Quick catch up!

Sorry I haven't been posting. We have been so doggone busy!!!!!!

Wednesday of last week we were cleaning and cooking because Donna, Brad, Nicole and Michael were coming over to spend Christmas Eve with us. We had a wonderful time. Bill cooked a nice roast. Dinner was great. Bill is an excellent cook. We opened presents and then we all went upstairs and read "Twas the Night Before Christmas." Ping loved her presents. Donna's family loved theirs. I loved mine and Bill loved his. Can't go wrong with that, right? It was nice to catch up but as usual, the time went way too fast and Ping was off to bed and they had to go home!

Christmas Day we got up at 7:30 am and headed downstairs to open gifts. Ping loved having presents under the tree. She would open and put things aside though. She didn't really look at a lot of her stuff!!! So that bummed me out a little. After gifts, we ran to get showered and dressed and then we went to the cemetery. Bill walked through thick snow to put the kissing ball I bought them over on the Shepards hook. We then headed to Anita's parents house for dinner. We had a wonderful time. Her family is very sweet for including us. Ping loved her presents and Anita and Robo loved theirs, so all was good with the world. Around six, we headed over to Sarah and Brad's abode. We were there for nearly 2 hours. We were all zonked. Ping got an adorable bath toy from Sarah and Brad. It's two tea cups and a tea pot with fake sugar cubes in it. Ping can not wait to use it.

We headed home around 8pm. Ping went right into bed because she had passed out before we left the parking lot at Sarah's. I stayed up to do a few things. Bill passed out!

Friday we stayed home all day long taking down the Christmas stuff. Saturday we stayed home taking down more Christmas stuff. Sunday we had lunch at 1pm with new friends. Bill works with a man that has a niece that is interested in adopting from China. I was asked to contact her to discuss what our experience was like. We have been talking by email since. Well she and her husband own a home in Massachusetts because they used to live here. They now live in Pennsylvania. They came up for the holidays, so we made a lunch date. We met Amy, her daughter Britany and her Godchild Julianna from China. We had a wonderful time. I wish they lived closer so we could get together more often! Ping adored the three of them. Poor Britney was being dragged everywhere by Ping. After lunch we continued to clean the house!

Today was a busy day. I got up to go swimming. I then stopped at my dentist, got an oil change, got gas, went to Walmart, went to the bank, etc. I took a quick shower when I got home and have been cleaning since. This house takes forever to clean after Christmas. We have too much stuff. I swear I am getting a Menorah!!!!!! I love our Christmas stuff but hate putting it up and taking it down. WHY???? Shouldn't I enjoy it or love it or something?

Anyway, Bill ran out for a haircut. I am catching up here and Ping is watching TV! Most of you know that I am not going to be around for the next few days, so I won't be able to post. I have someone coming to stay here with us! I hope you are well and had a wonderful holiday!

Happy New Year and I will catch up with photos soon. I have a bunch!

Mama Out!!!!

Pasta Extravaganza!!!!!

Okay, here I am again. Bill asked why I didn't post photos of the storm on the blog. I didn't download them before. Now I have them. So here are some photos of the storm. In addition, I decided to show you how my husband shops:)

Mama Out!!!!





Winter storm pictures. Nice long icicle.

New snow boots. She LOVES them.

New boots, new gloves that don't fit, Princess dress under her regular dress and crown. Lovely combo, no? Daddy insists on her having waterproof gloves. Those are hard to find at this age. So he brought these home. They are a little big, but we will keep them anyway for next year.

New gold shoes. Snazzy.

God forbid my husband looks in the cabinet before he buys. He does this all the time. This is just the pasta!!!!!

Where is my husband?

If you have seen or heard from him, please tell him to call his wife????? I am so annoyed. I have not heard from him all day and I need to speak with him!!!!!! UGH. He left his wallet here today too!!!!

I have to say that I probably should NOT share this story, but it's too funny not too. We have had issues with our bathroom on the first floor. It is not flushing well. I was in the bathroom washing my hands and Ping came running towards the bathroom saying she had to go. She takes one step in and says "ohhhh, toooo pooooooopyyyyy." I walked out of the bathroom and told her it was okay for her to use it. She said "I am using Grammy's bathroom, yours too poopy!" Thanks ROSEBUD!

Mama Out!

Days in review!

