Pernicious Confessions

Oh, the coxsackie is kicking ass around here. This is what we're dealing with...


hand:




knees:




feet:



**** warning!!!! Graphic 3 1/2 year old booty shot!!!! **** :)





Poor kiddo. I don't know what to do to help her. I can't give her any Benadryl until evening and the baking soda baths just don't cut it. I tried some Benadryl cream and she just informed me that "it made the itching at-chwooly stop!" I guess we'll keep using that then!

In other news- I haven't spilled anything else on myself all day! Things are lookin' up :)

It's a good thing that I already had a bunch of laundry to do because I just dumped a full cup of coffee all over myself. Yeah. Some days you can just tell it's going to be a goooood day...


Is it too early to start drinking?

We have been taken over by Coxsackie 5!!!!!

Erin has this little virus with a big scary sounding name. Luckily it really isn't a big deal, but it's a little strange. Slight fever and an itchy rash. But the poor kid has at least 30 very itchy spots just on the palm of one tiny hand! I am supposed to give Benadryl, but it knocks her out so fast I am going to have to wait to give it to her at bedtime, I think.

Other than rashes, all is well and quiet. Bailey did well at the meet. She didn't quite make state time. She came very very close in two events, but not this year. She was a little disappointed at first, but now she just sees it as a new goal to reach for in the upcoming long course season.

Alright. I'm off to do the dishes. Fun...

I am supposed to be doing things this morning. Lots of things. Packing. Baking. More baking. We are leaving for Helena this afternoon for what may be Bailey's final swim meet of the season. We are all crossing our fingers for her at this one. It's her last chance to make her qualifying time for the Montana State Junior Olympics. The last meet didn't go well since she decided to spike a fever right in the middle of it. Poor kid. She swam all her events, but she added time in everything. This time around she is healthy and she is excited.

Naturally, since I have so much to do I am doing nothing but wasting time on the computer and drinking coffee. Oh, and if you also happen to be actively avoiding things and feel like checking it out, here is a little project Josh and I have been slowly working on.

http://profile.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=user.viewprofile&friendid=138507544

I admit it. I love Valentine's Day. The chance to be openly sentimental and sappy is just too much to resist :)

This is how our day went yesterday:

We began the day with pink heart-shaped pancakes and strawberry syrup




We paused later in the day to play a silly little game (you have to attempt to feed each other candy hearts using chopsticks)






Then we set the table and began cooking for our fancy dinner. We made some super yummy pasta, salmon cakes with garlic aioli, and a big salad. Then we made "love potions" for the girls and Josh and I had champagne with our chocolate cheesecake for dessert. The girls wanted to do it all as a surprise for their dad, and he was quite surprised!






The girls and I spent about a week scouring stores for just the right things for the table and they managed to keep it all so secret. Quite impressive, really, since usually they get too excited. But, it was all very sappy and pink and fun. I can't wait for next year :)

While not a problem we have to worry about in this house, still a good warning for anyone else who may have gotten their little ones an easy-bake oven.



http://www.cnn.com/2007/HEALTH/02/06/toy.oven.recall.ap/index.html?eref=rss_topstories

You Belong in 1964

If you scored... 1950 - 1959: You're fun loving, romantic, and more than a little innocent. See you at the drive in! 1960 - 1969: You are a free spirit with a huge heart. Love, peace, and happiness rule - oh, and drugs too. 1970 - 1979: Bold and brash, you take life by the horns. Whether you're partying or protesting, you give it your all! 1980 - 1989: Wild, over the top, and just a little bit cheesy. You're colorful at night - and successful during the day. 1990 - 1999: With you anything goes! You're grunge one day, ghetto fabulous the next. It's all good!

We have been waiting and waiting for more snow. (some of us more patiently than others!) Yesterday we had some snow, and today even more! Definitely sled worthy. So, why are we not outside freezing our noses and toeses? Well, because Erin, still in her jammies, has a temperature fluctuating between 101 and 103 degrees, and a really nasty sounding cough. She didn't have either of those things when she went to bed, not even any cold symptoms. So, instead we are drinking tea and watching the snow out the window. It's beautiful, but I wish we were out playing in it instead of just watching it. Maybe tomorrow.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/6311939.stm

Bailey has started learning to play the guitar. She knows three whole chords now and practiced them until her fingers were red and swollen and throbbing.



