Adjustments

Ronnie's been home for a little over a week now. There have definitely been some adjustments. Paige and I had our routines down pat. We got up in the morning. She & I got dressed together in Mommy's room. Then, we brushed teeth & hair, put on our makeup, and headed to the kitchen. I made her waffles or French toast sticks for breakfast (frozen) as I fixed my coffee, her chocolate milk, grabbed lunch from the fridge. Feed the cat, and out the door we went. We could both be ready to go in less than 40 minutes. Nice since Mommy frequently oversleeps! In the evening I fixed dinner while she played or watched a cartoon. Then it was bath, play, read books, brush teeth, and off to bed by 7:30 for her.

Now that Ronnie is home there's some refining to our routines. Now there are 3 of us trying to get into the bathroom at the same time. The sink isn't big enough for all of us to brush teeth at the same time. The microwave (combo microwave, toaster oven & convection oven) & coffee pot are next to each other. That means there are 3 of us trying to fix breakfast & coffee at the same time. Lunch is still packed & ready to go in the fridge. And most days we remember to feed K-9 on the way out the door. Evenings are definitely much easier. We aren't nearly as pressed for time. Paige's bed time has been pushed back to 8. With Ronnie's commute he doesn't even get home until close to 6 now. I start dinner while Paige plays. Ronnie gets home, finishes dinner & we go from there.

We've added Wii nights to our evening routines. Once Paige is down for the night, Ronnie and I break out the Wii and play together. We do Wii Fit or Mario Kart mostly. We Wii at least 3 nights a week. We've both lost a couple of pounds this past week by using our Wii more. The Fit works with a balance board. It measures your weight, BMI, and keeps track of you as you exercise. Most exercises do require good balance. So, just a tip. If you're trying to do a balance exercise, make sure the cat doesn't get on the balance board with you. He will definitely mess things up!

Ummmmmm, Huh?

Friday night I had a horrible headache. I was laying down in the bedroom, Ronnie was cooking supper, and Ryan was playing with Paige. Let me just start this by saying Ryan, at 16, is wonderful with Paige. He plays with her, he's been known to feed her, pick her up from daycare, everything. Paige really likes her Ryan.

Ryan has a somewhat off sense of humor. Like the rest of us in the house, he thinks way outside the box & sometimes people just don't get him. Ryan and Paige played dollhouse Friday night. Here's what I found Saturday morning.

That is Belle on the roof, holding Skipper over her head. My first thought was that Belle and Skipper were playing Batman or Superman and trying to fly. That's what I get for thinking. I went to ask Ryan why. I think I like my explanation better. Belle is throwing Skipper off the roof. Seems she was a bad girl. He pointed out if you look close, Skipper has her eyes covered.

He really is a good kid. He is 16 and was playing dolls with a 3 year old. He has to find his humor somewhere, right?

All better!

Paige was able to go back to daycare today. Her fever yesterday started at 100.2 without medicine. I didn't give her any, and her fever was down to normal by 9 am. After she was feeling better yesterday she was in rare form. Her behavior was just awful. At one point she threw her almost empty cup of milk on the ground. She told me there was a mess and I needed to clean it up. Yeah. She got a spanking, a few minutes in time out, and no TV for the afternoon.

This morning the battle was over putting on her shoes. She didn't want to. Ah, the joys. Whoever said Terrible Two's didn't have a 3 year old. The 3's are much worse than the 2's ever were. We're experiencing more and more head butting over the limits. We're still set on them, but she's trying to push them.

I've also finished the last of the taxes I said I would do this year. Well, other than taxes at work, or course. These were the personal ones I said I would do on my own free time. I've completed the difficult one & had it looked over. I did a great job & it's now ready to be filed. The only thing left is the delivery.

Uncle Bobby's Delivery Service

This is the best delivery service ever! I really like my Uncle Bobby's Delivery Service. Here's how it works. Mom takes something across the street to Uncle Bobby. He puts it in his car. Then, the next morning he drives the 45 minutes to work, crossing the state line. He takes the elevator to the 3rd floor. Sometime around 9 or so I get an email asking if I'm ready for a delivery. I say yes. Uncle Bobby then takes the elevator to the 8th floor where I meet him. See, it works great! We've been doing this for over 2 years now, since we started working in the same office building.

Our latest delivery is a big one. Grammy has certainly been busy. We got an Easter dress, 2 Dora outfits and 2 sets of jewelry. The Easter dress is definitely long and goes almost to the floor. It's adorable! Paige likes it. She loves her Dora outfits. She had to try on the jewelry too. I drew the line at changing earrings for 2 minutes. She has to wait until Easter to wear them.

