Thursday, June 30, 2011

Here we are at another week and a half since blogging!!!

What the heck? Why can't I get on here more frequently? So annoyed with myself for not updating. So much happens in a week and yet there doesn't seem like enough to happen daily to share. Wonder how that works. The last time I checked in was on the 20th! Yowza. Let me see what I can pull together here.

Monday the 20th wasn't a bad day. Bill worked and I took the two youngest to get their teeth cleaned. They were cool about it. All of my kids like the dentist and getting hair cuts. They are all fairly easy that way. They don't even mind going to the doctor unless there are shots to be had. Bad shots! That night after pulling out their sleeping gear and their clothes for the next day, I headed off to dinner with some great ladies. Never had dinner out with them, but had a wonderful time. Looking forward to doing more things with them in the future.

On Tuesday, I was up and ready to walk out the door with Yamira for her OT therapy appointment when the station called Bill asking him to come in. So Bill headed off to work for the day and I got the other two kids ready in a jiff and we all headed out the door. Yamira did fairly well at therapy. She learned a brushing technique and really liked it. However, the waiting room was a nightmare. It was me, Ping and Manny with another mom and a neighbor boy who she was watching. The kids played nicely together. I had asked for something for Manny to play with from the therapist as I had no time to grab anything. So she gave us a huge tub of toys. Well Manny thought throwing the blocks was the way to go. I don't think so! So I had to give him a time out. When Manny went back to playing, he hit the lip of the bucket and the rest of the bucket came up and hit him so hard in the lip. Well he immediately started bleeding badly. So I whipped him into the bathroom to wash him up while I left Ping and my pocketbook out in the waiting room. Not smart. I was only in the bathroom for a few minutes when the woman who was waiting came rushing in with Ping and said " I have another one for you." Ping's nose was bleeding like crazy. What the heck. So there I have two bloody children. The mom was a huge help and I could not have been more grateful to her. The rest of the time went fine. The mom and I chatted a bit. She was really nice. I wish I could have gotten to know her better.

After running a few errands, we headed home for lunch and then we headed to an "End of the school year pool party." Ping was not happy that her brother and sister had to come, but Bill was called in, what choice did I have? The weather was gorgeous and all three chickens behaved beautifully. When Bill got off of work, he met me there to help me get the kids dressed and ready to head home. However, before leaving, I was shocked to hear that my husband who asks nothing, asked the pool party throwing mom if I could drive her golf cart. I have always wanted to drive a golf cart. I know it's silly, but I have. So while the kids were watched by friends, Bill and I took a little spin in the golf cart. I had a ball. I was so pleased that I got to do that and that the kids were so well behaved and that I got to enjoy the nice weather and to escape the house. We then headed home for dinner and put the kids to bed. Bill was on call till 10:00 pm.

On Wednesday, Shayla and I had the dentist at 11:45 am. Bill had a hair appointment at 11:30 am. So he took the younger two and got his hair cut and Shayla and I headed out for a teeth cleaning. I then ran home, dropped off Ping and grabbed Sasha for an appointment at the vet. In the meantime, Bill was supposed to meet the cable person because I wasn't able to get online. Needless to say, the cable person said it was a modem issue. It wasn't and I knew it wasn't. The problem was not fixed, but eventually it worked it's own issues out. Thank goodness. Sasha's appointment went well. She has had some back end issues.She needed to be flushed out. She was. She seems to be better, but the problem is really continuing. I don't think we can help that. Oh well. That night, Bill was on call. So it was a full day around here.

Thursday wasn't a bad day that I can remember. If I remember correctly, we were home for most of the day. Sasha had to go back to the vets for blood work in the evening and we did a ton of things around the house that day, but we didn't have appointment after appointment and that is a blessing!

On Friday, I took Yamira to therapy while the other two stayed home with Daddy. We then did a few errands. Once home, we did a ton of things around the house. We put a lot of stuff away. We still have a lot more to do, but it was so nice to get some stuff done! Bill was on again this night, so we were home.

