We went in to visit with Gram (Troy and Danica's great grandmother) and Pap Pap (their grandfather) on Thursday. We didn't do much, I did help out Gram by going to the store and picking up a few things for her. We just talked to them for the day. When Pap came home from work, he gave the kids a BIG box filled with Pirate stuff. The box had about 10 bobble heads, a blanket, a hat, a replica of Three Rivers Stadium (which had been demolished), an umbrella (which I took), a stuffed parrot and several statues. Now, I know that the Pirates are on a 13? game losing streak (kinda sounds like the Barons), but it is still cool stuff. Troy hasn't taken the hat off much at all. He tried to sleep with it on. They loved the stuff. Troy has a tendency to take the really cool stuff. He took the blanket and Danica got mad, so I made sure she got the stuffed parrot.
We just hung out for the day and got caught up on gossip, at least Gram and I did. The kids played and didn't leave Pap Pap alone all evening. We left fairly early since Pap goes to work at 4:30 in the morning.
On Friday, we went back in to see Gram and Pap. Gram hasn't been feeling well and I called her doctor on Thursday to make an appointment for Friday. She forgot to bring the card with the address on it with us and couldn't remember how to get there. She just told me, "It's way out the road". Nice precise directions. Anyway, after 2 calls to 411 and having them connect us to the office, we made it. After her appointment we went to Eat-n-Park for lunch, which I'll expand on in minute, got her prescription and went home. While Gram was waiting for her prescription, Troy, Danica and I went to the chocolate store. MMMMMMM! We got a few small things, how can you not.
Pap came home about 30 minutes after we got back. Again, the kids were joined with him at the hip. He and I did leave for a short while to get fish sandwiches for dinner. Gram doesn't eat meat on Friday, so fish it is. Both kids ate well and were allowed to have smiley cookies for dessert.
I haven't lived in Pennsylvania for an extended period of time since Troy was a year old (and that was just for 8 months). I know that things change. It is inevitable. However, saying something is new on a menu just because it hasn't been there for a few years, is not new. I love going to Eat-N-Park. I don't know why. Maybe it is remembering growing up there and the "not a care in the world" feeling. One of my favorite items on the menu at Eat-n-Park was the steak salad. It really is not very good as far as steak salads go, but I like it anyway. It hasn't been on the menu the past few times I was home, but I always ordered it anyway. They still made it if I asked. When we went on Friday, there it was, toted as a new menu item. Don't get me wrong, I am happy it is back, but put it under a different heading like "Back by popular demand", or "an Oldie but Goodie". Something else, just not a "New Menu Item".
Another difference was the great big Pit-o-mud that used to be North Park Lake. Coming down the hill and seeing a crater like opening instead of the lake was strange to say the least. The people in charge decided to drain the lake and clean out the sediment and silt to make it deeper (?) or cleaner (?). I guess it is a good idea. One really good thing to come from this is the lack of geese. I went through the area 4 times so far and no geese. I thought I heard something about them being a nuisance and relocated sometime in the past, but I can't remember. Anyway, no lake = no geese. I wonder what interesting objects they have found in the muck that is being removed. It would be fun to find out.
As for today...it isn't over yet. Earlier we went to a "neighborhood" yard sale. The whole neighborhood wasn't participating, but several houses were. Grandma go Danica some toys. Her favorites are the horses. She now has 6 horses of various sizes but relatively the same coloring that she is playing with non-stop. I got her a new backpack. It looks brand new and I am going to have her name embroidered on it for school. It isn't clear, so I'll have to make sure she can take it. It is her favorite color, purple, with roses on it. Very fitting if you ask me since her name is Danica Rose.
After going to the yard sale, we went to play at the "Purple Park". It is a handicapped accessible play ground in Alameda Park. The tops of most of the equipment are purple, hence the name "Purple Park". It was a little warm, but the kids played for an hour and then we went to get drinks. Right now, they are playing downstairs, Grandma is taking a nap, and I am sitting here typing. I heard it whispered that Danica and I were getting a birthday party and cake tonight with dinner. Shh, don't tell anyone.
Saturday, June 19, 2010
Wednesday, June 16, 2010
Major update!!!!! Sorry
So, it's been a week since I have blogged. Right now I am sitting at my mom's typing on her new laptop! It is cool and I think I may be a Mac fan now! Danica is playing with her stuffed kitties and trying to play with Abby, my mom's sheltie. Troy is playing a game on his DS. If you haven't figured it out, we're in PA at my mom's. But let's go back...
On Thursday (of last week) Troy and Danica went with Kendal to see Open Season wile I was poisoned with a radioactive substance and put through hours of painful testing. Just kidding! Danica and Troy did go with Kendal to see Open Season at the weekly Family Film Festival. They had a great time. After the movie, they went to the Walmart near Kendal to the arcade, then to Kendal's house to see the Turtle that has taken up residence in her pool. They were surprised by an unexpected visitor (Kendal's husband) when they were looking at the turtle. They got home and we all went to Cracker Barrel for lunch. As for my part, it definitely wasn't as bad as I wrote. I was given a shot of a radioactive material which adheres to the bone and shows up on a bone scan, which is a multi-layered x-ray. I was told to wait 3 hours and then we'd do the scan. I did a lot of reading and did go to the bookstore to get Richard's Father's day gift.
Friday, we were supposed to go to Alabama Adventure again, but the kids were tattling and fighting with each other so, after many chances, I told them we were not going to go. They spent the day playing outside with the neighbor kids. They still had fun and I got work done and actually watched TV a little. In the evening, we went to get ice cream at Dairy Cream. Danica dropped her on the floor of the van after I told her not to take the lid off of it. Oh well, it cleaned up pretty easily and that's not the first or last thing to fall on the floor of the van.
Saturday, we all (Richard included) went down to the Cahaba River. Water and kids, the perfect combination for fun. I tried to teach Troy how to skip rocks, but he hasn't figured it out quite yet. We looked for fish and cray fish, or crawdads for you southern folk. I found 2 very small ones ones and let both Troy and Danica hold them. The consensus was that they were ugly. Even after telling the kids, "don't get too wet", Danica had to be completely changed to ride home. Troy should have been also, but we didn't bring extra clothes for him. I asked Danica how she got her shirt wet, she demonstrated by stooping down until the water was up to her neck. Richard asked her if her panties were wet. She responded by saying "no" which is her usual response to that question.
