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!!

Superbowl Sunday

An observation for the day: Very strange things are out of stock at the grocery stores on Super Bowl Sunday.

Jay left bright and early this morning for a day sure to be busy in the car wash world. The girls and I were slow in getting going.

Most of the morning was spend reading, playing with various little people, dolls, cars and plastic animals of all sorts. I had to do some work on the computer for Grandpa Don, then of course it was a mad rush to get moving out the door.

In follow up of the shot yesterday, I feel just fine today. Actually at one point this morning when the thought of MS crossed my mind, I had to stop and think "I feel fine, don't I?" Yep, I feel just fine.

We were out the door and on time for church, then on to our typical lunch spot for a gourmet meal of cheeseburger and apples.

I knew that we were going to be pressed for time this afternoon because we had to drop some paperwork off to Grandpa Don, go to the store, and get home for naps before the party this evening. The girls wanted to stay and play at Grandma and Grandpa's house, but Emma was eager to leave when she began to worry about what she might miss at the store if she didn't go.

Off to the store - who would have thought that there would be such a shortage of Hormel No Beans Chili - for items to make my contribution for the party, and home for naps.

I woke the girls up and we headed out with Jay going to meet us there after work.

The party was a lot of fun and Jay finally got to join us after awhile. Us girls sat upstairs and chatted and the guys sat downstairs and chatted - or whatever it is that they do. The ratio of kids to adults was about 1:1. Actually, there were probably about 3 more kids then there were adults. It was loud and crazy, but a ton of fun. AND, I won the betting pool. I just happened to choose the final numbers for the game. So awesome.

Brought two very tired and worn out girlies home. Poor Emma, she asked for a sip of water. I filled a cup in the bathroom and she spilled part of it down the front of her. She always has a fit about something like that, but when she is tired she is twice as neurotic about it. Well, in the middle of her tantrum, she lost her balance and fell backward into the toilet. All I could do was to giggle a little bit.

Daddy gets to stay home tomorrow!! Yeah!

Snow fun!

Ahhh, back up into the positive farenheit digits!! The feeling in the air was so great. At one point today, my car read 50 degrees - well, actually 49, but who cares! What an awesome way to end the month after such a crappy January!

We gave a call to Grandma Dar and Grandpa Bob this morning to see what they were up to. They said that they were expecting some other family members to stop by for a visit and they would love to have us. So the girls and I packed up and headed over.

Em and Madz had a great time playing with their cousins. They just love going over to grandma and grandpa's house to play and visit. When we left Emma asked when we are going over again to play. It was twice as nice that they were able to spend time with both of their Aunts as well! We all enjoyed lunch together and had a great time.

The girls and I gathered up our things right after lunch and head home. Emma has been so looking forward to getting "good snow" so that we could make a snowman. Today was our day!!

It was funny trying to watch Madeline try to navigate her way around the yard. Emma was just concerned about the finishing touches on the snowman. We made up some stories about what our snowman will do at night. Because, you know, at night the snowmen of the neighborhood got together for snow games. Madeline and I had to finish up the fort/house for the snowman because Emma was in distress about the snow that had gone down her back. Gosh, the fresh air was great and the sunshine was invigorating! No one really fought me on nap time and soon everyone was in dream land.

Because of the nice weather, Jay didn't get home from work until about 6:30. It was a long day in the world of car washes! And he is anticipating another long one tomorrow - hopefully not to long so he can come to the SuperBowl Party!!

After dinner and baths, Jay and the girls gathered around the table to bear witness to my second Rebif injection. I left Emma choose where I would do it. She chose my arm. So there it went. Just as smoothly as the one in the doctors office. Hoping that the side effects will have the same result - nothing.

Before bed I asked Emma what she thought about watching me do the shot. She said, "it was good". I said, "do you have any questions about the shots?" and she said "no" and just went on playing with her paperdolls.

Everyone is tucked in, Jay is still on the phone with a co-worker discussing work (I swear these guys talk more then any other employees that I have ever known) and I am determined to get to bed before midnight.

Significant improvement

A much less complicated day then yesterday.

Awoke this morning with not much on my mind since I am, thankfully, feeling about 99% - the missing 1% is because of some sleep that is missing due to a 3 1/2 year old who "needed a hug" at 5:15am and "needing a kiss" at 6:16am - we were able to plan the day however we want.

