So, it has been about 24 years since Erika has posted anything on here. I felt the need to jump on here and at least update you on our happenings over the summer.
I will do my best to keep each part as short as possible, but I also tend to ramble on, so either way this might be a a long posting - we shall see.
I guess it all has to start with my sister's wedding in July. She was married on July 11 and pretty much all of my family was able to make it up for the wedding, which was nice. Erika, Kasey and myself were all members of the wedding party - so we felt even more involved. Well, Erika was much more involved than I was.
As it turned out I had to go to a science class on the day of the wedding. And, luckily, I was finished in enough time to get to my parents house to get showered and dressed, then head up to the wedding.
Everything went off without a hitch, and I think everyone had a great time. She married a wonderful guy who seems to treat her well, while also calling her out (which she sometimes needs). Although he is a Patriots fan - I guess everyone can't be perfect.
The weekend before, I went over to Burlington with many of Cyle's friends for his bachelor party. I am not much of a drinker anymore - and I guess you could say I have matured (who knew?) over the years, because I really didn't fit in with the guys much. But, Cyle had a good time and that is all that matters.
The other HUGE news was that I finally was able to finish all of my undergraduate classes this summer and was able to get the grades needed to start my grad school work. I was very worried with the above mentioned science course - but I busted my butt and landed a B.
I started my grad school classes on Monday and it seems like for the most part it is going to be fun, but also looks to be a lot more work. So, I might be spending all of my free time doing school work for the good part of a year. Looking forward to getting through all of this.
After my final summer class finished, the family and I had about a week and a half before my grad school classes began - so we took a trip to Pittsburgh to visit my family, eat a lot and do some site seeing. Kasey was of course the hit of the week as everyone continues to fall in love with him.
Those were pretty much the three main things that we did this summer. Hopefully Erika has the time to post in the near future - she has done a little bit more this summer than I have, with all of the planning of things she has done.
I will do my best as well to post some updates of my grad school classes and what I am going through, if anyone is interested.
The three things we are looking forward to that are coming up in the next few months are Aimee and Jaramy's wedding, Kasey's 3rd birthday party, and getting new siding on our house (which I am very excited for). Hopefully we will update you on all of those.
Friday, August 28, 2009
Wednesday, June 17, 2009
Yesterday's Chaos
We’ve been so busy lately that it is just impossible to blog about everything. I’ll try to be better at it, but I can’t make any promises.
Yesterday was utterly chaotic and wonderful all at once. I took the whole day off to get some much needed errands done. First thing in the morning I had a burning appointment. Oh wait, I meant tanning. Anyway, I got done there around 8:45 and I headed home to work on Shannon’s bridal shower favors. Sadly, I only got about half of them done before I had to leave at 10:30 to run errands.
Once I got to Plattsburgh, I dashed around like a crazy woman trying to get as much done as possible without Kasey in tow. Don’t get me wrong, I love taking him with me, but not when I have a million places to go to.
So after a quick lunch I picked Kasey up at his Meme & Papa’s for his play date with Gage (Barbie’s little guy). When I got there, Kasey was sitting on the potty, where he had been for almost a half an hour. Needless to say, potty training is a bit of a challenge. He didn’t pee and decided he was ready to go.
We me Barbie & Gage at the Beekmantown Town Hall, but the playground was PACKED. So, we tried the school, which I forgot was still in session. Finally we went to the little rec park behind the West Chazy Fire Sation. There were a few swings, a slide, and a spinny thing. The boys liked it just fine.
Much to my surprise, Kasey was pretty wonderful with Gage and vice versus. They took turns on the slide and Kasey was a little scared of Gage (as he is with all kids), but by the end of it all, they were playing in the dirt together. With the exception of Kasey peeing in Barbie’s shirt, it was a great time. Kasey played model for Barbie, since he loves posing to get his pictures taken. I even got to swing with Gage in my lap, which was so sweet. He is such a great kid and Barbie is a great mom. I can’t wait for our next play date!
Once Gage’s therapist showed up, Kasey and I headed out for my doctor’s appointment. This was when all hell broke loose. I intentionally didn’t let Kasey play with his little tractors all day so that he would be more excited to play with them at the doctor’s office. This worked for the most part. He did act up quite a bit though. First of all, he only has one volume, LOUD. He finally started to get the point that he was supposed to whisper when he realize he had to go poop. This is when everything goes downhill.