Saturday was a crazy day. We had granite installed in the laundry room at 9:00 am. At 1:00 pm, we had Brooke's birthday party which we were late for. I don't even remember why except that Manny and Yamira needed to nap before we went because they were so poorly behave. Anyway, the kids had a blast. They swam and went in the bouncy house. I loved catching up with my good friend Bobby-Jo. We were thinking of heading to my cousin's graduation party, but about an hour before we left, some people that Bobby-Jo knows showed up with a kitten. Now Bill and I are the biggest cat lovers around, so of course we were drawn to her. These two young teens got this kitty from one of their grandmother's house. They have a ton of cats running around. It seems like a good dumping ground. They were trying to get the kittens so they could bring them to a shelter. They caught one. There is Bill immediately looking to hold the out of control kitten. Within moments, the Cat Whisperer had her sleeping on him. Bill has a way with animals. He calms them all down, no matter what kind of animal they are. If they were never friendly before, they become friendly and so on. I don't get it. Anyway, he proceeds to hold her for forever. I said "no way, not another kitty." I said that over and over and over and over. Before I knew it, Bobby Jo got out the damn cat carrier and the little one was in the back of the SUV on the way home with us! God she is awfully cute. She still has yet to be named though. So we went straight home, put the kids to bed and got the kitten ready with a litter box and food and what now. Busy day! Adoption day of black and brown and stripped kitty!

On Sunday, Bill worked from 6:00 am to 6:00 pm. We had Skyler and Teresa's party to attend. I fell asleep the night before on the chair and never got up and put my mask on. That just was not good for me at all. I woke up with a terrible migraine. Then the kitty got locked in my office with my pocketbook. I just felt out of it. On top of that, I got a nasty email from a friend I have had for years. Nice, huh? One thing that came out of the email is that my friend chose to clue me into something that may be a health concern. After doing a lot of checking, I am very concerned and looking into it. Too bad she didn't mention this to me a month ago. If I had any idea that someone might have something they didn't have before, you can bet your life I am pulling that friend aside and saying something. That is because I adore my friends. Needless to say, it was a really tough day. We did get to the party, late, but that was okay. The day turned around because I was with a great supportive bunch. The kids had a grand time as well.

On Monday, Bill worked form 6:00 am to 6:00 pm again. Grateful for the hours, trust me. I was still really upset about all that was said to me on Sunday and nervous about my health, so I called my doctor and made an appointment to see her. I also took the kids out to do a few errands. I tried to do some catching up at home, but all three were like crazy monkeys and it didn't make for a fun day. I was grateful when Bill came home that night.

On Tuesday, we celebrated our 8th anniversary. Well I shouldn't say we celebrated because we didn't celebrate it at all! Bill waited for the Brinks guy to come to reinstall a few alarms and I got ready for my doctors appointment. Well the Brinks guy came and we realized we were missing a few items, so he said we should reschedule. I took off down the highway for a noon appointment. My appointment went well. She really took the time to listen to my concerns. I did not feel better, but I didn't feel worse. She has some more blood drawn and I headed home. My doctor who I have had for years called me in the car as I was nearing home to tell me that she noticed that my iron level was high, so now I potentially have a third issue. I am just so nervous and overwhelmed by it all. So I called my GI doctor to make an appointment who then told me to call back my GP and have her send something saying what she wanted from them. Oy vey! What a nightmare. I was supposed to take the kids to the gazebo in town for a cute little show the library was sponsoring, but it got to be so late that I just pulled in and walked over and had Bill bring the kids up. The show was really cute! We then headed home. I cleaned the house, fed the kids and put them to bed. Bill went to the fire station for training. Romantic anniversary, no?

I had to cancel the vet appointment I had yesterday for the kitten because there was just not enough time in the day to get it all done. So on Wednesday, I took the kitty to the vets to get her going on her shots and such. Bill got called into the station in the morning, so not only did I have the precious furball, but I had the three big crazy Indians with me. They were not well behaved. We were there for over an hour and that didn't help. Anyway, kitty is a girl. She has medium to long hair and we can't figure out her coloring. Even the doctor was puzzled. All of her important test came back negative. She does have mites, but that is not uncommon. We cleaned her ears and gave her some meds. The doctor felt a hernia, so when she is spayed, we will have her have surgery at the same time. Lucky us and lucky her, no? We have yet to name the little beast. She is a beauty. She is so loving, but she is a kitten and love throwing herself at you and scratching the heck out of you. That I am having a hard time with. So I went on Freecycle and asked everyone if they had a cage. Someone immediately responded. Yay. I don't want to cage her, but there are times she needs to settle down and I need to be safe from the claws!!!! Anyway, other than the vet appointment, we were home for the rest of the day. My dear friend Kirsten came over for a visit since Bill was on call and I needed to be in the house. Of course there was no call! Not while he was on duty at least, but then one came in around 11:00 pm. I had a great time catching up with my sweet friend and it took my mind off of things.

