Tuesday, March 25, 2008

Crossed Over

I had a conversation last night with my mom that I never imagined I'd have. Well, that's not totally true, but it was still a bizarre moment for me.
My mom started to warn me that if I'm anything like her I only have 4 more years until menopause starts so I should look into doing natural supplements to get my body prepared. She regrets not doing that. I thought WOW. I've really crossed over from being her little girl to being her daughter who is now a middle age woman. It was just weird to be having that conversation. I'M OLD!

Monday, March 24, 2008

Easter weekend was not what we expected

Friday at 4am Shawna woke up with a high temp. She caught her sisters flu. Most of my weekend was spent with Shawna. When Todd wasn't at work, he and Paula were flying the helicopter/plane, doing RC cars, running errands or hanging with old friends and neighbors. I did get out on Friday night and hung w/the neighbor girls which is always fun.

My mom arrived Sunday afternoon. I told her to go with Todd and Paula to his parents house since my brother Alan would be there as well and she hasn't seen him since he broke his hand and had surgery.
When they got to Todd's parents they learned that their new (but old) dog had just broken free from his leash and ran away. Todd looked for an hour then came home. His dad was driving around with no luck. The family did the Easter egg/money hunt, then went to Frank's house (Todd's brother)for dinner. After that things were fine but still no news on the dog. Helen, his mom, stayed home to stay by the phone in case someone called having found Lila. Lila's dog collar has their phone number on it. The dog is still missing even now.

Shawna is still sick today. If her illness runs the same course as Paula's did she'll be sick up to Wednesday.

Please keep ME HEALTHY!!!

Wednesday, March 19, 2008

Hump Day

Paula is still sickly. Her temp peaked last night to over 100 and got higher I think during the middle of the night. She's also coughing still. Todd is home with her now. I came into work at lunch time. Her teacher said 10 kids in her class were out yesterday. And Tyler, their best little girl friend, went home from her school early yesterday w/the stomach flu. Niiiice.

Tuesday, March 18, 2008

Sickly

Saturday the girls and I re-arranged Paula's room a tiny bit. Her bed used to be next to the wall which made it hard to grab 'lost' items that fell down to the floor on that side, and it was hard to make the bed. She also complained because her covers would slide to the open end and leave none on the wall side. SO, her, Shawna and I took off all the bed linens, removed the mattress, bed frame, dusted, switched her night stand over and scooted over her bed about 2.5 feet. She loves the change. Of course she only slept in her room ONCE since we did this because on Saturday night she was getting sick. Sunday she had a fever of 100.03. I sent Shawna down to Tylers to play. Sunday night she and I didn't get much sleep. Her head was congested and nose runny. She woke up several times very hot and basically had a rough night. Monday she stayed at 100.07 but Motrin worked great. At 5pm she spiked to 103! Again, Motrin worked. She'd also had a bout of the runs so I was hoping the germ got booted out so to speak.
Last night all I gave her was cold/cough meds and she slept great. We had the humidifier on in Grandma's room. (that's the Sick room too since it has 2 beds so I sleep in one and she sleeps in the other). Today her temp was normal 98.6 so I'm hoping she's over it and can go to school tomorrow.

Shawna was coughing a lot this morning. Please don't get sick! Grandma is coming on Sunday to watch them all week while they're out of school. She'll stay at my house then go up to her house from Wed - Sunday. My girlfriend Jennifer is flying in from Virginia on Wed with two of her friends to stay with me for a week. I do not want to get sick!

Friday, March 14, 2008

An anticipated conversation

In reading a favorite blog of mine (she has no idea I even exist by the way. I'm a total lurker) the topic of gays came up by her adorable 8 year old.
Kids are so innocent (unless if you're a child being raised by a member of the KKK or skin heads of course).
Two of my best girl friends are a couple. I adore and love them both. In fact, I often escape my family to go down to their quiet house to hang out. They live 3 houses from us. They're not touchy feely with each other. They even have their own separate bedrooms. They're at my house a lot and my girls really like them. They especially like Dina for some reason because "She Rocks". Susanne is awesome too but she's more like me who likes to watch them play rather than engage in games with them. I've told my girls that in an emergency to go down to their house if they need help. I trust them explicitly.

I live in the San Francisco bay area so you can imagine the number of gays who live here and the tolerance we have. We have a lot of tolerance. In fact, at my work, if your a transgender (ex: a man who wants to be a woman)legally they're allowed to use the woman's bathroom. We can also add our "partner" to our medical insurance.
Of course not everyone in CA is as tolerant and understanding to peoples sexual preference. For my girls we've never even discussed it. The topic never comes up. It's not like we sit around and talk about people's sexual preference. But of course on the school yard things can be said. If they saw 2 men or woman holding hands they might ask but that hasn't happened either. I do know that the subject will come up someday. It's inevitable really. I'll be proud to share my views and they'll be accepting of someone who is different from them because that's how we are in this family.

