Swine Flu Shots

The school department is offering to vaccinate the entire school system for the H1N1 virus. The are doing it in conjunction with the county health department. My girls are getting the shots or nasal mist, whichever one is available at their school. Some people are telling me not to or telling me horror stories they have heard about kids that have received the vaccine.
Do they really think I haven't studied up on this? Do they really think I would knowingly harm my children? It really ticks me off.
I have read up on the vaccine as much as I can. I believe the CDC when it says that they have spent more time developing and testing this vaccine than some of the other flu shots.
H1N1 is a strain of flu. It has proven to be a dangerous strain of flu. The seasonal flu shots that are developed every year are based on educated estimations on what strains of flu may be showing up in this country. People claim the get a flu shot and then get the flu anyways. The flu they develope is not the strain they were innoculated against but a different strain!
The swine flu vaccine was developed with this specific strain in mind.
I am not one of those moms that runs my kids to the doctor for every sneeze or cough. My children are, for the most part very healthy. A few winters ago we had some difficulty with strep throat and scarlett fever. My youngest in particular is especially suseptible. I don't fool around with that and our doctor takes an aggressive approach when Chrissy comes in with strep.
We have gone two winters without a single case of strep!!
The girls have never received a flu shot in the past but I'm really concerned about the swine flu so this year they will receive the vaccine. Don's radiation treatments put him in the high risk category so he will also get the vaccine. The girls getting the vaccine is also added protection for him! I will also get it once it is made available.
My family's health is very important to me. I feel this vaccine will help prevent the spread of the virus so we will do our part.

Band Jam

Last night the girls and I froze our butts off taking in the sights and sounds of the 2009 Lake County Marching Band Festival. IT WAS WORTH IT!!!! This year the festival was hosted by our own Madison HS Blue Streaks Marching Band. There were 10 bands representing area highschools. The smallest had 36 members-the largest was 183. All of them were wonderful. The girls really enjoyed themselves.
Tomorrow night the 8th grade band will play with the highschool band during the pregame show of the Friday football game. Maggie is very excited. They have been practicing the National Anthem, God Bless America, the Madison HS Alma Mater and of course the Madison Fight Song! It will probably be the highlight of the night as the football team has yet to record their first win!

J-E-T-S J-E-T-S!

Today was Chrissy's first game. It was the Jets vs. the Browns and the Jets won!! Chrissy was awesome. She did a great! All of the girls looked and sounded good but I must say my Chrissy was the best! She knew all of the cheers and you could hear her loud and clear.
The football team looked good too but I didn't see too much of the game because the girls cheered through the entire game! The final score was 20-0 so I think we might have a good season. I know Chrissy will!

The Greased Pole

This weekend is the 47th Madison Old Fashion Days. It is a weekend of cars, food music and games. The have kiteflying, frog jumping and watermelon eating contests. Every year the Hanlon-Kurilec family participates in almost all of the events. The favorite one is of course the watermelon eating contest. More on that later.

Every year since Allie was 5, she has tried to climb the greased pole. They set up 2 poles (made from tree limbs) and grease them up with Crisco. Allie can climb anything-pole, ropes, trees etc. I found her sitting on top of the swingset when she was 2!

When she was 5, I talked her into trying the greased pole. She was the crowd favorite. She was a tiny little girl with her pony tail dangling trying to shinny up the pole. I told her if she won she could buy a lot of Barbie dolls with the $25 prize. She did pretty good that year but didn't win. Every year after that she had different ideas to try and win-socks on hands, barefoot, sneakers and my favorite, a bag of flour that she rubbed on her. Nothing worked but she was always close. She is also one of the few kids that can actually climb.

This year-her 6th attempt- Allie pulled the ribbon off the top and won the $25 prize! It took an hour and 10 minutes but she finally did it. There were about 9 other kids in her age group (10 & up). It was very exciting. They almost postponed it because it was raining but I told the OFD director that this was Allie's year! He's been rooting for Allie every year.