I am too old to remember what I did an hour ago!!!!! I will try though.

Last Thursday we did errands. Story of my life. Friday we got hit with a snow storm. Ping's school canceled, so we stayed home. Bill came home early so he could snow blow the driveway and also to be home safely!

Saturday we stayed home due to the snow. Bill went out to do a few errands, but us girls did stuff around the house. It NEVER stopped snowing!!!!!!!!

Sunday it was the same damn thing, SNOW! So sick of it and the havoc it brings on. Bill happily snow blowed our driveway and a few of our neighbor's driveways as well. Such a sweetie, no?

Ping had school on Monday. I was sort of surprised given the snow over the weekend, but I was fine with it. I dropped her off and headed to my swim aerobics. YAY! Finally. Felt heavenly to get into the pool. After I picked Ping up, we did a few errands. It was nasty cold out, so we came home after a short jaunt. It was way too slippery and cold for Ping. I don't mind when it's me, but I don't want her cold. Plus she hates wet feet and since we don't have her snow boots yet, her feet are getting wet. However, she doesn't like them getting dirty either. So her getting in the car is a nightmare. She takes her sweet time and let's me freeze my butt off. Not that I can't afford to lose some of that butt, but the freezing thing isn't working for me!!!!!!

Bill came home early because we had a leak in our kitchen. We have another one upstairs. It's pretty frustrating as we can't seem to get at it. The ice has frozen down the side of the house and when it melts it comes in or so I think! Bill then had school last night. Last class!!!!!!!

Today Ping had school. I dropped her off, ran home for a shower and back to school for a 10am party. Basically the kids sing a few songs and make a snowflake and a cardboard gingerbread house. We never did do the snowflake as she was too busy doing other things like coloring. She certainly beats to her own drum! Everyone else is crowding the crafts, but not her! After school we went to visit friends and exchanged gifts. Ping got a few Snap n Style dolls and some puzzles. She is in HEAVEN. She is playing with the baby doll one she got as I type.

Well I know this is short and sweet. I have a lot of things to do today. Have a very Merry Christmas my dear friends! Here are some pictures for your viewing enjoyment!

Mama Out!

This is the caricature of the three of us done at Ping's birthday party. Like the waistline on me? Works for me!!!!!

This is obviously just Ping!

Ping in her traditional dress.

Ping in traditional dress with Panda.

Ping in traditional dress and shoes.

Our Christmas card.

Ornament from Valeri, an online friend.

Ornament I bought for Ping and travel mates.

Snow Princess.

Princess Ping on a snowy day.

Twirling.

Monkey feet created using Daddy's gloves.

Wearing Daddy's boots, jacket and snow overalls. They were huge on her. Of course the tiara had to be worn as well!