We celebrated Father's Day on SUnday. I know it was a week early, but we're in PA so we won't be able to celebrate on the 20th. After church, we got Pizza and rented Avatar from pay per view. We didn't realize that we'd have it until July 11th. I am so excited that I'll get to watch it again. It was a great movie. We played games and just hung out for the rest of the day.
Monday, I did laundry, cleaned and packed for our trip. I also got the little, black boot since the bone scan determined that I have a stress fracture in my foot. It makes me limp more than I did when without it. Oh well. We had dinner at Applebees and then worked on my IPod. I couldn't get it to sync. The problem ended up that I was using the wrong cord. Oh well, live and learn.
Tuesday, we drove and drove and drove and drove...you get the picture. We left at 2:30 a.m. and got to PA at 5:30 p.m. I did have to take 2 naps along the way. I got less than 3 hours sleep on Monday night, so it was inevitable.
Today, we went SHOPPING! I got Troy school clothes. I know, school already, but there is no sales tax on clothes up here. I got Danica a few shirts and a dress. We also bought shoes for the kids. Lunch at Olive Garden was also wonderful.
Tomorrow, we're going to Pap Pap and Gram's. Wonder what we'll get to do there?
On Thursday (of last week) Troy and Danica went with Kendal to see Open Season wile I was poisoned with a radioactive substance and put through hours of painful testing. Just kidding! Danica and Troy did go with Kendal to see Open Season at the weekly Family Film Festival. They had a great time. After the movie, they went to the Walmart near Kendal to the arcade, then to Kendal's house to see the Turtle that has taken up residence in her pool. They were surprised by an unexpected visitor (Kendal's husband) when they were looking at the turtle. They got home and we all went to Cracker Barrel for lunch. As for my part, it definitely wasn't as bad as I wrote. I was given a shot of a radioactive material which adheres to the bone and shows up on a bone scan, which is a multi-layered x-ray. I was told to wait 3 hours and then we'd do the scan. I did a lot of reading and did go to the bookstore to get Richard's Father's day gift.
Friday, we were supposed to go to Alabama Adventure again, but the kids were tattling and fighting with each other so, after many chances, I told them we were not going to go. They spent the day playing outside with the neighbor kids. They still had fun and I got work done and actually watched TV a little. In the evening, we went to get ice cream at Dairy Cream. Danica dropped her on the floor of the van after I told her not to take the lid off of it. Oh well, it cleaned up pretty easily and that's not the first or last thing to fall on the floor of the van.
Saturday, we all (Richard included) went down to the Cahaba River. Water and kids, the perfect combination for fun. I tried to teach Troy how to skip rocks, but he hasn't figured it out quite yet. We looked for fish and cray fish, or crawdads for you southern folk. I found 2 very small ones ones and let both Troy and Danica hold them. The consensus was that they were ugly. Even after telling the kids, "don't get too wet", Danica had to be completely changed to ride home. Troy should have been also, but we didn't bring extra clothes for him. I asked Danica how she got her shirt wet, she demonstrated by stooping down until the water was up to her neck. Richard asked her if her panties were wet. She responded by saying "no" which is her usual response to that question.
We celebrated Father's Day on SUnday. I know it was a week early, but we're in PA so we won't be able to celebrate on the 20th. After church, we got Pizza and rented Avatar from pay per view. We didn't realize that we'd have it until July 11th. I am so excited that I'll get to watch it again. It was a great movie. We played games and just hung out for the rest of the day.
Monday, I did laundry, cleaned and packed for our trip. I also got the little, black boot since the bone scan determined that I have a stress fracture in my foot. It makes me limp more than I did when without it. Oh well. We had dinner at Applebees and then worked on my IPod. I couldn't get it to sync. The problem ended up that I was using the wrong cord. Oh well, live and learn.
Tuesday, we drove and drove and drove and drove...you get the picture. We left at 2:30 a.m. and got to PA at 5:30 p.m. I did have to take 2 naps along the way. I got less than 3 hours sleep on Monday night, so it was inevitable.
Today, we went SHOPPING! I got Troy school clothes. I know, school already, but there is no sales tax on clothes up here. I got Danica a few shirts and a dress. We also bought shoes for the kids. Lunch at Olive Garden was also wonderful.
Tomorrow, we're going to Pap Pap and Gram's. Wonder what we'll get to do there?
Wednesday, June 9, 2010
Day 9 - Alabama Adventure
Since we did not go to Alabama Adventure yesterday, I promised the kids that we'd go today. Even though sleep was hard to come by last night and I just wanted to stay in bed, I got up and got almost everything ready before Danica even rolled out of bed.
We finally made it on the road after 4 attempts to get out of the house. Three of those 4 attempts, the alarm was on and the door was already locked. Even with all of that, we forgot Danica's life jacket. Luckily, they have some there because she is required to have one for the lazy river (my favorite but not hers).
We had to stop by Richard's work because for the second time this week, he forgot his lunch at home. He wasn't having that good of a day due to rude people. I was wishing that I could do something to help him and I realized that I could...I prayed for him. I talked to him a little after lunch time and he said that his day was getting better. The power of prayer!
Anyway, we got to the park about 11:30. As we are walking toward all of the attractions, who do we see...Mrs. Decker (Kim) and her daughter, Jessie. Kim was Troy's teacher this year and we LOVE her! Troy gets along great with Jessie, who is only a year older. I knew that he'd have someone to hang around with at least. We decided to ride some regular rides first, but every ride Danica wanted to go on required her to grow a few more inches. It got discouraging to tell her, "you're too small," then hear, "But I'm big now." We finally went on the Canyon River Ride, which she did not want to go on but Troy did. She rode it and loved it. I told her that it was alike a roller coaster in the water and sold it that way. Troy was a little disappointed because he didn't get as wet as last time. Not that we weren't going to the water park in a few minutes. Then, Danica wanted to ride the Ferris Wheel. Troy wouldn't go on it. He says that he is afraid of heights. I have no idea why. Troy went on the bumper cars as Danica and I rode the Merry-go-Round. It was hot, so we went off to the water park.
