True Love

Can I tell you how much I love Mr. G.??? It is so the little things that matter. I was sitting here waiting for him to finish his dinner (he worked late) and I mentioned that I could really eat some lemon Duetto. After he was finished he grabbed Princess for a run down to the market. How I love my man! What a sweetie! It is soooo in the little things that he does for me that I see the true depth of our love. Now I can't wait for bedtime...

A productive weekend

We had nothing planned for the weekend, the calm before the storm so to speak. No commitments, no plans, no swim meets, no gymnastic meets, absolutely nothing. And I couldn't have been more thrilled about it. So while Mr. G. and I were discussing this last week we decided to tackle a project we have been wanting to accomplish for quite some time. Built in bunks for the boys room. They have a nice little alcove that provided the perfect spot to build in the bunks. So after some discussion over how the bunks should look and how they should be constructed for the most strength, Mr. G. headed over to get the lumber. I was a little skeptical about how much we could complete this weekend (and when I say we I really mean Mr. G. with my help when he calls). I have to say I plead my case to get it finished because we will be away the next 3 weekends and I didn't want the boys to have to live in chaos for too long. I am so pleased with how it turned out. The bunks are 95% finished with just some trim work to finish. Mr. G. will work on that tonight and the painting to be done. The beds look awesome and the boys are thrilled. They are big enough for a double mattress with room at the end of the bed for their own little space. I think they were very happy, I know I was. Thank you Mr. G., you really are Bob Villa after all. Now to dream up the next project.....

Little elfin hats

This past week I spent a little time needles in hand working on the sweetest little hat for Bug, now I am making one for Princess too. It was a free online pattern and was very easy to do. It worked up fairly quickly and I love how it turned out. I am going to make her another one but adjust the size a little bit. This one is on the verge of being to small but it is still oh so cute. I love the little pompom on top. Who wouldn't love a little elf with a pom pom.

To move like that....

I watched Bird in her most recent competition in amazement. Oh to be able to move my body like that. She is so graceful and powerful all at the same time. I love to watch her. Her self confidence and poise is amazing considering she just turned 13. I am so proud of her. We are heading into the busiest part of the season for her and I am praying she can stay healthy and injury free. We head to Florida in a few weeks for another meet there and we are all going this time. I can't wait to get into some warmer weather. I know the little kids are excited too. Only a few more weeks and 3 more competitions to get through and 1 swim meet. We are going to need a break. Until then I will be sorting through the 1000 pictures I took in the last few weeks and try to be good in deleting some of them:)

Princess Goldilocks and the tale of the mystery scissors!

My sweet princess has hair of gold. It truly is like golden spun silk that hangs down her back in soft spiral curls until it almost touches her bottom. Well I should say she DID have beautiful long hair that hangs down her back until a few days ago. Princess and Monkey were playing quietly in the toy room and that should have been my clue that something was up, they are never very quiet. I called Princess to come and get her hair brushed and braided for bed. When she came in I noticed a few chunks missing and as I started to brush her hair more fell out onto my lap. Apparently her and Monkey were playing hair stylist but no one could explain the missing hair. The scissors had mysteriously disappeared as well as the pile of locks they cut. I guess that we will have to live with the fact that we have a pair of scissors in the house that just cut hair without anyone operating them. I was sad, Mr. G. was sad, princess was not so sad. She was excited to go visit her Aunt's salon for a hair cut. She looks as precious as ever, missing over 8 inches of hair. She loves her new look and Monkey Boy has promised to never touch those mystery scissors again.

Monkey Boys Not So Great Adventure

It all started innocently enough. The boys went out to play and collect natural materials for Einstein's diorama project. It is cold here, like 28 degree cold and windy. Needless to say they didn't stay out long, they collected 2 bags full of stuff and came in. But long enough to contract poison ivy. Monkey boy is super sensitive but I thought we would get a break through the winter. Turns out he ended up with it all over the bottom half of his face. Nothing to crazy right??? Not in my world, it is always crazy. He scratched it open, who can blame him, but it got infected. We headed off to the pediatrician and brought home a prescription for special cream. Still not to bad, just a really itchy kid who was happy to be out of school. Two days later his face looks as if it was on fire and he is in serious pain. We head back to the pediatrician for a new oral medication and an appointment for the next day (which happened to be Sunday). Still not to bad, just a really whiny little boy who needed extra cuddles, perfectly OK with me. Sunday morning we head back into the office and here is where the fun really begins.....

Three hours later Monkey Boy is admitted to the hospital for a full course of IV antibiotics. We are placed in isolation until they can do a culture and see what the infection might be. Lets just say getting the IV into said 6 year old boy was not to fun. I got to hold him down, my least favorite job as a mom. It tears at your heart to see your child in pain and then you have to help while it is administered. After that we got to stay in the little room by ourselves. On the plus side Monkey Boy and I had some quality alone time. We played games, watched movies and cuddled for hours. He was thrilled to be able to pick his own meals. We hung out and waited to see how he would react to the antibiotics. Thankfully he started to improve right away. The doctor had found the right antibiotic. Our adventure lasted 2 days and 1 night in the hospital. They sprang us Monday afternoon and I was very thrilled. Monkey boy is still on the most nasty tasting stuff around. He does great taking it because of the threat of returning to the nasty hospital(his words not mine).

So to wrap it all up I don't think he would call this his most fun adventure but it was an experience. One I hope not to repeat.

Is it January already??

How did this happen?? The first 2 weeks have flown by so quickly. We headed to Florida on New Years Day for Bird's competition. She competed for the PA Team in the National Judges Cup. She did great and the team took third. When we landed on New Years we drove to the Rossetters for dinner. We had to have pork and sauerkraut on New Years, it's traditional. It was so much fun to see some family we haven't seen for a while. The weather was perfect and the company was great. When we headed to the hotel we were pleasantly surprised with the suite. It was actually a villa and was like a really nice apartment. SO much nicer than a regular hotel room. We spent time by the pool, at Downtown Disney and at critical care. Yes I did say critical care. Bug's ear infection got worse and spread to her eyes. I was quite scared. We sat in the waiting area for hours and then back in the room for a few more. After a shot of heavy duty antibiotics and 2 new prescriptions we headed back to the hotel. Bug was quite the little trooper. Mr. G. held it together and I held and cuddled her as much as she would let me.

The adventure didn't stop there. Bug started puking her guts out as we were pulling in to return the brand new rental car. Oh the fun we had on the flight home.

Overall we had a great time. We went to Sea World, saw Shamu. We visited family and friends. Bird had a great competition. The weather was perfect. The virus followed us home though. We are now taking turns in the bathroom. So I will spare the details and head off to take care of the growing mound of laundry in the laundry room. I pray Mr. G. will be able to find me amidst the pile.