I'm still here!

Wow! I can't believe it's been so long since I've blogged. Things have really been crazy around the casa. After surviving the holidays, we ended up at the ER with K on New Year's Eve. Talk about interesting! The nurses assured us that they would get us of there before all the nut-jobs showed up. They kept their promise. We were out of there by 10:30pm. The head wounds (bar fights) were just starting to show up.

She ended up being diagnosed with strep. After 3 days on med, her fever would not go below 101 and was going as high as 103 still. We trooped back to the pedi's office to find out that she also had a UTI. Poor baby was miserable. Luckily, she was well by the time school started again.

We had one, yeas ONE week of health before Madelieine started running fever. You guessed it...STREP! She missed a week of school and then the FLU hit our house. All 3 of us girls were in bed sick. I thank GOD every day for my wonderful husband. He stayed home and waited on us girls hand and foot. That man is definately a GOD-send. We all missed a week of school/work.

We got well, went back to our lives...for one week! Then I got strep.

I think we've had everything that has come down the pike! The pedi told me she was just going to put me on the payroll since we were there so much.

I think we've had 3 good weeks since 2011 fell. As I type now, I'm recovering from an outer ear infection. Let me tell you, this has been the MOST painful thing I've ever gone through. The pain from swelling was so bad that my jaw and teeth hurt.

I'm hoping that this is it for 2011 and we can avoid what ever else is out there. To prevent catching more infections, we jokingly tell the girls each morning not to lick the doorknobs!

I hope you have a HEALTHY year!!

It's Finally Happened...

....I'm going back to work.

I have such bittersweet feelings about it. I'm kind of excited to be working with kids (and adults!) again but kind of sad that I won't be able to spend as much time at the gils' school.

I couldn't pass this opportunity up though. I received a call from a principal out of the blue asking if I was interested in being an Intervention Specialist on her campus. I was speechless. I asked her how she got my name and number and wouldn't you know, my past principal is now the director of testing here in our district. She threw my name out there and it stuck!

I will be working 3 days a week for 5 hours. This principal is willing to work around my schedule with the girls. AMAZING! I have NO RESPONSIBILITIES other than working with the kids. No papers to grade, no planning, no textbooks, nothing. I get to do what I love...working with a small group of students teaching them the things they are lacking.

The kids aren't too sure about it and I'm starting to wonder (fear!) how our mornings will go. But I'm sure we will get into a routine.

Wish me luck!

Whooooo's Ready for Halloween?

Whew! It's been a rough several weeks. We've had two rounds of strep in the house, and I had to do 3 rounds of antibiotics before I got well! Needless to say, I haven't gotten much done. EXCEPT....I've been cutting out feathers. Lots and lots of feathers. Pink ones at that! I cut out 246 individual fleece feathers to make the girls' halloween costumes.


They turned out ADORABLE!!! And cheap!!! I had everything in my stash except the pink hoodies.

I've got to thank the genius behindg the blog Following Phubbie. She posted the directions on how to make this fantastic costume. To make it easier, I glued the feathers in place and then went back and sewed them on. It went really fast.

The girls love their costumes and have been getting all kinds of "Whooooo's and Awe's"

Bust a Move!

This is what I caught in the van today. I was crying trying to keep from laughing!

Coupon Binder Giveaway!

Tiffany at My Litter is giving away a LOADED coupon binder! I so need a new binder. The one I'm using I "borrowed" from the Hubs' office!

Hop on over and see how you can enter to win!

~Have a great day!
Julie

Vacation Part Two

Monday morning we woke up and planned to head to the Guenther House for breakfast. If you are ever in San Antonio, you MUST go there for breakfast. They make the best biscuits & gravy (my favorite!), and their sweet cream pancakes are heavenly. You could smell the sweet cream coming from the pancakes!

But I digress, we got to Vanessa (what the girls named our van. LOL!)and our mouths were salivating with the thoughts of the delicous breakfast to come. Vanessa had other thoughts. She wouldn't start. We were stuck in the parking lot of our hotel. We were crushed!