Three cheers for our Allie-The Greased Pole Champion!!

The Cheerleader

Well, we have a new activity in our house-cheerleading! My Chrissy is a cheerleader for the Lower Jets-the 7-9 year old football team in the Madison Youth Football League.
My idea of cheerleading has changed over the last few years. Since I started attending the Friday night games with the girls, I have seen how cheerleading has changed since I was a kid. It is a more athletic activity than I ever thought.
Todays cheerleaders aren't just bubbleheaded girls shaking pompoms. They are trained and very athletic young people. They aren't just girls either. For 3 years MHS had a guy on the varsity cheering squad. His senior year he was the drum major!
Chrissy is pretty good at cheering. She is very flexible and very athletic. She can do cartwheels and splits and other gymnastic type moves that just amaze me. And she looks really cute!

I have always considered my self a jock. As a kid I was always playing some sport-baseball, softball, basketball, etc. If there was a ball involved (or a puck!) I was playing. I never EVER considered being a cheerleader. My girls have always been involved in sports. Usually soccer and most recently , softball. Now we have cheerleading. I can't wait for the football season to start!! GO JETS!!!

Quiet Time

I'm on vacation this week and next. I haven't had 2 weeks in a row in years, if ever. I had originally planned to travel to Massachusetts to visit friends and family but as usual, finances just wouldn't allow it at this time. Instead we are staying home and doing things around the area.
Old Fashion Days start Thursday and of course that is always fun. We have several titles to defend including watermelon eating titles! We are heading to Erie, PA to go to Waldameer-a combination water and amusement park. Closer and much cheaper than Cedar Point. We might even venture up to Presque-Isle and check out the science center that just opened a couple of years ago.
What I have been enjoying the last few days is the quiet time I have before people start getting up. I have never really been one to sleep in. 7-8 AM is actually late for me. I have gotten by for so many years on broken sleep that when I sleep 5-6 hours straight, it is wonderous. When I get up I have my coffee and watch news, or play on the computer or read the paper. Sometimes Don is up but most of the time my only companion is Socks, the 7 week old kitten. He doesn't pay to much attention to me but he is entertainment for me!
I'm usually up late-11 or midnight but I'm tired. Being up at 5 or 6AM is enjoyable because I'm refreshed and semi-ready to start my day. I could probably find something more productive to do than Facebook or watch the news (or Spongebob if he's on!) But really, it's not what I get done during that quiet time, it's the enjoyment of the time that really matters!

4th of July

Happy 4th of July! It is a beautiful day here in Madison. Sunny and 75! It finally stopped raining yesterday afternoon. I know I know, we didn't get the rain that some of you got but it rained for a week. The garden really liked the wet weather.
Don cooked brats, hotdogs and burgers on the grill. He also made fruit salad and pasta salad. It was YUMMY! The girls have been playing croquet and badminton. Just a nice quiet family day. Guess the perfect way to end it is a nice nap!

Hair

I am the mother of three girls. Do you know how much shampoo and conditioner I go through? When it was just me, a bottle of shampoo and conditioner lasted for months.
I got my first perm in highschool. My mother told me it would be easy-wash or wet it, pick it out and go. No hair dryer, no curling iron. She was right. It was sooo easy. When I was in the army my hair was usually short. I was always in hot climates and had a hat on all day. Short hair-no muss, no fuss. I grew my hair long after I met Don. He asked me to. It was long until Miss Maggie was learning to stand and pull herself up and used my long hair to steady herself. I cut it again.
The main thought here is simplicity. I couldn't do anything with my hair. I never really learned how. With 3 girls I learned a few things. I can do ponytails, braids (simple ones, not french braids), and buns and pigtails. Now we are into coloring our hair. I bought my first box of hair color about 7 years ago. It was a strawberry blonde. Nothing drastic as my natural color is strawberry blonde (or was). I liked it. I tried auburn too but again it wasn't very drastic.
A few years ago Allie was sick. It was the last couple days of Christmas break and she was really feeling bad. I bought a can of Funky Cherry mousse to color her hair with. It said it would wash out in 8-10 washes. She loved it, it made her feel better and it looked cute. Oh, it lasted about 3 months!!
Over the last couple of weeks, the girls have been playing with their hair. First we tried the non permanent colors. They worked on my two blondie girls but not Allie. I had to use my Colorsilks on Allie. For about a week I had three strawberry blonde beauties. Mag and Chrissy are back to normal. Allie's has faded but looks great.
Today Maggie is now very blonde. I bought her Ultra Sun Blonde. Her natural strawberry highlights still show though. It looks really cute. She is very excited.
I don't think the girls are obsessed with their hair but it has been an interesting couple of weeks. Don just says "looks nice" then rolls his eyes. I guess hair crazy is better than boy crazy!!

