Flu season begins.....

Elisabeth went to the doctors today. She has been out of school for 2 days with a cough, fever, runny nose, and sore throat. She had to wear a mask because she had many of the symptoms of Swine Flu. You would have thought they had asked her to put on a full-faced black mask and rob a bank. It only got worse when the doctor wanted to swab her throat for strep. I honestly thought I was going to have to lay her down, sit on her arms, and force her mouth open. Poor baby was sweating like a pig by the time we left. Good news, though-she only has a viral infection:)

We picked up Bella early from school and went home to relax. Then SHE started coughing. We all ended up in my bed and fell asleep for two hours. As awesome as it was, I am now paying for it....I am trying to watch my soaps and this little black haired 3 year old keeps popping up in front of the screen:)

Rough night for dad....

It all started when I "forgot" to put the top back on the apple juice. We aren't talking about your pint of apple juice----it was the BIGGEST container you can buy from Wal-Mart. In our 20 years together, this is the ONE thing Todd nags me about...putting the caps back on containers. I am one that likes to skip that part and just lay it on top and maybe give it a little twist. Because it annoys him so much, I have really tried hard to work on this. Except last night. Around 10 pm I hear him calling me from the bottom of the stairs, "CATHERINE.... Could you PLEASE remember to SCREW the lid back on when you are done with the apple juice??????!!!!!!!" I knew what he had done...grabbed the apple juice from the top (I won't mention that there WAS a handle on the side that he should have used), and WHAM, the juice fell out the fridge and all over the floor. I was too scared to go downstairs and see what happened so I sent Elisabeth. She got the lesson about the tops being securely put back on the top of things before she could return upstairs to tell me how bad it was. He did come up once to get more towels and to growl at me although I couldn't actually see his face from under the covers.

He made his next mistake by not shutting the linen closet door or the laundry doors. On his way to bed, at 2 am in the morning, he ran smack into the linen door. I thought I heard some cursing in the wee hours of the morning but knew more than likely it would be him running into something as it happens quite often. The swearing continued into the bedroom so I knew he hadn't knocked himself out. I wasn't about to actually sit up and ask because I knew I would get the "you left the cap off the container" lecture again AND he would start bitching about Bella being in bed with us.

And that leads us to his 3rd mistake...not returning Bella to her bed. She spent most of the night sleeping between us, ON top of the covers. As soon as we would cover her back up, she would kick the covers off, therefore kicking our covers off. And in the process of kicking the covers off, she usually kicks Todd.

I wish I had taken a picture of him this morning when he got up. He could barely walk, couldn't get his eyes open, AND he was still pissed about the juice, the door, and the Bella:)

I, on the other hand, had a delightful nights sleep and my kitchen floor was all shiny and clean!!!

Oh...how I love shopping!!

Especially when it involves a great friend, lunch, and NO CHILDREN!!! Cindy and I went to Altoona yesterday (pretty pathetic when you get excited about Altoona) and hit Old Navy and The Children's Place. I did some damage at Old Navy for Elisabeth and me and Bella got some pretty cute outfits from The Children's Place. Is it wrong to get a high when buying your 3 year old clothes?? I absolutely soar when I find cute clothes at a great price. I have lost that feeling when it comes to buying clothes for Elisabeth. I actually have to email her pictures of the clothes I want to buy her (she hates shopping) so that I don't waste my money and my time. The kid has adorable taste in clothes but heaven forbid you get the wrong color or shape. Out of the 8 things I brought her, only 1 of them is going back. Yeah!

Cook of the Year

That will be my new title this week. I have cooked 5 days in a row. I know...un-frickin'-believable. AND, they were real home cooked meals like Paula Dean's meatballs (yuck) with mashed potatoes (the real kind), mozzarella and spinach ravioli (from Costco-YUM), chicken and vegetable pot stickers (also from Costco and also YUM), potato soup with vegetables and beer (really Sprite) bread. Oh....and I also made Jonas Brother's milkshakes with a chocolate fondue and pineapple walnut cake. Mind you...this is on top of working full time, being a mother/wife/somewhat good sister and daughter and aunt and cousin and granddaughter and friend and speech therapist.