Today we got up early and I took the three kids strawberry picking at Charlton Orchards. The strawberries were not plentiful, but we had a great time. Meri met us there with Lucas and Ryan and we met Cari-Lynne and a stay at home dad and another mom and just had a blast picking berries. We had the place to ourselves. I was so proud of my bunch as they did an awesome job picking the best berries they could find. In addition, Manny put his car seat on himself for the first time. So I was super proud. The kids had a blast and loved the apple cider donut that Ayi Meri shared with them! I got a zucchini and some summer squash. I was looking forward to having tonight, but it was a no go for cooking tonight. After we left the orchard, we went to Northboro to get the kennel and then to the post office and the library to pick up some more books for the reading program! I dropped the kennel and the two youngest off and then Ping and I headed to Sterling for a hair cut. We were home by three. I called my doctors office since I had been waiting for them to call since yesterday! Got some unpleasant results that upset me, but I just have got to keep on trudging on and looking for answers.

After feeding the kids and giving the youngest two a bath, I put them to bed and Bill and Ping took off with Uncle Joe and Lucas for a Tornadoes game. They are still there and are having an absolute blast. Having a quiet house tonight has been fantastic. I have caught up here and that is one more thing off the to do list!

Tomorrow I have an important doctors appointment and it's the start of the fourth of July weekend. I am really looking forward to it. Hope it's a productive one!

Well since I am still working on getting pictures up, I figured I would throw today out there. Today was a full day of stuff. Bill was home with the kids while I attended a doctors visit. That went fairly decently and he was a nice man. Bonus for that. I then dropped off some crafts the kids made for the seniors, spoke to my primary care on the phone, went to the bank and then headed home. Bill is now outside with Ping working on the garage and I am here finishing up labeling the photos while the little two play with their Color Wonder. Heading out for a pedicure soon. I have gotten nothing done here today. So upsetting, but out of my control!

Happy Fourth my friends!!!!!

Mama Out!!!!!!!!

Signing out books.

Ping and a character at the library.

Adorable.

Me and the cart.

Cupcakes.

Ping ready to munch.

Pinata.

Pinata.

At the dentist.

Meeting Sophie.

The offering.

Wow, that sure is a good looking snack.

Gazebo show.

New baby.

Comfy?

Sweet.

Sky and Teresa's party
.
Ping eating.

Teresa.

Manny.

Strawberry picking.

Picking berries.

What size am I?

Yamira, Manny, Ryan, Shayla and Lucas.

Monday, June 20, 2011

I am a blogging nightmare

This is the longest I think I have ever gone without blogging. The killer is that it takes me over an hour to write and upload photos. Who has the time for that? However, I am trying to not be like a lot of other bloggers out there that just up and leave one day. I don't want to do that. I need this for my memory bank. You need this to see how good you have it! Okay, I am just kidding. I left off on a Wednesday. I know why I haven't blogged since. It's been pandemonium around here due to it being the end of the school year. Now that the kids are out, maybe I will find a little more time to get to the blogging. Who is kidding who. I might be busier. I can say for sure though, I won't miss driving to school three times a day.

So let me see where I should start. Bill was off to an "Intro to Scuba" the last time I logged on. It was only about an hour long. He loved it and wants to take lessons. Needless to say it is not in the cards right now. I also think he can probably find another shop closer. This one was only an hour away though, so not that bad.

On Thursday, I took Yamira to her therapist. It had been a tough week with Yamira, so I was grateful to check in with another person that understands children. Yamira enjoys seeing her therapist. I am not sure if she is really being helped, but she certainly is not being hurt by any of it. We are down to once every two weeks vs once a week for the last year or so. Bill was on call for the night, so no heading out for me. Nowhere major to go, but things do occasionally come up. There was a call though, so it was worth staying home.

Friday was an exhausting day. Ping had surgery that morning. I took Ping in at 9:00 am. She was cool as a cucumber till she had to change into a gown. At that point she lost it. She was so scared. They whisked her in pretty quickly and she was done within an hour. She had one ear tube removed. She woke up all confused. I felt awful. I expected it, but hated to see that she wanted to walk, but she couldn't. I took her home for her to rest. She wasn't supposed to do anything but rest for the rest of the day. Within an hour she was bouncing around like her regular self. Couldn't believe how quickly she bounced back. We headed to the girl's school for 6:00 pm. There was a carnival being held for the end of the year. We met with Ashly, Bobby and their two children, Bridget and her three girls and Ding and her little Matthew. We all walked around and had a nice time. The kids got tattoos and rode pedal cars. They played games and got into the ambulance and fire truck. We then went inside and waited for the basket raffle. We won one. Thrilling! Then it was home and bed.