Allie vs the Catcher

What do you get when you run into a catcher at full speed? A trip to the emergency room!
Tonight my Allie ran full speed into the catcher while trying to score from 2nd base. Allie went one way and the catcher went the other way. He dropped the ball and she scored. However, her left arm hit his catcher's helmet and it bruised and swelled up fairly quickly thus resulting in a trip to the ER.
After being examined by the doctor and an xray, it turns out there was no fracture but it is bruised and right now there's a good size lump. Motrin and a couple days rest is all the doctor ordered. She plays again Friday but we'll see.
Allie plays hard whether it is soccer, basketball or softball. She always runs at full speed and believe me she is fast. I have seen her "bounce" off opposing soccer players and land several feet backwards only to get back up and start running again. Oh a few times she has been carried off the field by the coach but she is usually back in the game in no time. Tonight was different. She hit that catcher hard and I was scared that her skinny arm was broken! My friend Joe is an ER nurse at the local hospital. He was there when we got there and he was her nurse. Joe is a big guy:6-5 and about 275 lb. My girls think he's great and I'm sure Allie felt better to have him there. I know I did.
Trips to the ER are never fun and they are certainly a mother's worse nightmare. I have had my share and I'm sure tonight won't be my last however, the outcomes have always been good. Oh, a few stitches, some xrays and one trip for a concussion (the worst one). I am thankful that I have healthy and mostly careful children!!

Day Off

I am off from work today. No Giant Eagle. No Wendy's. I slept in until 8:30! Now, that is late for me. Even when I am off I have to get up with the girls for school or I hear Don leaving. The kids are on summer break and Don is off. I don't think we have all been home together since Christmas! What to do, what to do?!
Mag just brought me my coffee. When I finish blogging I will take a nice hot shower. The only thing on the agenda is softball. The big girls have a doubleheader starting at 6. Chrissy has a game at 6:30.

I guess I'll continue this fantasy for a little longer. Once the girls are all up the noise level will increase. The washer and dryer will kick into gear. Oh well. It was nice while it lasted!

Pictures

The lovely ladies after Allie's recital.

Allie at the piano during her recital.

Maggie and her baritone. She is going back to trumpet for 8th grade band.

End of the School Year.

School gets out this Thursday! You know the girls are excited but I'm just as happy. No more frantic searches for socks and sneakers. No more fighting over hairbrushes or t-shirts that belong to someone else or who used up all of the hot water. No more I'm up! or 5 more minutes!
No more "Oh I forgot about that math homework ", or "Where are my library books"?
Mornings will be less hectic but nights! Why can't I stay up all hours of the night, I'm on vacation. Why do we have to come in now?

Well, you get my point. I love school vacation for alot of different reasons but by the 4th of July, I'm counting the days until they go back!

Allie and the Drum

I can't imagine Allie ever marching with the bass drum but maybe for stage band!

