The lists are long

It is getting late and I still have a ton of stuff to do and one kid still needing to go to bed.

The day started off early and the amount of whining was almost unbearable. I was amazed!! Jay got up and was almost immediatly on the phone with the cell phone provider for almost 2 hours trying to figure some phone thing out. I was a bit perturbed since th kids were so crazy!!

He got off and we swung up to Jay's work to drop his van, ran home and Emma and I were off to a birthday party for some friends.

Emma had lots of fun! A friend and I stood around feeling th thickness in the air surounding the other parents being there is terrible marital strife going on within their family. Those of you who know me well, know that I do not/will not/can not fake relationships. There was no faking our new dislike for the husband in the relationship. Lord knows, since he is not able to apologize to his wife for his infidelities, he would not be looking to talk things out like adults with her friends. The kids had fun and that is all that counts.

Came home and the kids napped, I read and Jay also tried to nap.

We got up and were off to help some family with house work that Jay can do well and likes to help with. I am so thankful for such a handy hubby. He is great to help people out. I love that!

Adding up the things I need to do in my head and trying to figure ou how to get that all done and get to church all before we go to the plane tomorrow. Emma really wants to go to Sunday school, but I am not sure we can fit it all in.

Not sure that I will get to write anything tomorrow. If not, please check back after Monday night. I hope to have a nice report of some wonderful weather and great times with Grandpa Jim and Grandma Cheryl.

Hip Hip Hurray

So I have found, and this was confirmed by another MS gal, with MS when you wake up in the morning there is a sense of checking out to see how everything is working or going to work today.

This morning, like all others I did the same thing, but knowing that I had the BIG shot last night I had some extra wonder about what this morning might bring. Last night I did not sleep well. I have had a lot on my mind, and I think that my drugs were just one more thing added to the mix.

When my feet touched the ground this morning and I realized that all of my functions were good and my body didn't feel "flu like", I was giddy as a little school girl. No, that is over doing it. Actually, I kind of gave the MS a big F-U. You are not going to take me down.

Ran some errands with the girls and did lots of playing at home. After lunch I enticed the girls to do some playing together without me so that I could clean the house. They played great. I heard them playing school, library and American Idol (that is a favorite around the house - and our Casey MIGHT be coming back by the way). Amazingly, between that time and nap time I got the house cleaned and a ton of laundry done. Still quite a few things to do yet before Sunday.

This evening Grandma Kim, Grandpa Don and Auntie came over. Jay cooked them dinner and we played may grueling battles on the Wii. Everyone had their own technique - some better then others. Tons of fun! Emma could no longer handle the excitement and crashed out right in the middle of the action.

A nice day!

The big shot

I must first apologize for the influx of spelling mistakes in the past few weeks. We have a new keyboard and for some reason it doesn't like the speed of my typing. Jay reads some of the posts back and has told me that I need to start spell checking . . . We will see.

Up at 6:30, out the door and EARLY to school! Some of the parents in the class give me a hard time when I am early. Joking that they think that something must be going on with me.

The parents took part in another sexuality conversation centered around 3 -4 year olds (pretty much the same conversation as we had in Maddie's class a week or so ago, just more relevant to the age). Lots of great reminders about how to ensure that your kids grow up with a healthy self image and a healthy view of their body and all of the workings.

When we let I needed to make a couple of stops. Emma was protesting, but when I told her one of the things that I wanted to do was to get her some new sunglasses at Target, she was game.

Home for lunch and play time. We chose not to join some friends for a playdate because of the strong snow headed our way. I am glad that we didn't because by nap time there were several inches on the ground.

Took a while chatting with a friend of mine on the phone about marriage and the amazing situations that come about sometimes. Unfortunately, one of our close friends is going through a very trying time in her life and possibly the end of her forever. It has opened up a lot of doors and discussions amongst friends about things that we wouldn't have even thought about before.

The girls got up and Jay got home. He went to tend to the several inches of snow outside and I started to get dinner ready. Emma fell asleep again on the couch while watching Sesame Street with Madzie.

We did some playing and Emma played a small amount of video games with Jay (actually he didn't do anything. We just let her think she was playing).

Then came time for the shot. The BIG shot! Actually I don't believe that it is any more actual fluid then the previous shot. Thins one gave me a sting and kind of hurt, but when all was said and done, there was not difference. Perhaps the pain was from hitting a nerve or blood vessel under the skin. Who knows. But, as of right now, about hours after the shot, I feel fine. Tired, but fine. So far so good . . . . Jay and I briefly discussed the need for him to stay at the same job forever (not that he is thinking of leaving his job - he loves it there) because of the health insurance. He is under the impression that we wouldn't get insurance anywhere. Kind of annoyed me because it leaves me to be the burden.

Noting on the docket for tomorrow. I might attempt another cleaning of the house. I tried today and the girls were right behind me messing up as much or more then I had just gotten done cleaning. But, with the icky weather perhaps we can get some other stuff done inside.

I know three girls who will be running around outside like crazy in a few days. Gosh, I need that!

Books

Today, Madeline woke up at 6:30. Now, that came a bit early for me since I didn't get to bed unti 1am. And for an old woman like me, that it just far too early! But, th little bean didn't know any better so we got up and read a on of books until Emma got up.

Placed a call to my workout partner, and decided that it had been far too long since we hve been able to visit Mr. Eliptical together. So the girls and I got our butts in gear and were out the door.

The girls happily entered the kids room and I went out with my workout/gab partner for a little body movement. The time on the machines is so much more enoyable and fast when you have someone to talk to.

Afterward, we went our seperate ways. We made a stop at the library. Now, I have decided that as challenging as a 3 1/2 year old can be you can, to some degree, negotiat or disus something with them. With a 21 month old kid, it is meerly giving direction and hoping that all of the books in the adult fiction section with author name starting with "P" don't come flying off the shelf. We made it through - barely. But, left with books for me, Jay and the girls. Emma also had to have a "mommy" book. So she picked out a trashy love novel from about 1950. She just likes to carry it around. Thankfully it doesn't sport Fabio on the cover or anything!

Home for lunch and naps.

Oh, both of the girls slept so well for their naps! That was such a nice relief. I was exhausted.

Jay got home and helped me with dinner. Then I scrubbed the girls up in a nice bath. Bed time!

