taking advantage of them as soon as Nicholas and Isabella are a little easier to handle.

My Favorite Summer Activity

Yesterday we spent the afternoon at my parents house swimming in the pool. Taylor and my Mom each tried fervently to get Isabella and Nicholas to fall asleep on the cushions, while Shea played bartender in the pool serving us all make-believe tropical drink concoctions.

There always seems to be some crazy event that happens at my mom and dad's house, and yesterday was no exception. My parents deck umbrella seems to attract bats for some reason. So, when we got there, we carefully raised the umbrella so that a bat would not fly out at us. Sure enough, there was a bat at the peak of the umbrella, but he would not come out. We wanted to have lunch outside, but there was no way we were going to sit at the table with a bat hanging upside down above our heads. Taylor and my dad decided to shoo him away with a broom. I was in the other room at the time changing Nicholas' diaper, when I heard the screaming. I walk into the kitchen to see my sister watching from inside, standing at the door screaming and laughing, and my Dad and Taylor outside waving a broom in the air and ducking, because the bat was flying erratically around their heads, trying to get back under the umbrella.

We all joked later that we should have brought the bat home and told Nick that we had a new animal that we needed to foster.

Help!

My sunscreen is turning all of Isabella and Nicholas' clothes orange. I use Water Babies sunscreen. The color doesn't show up until after they have been washed. Nothing gets the stain out either. I just folded a load of clothes and 90% of the clothes are ruined! I don't remember having this problem last summer. Is anyone else having this problem? And if so, what takes the stains out? If you are not getting these stains, what type of sunscreen are you using? Or could it be that the sunscreen is old? I am so mad right now!

Let the Fall Sports Begin!

Shea started Cross Country practice yesterday for the fall season. She will practice every morning from 7:00 - 8:30 AM. Yes, AM, and yes, every morning. She and I get up at 6:30 every morning and leave the house at 6:45. Our sleeping in days are officially over, and it's only August 5th! Nicholas apparently did not read the memo that indicated his mother needed a good night sleep so that she has the energy to drive her second child safely to practice. It's clearly not his problem.

Bye-Bye Bunny Rabbit!

The bunny left our home yesterday evening to be with his new family. His new owner is a young girl who belongs to a 4-H club and has 3 other bunnies. They hope that this bunny will be a good breeder with one of their females. He will be spending the rest of his life entering contests at the Geauga County Fair, and producing offspring. Not a bad deal for a runaway! That's what you call winning the lottery.

Two Little Goof Balls