It was great for Troy to have friends there. Amy Perry brought a bunch of kids with her including her daughter, Emilee, and Ryan, who played soccer with Troy and Emilee. They had a great time the whole day. Danica even went with the big kids to the baby section. Jessi took great care of her and didn't let Danica out of her sight. I got some grown-up time with Amy and Kim, and got to float on the lazy river without Danica stuck to me like a barnacle. We at a picnic lunch with everyone just outside the gates of the park and met Elizabeth Norris (another teacher from Hueytown) and her son, Zachary as they went in. Zachary and Danica are the same age and will both be in the Pre-school program this fall. Zachary and Danica got along great and I was happy that Danica had a friend there also.
About 4:00 we decided to leave. Danica stubbed her toe on the bottom of the pool. When it bled a little, then stopped, she said in a very enthusiastic voice," God is healing me!" She says that quite a bit and we whole-heartedly agree with her. She has such a wonderful relationship with God, especially for her age. I love it! On the way out, she tripped several times and her new flip flops were hurting her feet. She was pretty miserable until we got to the van. 3 band aids and water later, things were much better. Both kids were exhausted and fell asleep on the way home.
We got home just after Richard, who left work a little early. I put a roast in the crock pot before we left this morning, so we had dinner almost ready when we got home. The rest of the evening, we relaxed and watched movies. We had ice cream as a treat after dinner. It was a terrific day! Troy said several times that he had fun. That makes me feel great!
Tomorrow: Bone scan, movie, and who knows what else.
We finally made it on the road after 4 attempts to get out of the house. Three of those 4 attempts, the alarm was on and the door was already locked. Even with all of that, we forgot Danica's life jacket. Luckily, they have some there because she is required to have one for the lazy river (my favorite but not hers).
We had to stop by Richard's work because for the second time this week, he forgot his lunch at home. He wasn't having that good of a day due to rude people. I was wishing that I could do something to help him and I realized that I could...I prayed for him. I talked to him a little after lunch time and he said that his day was getting better. The power of prayer!
Anyway, we got to the park about 11:30. As we are walking toward all of the attractions, who do we see...Mrs. Decker (Kim) and her daughter, Jessie. Kim was Troy's teacher this year and we LOVE her! Troy gets along great with Jessie, who is only a year older. I knew that he'd have someone to hang around with at least. We decided to ride some regular rides first, but every ride Danica wanted to go on required her to grow a few more inches. It got discouraging to tell her, "you're too small," then hear, "But I'm big now." We finally went on the Canyon River Ride, which she did not want to go on but Troy did. She rode it and loved it. I told her that it was alike a roller coaster in the water and sold it that way. Troy was a little disappointed because he didn't get as wet as last time. Not that we weren't going to the water park in a few minutes. Then, Danica wanted to ride the Ferris Wheel. Troy wouldn't go on it. He says that he is afraid of heights. I have no idea why. Troy went on the bumper cars as Danica and I rode the Merry-go-Round. It was hot, so we went off to the water park.
It was great for Troy to have friends there. Amy Perry brought a bunch of kids with her including her daughter, Emilee, and Ryan, who played soccer with Troy and Emilee. They had a great time the whole day. Danica even went with the big kids to the baby section. Jessi took great care of her and didn't let Danica out of her sight. I got some grown-up time with Amy and Kim, and got to float on the lazy river without Danica stuck to me like a barnacle. We at a picnic lunch with everyone just outside the gates of the park and met Elizabeth Norris (another teacher from Hueytown) and her son, Zachary as they went in. Zachary and Danica are the same age and will both be in the Pre-school program this fall. Zachary and Danica got along great and I was happy that Danica had a friend there also.
About 4:00 we decided to leave. Danica stubbed her toe on the bottom of the pool. When it bled a little, then stopped, she said in a very enthusiastic voice," God is healing me!" She says that quite a bit and we whole-heartedly agree with her. She has such a wonderful relationship with God, especially for her age. I love it! On the way out, she tripped several times and her new flip flops were hurting her feet. She was pretty miserable until we got to the van. 3 band aids and water later, things were much better. Both kids were exhausted and fell asleep on the way home.
We got home just after Richard, who left work a little early. I put a roast in the crock pot before we left this morning, so we had dinner almost ready when we got home. The rest of the evening, we relaxed and watched movies. We had ice cream as a treat after dinner. It was a terrific day! Troy said several times that he had fun. That makes me feel great!
Tomorrow: Bone scan, movie, and who knows what else.
Tuesday, June 8, 2010
Day 8- More cleaning
Well, the kids wanted to go to Alabama Adventure today, but I just had to finish cleaning and re-organizing. I finished the living room and worked on the basement. The kids played and actually got along bretty well. Dnaica even said, "Troy's sharing with me". It was a good day! I got a lot done and the kids still had fun playing at home. I guess we'll go to Alabama Adventure tomorrow.
We did watch a Travel Channel show on Disney World. Danica kept saying "I want to go there". So do we all! Now, I'm going to start looking up Disney vacation packages. Time to plan a trip for...next year? 2012? Who knows?
We did watch a Travel Channel show on Disney World. Danica kept saying "I want to go there". So do we all! Now, I'm going to start looking up Disney vacation packages. Time to plan a trip for...next year? 2012? Who knows?
Monday, June 7, 2010
Days 6 and 7 - nothing special
Yesterday was Sunday and we usually go to church. Unfortunately, I woke up with my eyes caked ans swollen, most likely from allergies. I spent the morning in bed and read the whole afternoon. Troy and Danica played withthe huge balloons and with the many nerf dart guns that Troy loves. We all watched Jurassic Park and the kids took that as a sign that they should set up Danica's Dinosaurs and shoot them with the dart guns. They had fun and then set up GI Joes and other little men to shoot. Danica's aim has a lot to be desired. Let's just say that no one has t worry if she is aming for them, but look out if you are anywhere around her. Troy is much better, especially as he gets closer and closer and cloaer. Anyway, nerf guns, balloons, tug of war and playing outside took up the whole day. I mad 2 huge pots of spaghetti sauce and froze a lot of it for future use. I also started and finished a book. It wasn't great but I have definately read worse. Richard keeps bringing home these crime and spy novels, and I was out of books to read.