On Saturday, we got up early and headed to the girl's gymnastic awards. They were getting medals today. We were supposed to go later in the day, but since we had plans, we went at 9:00 am instead. The girls both completed an obstacle course, got their medals and had sundaes. We then headed home for a quick change and then drove to Norwood High School for the "Last Hurrah." They are tearing down my old high school because a new one was built. They had a day activity and a night one. The night one I didn't go to as I did not think that many would go. I was disappointed I didn't go. We went during the day. It was okay. There wasn't much to do. We walked around and looked at some of the fundraising stuff and then we went to Maura's parents house to say hello and to introduce the youngest two. Mrs. Pellowe gave me a gorgeous tea cup. Very sweet of her. I was so touched. After we left Maura's parents house, we headed to RI to get me a necklace that I wanted. Bill sat in the car while I shopped. That is never fun, but at least the kids had a movie to watch in the car. We headed home, fed the kids an extravagant meal of cereal and strawberries and we put the kids to bed. They were toast.

On Sunday, Bill had signed up to work from 6:00 am-6:00 pm. I decided to keep the kids home for the day. I had things to do here and the kids had a busy week ahead of them. I did take the girls to Sunday School, did an errand and then went back and attended church. All the children performed as it was the last day of Sunday School. It was really cute, but Manny was off his rocker. He could not quiet down. After church we spent the day at home. Me doing stuff like cleaning and organizing and the kids played and watched movies.

I wasn't sure how I was going to get through Monday. Grin and bear it? It was a back to back kind of day. I dropped the kids off at school and headed home for an 8:30 am appointment. We then headed out to do some errands before heading back to school to get Yamira. We then headed home as I had an appointment with two granite companies. One to do a template and one to do an install. Both went off without a hitch. We all piled in the car and headed to school to get Ping and then on to swimming lessons for the girls and dinner. We then headed to the Daisy ceremony. Ping had to be at Daisies at 5:30 pm. I went and brought the little ones. I helped out while the younger two played. At 6:30 pm, the rest of the parents showed and we all watched the ceremony. It was the end of the Daisy year. It was great. Ping has loved being a Daisy this year. Once done, we headed home and put everyone to bed.

On Tuesday, we headed to school for 10:00 am as Yamira's class had a graduation ceremony. It was adorable. All the kids played out nursery rhymes. They then got a book and Mrs. Milton shared with each student how important they were to the classroom. Bill took Manny and headed home and I took Yamira to her OT appointment. That went well. On the way home, I decided to stop at WPI to say hello to some old coworkers. Nobody recognized me. It was sort of funny. I only saw a few, but nobody had a clue who I was until after I said "It's me JILL!" It was a short visit, but it was nice. Unfortunately, I forgot that I had a 1:00 pm appointment with the gas man at the house. However, Bill was home, so it worked out fine. The gas man had issues, but did what he had to do. We had to then get on the horn with the plumber to see if he could find the access panel to the new fireplace. It wasn't on and so the fireplace wasn't firing up. I was only home for an hour or so before I had to head back out to get Ping from school and to take her to her skating lesson. Then we had to run home really quick so that Ping could eat and I could take her to a Bridging ceremony for other Girl Scouts that were bridging. Another long day. All good, but tiring.

Wednesday brought a little relief. The girls went to school in the morning and I ran a few errnad with Manny. Bill worked at the station. When I picked up Yamira at the end of her day, we headed to Leominster to visit with their biological Dad. We met at a playground and then headed out for pizza after. His brother works there and he wanted his brother to see the kids. We had a nice afternoon. Unfortunately, I had to rush home to get Ping and then get the girls to gymnastics. It was their last lesson for the year. Manny was off the walls from no nap as was Yamira. The girls did fine at gymnastics. The rest of the night was spent home.

On Thursday, Bill went to the station again and I dropped the girls off at school. Manny and I did a few errands and went back to the school for 10:30 am. All those that contributed to the Kindergarten gift were invited. So the teachers were presented with gifts and the kids had an extended recess. I walked to the front of the school and got Yamira and then I took the two for hair cuts. Bill was supposed to get a hair cut as well, but he was working so that was a no go. The kids napped and then we picked up Ping at 3:00 pm. We spent the rest of the day at home. The kids had dinner and some much needed baths before heading off to bed. Tomorrow was the last day of school! Bill was on all night and there was a call, so he was a tad tired from the entire day.