I decided that we needed to attempt to do some investigative work into a new fridge - where are the good deals, a good model, any group discounts for matching other appliances. Since Jay is working this weekend we will not have the time to get that stuff done. There is a necessity to have a properly working fridge now that my shots are kept in there. We cannot afford the $3200 monthly cost of my drug that Pfizer charges. Wasting them is not an option. So with our food in mind and drugs to keep safely cool a new fridge is necessary.

We plowed through Appliancesmart, finding some good deal and not leaving much damage in our wake. On to Sears, some different models there. Stopped at the food court for lunch and on to the germ pit to refill on our bacteria levels and do a little playing. I sat next to a gal that I later found out I used to coach in gymnastics. I didn't recognize her. Beautiful gal who looks EXACTLY like Angelina Jolie except her lips are far smaller. She has 3 girls so we exchanged numbers. On to home for naps, etc.

I attempted to make a dent in my email inbox, some thank you notes, a thinking of you card, some info on the MS walk. Didn't get ONE thing completed, but I did get about 100 things STARTED.

Jay got home and we discussed the fridge situation. Decided that we can go out and survey the situation in the refridgerator world. A call to Grandma Kim and Grandpa Don was a great relief since they were happy to watch the girls. Jay and I were off to embark on a romantic Friday evening shopping for refridgerators.

The evening went too fast and was far more complicated then anticpated. Our lovely mid-80's house - never, ever buy one if you have a choice - has a space for only a smaller fridge. So we had a choice of 2 models. Yes, they are smaller then the standard size, but no less expensive.

A quick bite to eat and we went and got the girls. Came home and went to bed. Jay's tummy started not feeling well again, so he tuckered out. My turn.

Childhood book

Emma has a book called "Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day". The title to this book went through my mind many times today. As I mentioned, last night I told Jay that I had a feeling that something really good was going to happen. It seems as though the "beings above" and I really got our lines crossed. I will see if I can sumarize:

Morning:
*Jay woke up puking

*Madeline put her hand in puke that was left on the toilet - twice

*My makeup bag fell into a partially full sink

*I knelt in poop that had unknowingly fallen out of a diaper - don't ask.

*Madeline got into my lotion and spread it all over her hands, pajamas and wall.

*Jay continued puking

*Jay could not come to school because of his illness, Emma was disappointed

Mid-day:

*Had to stop for lunch because I hadn't gone to the store

*I ate McD in the car on the way. I felt like one of those people you see on undercover stories "Hiding your food addiction"

*Tried to stop for gas, the only pump open was "pay with a card" pump - I don't have a card

*Got to my friends house to drop off the girls late and with their lunches still in a bag

*Went to Dr appointment alone. Jay still puking.

*Got turned around down at the U and got confused. Finally found my way. Late.

*The parking ramp that I usually go to was full, the attendant didn't know of another place to park. Battery on phone almost dead, so couldn't call for assistance.

I will break here to say that everything with the nurse went fine. Actually it was one of the better parts of my day, funny enough. We sat and talked for about 45 minutes about lots of stuff. She is so very nice and easy to talk to. We talked about MS, the future, the drugs, family, etc. She helped me to set up my easy injector for my shots and we practiced injecting on a plastic thing. Then we did the shot in my upper arm. It was really easy and there was no pain. The needle is one of the thinest there is. And right now as I type, I feel just fine. My MS nurse said that with the "starter" shots (titration pack it is called), it is less likely that I will have side effects. When I start moving up to the higher doses in a few weeks is when we will really have to wait and see. I have kind of a dull headache, but I am really attributing it to my day and not the drugs. I will now resume my day:

*Ran out of gas on 394 on the way home from the Dr office. Unbelievable!

*My battery was almost dead on my phone so I made one call to Jay (don't know why). He said he was on his way.

Here is where I have a couple of good things.

*My phone allowed me to make andother call. I called my dear friend who had the girls. She said don't worry, everything was great.

*MNDot came to my rescue. I started sobbing to a really nice man, he smiled, filled my car with some gas, I forced him to take money for a tip.

*Madeline started gymnastics tonight. It was so fun to do it with her. No comment on the overzealous dad that was in the class with his daughter.

Today was one of those days. All in all a pretty shitty day. So many little things. Although now that everyone is sleeping I can look at it and say, I am here, I got through the shot and currently I am feeling just fine. This was a day that I really felt so alone, but realizing that I am just alone physically. Tomorrow is a new day!

It the final countdown!