Here is the recipe for the cake.....ENJOY:)

Pineapple Walnut Cake
About 1 ½ cans crushed pineapple – do not drain
1 box Yellow Cake Mix – dry
2 cups chopped walnuts
2 sticks (1 cup) butter – cut into small slices

Line (in order above) in 9x13 pan
Bake 350 degrees for 35 minutes

Spoon on to a plate. Top with Cool Whip to serve.

Ballerinas and Soccer Players

On our way to church...

I love this face she makes...




At the park, waiting for Elisabeth's soccer practice to be finished.







Todd and Elisabeth....



How we like to pass our time....mommy's iPhone and ducky...


I don't think Isabella is going to cut it as a ballerina...at least not at the age of 3. She can handle the tap dancing class, but looses it during the 30 minutes of ballet. While the other are plie'ing (is that even a word?), she is kissing the mirrors..... while they are figuring out where to put their arms, she spent time seeing how fast she could spin on her butt. They more I glared at her through the glass door, the more she laughed and ignored me. She KNEW she was in trouble when she came out of the class and immediately put her hand over my mouth (which she does when she knows she is in trouble and doesn't want me to say anything to her). I talked to her VERY young teacher and told her to be firmer with her....including putting her in time out if that was necessary. She may be too young for all of this or it may end up not being 'her thing'...who knows when you are only 3?!

Elisabeth , on the other hand, is the picture perfect player. She has gotten quite good at the game. She doesn't really care for the other coach but is dealing with it all. Her first game is on Wednesday:)

Speaking of urine...

Isabella flew out of the men's room today (she was with Todd) screaming, "I just saw a waterfall!!!" It was the men's urinal.

When you gotta go, you gotta go...

And Isabella had to go last night while we were walking downtown to get her a cookie. She was doing the "if you don't get me to the potty soon, I am going to pee down my leg" dance....butt sticking out, legs crossed, arms flailing-you know what it looks like. With no bathrooms around, I decided to take her behind a power box and let her pee on some gravel. She was screaming, "I don't want to pee on the stones!" while I was ripping her pants down to her ankles. I positioned her leaning up against my knees, not realizing how badly she had to go. Without getting too graphic, it ended up in my hair, on my hand, on my foot, all over her shorts and underwear, in one shoe, and down her one leg. Next time I'll let her wet her pants.

And he finds out how it is.........

when it is his responsibility to get Bella ready for school. Exhausting, to say the least. To summarize how Todd did - she marched up the steps of her school with uncombed hair and in her pajamas (an old dress that is too small that she wore to bed). He was sweating and dizzy from fighting with her and scared to death that he was going to catch hell from me. She woke up at 5 am, demanded breakfast at 6, a movie at 7, and fell back to sleep at 8 after I dumped her ass unceremoniously on her bed because I was sick of her bad attitude. Did I mention that I fell asleep at 1 am after reading my new favorite vampire novel??

I am thrilled I didn't have to deal with her after she woke up for the second time that morning and could have cared less what she wore to school...her lunch was packed and she got there safely.Can you imagine anything so sweet having such a nasty sleep-deprived disposition???

Sorry, Bella.....

but we completely forgot your adoption day:( How horrible are we?!?!?! It is a given that Todd wouldn't remember it but ME??? Not a chance!!! If it occurred any other time than at the beginning of school, I would definitely have remembered. Bad mommy. Although, when she grows up and we talk about how we celebrated her 3rd adoption day, I WILL mention the new 3 Musketeers Barbie I bought her (at the time-there was no reason for doing this other than she wanted it and I wanted her to have it). So, I guess I am covered. Right????Playing with mommy after the Giving and Receiving Ceremony....

New clothes and a bottle...life is good:)

Talking to Elisabeth after we got back to the hotel...

At Isabella's medical check-up...

On our way in for our first interview with US Government...little did we know we would wait another 3 weeks for their approval to bring Isabella home!

It's the weekend and we survived.....

almost a full week of school, Elisabeth's first attempt at riding the bus in the morning, first soccer practice, and first night of ballet and tap. Whew.

