Lefty!!

Here's Ryan up at bat during his first game!

They're Back!

Many of you probably know where this is going already. For those of you who don't, it's an interesting story.

For most people, Spring means warm weather...flowers and leaves on the trees... getting out with the kids. But for me, Spring really only means 1 thing. Well, many things but they are all of the same species. They all have 8 legs and they all creep me out, no matter the color or size. I'm talking about spiders. Shhh, don't talk too loud or they may hear you. They are awakening from their hibernation and have a keen sense of knowing when they are most feared and unwanted. And while I have seen a few of them around the house as of late, I am most disturbed by the fact that we had 1 warm day - 1 day people! - and yet this morning their silky webs were gracing the inside of my Exploder once again. My car is infested. From now until late fall I will drive after dark with extreme trepidation. I will stay home out of fear. I will drive Byron's car. I will take matters into my own hands and place toxic hanging strips throughout my interior in hopes of killing them but not my children. I will leave all windows up all the time, lest they have easier access. I don't know what the lure of my car is. I don't understand why they stalk me so. But I do know that after a desperate call to my exterminator he quickly responded with You know, I've never been asked to exterminate a car before.

Indeed people, they are back. And they are fresh from a 4 month nap and ready to torment me. How many days until the first frost?

Swiper

Who would have thought this sweet little lass would turn out to be a Swiper!?!


Case in point... my silver ring with the pretty blue stone (a Christmas present from Jen) goes missing last week. I check my usual spots - bedroom, bathroom, kids rooms near the lotion bottles, computer desk, kitchen and treadmill. I come up with nothing and still I am preplexed as I have my engagement ring and wedding band. My rings are a threesome and rarely do they part. I even checked Emma's (good) jewelry box but then felt bad after coming up empty. Then in comes Aunt Janet and, knowing Swiper better, doesn't she find that darn ring hiding in Em's tinkerbell box, mixed in with all HER rings and bracelets! Upon asking her where she found said ring, she matter of factly answers "In Mommy's Room" and goes about her business like it was no big deal. Hide your cash and your jewels when Emma comes to visit and consider yourself warned!

Hair...Where?

Ok, so it's growing on me. No pun intended. B/c if it were growing that fast, I'd be all mushy mushy writing in pink with lots of little smileys and hearts and crap. And it ain't like that. Tho not for a lack of trying... I've been popping folic acid like they are orange tic-tacs. So like I said, I'm getting used to it. It's not that I don't like the cut... I just wasn't crazy about it on ME. And I really can't tell you the last time I had some sort of bangs - those buggers sure get in the way! Anyway, I'm sure it would be fantastic on all of you. So now my "big" problem is styling it. Another profession I would never excel at. It will take some serious practice but on the plus side, I use way less shampoo/conditioner/styling product and my hair dries in record time. So I have to say that getting ready is a lot faster. Color comes on Wed - let's say a little prayer I don't screw this one up too, shall we?

Smootches to the girls for the comments - dream on if you think I am posting a picture! Well, maybe 1 after I return from Cancun all tan and glowing (or char-broiled, depending on how well I gauge the sunscreen). Maybe I'll make it a group shot and it will be like a game of Where's Waldo?

It's only hair

But it still doesn't mean you should chop cut your hair just a few weeks before leaving for a big trip (Oh, mexico, It sounds so simple I just got to go...) with lots of people from your husbands work, most of whom you have never met. It also isn't reassuring when your daughter tells you she loves your haircut and you look JUST LIKE her brother. And it doesn't look promising when you realize "it just isn't you" and you'll never be able to replicate the 'fresh from the salon' look even if you wanted to.

But on the plus side, I will save money at next weeks color since all the blonde is in a trashcan somewhere and now the coloring is more even and will only require a partial foil instead of the usual double process (double $$). And my hubby does, indeed, love it. And I don't have to worry about buying more ponytail bands unless I want to start my own fashion statement and turn them into bracelets.

Think Michelle Williams meets Jane Fonda. Don't be surprised if you don't see me until August. Paging Dr. Ativan...

Pure Poetry

Ryan's class was working on poetry a few weeks ago and the assignment was to compose a partial (fill in the blank) poem. When I picked him up that day, he was excited to take me up to his classroom and show me his poem. In fact, he was beaming with pride.