Can we have a countdown, please? In T minus - is that how you really say that - 15 hours I will be beginning my new life as an intervenus drug user. Eh, not really, it just sounds fancier and prhaps a little sexier when it is put that way. Just with a little less of the living on the streets part of it.

Actually, at 1pm tomorrow Jay and I will be back up at the U for an appintment with the MS nurse for a full tutorial of how to do my injections properly. I should clarify the above. I will be beginning my life as a subcutanious, interfeuron beta-1A drug user. At the end of the appointment I will officially be injected with the drug.

Jay is going to or has to take the day off. Of course I want him to come with me, but because of his job taking part of a day off is practically impossible. So, he will be taking the whole day off. But, it really works out well because Emma has school and Jay will be able to come. Something he wouldn't otherwise really be able to do. Emma is so excited.

Those of you who know me well will understand this. With the thought of some different possible side effects looming, I have made a promise to myself and a secret promise to the girls. Because the "flu like symptoms" doesn't include the puking part, just the fever, chills, body aches stuff I have made a committment to not let this effect my life style. Of course I am hoping that this will not even be an issue. But, I have things to do and something like this will not hold me down. I also told Jay that I hope that these drugs don't make me awful to live with, and of course with a smirk on his face he said "not any more impossible to live with then you are now." I think he followed that up with a hug.

Today I had an MS talk with Emma. I did the best that I can do with a 3 1/2 year old. The best parts of talking about these things with a kid that age is that they don't have any point of reference to come back to. They aren't going to be one of the people who immediatly says "oh, I know someone who is in a wheelchair" or "oh, that is awful". She just said "ok".

I have one of my favorite friends watching the girls tomorrow. I knew that the minute I told her that I needed her help she said yes even before she knew what day or time. I am so very lucky! And my little baby bear, Madeline, starts her gymnastics tomorrow night. I will not be missing that.

I tried to take a picture of my drugs, but I am a pretty crappy photographer and so it didn't turn out. I need my online friend, Matt, to take a photo. He could take a picture of an ice cube in a snowstorm and make it look nice.

I told Jay tonight at dinner that I have a feeling that something good will happen soon. Jay was hoping that we will win the lottery. That would be awesome, but I would be happy for just some great days, years and decades ahead.

They're here!

Today my drugs came. Alittle old man - a private delivery service - in a beat up old Chevy pick up truck showed up at our door with a small styrofoam container. In the styrofoam container was an even smaller box, about the size of a small tampon box, full of liquid that costs over $3000 per month. So I have in my possession the stuff that is hopefully going to slow down the progression of the MS. I have a tentative appointment - I have to get the kids squared away before I can confirm - for Thursday with the nurse to figure out the nuts and bolts of these injections.

A couple of things have come to mind as of late, and perhaps I have mentioned them before, maybe several times. There is a "rule" so to speak in MS. The progression of your disease within the first five years (I think that is what it is) is thought to be how your disease is going to progress life long. So far, in the first three months of this (come on, cut me some slack) I am on a pretty good road . . . ok, I have a little ways to go. Jay took my train of thought away, so I do not remember what else it was that I was going to say on this train.

This morning, as usual, I was spending sometime with Matt Lauer before the kids got up. Generally the tv goes off when they get up, but today I was trying out a new "system" for getting ready on school mornings so I was somewhat out of my element and the tv didn't got off right away. As I was making breakfast for the girls, I happened to look up at the tv - the volume was so low that I couldn't hear it - the blurb on the bottom of the screen said "Woman Living with MS" or something to that effect. Really? The one moment that I happen to glance, it is about MS. The story was actually pretty uplifting. It was a younger woman who had MS and had lost most of her ability to walk after being an athlete all her life. She was using this new apparatus that hooks to the leg, a sensor in the heel and a remote control. This machine allowed her to walk and run virtually normal again. Amazing. Her body was also retrained, therefore she did not have to use this tool all the time anymore.

We made it to school on time and Madeline and I were off to the gym. A great workout. Ran some errands and back to pick up Emma. We came home for lunch and to do some work on the house. I now understand why some people have two dishwashers. I always thought it was living in excess, but now it makes sense.

The girls layed down and I began reading a new book. Jay got home and we were off to gymnastics for Emma. And since Maddie is starting gymnastics on Thursday, Jay found her something to wear. She was very excited to try it on - over her clothes. Emma was happy to have Grandma Kim as an extra audience member tonight for her class.

