Hey guys, I have had a great run on Blogger, but it's time to move on. I have created a new blog at Wordpress and am hoping to be able to do more fun things over there. Everything has been exported so you should be able to see all old posts over there and all new posts will be posted over there in the future. Click here to link to it:
http://g-ratedlife.com/angelle
Mom's Night Out (MNO) was a blast last night. I made the Tokyo Tuna (we never buy tuna so it will be fun to eat something unusual) and I won the door prize of a dessert. I chose Key Lime Freeze. After the event, about 8 of us went across the street for a glass of wine and chit-chat. I really got to know about 3 of the moms and liked everyone I met. I am definitely looking forward to more events with this group.
Leah has had a low grade fever since yesterday afternoon. She is staying home from school today and will hopefully make a full recovery by tomorrow afternoon so she can attend a classmate's birthday party.
So I will have to tell two stories here to get to the point of the post.
#1 - I have been looking for a local mommy group to join for about a week now. I finally found New Mommies of South Charlotte Playgroup 2 days ago and promptly joined. The first event I could attend is scheduled for tonight, a Mommy's Night Out! We are meeting at Mr. Food no-Fuss Meals and we are having a food & wine tasting AND we get to bring home an entree all for $10! So I am excited about the opportunity to meet some new people, but for some reason I am nervous like this is a first date. Will they like my new haircut? Is it going to be cliquey or will they accept a new member readily? The pressure...
#2 - I went to the dentist today to have a cavity filled. Of course they numb you up good so my entire lower right jaw was numb. I was starving on the ride home so I decided to eat the apple I brought, I would just chew on the other side. Everything was going smoothly until I felt something weird on my lip. I looked in the mirror and saw that I had chomped down and the inside of my lip was all skinned and bleeding a little. Now two hours later, I have a fat lip.
So here is where the two stories converge. I have a fat lip to take with me to the Mom's Night Out. Yeah, I'll have to say, I gave myself a fat lip. Nice to meet you.
What do you guys think? You can't really see my color because I took this in my bathroom and the light stinks.
So, you guys, Stacy and I went to the Raleigh Regional this past weekend and watched Open class and above. It was sooooo bittersweet. To have something be such a HUGE part of your life, then to just drop right out of it is a strange feeling. My sophomore year of college I marched UF's marching band in the fall and Paradigm Winterguard in the spring. So weekends were at games or rehearsals from August until April. I LIVED school and guard that whole year. Then I did Paradigm the next two seasons which, if you know anything about winterguard, means I was at rehearsals every Sunday and once a month the entire weekend again from August until April. I also marched my last two years of high school. So from '95-'00 I was a guard junkie. And then... nothing. I went to a few shows for the next year or two, but I wasn't performing anymore. Performing is like a drug, it is a high like no other. And I don't have any other way of feeling that any more and no prospect of it either. It is a tough pill to swallow. Made me a little bit sad to realize that is well and truly behind me.
I have spent the last two days making Rice Krispie Treats for all of Leah and Erin's classmates and making cards for their teachers. Thought I'd share how everything came out.
For some reason, for the last month I have not slept through the night. Almost every night, one kid or the other wakes up and needs something. Last night it was both of them an hour apart. And then on the nights that no one wakes up, I can't sleep. I wake up every hour it seems like. It is getting beyond frustrating.
I think Erin got used to me going in to her because she was sick and now expects it. So tonight I am breaking that pattern. No going in unless I think she has thrown up (which is unlikely). She can just cry it out and learn that nighttime is for sleeping. Maybe once she sleeps through the night consistently again, she will stop waking up at the butt-crack of dawn.
I am So tired in the mid-afternoons, then by 7 or so I am wide awake and can't settle down until after 10pm. So going to bed early is not going to help. Maybe I will take Tylenol PM one night and let Mike handle any emergencies.
We finally had no drama today. Erin was not sick, she napped 3 hrs. Leah watched Tinkerbell while I napped. She said that she had a headache a lot of the day and a tummyache at times. Don't know what that was about. Hopefully she doesn't get that stomach bug tonight.