First Mammogram memories and more

I had a 9:30 am appt. to have my first mammogram yesterday. I was not excited at all. I am very big busted for those who don't know me well. For those who do know me, you can stop saying outloud "and that is an understatement!" I know who you are!!!!! Anyway, I found a local hospital that has a digital machine, so I made the appt. Ping was supposed to be in school so I could go over to the appt. alone. Well school has been cancelled all week so far! Yesterday was no different! So off to the mammogram we went. I brought crayons and a coloring book and snacks to keep Ping entertained. They also have a TV there and they put the cartoons on for her. This was only supposed to be 15 minutes long, so the receptionist said she would be more than happy to watch Ping. I didn't have a choice in the matter. I couldn't take her in with me. Too much radiation! So in I went. It was a nice room. There was a lot of pink breast cancer stuff which I understood, but only increased my never ending anxiety. Even though studies have shown that it doesn't matter if you are big or small breasted, I have always felt that the bigger you are, the more trouble you can get yourself into! So I sat down and began to speak with Bobby Jo, my boob tech! She was a sweetie. She has adopted two girls from DSF. She has a father that is ill and in the hospital. She was without power like us, etc. So we bonded. You might as well like the person that is going to literally be handling your boobs for awhile, right? So I stepped up to the machine and she began. She told me it was going to take some time to do this as we had to do it in sections and for each one. Yippee, the excitement was mounting! So she moved me all around and it was slightly as much fun as getting a pap smear! I even told her so. She said "but you can't joke around with your doctor like we can, right? RIGHT! I told her at least pap smears were quick. This was taking forever! DAMN BOOBAGE! We laughed and joked and shared our histories. She really was someone I bonded too immediately! As far as mammograms go, this one was going fairly well. That was until we had to get the last shot. She wanted a cleavage shot. So I said to her "is this for your mantle????" Of course I was just joking. What else can you do. She just laughed and walked back to the computer. However she never got to the computer. She tripped on my johnny, also called a hospital gown. She fell flat on her face. It was awful. She turned over and was crying and hysterical. I was stuck in the machine and wasn't sure if I should move. Another nurse heard and came running in. Then another one did. The nurse was snippy with me. She told me to get my gown on and to tie it. She then walked away to call the ER which was next door. I removed myself and walked over to Bobby Jo and sat down and held her hand. All I could do was try to keep her calm. I told her that this whole thing was a ploy to escape early from work and to go Christmas shopping. I told her that she met her quota with my boobs and so her day was done. I told her that I was dissapointed that she never told me how memorable my first mammogram would be. She told me that she was so happy to meet me. She told the other nurse that she made my day and she hadn't laughed that hard in awhile. I was glad she felt some level of comfort. Well I got up as 10 or so people appeared with a back board. I went to the waiting room. Meanwhile, it's been an hour and Ping is still in the other room. I started to cry. I couldn't help it. I felt so awful that she was hurt, that she tripped on my gown, that she had enough on her plate and this wasn't needed, etc. Well the original snippy nurse came and got me and looked over my slides. She said I didn't need anymore taken. I told her about the cleavage shot, but she said she didn't feel it was needed and she hugged me because she could see I was crying. I think she was just really stressed that her friend was hurt. Well I scurried to get dressed and went to get Ping. I apologized profusely for being so delayed. The woman said that Ping behaved beautifully and she enjoyed watching her. Ping watched the TV and colored and ate her fishies! So the two of us went over to the ER. I wanted to check on Bobby Jo. They let me see her for 30 seconds. I just said that I hoped she would be okay and she said whe was sorry this all happened. We left. I cried all the way home. I felt so awful. Talk about emotional.

I gave Ping lunch and did a few things around here. About an hour after being home, Bobby Jo called to tell me she had been released and she was going to be fine. She said she knew I was upset and worried and mostly she wanted to say thank you for being so kind to sit and hold her hand and keep her company and joking, etc. I told her she was most welcome and I would see her in a year if my results were all good for this year! It takes 2 weeks or so to find out. However, at first sight, they seemed good. THANK YOU!!!!!!!

After talking to Bobby Jo, I grabbed my naked kissing ball and headed with Ping to Michaels. I bought a nice kissing ball for Bill's mom. It's all decorated. The one I bought my parents was nekkid! The woman at Michaels was wonderful!!!! We added a gorgeous bow and tail and some decorations. All in a aqua/teal color. I will take some pictures!!!! It came out beautifully and I am so thrilled.

Later that evening, when Bill came home, we headed off to Millis. The owner of a few car dealerships in that area has a huge home and puts out a large light display. It's free to the public. We went a few years ago. The wait was very long. So we went on a Tuesday night so it wouldn't take long. Of course Ping was asleep 10 minutes after we left. Once we got to the lights, we pulled over, woke her up and put her in the front seat with me. You go through the lights literally by rolling occasionally, so she was more than safe. It's single file too! After we were done, we plopped her back into her car seat. She wasn't happy. Oh well! Then we had dinner at some local Italian place we have never been too before. We were starving and it was late!!!!!!! She was not a happy camper because she was so tired. If she has school today, we wouldn't have gone. I knew she could sleep in if she wanted to though!