On a Paige update, she's still sick. Ronnie stayed home with her today & I was able to go to work. Tomorrow we switch up again and he goes back to work while I stay home. Her fever spiked up to 103 today when the Motrin wore off. After another dose she was down to 100.5. There's just no way we can send her back to daycare since we know she's still sick.

Sick again

This must be the sick season. We've definitely had a rough month with injuries and being sick. Now Paige has a viral infection. It started Saturday afternoon, she felt a bit warm. By that evening she was up to 102. Sunday morning Paige woke up a bit warm, but definitely not acting like herself. By lunch time she was up to 102 again. I went ahead and called in to work to let them know I wouldn't be able to make it. Not with her still running fevers of 102 anytime the Tylenol or Motrin wore off.

This morning Paige woke up with a fever. You guessed it, 102. I really think she likes that number a lot. Three days of 102 means a trip to the pediatrician. She was saying her tummy hurt and last night she said her ears hurt. Definitely time for a trip to the doc. He checked ears, throat, and listened to her chest. Everything sounded fine. Next was time for some blood to check if it's viral or bacterial. That wasn't fun at all. The finger stick itself was fine. But Paige's blood didn't want to come out. The nurse kept having to squeeze her finger to get it out. The verdict came back as viral.

After todays nap we hit a new number, 103. I had to bribe with "blue juice" or blue Powerade to you, and popcorn to get her to take the Motrin. She's on the couch, perfectly content with her cup of blue juice and bowl of popcorn, watching Max & Ruby on Noggin. It looks like we'll be spending tomorrow just like this as well. Paige can't go back to daycare until she's been fever free for 24 hours. We don't want to get the other kids sick.

Is it just me

Or are more people being diagnosed with cancer? In the past year and a half I've known several people diagnosed.

First was Ronnie's best friend from high school. It was her then 3, now 4 year old daughter. She was diagnosed with Wilm's Tumors. A childhood cancer that affects the kidneys. She's in remission now.

Next was a coworker. He was diagnosed with Hodgkin's Lymphoma. He's now in remission as well.

Next was another coworkers father in law. Then a different coworkers grandfather. And not one, but two coworkers have precancerous ovarian cells. One of them has already beaten non-Hodgkin's lymphoma.

Next one of our friends was diagnosed with breast cancer. While she was pregnant. While still pregnant she had a mastectomy. She then had her daughter several weeks early in order to start chemo. She's half way through with the chemo and her daughter just turned 2 months. Things look promising.

And the last diagnosed is my own brother in law in New Orleans. I don't want to post his name without his permission, so I'll call him Dave. He had a cat named Dave. It's a good name; he was a good cat. Dave had constant tonsillitis. When he went in to have his tonsils removed, they found cancer. The doc removed the cancer, as much as he could see. Dave started radiation this week. We're hoping for a complete recovery.

It just seems to me like more and more people I know have been diagnosed with cancer. Ronnie says it's the stage we're at in life. That right now we're in the people are getting sick/ people getting divorced stage. Next comes the kids starting school phase. Then kids leaving home. Then people getting sick again. Personally, I wonder if some of it could be a reflection of the preservatives, hormones and everything else in our food supply.

Lack of good TV

There is a definite lack of good science fiction on TV lately. Oh, there's still Battlestar Galactica. For 2 more episodes. Then the entire series is over. Dr. Who is on a break. They've announced the new Doctor, but aren't shooting episodes right now. The old Doctor, yummy David Tenant, has other obligations and they're waiting on him. TORCHWOOD is on a break as well. Makes sense since it's a spin off of Dr. Who and they're interwoven. Stargate SG-1 and Stargate Atlantis are both over. Sanctuary is a pretty good show on SciFi Channel. Of course it's on a break as well. I just can't get into Ghost Hunters or Scare Tactics.

I don't do reality TV for the most part. There are a few shows we watch. We both like Top Chef (go figure!) and Ramsey's Kitchen Nightmares. Of course, we've been watching it on BBC for years now. I like Project Runway as well. Maybe when Bravo, NBC & Lifetime stop suing each other we can have the next season. As for shows like American Idol, Survivor or Dancing with the Stars, I can honestly say I've never seen an episode of any of them.

With a lack of good Sci Fi out there, I've had to find new things to watch. I've recently started watching NCIS with Mark Harmon. It's a very interesting show made really good by Abby, the goth science chick. Her part is my favorite. I've branched from CSI to CSI:NY, and occassionally CSI: Miami when nothing else is on. And oddly enough, I've returned to Law & Order. I like the new cast. One of the stars was on Six Feet Under, which was one of my favorite shows.