Today was just as boring from a fun stand point. Troy had an appointment to get his new orthotics. We got his last pair in December and they were falling apart already. Since they were under warranty, his doctor just ordered a whole new pair. He likes these better than his last pair and says that they are more comfortable.
Then we went grocery shopping. I usually just go to Aldi and Walmart for groceries, but I decided to try something new. I went to Publix, Winn Dixie, aldi and then Walmart. The kids got bored with shopping. We did get Troy his flip flops and another cheap pair of shoes since his are falling apart. They also talked me into getting the little powdered and chocolate donuts. These donuts always end up everywhere! last time I dound them in Danica's bed. I wrote before that Danica likes to take things to bed with her. One time it was donuts. That was a mess and a half. We got other snack stuff for the kids, but they would rather have yogart and cheese than anything. I'm glad they are basically healthy eaters. Well, shopping took over 3 hours and another 1/2 hour to put things away (eventhough I came home between stores to put the cold stuff in the fridge). Since I wanted to make Chicken and Dumplings, we stayed at home the rest of the day and the kids played outside,
That was pretty much it. Not very exciting. We may go to Alabama Adventure tomorrow. Sometime this week we are going to the free family movie festival that our local theater has on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday each week during the week. We'll see what the week brings.
Today was just as boring from a fun stand point. Troy had an appointment to get his new orthotics. We got his last pair in December and they were falling apart already. Since they were under warranty, his doctor just ordered a whole new pair. He likes these better than his last pair and says that they are more comfortable.
Then we went grocery shopping. I usually just go to Aldi and Walmart for groceries, but I decided to try something new. I went to Publix, Winn Dixie, aldi and then Walmart. The kids got bored with shopping. We did get Troy his flip flops and another cheap pair of shoes since his are falling apart. They also talked me into getting the little powdered and chocolate donuts. These donuts always end up everywhere! last time I dound them in Danica's bed. I wrote before that Danica likes to take things to bed with her. One time it was donuts. That was a mess and a half. We got other snack stuff for the kids, but they would rather have yogart and cheese than anything. I'm glad they are basically healthy eaters. Well, shopping took over 3 hours and another 1/2 hour to put things away (eventhough I came home between stores to put the cold stuff in the fridge). Since I wanted to make Chicken and Dumplings, we stayed at home the rest of the day and the kids played outside,
That was pretty much it. Not very exciting. We may go to Alabama Adventure tomorrow. Sometime this week we are going to the free family movie festival that our local theater has on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday each week during the week. We'll see what the week brings.
Saturday, June 5, 2010
Days 4 and 5 Fun All Around
Okay, I know that I was hoping to blog on a daily basis, but we did not get home until 11 last night and I was too tired. It's not much earlier today, but an hour makes a lot of difference.
I spent yesterday cleaning Danica's room. Danica wanted to help, but everytime I put something in the give away pile (i.e. Happy Meal Toys or stocking stuffers), she wanted to keep them. I eventually put "The Princess and the Frog" in the DVD player down stairs and she was out of my hair. In the middle of cleaning, I ran out of trash bags, so we took a short trip to Wally World. I definately bought more than just trash bags, but I didn't go overboard because I just wanted to get back to cleaning. I did buy flip flops for Danica since she has been begging for them for the past 2 weeks. I realized while we were at Alabama Adventure on Thursday, that it'd be much easier if she had shoes that she could just slip on. While at the store, I asked Troy if he wanted a pair and he said "no". We got home and he changed his mind. We'll go on Monday probably.
Back to cleaning...I moved everything except her big dresser and I discovered something about my daughter. She's as much of a pack rat as Troy, but she doesn't just keep things that are hers, she takes things that belong to other people. I found toy cars and more GI Joes in her room than Troy's. I also found 4 flashlights. I was looking for a flashlight a few weeks ago and now I know what happened to them. She takes little toys to bed with her at times. All of these little toys ended up behind/under her bed. There was everything from dinosaurs to tiny stuffed animals to necklaces. I also found 8 tubes of chapstick. 8!!!! I would keep buying it over the winter becaues I couldn't find them when I needed them. I left them in her room, but gave her a special box to put them in (a tupperware container). During this whole time, Troy was either watching TV or playing a video game on his DS. I know, I'm a terrible mom for allowing my son to watch TV all day. Hey, it doesn't happen often and he was entertained. By the time I was done with her room, I needed to get a shower and get ready for the ball game. Danica wanted to get a shower also, so she got one first. She also got dried off and dressed by herself. Richard came home a little early and we headed to the Baron's Baseball game, or at least tried to. Danica has a certain pair of shoes that are her favorites. We can currently only find one of these 2 shoes. After 25 minutes of looking and a complete meltdown, I finally got her into another pair of shoes. I don't know how, but sometime calm, really calm, works just fine. Our friends Matt and Kendal went with us to the game. It was Church night and they were able to get tickets for $5 each. The Baron's lost but we had a great time. It was Star Wars night, and Fireworks night. Troy shook Darth Vader's hand and Danica gave a Sand person a hug. The other big excitement, besides ice cream and Fireworks, was the huge bugs that divebombed us. They were on suicide missions with everyone except Danica. Everytime one came near her she would tell us how "Cute" it was. Looking up into the lights, she said "Look at all of the bugs. God made them all. Isn't it awesome!" We couldn't allow her to see anyone killing one of God's creatures. The ice cream was a mess, literally. It was so hot, that the ice cream melted faster that Troy or Danica (who was sharing with me) could eat. I ended up "cleaning" up both cones but licking the drips. It was such a tough job, but someone had to do it. :) The fireworks were terrific! I thought that Danica may not like to loudness, but I was wrong. She was pretty upset when they were over and asked until we were on the interstate if we were going to see more firewords. We really had a great night.