No swimmers left

Todd found the cup and brought his specimen to the lab. His results came back as zero swimmers found so he's excited. The operation was a success!

In celebration I'll attach some pics of the only children he'll ever have.

Who doesn't want a huge butterfly on their cheek?


Who else thinks this was a bad idea?

Thursday, March 13, 2008

There isn't much happening that's worth posting about.

1. It was raining here again today. Actually at this moment the sun is out and it's dry. We're supposed to have more rain on Saturday. The day the kids are home. That's always nice. (not really)

2. Today Paula got to wear her new dress from Grandma for her spring pictures at school. She was up and out of bed lickity split. Free Dress days always do that for her. Shawna even popped out of bed quickly today to show me her pull-up was almost all dry. She sleeps with a nighttime pull-up for obvious reasons. Lately she's been having dry nights so we're hoping she's weaning herself off of them. Cha-Ching!

3. On NBC news today there was a lady in Kansas who was stuck on her boyfriends toilet for 2 years. 2 years people!!! "She was physically stuck by her body". Her boyfriend said he brought her food. Authorities are investigating why he waited 2 years before finally notifying someone for help. She initially refused help from responders but then finally agreed to go the hospital where they toted her attached to the toilet because she was so stuck. They removed it at the hospital. I can't even imagine. This would be a great Greys Anatomy show.

4. My husband has lost his specimen cup (empty) at the house somewhere. He's supposed to take it in tomorrow to make sure all his *guys* are gone after his surgery in January. I'm imagining the questions if my girls find it first.

Life is Grand.

Tuesday, March 11, 2008

Bowling Party

We had a bowling party for Paula on Sunday. I'd never been to one before. Paula attended one last year with Todd. OMG! The kids just DROP those balls on the lane with a big thud. I cringed each time but no one complained from the bowling alley.

Here are some pics:

A typical shot of Shawna and her bowling technique


Waiting for pizza and cake after the bowling was over


She received a Hannah Montana Glamour Kit. Can you say THRILLED!


Paula and one of her classmates


She spent that day coming up with the perfect wish. I don't know what she wished for.

Monday, March 10, 2008

She's SEVEN

I wrote this when Paula was a baby. I'd forgotten about some of it.

Okay, this is a long one about me and my Miss Paula.

[b]how was your pregnancy? [/b] My pregnancy was okay. Morning sickness from 6-14 weeks :pukey Had a pain in my lower back for most of it too. Retained water like crazy but I loved being pregnant and can't wait to do it again. :smile
I was diagnosed with G. Diabetes but my Dr office never called me w/results so after 2 weeks I figured I didn't have it. Turns out I did! Had to schedule 3 hr GTT which took another week cuz the labs were booked. Took another 2 weeks to get in with the nutritionist and GD nurse. Although I was being careful about what I ate I did not have the exact menu so my uterus grew and grew and so did my baby.

[b]I see she was early, how was she at birth? [/b]At my 34 week appt I was doing great. Uterus measured bigger than average but no big deal. Gained 24 lbs up to this point. I did not have an internal yet..that would be done at next appt. After appt Dh and I went to dinner and walked around the neighborhood (a must for GD). I came home and pee'd. Noticed that my water broke :eek Got scared and we went ER. They took me up to L&D, hooked me up to the monitor and gave me antibiotic for strep cuz I was never tested...that would be done at next appt which never came :smile ). 4 hours later I got the epi :smile and a few hours later she arrived. Her apgars were 9 & 9 and she was crying which was good news. She was 5lb 8oz (big for a 34 weeker). She and I both had fevers (maybe from strep) and they carted her off the NICU. They had to ventilate her. :sad My hospital only had a level 2 NICU so she had to go to Stanford overnight. I was alone in my room w/out my baby :sad Dh went w/my parents to the other hospital a few hours later and brought back video. :smile I've attached a picture of when she was at Stanford and then when we got to hold her the day she came back.
She had acid reflux and was having apnea w/low SO2 and heart rate. It took awhile for the Reglan and Zantac to do their thing. After 16 days she came home on a monitor. :D

[b]Whats she doing now?[/b] She's a thriving Almost 1 year old! She's off all meds as of Friday! :vhappy She's crawling, walks if you hold her hands, says mama, dada, says the ck sound for cat, waves hello, bye, claps her hands. She's a blast.

