Day uhhh 34?

Well, not much is changing with Madi. She made a lot of strides when she first got to school. I'm not surprised that she's plateaued a bit.

Lily, however, is becoming even more social. I didn't even know that was possible. It makes my heart glow when we leave her school and I hear kids yelling her name. I'm not saying she's the most popular kid. She just likely is. Kidding! :) I think she has a lot of fun at school. I don't necessarily understand all that she's talking about when she tells me about her day. I'm sure it makes sense to her. I thought Lulu was a toy until I heard someone yell "LULU" and a 3 year old girl toddled on by.

Well, another day of ice skating tomorrow. wooooo!

I hope..

that some of y'all have read this story.

Yes, it's getting sadder and harder to read but I think it's important to try and enjoy a moment out of each day. You may not be a four year old dying of cancer but let's just remember how precious and amazing life is.

Okay, now I'm off to belly dancing. Carpe diem, people!

Day 32

Well, Madi had a good day, I think. She tried to nap during her lunch (at school). They said she annihilated all of her food. Usually her lunchbox is half full at the end of the day but today there was a sad collection of goldfish crackers and that was it!

She was a monster last night too. I guess we have a growth spurt coming up. :)

Lily had a good day. On the way into school she was behind once of her classmates, Carson. She yells out "Carson, do you remember that I like you?!". His mom bust out laughing. phew Leo is no longer at the school and I often wonder if Lily's affections were responsible for that... lol Anyway, she said that Carson said he likes her too. And her friend Josie.

Uh oh.

WTH

Seriously? I wrote banana bread below but I meant carrot cake. Major mommy brain today. I left my purse at home, so I had to drive the speed limit this morning. hahahahaa

I totally forgot my flu shot appointment and the girls' on Friday. *rolling eyes* And I've been getting more sleep, that's the scary part. Maybe I still don't get enough..

S.I.G.H.

Day 31?

I kind of lost track. There wasn't a lot going on yesterday.

Today, they said Madi had a good day. The therapists worked her pretty hard. She checked out pretty fast on the way home.

Lily had a good day. They did "arting" and she did the SPIDERWEB. Okay, already. Geez.

Trying to get into fall but it's still kind of hot and humid. blech At least I made some amazing banana bread. ;) I"m not sure what that had to do with anything but it made me happy.

And tonight, for dinner, we will be having homemade potato soup (I love this recipe) and homemade bread. I hope. The dough is rising and I have all the ingredients but I've learned with two kids, that you never know WHAT's going to happen.

Oh yeah, Madi has 3 little dots on her face and the teacher told me to check around her waistband tonight and make sure it's not chicken pox. No, really.

Yes

... this is now on my iPod.

The Skate Princess

Lily did so much better today. WOW Poor Pedro went to an airshow and was rained out. So he missed it. She was almost skating. She can turn now and even jump. A little. :) It was so nice to see because she really didn't want to go back. I told her she needed to finish her lessons and then she wouldn't have to go back.







Oh and my handgun request was approved! wheee! It took about 5 hours. I guess it had to go through Canadian law enforcement agencies. I wasn't totally hung up on getting one but I'm glad that I can. Was that English? I'm dead tired and Lily is pestering me with questions. Oh and we got her a riding helmet. It was just $30 so she can go to the lessons down the road. wheee! I feel like instead of slowing down, life just kicked from first gear to second.

Mercy.

Day 29

Well, hmmm Today was better than yesterday. Although, that didn't take much! Lily and I made it to the gym and I'm slowly making my way back up to running 2.5 miles. I'd really love to just be able to run 3 miles without trying. lol There's this woman at the gym who works out on the elliptical machine for 30 minutes or so and then runs for an hour. I'm like, wow. I don't think I'll ever be able to do that. I'll bet she can't belly dance. Just kidding. :)

So Madi was a PITA again today. (Pain In The Ass) There were only three kids at school instead of the usual five and those three managed to wear the teacher and the TA out. Madi's been a pistol at home too. Throwing everything. Ah well. Sorry, my belly is full of penne and meatballs. It's hard to get worked up about anything!

I made chocolate chip walnut banana bread. yummm Lily wanted to cut her own piece and I really should've watched her because she took a quarter of the whole thing. *eyes* So there's one teeny chunk of it left. lol Oh well. It's nice to watch your kids enjoy something. Even Madi got in on the action. The sofa is still recovering from the Great Banana Bread Fight of 2011.

I swear.