Allie

This has certainly been Allie's week. She started the week off with some kind of stomach bug. Throwing up at 4 AM. She spent the day on the couch. When I got home from work she was polishing off a second helping of pasta. She was obviously feeling better and since she hadn't eaten all day, she was starving. Allie needs to eat every 2-3 hours. She claims to weigh 70 pounds but I don't know where she stores it. Those of you that know Allie also know she is always moving. Her metabolism is unbelieveable.
Anyways, she went back to school the next day, went to piano and then she had softball. She scored the winning run (she was walked in) but she did score and we won 12-11.
Thursday night was the 5th grade/parent tour of the middle school. Even though Maggie has been there for 2 years, Allie needed to show me everything! Friday was the 5th grade band comcert at the middle school. They bussed the band members to MMS from each of the elementary schools (We have 3), and they practiced all morning in the bandroom for the 1st time all year as a band. After lunch they practiced a little more and the performed for the parents. They sounded pretty good considering.
Allie has been having drum/bell lessons from the highschool band director all year. At the middleschool, one of the 6th grade science teachers is a drummer and he works with the percussionists at MMS and MHS. He talked a little with the new drummers and told me later they sounded pretty good. He knows me as Maggie's mom (of course) but now I'll be Allie's mom!
Later today (it's 1:30 AM), Allie will represent her school at the math competition that is hosted every year by Madison. There are usually 7 or 8 schools from the area that participate. Allie's schhol is sending about 16 kids (teams of 4). She's nervous but the kids on each team work together. The teacher sets up the teams so that they are balanced. Each member is strong in one or more of the areas. They work together to solve problems.
5th grade has been a good one for Allie. I'm sure she'll do great at competition!

Take Your Child to Work Day

Today is Take Your Child to Work Day. This year the only one that came with me was Allie. Giant Eagle limits it to kids ages 9-12. Mag is too old and Chrissy is too young. At GE they have the kids together in a group and they have a lot of activities planned for them. It starts with breakfast: donuts, oj and /or milk. Then they go to the various department in the store. The kids get to decorate a cake, make a floral arrangement, make a cheese and pepperoni platter and sandwich wraps. The wraps are their lunch and they also make one for the parent or grandparent that works at the store. At noon we all ate lunch in the conference room. They also visit the in-store bank and pharmacy. The big event is the scavenger hunt where they follow clues for items that they get to scan out themselves at the register. This year they made fruit animals out of strawberries snd apples. At the end of the day they receive certificates from the store manager, a reusable grocery bag and a $5 gift card (and they keep the cake, floral arrangement and deli platter that they made). It is alot of fun for the kids and us parents too. Although it is way more fun that the average work day, it does show the kids some of the things we do and how the store runs.
This was Allie's 3rd time and she enjoys it every year. The other two REALLY wanted to come but it was nice spending the day with Allie. Next year Chrissy will be able to come and that will be great.

State Testing.

Testing starts today. All three girls have reading tests today and math on Wednesday. We went up to the diner for breakfast since Don has always made them a big breakfast on test days. He's off on Wednesday so he'll cook at home.
After they ate they went off to school happily. They never worry about the tests. A lot of pressure is put on the kids to do well or they might be held back or some other stupid threat. Not here in Madison. They tell the kids to do their best. They give them tips and practice tests going into test week so by the time they get the real thing, they are comfortable taking it. As I have mentioned before I am lucky that my kids do well in school and they usually score pretty high on the tests. I will be glad when the tests are done though.

Mornings

The girls went back to school today! Spring break is now over although it wasn't very spring like around here. I love when the girls are on break. It is less hectic in the morning. This morning people didn't want to get up, Allie found homework that she forgot about, and Maggie's ride didn't pick her up. I guess that means we are back to normal!

Spring Break

The girls are on Sping Break from school this week. It certainly started off not very springy. It was cold and blowy and snowy. Probably an inch fell. But like most spring snows it didn't stay on the ground very long. Today it was cold but sunny. Allie went swimming at the Y after piano and the other 2 were outside playing.
Friday is egg coloring day. They will each do a dozen. Then it's egg salad and deviled eggs for a week but it's fun. This year I think we are doing glitter eggs. We get different kits every year. The girls do there own. One year we had kits that you rolled paint onto the eggs. Chrissy's were mostly black but then again she was only 18 months old at the time.
Don cooks the eggs and we both supervise but the girls have always colored their own eggs. It's one of those fun family traditions that we continue year after year. I can't wait!

