Your bedroom is your sanctuary

I say the above only becuase the thought strikes me everytime I walk into our bedroom. Oprah has said that on many occassions. However, I almost try to make a game to see how little time I can spend in here. It is a total shit hole. I am certain that I need Nate Berkus to come and help me. He is the only one that could save this black hole.

Although I think, with my hatred of winter and cold, that these feelings tend to be more prevelent this time of the year. I think that I need to do something with my face - facial, micro derm abrasion, etc, everything about our house is a train wreck -we have talked about how we would love to move to another house, but I am sure that could never happen until we are about 100. We could maybe just stand for a total redo of any organization that we have, I don't need any more clothes - I live most of my life in jeans and Jay's work sweatshirts and we usually don't go out anywhere except to places we all enjoy as a family (i.e McDonalds, etc) so I have no need to fill my already overstuffed closet. Ugh, I think that the weather outside is frightful and it reminds you of all that needs fixing inside.

On weekends when Jay has to work he is on call on Sundays. Some genius at a gas station on Plymouth needed some hose fixed that had miraculously broken when his wash was run in this weather. So Jay was off this morning early to save the day. The girls and I did a little painting and make some more Christmas treats. Bugels dipped in amond bark with an M&M on top. This project was more my style. Thanks to grandma Kim for providing us all of the stuff needed. We didn't screw this one up.

Jay got home and we headed out to make another dent in our Christmas list. Because we cannot spend much on each person, we are plowing through fairly quickly. But, we still have more to do. The girls were both pretty squirrly all day which proved to make things more difficult. Which brough tme to a note to self: DO NOT ever bring kids to the General Store in Minnetoka again. A kids heaven, a parents nightmare.

Home from the morning activities and on to naps. Jay relaxed downstairs and I finished a book that I have been reading.

The girls got up and we headed out to Target and Byerlys. Grandpa Bob has specifically asked for ONE jar of pickled mushrooms. Love those kinds of requests. Grandpa finished in one fell swoop.

We ate dinner and tried to calm the girls down with a bath. Madz was out like a light when she hit her bed. I think that the only thing to get Emma to settle was sleep and she promtly fell asleep while we were reading her books. Jay and I just sat and watched her for quite sometime. Sleeping beauty. Off to try and visit with Santa tomorrow. Wish us luck!!

cookies and babysitters

This day started with a lot of snow and one hell of a cold day. There is something strange about referring to something that is so cold in the same sentence as "hell". Anyway, the kids got up pretty early, but that was good because Grandpa Jim and Grandma Cheryl were on their way to pick up the girls for a breakfast run to Perkins.

Anxious to get pancakes with sprinkles, Emma and Madeline were waiting with coats, hats, mittens and scarfs on for about 15 minutes before their date arrived.

The girls were off and so was I, attempting to traverse my way to the gym.

Successfully made it with not a lot of oomph in me to work out, but I knew that my ass was counting on me to do my part. I made it for 25 minutes on my eliptical friend and that was about it. I used the excuse that there was a class going on right by the machines I was going to use as a way to get out of working on the rest.

I made it back home and spoke to Grandma Kim. We had plans to spend the day with the girls making cookies and enjoyng the holiday fun. But, Grandpa Don was puking and I figured that I should keep the girls a good distance away since the holidays are so near. Emma and Madz were really bummed out, but it was lessened when I said that Grandma was going to bring some stuff by. Emma was still wondering why Grandma and Grandpa weren't going to stay to help.

The girls and I picked up the house a bit, then embarked on this crazy ritual of making Christmas cookies. I love doing this stuff and so do the girls. However, I quickly come to realize that I am not equiped for such a large undertaking. I have only one cookie sheet and could not figure out how to get the damn cookie dough from stucking to the countertop - and, YES I did use some flour. It didn't work!

We made it threw and the end result was worth it. The girls and I called it a day and they layed down for a nap and I sat down to read.

Jay got home and we started to get ready for our evening out. Yes, a real evening with a real babysitter. It was not a "date" per say, because our reasoning for getting out was to get some shopping done. The weather was shitty, but we have so little time without the kids and just so little time in general to get stuff done that we had to take advantage.

Casey is our sitter. She is the daughter of my teacher at school. They are people that I trust implicitly. Great, great people. Casey is studying child psychology at the U of M and loves kids. Emma was thrilled because Casey is going to be on this year of American Idol (will keep you updated if you need to start calling in for her) and Em can't wait to see her.

Casey came and got a big hug from Emma, Jay and I were off. We hit Target and Toys R Us and had dinner at Maynards. Still a lot of shopping to do, but we are hoping to get some done on Monday when Jay has the day off.

We got home and found that the girls and Casey were in a marathon reading session and barely noticed that we were home. They had a GREAT time! We had to force Casey to take money for watching the kids. Actually, Jay went to start her car for her and left it in her seat. She has already emailed me to say that the next time she is doing it as a favor. That family it so awesome!

On to bed.

more running

A day full of nothing planned was a great thing for the brain. The girls and I got up and spent a lot of time reading books, playing with toys and reading books. That was nice. As I was getting ready for the day, Emma came to me with blood running down her face and all over her hands. She had gotten a severe bloody nose. I guess that means that we need to look into a humidifer for the furnace. I was proud of how she handled herself and was so calm. I cleaned her up and we were off.

We swung by the post office to pick up the stamps that we had left there the day before, hand delivered a couple of cards to Emma's teachers, then off to Toy World. That is an awesome store full of unique toys for kids. I love buying gifts there. We had a few boys to buy for. I had to ask for help since I am not a boy toy officianato - so to speak. We left without our toys because they were being gift wrapped.

Home for lunch, more book and playing with Weebles. I worked on the computer and did a little reading.

When Jay got home we got ready to meet Grandpa Jim and Grandma Cheryl for dinner. They have made their arrival for a week over Christmas.

Dinner was good. Emma was a bit crazy - so much going on, so little time to see it all. Madeline was obsessed with the wood bears that were in the entry way and dancing to the jazz band that was playing. Grandma and Grandpa brought the girls some new boots. We laughed so hard at watching them traverse the flat ground like little robots while figuring out the boots.

We came home, threw the girls in the bath and headed to bed. A somewhat relaxing day.

Wednesday and Thurs

This is going to be a breif catch up on the past couple of days. Jay is trying to get to bed and he hates to hear the "click, click, click". I tell him that he is just going to bed too early. I will have to forgo a photo on this post. . .

On Wednesday, Jane, Liz and I were trying to find something "different" to do for the kids. Liz thought up "Just Jump". It is a warehouse that is just filled with lots of blow up jumping things. The kids love it, it is realativly safe and a great place for the couped up kiddos to get out some gusto. The adults had fun too. Just love and appreciate having great friends.

That is one thing that I have been come more acutly aware of lately, is how great my friends are. I am very lucky!