Today was Troy's end of the year soccer thingy. The whole league was there from the little guys to the u16 group. Troy's team, the Blue Flames, was the only team with all 8 players there and all in uniform. The kids were asked to be in uniform so that a league picture could be taken for the paper. The kids had pizza, chips and drinks and then were called up to get their trophies. After the ceremony, everyone went outside to play on some inflateables, eat snowcones and cotton candy, and get balloon animals. They all seemed to have a great time. Danica participated in everything that the other kids did. Troy sword fought with another kid with balloon swords and popped his. He didn't care though. Danica's balloon cat broke about 3 minutes after she got it, so we had to stand in line for another. It was another fun day. We got home about 3:30 and I just wanted to take a nap, but that was not in the cards since Matt and Kendal came over for a playdate for their dog, Willow. Willow is an only dog for the first time in her life since here playmate died about 3 months ago. Willow has been coming over with Matt and Kendal so that she can play with Tink (and now Onyx). We set it up because Tink was so lonely after Belle died in January. The once a week playdates were not enough for Tink and we, eventually, got Onyx. Now all of the dogs play on Saturdays, while we play games and have dinner. Troy loves playing Apples to Apples with us. We play the big person version not the one for kids and he does really well with understanding the words. We have to explain some of the people and event cards, but he does great. Apples to Apples is a great game for vocabulary deveopment for kids. There's my education plug for the day!
Anyway, it is now 10:40 and I am sleepy. My allergies have been bothering me since I started cleaning, and my eyes are swollen and itchy. Maybe that's a good reason to not clean. Better yet, hire someone else to do it! Now that's an idea!
I hope everyone is having a great weekend! We sure are. NOthing planned for tomorrow, yet.
I spent yesterday cleaning Danica's room. Danica wanted to help, but everytime I put something in the give away pile (i.e. Happy Meal Toys or stocking stuffers), she wanted to keep them. I eventually put "The Princess and the Frog" in the DVD player down stairs and she was out of my hair. In the middle of cleaning, I ran out of trash bags, so we took a short trip to Wally World. I definately bought more than just trash bags, but I didn't go overboard because I just wanted to get back to cleaning. I did buy flip flops for Danica since she has been begging for them for the past 2 weeks. I realized while we were at Alabama Adventure on Thursday, that it'd be much easier if she had shoes that she could just slip on. While at the store, I asked Troy if he wanted a pair and he said "no". We got home and he changed his mind. We'll go on Monday probably.
Back to cleaning...I moved everything except her big dresser and I discovered something about my daughter. She's as much of a pack rat as Troy, but she doesn't just keep things that are hers, she takes things that belong to other people. I found toy cars and more GI Joes in her room than Troy's. I also found 4 flashlights. I was looking for a flashlight a few weeks ago and now I know what happened to them. She takes little toys to bed with her at times. All of these little toys ended up behind/under her bed. There was everything from dinosaurs to tiny stuffed animals to necklaces. I also found 8 tubes of chapstick. 8!!!! I would keep buying it over the winter becaues I couldn't find them when I needed them. I left them in her room, but gave her a special box to put them in (a tupperware container). During this whole time, Troy was either watching TV or playing a video game on his DS. I know, I'm a terrible mom for allowing my son to watch TV all day. Hey, it doesn't happen often and he was entertained. By the time I was done with her room, I needed to get a shower and get ready for the ball game. Danica wanted to get a shower also, so she got one first. She also got dried off and dressed by herself. Richard came home a little early and we headed to the Baron's Baseball game, or at least tried to. Danica has a certain pair of shoes that are her favorites. We can currently only find one of these 2 shoes. After 25 minutes of looking and a complete meltdown, I finally got her into another pair of shoes. I don't know how, but sometime calm, really calm, works just fine. Our friends Matt and Kendal went with us to the game. It was Church night and they were able to get tickets for $5 each. The Baron's lost but we had a great time. It was Star Wars night, and Fireworks night. Troy shook Darth Vader's hand and Danica gave a Sand person a hug. The other big excitement, besides ice cream and Fireworks, was the huge bugs that divebombed us. They were on suicide missions with everyone except Danica. Everytime one came near her she would tell us how "Cute" it was. Looking up into the lights, she said "Look at all of the bugs. God made them all. Isn't it awesome!" We couldn't allow her to see anyone killing one of God's creatures. The ice cream was a mess, literally. It was so hot, that the ice cream melted faster that Troy or Danica (who was sharing with me) could eat. I ended up "cleaning" up both cones but licking the drips. It was such a tough job, but someone had to do it. :) The fireworks were terrific! I thought that Danica may not like to loudness, but I was wrong. She was pretty upset when they were over and asked until we were on the interstate if we were going to see more firewords. We really had a great night.
Today was Troy's end of the year soccer thingy. The whole league was there from the little guys to the u16 group. Troy's team, the Blue Flames, was the only team with all 8 players there and all in uniform. The kids were asked to be in uniform so that a league picture could be taken for the paper. The kids had pizza, chips and drinks and then were called up to get their trophies. After the ceremony, everyone went outside to play on some inflateables, eat snowcones and cotton candy, and get balloon animals. They all seemed to have a great time. Danica participated in everything that the other kids did. Troy sword fought with another kid with balloon swords and popped his. He didn't care though. Danica's balloon cat broke about 3 minutes after she got it, so we had to stand in line for another. It was another fun day. We got home about 3:30 and I just wanted to take a nap, but that was not in the cards since Matt and Kendal came over for a playdate for their dog, Willow. Willow is an only dog for the first time in her life since here playmate died about 3 months ago. Willow has been coming over with Matt and Kendal so that she can play with Tink (and now Onyx). We set it up because Tink was so lonely after Belle died in January. The once a week playdates were not enough for Tink and we, eventually, got Onyx. Now all of the dogs play on Saturdays, while we play games and have dinner. Troy loves playing Apples to Apples with us. We play the big person version not the one for kids and he does really well with understanding the words. We have to explain some of the people and event cards, but he does great. Apples to Apples is a great game for vocabulary deveopment for kids. There's my education plug for the day!
Anyway, it is now 10:40 and I am sleepy. My allergies have been bothering me since I started cleaning, and my eyes are swollen and itchy. Maybe that's a good reason to not clean. Better yet, hire someone else to do it! Now that's an idea!
I hope everyone is having a great weekend! We sure are. NOthing planned for tomorrow, yet.
Thursday, June 3, 2010
Day 3 Alabama Adventure!!!!
Okay, I know what you are thinking, and yes just living here in Alabama can be an adventure. Today, However, we went to an amusement/water park named Alabama Adventure. If you have lived in the area for a while, you may still call it by it's former name, Visionland. It's the same thing, which is something I did not know when I first moved down here and even for 2 years after that. But let's start at the beginning...