Dinner and bed time followed. Jay spent a long while on the phone catching up with a friend from long ago. He was so excited to talk with him and catch up. Nate has a beautiful family and an amazing home. We have high hopes of driving out to Montana to see him and his family this summer/fall.

I was talking with a mom today before the kids got out of class. She doesn't know about my "condition", but she was talking about a friend of hers who is battling some demons. We discussed about how life can make you rich, but being truly rich or wealthy doesn't come frome money, it comes from spending quality time with family and friends cause you can't get that back. If this is truly the case, Jay and I are wealthy beyond our dreams!

Drugs are ordered!

Today was the day that the final order information was given to the pharmacy and my life with drugs will soon begin. They waste no time, as the drugs are supposed to arrive here tomorrow. After that I need to call the special MS nurse who will have to see Jay and I for the proper procedures. I am thinking that perhaps this week sometime or first part of next we will get started.

As I hope that, among other things, the drug does its job to slow the progression of the disease, I am also hoping that I will be in the minority of people who suffer from the flu like symptoms as a side effect. I glance at my calendar and see all of the things that we have going on. But, knowing myself and the committment that I have made to me, Jay and the girls. This will not get in the way of our lives. Thankfully, knowing that Jay and mom cannot take a lot of time off of work, I have several friends and other family that have offered to help if the situation would arise.

Although I have to say, at this time I have a good feeling about this. As with most things in life, this initial portion of drug therapy is only for a short amount of time in the whole scheme of things. If I stop the drug, I will have to go through the initial stage again, but it is only temporary. Jay and I have talked so much about knowing that people get deals cards in life, unfortunatly we don't know what we have in our hands. Som get a really shitty hand while others seem to float through to the end. However, I think when you get to a point in life, you find that it really isn't a matter of just floating through, it is how you react to what your hand is. Are you able to play or do you fold? I am in this game.

The day was one of, again, getting back to normal. To the gyn this morning for a very quick workout. So quick in fact, that I parked in the 30 minute parking spot. Then off to Madz class. After the parent only portion of the class, a couple of the childrens teachers commented on how much my little bean is talking. Child genius, I guess. Back home for the usual.

The evening brought a nice family dinner as we do evey night, and some play time, baths and beauty sleep. Jay is already upstairs in bed. He is so excited that it is so early and he is ready for bed in clean sheets. So glad that he is easily entertained!

My turn

I was not able to take any photos today . . . . I only have some words today!

Observation: Having the flu while you are trying to play dress up and blocks and take care of kids while trying not to get them sick is on the list of worst things!



My little alarm (Madeline) was ready to get up at 5:45. I could tell it was a cry more telling of teeth pain, then just wanting to get up. I waited a few minutes to see if she would realize how early it was. She did not. So, I went in armed with Tylenol and a lullabye. I think that I need to invent some sort of apparatus that will allow parents to see how much medicine they are giving a kid without turning the lights on.



She fell asleep for another 45 minutes. I let her cry for a couple and she fell asleep until 7:30. Unfortunatly, when I woke up, I felt like shit. My stomach hurt and just didn't feel great. So I gathered the kids, Jay was still sleeping of course, and we went to the family room and turned on the tv. Aren't there only so many brain cells that can be destroyed in a week?



When Jay got up, he realized that I was not feeling great and directed me back to bed. He got the girls dressed and they headed out the door leaving me to rest in bed all-by-myself. Just what the dr ordered. I gave thanks that I was feeling so crappy on a day that Jay was home. His company doesn't pay him for "personal" days or sick days involving taking care of the kids.



They came back several hours later. Daddy had gone to Target, Costco and lunch. I got up to play with the kiddos for a little bit before naps. We all rested.

Jay went to get some food that would satisfy us all and we chatted about the kids day with daddy. Although I wasn't able to participate in the day it was so nice that the girls were able to spend the day alone with daddy.

The evening brought about lots of relaxation time. I have always wondered what is the age that we go from not ever wanting to rest to wanting it whenever possible. I know that the latter of the two is not at 20 months. Madeline wanted me to go here and there and all around with her "mommy, come here", "mommy, walk" . . . Hoping that she is able to sleep in a little later tomorrow.

Lovin' the weekend

It is so great when the weekend comes and daddy doesn't have to work!! The girls are so excited and so am I.