Tomorrow is the big day! I jump to the full dose of the Rebif! I spoke with a nurse today from MS Lifelines. She was jsut checking in to see how well things were going so far. I told her that all was well, but I was a bit nervious about the side effects coming out when I start the full dose. She said that it is possible. There are many people who that happens to. Her suggestion is to make sure that I stay hydrated - that is not something that I do very well - and to remember to pre-medicate (Tylenol) before the shot . . . .

quick synopsis . . .

It is after midnight and I am just getting home from a great evening out with some girlfriends. So this will have to be a brief overlay of the day/night.


Morning:
-Emma to school, Madeline and I to the gym - yes, it has been 2 weeks since we were last there!
-Maddie and I to church for a brief litergy (service) that they were doing before lent. Madz was blessed and I was forgiven of all sins and given a prayer.

- Back to school to pick up a tired and crabby Em.



Afternoon:
- Played so amy different things with the girls it is hard to remember. I am sure that it was doll of some sort.

-I dug through the girls clothes and some of mine to determine the importance of these items and which can make the trip with us.



Evening:
-We got to gymnastics then home for dinner before a gentlman came to talk with Jay about an opportunity. The girls were running around together signing "happy birthday" (as seen in the picture). They are so funny when they play together which happens quite a bit lately.


- I did my shot tonight all by myself. It is not that I can't, it is just so helpful when Jay helps/does it for me. Next shot n Thursday will be the first one that is full stregnth! Crossing our fingers and saying and extra prayer that things continue to be fine.


- I scrambled out the door not remembering if I said appropriate good byes, but knowing that even if I gave 1000 kisses before I left it would never be enough.


- Spent time at a local hangout with some friends. The evening dominated by talk of marriage and fidelity and all that comes with it. I left after some strange people felt that they were our best friends and I happened to be the one that they "globbed" on to to chat with. I turned into the "cool old mom". Hummmm. Yes, they were younger.



I do know that I am too old to be up this late. Good night!

daddy home

Daddy's home today! Yeah!

The girls got up around 7am. We played and ran around the house as quietly as possible. Jay rolled out of bed around 8:45.

Got going to Madeline's class. Enjoyed a fun time with daddy and Maddie singing songs and playing. I think both of the girls feel pretty special when Jay comes to school with them. Now, if we can only work it out so that he can come to Emma's school sometime.

After school we got some lunch and headed home for play and nap time.

When the girls layed down, I left Jay with them and I headed off to exchange some things at the mall. All by myself!! I am NEVER without the girls. But, I got the things done that I needed to and headed home. Realizing that I was in such a ruh to get home. Two whole hours by myself. I am not so good at that. I need my little buddies!

When I got home the girls were up and ran to see me with hugs big enough to make you think that I was gone for days!

We started the process of getting clothes out and organized with the need to pack looming over our heads. I had to dig into the clothes storage bin of clothes that Emma once wore to find the next size for Madeline. I gently persuaded - forced - Maddie to try on some of the clothes. She is far bigger at this age then Emma was, so many of the clothes didn't fit.

Our fabulous dog sitter dropped over to our house to check things out before next weekend. She is so great!!! We can trust her implictly with the animals and with the house. She is worth every penny. She wanted to stop by to see the dogs and make sure that there wasn't anything else in the house that she needed to be reaquainted with.

We ate dinner, did some more clothes sorting and played games. Madz is going through her "mommy" stage. She is actually pretty ok with me leaving her with people that she knows (i.e. school). But, when she knows that I am home, she has to be right on top of me. Litterally. It can be very endearing, othertimes it can be a little trying when there is a need to have both hands available.

After Madeline went to bed, Emma and daddy got a little crazy with each other. That is where these photos come from.

Jay is trying to FINISH his packing right now. It is hard for me to focus on what I really need to pack when I have 5 days before we leave. What might I still need between now and then? What will I have to unpack or forget that I already packed? Anyway, I am sure the majority of mine will be done in between cleaning the house on Saturday and church on Sunday morning.

Tomorrow night, my last shot of the half dose of drugs. Thursday will be the real deal. Cross your fingers. So far so good . . .

shopping success!

Truly an attempt to get to bed early. I did not take any pictures today, not that there was a lack of opportunity. There were a lot of wonderful moments. However, it is so easy to get caught up in the wonder of them and forget to photograph the space in time.

Got an early call this morning from Grandma Kim and Grandpa Don to join them for a nice breakfast. We all indulged in an awesome meal at a local restaurant. Afterward, we parted ways and the girls and Jay and me went to church.

Because Jay was working this weekend, he really couldn't venture far from home. So we dropped him off at home after church and the girls and I took off on our one last attempt to find something for our photots that will be taken on the beach next week.

Got to the mall and Grandma Kim and Grandpa Don called and said they would like to meet us there to treat the girls to some clothes. So we waited until they arrived. It was more like I tried to keep them relativly contained until they arrived.

Grandpa kept the kids at bay, while Grandma and I choose some cute duds. And some dressed for the pictures!! Yeah!

Home for naps and relaxation.

Maddie took a nice nap. Probably with an attempt to get caught up from the lack of sleep this morning.

We putzed around this evening coloring and taking baths.

Jay is off tomorrow and will be able to join us for some school fun with the girls!!

A weekend that Jay has to work. It is never the same to have a weekend with daddy away!! The girls and I packed up and went to the mall. I needed to try to find some attire to wear for some photos that we hope to have taken down south on the beach next week - if I can ever get any of the photographers to call me back!

Anyway, I found success for me at Old Navy, of course. They should pay me royalties for each mention of their name. I also found Jay a shirt that could work, but I struck out on finding something for the girls in every store that I went to. And we went to A LOT of stores! But, the girls and I had a nice time and everyone was on their best behavior.

Came home for some playtime. Was able to get the girls to do som playing on their own down in the playroom for a while so I coud do some "noisy" projects before nap time (i.e. empty the dishwasher). During naptime I made it my mission to try and find dresses that the girls ould wear for the photos. I don't know how many websites I went to because I lost track. But, still could not find anything that would work. It shouldn't be that difficult. But, for photos to be taken on the beach, the attire needs to be solid colors and pretty basic. However, I would also like it to look a little "summer-y". . . . Sometimes it is harder when you set yourself up for something so specific.

Jay got home and we all just hung out for the rest of the evening. Jay spent the majority of the night on the computer and the girls and I played dolls with the girls.

And, Emma couldn't handle the excitement of the evening anymore.

hmmmm . . .