After jumping our little hearts out, we made a stop that would crush all of the extra blood flow - McDonalds. Whomever came up with the idea of a play place at McD's is genious! We gathered up some more friends and played some more.

Home for naps and a bit of relaxation.

For dinner I was tryed my hand at making calzones. The first time was a flop, however I like to think of myself as being a bit smarter the second time around. Jay even said it turned out great and he rarely compliments my cooking.

Thurday brough school for Emma. The parents had "the day off". The teachers thought that it would be great for us to have some extra time to ourselves. I was a bit sad not to spend time with Emma at her school. In checking with some other moms and dads, I found that I was alone in that feeling.

Madeline and I left for the gym and thinking that we could get a bunch of stuff done. Well, we got some working out - full body - and a trip to the post office to mail the Chistmas cards that I was busy writing out until late last night.

Picked up Emma and off to a play grou pwith a great friend Heather. She is always so sweet to open up her house for us to come over and play with her babe. Got to see her growing tummy and catch pu on lots of stuff. All of the girls, Madz included, played and had fun.

Heading home to finish up the naps that the girls started on the way home and I sat and looked at my messy house until I realized that Hermie, our Christmas elf, was not about to come down from his perch and help me.

Jay came home and I was off to enjoy dinner - adult dinner with my friend Sandy. She took me to a place in Hopkins. Sandy loves to fully enjoy her meals. It was really wonderful with great conversation.

Came home to find Maddie safe and sound in bed and Emma just waiting for me to get home.

A great day!

a whole new woman

Since it was a school day, we hit the ground running at top speed this morning in an attempt to get to school on time. Emma was up and I gave her some toast and to got dressed all within a top pit crew sort of time. Ahh, I see an on time arrival in my future.

My little Madz slept in. I would say for beauty rest, but she couldn't get more beautiful! Anyway, we had to quickly get her fed. My quest for time this morning was derailed with Emma's tantrum because she couldn't wear her princess dress. Yes, I certainly could have sent her to school with it on. And I was about to. However, because she has been wearing this thing about 14 out of the 24 hours in the day it was pretty filthy. And it is so very poofy that it would bring more distraction in the classroom then peace within our home.

So, throwing the kids in the car at break neck pace and racing to school. Only to arrive 4 minutes late. Today is the day that we set up to bring in the money and items collected for the woman in class that doesn't have money to buy gifts. One of Emma's teachers confided in me that they are going to give the money in a form on a gift card because they know this mom very well and might be afraid that it could go for other things - not drugs or alcohol, just that she has been known to make bad of a situation to get things. Ugh, did someone piss in my cheerios? I just hate that. Although I spoke to a good friend of mine, one of the moms in class with me, and we concluded that we know that they do not have money so either way the gifts would be received for the kids and well appreciated by them.


After dropping Emma off, I went to give Mr. Eliptical all that I had today. That equated to 20 minutes. I miss my little excersize partner. Mary, the forever student, has been working tirelessly on a statistics thing and it has taken her temproarily from me.

Madeline and I rushed home to put a roast in the crock pot and then it dawned on me that my friend, "Anutie B" (Emma's godmother), was going to be stopping by after school. I had to deal with the fact that she would be coming into my shitbox of a house. Cannot perform miracles.

I checked my messages during my meat preperation and found a message from Denise, the nurse for Dr Parry my neurologist. She had some test results that she wanted to share with me. I called her back and left a message telling her that it would be fine for her to call back and leave details on my answering machine.

We left to go and pick up Emma and race back home. In that short amount of time, Denise had called back with some great news. She left a message saying that the results of my MRI showed a very mild case of acute disease, no active lesions, no change since last MRI and she mentioned some other words that all equated to happy results. She told me that I should keep a follow up with Dr. Parry to decide on my course of action at this time. I told her that I was planning on it for the 23rd. (Now, I did not call anyone to pass along this "news" for no other reason besides I was busy today and we were enjoying some family time. I don't want to get a call wondering why I didn't call - you know who you people are.)

I have felt wonderful mentally and phycially. I am certain that taking in the FL sunshine for a few days had a lot to do with that. Also, I had made a lot of effort to ensure that the magic serum did not leak out through any spots in my brain during the MRI. Well, something worked. It has confirmed my feeling of normalcy. Awesome.

Auntie B showed up and so did Emma's evil twin. There is something suspicious about her arrival and the arrival of visitors at our house. For 3 hours, Emma peed on the carpet, spit, screemed, yelled, threw wet clean clothes on the floor, pulled her sister around by the hood on her shirt and screamed while I was on the phone with Denise confirming my Dr appointment for the 23rd - the list could go on. Needless to say, nap time was a wonderful gift.

Daddy got home, we feasted on the wonderful roast, then bundled the kidsup and went to play outside. We had a great time besides the frozen fingertips, but we had to litterally drag the kids inside.

Enjoyed some cookies, some time playing doctor and now time to rest.

cookies and more cookies

Today I had a lot of things I had hopes of doing. However, when I woke to see that it was -7 outside, I had reprioritize. Forcing the kiddos to go in and out of stores, taking hats and mittens off, only to do it again a few minutes later seems like torture for them and me.

I had to clean up after breakfast and the girls went down to the play room and spent a good 25 minutes playing so nicely with each other. I could hear them talking about stuff and doing some "shopping". We spent much of the rest of the morning playing and making pretend cookies in Emma's little kitchen.

Packed up the kids and dressed them in all of the winter gear except for snowpants and headed to the gym. My affair with the eliptical machine still continues. However, there are days when it is just so hard to complete more then 20 minutes. Today was one of those days. Took care of some flab on my ass and arms and headed to the grocery store.

After losing my shopping list, we spent a good amount of time roaming around in circles trying to recreate what items I was in need of.

Came home for lunch, vacuuming and napping. I elected, after being kicked off the compter many times, to spend nap time doing some reading.

This eveing the girls and I broke out the KitchenAid mixer. One of those items in the kitchen I do not use a lot. But, when it gets used I remember how really awesome it is! We made peanut butter cookies with chocolate on top. Emma made sure that we were going to save several for Santa.

Then baths to scrub up a couple of messy little girls. Then to bed for sweet dreams.

The silence sounds so great!

small weekend recap

Here is the weekend in short. Friday was a nice day. We had to run an errand to pick up something that is dear to my heart. I haven't had for a long time. It is back in its rightful place.

Then on to Kindergarten screening. Jay had to remind himself how old his little Princess is. No, she doesn't start "real" school until fall 2010. But, they ask that kids get screened eraly to check for any problems before hand. She passed with flying colors. Emma knew the screener as she had been a previous ECFE teacher. But, she was asking her about memorizing, description and some other things that I wasn't sure that Emma would want to talk about. Kids can surprise you!

Home again for the usual stuff, including writing our Santa letters. Then to Grandma Kim and Grandpa Don's house to take photos for our Christmas cards. We will get them out sometime soon.