Madz has been waking up kind of early and this morning she thought that I should get up at 6:15. A little fickin early, but she is so cute and just wanted to cuddle. I think those molars are casuing issues. However, we find most of the excitement of the weekend AFTER Jay wakes up. Since he is not a morning person, we have to tiptoe around the house until he gets up. For some reason he can't see that it is virtually impossible to keep two young'uns in a small house with an open layout quiet until 9:00.

Once everyone greeted the day, we were dressed and ready to head out. Jay and I decided that we should start doing some preliminary shopping for some items that are a necessity when our taxes come back. First on the list is looking into replacing some windows - the ones that let snow directly into the house.

We started at Menards. Found a nice man, Dirk, who knew A LOT about windows and was very willing to share all of that info. As he was talking an older gentleman came up and was patiently waiting behind him. I suggested that Dirk could answer that mans questions before finishing with us.

This man was very sweet and he was just there to thank Dirk for helping him the previous weekend with some fixes to a stair railing in his house. For some reason I knew exactly where this conversation was headed. The older gentleman turned to me and said "My wife has MS and of course she can't leave the house so I shop for her and bring things home and she will veto them or give them the ok." Hmmm. don't you just love it when you get smacked in the face with an ugly reminder and all you can say back is "that is so kind that you do that for her".

Jay and I had a heated "discussion" on our way to lunch. It wasn't an arguement, but he couldn't understand why I would let this man and his situation get to me. I tried explaining that I wasn't sad because I was living his situation, just for the fact that I can understand and talk about my MS with those that I have chosen to do so with and be just fine. But, when you are unprepared to see a stranger and see them living a life that I hope and pray that I don't have is a little disheartening. However, a burger from Lion's Tap was able to lift the spirits - this was my first time and wow, that was awesome!

That was the only running that we got done today. Jay and the kids layed down for a nap and I just relaxed in a full, but quiet house.

For dinner Jay whipped up a terrific chicken pasta dish. Holy cow it was good. Threw the girls in for a bath, then we all sat down for movie night. Jay picked up a Thomas the Train movie. It was pretty cute.

I drugged Maddie up with some Tylenol to hopefully take the edge off the molars coming, read her books and put my little bean to bed. Then Emmas turn. Being 3 1/2 is a tough time for the kids as well as the parents. Their little bodies are going through so much. One day, or I could say one hour, she will be Elvira. The next she is the sweetest little thing. Tonight was the sweet one. We cuddled, read books, then put her to bed as well. Jay and I watched a stupid comedy movie and are now on our way to bed.

My sweet babes

Observation for the day: It doesn't bother me one bit to leave the house unshowered, in sweats to hit the town with my kiddos. Boy, I am sure that my outsides look like shit, but inside I am glowing!

A day with nothing planned. That doesn't happen often, so when it does it is a nice surprise. We took a lot of time this morning playing around with almost every toy that is upstairs. I was hoping to get a move on and out the door around 10. True to form, we didn't get out of the door until 10:30. B.C. - Before Children - I was always at least on time if not early to everything!

Ran into the gym for just a little while. Due to illness and school, etc this was only the second time that I had been there this week. My workout buddy is gone on vacation so I have been left to my own devices. I did an ok job, the dull winter is starting to take a toll and not give me much incentive to do anything active.

We left the gym, swung into a car wash - doing what we can to stimulate the economy and keep daddy in a job, the on to the gymnastics gym! The girlies need a little workout as well. The were only a few other kids there so we were able to run, jump and swing our little hearts out! It was a blast. The gal that was supervising the kids noted that "there isn't much that will stop Madeline, is there?" Nope, she is just a little steam engine. Everything is funny to her and she will do all she needs to to keep up with her sister.

Emma requested a stop at Subway for lunch and we HAD to eat there. The girls were such a joy at lunch. Both on their best behavior! We spent quite a bit of time there, eating, laughing, going potty a couple of times and having dessert. During lunch, really out of no where, Emma gently took Madz hand and said, "You know what makes me happy mommy? Playing with my sister and being able to touch her and hold her hand." (I know that is exactly what she said because I made a literal note of it right away.) Oh, so sweet. Like I said, a great lunch. Home for naps and to finish a book that I had been reading.

I am really happy that I have been starting to read again. There have been some wonderful reads. And, in the 14 years that Jay and I have been together, I have very rarely seen him ever read a book. He said that the most he has ever read is since Emma was born. But, in the past few months he has found a few books and gets throught them quite quickly and likes it!