I don't think I left anything out. Oh yeah...at 3 mos she got a UTI which landed her in the Pedi ward for 4 days. :sad I've had my share of hospitals now. She gets an RSV shot each month. Basically she hates the Dr's office and I don't blame her. My office knows my last name by heart if I just say "Paula"! Pretty sad since there are 5 doctors in her office and the receptionist answers for all of them! :LOL

I'm 33 yrs old and dh is 34. We're going to start TTC very soon. Like next month! :eek


Okay...I'm done now. Whew! Let me know if you have any questions. I write a little scatterbrained sometimes! :LOL

Paula in the NICU at Stanford and us holding for the first time.



16 days old: The day she came home



Paula Now (she's on the left)





I LOVE YOU MISS P!

Thursday, March 6, 2008

Not hungry

I'm taking the good Phen of the Phen Phen. They no longer make the bad Phen. The good Phen is called Phentermine. My doctor suggested it yesterday after he asked me if I was happy with my weight. NO! I gained 12 lbs after being on maintenance for a year in WW. It all started with a trip to Cabo 2 Octobers ago when I gained 4-6 lbs. Gradually 2 years later I've doubled that. He said this will kick me into getting back into my game (my words...not his). I was really ALERT this morning on this stuff but thru the day I'm feeling normal, just not hungry. It also makes your mouth really dry, forcing you to drink tons of water which is a good thing since water really helps with the weight loss.
I'm encouraged this Rx will help me get back on track. We're heading to Maui in May and I'd really like to look good.

Wednesday, March 5, 2008

The accident

Some friends might remember when Paula had her accident 3 years ago. She was hit in the face with a golf club on accident by one of her cousins, age 6, at my family reunion. She walked up behind him as he was swinging the club back and got her right on the right cheek hard. Later she said she heard a firecracker. She had to go thru a cat scan. That was wild. She was very freaked out about doctors. Still is. So they had to sedate her using Versed. It made her like a noodle. They inserted it up thru her nose which really freaked me out when she complained she couldn't breath. That is one of the dangers of using Versed.
Todd went in with her for the scan. It showed she cracked her cheek bone. They can't do much when you crack your cheek bone so they told us to keep her still (yeah right! A 4 year old?!) The next day at home she was rocking in the rocking chair and flipped the dang thing over! OMG. Can you NOT give me a heart attack please! She has a scar on her cheek from the accident. It's mild but noticeable. She's so lucky it didn't hit her eye. We took her to several doctors after the incident and had her eyes checked, an ENT doctor and plastic surgeon. We don't know if she'll have lingering issues from the impact. She doesn't complain about headaches except when she's sick.

We skipped the next 2 years of family reunions. Partly because we were busy but also because the memory of that event lingered. This year we're definitely going. It's at the end of April at a different house than the accident was at. I'm actually looking forward to seeing my cousins and aunts/uncles. My kids have changed a lot in 3 years.

This is the day after the accident


This is a couple weeks after

Free Dress Day

Today Paula got to wear free dress to school. That's huge in her world since she wears a uniform every day. My girls LOVE dresses. They choose a dress or skirt over pants all the time. Today Shawna chose one of the new Old Navy dresses I got her that has a Hawaiian print on it. Paula picked an old favorite of hers she likes to wear on free dress days. The shoes she picked I think are too small but she doesn't complain about them hurting her feet.

Some more baby pics of Paula

Nothing is more fun than a huge box


3 months old


We were at the park and she found a balloon. I think she's like 16 mos old here.


I used that mini tub for her as long as I could.


Her First hair cut at 17 mos old


This was her last year for her birthday when she turned 6. What a change from that baby eh?

Tuesday, March 4, 2008

My first born is turning 7 soon

We're down to the daily countdown for Paula's birthday. She turns 7 on March 8th. Every day "Mommy, how many days until my birthday?". We're down to 4 days now! This is HUGE. :0)

Paula has quite a birth story given she was a preemie. I'll write it on Friday since this weekend is very busy. Friday night after work Todd and I have to set up for the crab feed, Saturday (her actual birthday) my parents are coming into town. At 5:30pm we're going to the crab feed and my parents will babysit. Sunday is the party. We're doing a bowling party at the nearby bowling alley with girls from her class. I'm getting RSVP's daily now that the party is close. She'll have a decent turn out. I need to decide on favors. And order her Bday cake. She said I can choose what she has on her cake. I'm heading to Safeway chica!

Here are some pics of my "baby"

You gotta luv kids in pots photos


This was an eclipse that we had. Todd made the sign she's holding. haha


Family shot.

Shawna and her tablet

Shawna's latest obsession is with this little writing tablet that has a flip spiral top. Think Columbo. She carries it around with her along with the pencil practicing shapes, letters and pictures. She brought it to school yesterday and her teacher said she found it all over the classroom all day. haha

Last night she sat on my lap with her tablet and pencil. I was holding my latest book "The Cat Who Said Cheese".
This was our conversation.