Friday was the last day of school, so I opted to drop the girls off. I wanted to wish everyone a happy summer. It was a half day for the kids. Bill took Manny to his last swimming lesson at the Y. So everyone was now done with swimming, Daisies and gymnastics. After picking up Yamira, we went to Walmart for 15 minutes and then headed back to get Ping. I usually will dismiss Ping at the same time, but where it was the last day, I just figured I would let her stay. It was raining out, so the pool party that Ping was to attend was canceled. So Bill and I took the kids to the International Fest at the library. We went a little late as the two youngest had a little nap. The girls got their hair braided. Manny and Yamira got tattoos. They all got to do a few crafts. We could have been there for hours. The kids had a great time. We left at 4:00 pm, headed home for dinner and bedtime. Bill was on again from 6:00-10:00 pm.

Saturday it was gorgeous out. It was suppose to rain, but it didn't. A friend of mine dropped her 5 year old son off to play with the kids. She and her husband both had commitments, so I offered to babysit. We dropped him off in Holden at 2:00 pm and headed to Meri's house for Ryan's second birthday. It was so nice to just sit outside in the gorgeous weather. I tried a turkey burger. Took me an hour, but I ate the entire thing. Somewhere around 6:00 pm, we headed home for some much needed baths. The kids were filthy from all their running around. I sat down later in the night to watch some TV for a change. Never got around to watching much during the week. I don't mind, but wanted to try to get my DVR cleaned up. Needless to say, I think I passed out. I didn't get the DVR cleaned up, that much I can tell you.

Yesterday was a welcomed respite. Bill worked for Father's Day from 6:00 am to 6:00 pm. I cleaned the bathroom and kitchen from top to bottom. I also cleaned out the refrigerator. That took me almost three hours. I threw a lot of junk away and scrubbed and scrubbed. Mine isn't half as bad as I have seen before and yet it took forever to get clean. I also paid bills and did a lot of organizing at my desk. It felt good to actually do a few things at the house. We have so much to do, it's really weighing me down. We just never get the time together to tackle the big projects. I really need Bill's help for some stuff. I hope we all get it done in the year 2011! The kids watched movies and played for the day. There is nothing wrong in staying home for a change. We can't go every day. They want to, but it's important to get things caught up at home. Just the normal day to day stuff. We aren't even talking the big projects.

Here we are at Monday. The first day of school vacation. It's been a totally tolerable day. I wasn't over scheduled at all. Don't get me wrong, we were busy, but not to the point of not being able to breathe. The two little ones had dentist appointments. Their teeth look great. We then went to F W Webb in Auburn, CVS, the bank, Dunkins for Daddy and Walmart. We have been home since. The kids had lunch and Manny and Yamira napped. That gave me some time to make phone calls. Now I am here getting caught up and the kids are all sharing their blocks. Each one is complaining the other one is using too many reds or that someone is stealing their design. Oh boy. Going to go upload some photos and get dinner on the table. Wonder what I should heat up for them tonight. I am so not a "cooker." That is okay, I don't think they care. As long as they are fed something they like, they are happy campers.

Mama Out!!!!!

Ready for surgery.

Four beautiful ladies.

The girls and their tattoos.

The ultimate clown.


Pingster.
She won!

Matthew and Manny.

Oh boy, look who is driving?

Manny the passenger.

Let this be for fun only.

I can handle her driving more than riding in the back.

Pedal cars.

Pedal cars.

The patient.

Balancing.

Obstacle course.

Trampoline.

Obstacle course.

Balancing.

My high school.

New tea cup from Maura's Mom.

All of us.

Sasha.

The Mustang and the kids.

Church.

Church.

Funny girl.

Sisters.

Daisies.

Daisies.

Ping and her award.

Daisies.

Our troop.

Me heading out to school.

At the bridging ceremony.

Riely, Shayla and Elizabeth.

Our leaders.

Daisies and Brownies.

Yamira at school.

Performance.

Skylar, Miss Muffet.

Getting her book.

Sky and Yamira.


Yamira, Sky, Matthew and Sophie.

Mallory and Yamira.

Miss Jean and Yamira.

Mrs. Milton and Yamira.

Mrs. Bowman and Yamira.

Visit with biological dad. Girl in hot pink is the older sister to Yamira and Manny.

Sara and Yamira.

Sara and Manny.

Daddy and Yamira and his wife's little girl.

Manny with Manny and Yamira.

Sara and Manny.

Manny and Reuben.

Gift to the classroom.

New fireplace.

Special chicken.

Special horse.

Shayla and Jeff.

Log cabin time.

Play set.

Birthday boy Ryan.