We loaded up and went to the mall this afternoon to buy Leah Crocs with the fur lining because she HATES socks. I mean writhing, fit-pitching every time I ask her to put socks on. She claims they feel funny. So I thought maybe with those Crocs she wouldn't have to wear socks as often. And I got a pair too at buy one get one 1/2 off. We played at the playplace, then went to Toys R Us to buy Ian's birthday present. I did not have a stroller the entire trip but Erin did SO well at the mall. She stayed close and listened when I talked.
All in all, much better day. Thanks for listening. :)
I am much better today. Everything went well yesterday (except I took Erin to the dr instead of going to the gym - more on that later) so I feel accomplished. Leah and I did an art project and we played outside a bit in the afternoon. So the schedule did its job.
Last night Erin finally slept through the night after going to bed at 6:15. BUT Leah woke up crying incomprehensibly at 11:30 (I had just fallen asleep) and then woke up for the day at 6am. Mike was like, "And you want another one? Then we'll have one more reason to wake up in the night." But it goes through cycles, there were like 2 weeks where they both slept all night and woke up at 7:30am everyday. It was awesome. So we just have to get through this cycle to get back to good.
I took Erin to the dr yesterday because she had been waking up in the night SCREAMING and could not be comforted. I was worried that the new prescription wasn't working. But her ears are almost back to normal, so I think we deduced that she may have had a night terror. I was not prepared for that, but it figures that Erin would get them.
Okay, that is it for today. I am not getting on here until bedtime again. I think not having the option to be on the computer makes me happier about the time I spend with my kiddos.
PS Congratulations to Min & Nicole on the birth of their baby girl! We hope to hear more soon. Lots of love!
I was cranky again yesterday, even after that enjoyable Saturday night. But I think today I will force myself not to be by following my schedule. You can't be cranky if you are feeling a sense of accomplishment. So today I will clean up upstairs, vacuum up there, and change all the sheets on the beds AND I will play with Erin while Leah is at school and play with both girls this afternoon and NOT GET ON THE COMPUTER OR READ the whole time. You won't hear from me again until after bedtime.
Reading is really what does it. Once I pick up a book I don't want to put it down and apparently I get cranky if I have to. I have always kinda known that about myself, but it has been getting worse lately. Maybe it's because I hardly ever get to read anymore and I am resenting it. I used to always read a little before bed, but not I am either too tired or I stay up too late reading and am super tired the next day. I guess I will have ti put reading in moderation on my schedule. I think I may have a scheduling problem, is there a meeting I can go to for this?
Erin is still not herself. She is waking up at night and in the morning crying. That is not like her. She has been on a new antibiotic since Saturday morning since she wasn't getting better on the other one. But I don't see her getting better on this one either so I am calling to talk to her doctor today. Hopefully we can get her back to normal soon, the lack of sleep is not helping anyone.
I am so cranky today. I don't know why. I wanted the kids to disappear. I didn't feel like hanging out with my family. I just wanted to veg and read. I could NOT wait to get the kids in bed (both were up late last night and Erin was up SUPER early) and sit with a glass of wine, which I am drinking at this very moment. Mike is on his way to the video store to rent us Can't Hardly Wait, which was one of our favorite movies when we were dating. We own it only on VHS, so I think it is time to upgrade. AND he is stopping to get us some chocolate dessert. I totally needed this tonight. Thanks baby! Hopefully tomorrow will bring a tad warmer weather and a happier me.
1. I remind myself SO much of Kate on Jon & Kate Plus 8. I just watched the episode where they go visit their new house. They go into Jon & Kate's room and they tell the kids that they will never be allowed in there again. The way Kate explained it and the way she made the kids stay in the room and pay attention just reminded me of me. A minute ago I was telling Leah something and I made her stop and pay attention to me. I had a flash of Kate just then.
2. Erin can count to ten! This morning she was pointing to letters or numbers on their little table (I couldn't see which one it was) and she counted all the way to ten! Also her favorite color is "geen-pu-pul" and that is the first color she says when I ask what color something is.
After Tuesday night's fiasco or Erin not sleeping well, I was SO tired yesterday. AND we found out about Erin's ear infections. So I was not especially looking forward to date night last night. But as we had tickets to RENT and had the babysitter lined up, short of Erin having a fever or being truly sick, we were going.