Shawna: How do you spell Dog?
Me: D
Shawna: What does a D look like?
Me: (I locate a D on the page of the book and point it to her) Here is the D
Shawna: What else?
Me: O
Shawna: What does an O look like? Oh wait! (She remembers the O is a circle). Now what?
Me: G
Shawna: What does a G look like?
Me: (I locate the G on the page of the book and point it to her) Here is the G.

Shawna: How do you spell Red?
Me: (same scenario as above)

Shawna: How do you spell Daddy? Mommy? Paula? Rosie....etc.

Me: is it time for bed yet?! Yes! Awesome. Let's go!

Shawna: I want to bring my paper with me to bed.
Me: No, you can save it for tomorrow.

Today she brings it with her to school and sits down with her classmate to practice letters. I'm happy she has such a huge interest now. I'm just looking forward to when she doesn't need me to show her EVERY SINGLE LETTER to make the word.

Monday, March 3, 2008

Cursing at work

Dear Employees:

It has been brought to management's attention that some individuals throughout the company have been using foul language during the course of normal conversation with their co-workers.

Due to complaints received from some employees who may be easily offended, this type of language will no longer be tolerated.

We do, however, realize the critical importance of being able to accurately express your feelings when communicating with co-workers.

Therefore, a list of 18 New and Innovative 'TRY SAYING' phrases have been provided so that proper exchange of ideas and information can continue in an effective manner.

Number 1 TRY SAYING: I think you could use more training.
INSTEAD OF: You don't know what the f___ you're doing.

Number 2 TRY SAYING: She's an aggressive go-getter.
INSTEAD OF: She's a f___ing bit__.

Number 3 TRY SAYING: Perhaps I can work late.
INSTEAD OF: And when the f___ do you expect me to do this?

Number 4 TRY SAYING: I'm certain that isn't feasible.
INSTEAD OF: No f___ing way.

Number 5 TRY SAYING: Really?
INSTEAD OF: You've got to be sh___ing me!

Number 6 TRY SAYING: Perhaps you should check with...
INSTEAD OF: Tell someone who gives a sh__.

Number 7 TRY SAYING: I wasn't involved in the project.
INSTEAD OF: It's not my f___ing problem.

Number 8 TRY SAYING: That's interesting.
INSTEAD OF: What the f___?

Number 9 TRY SAYING: I'm not sure this can be implemented.
INSTEAD OF: This she__ won't work.

Number 10 TRY SAYING: I'll try to schedule that.
INSTEAD OF: Why the if___ didn't you tell me sooner?

Number 11 TRY SAYING: He's not familiar with the issues.
INSTEAD OF: He's got his head up his a__.

Number 12 TRY SAYING: Excuse me, sir?
INSTEAD OF: Eat sh__ and die.

Number 13 TRY SAYING: So you weren't happy with it?
INSTEAD OF: Kiss my a__.

Number 14 TRY SAYING: I'm a bit overloaded at the moment.
INSTEAD OF: F__ it, I'm on salary.

Number 15 TRY SAYING: I don't think you understand.
INSTEAD OF: Shove it up your a__.

Number 16 TRY SAYING: I love a challenge.
INSTEAD OF: This f___ing job sucks.

Number 17 TRY SAYING: You want me to take care of that?
INSTEAD OF: Who the f___ died and made you boss?

Number 18 TRY SAYING: He's somewhat insensitive.
INSTEAD OF: He's a pr_ck.

Thank You!

Cinderella

Today my daughters class went to a play at one of the local colleges to see Cinderella. I was a chaperone. The play was really cute and funny. There were 8 characters and 2 background scene's. The 2 men in the play really did a funny job. The soon to be prince and his cousin. Most of the boys in the class weren't too thrilled about seeing a "girls" play, but in the end they enjoyed it. Paula and I sat together in the theater. She was soo pleased I was with her. This was the first field trip I've gone on for her ever. Well, not true. I've done the Pumpkin Patch in preschool for her both years and Shawna both years.

This weekend Todd mostly played with his helicopters and RC cars. Him and the girls visited his sister and brother on Sunday.

Speaking of brothers, mine broke his hand on Saturday night. He has Boxers Fracture from clocking a drunk resisting arrest (my brother is a cop) in the back of his head twice. Didn't hurt the guy, just my brother. The swelling needs to go down before they'll know how to proceed but right now he has a half cast. They might need to insert pins. He's on workers comp and disability for 4-8 weeks. Today he's target practicing on squirrels at a closed golf course. Clearly his hand isn't all that bad. In fact, he says there is no pain. Just swelling.