Day 28

What a horrible day. I don't even want to write about it because then I'll need to remember it again. Okay, so no one I know died (that I know of). Lily got hurt at school but not badly (I was going to write "no one got hurt" but then I remembered).

whew So there was a "popping" package at the Palmyra post office. Palmyra, the small town that sits on route 15 that I drive through four times a day to take Lily to and from her school. At first, one road was closed but so congested no one was moving, so I had to drive all the way home, past my house and then take the other way to school. argh This was stressful.

Pedro stayed home today, which at first annoyed me because I wanted a quiet morning at home but it paid off later.

So I finally get Lily to school and I go to the framer's to get my repaired picture. They open at 9 but no one is there. So I wait for about 15 minutes and I call just to see if maybe someone is in the back working or something... So I finally go home and my restful morning is blown to bits.

Pedro gets it in his head that he wants to go with me to pick up the girls just in case something happens to me, so he knows where they have to go. If that made sense. SO we go back down 53 to 15. The freaking road is closed! So fine, I turn around and do the whole thing, back home, other way to Lily's school. We get to Route 15 (to head south instead of north) and there's ANOTHER FREAKING ROADBLOCK! This is where Pedro came in handy because he popped right out of the car and stormed down the hill (we were waiting for other cars to turn) to the road crew. Imagine an enraged 6'6 former marine coming at you. The dude's face clearly said "oh crap". hahahahaha

So we were allowed to turn *cough* and we finally made it to Lily's school. Not to mention that the detours forced drivers onto roads they were unfamiliar with so it was SLOW going. My heart is like warped from today. I think we got there around 12:20 or so. She was not the last kid. I know a lot of parents were probably freaking today. Then we headed over to get Madilyn BUT we had to all the way back home and then the other way. The few miles we need to get through were blocked off. I mean, it was a nightmare. I drove over 100 miles today. No kidding. It was awful.

So yes, we all survived (my heart is still thinking about it) and thankfully Lily doesn't go to school on Fridays so it should be, SHOULD BE, an easy trip to take Madi to school.

Mercy.

Day 27

Well, I"m feeling a bit fatigued so this will be short. I hope.

Madi woke Pedro up at two am, who in turn woke me up at 2:30. ack Pedro went to bed at 8pm so all of this didn't really bother him when he had to get up this morning. I didn't go to bed til midnight. Darn you cooking channel!

So I slept in and left the house late. I was probably less than 10 seconds in Madi's classroom. They said she sat on the floor (where I dumped her and her bag) for about 10 minutes trying to figure out what just happened to her. ha! But she had a good day.

I finally got back to running 2 miles. 2.1 to be precise. *cough* I'm proud of my fat old self for running. It's hard work! But one of my shoes is starting to break down. Not surprising.

Lily has a show and tell tomorrow. wheee! She just happened to mention this so I'll need to check her bag for a note or something. Good grief.

Oh and I scored some half price horseback riding lessons. wheee! I get emails from livingsocial? Or something and most of the time, the deals don't interest me but today's did! The farm is just down the road from us so yay! I got one of Lily and one for me. LOL What?

Day 26

First of all, I cannot believe that Madi has been in school over a month. It's nice because she is on a routine now. She naps around 1 to 3 or 4, everyday, regardless of weekday or weekend. She's got more confidence, more attitude (argh). She's more fun to be around although she throws a lot of stuff so you have to be on guard.

Lily's skating lesson.... went better than the last time but she still cried. She gets frustrated BUT she doesn't listen to her teacher. She does until she gets on the ice. Then she falls and gets frustrated. But the last 5 or so minutes of class she got up and stayed up. She was kind of listening and moving her skates. She was one of the slowest kids but she was still doing it. Hey, not bad for only 2 lessons. :) Lesson #3 is this Saturday while Pedro is at an airshow. I've been pretty tickled that he's made an effort to come and watch her. Monday he went into work early so that he could leave early enough for us to pick him up.

Pretty cool, right?

Well, I think I'm going to go and lay down with Madi for a bit. I had some insomnia again last night. I swear. I'm my own worst enemy. Madi's been sleeping pretty well. She wakes up thirsty or hot/cold like the rest of us. The best part is that she rolls over and goes back to sleep. :)

Day 25

Well, now. Madi has been a pistol lately. I gave her a peanut butter cracker yesterday. She didn't want it so she threw it on the sofa. Which wasn't far enough, apparently, because she picked it up and hucked it far as she could across the living room.

She was fine when we got to school although, she got mad at me for making her walk. When I was leaving she walked up to me and the TA and started blubbing. I say blubbing because that's what it sounded like. She laughed a bit, squeezed her eyes shut and tried AGAIN to cry. I swear. I thought Miss Lily was melodramatic. She cried when I left and I could hear her down the hall. Good grief. But I just kept on going. ha! The teacher said she went and picked Madi up and there were no tears and Madi turned and laughed at her. Freaking Geminis.