Saturday was filled with thoughts of grandure and so many things to get done. 99% of those things still are not even close to getting done. I made a solo trip to workout, then home to pack up and head to the mall. The girls were so excited to sit on Santa's lap. My anticipation of the lines being long were truly a huge under estimation of reality. The line to just get a pager was 45 minutes long. Then when you got a pager, your wait to see the jolly old elf was 4 -5 hours long. Since we were not going to spend the entire weekend camped out at the mall, we tool two dissappointed kids on to some more shopping with a promise to visit him again in a week when daddy has a Monday off of work. We got almost no shopping done. But, it is fun to be amongst all of the holiday cheer at the mall - no really!

During the winter, after the kids wake up from a nap I will let them watch an episode of some kids show. It usually ends up being Seasme Street. Madeline has adopted the expected childhood love of Elmo. On this particular episode they talked a great deal about "Irish Step Dancing". Much of the rest of the weekend was filled with tidbits of Emma's brief learning of this Irish dance in her Princess dress. Madeline was forced to learn some steps in a dress too.

Sunday was up to the house of God. We brought Madeline into the nursery - I was not real comfortable with it. Just the problem with trusting anyone to take care of my kids. But, I checked out Mrs. G very carefully. Seriously. - and Emma went to Sunday school. Jay and I got to enjoy a service. We were treated to our after church lunch of McDonalds. We were trying to pass time before we headed back to church to watch our eldest daughter make her debut in the chuch Christmas program. Needless to say, in between leaving church and a stop at Walgreens we unknowingly picked up Elvira - Emma's evil twin. In an attempt to put her Christmas dress on which included nice tights and patten leather shoes, I was pratically sitting on her and Jay was trying to reason with her. Why go you ask? Well, just don't ask. We made it there. Emma came to the stage sans the barrett in her hair and her tights. Anyway, the kids did a great job. It was so fun to watch. Emma didn't sing much, she just liked to

look around. In the picture she is on the bottom row with the red and black plaid and white shirt. Toward the end of the program, the Irish step dancing made its return until the teacher asked Emma to step back into her place.

A nice weekend like a normal wonderful family. I have an appointment with my pillow that I cannot be late for. Off to fight the elements tomorrow.

I will get caught up . . .

I have to just drop a note, if not even for you, a reminder to put my mind at ease. I will catch up on our life tomorrow. Nothing hugely extraordinary to report, just a lot of little exciting things that make up our wonderful like.

Right now I am just tired and need to hit the sack!

Tis the season for giving

Woke up to the smell of freshly sprayed cologne signaling Jay on his way out the door. A brief hello and a fleeting kiss later and he was on his way.

As usual the girls and I were on the fast track trying to be on time for school. We made it a couple of minutes late, but were amongst five other families that were not obeying the hands on the clock.

Class was great, as always. My teacher, Monica, is just terrific! During the mommy time, we were discussing the traditions that we enjoy with our familes and the things that the kids are expecting this Christmas. One of the moms, whom we all have known as a person with few social graces, - although very kind - wearing clothing that don't consist of more then old zubaz and an old T shirt confided through tears that she had been contacting Salvation Army and all of the local agencies regarding toys for her kids and how she lives in Section 8 housing. She has three kids, ages 6, 3, 1. It was a very touching moment. There are women in the class who, without first hand knowledge but anone could put the peices together, are very well off were also crying.

After class another gal and I decided to put together a little collection for this woman so that she can have gifts for her kids. Gifts aren't everything about the holiday season. We know that, but the kids don't. The lack of gifts screams even louder then ever when you are a mom.

Back at home, Jay called and said that he got his yearly bonus. Yeah! I say that like a deflating balloon. Visions of bills and perscriptions dance in my head. I jotted down a list of where and to whom we will be spending this Christmas money. The list includes:

Emma

Madeline

Ashley

Mom and Don

Dad and Nicki

Jim and Cheryl

Grandma and Grandpa

A couple of younger cousins

Some various others

Blue Cross/Blue Sheild

Waconia Emergency Room

Our stocks have been going down, our business is losing customers . . . ok, that is BS, but it fit with this dry humor so stick with me. In light of the economy, I feel that we will have to lighten up on how much money is spent on fulfilling wish lists. Therefore, we will try to cut out some relatives who have small children and really don't need to be purchased for and some others that Jay and I need to chat about. I also figure that Blue Cross/ Blue Sheild have really put too much on their wish list. I mean, who is going to spend $600 on just one MRI? Silly BCBS. I don't think that we will be fulfilling their wishes - at least for now.

Jay got home and wanted to treat our little family to a dinner out. And not just to McDonalds. We went to Maynards and had an awesome meal. The girls were terrific. It was an all around great meal. The topper on the meal was when we ordered dessert, Jay wanted to put Emma's hair in a ponytail to keep it out of the chocolate. As he was doing so, I said, "Emma, did you know that daddy used to have a ponytail?" Her reply "Nooooo." After a moment of thought, "Did he have a ponytail when he was a girl?" It doesn't get better then out of mouths of babes.

We got home just in time for the Wild game. Jay and Emma love to watch them! Madeline, I think by default, does too. The girls had some spats over who would wear the gear, by then it was time for Madz to go to dreamland. Emma and I played some board games. Jay is exhausted this evening, and come to think of it, I am kind of tired too. Perhaps bed before 11:00? Dream on.

pictures of my brain

I was up bright and early, pretty certain that it was not because of any eager anticipation for the coming MRI. It did give me time to catch up on my time with Matt (Lauer). Jay rolled out of bed only when Emma made her way up the stairs. The house quickly comes alive!

Yes, Jay was scheduled to be gone from work again. I really hate that. In an upcoming trip to the store I will be buying a thank you/I am sorry/your a great boss card for Jay's employers. Sure sounds cheesy, but for those of you that know me well know that is something that I would do. Granted Jay is the one missing out on the funds, but they have not scoffed (outwardly at least) about him being gone so much lately. For that I am very, very thankful.

Anyway, jumped into action to get the girls ready for their first trip to the U of M with us. Grandma Kim's employers would not let her leave work to watch the kiddos - ugh!! So, Jay and I rearranged things and brought lunch, snacks, toys, movies, etc. Anything that would keep them busy. They don't yet know how to work in an "active supportive role". I am sure that they will catch on quickly. Amazing that they don't know that they currently are virtually the most supportive of all!

While waiting for my name to be called, I perused a couple of National Geographic magazines. I think that it is my new favorite magazine - well, I don't think that I had an old favoite - that doesn't matter. The photos are beautiful and the articles were very insightful. Should they give me a free subscription for the "advertising" that I am doing for them.

Ok, to the crescendo of the day, my MRI. The facilities at the U are awesome. Funny how things like a mirror in the mask they put on you, music loud enough to hear over the banging noises and a humidity filled room can make. I was injected with dye and layed back and relaxed to Jonny Lang's CD "Lie to me". Awesome! I feel like I am old hat at this stuff. I suppose going through four MRI's in the last couple of months could make anyone feel that way.

