On Another Bleary Friday Morning (Ugh!)

1. Miranda woke up vomiting at 11:30 pm after being awake from 9:45-10:45, whimpering as if she had gas, completely spoiling an evening of romance. And a good night of sleep. So she's home which means I can't nap to catch up on the sleep I didn't get last night.

2. And to add insult to injury, when I was out taking a walk with the kids on Wednesday, I was wearing a short-sleeved shirt, first one of the season, because it was so beautiful and sunny. Halfway around the block, some bog flew into my sleeve, got stuck, and stung me three times in as many seconds before I could get it out of my sleeve. So, with my arm on fire, I finish pushing Miranda around the block, making Alex walk as fast as is possible, to get home and start treating with Benadryl and baking soda. Now, the back of my left arm is red and itchy in a patch about 5 inches square. So I'm still taking the Benadryl which means I'll have to add an enormous amount of caffeine to counteract the drowsiness while Miranda is home today.

3. Thank God my father arrives in a week. And my mother will be here the Monday after that.

4. Marshall and I were planning a trip to DC during the two days we are going away while my parents are here, which was supposed to be Maundy Thursday and Good Friday. However, my dear husband just discovered that if we go Wed-Thurs instead, we can see the Terra Cotta warriors at the National Geographic Museum. Needless to say, I just called (and woke up my parents) to change our schedule.

5. My favorite Aunt Katie is coming late tomorrow for a surprise visit. She'll stay until Tuesday. Hopefully, we can keep her from vomiting, too.

6. One of my friends from HS is supposed to be in NYC next weekend and so I may get to see her for the first time since 2002. She's had three kids and I've had two since we last got together.

7. My first daffodil finally opened yesterday. I'll try to take a picture of it later.

And here's Jen.

How to Cheer Grandpa in a Few Easy Steps

My father had minor surgery yesterday that has necessitated a 2 day stay in the hospital. Since we live in NJ and he lives in WI, a thousand miles away, there was little I could do to cheer him except pray. But then, 2 weeks ago, I had this idea while driving home of creating a poster for him that my kids could decorate and then send it there to be hung in his hospital room.

Well, since I am less than artistic, I persuaded my father-in-law to help. From my over-the-phone suggestions, he created this beautiful poster and printed it on his plotter.



Here it is right before it left NJ:



Most of the art is Miranda's doing. Alex did his rainbow, signed his name, and went back to playing on the computer. Miranda must have painted for almost an hour. It seems she may have the artistic genes in our family.

And a big thank you to my mother who fetched it from her doorstep where the mailman helpfully left it, took it to the hospital and hung it on the wall in my dad's room.


Once again, I had the brilliant idea and convinced other people to do most of the work.

A Rainy Friday That Didn't Sneak Up On Me

I have been absolutely devoted to my To Do list this week so Friday didn't surprise me with a ton of things that still have to be done. The laundry's not all done, but it's getting close.

1. Finally got the tax stuff collected and off in the mail to our CPA. Only a month late. I still prefer to trust a professional than try it myself with Turbo Tax, even though our taxes, with only one income, are hardly exotic. Still, this way, all I have to do is sign and mail.

2. It has been a wonderfully warm week and my flower bed has green shoots all over it. We managed to take walks two afternoons after school before it got cloudy and rainy. My first daffodil might have opened today if we'd seen the sun. Maybe Sunday.

3. Got a happy phone call last night that my cleaning lady has time to come by this afternoon so the house will be spotless just in time to start the weekend. Hooray!

4. Only 2 more weeks until my father arrives for a long Easter visit! My mother will arrive a few days afterwards; she has a stopover at my cousin's house in McLean, VA.

5. I am remembering to pray for my HS students as well my kids' teachers every morning, which was one of my goals for Lent. Of course, it helped that I was in the car doing errands every morning this week and that's where I usually pray.

6. I even remembered to water all the plants in the house this week. For the last few months, all they've had to drink is the leftover water from water bottles on their way to the dishwasher. I don't like to waste water.