We do have a few series from Netflix to look forward to. We're starting Smallville from the beginning. Kinda backwards now that we're about to see how it ends. And Heroes. We wanted to watch this, but missed the first part of the season, and decided to sit it out until it came out on DVD. Now we have a couple of seasons we can watch back to back.

So, what TV do you enjoy? I'm looking for something new.


And Ronnie's trip got cut a bit short. He'll be home sometime tomorrow instead of Friday.

Count Down

Paige & I are counting down the days until Ronnie comes home. He's been home every weekend, but it's just not the same. Friday when he gets home, he'll be home. No more traveling. Well, other than 2 hours worth of commute each day. I've learned a few things while he's been gone.

• I like to sleep in the middle of the bed. I've always known this, but I've rediscovered it.
• The cat, K-9, hogs the bed. He likes to sleep in the middle of the bed too.
• When Ronnie's gone, I'll get sick.
• I can go 4 weeks without ironing. I wear a lot of skirts.
• Paige will cry for Daddy when he's not here & she's in trouble.
• Paige has very stinky gas. And here I thought it was Daddy. Nope, she can clear out a room all by herself, thank you very much.
• We can sleep later in the morning & still get ready in time.
• Sausage & frozen waffles in the car is a great breakfast.
• The quiet time between Paige's bedtime & mine is very nice.
• Skype is a great invention. Paige likes to talk to Daddy this way.

I'm sure I've learned other things. But if so, I can't remember what they are. Friday can't come fast enough for any of us.

A little backsliding

Since November I've been following the Walton & Johnson diet. It's a very simple, basic diet: "Eat less, move around more." This is the most sensible diet out there to me. You watch your portions, eat less, and exercise more. It's actually an easy diet to follow. You don't have to give up starch or sugar, or everything that you like. You just need to eat less of it. And exercise more. That's key. You need to burn off the calories that you take in.

By following their diet I lost about 15 pounds. I lost 10 of that during the holiday season when most people gain weight. For the past couple of months I've fallen off the wagon so to speak. I'm back to eating larger portions and more junk food. And I've moved less. Oh, I have some good reasons, like being sick, pulling my back muscles, being tired. Very good excuses. But it doesn't help the scale go down.

So, tomorrow it's back on the Walton & Johnson diet. Tonight Wii Fit comes back out and I get going again. My goal is 3 times a week to start. I think that's realistic. I pack my own lunches for work. I mostly take left overs. It stops me from going out to lunch and eating bad food, and helps clean out the fridge. I'll be packing more fruit & veggies tomorrow, and watching my portion sizes. Once I get going, it's easier to stay on the right track. It's the getting started that's hard.

Super Saturday

Ever have one of those days where nothing exciting happens, but it's still a great day? We're having one of those. Ronnie's car needed an oil change, so we took it to Honda this morning. (It's all part of the service package.) The dealership is by the mall, so we went there to kill some time.

While Paige & Ronnie headed for the carousel, Mommy headed to get a pedicure. Probably my first one in over 6 months now. It was heavenly! And now my feet are in OK enough shape to go to my favorite place in another month or so. I was happily sipping my venti chai latte, reading my book and enjoying my pedicure when Paige and Ronnie comes in. Daddy took Paige shopping for a new bathing suit and wanted to show me.

We had some fun just walking around the mall acting silly. Paige rode the carousel two times. The ladies in the nail salon all said how beautiful she was. The girl working at Hot Topic was amazed Paige could correctly identify her superheroes and likes pirates. People were smiling at her jumping and dancing her way around the mall.

We got back home and Paige went down for her nap. Daddy & I went to get haircuts from Aunt Wii. Don't worry, Unc & Jeff listened out for her. I got 3 inches cut and look like a decent human again. Ronnie even fixed my tail light & put in a new air filter.

Tonight is the 30th birthday party for a friend. We'll head out to that after Paige goes to bed. Ryan will be home to listen out for her. It's at a restaurant on the causeway so hopefully the rain won't be too bad.

Nothing huge & exciting happened today, just little things and getting some chores done. But the day has felt relaxing. We've had a good time. Paige has played with her Daddy & been silly with him. She's been having a blast. He's back off again tomorrow. This week coming up is the last week of his training. Once we get through this Ronnie will be home with us everyday.

So goes my life

Last week I had a pulled muscle in my back. I couldn't pick up Paige or really play with her. Even just cooking dinner was an effort. It was nice for Ronnie to get home to be able to play with her. By now my back is fully recovered.

Since my back has recovered it's time for something else, right? If you know my luck you know it's time for something else. I will spare you all the nasty details. I'll sum it up by saying I had to leave work almost as soon as I got there. And I spent the rest of the day between the bed and the bathroom.