Thoughts through out the procedure were various and fleeting. Breifly thinking of things to do, wondering how the kiddos and Jay were holding up during their wait for me, shopping for Christmas and much thoughts leading to what the magic potion that was injected in my arm was going to tell the Doctor. Can only hope that the dye could not find any spaces to squeak out of the spots in my brain.

I got my "frequent visitor card" punched, was told that I was a good patient and did great - I do not think that the nurses observations come from any medical knowledge of my condition. So I eagerly await the ruling from Dr Parry on the 23rd. Yep, another Dr appointment. Quite frankly I am really over all of these meetings. I have never been one that shyed away from the attention, but this is not the attention that I had ever craved.

The rest of the evening was eating a crappy meal that was peiced together with things from the fridge - never make plain couscous without anything to spice it up. Think cardboard. Playing Halloween party with Emma who was wearing my clothes and dancing to Christmas music and flying Madeline on my legs. Jay has a lead on someone who may be able to help with our computer mess. The laptop as previously reported has compltely called it quits and this PC is slow as molassas. Currently, I have been trying to download a picture here, but after 25 minutes I have yet to see any photo appear. I should give Bill Gates a call.

School day tomorrow!

Back to reality

We made it back from Florida! The weekend was wonderful. It took a while to remember how to have fun without little kids tugging at you constatnly. We enjoyed lots of eating out - uninterrupted, relaxation, fresh air and SUN!! Instant Rx. The vitamin D that my body needs. Love it!!

From what I can ascertain, the girls were very good for Grandma Kim and Grandpa Don, and then for Grandpa Al on Monday. The girls and GK and GD went to Macy's 8th floor, church christmas program practice, baked, made lots of crafts and had a lot of fun. The girls slept great and were very good. I am so proud of them. On Monday, Grandpa Al took them to Mall of America. They took in Lego Land and had lunch at Rainforest Cafe. Emma was knocked out about the awesome day and the great weekend.

To see little legs run at top speed to you is something worth bottling. The girls were so thrilled to see us. However, after about 10 minutes, I think they forgot that we were even gone. Boy, we missed those girlies. It is so amazing how wonderful and full they make our lives.

Today we jumped right back into our routine. Emma went to school and Madz and I went to the gym and ran around. And tomorrow brings us back to the U of M for another MRI. They are going to scan my brain with dye inserted into my veins. The dye will be able to define which spots in the brain are active and help to decide the most aggressive course we can take for medication. Grandma Kim has thankfully offered to take the kids for a couple of hours. We are so lucky to have people out there to help.

So to recap: weekend of relaxation in Fl = awesome, taking in sun and warmth = MN sucks, getting hugs from our girls again = amazing, another MRI = reality . . .

Things I forgot

It turns you that when you are packing suitcases at midnight, things get forgotten. Such as, toothbrush, toothpaste, shampoo/conditioner and tennis shoes. Oh, yeah and my kids! At least it feels like I have forgotten them.

I do miss them terribly and we many times throughout the day talk about the fun things that they do or say. But, it is nice to experience this time without kids. I rarely get away - although lately this MS crap has allowed an hour here or there to be without them for a Dr appointment or two.

We have been gone for about 1 1/2 days and I am finally getting the feeling of relaxation. However, any child in a restaurant, on the street or on the beach catches my attention.

I am so thankful that they are in such good hands so there is no worry, just missing them.

Jay and I enjoyed several hours walking along the beach today. It was great! A certain reminder of the question "what the hell are we doing in MN?" I really do hate it there. The warmth, the water . . .

We will be back to real life soon. Until then, we will miss the kids and try to do a little more relaxing.

Goooooonnnnneeeeee.....

Yes My friends we are Fing outta here. No kids, their at g&g Kim and Don's house. HAHAHAHA suckers!!! I have to say you may not here from us till Monday, not that we don't love ya'll but we just may not want to deal with ya'll when were in Florida. Hope everyone has a great weekend I know I will even if I hit a 100 or better I'll still be on the golf course in December. HAHAHA. sorry.

Check ya later,

J

Life without kids

So, I have been without my kids for about 15 minutes now, and it is amazing how much life changes even though I am only living with the THOUGHT of being without them.

We just dropped them off at Grandma Kim and Grandpa Don's house for an "exciting weekend filled with lots of fun stuff". I have no doubt that it will be anything less then that, but there is the sudden thought that I have not known life for the past 3 1/2 years without a kid hanging on me.

Tomorrow Jay and I are flying to Florida to visit Grandpa Jim and Grandma Cheryl for a long weekend. It will be great to get into the sunshine and warmer weather. I told Jay that there is something ironic about having to go to the warmer weather since there is so much research going on about the lack of Vitamin D and MS. Those of you who know me well know that I am a sun lover to the highest degree. Almost no temperature is hot enough. However, I have never been to India in the middle of summer. This weekend will be good for me. I am not sure if I know how to be by "myself" and just relax. Relax? What is that.

Throughout the day I have had some thoughts to ponder and figured that I would just put them out there.
1.)Do makers of kids toys create them to all run out of battery power at the same time? I have a stack of "dead toys" on my counter that all need AA batteries. What the hell is with Energizer and Fisher Price?
2.) Why is it that when you start working out and feeling good about the progress you have made that no clothes seem to fit better then they once did? Don't get me wrong. My resason for working out kind of came with the finding of my MS and a need to make sure that I was taking care of myself. At 33, I am so over the worry of having a great body or one that has to be a certain size. Being set with this disease, you find that there are bigger things in life to worry about then the size of your pants. That being said, with all of the intimate time that I have been spending with Mr. Eliptical, I would think that my ass would fit a little more freely in the shorts that were worn only a couple of short months ago. Unfortunatly, they almost seem to fit more snugly.

That is about it for the day. The camera is packed and huh, funny, out of batteries so I do not have any pictures to show you. Sorry. A nice day with the girls, but since my brain was running at 2X the normal speed with getting everything ready I think everyone was on the edge.

Leaving the girls at G & G house was a bit sad. Emma was just so excited at all of the fun that I promised her - sorry mom, pressures on! And Maddie thought that her little life was ending when her whole world walked out the door. I hope that she can sleep well and have some fun. For everyones sake.

Ok, well, I need to pack, clean the house, find something to eat and go tp bed before I get up at 4am.

Sunshine here I come. . . . There has to be a way to get Blue Cross/Blue Sheild to pay for this, right??

Organizing

Today was a very nice day. The girls woke up in a great mood and this morning we savored a few extra moments reading and discussing all the fun that my babes will be having with Grandma Kim and Grandpa Don's house this weekend. Then it was up and at 'em and out the door.