7. I have enjoyed feeding the neighborhood birds stale crackers and cheerios as well as bread that was starting to mold this week. I don't have a bird feeder; I just throw it all in the front yard and enjoy the feeding frenzy. This does not thrill my husband, however. He's afraid they'll become a nuisance. We'll have to see.

And here's Jen.

Summer Movie Planning :)

Technically, since I am starting my list in March and probably including movies from the rest of the year, I should call it my 2010 movie planning guide. We have already seen the Percy Jackson movie and Marshall's previously expressed enthusiasm for the new Alice in Wonderland movie seems to have diminished, so I'm leaving those off the list. Dates listed are box office opening dates, not usually the dates we will be actually viewing the movies, but I expect we will make Iron Man 2's opening night, same as we did for Star Trek. I will be linking to the IMDB pages because they now include links to the trailer as well as film plot and personnel details. Remember: this is my wish list, if I had all the time and babysitting funds in the world.

March 12
Green Zone
April 2
Clash of the Titans
April 23
The Losers
May 7
Iron Man 2
May 14
Robin Hood (new trailer was released today but hasn't been posted at imdb yet)
June 11
The A-Team
June 18
Toy Story 3
July 16
Inception
November 19
Harry Potter & the Deathly Hallows (Part 1) (there is a teaser somewhere in cyberspace; maybe later I'll try and find it)
December 10
The Chronicles of Narnia: Voyage of the Dawn Treader
December 17
Tron: Legacy

Stay tuned for updates!

Mean Mommy vs. Smart Girl

I made 4 pans of brownies this morning for the MOPS bake sale on Saturday at the Hope Craft Fair. I made the mistake of taking the boxes out of the pantry before Miranda got on the bus to go to school. She pushed her chair over the counter, picked up a box and said "Chocolate Cake!" I told her no, she had to go to school. Which she did do rather cheerfully. So I then rushed around making brownies and realized the last two wouldn't be cool enough to put their lids on before she got home at noon. So I put them still on their cooling rack on the front seat of my car. But Miranda is a smart girl and the whole house smells like brownies, even if there is no visible trace of them. So, after checking around for "chocolate cake," Smart Girl asked for chocolate pudding and, after she ate some lunch, I was happy to oblige her.

And Yet Another Friday Sneaks Up On Me

My excuse is that I spent 48 hours last weekend with the Hope Youth Group on the High School Winter Retreat in the Poconos, so just as we were all managing to get well and instead of playing catch up, I left town. God answered my prayers and my children didn't completely torture their father all weekend. Just a little. And Alex managed to break the power supply for my laptop so I've been sharing Marshall's all week, which is yet another reason for not posting.

Down to Business.

1. Had a great weekend with the youth. Slept less than I expected to, and when I tell people this, they laugh at me. The loveliest part of being away from home is I leave my To Do list here, too, so I spent most of the weekend talking without any of my usual rushing around. Came home feeling refreshed and happy to see my children.

2. The snow finally seems to have melted (only a little left in the shadows of the backyard) and we are praying to have seen the last of it. Miranda finally wanted to go play outside yesterday and played so hard that she almost fell asleep on the couch last night before bedtime.

3. Both children have had formal reports sent home from school and are doing well. We are still adjusting Alex's meds and see the doctor this afternoon to see if the most recent tweak was worthwhile.

4. Took both children to Costco yesterday afternoon by myself (not a regular occurrence) and they were well-behaved. Miranda is a little big to sit in the cart now so maybe next time I'll try to keep them both out of the cart and see if they still stay with me.

5. Got a huge bag of clothes from my friend Stacey for Miranda and have finally sorted through all of it and washed most of it. Miranda doesn't seem to be growing as fast as she did last year but we will certainly move up to size 6 for summer clothes. Which means the size 5 has been fitting her for 6 whole months! Last year she seemed to need a new size with every season. Now if I could just find a way to persuade her to sit on the potty....

6. We did enjoy the Percy Jackson movie, but the book is much better. I have started reading The Lightning Thief to Marshall in the evenings. It's been a long time since we've read to each other and I am enjoying the experience.

7. Lent is almost half over which means Easter is coming which means the grandparents will be here soon. Hooray!

And here's Jen.