He decided he wanted to go poop in the “little potty” which is a training potty we bring with us everywhere. Usually, I have Keith’s SUV and he just sits in the back and we deal with whatever may (or may not) come out. Well, this isn’t really possible in a car, which Kasey didn’t realize. So he threw a fit and I made him sit on the potty in the middle of the parking lot. After about 30 seconds, he wanted to go back inside to go on the big potty. Needless to say, that didn’t work either and he was pissed at me. We needed to go back into the waiting room and he started to really melt down. He was sassy, loud, and just plain rude. The ladies there were laughing, but I felt bad. Finally, he calmed down and the nurse came to get me.
Now he was good with the whole waiting for me to get my pulse taken and weighing in, but once we were in the room waiting for the doctor, he started to unravel again. He managed to poop in the 5 minutes between the nurse leaving and the doctor showing up, which meant a changing at light speed.
When the doctor came in, we were trying to talk about weaning me off a medication I am on and Kasey kept interrupting with, “Man, what are you doing?” “Man, play tractors with me.” Now my doctor isn’t the most personable guy, so you can just imagine the look on his face. Needless to say, he didn’t smile the while time. It actually kind of made me laugh. As we were walking out I let Kasey carry the clipboard and he only hit me with it once.
After this drama, we headed to the mall to pick up a couple of movies and a book. We met Keith there and Kasey was suddenly a gem. He just loves his daddy. He did say “Keith, leave me alone” once, but other than that he was good. We let him have some Auntie Anne’s lemonade and a pretzel and, of course, he bought two new Matchbox cars at Target (a tradition whenever we go to the mall).
At 5:30, Kasey and I headed to my parents’ house to fix my car and Keith went to the movies (he had free tickets). Kasey didn’t eat anything for dinner, even though my parents made him chicken nuggets, fries, and peanut butter and jelly. My dad got mad and told Kasey that he couldn’t help my dad and I work on the car. After a fit of tears, my mom managed to get him to eat green beans and half an apple.
During this time, my dad and I took off my old brakes to bring them back to Autozone (they have a lifetime warranty). What cracks me up about my dad is that he thinks I haven’t learned anything from watching him in the garage my whole life. Much to his surprise, I took my wheel off and even had a general idea of how to put my brakes back on.
We headed to Autozone to get my new brakes and my stuff for my oil change and we went to get ice cream. Every week since the Tastee Freeze has opened, my dad has brought Kasey there for an ice cream.
Once we got back, we got to work putting my car back together. I put my wheels back on my car, but I made Dad tighten them a little more because I can never tell if they are tight enough when we use the impact wrench. Dad changed my oil and we headed into his racecar trailer to put in a new winch.
During this time, my mom was trying to entertain Kasey, but all he wants to do is help us. So, we threw him in the racecar and gave him a wrench. He checked the bolts on the steering wheel to make sure they were tight (they don’t move to begin with). After I was a totally greasy and dirt covered mess, Dad fix my defrosters and we were on our way home.
It was so much fun spending the day with my peanut, but man did it ever tire me out. I appreciate my mother-in-law so much because I know she does this all day every day. I look forward to having another day just like this!
Yesterday was utterly chaotic and wonderful all at once. I took the whole day off to get some much needed errands done. First thing in the morning I had a burning appointment. Oh wait, I meant tanning. Anyway, I got done there around 8:45 and I headed home to work on Shannon’s bridal shower favors. Sadly, I only got about half of them done before I had to leave at 10:30 to run errands.
Once I got to Plattsburgh, I dashed around like a crazy woman trying to get as much done as possible without Kasey in tow. Don’t get me wrong, I love taking him with me, but not when I have a million places to go to.
So after a quick lunch I picked Kasey up at his Meme & Papa’s for his play date with Gage (Barbie’s little guy). When I got there, Kasey was sitting on the potty, where he had been for almost a half an hour. Needless to say, potty training is a bit of a challenge. He didn’t pee and decided he was ready to go.
We me Barbie & Gage at the Beekmantown Town Hall, but the playground was PACKED. So, we tried the school, which I forgot was still in session. Finally we went to the little rec park behind the West Chazy Fire Sation. There were a few swings, a slide, and a spinny thing. The boys liked it just fine.