Two major events happened today. First, was my doctor's appointment (with 2 kids in tow) and the second was the trip to the park. I made an appointment to see Troy's podiatrist (foot doctor) because I have been having pain in my left foot. I figured he'd say it was tendonitis and give me an anti-inflamatory and send me on my way. That wasn't exactly the case. I had x-rays before I even saw Dr. Waldrop and the nurse said "it might be a stress fracture". This possibility had not even crossed my mind. Then Dr. Waldrop comes in, pokes, pushes and twists my foot almost completely off and says that he thinks it is a stress fracture. I'm thinking "well it's more than that now." So, on Thursday, I have to go to the hospital for a bone scan. This time, however, I am having a friend watch the kids. While in the office, they were playing catch with Danica's stuffed fox and then she unscrewed the door stopper. Not to mention the joyful giggling that could be heard the whole way down the hall. They weren't that bad, but the bone scan is supposed to take several hours, and I just can't see it happening.
When we left home this morning, we were completely packed to go to Alabama Adventure. Right after my appointment, we headed out. The park is about 40 minutes from my house or about 10 minutes from the school where I teach. We had just got on the highway when it started raining. I don't mean the little cutesy raindrops that make a nice calm rainfall. I mean the huge SPLATS that sound more like hail hitting your car than rain. Troy was in the back almost crying because we had just finished talking to his friend Charlie's mom and arranged to meet them at the park. We kept on driving though and it cleared up the closer we got to the park.
We stood inline for what seemed like hours, when in actuality it was more like 30 minutes. I got our tickets online so that sped up the process a little bit. We now each have a credit card size pass with our picture. Let's just say, if it didn't cost so much, I'd burn mine. Danica and Troy's turned out cute though. Troy started feeling sick while standing in line. He got very pale and said that he was going to throw up. Great. I thought maybe it was the heat and sent him in th restroom to splash water on his face and get a drink. He seemed much better after that. I also told him that he MUST eat breakfast even if he doesn't want to. We spent the whole day playing in the water. Troy met up with over half of his soccer team. Seriously, 5 out of 8 players were there today. He had a great time. Danica met up with some new friends. She can find friends anywhere she goes. She is so not like me. She also went down her first real water slide. Granted, it was in the Kiddie section, but it is a pretty good water slide. She got upset foa about 2 seconds when I told her she was too small to go on any other water slide. Then she said "I'll go on it when I am big like Troy." The ride home was incredibly quiet since both kids fell asleep. We had a great day!!! I'll try to post some pictures tomorrow. Speaking of tomorrow, we're going to a baseball game so the next post may not be until Saturday. Lots of fun planned for this summer! It is great so far! Have a wonderful night and stay safe!
Two major events happened today. First, was my doctor's appointment (with 2 kids in tow) and the second was the trip to the park. I made an appointment to see Troy's podiatrist (foot doctor) because I have been having pain in my left foot. I figured he'd say it was tendonitis and give me an anti-inflamatory and send me on my way. That wasn't exactly the case. I had x-rays before I even saw Dr. Waldrop and the nurse said "it might be a stress fracture". This possibility had not even crossed my mind. Then Dr. Waldrop comes in, pokes, pushes and twists my foot almost completely off and says that he thinks it is a stress fracture. I'm thinking "well it's more than that now." So, on Thursday, I have to go to the hospital for a bone scan. This time, however, I am having a friend watch the kids. While in the office, they were playing catch with Danica's stuffed fox and then she unscrewed the door stopper. Not to mention the joyful giggling that could be heard the whole way down the hall. They weren't that bad, but the bone scan is supposed to take several hours, and I just can't see it happening.
When we left home this morning, we were completely packed to go to Alabama Adventure. Right after my appointment, we headed out. The park is about 40 minutes from my house or about 10 minutes from the school where I teach. We had just got on the highway when it started raining. I don't mean the little cutesy raindrops that make a nice calm rainfall. I mean the huge SPLATS that sound more like hail hitting your car than rain. Troy was in the back almost crying because we had just finished talking to his friend Charlie's mom and arranged to meet them at the park. We kept on driving though and it cleared up the closer we got to the park.
We stood inline for what seemed like hours, when in actuality it was more like 30 minutes. I got our tickets online so that sped up the process a little bit. We now each have a credit card size pass with our picture. Let's just say, if it didn't cost so much, I'd burn mine. Danica and Troy's turned out cute though. Troy started feeling sick while standing in line. He got very pale and said that he was going to throw up. Great. I thought maybe it was the heat and sent him in th restroom to splash water on his face and get a drink. He seemed much better after that. I also told him that he MUST eat breakfast even if he doesn't want to. We spent the whole day playing in the water. Troy met up with over half of his soccer team. Seriously, 5 out of 8 players were there today. He had a great time. Danica met up with some new friends. She can find friends anywhere she goes. She is so not like me. She also went down her first real water slide. Granted, it was in the Kiddie section, but it is a pretty good water slide. She got upset foa about 2 seconds when I told her she was too small to go on any other water slide. Then she said "I'll go on it when I am big like Troy." The ride home was incredibly quiet since both kids fell asleep. We had a great day!!! I'll try to post some pictures tomorrow. Speaking of tomorrow, we're going to a baseball game so the next post may not be until Saturday. Lots of fun planned for this summer! It is great so far! Have a wonderful night and stay safe!
Wednesday, June 2, 2010
Day 2 - cleaning!
Alright, I know that I titled this Blog as Summer Adventures, and we will have them, I promise. However, today was set aside for cleaning. Actually in my original plans, today was to be a day of complete rest (like that can happen with Troy and Danica around) and tomorrow and Friday were to be cleaning days. Well, Troy's friend and his mom asked us to go to Alabama Adventure tomorrow, so things change.
Like I said, today was a cleaning day and I am still not finished with what I wanted to get done. When I say cleaning, I mean scrubbing, re-organizing, pitching, etc. I got my bedroom done. It seems that during the school year, my bedroom becomes the catch-all for, well, everything. Smoehow, Troy's picture albums ended up in my room along, along with Danica's plastic turtle and butterfly. Behind my dresser, I found stickers, missing socks and 3 bookmarks, not to mention the dead crickets from when "Little Guy" resided on my dresser. Little Guy, for those of you who don't know, is a lizard that Richard found in our basement in November. Apparently, we couln't just let him go in November because he would not have had enough time to find a place to hibernate. He stayed on my dresser in a 10 gallon aquarium until Easter Sunday, when I set him free. If it was up to Richard, Troy and Danica, he would have stayed on my dresser, but mommy has 5 votes and can over-rule anything. 2 months later, I am still finding dead crickets. Granted, I did not move the dresser until now (it is rather heavy).