The TA took Miss Madi for a walk today and Madi flopped to the ground and wanted to be picked up. When no one would, she put her hands behind her head and crossed her feet like fine. She is a trip. whew I'm glad that I have her in school and that she's learning new things but dang, that girl is just testing us to see what she can get away with. Which is good but whew. :)

And we're heading into to town in a bit for more skating lessons. This is to make up the one we missed. And I've been coaching Lily on some things. Hopefully, it will help. If not, once the lessons are over, she never has to skate again. :)

X(

Hooo boy, skating didn't go so well. I think Lily will attend all of her lessons and I hope she gets better. She kind of just went off and didn't listen to anyone. Granted the lessons were about 90 seconds long. I talked to the head teacher, I think, and she said she likes to just get them out there so no buckets or training tools!

Lily was getting really frustrated. Afterwards, I talked to her about what could help: bending her knees slightly, practicing grabbing her knees when she feels like falling, falling to the side, etc. We also bought her her own helmet today. She outgrew the last one. :) The one she had on at the rink kept on falling off or falling in her eyes and I'm sure that was annoying. Well, it was our first outing and now we know what to expect.

We had a VERY long day out. We left at 9am and didn't get home til 3! That's long for us! But we did some shopping and had lunch and went and looked at guns. I think Pedro and I have found something to share... firearms! And hopefully, I have a place to shoot at. Not all the time but when they feel like it. Yes, I have a coveted Friend With Property. The man at the gun store said that's the best place to shoot. :)

And yes, before I hear any lectures, I know gun safety is super important. The handgun I'm interested in, FN P9, has a magazine lock and I would buy a gun safe. I haven't bought the gun yet so no one get too excited. :) The FN P9 has a couple more safety features than a Glock. There's a doohickey to release the slide and another to release the hammer. So you can't just shove a magazine in and go to town. But the Glock holds 17 rounds.... Sigh.

Day 24

Poor Madi. She just wasn't acting right when I dropped her off at school. I also forgot her bag at home. I called Pedro, who was willing to bring it to me but we were kind of seeing how Madi was going to do. She kept on crying and clinging to me and just not acting like herself so I made the executive decision to bring her home. Sigh.

She had a good day at home though. Lots of running around and kicking soccer balls. :) I swear she said "papa". which she probably did though it may not have meant anything. I've got some GI tract thing so I had a low key day. Seriously. I haven't even washed my hair yet.

Tomorrow is Lily's first skate lesson so wheeeee! Stay tuned.

Day 23

Oh my goodness. This is the day that will not end. Or something. Madi had a good day blah blah blah. Just kidding. I have had a real up and down week so I have to complain about that.

I don't even know where to start there's been so much. I'll skip the Nutella mouth and let y'all know that when it comes to peanut allergies, apparently raw almonds are also bad. See, Lily's school doesn't allow unhealthy snacks. Kind of ties my hands for things. She won't eat mushy fruit and I can't send cookies or chips or anything. Which I wouldn't want to do but... She pretty much gets applesauce and goldfish crackers. EVERYDAY. I finally remembered to buy some yogurts so she can have one of those next week. So anyway, feeling bad for her I think of what I have in my cupboards and hurray, I have some raw almonds. They have a very firm no peanut rule so I think almonds are okay. I guess there was a big to-do and Lily cried and the boy in her class was fine but holy crap.

If you can't bring any nuts then how about NO NUTS WHATSOEVER gets printed in the forms? I don't have a nut allergy, my kids don't have nut allergies. If you tell me no peanuts, hey, that's cool. But if you really mean NO NUTS, then say it!

*cough*

So then there was the skating rink thing which we finally sorted out. I'm glad I run because all of this stress is probably hurting my heart.

So, there was another plea for information from the sheriff's office regarding this man that disappeared earlier this year. I saw the guy driving his car the same day he disappeared but later than what the sheriff's office knew about. It kind of bugged me but I thought how could knowing he was in Cville 90 minutes later be a big deal? But I felt bad, which also made me not want to call (don't want to get in trouble, gah), but I bit the bullet and called and told them what I knew. The Lieutenant was glad for the call and said every bit of info helped. I'm sure he was hoping for more info than I had but at least they know where he was a little later in the day.

JEESH

What else? So I almost killed a kid, or so you'd think from the reaction, I know, I know, it's serious. *eyebrow* I had to cancel on a friend's birthday plans which also sucked gas, but I can't be everywhere at once. Sigh. I swear I'm forgetting something else...