Elisabeth always rides the bus home in the morning but we usually drive her in in the morning as it gives us another 30 minutes to get our act together. Last night I told her she was riding the bus and to be ready. I woke her up at 7, ran downstairs and got the kitchen cleaned up from last night, made the kids hot oatmeal, and packed both lunches. That is when I heard her from the top of the stairs. It was 7:20 (the bus comes at 7:35) and she was standing there, crying, with her hair standing on end, still in her pajamas, moaning that she couldn't find anything to wear. I instantly became bitch mom- "Get your ass into some clothes and down here to eat your frickin' breakfast before you miss your damn bus!" Nice way to start a Friday. After her fastest dressing and hair doing she has ever done, she ate her breakfast and headed for the bus only to find that it was just leaving the bus stop. She thought she had bought herself a nice drive to school but I hopped in the car in my pjs and socks and chased that damn bus down.

I then arrive home to find Todd LEISURELY getting ready for work. Now remember, I had already been up for an hour with Bella, was sweating like a pig, had made beds and dressed 2 girls and wasn't even close to being ready myself. He looked at me and said, "Oh...you want me to take Bella in today?? I wish you had told me - I would have hurried." UGH. I think I am going to start telling people I am the mother to 3- 2 girls and a baby boy:)

(He did redeem himself by sending me a picture and video from his new iPhone of her on the way out the door.)



I love this smile she does-it is a mix of happy and unsure. We were on our way out to ballet/tap.....

Waiting for the teacher....the damn duck stayed with mom.







The look...."I am NOT listening to you and I AM going to walk over and wave to my mom."

Playing catch up....

Work stinks. The older I get, the harder it is to start back again. How I am supposed to work full-time and run the kids around to everything they need to do, is beyond me. Ugh. And on top of that-I have laundry to do and dinner to make and lunches to prepare. Todd wonders where he fits into all of that-I am wondering too :) I have even given up on watching my beloved soaps most days!! Okay, I'll stop whining.

Elisabeth is doing well. The pictures are from her first day of school. She is surprisingly happy with her homeroom teacher-her first male teacher. We had a bit of a scare on Friday-she got a headache at school and I had to go and get her. She was complaining about bright lights and tingling on one side of her body. Talk about freaking me out. I called the doctor who suggested I take her to the ER. More freaking out. After 4 hours, we found out that she had a migraine. The numbness, difficulty thinking, head pain, and bright lights in one eye are all typical symptoms. It was such a relief. She was an absolute mess and spent most of the time crying. Poor baby was a nervous wreck. I almost wished they gave her something to shut her up/knock her out. Or they could have given it to me. Much better idea, I think. Soccer starts tonight. The whining has begun again. :)

Bella is Bella. She loves school and rarely complains about going. I don't mean that she rarely complains-she does that most of the day-just not about school. She starts tap class and ballet tomorrow. I will have to bust my butt to get her from preschool and out to the dance academy. Why I get myself into these things, I have no idea. The kid is only 3 years old and I have her in tap AND ballet??? DUMB. Hopefully she likes it. If not, the shoes are going on eBay and we are going to hang up the tutus.

Todd got a new iPhone. His life is complete now. The best part?? He has to come to ME for help. For once, I know more that he does about something computer-related. :)

First day of school and first eye appointment pictures...

Back to school for some of us....

Monday was my first day back...how depressing. BUT I had my first day off yesterday so I could spend our last day together with Rebekah. Not too bad. I am back to work again today. Depressing.

Today was Isabella's first day of preschool. She was more obsessed about when she was eating her lunch (first time she has ever packed) than when I was leaving! She kissed me on the leg and shooed me out the door. I think I am going to have to 'up' my medicine:( I believe Elisabeth will want to share that medicine as she starts 7th grade tomorrow. I'll let you know how that morning goes tomorrow!!

Rebekah's Visit

As you can see, Rebekah came for a visit all the way from Alaska. My mom and dad also drove down so that they could spend time with her. We ate out almost every night, went to the outlets in Lancaster, celebrated R's 35th birthday, went swimming, did make-overs, watched movies, and had a wonderful time together. It was very sad to see her go yesterday....although she was here for a week, it felt like only a few hours. I wish we lived closer but I know she is happy living in the frozen tundra:)