Other than that and the monsterous Dust Bunny from under my bed that attacked me and I had to beat with the broom, cleaning my room went well. Yes, it was slow, but I did great at keeping at the cleaning and not getting distracted with the mess in the rest of the house. Everytime I went into the kitchen, I had to will myself to ignore it and keep at the other cleaning.
For those of you who have hardwood floors, you MUST get a steam mop. They are wonderful and save so much time!
The only other room (besides the bathrooms) that I tackled was Troy's room. That kid saves EVERYTHING. I think that if I didn't go through his room every 6 months or so, I would lose him in the mounds of stuff. I fear I will see him on Hoarders someday. Example, he still had Valentine's Day cards that HE signed and were extras. Not to mention all of the cards from his class, church and scouts. Let's just say that they are gone now. I also found 2 gallon sized bags with pencils, all sharpened and most less than 3 inches long. This is in addition to the 50 or so pencils that I found that are not yet sharpened. Like I said... Hoarder.
Right now, Troy and Danica are playing with balloons. Not just regular bloons, mind you, these are about 5 feet in length and hot dog shaped. This was something else that was found in Troy's room. Richard insists he pulled a muscle blowing them up. I know that he wished I would have pitched them, but oh well.
NOw for the adventure of the day...Richard came in and said, "There's a dog in our yard. YOu should go see it". I did and kinds recognized the dog as our neighbor's (well, a neighbor a few houses down). Now I had watched the neighbor chase this dog a few days ago, and it was funny (for me), so I thought that I would have to do the same thing. Nope, the dog came right to me when I yelled "Here puppy"(maybe I can have a new career as a dog whisperer). He was very wiggly and gave lots of kisses as I was taking him home (small dog and very light). That is until I got near his home, then all movement stopped. He really seemed scared about going home. I felt bad, but since we have 2 dogs already, another would have been too much and, as Danica would say, "Stealing is bad". Walter, the owner, said that he "forgot" that the dog got out. Maybe he didn't wnat Lucky to come back, who knows. According to Walter, Lucky escapes a lot. Maybe, I'll let him play with Tink and Onyx for a little while next time.
So, it wasn't much of an adventure, but oh well. It is time to log off since it is thundering and the computer flickered just a minute ago. Maybe today's adventure is yet to come in the form of a storm. I'll let you know tomorrow.
Day 3 - Alabama Adventure!!!!! For those who don't know, it is an amusement park and water park in one! Troy can't wait and Danica doesn't remember much of it. We're going to have a great time!
Like I said, today was a cleaning day and I am still not finished with what I wanted to get done. When I say cleaning, I mean scrubbing, re-organizing, pitching, etc. I got my bedroom done. It seems that during the school year, my bedroom becomes the catch-all for, well, everything. Smoehow, Troy's picture albums ended up in my room along, along with Danica's plastic turtle and butterfly. Behind my dresser, I found stickers, missing socks and 3 bookmarks, not to mention the dead crickets from when "Little Guy" resided on my dresser. Little Guy, for those of you who don't know, is a lizard that Richard found in our basement in November. Apparently, we couln't just let him go in November because he would not have had enough time to find a place to hibernate. He stayed on my dresser in a 10 gallon aquarium until Easter Sunday, when I set him free. If it was up to Richard, Troy and Danica, he would have stayed on my dresser, but mommy has 5 votes and can over-rule anything. 2 months later, I am still finding dead crickets. Granted, I did not move the dresser until now (it is rather heavy).
Other than that and the monsterous Dust Bunny from under my bed that attacked me and I had to beat with the broom, cleaning my room went well. Yes, it was slow, but I did great at keeping at the cleaning and not getting distracted with the mess in the rest of the house. Everytime I went into the kitchen, I had to will myself to ignore it and keep at the other cleaning.
For those of you who have hardwood floors, you MUST get a steam mop. They are wonderful and save so much time!
The only other room (besides the bathrooms) that I tackled was Troy's room. That kid saves EVERYTHING. I think that if I didn't go through his room every 6 months or so, I would lose him in the mounds of stuff. I fear I will see him on Hoarders someday. Example, he still had Valentine's Day cards that HE signed and were extras. Not to mention all of the cards from his class, church and scouts. Let's just say that they are gone now. I also found 2 gallon sized bags with pencils, all sharpened and most less than 3 inches long. This is in addition to the 50 or so pencils that I found that are not yet sharpened. Like I said... Hoarder.
Right now, Troy and Danica are playing with balloons. Not just regular bloons, mind you, these are about 5 feet in length and hot dog shaped. This was something else that was found in Troy's room. Richard insists he pulled a muscle blowing them up. I know that he wished I would have pitched them, but oh well.
NOw for the adventure of the day...Richard came in and said, "There's a dog in our yard. YOu should go see it". I did and kinds recognized the dog as our neighbor's (well, a neighbor a few houses down). Now I had watched the neighbor chase this dog a few days ago, and it was funny (for me), so I thought that I would have to do the same thing. Nope, the dog came right to me when I yelled "Here puppy"(maybe I can have a new career as a dog whisperer). He was very wiggly and gave lots of kisses as I was taking him home (small dog and very light). That is until I got near his home, then all movement stopped. He really seemed scared about going home. I felt bad, but since we have 2 dogs already, another would have been too much and, as Danica would say, "Stealing is bad". Walter, the owner, said that he "forgot" that the dog got out. Maybe he didn't wnat Lucky to come back, who knows. According to Walter, Lucky escapes a lot. Maybe, I'll let him play with Tink and Onyx for a little while next time.
So, it wasn't much of an adventure, but oh well. It is time to log off since it is thundering and the computer flickered just a minute ago. Maybe today's adventure is yet to come in the form of a storm. I'll let you know tomorrow.