Oh well, it's been a very turbulent week. And I have one more COTTON PICKING day to get through. Well, Lily doesn't have school tomorrow so I can't kill anyone that way. It's just Madi, who WILL get a yogurt. LIly and I will hit the gym, get a few things and then get Madi again. I think it's time for carrot cake and or pecan pie. Oh yeah!

Hope everyone else had a good week.

Peace!

Day 22 Imitation!

The teacher was really happy that Madi started copying some of the kids in class! It's only taken a month... :) She started clapping when the other boys were clapping and laughed when the teacher laughed. That's a big deal. :) Yay for Madi!

Lily had a better day at school. She was super impressed that another girl got a bee sting and didn't cry. lol

Argh

So Lily was a complete bear this morning and didn't want to go to school. I finally snapped because I needed to get Madi out the door so I threw her alternate runners on the floor and headed out. Lily came running after me sniffling but I'm tired of these power struggles.

I think she got in trouble yesterday and I guess she's embarrassed? She got in trouble for yelling at Carson and for throwing her cracker crumbs on the floor. Yeah, Lily. There are repercussions to your behavior. We teach her that at home... I let her teachers know that she was in a bit of a mood today and didn't want to come to school. I feel that Lily needs to learn this stuff. Hitting is bad, yelling is bad. And I'm certainly not upset with the teachers.

She is a strong-willed kid. I'm not sure how to get through to her. We had an absolutely awful day a month or so ago where we had a sit down talk and worked a few things out. We might need to have another one. :/

Day 21

I guess nothing really new to report today. Madi had an okay day. I had time to wax my legs. All is well in the world. :)

Oh well, Lily was finally back to school and she was telling me all about it on the way home. Apparently, Carson pushed her so she screamed at him and got in trouble. SIGH But she ate all the food in her lunchbox so I know they tired them out. :)

Day 20

Well, nothing new or dramatic to report. Madi had a good day, they said. She ate all of her apple sauce by herself. wheee!

Tomorrow, she'll meet with all of the therapists so she's sure to be good and tired.

I guess we're slowly getting better. It just takes time, and then we'll get sick again.... Sigh.

Madi

This is how Madi spent her time while Lily was riding the pony.

So...

We all know what today is known for an since every tv station has a 9/11 special on, I'm not going to go on about it here. No disrespect intended but I have pony pictures to put up.

I'm glad that Pedro dragged my infected carcass up the mountain yesterday. We had to move a bit because we didn't leave until afternoon and it takes a couple of hours to get there. That's why I kept on saying "just pass him!" all the way. Once you hit Skyline Drive and get stuck behind a motorhome, you might not get a chance to pass. But we made it.


omgosh it was a beautiful day and there were tons of people up there. Which sucks if you're sight seeing but good revenue for the park (you have to pay $15 to get in). We didn't care so much about the trails but we still enjoyed the lookout views. :) Last time we went, it was super cloudy.

So we get to the stables and Lily runs in and yells "Where's my horse????!" Fortunately the ladies working there have a pretty good sense of humor. :) They had two cute little ponies tied up and they guessed it was me that called them earlier. Since we got there in good time and no one else was waiting they told me I could walk Lily as long as I wanted. I did 3 loops instead of 2. The bugs were pretty heinous. :)

I'm glad that I brought my cowboy boots. I'm sure I looked pretty in my dark green skirt and tan boots. lol OH well, you do what you have to do. :) Pedro was exhausted so he walked one loop with us and then took Madi to the car.

Lily seemed to have a great time. She was nervous at first but then she started holding her arms out to the side. :) She's a wild woman.

argh

So I'm the virus's latest victim. Holy crap is this thing brutal! Now I know why Lily was running around in sweater dresses and jeans when it was 85F out. I was so feverish last night that my jaw started chattering. Pedro turned the house up to76 (23C) and I was wearing sweat pants, a heavy sweatshirt and winter booties. And I felt just fine. Geez.

It took 2 vicodin to get me to sleep, omgosh the aching in my joints and even my skin! I mean, really, this thing is awful. My head is clear though so I'm grateful for that. Nothing worse than not being able to breathe. :P

And my heart has been pounding so hard and fast. Ugh. Pedro has been eating popcorn non-stop so I asked him when he started liking it so much. "When the chef got sick."

Gee, thanks.

Oh and if you have some time, this blog is as depressing as hell but I think it's an important read. It's not done yet: she's putting up a post each day in October for each month her daughter went through cancer treatment. Oh yeah, but I think it's a really great view into what really transpires. Have tissues handy.

http://www.chicagonow.com/mary-tyler-mom/donnas-cancer-story-2/

Day 19

Yeah the holiday messed us up.

