tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-55899042012-01-24T09:19:40.673-06:00Debhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01818133200694431144noreply@blogger.comBlogger5721100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5589904.post-67559363209294877222010-12-24T17:54:00.000-06:002010-12-24T17:54:31.726-06:00

Debhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01818133200694431144noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5589904.post-27519849954702324002010-11-20T16:44:00.007-06:002010-11-20T17:21:56.752-06:00

Julia has been asking if we could record her singing some time. We finally did and she insisted that we post it."Will this get like, a million hits?" she asked.

Debhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01818133200694431144noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5589904.post-692912651753263492010-09-10T21:21:00.002-05:002010-09-10T21:35:43.364-05:00

Greg here. The one thing I regret about giving up blogging is adding to the archive of events in our daughters’ lives. Deb and I keep these memories safe and we do a good job of reminding one another about events in the past – but old blog posts were good for some of the details that fall away. For example, reading about the exact height, color and smell of Allie’s projectile vomiting (

Debhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01818133200694431144noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5589904.post-77764326069337037412010-08-09T19:54:00.003-05:002010-08-09T20:07:51.140-05:00

Hi. Greg here. Deb said I could re-post one or two things here because my blog is hard to get to these days.Thanks, Deb.Here you go, Uncle Butch: I was sitting in my Grandma's living room Saturday holding a tattered, eighty-six year old photograph. The photo was held together with a piece of tape and shoved into a simple, clear plastic frame. It showed a man and a woman with a baby between

Debhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01818133200694431144noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5589904.post-15312238561315033062010-06-13T19:47:00.004-05:002010-06-13T19:55:01.254-05:00

I am. In a class by myself. The summer class I'm taking toward my MBA pertains to the legal and regulatory environment of business, and I guess almost every other student of this college decided that was just too heavy of a topic for summer. Because only one other student registered for this class, and he isn't local, so he's not attending the classroom sessions; he's only participating

Debhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01818133200694431144noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5589904.post-34024372080182421362010-06-01T21:57:00.002-05:002010-06-01T22:00:40.464-05:00

Greg raised the blind in our bathroom this weekend. It's almost never open because the bathroom window is quite large. Awhile later, I went in to take a shower. I took a look; the trees have grown up so much that as long as I didn't get close to the window, and as long as I stayed away from one angle, no one was going to see me if I didn't close it while I showered. The only possible angle where

Debhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01818133200694431144noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5589904.post-87812211999396539812010-05-31T21:23:00.002-05:002010-05-31T21:35:02.474-05:00

On Saturday night, Greg slept outside in a tent in our backyard. We've lived in our house for 11 years now and the blue spruce trees we planted along our back property line (to block the view out our living room windows of our neighbor's parked boat and camper) are big now. Really big. They were seven feet tall when we planted them and I bet they're well over 20 feet now. When you put a tent in

Debhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01818133200694431144noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5589904.post-92118153843521148682010-05-20T22:08:00.003-05:002010-05-20T22:16:55.915-05:00

I feel like I need to post something so you all know I'm not dead. Well, I'm not and we're not, we're just busy. You know how that goes, your life takes a detour (in a good way) and you just don't have the time you used to have. Greg is giving a giant HAH! at that last statement and he's not even the slightest bit amused.Regardless, we're all fine. Julia is sleepwalking a bit. That's an

Debhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01818133200694431144noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5589904.post-55872816224798331382010-03-17T16:43:00.003-05:002010-03-17T16:51:20.526-05:00

As Greg mentioned in his post, Allie started learning about puberty in health class today. When she came home from school, Julia went outside to play and Allie and I talked through all of her questions for about 45 minutes. These discussions have been going on for awhile now, but now of course, she wanted more details on certain things.Actually, I didn't answer ALL of her questions. She said, Mom

Debhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01818133200694431144noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5589904.post-89784849907301892862010-03-14T10:19:00.004-05:002010-03-14T19:03:41.605-05:00

We did. We bought the girls a hamster.It wasn't much of an expenditure. We already had everything except fresh bedding and hamster food. And the hamster. The girls named her Ruby (my suggestion) after an intense 20 minutes or so of name-considering.We can't remember when our last hamster, Fuzzy Sara, died but Allie doesn't remember her at all, so it must have been before she turned 5. One morning

Debhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01818133200694431144noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5589904.post-53055491398976128262010-03-08T10:52:00.003-06:002010-03-08T10:55:33.967-06:00

Julia had something on Friday night that made her vomit repeatedly. She started eating again late on Saturday, a little.Last night, Greg made a wonderful new dinner that mostly just he and I ate. The girls ate peanut butter.Julia went to bed as normal and slept through the night. Allie started vomiting at 9:30 and vomited throughout the entire night, sometimes in sessions only 10 minutes apart.

Debhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01818133200694431144noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5589904.post-21417934663943462010-02-13T19:26:00.003-06:002010-02-13T19:34:56.133-06:00

I have my first midterm exam on Monday. It's on microeconomics. I'm really, really disliking this class. My dislike doesn't have that much to do with the instructor, who is fine in person as a lecturer but who has a rather extreme tendency to flip flop on course requirements (you have to do two case studies/no wait, just one; you can write a paper instead/oh, no, you can't/oh, yes, you can; the

Debhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01818133200694431144noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5589904.post-34155882080195448622010-02-07T22:01:00.002-06:002010-02-07T22:20:40.122-06:00

I took our cats to the vet this week. They hadn't been in almost three years, since they were just kittens. Rabies the cat and Simon the cat both needed their rabies shots. They're both fine and healthy and not overweight (well, Rabies isn't and Simon just barely isn't).We used to have two other cats who knew what it meant when we got out the cat carriers to go to the vet and who put up dramatic

Debhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01818133200694431144noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5589904.post-49442227443954441632010-02-03T22:15:00.003-06:002010-02-03T22:18:37.159-06:00

We had Allie's 10th birthday party on her birthday, Saturday, this year. We were very happy that Greg's parents, my parents, and my sisters (and Jeff too) were able to come and visit. We didn't play any dice, just some Wii, but I hope they all had a good time. That evening, since all the parents were staying in hotels, we took the kids to one to go swimming at the indoor pool.Julia was very

Debhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01818133200694431144noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5589904.post-146241963012769632010-01-21T21:07:00.002-06:002010-01-21T21:15:11.283-06:00

I'm coming to the end of my second week of grad school classes and things are going fine. OK. Not bad.Actually, it's been a little overwhelming. I don't know exactly what my expectations were, considering that it's been over 20 years since I attended college, that was undergrad anyway, and now two of my classes are online only.But I thought about what it was like when I was an on-campus undergrad

Debhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01818133200694431144noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5589904.post-73416557971211413202010-01-14T21:24:00.001-06:002010-01-14T21:25:30.747-06:00

Unlike the movie itself, I'm going to hereby offer my short opinion on "Avatar," which my family saw today (I'm in a hurry since I have to do my homework yet tonight):Very, very cool. Go see it.

Debhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01818133200694431144noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5589904.post-6161939387316882172010-01-12T15:45:00.002-06:002010-01-12T15:48:33.127-06:00

What's nice about your cat wanting to snuggle into your bed, under the covers:It's warm; it feels nice against your legs; it demonstrates his trust; if it wakes you at all, it's just momentaryWhat's not nice about your cat wanting to snuggle into your bed, under the covers:When he decides that there's something under there that needs to be attacked, so he repeatedly pounces with all the strength

Debhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01818133200694431144noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5589904.post-75085280454077818952010-01-09T22:49:00.002-06:002010-01-09T22:58:45.494-06:00

Going to the grocery store during a mid-level winter storm is an interesting experience. This week, we were projected to get about six inches of snow one day. We only had about two inches on the ground when school started, so the girls got on the bus as normal and off they went. And Greg went off to tackle his usually-40-minute commute on slippery, snow-covered roads.And later I headed off to the

Debhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01818133200694431144noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5589904.post-54182490111813988242010-01-08T10:58:00.002-06:002010-01-08T11:11:03.103-06:00

OK, after driving for 28 years, I've finally completed my rite of passage to be on the road in Wisconsin.I hit a deer. Or to be more accurate, a deer ran into me.I was on my way home from new student orientation the other night. The highway I was traveling is one we drive on all the time, and it's pretty normal to see a dead deer on the side of the road at least every month or so. So I know

Debhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01818133200694431144noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5589904.post-76483358294437058542010-01-07T09:06:00.002-06:002010-01-07T09:11:43.641-06:00

Well, I'm a grad school student. That sounds weird.Things have changed more than a little since I was last in school, 22 years ago (I wonder why). The latest big thing is that the cost of textbooks has just gone through the roof. I had to buy three textbooks for my three classes. The cheapest one is $130. The second cheapest one is $134. And the most expensive one is $180. Of course, that's

Debhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01818133200694431144noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5589904.post-70802921614084881192009-12-28T08:39:00.002-06:002009-12-28T08:47:08.378-06:00

We were very lazy this weekend, after we returned from our Christmas travels to our snug home. It snowed. We watched out the window and didn't go anywhere. It snowed some more. We watched out the window and didn't even go out to the mailbox to get the morning newspaper. So there was snow on the sidewalk and in the driveway, maybe 3 inches.I must explain, in our city, and most cities in Wisconsin,

Debhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01818133200694431144noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5589904.post-22088951440393978072009-12-22T11:08:00.002-06:002009-12-22T11:12:16.709-06:00

I don't usually tell stories about my husband because it gets me in trouble, but I'm risking it this time.Last night, getting kind of late, girls sleeping upstairs, me reading in an easy chair, Greg stretched out on the couch watching TV Food Network.Greg falls asleep holding the Tivo remote, and IN HIS SLEEP, starts rewinding the program he's not watching. Yes, ladies and gentlemen, he's so used

Debhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01818133200694431144noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5589904.post-1498830036099088982009-12-18T10:29:00.002-06:002009-12-18T10:31:37.015-06:00

Well, here we go.I just sent off the application materials to go back to school, starting in January. Twenty-two years have passed since I graduated and now I'm starting again, to pursue my master's degree in business administration.I'm a little nervous.

Debhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01818133200694431144noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5589904.post-52918127330546136722009-12-11T11:18:00.002-06:002009-12-11T11:23:09.408-06:00

The girls are in school and Greg is back at work yesterday, after an enormous snowstorm dropped 18 INCHES of snow on us Wednesday. The house is quiet.Then I hear a noise. Thud, scrape, scrape, scrape.Thud, scrape, scrape, scrape.You know when you know you should go check out a noise but you don't really want to?Thud, scrape, scrape, scrape.Wait a minute--I know that sound.I head upstairs to the

Debhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01818133200694431144noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5589904.post-20727400950142340182009-12-03T19:59:00.002-06:002009-12-03T20:03:31.724-06:00

Last night, Greg was at badminton when it was time for the girls to go to bed. Julia was tired, so I closed her door and she settled right down. Allie gets to read a book until 8:30, so I kissed her goodnight and went downstairs to fold laundry.When I finished the laundry, I carried the basket to the foot of the stairs and placed it there, ready to go up. Then I sat down in the living room.At 8:

Debhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01818133200694431144noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5589904.post-49109200696110600332009-12-02T13:23:00.002-06:002009-12-02T13:25:52.790-06:00

Yes, on December 1st, I mowed the grass. Greg decided the lawn needed one more trim before we consigned the lawn to the snow fairies until April, so I cut the grass. We have already had snow by the way--about 1/2 inch that only stuck around a few hours. There's a storm on the way though----Who am I kidding. In winter in Wisconsin, there's always a snowstorm on the way.

Debhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01818133200694431144noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5589904.post-32050417877831131472009-11-27T09:01:00.002-06:002009-11-27T09:03:28.224-06:00

Just been feeling that way lately. All four of us have been sick, in repeated waves. Fevers abound. Stomach issues reoccur. Coughing is rampant. Misery too.I hope you had a good Thanksgiving yesterday. We spent the day alone so we didn't infect anyone else. I made a pumpkin pie and I can't even taste it.

Debhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01818133200694431144noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5589904.post-88499646642424112732009-11-04T11:10:00.002-06:002009-11-04T11:12:41.078-06:00

Our cable went out the other day and the repairman didn't come until late the next day (quite the trauma in our household, I'm ashamed to say). As he moved around the TV, fixing things, the girls talked his ear off. He was very patient.Repair guy to Julia: And how old are you?Julia: I'm six and a penny!Us: You're what?Julia, thinking hard: I'm six and a quarter!

Debhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01818133200694431144noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5589904.post-81265213449646371202009-10-19T09:49:00.001-05:002009-10-19T09:50:58.801-05:00

Happy 13th anniversary, Gregory! I love you and I'm glad we're getting a date night out, even though we still have no idea where we're going.

Debhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01818133200694431144noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5589904.post-80452031833008098912009-10-01T19:15:00.002-05:002009-10-01T19:17:28.862-05:00

OK, I know it's autumn by the calendar but I am just not ready. Especially since we've had a cold snap lately and I had to break down and turn on the furnace. It wasn't too bad for the first 24 hours--the furnace just ran first thing in the morning. However, now it's running in the evening too. And it's been rainy, which I hate.All the leaves are falling off the trees and everything is starting

Debhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01818133200694431144noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5589904.post-18054437472976710512009-09-26T11:52:00.001-05:002009-09-26T11:53:56.713-05:00

My parents enjoy traveling to nearby and not-so-nearby casinos and trying their luck. This week, my dad got bigtime lucky. I believe the total (from three different days) was over $2500.Can you make a career out of playing slot machines?

Debhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01818133200694431144noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5589904.post-58604528907208096842009-09-23T09:43:00.002-05:002009-09-23T09:51:22.855-05:00

I got a call yesterday from Julia's teacher. She got in major trouble at school. Apparently, when a first grader needs to go to the bathroom (which is down the hall a little way), they grab a bathroom pass and head off. They do their business and then they come back and rejoin their classmates. This is quite different from last year because the kindergarten classrooms all have attached

Debhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01818133200694431144noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5589904.post-67631291475315435112009-09-20T08:16:00.002-05:002009-09-20T08:19:30.444-05:00

Julia has been doing yoga in her first grade classroom. This isn't part of gym class, just something her teacher enjoys having the kids do, and she likes it too. She says she knows three poses, Downward Dog, Tree Pose, and Snake Pose. She demonstrated Downward Dog for me and Allie the other day. She started by lying flat on the floor.Julia: And then you have to exhale and out-hale. Exhale and

Debhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01818133200694431144noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5589904.post-78330422816006423802009-09-12T10:47:00.002-05:002009-09-12T10:51:32.765-05:00

I was going to walk with the girls to the bus stop, and since the bus always arrives much earlier than scheduled, we needed to get going. I opened the front door and a big black spider fell onto the floor at my feet. I stomped on him, twice, and all that was left was a black spot. I ushered the girls out the door, thinking I would grab a tissue and clean up the spider spot when I came back

Debhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01818133200694431144noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5589904.post-2770171633563680362009-08-30T10:39:00.003-05:002009-08-30T10:52:26.916-05:00

The girls start school in two days and where has the time gone. I just flicked through the pictures on Greg's website from this summer and we've had a lot of fun, but it all went very quickly.From Allie and Greg running Race for the Cure, to Allie breaking her leg three days later, to the last week of school and Allie's field trip in a wheelchair, to the first month of summer (which was mostly

Debhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01818133200694431144noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5589904.post-5785126003556806572009-08-23T21:45:00.003-05:002009-08-23T21:51:11.779-05:00

We're home again, after having been away for four days to Illinois. We visited my in-laws and Greg came with us this time. He was hoping to be able to spend an extended period of time floating on a lounger in their lovely in-ground pool, but alas, the weather did not cooperate. It rained several times and it was pretty darn cool temperature-wise, at least for August. Still, a lovely time was had

Debhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01818133200694431144noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5589904.post-35163265124489929122009-08-11T06:57:00.002-05:002009-08-11T07:02:31.571-05:00

So I'm reading on the couch last night and the air conditioning starts lowering the temperature in the house so that it's more comfortable for us to sleep upstairs. I feel the cool air on the back of my neck and I decide to take out the green scrunchie holding my hair in a ponytail.I want to make sure this scrunchie (my emergency purse scrunchie--it's a girl thing) gets back in my purse, so I

Debhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01818133200694431144noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5589904.post-27322326265934137912009-08-09T11:59:00.003-05:002009-08-09T12:11:09.615-05:00

On Friday, Greg came home from work early and we decided to all go to see a movie. The second-run theater in Madison was still playing "Night at the Museum 2," so for $10, all four of us were in. Then we spent $11.50 on the biggest popcorn bucket I've ever seen and a matching soda. As Greg said, "I like a soda you can land a jet ski in."So off we went to the movie, which was fine, except that

Debhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01818133200694431144noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5589904.post-54438059348123902732009-07-26T11:18:00.002-05:002009-07-26T11:34:12.723-05:00