Day 3 - Alabama Adventure!!!!! For those who don't know, it is an amusement park and water park in one! Troy can't wait and Danica doesn't remember much of it. We're going to have a great time!
Tuesday, June 1, 2010
Day One - June 1, 2010
I may be a little bit ambitious, but I was thinking about blogging about my summertime fun with Troy and Danica on a daily basis. I know how hard it is for everyone to keep in touch with us at times, so I thought that this would be the best way. I may or may not write daily. I have found that most people do not. Maybe it is too time consuming, or maybe they just don't have that much to say. I have found that I enjoy following a few blogs both of people I know and those who I don't. This is my first attempt, so we'll see how it goes.
Today was the last day of school for me!!!!! Troy and Danica finished up on Friday. I can't believe, that in a few short weeks, Troy will be in 4th grade and Dainca will be in what is called K-4 here in Alabama. They grow up so fast. We went to school (not fun) for our final checkout. Danica played with a little girl who will be in her class in the fall. Troy played with another teacher's son who happens to be the same age as Danica. Why is it that Troy can get along with this child, but not his sister? Anyway...aside from a cut on Troy's knee, the day was uneventful. We were out of school by 11:30 and on our way to meet Richard for lunch. Due to a missed turn, we ended up at CiCi's Pizza instead of Firehouse Subs. It turned out fot the better though since Troy ate 7 pieces of pizza and a cinnamon roll. I'm going to be broke this summer just feeding the kid. Danica did all of her eating in the morning, like usual, and only had 2 pieces of pizza and a brownie. I know boring....I'm getting to the adventure part.
We got home and I was really hoping to be able to take a nap (again not adventure quality). Unfortunately, our neighbor was having a few trees cut down on his property. I got home to chainsaws and wood chippers running. Our newest dog, Onyx, was in the neighbor's yard due to one of the trees falling on the fence between our houses. They are going to fix it, so no harm done. We've been looking at having a huge pine dead pine tree cut down in the back and even got several estimates. Well, this guy came in lower and we are able to make 2 payments. The tree came tumbling down about 3:30 and the nest of baby woodpeckers was found about 3:35. I found a rehabilitation place that would take the baby birds and set off to Oak Mountain State Park. 1 hour 55 minutes later, we finally made it. Let's just say that I-65 SUCKS during rush hour. I felt like I was back in the DC area for a time. The baby birds have a new home. The aviary specialist said that they looked good. I didn't tell her that they were up in a hole in the tree that was about 70 feet in the air. No need to alarm anyone, right? While the kids wanted to stay and hike aroung the park, I wanted to get home. I did promise that we'd go back soon though. Troy then saw the horses and pointed them out to Danica, who said, "I really would love to go on a horse. I would be awesome." Soon to be adventure: Horseback Riding with Danica.
Anyway, the trip home was much shorter...36 minutes. Note to self, don't travel on 65 during peak times.
Now the baby woodpeckers have a temporary home, my kids have another idea for summer fun, I don't have to worry about the dead tree hitting my house (which it would have), and day one on summer vacation is done.
I forgot to mention Danica and the juice pouch incidents. Yes, there is an -s on the end of that. First, while I am calling around to see who can take the baby birds, she uses at lease 2 juice pounches as a sprinkler system in my living room. Then, while her and Troy were playing on the computer, she put the juice from a pouch in a glass and spilled it all over the print out tickets for Alabama Adventure. Luckily I can print them again and I didn't delete the link.
Tomorrow's adventure, cleaning. And yes, it will be an adventure.
Today was the last day of school for me!!!!! Troy and Danica finished up on Friday. I can't believe, that in a few short weeks, Troy will be in 4th grade and Dainca will be in what is called K-4 here in Alabama. They grow up so fast. We went to school (not fun) for our final checkout. Danica played with a little girl who will be in her class in the fall. Troy played with another teacher's son who happens to be the same age as Danica. Why is it that Troy can get along with this child, but not his sister? Anyway...aside from a cut on Troy's knee, the day was uneventful. We were out of school by 11:30 and on our way to meet Richard for lunch. Due to a missed turn, we ended up at CiCi's Pizza instead of Firehouse Subs. It turned out fot the better though since Troy ate 7 pieces of pizza and a cinnamon roll. I'm going to be broke this summer just feeding the kid. Danica did all of her eating in the morning, like usual, and only had 2 pieces of pizza and a brownie. I know boring....I'm getting to the adventure part.
We got home and I was really hoping to be able to take a nap (again not adventure quality). Unfortunately, our neighbor was having a few trees cut down on his property. I got home to chainsaws and wood chippers running. Our newest dog, Onyx, was in the neighbor's yard due to one of the trees falling on the fence between our houses. They are going to fix it, so no harm done. We've been looking at having a huge pine dead pine tree cut down in the back and even got several estimates. Well, this guy came in lower and we are able to make 2 payments. The tree came tumbling down about 3:30 and the nest of baby woodpeckers was found about 3:35. I found a rehabilitation place that would take the baby birds and set off to Oak Mountain State Park. 1 hour 55 minutes later, we finally made it. Let's just say that I-65 SUCKS during rush hour. I felt like I was back in the DC area for a time. The baby birds have a new home. The aviary specialist said that they looked good. I didn't tell her that they were up in a hole in the tree that was about 70 feet in the air. No need to alarm anyone, right? While the kids wanted to stay and hike aroung the park, I wanted to get home. I did promise that we'd go back soon though. Troy then saw the horses and pointed them out to Danica, who said, "I really would love to go on a horse. I would be awesome." Soon to be adventure: Horseback Riding with Danica.
Anyway, the trip home was much shorter...36 minutes. Note to self, don't travel on 65 during peak times.
Now the baby woodpeckers have a temporary home, my kids have another idea for summer fun, I don't have to worry about the dead tree hitting my house (which it would have), and day one on summer vacation is done.
I forgot to mention Danica and the juice pouch incidents. Yes, there is an -s on the end of that. First, while I am calling around to see who can take the baby birds, she uses at lease 2 juice pounches as a sprinkler system in my living room. Then, while her and Troy were playing on the computer, she put the juice from a pouch in a glass and spilled it all over the print out tickets for Alabama Adventure. Luckily I can print them again and I didn't delete the link.
Tomorrow's adventure, cleaning. And yes, it will be an adventure.
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