Coincidence?

Today a coworker/friend lent me two books that she highly recommended.  I love books and am thrilled when someone else recommends them because I know that at least one person found value in the book.  The books are: Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother and Cinderella Ate My Daughter.  So, what is the coincidence you ask?

Today in the mail, my oldest daughter D received a special delivery. 

A couple of weeks ago, I entered a contest to win a free shoe delivery from Snow White through Pretty Princess Parties (DFW).  We found out this morning that the shoes were on their way, and when I checked my mail, there they were!!!  So, Cinderella Ate My Daughter and Snow White shoes on the same day?
D LOVES her new shoes and the note from Snow White. 

She asked where Snow White was, and we told her that Snow White was at her castle.  She immediately put on the shoes and started prancing around the house. 

We made sure that the shoes were in a place where she could see them as she drifted off to sleep. 

I am sure she is dreaming about Snow White, the castle, her new dress up shoes, and her personal letter from Snow White.  Sweet Dreams!

Self medicating for the wrong thing

Sunday, as you read in my last blog, was a very busy day for us.  So, when my neck and upper shoulder started hurting, I thought I had just pushed myself a little too far.  I thought I had strained a muscle or something like that.  Instantly, I went into self-medicating mode.  First, I took Advil and applied heat.  Then, I tried Tylenol and applied heat.  Finally, I attempted Excedrin and once again applied heat.  None of these truly eased my discomfort, but the hot pad and Bengay released some of the tension in my neck for a VERY brief time. 

Then, this morning I woke up and couldn't turn my head at all, brush my hair because it hurt to extend my arm in that direction, and needed help putting my shirt on.  Okay, I finally decided that maybe I need to see a doctor.  I checked into CareNow at 5:45 (I was up anyways) and they would have me in their system when they opened their doors at 8.  I arrived at 7:55 and checked in.  Soon after, I was hustled back to the room.  Two hours, one steroid shot, and two prescriptions later, I was diagnosed with Mono.

I thought this was a teenage disease from kissing.  At my age, this shouldn't be a concern of mine.  Turns out, it is a virus in the spleen.  The doctors treat the symptoms, which vary greatly from sore throat to exhaustion, but cannot treat the disease.  You actually get Mono two to three weeks BEFORE you show symptoms, and you can continue to show symptoms for up to a MONTH after you have been diagnosed!!!  The doctor told me to drink lots of fluids (hard when it hurts to swallow) and get lots of rest (hard with two young children who don't really get that mommy is sick), but told me I could go right back to work.  Oh yeah, she also told me to avoid contact sports.  I told her I avoid those without a doctor's orders!

What a Weekend!

What a crazy full weekend we have had in our household!  The focus this weekend was on the lawn.  We started by mowing the front yard.  We put grass seed down two weeks ago, and were told to water it often and wait two weeks to mow.  So, Friday afternoon, it was mowed.  Then the yard work and chores increased. 

We Kashered our pantry to prepare for Passover (which starts Monday night in a week).  We started to clean out the fridge and freezer as well, so we will be eating a lot from those two places before Passover.  To Kasher the pantry, we started by emptying everything out.  As we took the items out, we separated them into two piles-Kosher for Passover and not Kosher for Passover.  Then, we scrubbed down the shelves and scrubbed the floor of the pantry.  Since it was empty and needed sprucing up, we put shelf liner on all of the shelves and reorganized it as we reloaded it with items okay for Passover.

Then, we moved onto yard work.  Husband power washed two-thirds of our deck.  To some, this may not be a big deal, but our deck has three layers and each layer could easily fit an outdoor living room or dining room (so it is BIG).  The power washer got tired a couple of times and needed to rest, but husband didn't stop working.  I weeded the front landscaping so that we could replant with fresh new flowers.

Today, the BIG work started.  We removed rocks from the side of our entry to make way for flowers.  Big sister D got some work gloves and lent a hand.

Little L hung out in a pack and play filled with toys.  Mostly she stood up and talked to us, but she did play some.

D was so excited with her new gloves, that she had to show them off to anyone who would look.  Little L was a captive audience.

It took us two trips to Lowe's, one trip to Marshall's Grain Company, one really long nap by both girls at the same time, and the entire day.  After the first trip to Lowe's, we realized that we had grossly underestimated our needs, so I schlepped back (thank goodness it is right around the corner).  The back of the Mom Mobile was PACKED (and we still didn't have everything we needed)!