I have a reoccuring meeting every morning with my new favorite, Mr. Eliptical Machine. A former foe of mine. It has come to be a true alli in my fight against the cottage cheese in my ass. The girls spent some time in the kids room. I still hate dropping them off in there because of my issues with strangers watching them. But, I have found Ms. Miller, the kind woman caring for the kids is very trustworthy. And with 6 kids of her own, she is more then capable to handeling my little angels (as you can surmise Elvira has currently left the building). Then we were off to our playdate.

We caught up, late of course, with Jane, her granddaughter Mia, Liz and her girls, Lydia and Lily at the "germ pit" in the Eden Prairie Mall. I am not usually at all bothered by all the creepy crawlies that harbor in that place, but knowing that we were leaving for out of town, I was relying on the power of Purell to keep the kids healthy. We had a very active lunch in the food court. Then on our seperate ways. The girls and I swung into Old Navy to look for a pair of jeans for me.

I have a couple of "must haves" when shopping for jeans; 1. Must be cheap. I will not pay more then a cheap dinner out for them. 2. I will not try on more then three pair. If the first three do not fit, I am not buying. 3. They must fit low enough on my waist to accentuate my small waist, but not low enough to show off any grannie panties that I am wearing. You might think that I must never find jeans. However, with all of those rules, I do not set myself up for failure. I just simply do not shop for them - almost ever.

With a short vacation in my future and one pair of jeans with a hole in the crotch and the other with a hole in the knee, it was a necessary evil. Thankfully, with two kids ready for a nap, the perfect pair arrived on the second try. I ran through the store making sure not to look too closely at the kids department. I just love their clothes for the girls. And I was out the door with new jeans and I couldn't have had dinner at Buffalo Wild Wings for less.

Spent the girls nap time arguing with the computers. Yes, both of them. Our laptop has just given up on life and the desktop (which I am on right now) couldn't keep up with my rapid typing pace. Ugh, had to wait for Jay to get home to figure this one out.

Next were the phone calls. I have been given the appointment of the person to arrange the last minute 15 year reunion for the proud graduating 1993 class of Minnetonka High School. Jay thinks that I am crazy for taking this on especially since our plates are pretty full. But, because the suggestion of this reunion came so late, there are not a lot of expectations for it to be filled with fireworks or amazing acrobats or anything. I think that I have found a place that will accomodate our group. Cross our fingers that it will work out.

When Jay got home he got to work fixing the computers. We layed the laptop to rest and got this ancient relic up and running. The girls and I got out their suitcases. They had fun starting to pack up their own special suitcase with their things for the upcoming weekend.

I spend about an hour catching up on emails for the reunion and some phone calls and Jay was packing - no not to move out, just for the vacation. I will let him stay. . . Emma and Jay turned on hip-hop music to deafening levels and danced their hearts out and Madeline and I made an attempt to organize our crap room, aka bedroom. Then it was bath time and bedtime for two very tired little beans. Emma fell asleep while reading her books and there was no waking her up. Sleep well little babes!

A pocket full of poseys

I am trying to remember if I am always this busy this time of the year. It is amazing how many thing are on my plate. This time of the year also brings about a lot of people pulling at you from different directions. They want you for this or that sometimes not taking into consideration what else is going on. Once again I have also found that I have taken on a lot of committments from extra carriculars and gatherings with friends. I love it, and I love to be busy.

But, litterally, I do not have ONE free day from now until December 31 (and I am sure that we will do something as a family on this day, but there is nothing "official" written down on the calendar) and between now and Dec 31 we have only ONE evening free - December 20. When do we fit in shopping?

Anyway, that was just a brief aside as I sat down this evening to look at my calendar to try and book something with my friend Jennifer. This is the gal that I have only spoken to on the phone and traded emails with who also has MS. I really wish that there was more time in between here and the end of the year to get together with her. But, I would rather schedule a nice time with her then just try to "fit" her in between other projects.

I received a call yesterday that a friend from high school's mother died the day before Thanksgiving. Her service was today. I had hopes of going, but wasn't sure what I would do with Madeline as Emma would be in school. I toyed with the idea of bringing her, but Jay quickly reminded me of how well she sits in regular church service. And not wanting to "burden" any friends with taking care of my baby, I was going to skip it. In dropping Emma off, Liz - Lydia's mom - jumped at the chance to watch my little Madz. So, off I was to the funeral.

I ran into quite a few friends from high school. Several of whom are now added to my list of people to get together with. The service was very nice. Ruth fought cancer for 10 years. She was a very spiritual and religious lady. I hadn't seen her for some time. But, there was a really nice calm about the service knowing that she was so at peace with her passing. It gave a true feeling of passing the way it should be. I know that I will never be that spiritual, but hoping that I could come to that sort of peace and calm would be amazing.

Swung back to pick up my girlies. And home to make some lunch and take naps.

Lately during nap time I have occupied my alone time with catching up on emails and phone calls. Today was no different. One of my calls was to try to clarify Blue Cross/Blue Sheilds (BCBS) billing for some of the tests that I had done. I quickly was told that it was not BCBS that bills, and that I need to talk to Park Nicollett. The woman told me that I hit my deductable on October 24, the day that I had all of my tests. But, I found it ironic that for some reason the one thing that made it on my bill was the big item - $500 spinal tap. All of the other items (almost all) were on the 80/20. Too much confusion to talk about much further. Just annoying and a complete run around.

Jay got home and I went to the gym. What a great workout! I just busted my ass and felt good. Got home to Madeline's big smile and hugs. So great.

This computer that I am on has been causing us trouble and before dinner, it put Jay over the edge. He thought it lost a whole bunch of stuff and I heard swearing that would make a long shoreman blush. Thankfully, all was found to be well after some lasagna and cooling off time.

The evening brought lots of ring around the rosy, hide and go seek and tag as well as another mommy attempt at a fort. Both the kiddos love to take part in all of the schnanigans!

I think that Jay is at his breaking point. Just one of those times of the year when, he too, is pulled in a lot of different directions. He was angry with me for I do not know what and after a few times of asking him what was going on and him talking about things that had nothing to do with anything current, I gave up. I will sit back and wait for him to come and discuss. I am pretty certain that going out of town this weekend will be good for him. Right now, I am ready for him to go by himself - ha, ha!

I have also decided that Emma NEEDS to get back into gymnastics again. She has been asking for quite a while and she also wants to do dancing classes. She is pretty good at that kind of stuff. But, I think that the outlet for her to excersize and move her body like that is something that she is missing.

Anyway, I think I need to go an relax.

I appologize for the language....