We ate at Carrabba's, which is a favorite of ours sans kids. They now have mini desserts. They come out with this tray of six little cups and you can get as many of them as you want (or all 6 for $12!). We got the zabaglione (custard over crunchy biscotti type stuff) and chocolate brownie with chocolate mousse. Then we hit up Starbucks to stay awake the rest of the night. I was wearing my teal Old Navy kangaroo sweater and a lady stopped and said, "That blue is a really good color on you." Random complements are the best! Then it was time for RENT.
It was SOOOOOO good! We had the original Roger and Mark in our cast. Mark makes my heart skip several beats, he is that good. Don't worry, Mike agrees. :) I cried all through the second act for Angel, Collins, Mimi, Roger, etc. I love plays that truly make you feel. And we had pretty good seats too so we could see the faces and expressions pretty well.
All in all, great date night. And Erin was fine at home so I am glad we went.
I loved spending time with Mandi and Stacy this weekend. We all hooked up in Savannah at about 5pm on Friday and went to dinner at an English pub. Because we were all exhausted we were in bed watching Bourne Ultimatum at 9pm (don't judge us).
Saturday it was so nice to *sleep in* (I slept til 8am and read by the window-light until 9:15 when everyone else woke up) and have a leisurely breakfast. We headed out to find a spa for pedicures soon after. It was hard to find a place that wasn't booked, but eventually we ended up at this adorable brick building covered in ivy. I can't remember the name of it (Stace, Mandi, help me out) but it was fab! We spent 3 hours there getting pampered and relaxing and chatting and decided that spa trips are going to be a mainstay of all future girls' trips. We headed back to our hotel room to renew and refresh and get ready for the evening.
Dinner was at Jazz'd, a tapas/martini place. I had seen this place every time I had been to Savannah and always wanted to try it. AHHHHH! It was a small piece of heaven. Some group favorites: Beef Gorgonzola, Chorizo Empanadas with cilantro-lime cream, and Potato-Leek Frittata with fig chutney. The plan was to catch the 8:30 ghost tour that we already paid for (I know, I was coerced), but we arrived at the trolley site 2 minutes late and the trolley was already gone. We were able to grab drinks to chug before the next trolley arrived. The ghost stories told on the trolley weren't scary but I did NOT get off to tour the "most haunted house in Savannah" with the rest of the people. Mandi and Stacy said it was pretty cheesy though. After we went to the dueling piano bar Savannah Smiles.
I definitely had lots of fun at the bar. It has been a LONG time since I have been "out" like that. But I looked at all the other girls there and I realized that I was probably in the oldest quarter of them. It was kinda crazy.
Sunday morning checkout wasn't til 11, thank goodness. We got up eventually and headed to Starbucks for that caffeine hit before driving. Stacy left (she had the longest drive) and Mandi & I walked around one of the oldest cemeteries in Savannah. There were graves there from the 1700s. It was interesting to talk about all of their stories.
On the way back to the car, we happened to run across a honey store. That's right, a store completely devoted to honey. We got to taste 8 different flavors and I actually bought two small jars, one of acacia and one of sourwood. Then it was back on the road.
I have a total of 5 pictures from the whole trip. Mandi has most of them, so when she posts them (!) I will link to them here. Thanks, girls, for such a great time. I hope more of you can make it to the next girls' weekend in 2010.
Is it too early to tell if Erin will be a stutterer? Because I am noticing it more and more. Especially on say the word "potty" which she says "pa-yah", she repeats the puh-puh-puh sound several times before saying it. It happens on other words too, but not every word. So I don't know what to think...
On to me, I am SO excited to meet up with Stacy and Mandi tomorrow afternoon in Savannah. Mandi and I were looking up restaurants to go to. (You can tell who the foodies are.) I realized that there are too many restaurants and not enough meals! That can only make me happier. AND Mandi is bringing me cupcakes! I thought I had blogged about these cupcakes before but I can't find the entry so here is Mandi's entry about the famous cupcakes. Seriously, read her entry before you go any further.
I know, right? And we picked some up on the way home from Hive in October and they were worth the detour. Holy deliciousness!
Can't wait!
Since we have been back to our daily lives, I had been slacking on real quality interaction with the girls. There was too much TV and computer time and not enough imaginary and creative play. So I put together a daily schedule that included time for me to work out 3 days a week, time to run errands/get out of the house and just do something, and individual time for each girl (will work better when Erin starts school in February). So here it is:
It says Schedule B because I have alternating weeks on my chore list and this is the schedule I am doing this week. So far it is going extremely well and I feel like I have dedicated much more time to playing AND I still have gotten everything done! The only thing I am missing is time for me. I guess technically gym time is time for me. I mean scrapbook/computer time. I do get on in the mornings still and occasionally during the lunch hour. As we speak, I am watching Ian & Chase for Laurie so the kids are entertaining each other. In a way, it is nice to have something to force me off of here.