After all of this got planted, we headed to a different store, Marshall Grain, to pick up some taller plants.  The front is almost done.  We still need to get mulch, but it is looking good.  We even had enough energy to wash 6 loads of laundry and start mowing the backyard.  Hopefully, the Advil will keep the body pains at bay, because everyone will sleep well tonight!

Laundry Day

So, I am NOT a fan of doing laundry.  The problem isn't the collecting from hampers, putting it into the washing machine, or transferring to the dryer.  I really don't like the folding, hanging, and putting away.  It is time consuming.  It takes longer to fold, hang, and put away one load of clothes than to empty the dishwasher (or fill it up for that matter).  Plus, the most annoying part is the pile of stray socks that I am stuck with.  How these socks lose their mates is beyond me.  I think I will be buying all white socks in both girls sizes, then no matter what, they will match something.

Hmm..I don't know if I can give up the socks that match with the girls' outfits quite yet.  Hopefully, I will find a use for all of those mismatched individual socks one day.

A Time for Family

Several times over the last three days I have been reminded of how precious family is.  Last week, husband and I decided that since I am off for Passover break (a week and a half!), I should take the girls to see my grandmother.  The drive will be a minimum of 5 hours, depending on crying one year old, potty breaks for 3.5 year old, and caffeine for me. 

My grandmother, the last of all of my grandparents, is 91 years old.  She asks me during each of my weekly phone calls about the girls and is terrified that she will not ever see them again because she cannot travel easily (though she offered to fly here to drive back with me.  Sweet kind woman that she is!). 

I am not taking the trip for myself, even though I deeply love my grandmother and want to see her.  I am not truly doing it for her, though I think she believes that I am.  I am taking the girls on a road trip by myself for my girls.  They deserve wonderful memories of their great grandmother.  They deserve pictures of her with them.  They deserve to be spoiled rotten by her.  Most importantly, they deserve HER!!

My grandmother with my big girl, D, at her baby naming.

My grandmother with BOTH of my girls celebrating her 90th birthday just 3 weeks after Little L was born.

We are Family!

I found out on Sunday that a friend of mine's husband's grandmother passed away.  They just saw her a month or so ago, and this was very sudden.  Another coworker spent yesterday at the hospital with her teenage daughter trying to figure out why the daughter is so sick.

Why am I bringing up lose of family and sick family members?  Because, I am constantly reminded of the "family" I work with.  When a coworker needed to go home because her daughter had been sick and the mom was barely functioning, the school rallied behind her and pitched in to send her home.  When the other coworker needed to go to the hospital today to check on her daughter, teachers stepped in to cover her classes so that she could take care of her family.  When I had to bring a sick child to work so I could put together lesson plans for a sub, teachers offered to help or cancel their classes with me.

I am truly blessed to work in a place that not only says, "Family First", but backs it up.  A member of the leadership team covered my class one day when I couldn't get a sub.  The teachers notice if you are not at school, running late, or acting differently.  And they ASK if everything is okay.  I am so appreciative to work with people who treat each other as family and pitch in when times are tough.

Drinking and Driving!

D loves her Dora bike that Uncle gave her for Chanukah two years ago.  She loves it so much, that when she is on it, she wants to stop for nothing.

So, she drinks and drives.

But at least she wears a helmet!

We Walkin' , Yes indeed!!!

I realize that I haven't posted in quite a while (like since Little L turned 1) and I am sorry.  Life here has been quite busy.  Things at work have been busier, but they are slowing down somewhat.

In the last two weeks, Little L has taken off!  She has a bunch of words including: uh oh, all done, all gone, hi, DA DA, and up.  She went from charging into things with her crawl to walking!  She is still unsteady, but she walks everywhere.  A crawl is so beneath her!  Even when she takes a few steps and falls, she gets right back up and walks again.  She loves to walk and walk and walk.

After her birthday, she gave up formula and her bottle.  We did a "cold turkey quit" and she didn't even blink an eye!  She loves milk and her sippy cup!  She drinks a lot of water out of the cup too and loves that she can carry it herself, usually by the handles, but sometimes in her teeth!

Tomorrow we are going to the Dallas Kosher Chili Cookoff.  We had such a good time last year and are hoping that D will even taste some this time.  Little L will try anything, so it should be fun!