Today we spent most of the day over at our friends house. The girls played and I caught up with my dear friend. Another one who is going to have a baby any day now! Oh, I just cannot wait to meet the little bugger. That is so exciting!

Since Emma was throwing such a fit when it was time to leave, my friend suggested that I leave the girls at her house and run to the store. I couldn't believe it, 20 whole minutes by myself at the store! Then home for naps. The rest of the evening was spent hanging around as a family.

Today was a strange day in that there were so many life changing things that happened. Not TO me, just to people who are important to me. A death of a parent, a death of a marriage, a loss of a job, a death of someone once known. Yes, these are all things that I found out about today. Things felt so closely because close friends are all affected. A reminder of how fast things in life can change and how thankful we all should be.

nighty night

This is going to be an abbreviated post. It is 9:51 right now, according to my watch, and I need to get some extra zzzzz's. I can now feel that I am the new receipient for the cold goin around our house. I will show that cold who it is dealing with.

Jay made it home from a headbanging evening with Motely Crue. I didn't hear him come home and only woke some time later to find that he left the kitchen lights on. I turned them of and returned to bed.

Emma woke this morning feeling just fine. No fever, eating fine and acting fine. So off to school we went! Madeline kept the teachers in the sibling care room laughing, as always.

Spent a good part of the day playing with toys and reading before naps.

Jay got home and we caught up with each other after a long evening and a day away from each other. Then off to Madeline's gymnastics. She just has a blast running around and certainly asserts her independence there as well. With almost everything she says "me do it". Which means, "get your hands off me. I can handle this myself". She does this on the high beam and then jumps into the big foam pit. Unbeknownst to her, I have my hands on the back of her leotard. I think that Madeline met her first boyfriend at class tonight. Lucas is a sweet little boy who didn't alk at all of Madz attention and hugs.

Came home to have a late night dinner of pizza. Emma didn't eat a bite of dinner. It seems as though whatever she is fighting rears its ugly head at night.

Everyone is in bed. That is where I am now headed.

Who Would Have Thought. . .

Who would have thought . . . that as I embarked on this journey into MS, that I would be surrounded by so many people that share a different, but same story. Who would have known that I would become part of a club that included celebrities and the common man? Although I do have to balk at the thought of being in a club. I am not a "club" kind of person!

At one of my first neurologist appointments, the Dr told me that there are more people out there with MS that you would never know. You encounter them at the store, school, on tv, etc. I guess that I am now one of "those people". Those people that you encounter everyday that you would never know has this disease.

I have been sifting through some MS publications that have just been sitting around the house - I did not realize how many publications came along with such a disease. There are a lot of people out in the world that I did and did not know have MS: Montel Williams, Teri Garr, Paul Wellstone, Neil Cavuto (a FOX news anchor), Michelle Obama's dad . . . the list goes on. Everone of us very different in obvious ways and each going to encounter this disease in equally various fashion.

Today I was at a funeral of a mom of some of my family members (hard to follow? I gained some family members many years ago. It was a funeral for their mom). She was only 50 years old. A very sad day and a nice service. Cancer took her too young, she will be greatly missed by her kids and grandkids whom she would spend as much time as possible with. I am constantly amazed by how life takes it's turns.

After the funeral, I went and gathered the girls from Grandma Kim and Grandpa Don. On our way to the store, something royally pissed Emma off. She walked about 3 steps behind me through the grocery store screaming and crying. Love that!

Went home where things cooled down and the girls took a nap. Emma woke up and obviously didn't feel well. She just wanted to cuddle. So we did for almost the rest of the night.

Jay got home and left right away to go to the Motley Crue concert. He got a free ticket from a friend and I told him that he couldn't pass it up.

I made the girls jambalaya for dinner, of which Emma didn't eat any. We sat and watched our beloved Casey get voted off of American Idol. So sad. I know that she is for better then what she was the other night. Bigger and better will be waiting for her!

I gave Madz a bath, read books, then to bed she went. Then Emma's turn. I drugged her up a bit with hopes that she is able to sleep well tonight. It almost feels like she is getting what I had. Poor little thing.

Shoulda stayed home

Emma started out the day coughing. Throughout the morning it subsided, so off to school we went.

While Emma was at school, Madzie and I had our first offical playdate with one of her friends! A little friend, whose mommy had an appointment, came over to lay. We had a great time! The girls played so well together. Kids at year and a half are so much fun. So much to show you about the world.

Picking up Emma from school proved that I should have kept her home. But, come on, you can't blame me! I followed all of the guidelines about when to keep your kid home. She didn't have any of them, when I dropped her off. When I picked her up she was visibly tired, warm to the touch and clingy. Poor thing. A quick stop at the store and back home.

When we walked in the door, Emma had no sooner stripped off her coat and was downstairs laying in her bed. When I went to check on her, she was asleep. She woke for a small lunch and back down for a nap. In the interest of getting things done, I put Maddie down for a nap as well.

When Emma woke up she was bright and happy as could be and with no fever. Hmmm. That sleep can do a body good. She and Madeline watched Seasme Street and enjoyed a snack.

Jay got home and we decided to keep Emma home from gymnastics tonight so that she can make sure her body is in good shape before she works it that hard. Jay whipped up a delicisous meal with an amazing sweet red pepper my dad had given us from Trader Joes. I have to go there!!

We hunkered down for the night to watch our gal Casey perform on American Idol. It was not her best performance. She looked beautiful and we are hoping that we can hear her sing again! We have been doing our part to vote for her. We have been calling consistantly for the past 1.5 hours and their phone system hasn't cut us off. Now, we will have to cross our fingers and wait.

I need to put the finishing touches on a letter that I am writing to a friend of mine, Matt Logelin (a link to his website is on the side of my blog). It is coming up on the year "anniversary" of the day his wife died and a group of people are making a book out of letters from people. Not easy to put into words how someone elses life has put yours into perspective.

Late again

FINALLY!! I got word this morning that our friends had their baby. A little boy! We are so very excited for them. She had a very long labor and that crazy gal didn't call in for the "good drugs" until the last of the hours, so she sounded pretty beat when I spoke to her. But, adding a new member to a family is just one of the most amazing things. And we know that they will be great parents! It is amazing to look at how this week I have learned of a death and a birth. Two of the most unknown paths that we all will travel.