For your reading pleasure (his contributions are in bold)...

There were ten little
noisy puppies.
They wanted to
eat my mom's Uggs.
"Why not?" they did cry,
"We should at least try."
So they ate all of the lightning bugs.


I just love that kid!

Not Yet Rated

Could it be?? Is it Really??

Yea Dad, I think it is!

It's (half) Naked Baby!!!

Hippity Hoppity some more

On Sunday, the kids woke up to find the Easter Bunny had hid a few eggs in the living room on his way out and, of course, left them with baskets over-flowing with all sorts of goodies. We went to Aunt Marianne & Uncle Bob's house and had lots of fun visiting with all of the cousins who were in town. Ryan had a great time with his older cousins, Max & Miles, who were in from CA and Emma had fun with Natalie and Mattie, who made the trek from Maine.

Emma gives new meaning to the 'Pink Ladies'

And what is Easter without a little silly string?

Natalie and Mattie sharing toys (I missed a picture of Natalie in her dress but she was beautiful!)

Hippity Hoppity

The Easter Bunny came to town and left the kids with all sorts of sugary goodness and tiny treasures. Two days worth of bunny madness and I am all egged out. Another one down!

On Saturday, we had Easter at Grandmom & Pop's house, and also celebrated our own version of March Madness... Happy Birthday to John, Adam, Corrine, Brandi & Uncle Mike! The weather cooperated and the predicted sleet and snow stayed far away so the kids were able to have their egg hunt outside, which they loved! There were 12 eager hunters this year!

The One in Which I Ask How to Make Hardboiled Eggs

Just to clarify and slightly redeem myself, the question was more about how long to boil the eggs. Who wants to crack open a runny egg, blech!

Last night we took part in the old Easter tradition of egg dyeing. I have to say the kids did a great job (read: kept the dye stains to a minimum) and had a lot of fun. Ryan picked up some fancy swirl techniques from Daddy and Emma made sure she used all 48 stickers that came with her kit... on 6 eggs. Those shells are extra hard to break now. The bonus of dyeing eggs in my house is that the kids ACTUALLY like eating them! Because if it were up to me, we'd dye them, admire them and toss them. I do not like Green Eggs and Ham...


Ryan learning the art of "Double Dyeing"

Emma does not subscribe to the school of 'Less is More'

** HAPPY SPRING!!! If you haven't already, and don't mind freezing, be sure to visit your local Rita's Water Ice for your FREEBIE!!

Are you a Princess?

Finally a quiz I can relate to (ha!)... compliments of Janet, click here to find out which Princess YOU are. I'll have to give the test to Emma tomorrow and see how she does. Janet and I are both Princess Belle, which means we are Beautiful, but more importantly, means Adam and Byron are the Beasts! Hee hee hee...

She got my Hair, Part I

I can almost guarantee there will be parts II, III, etc in the near future.

Emma did indeed inherit my bad hair. Thin, not abundant and straighter than the edge of a ruler. Did I mention thin? For a while, the curling iron did the trick - a thick barrel produced large curls along her neckline, giving her a little bit of body and just the right amount of cuteness, if you ask me. But after the Christmas Eve Burn of '07, it's understandable that she won't let me come within 10 feet of her with a hot iron. With various Holidays and events approaching, including her first dance recital in June, I've had to work on alternate plans. It's a good thing I started early.

Here is our first attempt - curlers. They were good enough for me when my mom would set my hair and make me sleep in them so why not give them a shot? Here's 2 attempts of her looking like she's 80. I decided not to take the 'after' picture as it wasn't pretty and she had a crease halfway around her head. This is why I am not a hair stylist.

Then we moved into the 21st Century and tried Velcro rollers. Much more fun and user-friendly, as long as I remember to be gentle and patient while removing them so as not to cause a huge hairball atop her sensitive scalp. Hair really does knot easily!

The end result was way better than that produced by the sponge rollers, tho I still need much practice. It gives her a good 2+ days worth of body and she absolutely loves when I roll her hair.

As quoted by Byron... She looks like my Aunt Carole! I take that as a compliment because I personally think Aunt Carole has fabulous hair... thick and full of body. Everything my hair has lacked since conception!