Scrabble

I love the game Scrabble. I have been playing since I was a kid. I have fond memories of scrabble games with my Dad on Thanksgiving Day while dinner was cooking. My Dad taught me how to play. He was tough. He always played to win. He challenged my words if he didn't think I knew what they meant.
I was 14 the first time I beat him. I don't know who was more excited-me for winning or him because I beat him. I had to call my mother at work to tell her. She was excited too. After that first win, he seemed to let up on me. He realized I was a pretty good player and he didn't feel the need to challenge my words. After that, I won more often. If I lost it wasn't by much. It was like we were equals on the playing field. I really appreciated that-still do.
I've played with Maggie but she isn't really into the game. She's a suduko whiz. I bought a game for the computer but it got scratched up. No one knows how.
The other day there was a commercial on TV for free scrabble on Pogo. I checked it out and now I'm hooked. I play 4 or 5 games a day. I always play the computer but I guess I should venture into the game rooms and play head to head with some other Scrabble geek. I am on the advanced level and I haven't lost in the last 20 games.
Check out pogo.com/scrabble if you want to give it a shot but I'm warning you-it is addictive.

Softball

The girls are all signed up for softball. Maggie and Allie are playing in the Junior Division. Chrissy will stay in Coach Pitch. I even bought myself a glove today. I played catch with the girls last year but I had to use one of their gloves. I needed a bigger glove. I was checking out bats but they are really expensive. I'll hold off on the bat until we get closer to the season. Softball starts in May here. I can't wait!!!

Math Night

Last night was math night at the middle school. The math teachers have it to talk about the OAT which is coming up in April. We were a half hour late. When we got there, one of the 7th grade math teachers gave Maggie a handout with 10 sample questions on it. It took her about 10 minutes to finish. She only missed one question-the easiest one! Maggie is taking algebra this year but that's not on the test. Her algebra teacher has been giving the kids sample tests all year just so they are familiar with the material that he teaches in his regular math classes. He says the algebra kids should have no problems with the OAT.
Maggie usually does well on the state tests. She actually got a perfect score on her third grade reading test!! Maggie has reading, writing and math this year. Allie has reading, writing, math science and social studies. Chrissy just has reading and math.
I understand the purpose of the tests but sometimes there is a lot of pressure on the kids. I always tel the girls to relax and do their best. It's not the end of the world. They have always done just fine in the past. I'm proud of them no matter what score they get on the tests!

Haircut Pictures

The before and after shots. Pretty impressive!

Haircuts

All of the girls got haircuts yesterday. Chrissy's is at her shoulders now. Very cute! Allie's is short and very grown up looking. Maggie had nearly 12 inches cut. She donated it to Locks for Love which uses the hair to make wigs for people that lose their own hair due to chemo or other medical conditions. I am very proud!! She looks terrific! Maggie hasn't had a haircut in years. Little trims to get rid of split ends but that's all. When she saw Allie's haircut she wanted hers that way too. She was very excited. The hair dresser didn't cut Mag's hair as short as Allie's (we didn't want Maggie to go into shock) but she did cut off a lot.
I'll put pictures on later.

Facebook

I am addicted to Facebook. I admit it. In the past when I would log on to the computer I would check my email, check some blogs, and then go to either channel 5 or Infinite Campus on the Madison School district site. Now I log on and go directly to Facebook. I just have to see who's online, what my friends and family are saying or doing. I like typing in people's names and see if they have a Facebook page.
I have a MySpace but it is too complicated for me. Facebook in instantaneous (or more so than MySpace). Maggie's MySpace page is really cool. Mine is boring. I can't get the hang of cutting and pasting or whatever it is to create a cool layout. I have bumperstickers that disappear at times. Facebook is just easier to navigate- for me anyways.
I still check the blogs and read the news. Keep sending me email because everyone likes to get mail. But if I am online, I'm probably on Facebook.