Have you ever been so fucking angry you want to go outside and scream at the top of you lungs? I am just starting to wonder why the hell I pay for health insurance. Again today another round of bills come in from Park Nicollet. Really a $600 dollar bill, and your willing to put forth a whopping $21.38? What the fuck? No wonder people give up and let the "taxpayers" cover it. I figure if I quit my job I'll get my mortgage bailed out and then we will have the best health coverage there is, for free?!?!? But I can't deal with feeling like a worthless piece of shit. No offense intended, if you really truly need help I hope that the greatest country in the world will take care of you. I just can't help but wonder what a soilder feels like when the come back from the toughest job in the world(or hell) and then get pissed on by our "system". If you can't tell I'm a little fed up, now they tell us that we met our $2000 deductable but it's because of the way the bills were submitted that we owe so much. I'm fucking pissed, just how much overtime does a poor slob have to work to try to not even make ends meet? THIS SUCKS.

Emma's evil twin

First of all, I will be trying to shorten this post up a bit. The computer seems to have an attitude today, therefore we do not have a very good working relationship at this time. It will spontaniously shut down and lose everything. We will see what I get done here.

Emma woke up and you coud tell that she was going to be in a funky mood. She was a bit short with everything. Madeline, smiling as always. I was trying to get running out the door to accomplish some errands before our playdate came over. Got to the gym to meet Mary for a 20 ass kicking minutes on the eliptical. It is amazing how quickly time goes when you have a good partner to talk to while on these machines. Zipped over to Cub for a couple of necessities. As we were leaving we ran into Don (stepdad). He helped load my water into the car.

Out of the corner of my eye, I see Mary running toward me. She is waving her hands, and out of breath she manages to ask "Is this man ok to be talking to?"

"Him?", I say pointing to Don.

"Yes, is he following you?"

"No Mary, it is Don!"

We all burst out laughing. Mary worried that she looked so stupid thinking that Don was a strange man following me. I was just happy that someone would look out for someone like that. Of course Mary would. She is awesome. Then we also had to laugh because Mary is petite in her 5'2" frame. What would she have done to 6'2" Don?

The kids and I made it home to find Valerie and her son Will waiting for us inside. I haven't seen Valerie and a long time. And it was the first time I met Will. He is 15 months and just a little sweetheart.

About this time, Elvira, Emma's evil twin, started to rear her scary head. Ohhh, and it was ugly! Christmas decorations were flying. Water was being spewed from her mouth. End tables were used as a launch pad for a soft landing on the couch. Talking, time outs and ignoring were no match for this superhero. That was only in the first half hour. Madz loves to follow what her beloved big sis is doing, so it was like watching the Dynamic Duo at work.

Amazingly Valerie and Will were able to put up with the antics, that I so obviously could not control, until nap time. I was very thankful to have had a short amount of time to catch up with her, wishing that she could make the trip back from Montana more often.

I did confide in Val my "secret". She is a great person to talk to and she has experience with dealing with health issues. Valerie has been free of thyroid cancer for 5 years now. It is a wonder, all of the things that go on in life.

Thankfully, Elvira took a nice long nap.

The girls and I had an evening alone as Jay was privy to another Wild hockey game. I am guessing that he will not be "sick" tomorrow - just kidding honey!

The girls made up for all of their crappy-ness throughout the day at story time before we put Maddie to bed. I sat in the rocking chair with them both perched on a leg. It was time for kisses, the girls turned to each other, and with their little noses touching ever so slightly, they gave each other kisses and had a little "conversation" for about 5 minutes. They topped off the exchange with a big hug. It was so great!

I will end this post with another photo from my budding professional. This image is a piece that has not been titled yet . . . I will call it "Hideous stairway spindel".

Cyber Monday

Hi all,

Since it is "Cyber Monday" and perhaps shopping might be on your minds. I thought that I would be sending out this reminder that if you are trying to find the right gift for a friend, hard to buy for grandma/grandpa or co-worker, you can just click on the "Single Minded Woman" link on the left side of the page.

My friend, Matt Logelin, is raising money to help an organization that puts together "packages" for kids who are transferred between foster homes, etc. It gives them some of their own belongings to take with them. It is an awesome idea!!

Now you can read my post below . . .

deck the halls

It is so much fun to wake up to see the Christmas tree. So much excitment for the holiday season and so much to look forward to with the kids.

The tree is in a spot where, when Madelines door is open and she is in her crib, she looks right out at it. A huge smile came across her face when she too was reminded of the beauty of our tree this morning. Emma came up from her room to see Hermie, our elf, hanging from the drapes. That kid doesn't miss a thing!

Mom called this morning with an offer to adorn our dingy, gross stair banister with some garland and other festive items. Of course we took her up on it. It really adds a nice look and an attempt at sophistication to our house.

We left for church. Emma is always eager to get to Sunday school. She just loves learning about God and the bible. Today and next week they are practicing songs that they will perform at the upcoming Christmas show - I CANNOT wait for that! Madeline on the other hand, is not too interested in hearing Pastor Dave talk about Isaish and the Messiah. Sitting in the pew for more then a couple of minutes is too much. Understandable when you are 1 1/2. I think, reluctantly, I will look into the nursery care that is available. I have a tremendous complex against anyone besides me and very, very few others watching my kids. . . So, we will see.

After church we went to brunch with some friends. It was a lot of fun, service sucked, food was great. The kids -ours and others - lost it about 1/2 way through. Thankfully we were with everyone who is kid friendly and it didn't phase them. We decided next time we will look into an all adult happy hour.

Made it home just in time for naps. We all layed down. I slept so hard. I have been fighting a cold, so sleeping hasn't come easily. This nap was an exception. When I heard Madz wake up, I actually looked at the clock and thought "why is she waking up at 4:53 in the morning?" Before I realized that it was not the morning, it was the beginning of the evening.

Emma, I think, is going to fall on the more "artsy" side of the spectrum. She loves all kinds of art things. Actually, last summer, we went on a tour of the Minneapolis Museum of Art. She loved it and asks about going again. Her new thing is taking my digital camera and taking pictures of everything. But, it is hilarious how she tells you how to pose and that you look "extraordinary". I, of course, think she does a pretty good job. Here is one of her shots from this evening.

After a fun filled dinner, we starting decking our halls. Actually 99% of all the Christmas stuff ends up upstairs. It is so nice and cozy. We got the snowbabies put up, the tree decorated and the rest of our little items randomly put around.

The wonder in the girls eyes at all of this stuff and the questions that Emma asks make every around you even more amazing. There really is something unbelieveable about seeing the world through a childs eyes. There isn't many things more amazing then that.

We have candy and a tree!

8:00am brought about two little girls who were eager to play. We did so the best we could while trying to be quite enough for a sleeping daddy. He strolled out around 9:00 with a happy little Madeline squeeling "daddy, daddy, daddy". Kids always bring a smile to any morning.

Daddy was ready to start the day, so we threw on some clothes and were out the door. We had been alerted to a sale on pre-cut Christmas trees at Bachmans. Yes, the practice of buying a precut tree is against all that I hold dear about Christmas. Ever since I was very young, I have cut a Christmas tree (except for a few years in an apartment when we could not have a real tree). And, God forbid that I EVER, EVER have a fake tree. However, with schedules as they are this month, we would not get to go and cut our own until about the 20th. That would be no good. And this was a bit more economical, all things considered.