I think I may have get her her own guitar.

And for folding the laundry and packing for this weekend's swim meet...

Perfect for doing the dishes, taking out the garbage and running mail down to the mailbox-

Yes, that's right. Baking. I do A LOT of baking. The first baking task for today- Chocolate Chip Cookies with 3 kinds of chocolate (gluten free, of course!). My music of choice for this task today:




I find that I really really like about half of the songs on this album a lot when I am just listening to it, but for a task like baking when you are preoccupied half the time anyway, it works well as a whole. Added benefit, the girls love to dance to this one which turns the whole fun experience of baking cookies with your kids into quite the giggle fest!

On a different subject- I think I must have the "Gluten Free Baking Queen" t-shirt...

Miss Bailey, who is, of course, homeschooled, had to have this shirt because she thought it was a great joke. Don't you just love her "cool" face?

I just finished cleaning the bathroom. Scrubbing, scouring, destroying every last disgusting bit of yuck in there. Blech. But this on the iPod made it so much better:




Back in the day, I was a big Nevermind fan, but I have to say I think In Utero is just plain better. Either way, either album, I highly recommend Nirvana for bathroom cleaning. It's loud, and provided you are alone or have small children who don't mind, you can sing along. (remember, it is iPod singing after all, so it's bound to be off key!)



In other news, this could prove to be a very very interesting year.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/6268077.stm

Every girl dreams of her very own Duckie Dale or Lloyd Dobbler...

This Christmas was wonderful. The best Christmas ever, maybe. Technology galore!






And I turned 31, too. I like the 30’s. I think they’re rather fun. Why does everyone dread turning 30?




So, it’s New Year’s Eve. Josh, of course, is at work, and I am sitting here alone in a quiet house. Again. I calculate that this year I have spent approximately 210 nights alone. I think I am going to resolve to spend a lot less time alone in 2007. I’m already working on that.

I also resolve to play a lot more music. I’m already working on that one, too, which makes me happy happy.

What else? Let’s see… I would very much like to say that I will absolutely stop letting people take advantage of me or get away with treating me badly, but let’s face it, that’s probably not likely to happen. I allowed it to happen this year didn’t I? Maybe that’s the one I should focus on…

I’m not going to spend my time reviewing the year. It’s pointless. A lot of stuff happened. Some very good things happened. A lot of bad things happened. I have been spending far too much of my time dwelling on the bad stuff, wondering what I could have done to avoid it. It doesn’t matter. What’s done is done, for better or worse. I need to move on. Instead, let’s take a look ahead for 2007-

Josh will start his student teaching in January. This also means that he will be quitting his job. It will be wonderful to have him at home at night again :)

We’ve got a few more swim meets coming up as well which means more chances for Bailey to nail that 100 IM!

There will also be the big job hunt. That means that preparing to move, probably even out of state, is in our very near future. It is more than a little stressful that we know that we will be moving, but have NO idea where we will be moving to. It will be ok, right? Float, just float…

Bailey will turn 7 this April and Erin will turn 4 in May. Too big. Just too big. But sooooo much fun!!!! :)

In March, Josh and I will celebrate our 13th anniversary. Pretty cool. Of course, mid January is the 17th anniversary of when Josh and I started dating. And yes, if you do the math, that means I was a mere 14 years old. Do I really think Bailey will be ready to make a decision about who she is going to spend the rest of her life with in just 7 more years??? Scary, huh?

Who knows what else 2007 has in store for us. It’s going to be a big year full of big change, I think.

My children are being spoiled! :)

Some friends just dropped by with gifts for the girls. We had some tea and talked about taking all the kids to see Charlotte's Web later in the week after Christmas. After they left I went down to the mailbox and found a big box full of more gifts for the girls from their great-aunt and uncle.

We also just finished making their dad's present and they cannot wait until he opens it! And you will never never guess what it is, Josh! tee hee :)

Now it is snowing again. Beautiful :)

Me: Erin, what is going on? What happened?

Erin: Well, the truth is... the truth is... (sigh)

Me: Yes...

Erin: The truth is... the thruth is... Well, it's just a bad situation and I don't think I should tell you about it right now. Can we continue this conversation later, maybe?



*sigh* She's only 3 1/2! I'm in trouble with that one.