Much to my surprise, Kasey was pretty wonderful with Gage and vice versus. They took turns on the slide and Kasey was a little scared of Gage (as he is with all kids), but by the end of it all, they were playing in the dirt together. With the exception of Kasey peeing in Barbie’s shirt, it was a great time. Kasey played model for Barbie, since he loves posing to get his pictures taken. I even got to swing with Gage in my lap, which was so sweet. He is such a great kid and Barbie is a great mom. I can’t wait for our next play date!
Once Gage’s therapist showed up, Kasey and I headed out for my doctor’s appointment. This was when all hell broke loose. I intentionally didn’t let Kasey play with his little tractors all day so that he would be more excited to play with them at the doctor’s office. This worked for the most part. He did act up quite a bit though. First of all, he only has one volume, LOUD. He finally started to get the point that he was supposed to whisper when he realize he had to go poop. This is when everything goes downhill.
He decided he wanted to go poop in the “little potty” which is a training potty we bring with us everywhere. Usually, I have Keith’s SUV and he just sits in the back and we deal with whatever may (or may not) come out. Well, this isn’t really possible in a car, which Kasey didn’t realize. So he threw a fit and I made him sit on the potty in the middle of the parking lot. After about 30 seconds, he wanted to go back inside to go on the big potty. Needless to say, that didn’t work either and he was pissed at me. We needed to go back into the waiting room and he started to really melt down. He was sassy, loud, and just plain rude. The ladies there were laughing, but I felt bad. Finally, he calmed down and the nurse came to get me.
Now he was good with the whole waiting for me to get my pulse taken and weighing in, but once we were in the room waiting for the doctor, he started to unravel again. He managed to poop in the 5 minutes between the nurse leaving and the doctor showing up, which meant a changing at light speed.
When the doctor came in, we were trying to talk about weaning me off a medication I am on and Kasey kept interrupting with, “Man, what are you doing?” “Man, play tractors with me.” Now my doctor isn’t the most personable guy, so you can just imagine the look on his face. Needless to say, he didn’t smile the while time. It actually kind of made me laugh. As we were walking out I let Kasey carry the clipboard and he only hit me with it once.
After this drama, we headed to the mall to pick up a couple of movies and a book. We met Keith there and Kasey was suddenly a gem. He just loves his daddy. He did say “Keith, leave me alone” once, but other than that he was good. We let him have some Auntie Anne’s lemonade and a pretzel and, of course, he bought two new Matchbox cars at Target (a tradition whenever we go to the mall).
At 5:30, Kasey and I headed to my parents’ house to fix my car and Keith went to the movies (he had free tickets). Kasey didn’t eat anything for dinner, even though my parents made him chicken nuggets, fries, and peanut butter and jelly. My dad got mad and told Kasey that he couldn’t help my dad and I work on the car. After a fit of tears, my mom managed to get him to eat green beans and half an apple.
During this time, my dad and I took off my old brakes to bring them back to Autozone (they have a lifetime warranty). What cracks me up about my dad is that he thinks I haven’t learned anything from watching him in the garage my whole life. Much to his surprise, I took my wheel off and even had a general idea of how to put my brakes back on.
We headed to Autozone to get my new brakes and my stuff for my oil change and we went to get ice cream. Every week since the Tastee Freeze has opened, my dad has brought Kasey there for an ice cream.
Once we got back, we got to work putting my car back together. I put my wheels back on my car, but I made Dad tighten them a little more because I can never tell if they are tight enough when we use the impact wrench. Dad changed my oil and we headed into his racecar trailer to put in a new winch.
During this time, my mom was trying to entertain Kasey, but all he wants to do is help us. So, we threw him in the racecar and gave him a wrench. He checked the bolts on the steering wheel to make sure they were tight (they don’t move to begin with). After I was a totally greasy and dirt covered mess, Dad fix my defrosters and we were on our way home.
It was so much fun spending the day with my peanut, but man did it ever tire me out. I appreciate my mother-in-law so much because I know she does this all day every day. I look forward to having another day just like this!
Monday, April 27, 2009
March for Babies
I know that I have sort of let my wife take over this site, but we had a pretty meaningful day here at home which I thought I should post about.
Erika, as you have read, is on the West Coast soaking up the sun in California. So, unfortunately, she was unable to walk with us in in our annual March for Babies.
Every year our family takes part in this wonderful cause for the March of Dimes, which is an organization that helps with premature births and birth defects. We have been taking part now for about five years - mostly due to the fact that my cousin, Ashleigh, and Erika's cousin, Kaitlyn, were both born extremely early - and both are living amazingly healthy lives as we speak. March of Dimes deserves a lot of the credit for this with the help that they have been able to provide to families, as well as research to doctors to help raise the percentage of life after premature birth.