Ryan & Jeff picked Paige up from daycare for me. And they managed to keep her entertained while we were waiting for Aunt Wii to get home from work. Ryan even fed her dinner! Hopefully this is just a 24 hour thing. Dinner (rice) is still in place so that's a good start.

EEEEEWWWWWWWWW

We were getting out of the van today when Paige sneezed. Suddenly, hanging from her cheek was this huge yellow blob. Either she had the biggest booger in history, or she put something up her nose. She hasn't put anything in her nose since the rock incident of 2008.

I quickly pick it off her cheek & drop it on the ground. I didn't examine it too closely. Paige asked what was wrong. I told her she had something in her nose. You'll never guess what it was. A flower. Do you want to know why she put a flower up her nose? It smelled good. Some days I swear she's a clone of her Daddy.

Paige on Monday

Paige did not want to get out of bed this morning. I even let her sleep an extra 20 minutes. She was happily asleep & wanted to stay that way. When I went to get her she kept insisting there was no school today & that she was staying in bed. I finally convinced her otherwise. The entire time we're getting dressed she keeps saying there's no school, that we're staying home today.

Her imagination is getting better and better. Saturday when we went to the grocery store there was a leopard chasing us. We finally got away when we were safely in Walmart. I don't know where she comes up with some of these things. As we were driving to school she said we were lost. I played along. I asked her what we do when we're lost. I expected a reply that involved Map from Dora. I should never expect certain things from Paige. Her response? "We turn around to go back home. We get back in bed."

My child doesn't do Monday either.

What a weekend

Can I have another day to recover from my weekend? Do you ever feel like that? Like you did so much during those short 2 days that you need another day to recover? Knowing me I would probably pack more into that day as well.

My back was feeling much better by Friday afternoon. I was feeling bad about not being able to play much with Paige during the week. So, I stopped at Target & got a bubble machine. It blows thousands of bubbles a minute. It puts small bubbles in big bubbles. It's super cool. We were playing happily on the patio when Daddy pulled up. Ronnie got off work about 4 hours earlier than expected. She loved seeing her Daddy.

Saturday was the annual chili cook off. Ronnie has wanted to participate in this for the past 5 years. It was a long day for him though. He had to be up at 4:30 and didn't get home until almost after 6 pm. Paige & I joined him for a bit. We went to the cook off with Aunt Wii, Unc, Ryan & Jeff. We got to taste some good chili & hang out at their booth for a bit. Saturday night he was so exhausted we didn't do much.

Today was a bit more relaxed at least. Paige & Daddy went to the park to play. After nap they went to the mall. Paige has been asking to go to the mall all weekend. She likes to ride the pink horse on the carousel. While the rode the horse, I shopped. Today was the spring/summer consignment sale sponsored by our local Junior League. This is a great place to get clothes for kids. I did really good with the sale. Here's what I got:

1 pair of capris
8 pair of shorts
5 shorts/shirts outfits
7 dresses
9 shirts
4 skirts
1 nightgown
3 DVD's
1 Bob the Builder playset
1 Go Diego Go clothes hamper

All of that for $150. Not too bad. Mostly name brand clothes as well. Lots of Tommy Hillfiger, Childrens Place & Gap. The only thing I may still need to buy for spring & summer is more pajamas. I wish I could get a whole new wardrobe for $150!

Overall we had a great weekend. It was busy, but it was fun. There was the usual amount of house cleaning & laundry mixed in there as well. Next weekend things are up in the air. Not sure if we'll go up there or if Ronnie will come back home. It's a 4 hour drive for one of us. We'll just have to see later in the week.

Not all It's cracked up to be

Hi, It's Ronnie

Yea, I'm still traveling. I gotta tell ya it does not rock. I'm bored. Sure you think that one could go out and party it up, and I'm sure some do. Where am I you ask? Sitting on my butt, online, trying to avoid doing home work set up by my training program.


Just check out this party!!!

Anyway, going to bed soon. Watch our party! Here I come!

I'm going home tomarow and I will be working all day Saturday. I will spend as much time at home as possible on Sunday, but I will have to get back on the road by nightfall on Sunday. Two more weeks. Just hold my breath and I will be back at home soon. I miss my girls so much.

Thanks for checking in on Angie's blog, I know I do when I'm on the road.

Ender

Ender is the main character in a series of books by Orson Scott Card. (click here) If your not a reader, you can probably stop reading here. If you do like to read, and enjoy science fiction, keep going.

Ender is a 6 year old boy when he's chosen to save the world. Not asking much, are we? I won't tell you if he does it. That would spoil the whole book. Or maybe not. Anyway, I can't give away an ending.