Don's Fish

Don caught this 28 inch, 10 pound male steelhead trout in the creek behind the house. He actually hooked into this one earlier and it broke his line and pole. After he caught it, he retrieved his first lure that was stuck in the fish. Fifteen minutes earlier he caught an 8 pound female.

Magpie Update

Maggie has an upper respitory infection. I brought her to the Urgent Care this afternoon. Dr. Hyek (I love him!) said she didn't have bronchitis and prescribed a pill for her cough and Mucinex DM (I had to show my ID and sign for it!). He said she could go to school tomorrow if she was up to it but I just sent her to bed and she appears to be on the verge of total collapse. You know how it is with kids. They feel good all afternoon then in the evening they take a turn for the worse. I'll probaby keep her home tomorrow so she can rest up.

My Sick Magpie

I hate when any of my kids are sick but I really hate it when my Magpie is sick. She just looks so sad when she is sick. I think she might have bronchitis. We may be going to the doctor's tomorrow if she isn't any better. I bought her some musinex today. Not the stuff behind the pharmacy counter that you need ID for and then you have to sign for. It still cost me nearly $11.
The girls don't get sick very often. The usual colds and then that's not very often. Usually when one gets sick, they all get sick. Maggie and Chrissy sleep. Allie gets more hyper.
Hopefully this musinex will loosen whatever is in Mag's chest. She is concerned that if she goes to see the doctor he'll do a strep test. She cries just thinking about that throat swab. It's not strep this time though. I just want her to feel better.

Vacation Plans

I know it is only the end of February but I am already making plans for vacation! I have reserved a cottage for a week in August in Massachusetts. We are planning to visit friends and family, fish, sight see and relax. We didn't go anywhere last year so I really wanted to go away this year.
The girls are VERY excited. Vacation in MA means playing with cousins, digging for clams on the beach and campfires at night at Camp Kiwanee. For Don it means fishing for bass and playing with the campfire at Camp Kiwanee. For me it means visiting with my family and friends and relaxing.

Random Thoughts

I just got home from Wendy's. SLOW night tonight. I'm washing my work shirts so I need to wait to get them in the dryer before I get to bed. Everyone here is mostly healthy now. Maggie still has a cough but at least she's back to school.
The weather today is cold. The snow yesterday really sucked. I know it is still February but those couple of 50-60 degree days really psyche you up for Spring.
We are planning our garden. I am actually looking forward to having one this year. We haven't had one since the flood.
I am looking forward to Spring Training. Although I root for the Browns and the Cavaliers, I will always be a Red Sox fan.
I am also looking forward to riding my bike. Right now the roads and sidewalks are snow covered. Another month...

The Sick House

We are sick. At least 3 out of 5 of us are sick. Madison is in heat so she isn't sick but she is frisky and stinky!) Tuesday I had to pick Chrissy up at school. Her belly hurt. She came home and we took a nap together. She went to school on Wednesday. I came home from work 2 hours early because my belly was rumbly. As I walked in the door, the school nurse was calling again because Chrissy's belly was hurting. I picked her up again and we both went to bed. After my nap I had to get Allie from her afterschool drama class and take her to piano lessons. The entire time my belly is rumbling and not just because I was hungry. When Allie and I got home, Maggie was wrapped up in a blanket on the couch. She had a temp. and a headache.
Anyways, I kept Mag and Chrissy home and I went to work today. I made it 5 hours and came home. I took a nap and Don had homemade chicken noodle soup for us for dinner. The girls and I feel much better now. I am off tomorrow but I am sending the girls to school. Chicken noodle soup is a wonderful cure all!!

Happy Valentine's Day

Happy Valentine's Day! I hope everyone gets to spend it with their sweeties. I am spending the day with my girls and the evening with Don (I think). I got a new washer and dryer for V-Day. Don is so romantic! Actually, I am thrilled. They are front loading, HE washer and dryer. I ove them. They are quiet and use less water and electricity than my old ones. As most of you know, I spend most of my life doing laundry. Now I can continue my favorite pasttime and save energy!