In 2006, we welcomed our first child, Kasey, into the world - and he came a little over two months early. He stayed in the NICU at Fletcher Allen in Burlington for a few weeks until he was able to move to CVPH for the remainder of his month's stay in the hospital for his transition stage so that he could come home. Two and a half years later we have a healthy and very active toddler running around our house - and we are truly blessed by the help and support the March of Dimes and all of the doctors and nurses were able to give our family, especially Kasey, during his time in the NICU.
So, despite already walking for this amazing organization, we have yet another reason to walk - our amazing son.
We raised a good amount of money again this year, and I want to thank everyone who donated you are great people, but I think we came a little short as to our overall goal - but in the end every cent you can raise is able to help out a family in need - and hopefully wipe out premature birth and birth defects in the very near future forever.
I got up to the OVAL in Plattsburgh very early on Sunday by my wife's orders and collected our t-shirts and tote bag which we were given thanks to our donations. Kasey and Nana (Erika's mother) met us there a little bit later, and Mark, Danielle and Jack also came out to walk with us and keep us company.
Saturday was an absolutley gorgeous day that appeared to almost reach the 90s, so it was only fitting that the walk the very next day would be about 40 degrees with a bit of a wind. Oh well! Once we started walking we began to warm up, and the walk was very nice. It was also nice to get to spend some time with the Brown family - we have all been living some pretty hectic lives as of late and have sort of been absent from each other. But, I hope that changes and we get to see them a little bit more often soon.
Despite the cold weather, the day was spectacular and it appears our small North Country group raised a ton of money for the March of Dimes - which is the main reason we were there. I am hoping and praying that our next child is born on or very near his/her due date, but it is always great to know that if something unexpected happens the March of Dimes will always be there to support us in any way we need them.
Thanks everyone.
Erika, as you have read, is on the West Coast soaking up the sun in California. So, unfortunately, she was unable to walk with us in in our annual March for Babies.
Every year our family takes part in this wonderful cause for the March of Dimes, which is an organization that helps with premature births and birth defects. We have been taking part now for about five years - mostly due to the fact that my cousin, Ashleigh, and Erika's cousin, Kaitlyn, were both born extremely early - and both are living amazingly healthy lives as we speak. March of Dimes deserves a lot of the credit for this with the help that they have been able to provide to families, as well as research to doctors to help raise the percentage of life after premature birth.
In 2006, we welcomed our first child, Kasey, into the world - and he came a little over two months early. He stayed in the NICU at Fletcher Allen in Burlington for a few weeks until he was able to move to CVPH for the remainder of his month's stay in the hospital for his transition stage so that he could come home. Two and a half years later we have a healthy and very active toddler running around our house - and we are truly blessed by the help and support the March of Dimes and all of the doctors and nurses were able to give our family, especially Kasey, during his time in the NICU.
So, despite already walking for this amazing organization, we have yet another reason to walk - our amazing son.
We raised a good amount of money again this year, and I want to thank everyone who donated you are great people, but I think we came a little short as to our overall goal - but in the end every cent you can raise is able to help out a family in need - and hopefully wipe out premature birth and birth defects in the very near future forever.
I got up to the OVAL in Plattsburgh very early on Sunday by my wife's orders and collected our t-shirts and tote bag which we were given thanks to our donations. Kasey and Nana (Erika's mother) met us there a little bit later, and Mark, Danielle and Jack also came out to walk with us and keep us company.
Saturday was an absolutley gorgeous day that appeared to almost reach the 90s, so it was only fitting that the walk the very next day would be about 40 degrees with a bit of a wind. Oh well! Once we started walking we began to warm up, and the walk was very nice. It was also nice to get to spend some time with the Brown family - we have all been living some pretty hectic lives as of late and have sort of been absent from each other. But, I hope that changes and we get to see them a little bit more often soon.
Despite the cold weather, the day was spectacular and it appears our small North Country group raised a ton of money for the March of Dimes - which is the main reason we were there. I am hoping and praying that our next child is born on or very near his/her due date, but it is always great to know that if something unexpected happens the March of Dimes will always be there to support us in any way we need them.
Thanks everyone.