After talking with her and putzing around doing a little cleaning, I looked at the clock and realized that it was 10:50! Madeline's class starts at 11:00. None of us were dressed. Ughhhh. I asked Emma to go downstairs and get herself dressed - which she actually did and I threw some clothes on to Madz and me. Out the door we went.

An insightful day today at the parents class. We had speaker in from a local teen clinic. She is a counselor there. We talked about teaching the young ones sexuality and being comfortable with themselves, etc. She was very open to peoples differences. But stressed the importance of teaching them, even at this age how to be happy with who they are and their own body. Jay and I try very hard to teach that, and she confirmed a lot of what we are already doing with the girls. Got another report of how funny Maddie was in the class when the parents were gone.

After school we ran some errands and got lunch. Home for naps. I took advantage of some alone time to get caught up on the housework. It was so neglected during my sickness, that it was out of control. I think we are almost back to normal!

Jay got home, we chatted for a while, hung out Madeline since she will not leave my side for a moments time lately then started dinner.

After dinner, Jay and the girls had a little Dance Party circa 1987 or so. I got out my camera and so did Emma.

We did a little more cleaning up and some vaccuuming, read Madz some stories and put her to bed. Hoping that the little bean will be able to get some sleep through the little cough that she has.

Jay, Em and I played some games, read books and put her to bed. Jay is playing a little Wii and I am just here typing. I am looking at the clock that reads 10pm and thinking that I might get to sleep before midnight?!?

funny kids

It was a rough night of sleeping, particullarly for Emma (and that usually translates to me then as well). She has a cough that was keping her up. But, we were up early cuddling together and playing with dolls. Jay woke toward the end of breakfast.

We played some games and made a pretty good mess of the house before church. Then on to church and Sunday school.

After church, we had to shop for work boots for Jay. He didn't seem to think that his boots that were split all thr way through the bottom could suffice working in the car wash anymore. Also took a swing through the Sears tool department at Sears. We surmised that they do not employ the brightest of bulbs there.

Home for naps. When I woke up from a fantastic nap, Jay was at the store. When he got home he said that there was a "car wash emergency" and he needed to go and assist.

The girls and I did some playing and attempted to clean up the house a little bit. However, I was not feeling top notch, so cleaning the house was not top on the list. So the playing continued.

It was bath time and about then Auntie stopped over for a visit. Madz greeted her with a big "Auntie!" She chatted with us when as we were attempting a bath - the girls were in rare form. I say rare, but it really isn't so rare lately. Just naughty.

Jay finally got home around 8ish and he read books to Madeline. She chose them to be read on the stairs . . .

Said good night to Maddie and Emma and Jay and I went downstairs for shot time! Yipeee!! No, I have felt that it is really important for Emma to be involved - Jay too! So really I just lay back and become a human in cushion. Emma picks the spot and she and Jay prep and give the shot. All went just fine.

I have had to laugh lately at Madeline - I shouldn't say just lately because she is just so funny on a regular basis. But, her personality is coming out in fully force. She is going to be a VERY indepedent young lady. Up until this week, Maddie has been pretty much potty trained. She will go all day with a dry diaper and tell me every time she has to go. However, now, she likes to tell me she has to go and take me into the bathroom. Then when we get there she will say "no potty" and give me a look like "ha!". She also likes to call herself "Madzie". When you ask her what her name is that is what she will tell you. She is just a hoot and growing so, so fast.

Hoping that everyone is well to start the week!

Happy V Day!!!

I am about 85% back to normal. I am probably using that goofy "new math" to get to that number. Either way I was able to at least be up and moving today.

Woke up with the girls and, amazingly, Jay was also up with us. The girls tore into their Valetines gifts. I chatted with them, more particularly Emma, about kindness and love everyday, not just today.

Emma and Jay drove to the store for a breakfast that almost anyone would love - DONUTS! I don't eat them often, since my butt will punish me for months to come when I do, but oh, do I love them!

Grandma Kim and Grandpa Don stopped over to deliver some more Valentines goodies and fun for the girls. Then we were off an running to price out windows.

Windows, now who would have thought that a peice of glass with some framing would be so damn expensive!! Now, thankfully, Jay with the help of Grandpa Don (perhaps he doesn't know this yet) can put the windows in themselves, so we are really just pricing out the windows - but, holy cow, that doesn't seem to help much. That makes it less about how much of the elements we want coming in the house to what can we get by with buying. Such is the life in a house like ours.

One of our stops was Home Depot, the gal there asked Emma if she had a special Valentine. She shyly said, "yes" and the gal asked "who is it?" Emma said "Grandpa Al". It was too cute. This past week everytime Emma talked with Grandpa Al, he would ask her to be his Valentine. I guess he got his wish!!

Came home for some play then naps for us all!!

Thankfully we all caught some nice zzzzz's. Grandma Kim and Grandpa Don stopped by later with some homemade chocolate dipped strawberries. I had almost forgot that they were in here until I began writing this, I might just have to steal one before bed!

Anyway, dinner was great!! We feasted, and I am serious we FEASTED, on 2+lbs of king crab legs. Wow!! I ate as much as I could, coming from 2 days of not eatin and still not feeling perfect.

We sat down for a movie and dessert of delicious yummies! We played and the girlies went to bed. Jay is in bed as he now has the cold that is being passed around. Hoping tomorrow will bring better heath.

It was a terrific day!! I am so lucky for my little family. They are so special - I know that everyday, but today was a day to be sure and live it. Every minute of it.

I need to remember to grab the phone on my way to bed. We are anxiously awaiting the phone call about a new baby from our dear friends . . . . The waiting part is terrible.

On the mend . . .

Woke up this morning feeling equally crappy. It is so very difficult to try and be a fun and playful mom when you don't feel well. But, the God's must have been looking down on me, because Jay called around 10:30am and sad that he was on his way home!!

I clld ad spoke to my MS nurse. She "confirmed" without being able to "confirm" that I have the regular person flu. It was a relief to hear, but a reminder abut how icky these side effects could be if I were to get them.

We killed lots of brain cells today by watching tv and Jay helped to clean up our disasterous house. I hate doing that! But when you don't feel well, you have to do what you have to do to get through the day.

Everyone took a nice long nap. I woke up feeling a touch better. Did a little playing with the girls and watched Seasme Street.

Jay made dinner. I ate the first bite of food in two days (except for the two bites of soup the night before). Couldn't handle more then about 3 bites. I am sure my body is going into shock from not having chocolate for two whole days!