Needless to say it was a long day!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Today started off with some difficulty as well, but not like yesterday. Today was my fault!!!!! There was no school or swimming to be had, so I slept in! After all, my girl knows how to entertain herself and not get into trouble. Yeah, right!!!!!! She sat next to me for a long time just playing with puzzles. Another time I asked her what she was doing and she was just reading books. So she was calm and happy and entertained, or so I thought!!!!! I got up and walked to her room and found the door closed. Odd, because she never closes the door. IT WAS LOCKED! I thought maybe she was in there reading. She was not. She was downstairs, using the step stool to get into grammy's fridge to get herself some juice! She came wondering upstairs just as I was about to go survey the scene. The chick comes upstairs and asks me to unscrew the top off of her Chinese juice bag drink. I thought I was going to die when I saw her. She had on a pretty top, but under that she had a top with a bow on it and then 2 pajama tops. Under that was a tee shirt of Daddy's!!!! Under the tee was a pair of polka dotted pajama leggings. She was quite the sight!!!! Meanwhile she is oblivious as to how funny she looks. So I help her get undressed and fold the clothes. I then go downstairs in search of a door unlock device!!! I found a paper clip, opened it up and prayed it would work. So the two of us headed upstairs to unlock the door. It worked. Clearly this was a McGuyver move on my behalf. I was so proud of myself. Then I opened the door. Clearly I slept through a gigantic huricane!!!! Every single book she had in her bookcase is scattered on the floor. It's not even safe to walk in her room. In the corner where her table and 4 chairs are, there is a party going on. Ladybug is sitting on the pink princess stool. The big pink Little Pony is sitting on a chair. Mikey and Minnie each have a chair as well. The are looking at a ton of stickers on pages of a book that fell apart. She didn't destroy it, it was already separated from it's binding! A sticker party. Then I notice two of her stained glass butterflies were on the floor. One was broken. I am sure they fell down due to the cold.

I contemplated crawling back into bed! However, I didn't. I showered, made the bed, neatened up all of the upstairs rooms, got her dressed and then attacked her bedroom. It's all clean now. It's my fault. I shouldn't have been sleeping!

The downstairs was in good shape. I gave Ping some lunch and started tackling all of these outstanding projects. The minute Bill came home, I attacked him so he could help me:) Spread the love, right? I wanted to hang all new photos in the hallway. I finally got them done!!!!! Wanted to clean the cats water fountain. I sewed a pom pom on Ping's coat. It came off one day. So very Martha Stewart of me, no? I never sewed until my mom passed and I became a stay at home mom. I told Bill this position is obviously being grown into! LOL. We finished the sad looking gingerbread house. Bill went on a call. I fed Ping dinner. Now the two of them are reading books. Ping has school tomorrow! YAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I have two bracelets I need to make tonight. One has to go in the mail tomorrow! A lot got accomplished and I am thrilled. I have more stuff to do tomorrow, but I do feel like I have had a semi-useful day!!!!!! Well I have to head off to make the bracelets.

I also got a jury notification tonight. I feel like they pick me all the time!!!!! It's all good. I don't mind.

Below are some pics of the lights we went to see last night!!!!!!

Mama Out!!!!

Entrance.

Nutcracker.


Ferris wheel.



Reindeer.


















All little stations depicting different scenes of Christmas.

What a good Mama I am

Ping didn't have school today, so I slept in a little. As usual she did a little arranging downstairs, but nothing bad. I am not sure why she needs to rearrange, but it's cute. We had a bunch of errands to do today. We headed to the bank, post office, Target, S&S Farms, Target and Jungle Jim's which is a florist. I bought a kissing ball for my mother in law and a kissing ball for my parents. The one I got for Bill's mom is decorated. The other one is not, so I will be getting some decorations for it tomorrow. I really want it to be pretty as it's the only thing I can get for them. So I hope tomorrow I can find a pretty ribbon and some baubles for it.

I had terrible stomach issues this afternoon when we got home, so I wasn't as mobil as I would have liked to be. Bill didn't have school tonight as it's still closed. It's a pain as this was his last night and now everything is being rescheduled and the times are not conducive to our schedules! So since we were home, we decided to decorate the gingerbread house that I bought weeks ago. Ping was so excited. When I said to her "do you want to decorate the gingerbread house?" She was like AHA MAMA!!!!!! Never seen her with such passion in her AHAs! I am such a nice Mama for getting one, no? DISASTER! I have never seen a gingerbread house decorating party go well. Tonight was no different. We finally gave up as it kept falling apart. We will finish it tomorrow night. We are waiting for it to "settle." Here are some photos of us decorating.

Mama Out!!!

Watching Daddy decorate. Like the Shaggy DA look?

Eagerly waiting to decorate.

Trying so hard to get that pretty lattice work on the roof.

Being silly.

The roof collapse! Bill put it back on several times, but finally broke in two. Huge gaping hole in the back on the side. Hopefully tomorrow will be better!!!!!!