Sunday, April 26, 2009
Los Angeles (so far)
As in my previous blog, my day on Saturday started at 2:00 am. I was on the road by 2:45 and I was in Burlington by 4:00. The one thing I never remember, though, is that TSA doesn’t open until 4:30, so I sat on the floor waiting for security to open up. My flight left right on time (6:00) and the flight was pretty nice. I managed to take a short nap. I woke up just a bit before JFK and the other guy in my row started talking to me. Normally, I hate talking to people on the plane, but he was really nice and I had just woken up from a nap, so I dealt with it. He asked me to take a few pictures, including one of Statue of Liberty for him. Of course, I obliged. We had to circle around JFK twice because the navigational equipment wasn’t turned on in JFK yet, but other than that, everything was seamless.
My flight from JFK to Long Beach was quite uneventful, which made me happy. It took about 6 hours and I slept for about 1.5 of it. I know, I know… Once we landed, I realized how weird that airport is. 90% of it is outside. It reminds me of the old Burlington setup. You get off the plane outside, you walk outside to the terminal, you go back outside and you get your luggage outside. Odd. Anyway, I headed to Hertz to pick up my rental car and there was a long line. An hour later, my compact car somehow became a Rav4, which I didn’t mind, and I was off to LA.
Now, the one thing I hate about LA is the traffic. It took me 1.5 hours for a trip that should have only taken about 20 minutes. AHHH!!! I was tired, I had a headache and I just wanted to lie down. Finally, I made it to the Crowne Plaza at LAX.
After navigating the parking garage, I went inside just to find out that they stick to the 3:00 check in time like it’s the Bible. So, I had to sit around for 45 minutes until a room was ready. Once I got my room key I had all I could to not run to my room. I was thrilled to find out that my room is in the quiet zone, which means no loud noises from the hotel staff or neighbors. They actually ban kids from this floor (he he). I loved it!! That was, until I realized that the bastards gave me a room on the side facing the airport. AHHHHHHHH!!! Did I mention that LAX is a 24 hour a day airport? Yup! Planes taking off and landing all day and night. Luckily, I was able to turn on the A/C unit and it drowned out the noise. My room isn’t the cleanest, but that’s why I bring Lysol wipes anyway.
It didn’t take me long to realize that I wasn’t going anywhere for the night. I had a migraine, so I went down to the gift shop to buy a $9 mini bottle of Tylenol. Once that kicked in, I ordered a $35 room service dinner and I ate dinner in bed. By 9:00, I was in la la land.
I woke up at 5:30, which is 8:30 east coast time. I had no idea what I was going to do today, with the exception of going to Downtown Dinsey in Ananheim to get Kasey a couple of replacement Tiggers (he loves his one from Disney World and I am scared to death that he is going to lose it and panic). Anyway, so I turned on the local entertainment channel and they were talking about neat things to do in LA. One thing that jumped out at me was the Los Angeles Zoo. How could I forget that there was a zoo here? I knew I wanted to do that, so I mapped it out. It was only going to take me about 15 minutes, so that was a go. I also promised Keith that I would try to find the Scrubs set to take a picture for him. Finally, I wanted to see the Hollywood sign and I found out that you could see it from Griffith Park Observatory. Add that to the list!!
So, after a blueberry muffin and a cappuccino, I was on the road by 8:30. First up, the Scrubs set. The address didn’t actually exist in my Garmin, so I just picked the closest address. Unfortunately, I had to do a couple of U turns before I could get in the right area. I parked the car and walked about three blocks and there it was. This place looked like crap. It was an old rundown hospital, but there wasn’t any doubting that it was the right building. Though there weren’t any building numbers on it, it was the only hospital in the area. So, I took a picture, sent it to Keith and hiked back to the car.
Next destination: Los Angeles Zoo: I got the zoo around 9:40 and it doesn’t open until 10:00. Regardless, I got in line behind about 40 people and I quickly realized that I was the only person there that wasn’t Hispanic. I had to laugh. Once the zoo opened, I charged like a rhino. :) I forgot just how big zoos are. It took me about 2 hours to see everything and to take a bunch of pictures. I bought Kasey this cute alligator shirt and a toy alligator to go with it. Oh yeah, this zoo has 6 giraffes and 3 of them are babies. I was wondering about that until I was something I’ve never seen before. That’s right, two giraffes mating. I now understand why there are so many babies… I think I’m scarred.