Jay and the girls went to Target while I sit here and write this. When they get home it will be baths and bedtime for ALL of us. I promise in the coming days I will have to start writing with a bit more wit and humor since this have probably been pretty "blah" to read.

I am SO very excited for Valentines Day tomorrow!!! We have a few little gifts for the girls and just a fun day for us all!

On two other side notes:

1. On Tuesday night, please watch American Idol. Our friend, babysitter and ome town girl Casey Carlson will be on and signing for votes. Please watch and vote for her lots. She is truly a great all around girl!!

2. We are in the works for making Team MS Independent T-shirts for the walk. So please sign up!! We will need to know how many people will be there so each will get a shirt! Below I am "cutting and pasting" the directions that I wrote out about registering online. I cannot figure ou ow else to get them onto the website.

Signing up for the Walk

1. Visit my personal “walk webpage” at (you can cut and paste the link, if needed):
http://main.nationalmssociety.org/site/TR/Walk/MNMWalkEvents?px=5934253&pg=personal&fr_id=9611

2. When you visit that page you can:

- “Donate to Andrea” – this means that you want to donate money toward my goal and you will NOT walk with us that day.
o When you donate this way, you will have to enter credit card information online. If you wish to donate with a check or cash, just drop me a note to let me know. There is a special way that I need to enter that information. I will need to know how much you intend to donate. I have been told that it is important to have the donations recorded.
o Anyone donating money has to donate to a “person”, they are unable to just donate to a “team”.

- “Join Andrea’s Team” – this means that you will be walking with us on May 3.
o There is no fee to join the team. You will be asked what you want to personally pledge as well as what your personal fundraising goal might be (how much money you are going to try and raise from other donors).
o Then you will have to fill in the rest your info. Each person walking (i.e. husband and wife) should register separately. If you will be using the SAME email address, please let me know and I will “hand register” you. The system has issues when two people register with the same email address.
§ After you register for the walk, you will have the opportunity to create your very own fancy-dancy web page that will document your donations, just like mine! You will also have your own scroll and other nice things that will help manage your donations.

Please know that the most important goal is to raise money and have people supporting us at the walk! Any dollar amount is a true gift and joining us on walk day is icing on the cake! If you should have any other questions, please don’t hesitate to let me know!

Yuck!

Sorry about the lack of pictures. Today was a day spent mostly on the couch for me. I had the sweats all night long and didn't wake up feeling much better.

We did got to school - I didn't want Emma to miss out on her Valentines party!!

We came home and the rest of the day was switching between programs and trying to find anything that would keep the girls attention so that I could get some rest. Boy, did I feel like hell!

I am feeling a little better as the night has worn on, but not great. I put a call into some MS people and they said that it is not totally unheard of to get those flu side effects 24 hours after a shot. But, fairly uncommon. So jury still out on if I have the real persons flu or the drug side effects . . . If it is side effects, this will be a VERY long stage that we have to go through while my body adjusts. I need to get to bed!

Not scott free??

First off, I will admit that I am starting to write this at 6:30pm - I will finish it up later before we go to bed with the rest of the nights activities. I am anticipating being kind of tired and needing some extra rest tonight.

Got up this morning knowing that I had lots to do before our little house guests arrived. So, the girls got up and we were out the door.

After a few errands, we went to go and pick up the boys from their preschool. The fun began!! They are very sweet, twin boys, only a couple of months older then Emma (3 1/2). Boys are a totally different ball game. And, these boys, are VERY active. Anyone who knows them can attest that they are on the far end of the sectrum when it comes to activity.

We came back to our house and played everything!! Thankfully, Emma and the boys both enjoy crafts. So we broke out the doilies (you can't have a true craft without doilies), construction paper, popsicle sticks, crayons, etc. Madeline just tried to keep up. After about 15 minutes we put that stuff away and pulled out the beads and items necessary to make necklaces. Ufdah!

While the four of them played with toys, I was shooting around the house trying to mak some sort of sense of the mess. I will admit the majority of the mess happened before any kids got involved.

Nap time arrived. One of the boys wanted to sleep with Emma. So I put them up in our bedroom - yes, I did approve. Then the other one wanted to sleep there too! So we gave it a try. I closed the door and heard lots of laughing and joking around. I just giggled to myself. Shortly there after, I heard the door knob rattling and one boy asked to go down to Emma's room. The sound of silence for, oh, 15 minutes.

Madeline started coughing every 10 minutes or so. Because I have been giving her "illegal" cough medicine at night (one of the secrets about parenthood of a small kid, even though they say that you are not supposed to give them that medicine until 6years, you do anyway) I did not want to give it to her during the day. So she was up after about 45 minutes.

It wasn't very long before the house was bustling again with kiddo action. How great! It is so much fun to hear them talking, negotiating and discussing. I have to laugh because the boys are able to keep themselves busy, but they listen and actually do what Emma says. She is my little dictator.

On another breif aside, it is now 10:30pm and I am just picking it back up again. Honestly, I am not feeling so great. I am feeling kind of crappy, a little "flu like". What? What did she say? Yes, just like the side effects say. I did a shot last night and almost 24 hours after the shot, I am feeling a little crappy.

It is hard to tell if it is the drugs, the real flu, MS crap or just tired from the day. Anyway, I am feeling the need to get to bed. The rest of the evening was taken up by finishing up Ea's valetines for the party/non-party at school tomorrow.

So I am ging to cut this short. Since I am unsure as to the origin of this stuff, I am just going to keep on truckin'. Make way!

I did ask the boys mom if I could use the photo . . .

Noses-A-Running

This post may be a bit short. I have been futzing around with a Word document that would give some better instructions and answer some questions about donating and signing up for the walk.

However, you will all have to wait with baited breath for that information as I cannot find a way to get it posted. Anyhoo, it is too late to begin this disgreement with my computer.

Madeline was still shooting junk from all of her mucus-y areas. But, because life for us is constantly busy we didnt' do much slowing down. We started out by taking Em to school. Madz and I ran some errands.

Back to pick up our Emma and accompanied our friends plus two other boys to McD's. A friend of mine has three boys. The twins are the same age as Emma. But, their mom and dad are going out of town and asked that my friend and I watch the boys for them. We of course said yes, since we certainly understand how hard it is to find trusting people to watch your kids for you. I will fill you in on our full day with the boys tomorrow.