Anyway, just thought I'd share.
I logged onto the tri website on January 5th (the day after they opened registration) and the race we wanted to participate in was already full.
And there went my triathlon hopes. Just like that.
Mike and I are still going to do a "triathlon" in our own neck of the woods. We plan to swim at our gym, then bike and run from there to get a time for ourselves. It doesn't matter now when we do it, so there is no particular date. Just a day that it isn't too cold would be good.
Because of this issue, we pondered briefly on the idea of trying to get pregnant in February. We would only have the one shot. That baby would be born in November. That would give us time to attend Brittany's wedding in January. If it didn't work, we would have to wait until at least June in order not to conflict with the wedding. And if we are already waiting until June, it may as well be July so we can enjoy our cruise witha clear conscience. So we are back at July again.
In other news, Mike & I decided to start Erin at Leah's school in February on Tue/Thurs. Chase started there today, so they would be in the same class. Then I would have time to spend one-on-one with each kid. And I know Leah needs it. She rarely gets time alone with me. It will be fun to do errands with just her since she is easier to handle.
I think that is all that is new with us.
I just reread the poem Loving Two I posted when Erin was born. It made me cry (of course), but I also really related to the part:
I watch how she adores you — as I have for so long. I see how excited you are by each of her new accomplishments. And I begin to realize that I haven’t taken something from you, I’ve given something to you.
I really and truly believe that. Erin ADORES Leah and Leah gets even more excited than we do when Erin does something new. They have each received something immeasurable by having a sibling, a sister. It is probably the best gift I could have ever given them. They may not think so at certain points in their lives, but I believe that ultimately they will look back and be grateful they have each other.
I am feeling sentimental this morning thinking about my kids, my future kids, and my family that I love so much.
I was very much looking forward to Leah returning to school today. Alas that is not the case. She was up a lot of the night with fever AND coughing. Leah often coughs to the point of throwing up, so that happened too. I ended up sleeping in her room from 5-7:30am after being up with her at 4. It was a strange night, she fell asleep the night before at 5pm and slept til 7:30. Then she was awake until 9:30, but coughed in her room from 9:30 until 11 when she finally threw up. It was a miserable night all around. Thank goodness Erin slept all night.
My goals today are to complete my chores (clean the bathrooms and vacuum upstairs), ride our new (to us) stationary bike for 58 minutes, and stick to WW points for eating my meals. I also wouldn't mind napping when Erin naps due to lack of sleep last night. So that means I need to complete these things while she is awake. No easy task. At least Leah will be lounging watching TV most of the day (and I don't have to feel guilty about it, she's sick) so she will be pretty easy to handle.
Now that we are back to our boring everyday life (which I am pretty happy about for now), these blog entries will be pretty boring to read, I bet.
After reading Keri's goals and now Nikki's, I am ready to state what I want to accomplish in 2009. Now, don't go reading Nikki's first, because she beat me to the punch, but mine are very similar to hers.
1. Go back to eating healthy and meal planning and shopping accordingly.
2. Try to hit my goal weight BEFORE my cruise in July. (Mike told me to buy 2 new swimsuits for this summer!!!)
3. Create a daily and weekly schedule for myself and the kids that includes working out, playtime, and one-on-one time with each girl.
4. Continue to train for and compete in my sprint triathlon in late March.
5. Stick to our budget so we can have money to go on trips with our friends.
6. Make more time with my girlfriends (all of them around the country). Our CDS girls don't do that nearly enough. I also think the girls' weekends need to be closer to twice a year. I miss you girls!
7. Sell our dining room table and buffet and buy new ones.
8. Get completely up to date on my scrapbooks.
9. Move closer to the lake or be in process to move in early 2010.
10. Make a new baby to add to our family.
As Nikki and Stacy both mentioned, my goals align with becoming a better wife, mother, and woman. That is all I can ask of each year. I hope at the end of the year I can look at each of these and see things I did to improve each area.