Well, it looks like we're all sick now. Yippee! It's funny once I get as sick as Lily was I can relate to her comments about "sore bones" or "hot feet". Ugh, I feel awful. And she fights me on taking painkillers and yet she runs around like the Roadrunner twenty minutes after she takes some.

Argh

Madi cried for about an hour at school. She's usually Miss Sunshine but today they said she cried and then she turned into Search and Destroy. The teacher said if she said "Oh, Madi" once she said 99 more times. :)

So it's going to be a long weekend. wheeee! I mean, you know, it will be of regular length but it will feel long. argh

I guess that's it. I need to get my coupons ready for grocery shopping and make some more tea with honey! Hope y'all stay healthy and enjoy your weekend!

Day 18 hahahahahha

So Madi has this thing where she doesn't like to poop around people. She'll go down the hall or into the foyer for some privacy. Or the bathtub. We know she loves doing it there!

She hadn't pooped at school until.... The back story is that I made home-made cauliflower soup and it was pretty good. Everyone ate it. It was very healthy with a whole head of cauliflower, a few potatoes, carrots, onion and garlic. Plus some milk to make it creamy. So Madi had a whole bowl last night and then ate more today....

The poor PT was putting her into some yoga poses. *snort* She pushed Madi's legs all the way up and guess what came out??? lol I honestly didn't notice that Madi wasn't in the clothes we sent her to school in until we were at the doctor's office. (Lily had a viral strep again) So it must've been SOME POOP! Beware of yoga. :)

Also, I haven't checked her bag yet. I'm not feeling great - I've only had one greek yogurt to eat all day. Maybe I'll tackle it after my lunch!

Day 17? I'm behind

So there's an auspicious cloud over our house today. Lily didn't go to school. She looked awful this morning. Then I gave her tylenol and now she's running around the house. Alright, her daddy made her lay on the sofa under a blanket and she's eating Eggo waffles. But I'm tired and sick so it looks like running around to me!












Oh man I'm sore from belly dancing. Stacy said she's not sore but I don't know if she was shaking things the way that I was. :) But I have two dimples now on either side of my belly button. So I keep on practicing. :)

I guess Madilyn is just keeping pace. She's vocalizing and making different sounds. Following one of the other kids around. School is going to do more for her than I can. And I asked her teacher about next year. She'll be evaluated and they'll see if she still needs the therapists. Cool with me!



Lily has been... I don't know. I'm taking her to the doctor today and I want to get to the bottom of this tummy ache business. The doctor did say it could be a mild case of irritable bowel but... It doesn't hurt unless we ask her to clean up her room. She went on and on about a sore stomach when we were with her g-ma and she told me the next day that was just kidding about the whole thing. So now I'm like, okay, that's it. I don't want her to suffer if she does hurt (she might have food allergies?) but I'm not going to let her pass on her chores every time either.

argh

Anyway, I hope y'all enjoy the pictures. I'm feeling pretty off myself today, I'd love to just lay down and sleep for the next 2 days. SIGH.

Day 16

I think. It seems like it's taken FOREVER for Lily to go to school. She starts tomorrow. whew

Well, nothing really new to report with Madi. They let her eat her yogurt by herself so I guess I should start doing that too. :) She's still kind of punky feeling. It could be molars. :/

Well, Pedro is home and I have to go and give him the bad news that I ate most of dinner. It was chicken and veggies with rice.

Day ... shoot

I guess it would've been 15? Madi is sick. She didn't sleep well last night and has a fever this morning. So she wasn't doing too well in school yesterday.

I figure this is the training ground, right? They all get each other sick and build up immunity to things. Right? Someone tell me I'm right, otherwise I'm hiding Madi under a rock!

I guess I need to think about flu shots soon too!

Lily is pretty mad that we're not going to Yorktown this weekend. But we're exhausted and Madi is sick so... I'm tempted to let G-ma take her for a couple of days but daddy is being well, himself.

Hope everyone has a happy healthy weekend.

Day something...

My computer was down. Apparently, they don't like water.

gosh, I'm still amazed at Madi's progress. They worked her hard on Tuesday and she woke up babbling away trying to tell me all about it. lol She is getting so coordinated and I noticed her ankles are becoming much straighter when she's not wearing her braces. It used to make me wince to watch her walk around.

She's trying to participate in circle time and she's started scooping her own apple sauce! wheee!

I'm still so glad that we did this. :)

I am counting the hours until Lily goes back to school. She is a PITA.