So to pass some time for my friend who was assigned the boys today, we did a McD's stop. It was crazy, but fun. Actually, the older kids - there were 4 kiddos in the 3 1/2 year old range - were the best. It was the two little ones - age 1 1/2 years each - that were the difficult kiddos to control. But we go through it!

Home for some designing of valentines and naps. Madeline was restless, but got a little more napping in then yesterday.

Daddy got home and it was time to get ready for gymnastics. Madz was a little on edge. So after a while, Jay took her on a ride in the car. When Emma got done, we went out to find Maddie sleeping in the car.

We dropped Madeline and Jay off at home while Emma and I went to celebrate one of her Great Grandma's birthay with her and the family. Emma had so much fun running around and having the spotlight to herself.

Must get some sleep, the house is a tragic mess and I will have the two boys here all day tomorrow. I have to prepare for what we will be doing for the day. Got to find a way for the kids to have fun without destroying the house or each other!

50 never felt so lovely

Madz woke up with all sorts of shit stuck to her face. Snot from her nose stuck her hair to her cheek, eye boogers stuck her eye lashes together and the rest of her face was stained with spots where her eyes were running. She was a pathetic sight. It looks like she has caught the brunt of the cold now.

We cuddled and played with farm animals for a while until Emma woke up. Most of the day was pretty layed back. The highlight of the day came the trip to Target to secure a storage bin for some stuff in the laundry room. One can never have enough storage bins! If only I had a P-Touch labeler . . . . Watch out Martha Stewart!

Madz nap was not great. Poor thing could not get comfy and once she did fall asleep she was quickly woke up by a cough. So she got up and we cuddled in my bed, ate a couple of snacks and just relaxed.

Jay got home and we packed the girls up to go spend the evening with Grandma Kim and Grandpa Don. We were off to a restaurant that was holding a seminar/talk/speech, whatever you want to call it, on MS. The main speaker was Randy Shapiro. He is kind of the grand pubah of MS.

We found the talk very enjoyable, very imormative and very uplifting. He was very positive on all of the advancents in MS and all of the drugs out there. He showed some studies about the different drugs, and many of them indicated Rebif being the superior drug. That was a nice relief.

He discussed and showed what exactly happens inside the body when it has MS - wow, is that complicated! - but, why the body starts to break down like that is unknown. At the end of the speech we went up to him to tell him how much we enjoyed his talk. He asked the question that everyone asks right when you tell them that you have MS (at least those that have MS ask this) "Who is your Dr?" I told him Dr. Parry and he said that he trained him. That was a nice feeling.

When we got into the car, the thermometer in the car said 50 degrees. It was lovely. Back to Grandma and Grandpa's house to pick up two very tired little girls from one very tired Grandma and not-so-tired Grandpa. Even though Grandma read the girls books, Emma was insistant on getting another one read. So, I went to go and lay Madeline down and after we got the humidifier set up and tucked in for the night, we came down and found Emma as shown in the photo. She crashed right in the middle of playing an intense imaginary game of house with her dolls.

I need to get a little beauty sleep. Hold all comments to yourself.

A nice Sunday

My humorous moment for the day was when we were leaving church and Jay was looking closely in the rearview mirror after church and exclaimed in a surprised and shocked voice "Oh my gosh, I have a grey hair!!" I gave him a fist pump in the air with a "yahooo, about time!". Jay said after lunch he would have to stop at Target for some Grecian formula or some Just For Men. I am pretty certain he was only half kidding.

It was a nice and fairly relaxing day. I didn't read Jay's post, so I'm not sure what he talked about so please excuse any repeats. Jay and Emma got some doughnuts for breakfast. That is one food item that should be made in a non-fat version. Oh boy, do I love them! Then we played and off to church.

Jay and I joined Emma for a special Sunday school program this morning. We talked bout God (imagine that!) and how he made the earth and Noah's ark. It was fun to share that special time with her.

Afterward, McDonalds! When we got there Madeline wanted to get down. When I put her down she went right to a highchair and pushed it over to an open table without any prompting. It was really cute. She is getting so big so fast. Doing lots of big girl things! She has also started asking "Why?" a lot.

Home for some play and nap time. In the past week Jay has had to adjust both of the girls straps on their car seats. They are getting so big!! Madeline was helping Jay with hers. That is what she is doing in the photos.

When we got up Jay ran to the store to get some things for dinner. He told me that he talked about that in his post.

The dinner was inspired by some lemon pepper noodles that Grandpa Al had brought us from Trader Joes. He stopped over on Friday to deliver Valentines gifts and play with the girls. He like to bring over lots of fun things from Trader Joes. And judging by the things that he brings us, I should not go into that store. It is like a Target for food. Everything you want and not much you need. Dinner was delicious!! Like a restaurant right here at home.

Movie night at the Viera household. Madagascar 2 was playing. What a cute movie! These "kids" movies are great fun to watch because they work in so much adult fun with them. It was a nice thing to do this evening. My cold is here with my nose running like a faucet and Madeline is showing it in her eyes and a runny nose to boot. She was ready to crash.

Jay was finally able to hear Maddie count to 14. Yes, the kid can count all by herself to 14. She is damn smart - and yes, I am certain that she is our kid. Usually when I ask her, of course she won't do it, but he was able to hear it for himself.

Before bed, we did a shot. Jay's day had come. A shot in my ass!! I think that he was hoping that it would be more like in the movies. But I am sure that he enjoyed it none the less. I will some time have to take a good picture of the apparatus that I use to give the shots. It is big and bulky, but pretty handy and easy to use.

I am ready to call it a night. If Madz is doing well in the morning, she will be at class!!

Hey Hey Hey...

No it's not Fat Albert, its just me. I wanted to chime in, cause today was awesome! I woke up and Emma and I went to Byerlys to pick out some breakfast for the fam at the donut counter. After a stop at the Caribou Em picked out some great donuts. She is a wizard when it comes to sugar. We all ate donuts and drank some OJ. Then off to church and today was fun cause the 3 year olds got to go to a Milestone meeting with the parents, we had much fun learning with Em then off to "Donalds" as Madz calls it. Then naps, and Madz and I went to Byerlys again for diner ingredients. Gramps AL had brought us some lemon pepper pasta earlier in the week, so I added shrimp, chicken, yellow green red peppers sauteed in white wine and lemon juice and then tossed in some pesto Grams Kim had brought by also. Yum.