We had storms on Friday night, but nothing too dramatic. The worst of the weather traveled south of us. Since I've seen two tornadoes in my lifetime already, that was quite OK with me. The weird part is that hours after the storms passed, our power went out. As near as I can figure (since the backup battery is worn out in my bedside clock), the power went out around 2 or 3 a.m. and it came back

Debhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01818133200694431144noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5589904.post-29382606713544141392009-07-22T10:27:00.003-05:002009-07-22T10:36:22.707-05:00

My daughter Allie has been away from home for almost two weeks now. Summer camp, of a sort, at Nanny and Papa's house. Shortly after Allie got her cast off, Julia, Allie and I went off to Illinois for what was expected to be six days--so the girls could enjoy my in-law's company and their in-ground pool. Trips to the zoo, children's museum, and shopping were also promised. It turned out to be a

Debhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01818133200694431144noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5589904.post-84665649949480540352009-07-07T20:37:00.003-05:002009-07-07T20:48:11.248-05:00

Allie got her cast off today, almost five weeks to the day after she fell off her scooter in the road in front of our neighbor's house and broke her leg. She pretty much had a cow while the physician's assistant did the cutting of the cast. She was almost hyperventilating.Then she had to walk down the hall a bit to get an x-ray and at first, she wouldn't put any real weight on her left leg. It

Debhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01818133200694431144noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5589904.post-70905124274983936282009-06-20T19:41:00.002-05:002009-06-20T19:48:31.873-05:00

The girls and I went to see Allie's orthopedist on Tuesday for a check on how her broken tibia is healing. Everything is coming along very well, except that she needs to be putting weight on her leg already and she basically won't, unless we firmly tell her to do so. By next Tuesday, we're supposed to take her crutches away. And on July 7th, they're cutting her cast off.The entire visit last week

Debhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01818133200694431144noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5589904.post-7934218817528315332009-06-16T20:17:00.002-05:002009-06-16T20:27:53.501-05:00

Last night, the ice cream truck went through our neighborhood. The girls were already in their pajamas, but Julia went out looking for the truck anyway, at least to the porch. Then Greg decided he was having an ice cream craving, so he ran to the store and bought some Push-Ups. Grape, orange, and raspberry sherbet in a tube, if you don't recall Push-Ups from childhood. Actually, they only used to

Debhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01818133200694431144noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5589904.post-50024243150243257932009-06-14T17:23:00.003-05:002009-06-14T17:25:16.376-05:00

I'm watching a movie this afternoon with the girls. A nice, sanitized movie--rated G--about the Depression. Sanctioned by the people from American Girl.Then the girl heroine, who is 10, confronts the bad guys in a physical situation. And my sweet, innocent 5-year-old yells at the TV, "Kick him in the ass!"I'm going to kill my husband.

Debhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01818133200694431144noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5589904.post-83985446422876622412009-06-12T15:35:00.002-05:002009-06-12T15:45:33.858-05:00

Today was the last day of kindergarten and 3rd grade, respectively, for Julia and Allie. They both made it through the school year successfully, so we'll have new grades to deal with next year. Thankfully, despite our school district reorganization, both girls will stay in the same elementary school next year, with most of the same staff. That's a good thing.Allie spent her time this week at

Debhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01818133200694431144noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5589904.post-18216014819710229572009-06-05T21:27:00.003-05:002009-06-05T21:39:49.804-05:00

Allie and all of us thank all of you who have made kind wishes for us in the last few days. Thank you sincerely! If you didn't already know, Allie broke her leg on Wednesday night.Allie is doing well now. That first night was really rough. She couldn't sleep well to begin with because she usually sleeps on her side and the only way she was at all comfortable was on her back. She called me in

Debhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01818133200694431144noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5589904.post-48550893354008150342009-06-03T23:06:00.002-05:002009-06-03T23:25:25.846-05:00

Oh my god, do I wish I were kidding.It started out like a pretty good evening. Greg is in Chicago on business until tomorrow evening, so the girls and I are on our own. We went to an informational meeting about Allie possibly playing a string instrument next school year (she's interested in the viola). Then we came home and I rushed Julia into the bathtub. Allie asked if she could play on her

Debhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01818133200694431144noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5589904.post-1043395990928770272009-05-17T21:42:00.003-05:002009-05-17T21:55:58.720-05:00

My family gets a breather now on massive amounts of outside activities, at least until next week. Last week, Allie's Norwegian show went well, but she'll probably never think of it that way. Allie was one of four bellringers who performed the Westminster chimes at the start and middle of a Norwegian song about clocks. Each time the foursome rang the bells, they did the series of tones twice. The

Debhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01818133200694431144noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5589904.post-42290172306513536002009-05-11T20:57:00.006-05:002009-05-11T21:20:33.820-05:00

We have officially entered THE BUSY TIME as far as the kids are concerned. I think school's administrators, teachers, and parents group have all noticed that there is "only" a month left of school and so they're madly scheduling things every five minutes. Actually, every two days, but still. Add in a few birthday parties and it's quite the challenge.This past weekend, Julia got to attend her

Debhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01818133200694431144noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5589904.post-39013782535442187852009-04-29T15:50:00.002-05:002009-04-29T16:29:36.706-05:00

I debated about whether to write this post, but decided that what I'm going to talk about is going to be emblazoned on my memory anyway, so I might as well write about it.Last Saturday, Allie had a birthday party that started at 2:00 p.m. with a trip to Build-A-Bear, then included pizza and a sleepover. Sleepover being a relative term, since she said other girls woke her at 1:00 a.m., so they all

Debhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01818133200694431144noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5589904.post-26790694903650124682009-04-25T10:00:00.002-05:002009-04-25T10:10:17.660-05:00

