Just pictures...no explanation needed.

Bear

Some teacher at Isabella's preschool came up with the brilliant idea to send a bear home with each child in the school. The kid is then supposed to keep a journal of what they did with the bear over 3 days. Right. The damn thing came with a SUITCASE full of clothes. Really?? Is that necessary?? How do you expect to give a 4 year old a bag of clothes and NOT expect them to try every thing on??? And how do you expect a 4 year old to put regular baby clothes on a bear with HUGE paws????? As for the journal, you seriously think I am going to sit down and tell her what to write on a small piece of paper and include pictures???? She start writing and it gets bigger and bigger until she has about one letter per page. I ended up writing the stupid journal entry myself (lying my way through it), printing out the pictures, and taping them into the book. I almost forgot to show her my work before she took it back into school to share! OOPS! Oh...and the greatest thing...she woke up 3 times the night before she had to give the bear back CRYING UNCONTROLLABLY that she was going to miss Bear so much. How much sleep do you think I got that night?? Not much.

Spring was ALMOST here....

Isabella had a friend over last week...they were actually playing outside in the sunshine. Quite different from today when it was freezing rain and snow and we got a 2 hour delay:) You'll never hear me complain about that!!

What she would look like with curly hair...

Isabella not only got a haircut today but she also got an 'up do' for a princess party she was going to...she loved the curls until she started spraying and poofing them up. Then she wasn't so sure...she asked me if she was still herself and was very worried that Elisabeth wouldn't like it. She did look adorable...nothing I would want to do every morning, though!!

More pictures

1st night in the new bed.....Elisabeth was NOT happy she had to share it with Bella!




Shopping in Annapolis


Isabella is at her happiest when she can hold Elisabeth's hand in the car.


Justin's biggest fans:)

So much to share....

Todd received some sad news last Monday. His 100 year old grandfather died while in the hospital being treated for a respiratory illness. He was a wonderful, kind, sweet man who will be missed:( Todd left for Florida on Wednesday to be with his mom, dad, sister, brother, and uncle.



Elisabeth's birthday present was a hit! She got a new double bed....she was a tad bit upset it wasn't cushy enough but we bought her a mattress topper and she is now a happy sleeper:)







As part of Elisabeth's birthday celebration, we made a trip to Maryland to visit my brother Blake and his wife Alison. We stayed in 2 different hotels and hit about 100 shopping malls. We also had awesome Mexican food :) The kids had a great time seeing and being spoiled by their uncle and aunt. My debit card had a great time in all of the stores!



Mom ended up staying for the week to help out while Todd was away. The puppy must have remembered her from the time she kept her before Christmas. If mom was in the room, she was laying on top of her and if she wasn't, Allie was off trying to find where she went. It wouldn't have been so bad if Mom didn't have 4 dogs of her own who like to lay on top of her, too.



On our trip to Altoona to shop some more, Elisabeth got a make-over:) What a pretty girl!


Christmas 2010



Elisabeth picked up her darling puppy tonight and realized she has grown a bit:) She is sitting on me, as we speak, drying off from her bath---which means I am soaking wet. She will be sleeping with her mama tonight...I have been sharing a bed with 2 dogs and a preschooler. Can you guess which one I have to wake up every hour because they are snoring too much?? A L L I E. She has been officially kicked out.

Happy Birthday, Elisabeth!

14 years ago today, at this very moment, I wanted to slit someone's throat open. I think I would have aimed the knife at Todd:) Looking back, I would do it all again! Elisabeth, you have brought up such unbelievable joy. Your love of life and your awesome sense of humor makes us smile every single day. Happy Birthday, Honey!!

Acute hearing:)

(His is not orange...it is skin colored with a grey cover for the disk that goes on his head).

Todd actually heard himself chew Dorito chips yesterday and found it quite annoying. Welcome to my world:) Everything went very well at his audiology appointment. He is now the proud wearer of a behind-the-ear processor...no more cord running down his back to his belt..no my clips to loose....he is a free man:) It appears that he is hearing more clearly but it will take some time to tell whether it has drastically improved. Right now, everything is very sensitive.

Our day was long but fun. We were gone from 8 am to 10:30 pm. We ended up at IKEA 3 times...I LOVE that store. We bought some nice things for the 'computer' room....it is the one room in the house that I don't love. Hopefully the new additions will make me happier. It will look especially nice once the new carpet is down....as of noon today, that will happen! I can't wait to get home and see how it looks. Miss "I Hate Change" (aka Bella) wanted to keep the old carpet and put it in her bedroom. Yuck.

Busy Week....

Tomorrow we head for Pittsburgh, PA to meet with Todd's audiologist. For a mere $8,000.00 ($6,000 was paid by insurance), he is now the proud owner of a brand new, state-of-the-art Bionic Ear external processor. Nothing will change with the device that is in his head but the parts that are attached on the outside will be new. Instead of a cord running down his back to the processor on his belt, he will have everything right behind his ear. We don't think it will make him hear any better but it could. The most important part is that the device he has now is almost ancient and will most likely not last much longer. The 'up' side to traveling to Pittsburgh is IKEA and being together as a family...the 'down' side to making the trip is the 3 hours there and back and the 4 hour appointment to program the damn thing.

On Wednesday, we are getting NEW CARPET (aka...without piss stains) downstairs. Guess who has cute little doggy diapers coming in the mail??? Miss Allie. She seems to think that any flooring-whether inside or out-is fair game. She will actually squat right IN FRONT OF US and pee?!?! Not any more, chick-a-poo. By Wednesday at 3 pm. we will be smelling the delightful aroma of new carpet. Yum.

My mom arrives Thursday to celebrate Elisabeth's birthday weekend...

On Friday, Elisabeth's gift arrives for her 14th birthday. Hopefully everything will be set up and ready for her when she arrives home from school.

And on Saturday and Sunday, we are heading to Maryland to see my brother and his wife.

Whew. I think I need a pill.

Booooooorrrrrriiiiiiiinnnnnngggggg.......

While growing up, we were NEVER allowed to say we were bored. Ever. If it slipped, we would usually find ourselves cleaning out the toy closet or worse yet, cleaning the toilet. And we didn't have a toilet bowl brush, either. It was a rubber glove in the bowl. Anyway, Isabella thinks it is fun to announce, "I'm bored!" throughout the day. Tonight, as she was being tucked in, she said, "I'm bored. Can I clean the toilets now?" What is WRONG with her?!

Goodbye, Hard Drive

On Thursday, I turned my computer into computer services at school because the screen was loose. On Friday morning, my hard drive crashed and I almost had a heart attack. I had no clue how seriously addicted and dependent I am on a computer. I have a loaner and they say they recovered 90% of my information..I don't know how they missed recovering 12,000 photos, though. Luckily, I had most of them backed up:) Things will never be the same....

Money isn't the only issue...

she is being adopted...apparently another family wants her, as well, and they are 'paper' ready. Ugh.

How I wish....

This sweet little baby girl is living in a foster home in China. She is completely deaf. How cool would it be if her adoptive mom were a speech therapist and her dad were deaf and they were both fluent in sign language? Oh...if money weren't an issue:(

Puppy Cuteness

I couldn't find Bella OR Allie today....until I went in the kitchen and saw the 2 of them sunbathing...





Allie-Oop had a bath tonight...someone (aka Isabella), somehow (eating chocolate covered strawberries) got chocolate all over her fur. Elisabeth was drying her off in front of the heater:)