The night was topped off by Madagascar 2, and Madz is a sleep, and Em or shall I say ELVIRA s throwing a fit. I better go and help. Talk to ya'll soon. Love you all.

Jay

Crash

As handy as Jay is, he can only do so much when the computers go down. And yes, I did indicate, "computerS" - plural. For some odd reason, last night when I sat down to type a post our laptop would give me nothing beside black screen and a few grinds and groans. So I snuck up to the bedroom where Jay was sawing logs to try and type a little something on the ancient desktop computer and it too forgot what is supposed to happen when you double click n "Internet Explorer". So both computers had simultaniously quit.

But, today I am here and back moving along. Yesterday was a great day. I had so much fun with the girls. You know we do have fun everyday, but at times the fun can be derailed by an independent 3 1/2 year old. However, Friday was not one of those days. One of my favorite things from the day is that now, when I say Madeline's name, like when I am ging to ask her a question or something, she will answer "what?" It is so funny. You can actually talk with her now. She has such a huge vocabulary and it provides lots of laughter throughout the day between the girls.

Last night Grandma Kim and Grandpa Don stopped over for a visit and to deliver Madeline's rocking chair that Grandpa was working on. So now both of the babes have a little rocking chair just their size.

Today, Saturday, Jay had a ton of purging that he wanted to get done in the garage. Because he did not need the help of his little assistants, I decided to take the girls to the book fair.

That was a ton of fun! There were so many people there and they had about 30 different crafts that you could do, free books, characters walking around and puppet shows. All for free! We had so much fun and ran into a bunch of friends and teachers. We were running here and there, chasing down Big Bird then running away when he acknowledged us (actually that was just Madeline, but Em and I had to follow her to keep up).

We met up with daddy for lunch. Jay had worked so hard and was able to clean almost the whole garage out - wish the inside of the house was as clean! After lunch, we played, read books and took a nap. I slept so hard that I did not even wake up when Madz got up. I don't think that I have done that before. Wow! It felt good.

We ate dinner, and took quick baths with the intention of having movie night. But, after the bath Maddie crashed (I think she is fighting of the same cold that I am) and Emma, well, let's just say that we decided that we would try to watch the movie tomorrow instead.

A thought that has gone through my head as some family members are facing the impending death of a loved one. Be thankful for each day you have. Not each day you have with your "things", just for the day and the company you choose to keep. Very cliche, but so true. Sometimes you just have to be thankful for another day when that is all you can hope for.

Walk info

Alright gang, here is the first (and probably not the last) time you will hear about this. The MS Society is holding a walk to raise money to go toward finding a cure for this disease. As you can well imagine, this is something that is very important to Jay and me.

Click on the link to the left - Come walk with us - this will take you to our fancy little page that the MS Society has allowed us to make. You can join our team - MS. Independent and donate right there online (donations can also be mailed to me directly).

Now, I THINK that when you fill out all of the info, it will ask you how much you are going to donate. You can either enter "0" if you plan to ask friends and neighbors to donate or you can enter an amount that you will be donating on a credit card right then. I am probably doing a bad job of expainling, so just give it a try.

If you can donate $1 or many dollars, please do so. We would love for you to walk with us on May 3rd as well. This is so important to us. I want to be cured and I want to make sure that there is a cure for all future patients. We will be trying to set up some sort of "after party" after the walk. But, those details will be forthcoming. Hey, if you donate enough or get friends and neighbors to help you raise enough money, you might even get a fancy, dancy T-shirt!!



And so the morning arrived - always a good way to start the day, huh? I was adament that I would be ready and out the door on time. And guess what?? We did it, we were the second people to arrive at school. I couldn't believe it and even a couple of others commented on our early arrival. Will wonders never cease?

A nice class day. Although, last week, Emma's teacher Ms. Anita told us that the Valentines party planning is something that is left up to the parents. Sooo, being that this was Emma's first "school" party function I was so very excited. I stopped at the dollar store and collected a ton of fun things and looked up some fun ideas online that I could suggest to the other parents for party ideas. Well, in the parents class when the party was brought up, all of the other parents (except for two of my closest friends) opted in favor of not doing a parents portion of the Valentines party. What the hell? They just wanted to seperate into our class and not participate. I was very disappointed because of the fun and the expierence that we would be missing . . .

On to McD's for our luncheon date with our wonderful friends. The to the grocery store, home for story time and naps.

I started to prepare dinner early since Madz had gymnastics tonight. Jay got home and we were putting the finishing touches on dinner when he got a call to come help a guy from work with a job that he was still doing. So the girls and I went to gymnastics. Emma patiently waited for Jay to get back from the job to keep her company while Madeline and I jumped and tumbled around. I am certain that Madz was born without most of her "fear gene". There are certain things that she just doesn't want to perform on at gymnastics, but it isn't out of fear. That is just her being almost 2 and asserting her independence. She will tackle the biggest beam or highest bars without hesitation. It is so cute and fun to have that time with her. So good to give both of the girls a chance to get some excersize!

Tonight was a "shot night". Emma chose my right thigh. There was no comment about the girth of that area, thankfully. The shot went just fine and the girls love to be involed and I am happy that they can be. After the shot, as I was putting Madeline in her jammies I was thinking to myself how normal giving me the shots seemed. Physically I feel great or should I say, normal. And so far, I have not had any side effects. Cross my fingers that continues. I start a higher dosage in about a week.

Emma and Madz got to talk with Grandpa Jim and Grandma Cheryl on the computer this evening. Emma thinks that this is pretty cool. Can you believe that you can talk and see someone on the computer? And to think that is just something that is normal for our kids.

Bedtime for all. Still trying to fight off a full blown cold . . .

fighting a cold

As I sit down to type this I realize how unprepared I am. Actually, let me clarify, I do not "plan" what I am going to say before hand, but I usually give myself adequate amount of time to write, which I did not do tonight. And I wanted to post some information about the MS Walk that will be coming up this spring. They give you the ability to do a fancy little webpage for people to join your team. It will be a ton of fun, I am certain!!

Since I was not able to put all of the appropraite finishing touchs on my webpage I will have to give that to you tomorrow. Until then I will let you know that on May 3, there will be a walk to raise money and join hands to help in finding a cure for MS.

I have $2000 as a goal for my team to raise. Sure, it may be lofty, but I will get out there and know that every little $1 will help acheive that goal. So really, if all you have is a buck, it is one buck closer to a cure.