The girls have been off school an awful lot lately. They had their week of spring break, then another day off for Easter, then Julia was off two days because of next year's kindergarteners, then they were off this Thursday afternoon and Friday for some dumb reason. And we compounded the situation by taking them out of school to take them to the Kalahari indoor water park. All in all, it's amazing

Debhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01818133200694431144noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5589904.post-91028174979016414652009-04-21T08:41:00.003-05:002009-04-21T08:51:02.286-05:00

We were away for the weekend, celebrating a late Easter with my family. My sister Pam hosted the annual Easter Egg Hunt, which needless to say my girls love more than any Easter Egg Hunt ever devised because they only compete against each other. This year, Allie found 44 eggs full of candy and coins and Julia found 46.The hunt took place after Pam's kitchen just about exploded from the pressure

Debhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01818133200694431144noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5589904.post-10627913962561781712009-04-16T22:14:00.002-05:002009-04-16T22:23:15.301-05:00

This morning, Julia and me took Allie to school and Julia didn't say nyah-nyah about having a day off with her mom. We went to the library in late morning and Julia played for half an hour on a library computer--various educational games including one where she manipulated a skeleton and its body organs. Then we went to McDonald's and because the weather was so beautiful, she got to play in the

Debhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01818133200694431144noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5589904.post-7264434063868603732009-04-15T22:22:00.002-05:002009-04-15T22:33:14.984-05:00

Or as normal as it gets around here . . .On Monday, after a successful visit to Allie's classroom, me and the Hughes family spent a few minutes chatting with Julia's teacher while Amy and Evan explored Julia's classroom (unfortunately, she had had to go off to gym class). A short while later, we headed off to Chicago and the whole lot of Hugheses headed back to merry old England.The trip to and

Debhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01818133200694431144noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5589904.post-71440812752750515852009-04-12T14:25:00.000-05:002009-04-12T14:37:21.791-05:00

Well, the Hughes family is almost done with us. Tomorrow afternoon, I take the lot of them back to O'Hare and they fly back to England, probably never to darken our door again. Actually, that part is true; when next we meet their family, I'm thinking it'll be at a vacation destination (like Orlando) or we'll be headed to their part of the world again.On Friday, our families did a nature walk and

Debhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01818133200694431144noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5589904.post-29577368977147657062009-04-09T21:09:00.002-05:002009-04-09T21:24:44.571-05:00

We've been doing our level best to wear out the Hughes family in the last few days. Our task has been made easier by the fact that Amy and Evan have been having some trouble sleeping, which unfortunately means that Dan and Kerry have been having trouble sleeping.From the perspective of our having 9 and 5 year old children who are sleeping in their own beds and who therefore seldom wake us up at

Debhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01818133200694431144noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5589904.post-20348048732097176942009-04-06T21:24:00.003-05:002009-04-06T21:33:44.785-05:00

Well, we've made it through Day number 5 of the Englishpeople's visit. Or should that be something like Britishers? Or U.K.ites?Our kids went back to school today and the Hughes and I hung around the house this morning before going on an outing this afternoon. Actually, that's not at all true. Kerry, Amy, Evan and I hung around the house and Dan went wandering through our town for over two hours.

Debhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01818133200694431144noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5589904.post-20643297652257994682009-04-05T10:56:00.003-05:002009-04-05T11:03:26.990-05:00

I know that I can't be as amusing as Dan in writing about our weekend activities, so I'll just wimp out and link to him instead.And if Dan thought yesterday's activities were exciting, wait until we get to later today! The snow seems to be holding off so far (though the weather gurus are still projecting up to 5 inches), so our tentative plans for today include bowling.How much more Wisconsin can

Debhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01818133200694431144noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5589904.post-41188587176058758452009-04-04T11:01:00.002-05:002009-04-04T11:05:56.672-05:00

The Hughes have arrived, en masse, and are currently occupying our finished basement. I don't think Amy had even seen as many pink toys as we own, outside of a toy store, so she was quite dazzled. Evan is young enough that he doesn't mind that most of our toys are pink, so he seems to be having fun too.The kids are getting along quite well and Greg and I haven't found Dan or Kerry to be

Debhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01818133200694431144noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5589904.post-87032861751704601222009-04-01T10:26:00.003-05:002009-04-01T10:30:32.317-05:00

That's what we ended up baking yesterday, after I did some cleaning. Today, I just need to finish the three bathrooms and yell at the girls until the living room is picked up and I think we're pretty much ready for the visit of the Hughes family tomorrow.I hope they appreciate the new paint. Dang project took me almost four days and it was all for their benefit. Just theirs. Sheesh. Other

Debhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01818133200694431144noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5589904.post-60305816806163261882009-03-31T11:58:00.003-05:002009-03-31T12:03:19.142-05:00

It is raining today and the girls and I are bored. We should bake something. That's what I normally do when I'm home and it's raining.But alas. Our house is a messy disaster area (except for the basement, which Greg did his best to turn into a bed-and-breakfast by expending significant effort this past Sunday). So I must clean.After all, we're excited that the British invasion is coming on

Debhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01818133200694431144noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5589904.post-23040277716950540912009-03-29T14:20:00.004-05:002009-03-29T14:37:09.348-05:00

I don't know why I stopped blogging. Boredom with my life, I suppose. Winter depression, seasonal affective disorder, something. The fact is that I had not much going on in my life for the last few months, so what would I write. I'm not really depressed, I guess. I'm just not having all that much fun lately. Though there have been moments.Regardless, I'm going to try some blogging again. So I

Debhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01818133200694431144noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5589904.post-80717298612042505192008-12-28T14:05:00.002-06:002008-12-28T14:19:05.530-06:00

Well, we made it home from our latest travels last night and now, we're not going anywhere for the rest of the year! Except maybe to exchange some gifts. And to the grocery store. And the library, probably. And maybe to the Madison Children's Museum, if the girls are especially squirrely. But nowhere else!The weekend before Christmas, we traveled to central Illinois to visit Greg's family. It was

Debhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01818133200694431144noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5589904.post-74622101684958797072008-12-25T18:09:00.001-06:002008-12-25T18:11:16.550-06:00

"My favorite part was when we got to hold FIRE!" (A quote from Allie about going to church last night and having a section of the service that was lit by handheld candles in the congregation.)I hope you and yours are having a wonderful holiday season. Merry Christmas!

Debhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01818133200694431144noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5589904.post-61034127596056238112008-12-15T09:32:00.002-06:002008-12-15T09:39:11.426-06:00

Yes, I'm reduced to blogging about the weather. Well, have patience. Yesterday, it was in the 40s and rained. This morning, it was 1 degree and very windy, wind chill of -10 or less. Surely that's worth at least a note.In other news, we had a relatively quiet weekend. On Saturday morning, we got out of the house early and took the girls to see Santa at the mall. We love this particular Santa--his

Debhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01818133200694431144noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5589904.post-1032372406276742522008-12-09T16:55:00.002-06:002008-12-09T17:07:53.739-06:00

It snowed today. Actually it started snowing yesterday and it's not supposed to be done until tomorrow, but most of it landed today. So much, in fact, that the school district called it's first snow day. The girls were thrilled. I figure we got about 6 inches so far and it's wet, icy stuff.So 4:00 came and I'm thinking, all right. Time to get outside and at least snow blow enough of the driveway

Debhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01818133200694431144noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5589904.post-4317361846134258822008-12-07T14:23:00.003-06:002008-12-07T14:32:35.394-06:00

On Friday, Greg and I took the girls to a local production of the above-mentioned play. It was about 80 minutes long and featured all youth performers. Some of the singing we heard was quite good and there was an attempt made to entertain adults by including some references aimed at adult humor. Nonetheless, when Allie asked me afterward what my favorite part was, I said the end. Not the ending,

Debhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01818133200694431144noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5589904.post-55719458459713798852008-12-04T20:11:00.002-06:002008-12-04T20:25:18.184-06:00

Yes, Dan, it has been snowing where we live. And snowing. And snowing. There was a Winter Weather Advisory yesterday because we were projected to get up to 5 inches of snow, but our eventual result was about three inches. Nonetheless, Greg got to use the snowblower. Oh, what fun. And today it got cold--I think the high was about 20 degrees. I went out to shovel a little leftover snow on the

Debhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01818133200694431144noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5589904.post-27189775768944003352008-11-29T08:17:00.002-06:002008-11-29T08:22:24.770-06:00

Happy belated Thanksgiving! I hope your holiday was warm, talk-filled, food-filled, and overall much to be thankful for. That's what mine was.We traveled to see my family this year. The girls enjoyed seeing their aunties, uncle, grandparents, and quasi-uncle. I made apple and pumpkin pies as my contribution to the meal and I only regret that I left the leftover pie at my sister's house. I'm

Debhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01818133200694431144noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5589904.post-45691822658063724962008-11-23T10:45:00.003-06:002008-11-23T10:50:50.252-06:00

On the weekends, we let Julia sleep in Allie's full-size bed with her and we let both girls stay up later than usual. The result is that they normally talk and giggle for awhile in bed and as a result, they sleep in the next morning until 8:00 or so, which is a wonderful side benefit for Greg and me.Last night, I couldn't tell if Julia was covered with blankets or not when I went up to bed. I

Debhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01818133200694431144noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5589904.post-91986152635863636472008-11-21T18:28:00.004-06:002008-11-21T18:44:28.128-06:00

This week Allie discovered that she likes bagels with cream cheese. I like bagels too, but we don't buy them very frequently; in fact I can't remember when I last bought some. The bagels were part of the special snacks provided by parents at school this week, and Allie didn't want to eat breakfast at home all week because of a provided breakfast also. What was the occasion?Third grade was taking

Debhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01818133200694431144noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5589904.post-59713050227653523322008-11-19T15:06:00.003-06:002008-11-19T15:16:16.884-06:00

Once upon a time, I diligently followed the service recommendations that came with my automobiles. I'd get oil changes done every 3,000 miles or so. I'd get the recommended 30,000 mile check done, and I'd keep on top of getting new windshield wipers and such. Then I'd trade my car in and buy another one. At about 50,000 miles or so. Actually, I did used to do these things but those were the years

Debhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01818133200694431144noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5589904.post-6147054831610153072008-11-17T18:58:00.002-06:002008-11-17T19:10:49.260-06:00

Allie lost another molar last night. I think that's about tooth number 10 that's she in the process of replacing. She'll be 9 in January and she lost her first tooth before age 5, so her dentist says she's on track, if running a little early.She found her little pewter tooth fairy tooth holder (a long-ago gift from Lisa--thanks again, Lisa!) and put her tooth in place on her nightstand. I should

Debhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01818133200694431144noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5589904.post-21909293588308215112008-11-16T10:54:00.001-06:002008-11-16T10:56:36.264-06:00

There's supposed to be a high of 37 degrees today and snow this afternoon. It's also going to snow tomorrow, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday, according to the meteorological powers-that-be.Why do people like autumn?

Debhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01818133200694431144noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5589904.post-89658467822514604702008-11-14T09:41:00.003-06:002008-11-16T10:54:13.416-06:00

According to Blogger, this is my 500th post. I've actually written over 500, but I deleted a few a few months back because I changed my mind about how much I wanted to talk about work. So 500 official posts available for review. That's a lot of talking about my kids and the cats.Ah, who am I kidding. I know that I have about 10 regular readers and I know who all of you are, so most of you only

Debhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01818133200694431144noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5589904.post-89676536802340097482008-11-09T12:24:00.004-06:002008-11-09T12:28:23.062-06:00

Julia threw up at 4 a.m. this morning. And 7 a.m. and about 11:45 a.m.I guess the benefit of having a five-year-old who's got a tummy bug is that she's not managed to make much of a mess throwing up. And since I'm not working, if she isn't well enough to go to school tomorrow, I'm obviously available to take care of her.That's looking on the bright side of things, isn't it? Instead of me and Greg

Debhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01818133200694431144noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5589904.post-24696924484842867982008-11-06T15:50:00.002-06:002008-11-06T15:52:58.678-06:00

We have a new president-elect, and I'm happy about who won.I have a third interview tomorrow with a local company, so I'm pumped and a little nervous.And the girls brought home their school pictures today. They both look adorable and older than their years. I told Greg on the phone that he wouldn't believe them when he saw them, especially Allie's. I said she looks about 20 years old.Julia heard

Debhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01818133200694431144noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5589904.post-32953744484016148202008-10-28T10:33:00.002-05:002008-10-28T10:39:00.214-05:00

Nothing much, how 'bout you?I took the girls to their Halloween dance last Friday--ah, the overwhelming joys of a grade school dance. The first 1/2 hour was horrible, the next 1/4 hour was tolerable, the next 1 hour was much better, and the last 1/4 hour was horrible.After 10 minutes, I offered the girls a bribe of each their own fullsize candy bar if we could leave. Allie said yes, Julia said no

Debhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01818133200694431144noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5589904.post-55991824373786016662008-10-19T10:57:00.004-05:002008-10-19T11:21:35.696-05:00

Today is the 12th anniversary of the day that Greg and I married. Last night, I arranged for one of our exceedingly rare babysitter visits and we went out to dinner to commemorate and celebrate and all that.We ate at a relatively new restaurant in Madison called Samba. It's one of those Brazilian meat restaurants. The kind where there's an amazing salad bar and then you turn over a disk (or in

Debhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01818133200694431144noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5589904.post-6963040928494809602008-10-17T11:25:00.002-05:002008-10-17T11:34:42.769-05:00

Last night, me and the girls went downtown to the senior center for a campfire sing-along. The logs were made of cardboard columns, wrapped with brown paper and decorated with squiggly lines. The fire was shapes cut out of orange and red paper, propped into the "logs." It was about 55 degrees outside, but I guess Allie's school didn't want to risk frostbite or something. So the sing-along was

Debhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01818133200694431144noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5589904.post-90007320345630117482008-10-15T15:39:00.003-05:002008-10-15T15:42:48.272-05:00

We had guests this weekend, so we ran through a few pantry items and we hadn't yet had time to hit the grocery store to restock.Allie: Mommy, we've been out of napkins for a few days now. Should I bring some home from school in my lunchbox?She's studying up to be a petty thief in her spare time, I suppose. I declined the offer. Allie shouldn't consider stealing from her school until she's in

Debhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01818133200694431144noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5589904.post-50725024315013244482008-10-13T16:25:00.003-05:002008-10-13T16:32:07.016-05:00

Raspberry picking this weekend was not as much fun as I remember it being when I was a kid. This weekend, it seemed that the berries were either well past ripe, not yet ripe, or non-existent. It was to the point that I stopped eating as I picked because I wasn't really getting enough raspberries to chew on and besides, if we didn't all start collecting them, we were never going to be able to fill

Debhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01818133200694431144noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5589904.post-50017976892790412102008-10-10T10:48:00.001-05:002008-10-10T10:51:17.477-05:00

I walked into your bedroom and there were millions of fans on high and I walked in your bathroom and saw Hello Kitty and she had killed Julia and she was covered in blood.Amateur psychologists, feel free - - -

Debhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01818133200694431144noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5589904.post-29378676456771216842008-10-09T10:57:00.003-05:002008-10-09T11:04:57.837-05:00

Greg was picked up by some co-workers today for a seminar they are all attending. Me and the girls stood at the dining room window, as usual, and waved goodbye. Two men that the girls don't normally see waved back in a puzzled but friendly way from the front seat of the car.Allie: Who was that in the car picking up Daddy?Me: I don't know for sure, but it looked like one of them was Daddy's

Debhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01818133200694431144noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5589904.post-42867329311064330302008-10-04T11:05:00.002-05:002008-10-04T11:14:10.536-05:00

This week I painted our master bathroom. Instead of being a creamy white that the builder selected (with chipped areas on the exposed corner), it's now a light greenish grayish color called Boulder. I like it.In the spirit of renovation, Greg and I decided to put up a new shower rod. It's one of those rods with an arc so that when you have a shower in the tub, you can keep the shower curtain from

Debhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01818133200694431144noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5589904.post-89040457369083830202008-10-03T10:30:00.002-05:002008-10-03T10:39:29.526-05:00

This morning, on the way to school, the girls started talking about Halloween. They're already looking forward to Halloween, in the way I imagine a heroin addict looks forward to his or her next fix. They weren't excited about their costumes or the adventure of Trick-or-Treating. Oh, no. They were focused on the CANDY!OH MY GOD, THE CANDY . . . they said. They talked about chocolate and lollipops

Debhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01818133200694431144noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5589904.post-63954063415915946432008-10-02T09:35:00.003-05:002008-10-02T09:42:07.684-05:00

If your cats had the opportunity to get at some food other than their own, they'd take it, right? Like dogs, cats are pretty omnivorous. Cats chew on plants, bits of leftover breakfast cereal, tuna packages, carpeting (don't ask, but Rabies should have gotten drop kicked for that one).So if your cat had the opportunity to get at a plateful of dinner that one of your kids (Julia) didn't finish,

Debhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01818133200694431144noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5589904.post-29258579691733185812008-09-30T13:40:00.002-05:002008-09-30T13:43:29.460-05:00

It was cold this morning. I mean really cold, for September. We were completely spoiled by the warm weather last week but now I do believe that it's autumn. The girls are in corduroys and long sleeved shirts again.Time to put away their summer sleeveless dresses? Say it isn't so!

Debhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01818133200694431144noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5589904.post-44823567035260388252008-09-29T22:02:00.002-05:002008-09-29T22:04:15.693-05:00

Allie: Mom, there's a fly stuck to my window.Me: Open your window and shoo him out.Allie: No, he's on the outside.Me: OK, whatever.Allie: He's hanging on. Why doesn't he go away?Me: (not listening) Mmmm.Julia: Maybe he's concentrating on pooping!

Debhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01818133200694431144noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5589904.post-89733723175541712022008-09-28T21:51:00.002-05:002008-09-28T22:00:43.312-05:00

Today is Sunday. I've been cooking a lot lately (since I have little else to do, or so Greg says) and so Greg hasn't had a chance lately to be creative in the kitchen, which is something he very much enjoys. It's just a shame that he lives with the three of us, because we are hopelessly pedestrian in our tastes in food. Nonetheless, he perseveres (sometimes) and today, he decided to make us an

Debhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01818133200694431144noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5589904.post-16697433609180598082008-09-24T13:49:00.003-05:002008-09-24T14:16:58.738-05:00

Back in the year of our nation's bicentennial, my family traveled several hours to a new and exciting attraction, the area's first amusement park, Marriott's Great America. To a kid who had never seen anything for rides and shows except the local carnival and a school field trip to a play, this was heady stuff. It was amazing. Everything was shiny and new and red, white and blue. We rode every

Debhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01818133200694431144noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5589904.post-42392130442394723982008-09-17T10:02:00.002-05:002008-09-17T10:14:27.856-05:00

This morning, I walked the kids to the bus stop for a ride to school. This is Allie's fourth year and she's never ridden the bus to school, ever. She has always gotten a ride from one of her parents. But eventually, I'll get a job. And it probably won't be in town like I had before. So the girls will probably have to ride the bus to school, or I would be dropping them off at school too early.

Debhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01818133200694431144noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5589904.post-76364244138334901852008-09-06T22:38:00.002-05:002008-09-06T22:44:42.982-05:00

We had our hottest day of the entire year so far on Tuesday. It got to about 91 degrees or so, so of course we used the air conditioning, hopefully for the last time this year. At about 8 p.m., I thought, gosh, I'm overheated.I looked at the thermostat and the air was running, so I disregarded my feeling (no, I'm too young for hot flashes). About an hour later, I thought, gosh, I'm overheated.

Debhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01818133200694431144noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5589904.post-9630099433672211712008-09-02T14:30:00.002-05:002008-09-02T14:36:17.569-05:00

Allie went back to school today to start third grade. Julia starts kindergarten on Thursday, which I am frankly not at all ready for. And I'm the one doing an exam. I've decided to apply for a job with the State of Wisconsin and it requires a civil service exam of essay questions. It's only 3 questions, but each question has about 15 subsections, so I've been working on it all day.Allie was so

Debhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01818133200694431144noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5589904.post-49125997956507125092008-08-30T12:50:00.002-05:002008-08-30T12:53:18.685-05:00

This morning Julia told me:"Mommy, I had the greatest dream last night. I dreamed that I was sleeping with Allie in her bed and Ava's kitty was outside the window but her feet weren't touching anything. And then I saw that a big dragon was holding her. Then (Barbie) Mariposa came and she hit the dragon and it went away and Ava's kitty was OK. That was the coolest dream ever."

Debhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01818133200694431144noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5589904.post-18520247493413787612008-08-26T11:39:00.002-05:002008-08-26T11:41:28.873-05:00

"Mommy, can you please leave so we can play with the princess set?"A request from Julia this morning upon arriving at daycare. The girls wave goodbye to me and they wanted to get it over with.

Debhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01818133200694431144noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5589904.post-66779204273916614232008-08-25T11:26:00.002-05:002008-08-25T11:33:05.826-05:00

Greg and I went to the movies with the girls this weekend. Julia very much enjoys being contrary, so when Allie said she wanted to see the Star Wars clone movie, Julia immediately insisted she was not going to that and that she wanted to see Fly Me to the Moon. Julia's been taking this contrary tendency to the extreme lately, especially in regards to food choices. She never, ever wants the same

Debhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01818133200694431144noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5589904.post-47505199287605093062008-08-14T09:32:00.003-05:002008-08-14T09:34:08.083-05:00

Greg's company has this wonderful program associated with work anniversaries. After you reach your 10th anniversary and at five-year intervals after that, if you take one entire Monday through Friday week off, you get an extra week off for free. Greg is now in the middle of his two-week "holiday."We haven't killed each other yet.

Debhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01818133200694431144noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5589904.post-73465231324985906322008-08-11T13:54:00.003-05:002008-08-11T14:07:34.371-05:00

Allie had a friend for a sleepover this weekend, so we went to Ella's Deli for dinner on Friday night. The poor deprived child had never been there. It was carousel rides all around afterwards, then home. After a big breakfast on Saturday morning, we all went bowling, which was wonderful, especially since I got four strikes and Greg got none. It makes the Wii bowling defeat much less meaningful,

Debhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01818133200694431144noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5589904.post-17499126328240119092008-08-08T13:33:00.002-05:002008-08-08T13:36:16.469-05:00

It's a beautiful day today. The sun is shining, the only clouds are big puffy white ones, it's not too hot so all of the windows are open, the birds are chirping, there's a light breeze . . . basically your stereotypical nice-as-possible summer day.It's Friday. I hope you savor today for a few minutes and enjoy the coming summer weekend.

Debhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01818133200694431144noreply@blogger.com0