Lucky for us, a very kind Army Ranger was sitting in a rental next to us. He noticed our distress and offered to help us out. David, always a Boy Scout, (always prepared!) had jumper-cables in the van. Mr. Army Ranger moved his car around so David could get to the battery and Vanessa coughed to life.

Now our delima was that we didn't know if it was just a bad battery or something worse. David decided that we would start with the battery. We located the nearest Walmart and had them replace the battery. Unfortunately, the girls were starving. David & I knew that biscuits & gravy were not going to happen today. McDonald's it was. The girls were happy we got to sit in McDonald's while we waited on the van.

I was so bummed after that! But, we had Fiesta Texas to look forward to.

After Vanessa had her battery taken care of, we headed out to Fiesta Texas. The girls were so excited that every time someone said Fiesta Texas, they would yell out "OLE!"

Fiesta Texas was a good trial run for our Disney trip. Let's just say, that because the girls were afraid to ride most everything, even the kiddie stuff, we've pushed our trip back another year.

They did ride their first roller coaster. Dora's something or other. It was a slow, wavy ride. I thought they could handle it. So did they. But when they got off, the both proclaimed that they HATE rollercoasters and were ready to go home.



Poor David was so disappointed. He had wanted them to have a wonderful time.

Things finally started looking up after the train ride and watching a Loony Toons show. They were actually having fun!


But, being the bad mom I am, I made them ride the White Water Canyon ride. I thought they would enjoy getting splashed. WRONG yet again! They hated it. Katie kept her head covered the entire ride and Madeleine cried "Get me off!" or "I want off RIGHT NOW!" the whole time. I felt so bad, but I must admit, that it was kind of funny watching them. Does that make me a horrible mother?!

A little while later, after we had gotten off, I asked Madeleine "Was that ride so bad?" You won't believe the answer I got. She said "No I guess not, I might ride it again!"

The day ended with deli delivery to our room and more swimming. I must say, the girls have become regular little fish.

I fell into bed exhausted!

Next up, day 3.

Summer Vacation Part One

Things finally slowed down enough for David at work so we planned a short little trip to San Antonio. We got an awesome room at the Marriot Plaza. It was right across the street from Hemisphere Park and walking distance to the Riverwalk.

Day one consisted of a 4 hour drive. Thankfully, I had gotten some movies for the girls so they were quite content the entire time. While they were entranced in a Barbie mermaid movie, I read a book aloud to David. We really enjoy quiet times like this.

Once in San Antonio, we went straight to Brackenridge Park and enjoyed a picnic in the shade of the Sunken Gardens.

After lunch, we walked over to the San Antonio Zoo. Let me tell you, there is a LOT of walking to be done at the zoo. Most of it was done in 102 degree heat! We drank gallons of water and made several trips into the air conditioned exhibits. Despite the searing heat and high humidity we had a blast! We spent 6 hours there. The time went by so fast. Before we knew it, it was time to check into our hotel and get dinner.


Once we had washed the zoo off of us, we headed to The Magic Time Machine for dinner. We thought this would be a fun place for the girls. WRONG!!! We were seated in the Christmas room and our waiter was Ace Ventura. Of course, being only 5 & 6, the girls had no clue as to who Ace Ventura was. Katie was freaked out about being in a room decorated like it was Christmas. She kept asking "Why? Why would they do that!" Maddie was afraid of our waiter because he kept making faces and trying to get her to sing "Jingle Bells" with him. Needless to say, dinner was short.

Once back at the hotel, I was expecting to put the girls in bed figuring they were exhausted. (I know I SURE was!) But alas, I was wrong again. They wanted to go swimming. So, we suited up and headed downstairs. David and the girls swam while I soaked in the hot tub. It sure felt good on my tired body!

Maybe I could survive another day!

Stay tuned for Part 2!