Healing Powers

It's amazing what a few days and a tube of Polysporin can do to a boo-boo. Following our ER trip last week, Ry suffered a cold that had him back on a nebulizer and unable to blow his relentless runny nose, and I was sure an infection was in our near future. Thankfully that did not happen tho the way the scab turned yellow really had me wondering. Today was Day 6 and time for his sutures (aka wiskers) to come out. The forehead was healing like a charm - redness was minimal and a slight scab had formed. The nose, as I mentioned, was another story but was healing in it's own time - just not as pretty.

So off to the pediatrician we go and thankfully got placed with our regular Dr. who we really like and trust. He is great with the kids and very patient. We had to first soften the scab under his nose but the Dr. was able to get the stitches out with minimal effort and just a few tears. Ryan didn't even feel him remove the ones from his forehead - what a trooper! We still have some healing to do and scabs to form, but we are on our way. Next stop - Mederma and sunscreen to minimize any scarring. Check out his latest mug shot!

**This is too good (gross) not to mention... last night while discussing suture removal and how it might feel, Ryan asked if the scab below his nose would fall off in the Dr's office. The nasty, yellowish, kind of like pus and blood, crusty yet moist, scab. Did I paint a clear enough pictue for ya? I told him it was a possibility. His next question... Can I keep it?

Boys will be Boys

Tonight should have been an easy night. It should have been taco night... the boys should have gotten haircuts at their 7pm appointments... it should have been relaxing as Emma didn't nap (read: early to bed) and I had October Road waiting for me on DVR. But for all the things it SHOULD have been, it was the exact opposite. Instead it was messy - the head truly is a bleeder - frazzled and traumatic. A boy (my boy) that started out having fun with his friends ended up in the ER after he tripped pushing a truck along the sidewalk. Since he doesn't know exactly what happened, I'm guessing his face met up with the truck before the sidewalk, producing a not so bad divit in his forehead that required 2 stitches, and a gaping u-shaped flap just under his right nostril that required 3 and nearly had me passed out on my kitchen floor. This is where I remind you that I once had dreams of becoming a pediatric nurse... if only there wasn't all that blood and gore and stuff.

Back to the boy... Round 1 wasn't pretty. Him screaming as he ran around the lawn like a lunatic. Then trying to find the source of the blood only to realize there were 2 sources. A quick call to the peds office and the words ER and Plastics, and we were on our way (thanks to the tag team of the Dalys, Aunt Janet and Grandmom for handling the girl). I almost forgot the best part... before realizing the need for medical attention and while still bleeding profusely, the boy kept sobbing 'I'm dying! I'm going to die! Mommy, I love you - I'm dying!' Riiiiipppppp went my heart.

Round 2 was much better. Our hospital added a new ER - very nice! We got speedy service back to a room (kid-vantage) and the boy was the calmest I have ever seen him. Seeing as how a paper cut has provoked his cries of imminent death (tho the I love you part was a new one this time), I figured we were in for some serious drama with the impending stitches. But Dr. Kristen kept that boy calm and as he sat with numbing gel on his boo-boo's, he played 'Eye Spy' with daddy, cruised the hall a bit and had a few snacks in bed. When he was numb enough for the shots of novacaine, the child didn't flinch. A nurse held his head and 3 sets of eyes stared as the smallest of needles and thread made my boy whole again. The 4th pr of eyes (mine) was everywhere but on the child so as not to cause a scene by passing out.

Between the sutures and the roadrash, the boy is a sight. But he looks tough. Daddy says he looks like a hockey player. We are both extremely proud of him for doing so well and I have a feeling that will be used to his advantage and the toy store is in my very near future. No problem, I say. The kid deserves it!

This is the 'before' shot... lying in the ER with a topical gel to numb the areas before the novacaine shots.

This is the 'after' shot (don't you dare make fun of the barrette!) - and now he has a runny nose, eww!

Birthday Bashes

Happy (belated as of this blog) Birthday to Bryanna, who got another chance to celebrate her Leap Year Birthday last month! We had a fun time celebrating with you! You rock Guitar Hero!

Loved this shot of the kids snuggling with Uncle Eric!

And Happy (again, belated) Birthday to Kayla... Emma had a great time tumbling with you at your party and talked about it the rest of the weekend!