So off to choose our tree. They actually had them hanging from the ceiling so they at least LOOKED like they could have been there to be cut. We found a nice one and were out the door $38 poorer, but all the more in a holiday sort of mood. The girls had fun running through the faiser forest and so did we.

Ate some lunch and put a couple of reluctant girls down for an early nap. We had to get to candy making on time!

The girls woke up and we wisked them off to Uncle Brad and Aunt Beths house. Everyone from my dads side was there. This is a tradition that I just love - an awesome way to officially kick off the season. We dipped, covered and rolled a miriad of things. Everything from caramel to potato chips, from flavored center peices to peanuts. We have it all. Emma and Madeline were in hog heaven. They had all of their cousins to play with. Ranging in age from 7 1/2 to just under 1. Lots of little ones. What a great time!

When we got home, Jay got a wild hair up his ass and decided that we needed some christmas lights on our fence. Soooo, at 9:30 at night he was putting nails into the fence and hanging lights. I love how much he gets into the holidays. That has always been such a big part of me, so glad that it is also a big part of him. Love my guy!

I have been feeling really great! A very small amount of tingling in my fingers, but really not much anywhere else. If there was a way to will it out of my body, I am pretty sure that I did that. This disease picked the wrong chick to "F" with! Dr. Parry brought to light so many more aspects about this shit then most others had. No way is this the end of anything. As "they" say, there is a reason for everything. I am sure that I will find it.

A really nice day, a really nice family, a really nice life!

No shopping for me

Watching all of the commericals for the great deals going on, shopping was on my mind. However, since we have over 30 - yes, 3 - 0 - people to buy for during the holiday season we need to plan accordingly. Unfortunatly, that means taking Jay's whole "bonus" check and spending it on gifts for others. I know that he does love to make them happy, but I always feel sad that he can't spend it on what anything that he would like.

Sure, we could slim down on our buying list. People like grandma and grandpa say they don't want anything, my dad only wants a picture from the kids, and with most of the rest of the family we usually just buy for the little kiddos. Jay and I both agree that we are really blessed with everyone in our family and we would like to be able to give them something nice and special on Christmas.

So today, Jay shot off to quell any car wash emergencies that came up over the holiday and the kids and I went to the gym. I cut out one coupon for the day, but of course it was sold out already. Next stop was GNC. I had to pick up the Vitamin D tablets that Dr. Parry told me that I needed to start on. 400mg 3x per day until April. There is a lot of research coming out about the lack of vitamin D and MS. Then to Byerlys to walk around aimlessly trying to find something for dinner. Left with lunch, nothing for dinner. Home for naps.

Jay got home before the girls even woke up. He delivered to me all of the love notes for me that arrived today in the mail. I get a lot of them lately. My main admirer is Blue Cross/Blue Sheild. Today my envelope arrived STUFFED full of paperwork. I thought perhaps this is my walking papers or they were sending me a condolence letter. Neither. It was filled with about 8 sheets of paper billing me for ever little damn thing that I did at Methodist during the day of all of my tests at the end of Oct. The genuises at BCBS haven't yet streamlined their billing to include it all on one peice of paper. I am certain that I could cut down on their overhead with one swift move of less paper.

The girls got up and we ordered Thai food - one of Jay's favorites. Plopped down in front of the tv to watch the awesome Polar Express. Emma was just enthrawled with the movie. As you can see from the picture above, Maz would take a few minutes to watch the movie, then experiment with other ways to use her toys.

So glad it is the weekend to be togther as a family!

Don't bother getting out of bed today

That is what Jay said as he was headed out the door this morning. Why? Well, there was snow on the ground. Almost everyone knows that some of my favorite things are chocolate, watching Tiger Woods golf, HOT weather and Prince. On the other hand, some of my least favorite things are folding laundry, cleaning my bathtub and least of all COLD weather.

Yes, the first snow of the year is nice. It is the thought that about six months from now I will want to jump into a snow bank and not come up. Ugh. Although one thing about this morning that made it different was the fun and giggles that came out of the girls when they saw the snow.

After a quick meeting this morning for a council that I am on, I took the girls to the health club that I recently joined. It is not one of the fancy clubs, and very, very inexpensive, so it is just bare bones. I mean really, some of the other places are really grand, but who the hell wants to put full make up on and have to lose 20 pounds BEFORE you even go to the club. I dropped the girls in their care center, which was very hard for me to do, and worked out for an hour. Nothing too tough, just enough to make my ass burn. I started to hear Madeline cry, so I quickly changed clothes, gathered my kids and headed for the toy store.

We quickly chose a gift for a birthday party tomorrow and headed home for lunch and nap time. Whomever came up with the old addage "terrible twos" never had to partake in constant negotiations with a 3 1/2 year old.

The girlies slept for a record amount of time. I was able to rest and to get some things done around the house. I had to field a couple of calls today between the Avonex manufacturers and the "specialty" pharmacy. The novalty of all this special attention wears off so very quickly. Although the pharmacy did tell me that I will have to pay approx $35 per month for a drug that costs just over $2400 per month.

Jay got home and asked if I paid a bill that was due. I said no and he wondered what I did with the money that he had left for that this morning. Well, bought a birthday present for the party, of course! I say that tongue and cheek. He did leave cash this morning, however he neglected to mention that it was to pay for this bill. I suppose I should have known better. Jay having to take 3 1/2 days off last pay period put things even more tight around the castle. Such is life.

Made a delicious, gourmet dinner of Crunchy Taco Hamberger Helper, scrubbed up some messy girls in the tub, read books and put them to bed.

There are always reminders through each day, when you look, how lucky you really are. This evening gave me a reminder that there are people out there who do not have a place with those who work hard to be good people. That is why us good people need to work just a bit harder to stand out sometimes.

The neurologist says. . . .

Yesterday was the day that we had been waiting for. It was to kind of give us a basis for things to come with my MS.

We dropped the girls off at my friend Jane's house. She is so great! Never a hesitation in her mind for helping out. A terrific friend. Jay and I headed off to Dr. Freking's office.

This man has such a quiet yet smart demeanor about him. Do you think that comes when you make over $500k per year? Perhaps. I don't think I will ever know.

We went over the results of all of my tests that had been done the couple of weeks before. Basically, all of the test were "abnormal". What that really means is that they are "normal" for MS, "abnormal" for those without. Not surprising, that is what we expected.

With MS, there is no test that you take to tell you that it what you have. It is really more that you are put through the rigors and tests to make sure that there is nothing else that you have. Testing against all other possiblities.

Dr. Freking said that this is the time to start discussing treatment options. He had a couple of questions to get us pointed in a direction of which treatment would be best - do we plan to have more kids, what are my days like, and something else that I don't remember.