Anyway, our day was not exciting. Most of the morning was waiting for delivery guys to get here, going to the grocery store and nap time.

Jay got home and continued working, it was stuff on the house, but work non the less. If it didn't save us so much money, I can imagine that Jay would wish that he wasn't so handy.

We sat down to replay American Idol that was on tonight. Our Casey said a couple of words, but they didn't show her sing. Her day will be coming, I am sure.

I neglected to mention that I did another shot last night. I let Emma choose the spot and she chose my stomach. The nurse said that is probably the toughest spot to mentally do the shot. Emma said that it was a good spot because my tummy is "gooshy". Yeah, yeah yeah, leave it up to a kid. The shot went fine and I feel fine. The area is just a bit tender if I push on it, but no big deal.

On the other hand, I am coming down with some sort of cold. I am lucky since I have yet to have a cold this year, but this one feels like a doosy.

Off to bed.

Feisty

Me, I am the one who is feisty. Today is one of those days. What the hell is wrong with people? This weather is the last straw and just putting me over the perverbial edge. I don't know why I am always so amazed at how absolutly terrible customer service has gotten. I guess that was a couple of different issues in one, drawn out paragraph.

Here is the day:

The girls and I got to school with Emma kicking and screaming. (She is just a kid, so her issues were not included in my prior ranting.) Something pissed her off royaly in the car on the way. I believe her words were, "this hat is not listening to me!" That lead to her throwing off her hat. Apparently her mittens were not listening either because they also went flying. All downhill for her from there. I asked her to put on those lovely cold weather items otherwise she would be cold outside. She didn't want to and wanted no help. She quickly changed her mind when we got outside and froze our asses off in a matter of seconds.

She screamed all the way into school and in the entry outside her classroom where she said she wanted to go home. I told her that she was at school and going home was not an option. After a hug and some proding from her teachers - they are really awesome - she was able to join the class.

Madeline and I left for the club, where I worked out for a bit with Super Mary. Oh, it is so nice to have a workout partner. Chatted over a coffee, then departed and went to go pick up Emma.

We were on our way to the grocery store and Emma was telling Madz and I all about her day, when all of a sudden Madeline let out a blood curtling scream. I took a quick glance backward and in a matter of seconds was able to surmise that the headband that Maddie was playing with had somehow smacked her in the left eye. She was screaming. I pulled off the highway on the closest side road. Jumped back and surveyed the situation.

No blood, good. Eyeball still inside the socket, good. Madeline not able to open her eye and look at me, not good. Still screaming, I held her and tried to consol her. After a couple of minutes when she was still not able to open her eye, I called the pediatricians office to see if I could come in.

Now, here is where my irritation with customer service begins. As I am driving toward the Dr office, I gave the nurse a quick synopsis of the situation. She asked for my name and other info. She then said, "you will have to call the business office." I said something to the effect of "to make an appointment?"

Nurse, "no, you have a hold on your account."

Me, "Do I have some money past due? Can I give you a card right, now?"

Nurse, "No, you need to call the business office."

Me, "Ok, but is that the quickest way to get in to see you guys?"

Nurse, "well, once you get that taken care of with the business office we can maybe get you in this afternoon sometime."

Let me pause for a moment to say something. First, because we haven't been to the Dr since this summer and I do not recall an outstanding bill for them this was news to me. Secondly, the review of this conversation is virtually word for word as to what was said because it pissed me off so badly.

Me, "What would be the quickest way to get this taken care of. I am concerned about my kids eye and her sight. Should I call the Business Office or should I go to the emergency room?"

Nurse, "That is your decision."

At that point, I wanted to tell the nurse to fuck off, but I did not. She was so short and rude with no concern or compassion for the issue at hand. She did not offer to transfer me to the business office to take care of this, didn't offer their phone number, nothing. I was amazed.

My brain was spinning, and with the lesions up there, not much extra room for all of this spinning (a little MS humor there). Called Jay who said that the closest Urgent Care was in Chaska.

I made an immediate U-turn and after about 15 minutes, talking to some people at the place Jay sent me and Madeline still not able to open her eye, I was off to a real Urgent Care facility. The place Jay sent me USED to be an urgent care. Went back to almost the place I started to the urgent care there.

Got in to see them right away and found out Madeline had a pretty big "abrasion" on her cornea. He said she should be fine with a little rest, some drops in her eyes for the next week and covering her eyes in the sun. Thank goodness, I can handle all of that.

Home for lunch and naps.

Jay got home and we bundled up for Emma's gymnastics. Another reason that the weather has taken its toll on me is because the kids typically fight me to put on a hat, fight me to put on a scarf. Since we got new mittens this past weekend, they are ok to wear those, but I am sure that those will lose their excitement soon too.

Emma did so, so awesome at gymnastics. She listened to EVERYTHING, and I mean everything the coach wanted her to do. She really tried hard and got special recognition at the end of class for being so great. Jay and I were just in awe of watching her. One of those times that you watch her and realize how big she is getting. She is a big girl now!

Home for a late dinner and American Idol. Our Casey was not shown signing tonight which Emma was truly pissed about. But, we assured her that she should be tomorrow.

Ooofadah, I need to get to bed. Sleep off my feistys.

A day with daddy!

What a nice day, we were able to spend - almost - all day with daddy!! I know that the girls were excited and so was I.

This morning was Madeline's school. A chance for Jay to see her in her real element. What a ham! We sang, we played with toys and had a little parent education time. Then off to lunch.

After lunch we headed home for more play and nap time. Jay took advantage of the time and layed down for a while and I also took advantage of the time by reading.

After naps the girls watched Seasme Street, while we enjoyed more mommy and daddy time.

The girls really were able to enjoy daddy to themselves while I set off for a family education board meeting. I think that we got somethings accomplished and some other ideas that are in the works. All in all a pretty good meeting.

When I got home, I found the girls in the tub and daddy just finishing up the scrubbing. Everyone looked a little tired and worn. I dried them up - not Jay, just the girls - did the jammie thing and scrubbed some teeth. Madz is a little hesitant with the tooth brushing. I am pretty sure she is on the last legs of teething for this round.

We read some some books before Madeline went to bed, and by the time I came back downstairs to read Emma some books, well, the photo shows how I found her. What a tired little monkey! She was attempting to choose her books.

How awesome to be able to spend a full day, minus the board meeting, as a family!!