Jay came home from work ready to relax for the weekend. We were invited to Grandma Kim and Grandpa Dons house for the evening. My sister offered to make dinner.

Rachel Ray assisted in the stuffed chicken breasts. They were divine! We ate, drank, had fun and sopped up blood from Maddie's mouth meeting the floor. Poor little thing! She had a fat lip.

Came home with the girls both slumped over in the car fast asleep. Made a nice transition to bed and that is where Jay is already off in dream land. A nice relaxing weekend ahead!!

Back to normal

Thankfully yesterday is over. This morning I had two healthy kids and we got to school on time - almost early actually! Hallejuah!! I wasn't sure that day was ever going to come!

Emma and I enjoyed a nice time in school together learning spanish, some new songs as well as some pattern stuff. Madeline went to sib care. She will still cry for the first couple of minutes, the just has a grea time playing with the terrific gals that watch over the kids. She even asked to go potty!!

We just came right home after school and enjoyed sometime together with playing school, sleep over and cars. The girls napped and I did some typing, online viewing and made some calls. Madz woke up at exactly 1 1/2 hours - that kid has one hell of an internal clock. But, right when I got her up we sat down to read books and she fell asleep in my arms for another 1/2 hour. It is hard to leave her to cry. First, because she is so darn cute and she yells "mommy, where are you?", but secondly she is and can crawl out of her crib if you don't go and get her right away. I have a feeling that she will be out of her crib by the age of 2. Just like her sister!

Daddy got home late and we ate the played dance party. We turned on 80's music to deafening levels and all dance around. It was a lot of fun. Then we played gymnastics. Emma said that she wants Madeline to sleep in her bed with her. So, we started talking to her about them sharing a room or Madeline moving into the other room right next to hers. Emma said that she wanted to think about it.

Story time and bed time for the little ones. Now, bedtime for us. A very nice day with nice girls!

A Puking Sort Of Day

I was woken up this morning at 1:21am by little Maddie. It was very strange and only about the third time in her life (besides the couple of times that she has done so at Grandma Kim and Grandpa Don's house and the two nights in the hospital) that she has done that.

I went in and picked up the little cuddle bug, sang a short lullabuy and layed her back down. I walked out of her room and made a note to myself that Jodz, the cat, looked funny in the hallway. When I got closer, I realized that it wasn't Jodz, it was Emma. I swear, sometimes Madez and Emma must discuss what time to wake up. I picked up little Em and brought her back down to her room. She was a bit reluctant to go to bed, but I sang her the ABC's and told her about the improtance of all of us getting a good nights sleep and I went up to bed.

About 1/2 hour later, I heard Emma up again and went down to see what was up. She said she wanted me to cuddle with her. After a few minutes, I left promising that I would check on her in a couple of minutes. Three minutes later all was well and I went back to bed.

At 6:17 I was jolted out of bed by the undeniable sound of someone or something mid-puke. My brain quickly told me that it was louder then the cat and the dogs were downstairs. Got to the hallway to see Emma hunched over. Poor thing. No one ever wants their child to be sick, but geez they are so cuddly and lovey!

Set Emma up on the couch with some tv, water, juice and a puke bucket. After a few more rounds with loosing her lunch, so to speak, she just sat on the couch for the majority of the day. Madeline would join her periodically. They took turns falling asleep on the couch. I was in constant referee mode trying to get the girls to stop kissing each other or trying to wipe each others noses. They are such lovers toward each other, most of the time, that keeping them apart can be tough. It was driving me crazy how much tv was on today, I could practically hear their brains turning to mush. You do what you need to do to get through days like these sometimes.

As of about lunch time, Emma was fine. She ate food and even got up to play. Back to her old self again. Everyone took an early nap.

Jay came home and we had a legnthy discussion about how life can throw curve balls at you and you need to do the best with what you get. Nothing is guaranteed. We have been put to the test with that many times. I think we all do at one time or another.

I got a nice sweater on to go and ask some questions at a City Council meeting regarding some road work that we are getting charged lots of money for. This whole deal about being charged for this stuff is so irritating to me. The gal at the meeting nicely told me that if you cannot afford to pay the entire amount right away we can bill you for 6 years with some ungodly amount of interest. What the hell. I just wanted to say "you can add it to the list lady"!

Home for dinner and baths. Jay went to skate with some guys to blow off some steam and I put the girlies to bed. Hoping that all goes well tonight. Back to regular schedule tomorrow.