Flannel Sheets

I have new sheets for my bed and they are flannel. I just got up after a very toasty night on them! I had flannel sheets when I was a kid. I liked them on my bed all year long because they are so soft. I'm sure you thought I might have some pearls of wisdom today but I don't. Just wanted to share my flannel news.

Warmup

It is 5 degrees outside right now. It is suppose to get up to 16! Tomorrow and over the weekend it is suppose to get into the 40's!! I can't wait. The other day it warmed up a bit and the sun was shining. That warmup lasted one day. It lead to the melting of some ice on the Lake so yesterday we got 4 inches of LE snow. The West Side got 10 inches!


Clean Sweep Update:

Well, none of my other rooms have been touched and the living room isn't as beautiful as it was Sunday morning. I don't expect a perfectly kept house but I don't understand why it is so difficult to maintain some level of neatness. I blame the girls and Don and the fact that I work all day but so did my mom and a billion other women in the world. I guess I have to just buckle down a little harder. Not on the kids and Don but on myself. I really need to improve my level of motivation. I'm not working until noon today so maybe I should get off the computer and straighten up!!

Clean Sweep

Did you ever see the show on TLC called Clean Sweep? It is where a family has an organizer and a designer and carpenter organize and clean up their clutter. They show the rooms before they are cleaned up. The organizer asks them what they want to use the room for and why do they have so much clutter, etc.
I really like the show and I always shook my head when I saw some of those rooms. I always knew that I was messy but not like those people. Boy was I ever wrong. 2008 was a tough year for a lot of people and that includes us. We had to down size our space but that's OK. The problem was all of the crap that has accumulated and followed us. It's mostly clothes but also other stupid things that you hate to part with because you never know when you might need it again. Well, yesterday I reclaimed my living room! When I got up this morning and walked into the living room I didn't have to step over or on or around anything! My compter mouse actually has full range of the mouse pad!
The girls and I cleaned, wiped and tossed a bunch of stuff. We now only have shoes in the shoe box that fit and have matches. My rocking chair is now available for rocking!
We have other rooms to do and Don needs to hit his kitchen but it is certainly a wonderful feeling to know that it can be done. The girls didn't like giving up their Saturday but they were happy when it was done. It's easier when we all work together. They are already fighting over what chores they want to do-in a manner of speaking. They all want to spray the windex and clean the window but still no takers for the litter box! Since I spent nearly an hour removing a sock from the vacuum cleaner, I guess I'll do all of the vacuuming. The girls say that Don sucked up the sock so he's not allowed to vacuum either. It broke his heart.

The Missing Tooth Part 2

Allie just pulled out a tooth. She has a huge hole where one of her canine teeth was. She used a string tied to the fridge door and got it part way out then pilled it out with a tissue. Chrissy is working hard to pull another. Looks like the tooth fairy will be busy in Madison this week!

The Missing Tooth

The Tooth Fairy paid a visit to Miss Chrissy last night. She finally lost another tooth. As you may recall, she was working on it Christmas week. It finally came out Sunday night. The girls were sleeping next door when the tooth came out but Anna's mom said that the tooth fairy doesn't visit at friend's houses so she didn't come until last night.

Early Risers

It is 7:30 on a cold (-8) and dark Saturday morning. I have already showered but I am still in my robe and one slipper. The girls are ALL up and watching cartoons. Allie and Chrissy have been up since at least 6:30 (that's the time I opened my eyes) and Maggie has been up for at least 20 minutes. They are wide awake and have had something to eat. Why does this only happen on Saturdays and Sundays when they don't have to get up? Why is it such a battle to get them up and moving on school days? I guess it is one of those great mysteries of life right up there with "how many licks does it get to the center of a tootsie pop?" I guess the world will never know.