Next up: Griffith Park Observatory/Hollywood Sign: Now Griffith Park Observatory is only 5 miles from the zoo, so I figured it would be a quick in out and done trip. Boy was I wrong!! Luckily, I had done my research and I knew that there was very little parking and everyone and their brother likes to come here. So, on my way up this massive hill, I found some parking on the street and I quickly took it. I was sure to leave plenty of room between the car in front of me and I headed out. Now the walk up this hill was hell and I had on flip flops. Granted it wasn’t my brightest move, but there were so many dumb broads dressed to the nines with 4 in stiletto heels on. HELLO?! So, I made it to the top of the hill and there it was: the Hollywood sign. I think my mouth may have dropped open. I took some pictures and I kept going to the observatory. Now I’m sure all of you have see this building before (I think it was in one of the Charlie’s Angels movies), but it nonetheless, it is beautiful. I walked around a little bit, took some pictures and headed back down the hill. I finally found my car and I hopped in. Once I got it started, I put it in reverse and apparently the car behind me wasn’t as nice as I was and I bumped into it. That’s right, I hit a car. Luckily it didn’t do any damage to either cars, as far as I can tell. You see, my car has a lot of previous scratches and dings, so they all blend in (lucky for me).
Finally: Downtown Disney, Anaheim, CA: My last stop for the day was Downtown Disney. As I said before, my entire purpose was to go there to get replacement Tiggers. I can’t bear the thought of Kasey not having a Tigger. It took me about an hour to get there and the parking lot was a long way away, so, yet again, more walking. I walked in and I headed into the ESPN store to see what they have that’s new. I didn’t see anything I couldn’t live without, but they did have a new basketball t-shirt for Keith, so that was purchase #1. As for the rest of the shopping, I was pretty good. I bought 2 Tiggers for Kasey, 3 lollipops for Kasey, a shot glass for me (they call it a toothpick holder), a pin for each of us (we collect Disney pins), a tie-dye t-shirt for Kasey from Rainforest Café, and a cute frog fork & spoon set for Kasey from Rainforest Café. See? I was a good girl. By the end though, my feet were killing me, so I headed to ESPNzone for dinner. Now this is a place any sports lover should go to at least one (kind of like a pilgrimage). I walked in and stated that I wanted a table for one in the restaurant. The hostess asked me if I wanted a table or a recliner. I was stunned. Out of fear, I said a table. She brought me in and all of a sudden, I understood. There was a whole front row of recliners in front of 12 televisions and one giant screen. What was I thinking??? I should have gone with the recliner. Anyway, after a great dinner, I headed back out to the car. About 40 minutes later, I was back at the hotel. I headed upstairs, called Keith and headed to the gym. Now, I am sitting here whining about my sunburn and dreading work tomorrow. Let’s see what comes from the rest of the week!
My flight from JFK to Long Beach was quite uneventful, which made me happy. It took about 6 hours and I slept for about 1.5 of it. I know, I know… Once we landed, I realized how weird that airport is. 90% of it is outside. It reminds me of the old Burlington setup. You get off the plane outside, you walk outside to the terminal, you go back outside and you get your luggage outside. Odd. Anyway, I headed to Hertz to pick up my rental car and there was a long line. An hour later, my compact car somehow became a Rav4, which I didn’t mind, and I was off to LA.
Now, the one thing I hate about LA is the traffic. It took me 1.5 hours for a trip that should have only taken about 20 minutes. AHHH!!! I was tired, I had a headache and I just wanted to lie down. Finally, I made it to the Crowne Plaza at LAX.
After navigating the parking garage, I went inside just to find out that they stick to the 3:00 check in time like it’s the Bible. So, I had to sit around for 45 minutes until a room was ready. Once I got my room key I had all I could to not run to my room. I was thrilled to find out that my room is in the quiet zone, which means no loud noises from the hotel staff or neighbors. They actually ban kids from this floor (he he). I loved it!! That was, until I realized that the bastards gave me a room on the side facing the airport. AHHHHHHHH!!! Did I mention that LAX is a 24 hour a day airport? Yup! Planes taking off and landing all day and night. Luckily, I was able to turn on the A/C unit and it drowned out the noise. My room isn’t the cleanest, but that’s why I bring Lysol wipes anyway.
It didn’t take me long to realize that I wasn’t going anywhere for the night. I had a migraine, so I went down to the gift shop to buy a $9 mini bottle of Tylenol. Once that kicked in, I ordered a $35 room service dinner and I ate dinner in bed. By 9:00, I was in la la land.