Card does an amazing job of creating this world. The world is very similar to ours since it's Earth. But he writes it in the future, or maybe the past, he never says. The world he created goes far beyond our galaxy into other worlds as well.

There are 2 distinct sections of the series. There's Ender's World & the Shadow Series. When you pick these books up for the first time, do not read them as they were written. First, read Ender's Game. Then, read Ender's Shadow. How you read from there is up to you. Ender's Shadow completes Ender's Game. You don't even realize what was missing until you read it. Then so much more falls into place. The Shadow series follows Bean and returns to Earth. The Ender series goes into other galaxies.

I've treated myself to the latest in the series: Ender in Exile. I've been longing to read it and being forced to not do much around the house, I've definitely got the time. I've been sucked back into the world Card has created. It's like coming home to old friends. You haven't seen them in a while, but it's friends you really, really liked. Once you're with them again it's as if you never were apart.

If science fiction isn't your thing, try Empire. It's set in modern society & represents what could happen to us. Happy Reading!

What I learned today

First, daytime TV really bites. I kinda knew this before, but it was really obvious to me today. Mostly because I couldn't really get off the couch. There wasn't a lot of options out there. I did find a marathon of Law & Order SVU. I watched that most of the day. You would think with all the channels we get there would be something good on. Considering I don't like most of the prime time TV offerings it wasn't all that much of a shock actually.

Second, have you ever paid attention to drug ads? Oh my gosh! There was one today that listed cancer as a possible side effect. Cancer? As a side effect? No way. I would rather suffer from arthritis than arthritis & cancer. Wouldn't you? How desperate do you have to be to accept cancer as your side effect? I have arthritis in my knees, but I would rather have that than cancer. Another commercial says the FDA asked the drug company to clarify some things in a previous ad. Um.... ok. Makes me wonder what I missed the first time. I'm not opposed to better living through modern chemistry. I take a medicine everyday. I was willing to accept the side effects knowing they were minor, and that the overall medicine would help with the other issues I was having. I made the decision after speaking with my doctor & weighing the pros & cons. Do people really make their pharmacy decisions from commercials? That's kinda scary.

Finally, I learned that 3 is not too young to introduce your child to the joys of the clean laundry basket. Paige got dressed out of the clean laundry basket this morning. She was able to completely pick out her clothes with no help from Mommy. I hate folding laundry so much I would be content to live out of the clean laundry basket. Paige really enjoyed it. Gave me an excuse to not fold laundry again today.

Oopsie

OK, so part of the fun of Mardi Gras is lugging around your 30 plus pound 3 year old. Not really. But, I'm trying to pretend here. My back has been hurting since we got back home. I've tried every over the counter medicine I thought would help. I've tried Aleve, Motrin, Tylenol & Advil. I've tried ice packs & the heating pad. I finally went to the doctor.

I've pulled/inflamed the muscle that supports my spine. Only on the left side though, mainly because that's where I carry Paige. I've been ordered to not pick her up for a week. Yeah right. But I will keep it to a minimum. I've got 6 days worth of steriods. The doctor tried to talk me into a steriod shot. Dr. C saw the look on my face & how my heart rate accelerated, and decided I could do the pills instead. (He was taking my pulse at the time & said it jumped from about 75 to over 100!)

I'll spend tomorrow in bed with my steriods & my ice pack. My ice pack, to the untrained eyes, looks like a bag of frozen peas. Best ice pack I've ever had. It conforms to your body & is really cheap to buy. I'll have my book to keep me company. It's back to work on Wednesday.

And he's gone

We knew it was coming. Ronnie left at noon today. Paige was very adamant that she didn't want her Daddy to leave. She was extremely attached to him over the weekend. His leg if about 30 pounds lighter now that she's been detached.

Friday afternoon Daddy took his little girl shoe shopping, her favorite activity I think. She can clearly identify the mall. She knows where the shoes stores are & the carousel. Yep, the girl can already shop. They bought 2 new pair of shoes: Dora tennis shoes and pink sparklies. She recently outgrew all her shoes & needed some new ones.

Saturday was a birthday party during the day, then a night out for Mommy & Daddy. We put Paige down to bed & went out for a late dinner at a local seafood restaurant. (Thanks to his last job for the gift card.) The food was OK. It was nice to get out & have a quiet meal without having to keep a 3 year old occupied.

Today Daddy got up with Paige & they made breakfast. We spent the morning lounging around while Ronnie finished packing. He'll be 4 hours away for the next 3 weeks. Tomorrow he finds out his work schedule and whether or not he'll be able to come home during that time.