-8 Degrees

The air temperature right now is -8. The windchill brings it down to around -15 or -20. To say that it is cold is an understatement. School was closed last night for today. The girls are happy about that but they aren't very happy that they have to stay in. (Besides, Don left them a list of chores to be done!)
On the news just now they showed someone tossing a pan of boiling water into the air. The water vaporized! That's how cold it is. I have to finish dressing for work. Hopefully the van will start.
The girls now have a 5 day weekend. School is also closed on Monday for the MLK holiday and on Tuesday for some teacher inservice. I wish I had a 5 day weekend!

Browns-Cavs-Celtics

Lots of sports news around here. First of all, the Browns have named Eric Mangini as the new head coach. He was a ballboy for the Browns some time ago. I guess ha can't be any worse than the others. At least he has head coaching experience unlike the previous coaches.
The other big event is of course the Cavs-Celtics game tonight. The Celts are in the midst of a losing streak and the Cavs have not lost at home this season. It should be a great game. I already told the girls I was watching the game tonight so they had better be prepared to watch basketball or watch tv in their room.

The New Teenager

My Maggie is 13 today. Happy Birthday Magpies. You are officially a teenager- although you have certainly had a teenager's attitude the last couple of years!
Maggie and I got our ears pierced. I just have gold balls but Maggie got garnet-the January birthstone. We have both had our ears done before but for some reason we let them close up. Not this time. We will take care of them together.
Don is getting the birthday dinner ready. Tonight's menu includes steak, mash potatoes with au jus and corn. Instead of birthday cake and icecream we are having fudge brownie sundaes!
We'll probably do something special next week. Maggie wants to see a PG-13 movie by her self.

So happy 13th birthday Maggie!

Saturday

Three loads of laundry done. Enough for people to get started back to school on Monday. I have to work at noon today at Giant Eagle and then tonight at Wendy's at 10. It is going to be a long day.
Yesterday we spent the afternoon in Brunswick visiting the kids. We met the newest addition to the family, Cheyanne. She is a beautiful baby who just got her two bottom teeth. She is a blue eyed mostly bald little girl (like a few others I remember at that age) with a beautiful smile. She looks just like her mom Nikki.
Malorie and Abbie have changed so much. Although Malorie is 6 months older than Chrissy, she is almost as tall as Allie! Abbie is as cute as ever and just as wild. She is sooo much like Allie. Always moving and in the middle of everything! It was a nice time. They were playing Mario party on the Wii and watched Kung Fu Panda. It is a long ride out there but worth every minute.

Disappointment

I am very disappointed.Three hours on I-90, 480 and 271 and not a highway patrolcar to be seen. Not even a local yokel on 90 trying to make some money for their town. Where's a cop when you want one? I guess I'll wait for the village cops to pull me over tomorrow night for driving through town at 1AM to ask me where my license plates are for my car. Or, as soon as I get my real plates, then I'll be pulled over. Oh well, such is life.

Temporary Plates

We are going out to visit the kids in Brunswick. Malorie is 8 and Abbie is 4. Abbie looks so much like Allie. She also has Allie's personality and energy. Always moving, climbing etc. I put my temporary tag in the back window but you can't see it. It should be an interesting ride today. Hopefully I won't get pulled over. The lady at the registry said to put it on the inside of the rear window. Because the windows are tinred, you can't see it until you are right up on it. My Desert Storm plates should be in next week. I thought I could get them when I registered the van. I didn't realize that they had to send to Columbus for them. I didn't order a special number or lettering for them. Oh well. I have the temp. registration for the temp. plates so I am legal. I just figure the highway patrol will probably stop me at least once this afternoon!

Happy New Years-2009!!

Happy New Year one and all. I have already worked today-only 4 hours though. The girls are playing Wii and Don is taking a nap. I went to bed last night after the ball dropped but the girls were still up. It is nice now that they are bigger and the can go to bed on their own. I don't really enforce a bed time on vacation but they are in bed by 9 on school nights. I usually send Chrissy to bed a little earlier than 9 but only if she is crabby!
Today will just be a lazy day. We will have pork and saurkraut later this afternoon but that is all that is planned. No running around today!