I woke up at 5:30, which is 8:30 east coast time. I had no idea what I was going to do today, with the exception of going to Downtown Dinsey in Ananheim to get Kasey a couple of replacement Tiggers (he loves his one from Disney World and I am scared to death that he is going to lose it and panic). Anyway, so I turned on the local entertainment channel and they were talking about neat things to do in LA. One thing that jumped out at me was the Los Angeles Zoo. How could I forget that there was a zoo here? I knew I wanted to do that, so I mapped it out. It was only going to take me about 15 minutes, so that was a go. I also promised Keith that I would try to find the Scrubs set to take a picture for him. Finally, I wanted to see the Hollywood sign and I found out that you could see it from Griffith Park Observatory. Add that to the list!!
So, after a blueberry muffin and a cappuccino, I was on the road by 8:30. First up, the Scrubs set. The address didn’t actually exist in my Garmin, so I just picked the closest address. Unfortunately, I had to do a couple of U turns before I could get in the right area. I parked the car and walked about three blocks and there it was. This place looked like crap. It was an old rundown hospital, but there wasn’t any doubting that it was the right building. Though there weren’t any building numbers on it, it was the only hospital in the area. So, I took a picture, sent it to Keith and hiked back to the car.
Next destination: Los Angeles Zoo: I got the zoo around 9:40 and it doesn’t open until 10:00. Regardless, I got in line behind about 40 people and I quickly realized that I was the only person there that wasn’t Hispanic. I had to laugh. Once the zoo opened, I charged like a rhino. :) I forgot just how big zoos are. It took me about 2 hours to see everything and to take a bunch of pictures. I bought Kasey this cute alligator shirt and a toy alligator to go with it. Oh yeah, this zoo has 6 giraffes and 3 of them are babies. I was wondering about that until I was something I’ve never seen before. That’s right, two giraffes mating. I now understand why there are so many babies… I think I’m scarred.
Next up: Griffith Park Observatory/Hollywood Sign: Now Griffith Park Observatory is only 5 miles from the zoo, so I figured it would be a quick in out and done trip. Boy was I wrong!! Luckily, I had done my research and I knew that there was very little parking and everyone and their brother likes to come here. So, on my way up this massive hill, I found some parking on the street and I quickly took it. I was sure to leave plenty of room between the car in front of me and I headed out. Now the walk up this hill was hell and I had on flip flops. Granted it wasn’t my brightest move, but there were so many dumb broads dressed to the nines with 4 in stiletto heels on. HELLO?! So, I made it to the top of the hill and there it was: the Hollywood sign. I think my mouth may have dropped open. I took some pictures and I kept going to the observatory. Now I’m sure all of you have see this building before (I think it was in one of the Charlie’s Angels movies), but it nonetheless, it is beautiful. I walked around a little bit, took some pictures and headed back down the hill. I finally found my car and I hopped in. Once I got it started, I put it in reverse and apparently the car behind me wasn’t as nice as I was and I bumped into it. That’s right, I hit a car. Luckily it didn’t do any damage to either cars, as far as I can tell. You see, my car has a lot of previous scratches and dings, so they all blend in (lucky for me).
Finally: Downtown Disney, Anaheim, CA: My last stop for the day was Downtown Disney. As I said before, my entire purpose was to go there to get replacement Tiggers. I can’t bear the thought of Kasey not having a Tigger. It took me about an hour to get there and the parking lot was a long way away, so, yet again, more walking. I walked in and I headed into the ESPN store to see what they have that’s new. I didn’t see anything I couldn’t live without, but they did have a new basketball t-shirt for Keith, so that was purchase #1. As for the rest of the shopping, I was pretty good. I bought 2 Tiggers for Kasey, 3 lollipops for Kasey, a shot glass for me (they call it a toothpick holder), a pin for each of us (we collect Disney pins), a tie-dye t-shirt for Kasey from Rainforest Café, and a cute frog fork & spoon set for Kasey from Rainforest Café. See? I was a good girl. By the end though, my feet were killing me, so I headed to ESPNzone for dinner. Now this is a place any sports lover should go to at least one (kind of like a pilgrimage). I walked in and stated that I wanted a table for one in the restaurant. The hostess asked me if I wanted a table or a recliner. I was stunned. Out of fear, I said a table. She brought me in and all of a sudden, I understood. There was a whole front row of recliners in front of 12 televisions and one giant screen. What was I thinking??? I should have gone with the recliner. Anyway, after a great dinner, I headed back out to the car. About 40 minutes later, I was back at the hotel. I headed upstairs, called Keith and headed to the gym. Now, I am sitting here whining about my sunburn and dreading work tomorrow. Let’s see what comes from the rest of the week!