I am still not really clear about the differences in the different meds. There are only six approved drugs for MS - some are once a week, some are 3x per week. All of them are injectable and all of them make you sick. Yeah. It is not bad enough to live in MN where getting sick especially this time of the year is the norm, but I will now purposefully be making myself sick.

We found that at this time Avonex will be the best treatment for me. I will have to inject it once per week, for, well, forever. After you take the meds, most people are found to have all of the flu like symptoms - puking, sore musles, fatigue, etc - for 24 hours after. So I have to find a cherished weekend day that I can give up to be sick, so that Jay can take care of and have fun with the girls.

I have now been fielding calls from the drug company, the off-site pharmacy and the nurse that will come to my house to teach me how to inject myself. jay is hoping that I have to get them in the ass cause he wants to administer. I hate to dissappoint but since it has to be given into the muscle, I would hate to see how big the needle has to be to get to the muscle in my ass.

Yesterday evening I went to dinner with Cathy. A great friend of mine for 20 years, we figured last night. She is one of those gals that no matter how long it has been since we have seen each other we always have so much to talk about. We left the evening swearing that we will be getting together much more often. I hope that we can follow through.

Coming home to the girls, and Jay, was sweet. I love my little family more then anything in the world. As Dr. Freking told me yesterday, I will be around to watch my kids and grandkids grow up. That is priceless and with all hopes, I will have the ability to run and play with them all too. I will keep praying.

"I approve this message" day

Yep, that is what Emma called it. The kid doesn't even watch much tv, but those political types even have a 3 1/2 year old calling it that! Since I am writing this the day after, I can officially say that no matter what the outcome was of the election, I know that I can say that I am glad the ads are over!

The girls and I did some last minute running around for our election schmorg with the Ballsrud family. I am still thinking that perhaps Mary and I were making more out of this election then anyone else inthe country. To even find any red, white and blue items was to be asking a lot. We called it a day and layed down for a nap. After everyone was awake, we loaded into the car to make the most of the evening.

As always, the schmorg with the Ballsruds was a smashing success! At least, that is what Mary and I think. The menu consisted of red, white and blue bread, Arizona chips and salsa, Deleware shrimp and dip, lipstick pigs in a blanket, moosemeat pizza and victory Chicago style pizza and the kids loved the red and blue jello. For dessert was a deliscious cheesecake with cherries and blueberries.

We called it an evening just before the big announcement was made!

lots of running

Ever feel like you are just shoving too many things into a day and that you just can't get into your car fast enough to get to the next spot. Who am I kidding? I think that everyone feels like that these days. I am not a "sitter", I go, go, go . . . although I do cherish sitting on the floor and playing with my girls.

That is how most mornings start and today was no different. Then we were off to run some errands and to Madeline's class where we dropped Emma off at her sibling care room - I have told her that she is there to be a teachers assistant. That helped to ease her into being ok with going there. Then Maddie and I were off to sing songs and do little people things.

After class we were off to meet Super Mary and Robby for lunch and shopping for our schmorgasboard that we are going to have on election evening. What is a schmorgasboard you ask? Well, it is something that Mary and I first experienced in college. UMD thoughtfully put together an evening full of a large, buffett style dinner full of all sorts of food. Super Mary and I have now brought it back and forced our spouses and kids to be part of our goofy ideas. We always must have a theme. Our theme this time is "Election 2008". It will be held on election night.

We were off to all the stores that we were sure would be filled with Obama/McCain paraphanalia. After being shut out at Pary America (all of the costumes had been sold out for a long time, we were told) and Byerlys we were thinking that perhaps we were taking this election thing more seriously then most. I mean, is it too much to ask that Byerly's have a cookie or SOMETHING decorated with a black man or an aging white guy? Heck, even a flag cookie would have suffice. Nope. Nothing. So, we have had to work our magic and perhaps our imagination. No matter what, the schmor will be great because we always have a great time with Mary, Jason and Robby.

Back home with the girlies, and down for a nap. Called Jay to find that he is stuck in Eau Clare (sp?) WI for the night. So Emma called on the chef of the house to make some Jambalaya. Done. We cleaned up, scrubbed up in the bath, and now here I am. Looking at how damn late it is.

What time is it?

The sound of the youngest baby crying after a night very little sleep can be tough. When Madeline woke up, I rolled over, looked at the clock. 7:22am, not so bad. Got up and stumbled out of the bedroom. On my way, Jay takes a minute to raise his head up and say, "It's not 7, it is 6". What? It takes a minute to realize that Madeline must not have gotten the memo that says she needed to adjust her sleeping. Jay rolls back over to continue his beauty rest. To see Madz little face smiling at you, so eager to start the day puts aside lingering thought of the of snot running out of each nostril all night long.

The Viera family was up and dresses appropriatly to pick up our friends for a nice brunch by 10:30. Not long after, we all rolled ourselves out the door and back home to enjoy some of this goergous day.

Today, we had to say good-bye to Dorothy, our goldfish. She passed a few weeks ago, but Emma was reluctant to bury her. After some urging today, we decided to bury her under the swingset. It was very sweet when Emma talked about her worries of Dorothy getting dirty. But, she felt content when we talked about Dorothy being in heaven with God, Grandma Pat and Lucy - our kitty. I assured her that God would make Dorothy some nice dinners.

The rest of the day was spent doing what I like doing best, being a happy little family. Nothing could be better!

Halloween and the next day

What a fun "holiday" when you have kids! Halloween brings about so much excitement from the little ones. The day was filled with a lot of running around, with the highlight coming from our trip to Cub Foods where they gave out free trick-or-treating baskets. The girls chose to test them out as hats first.

After short naps, in anticipation of the big evening ahead, the girls got into their costumes and set out for the mother load. I can hear my ass and thighs getting bigger already.

We made our way around the neighborhood, visiting with all of the great people who were so excited to see the girls. Watching the girls traverse between the houses was so much fun.

We ended around 7:15 and headed off to Grandma Kim and Grandpa Don's for some yummy tacos. I think that the sugar was beginning to go directly into the veins of the girls and they were a little bonkers. After a couple of hours we called it a night and headed home with two very exhausted little babes.

Saturday morning we were directed to get out of our house by an eager Grandma Kim and Grandpa Don. They offered to come and CLEAN OUR HOUSE since we have had a lot of other things going on lately. Ahhhhh! The sound of angels singing! That is probably the best gift I could have gotten in a long time.

Jay and I packed up the girls to go out for a few hours while the transformation on the house was to begin.

Before nap time we got back home and found our house sparkling more then it was the day we moved in. Oh, what a great feeling!! Grandma Kim and Grandpa Don packed up, most likely to go home and take a nice shower after digging in our dirt for so many hours.

Spent the rest of the evening enjoying the clean house. I must go and drug myself with something to help clear my sinuses. Winter colds have taken hold of Emma and me.