Visits with Family
For blog two, I am going to go over our journeys last Thursday and Friday. You see, Meme, Papa, and Aunt Shannon all went to Pittsburgh for Aunt Shannon’s bridal shower. This meant Mommy stayed home with Kasey on Thursday and Friday so that Daddy only had to take off Monday.
Now don’t get me wrong, I LOVE spending time with my kid, but it is exhausting. To add to it, I had to get ready for my trip to Los Angeles (blog 3). Thursday wasn’t too bad. The plans WERE pretty simple. I had two conference calls I had to call in for and I had to be in Plattsburgh sometime after 2:00 to visit with Grandma & Grandpa Reyell. No prob, right? HA!
My first conference call was at 11:30, so Kasey ate lunch a little early and I sent him upstairs for a nap. Around 12:45, I was done the conference call and I heard Kasey trying to get out of his room. Now this is against all of the rules, so I went upstairs to tell him to get his butt in bed. Well, I opened the door and his room was trashed and he had pooped. Great… Did I mention that my next call was at 1:00? Yeah. So everything was cleaned up and the little terror was back downstairs. I dialed in for my call, but I wasn’t able to say anything because Kasey was being REALLY loud. Oh well. By 1:30 everything was done and I was packing Kasey up to go to Plattsburgh.
Kasey and I ran a bunch of errands in Plattsburgh and headed to my grandparents’ around 4:00. Well, they weren’t home. I had told them at Easter that I would be there after 2:00 and they were MIA. Oh well, I figured that we would just go to my parents’ house and hang out there. So, back in the car we went and I got to my parents’ just to realize that I took the key for their house out of my purse during my packing spree earlier in the day. No prob! I would just get the spare key. Well, guess what? That was missing, too. So, Kasey and I had to play outside for 45 minutes until Daddy showed up. Too bad Kasey was dirty and soaked by the time Keith showed up. So, we cleaned up, ate a great dinner and headed for ice cream. Later that night I talked to my Grandpa Reyell and he said that they thought Kasey and I were coming up for lunch. So, he asked me to come up on Friday instead. I hadn’t really planned on driving all the way back to Beekmantown again, but I love them both dearly, so I said yes.
Friday was sheer hell. I got up around 7:15 and got in the shower ASAP. Kasey and I headed to my work to pick up a few things I needed for my trip. While we were there, Kasey scored a Nutrigrain bar and a peanut butter cup. He was so happy to see everyone. He chattered about it all the way to my Grandparents Garrant’s house.
Once we got to Grandma and Grandpa Garrant’s, Kasey was even more excited. You see, Great Papa had the motorcycle out. Needless to say, Kasey didn’t even want to go inside. Great Papa let Kasey sit on the bike and even took him for a little ride around the yard. They both looked like they were having a blast. Once we pried him off the motorcycle, Kasey ran and called “PAPA!” Of course Grandpa followed him and let Kasey do whatever he wanted. Finally we went inside and Kasey promptly trashed the place. Around 11:30 we headed out to have lunch with my other grandparents.
At about 11:45, Kasey and I showed up and Grandma and Grandpa Reyell’s house. Kasey took off for the lawnmower (he calls it a tractor) immediately. After quite the fit, he was dragged into the house. He instantly forgot about the lawnmower and went running to the living room. The first thing he said was, “Hi Gramma! Where’s Papa?” Got to love kids! Once Kasey realized that Great Grandpa was in the garden, he started asking Great Grandma about everything he could think of. It was cute. Kasey ate really well at lunch and he was awarded with a ride on the “tractor.” Now I love my grandpa, but I think everyone agrees that he lets us kids drive tractors along a bit too young, as my cousin Kait pointed out. So, Kasey drove all the way from the garden back to the house by himself. Of course Papa was right there the whole time, but still…
Finally, we hit the road and went back home. I managed to keep Kasey up until we got home (he doesn’t stay asleep between the car and the house and he won’t go back to sleep). I carried him upstairs, put him to bed and I went to lay down myself. I had most of my packing done and the house was somewhat clean. Kasey didn’t fall to sleep, but I dozed off a bit. Keith came home early and we had pizza for dinner. Then, we walked to my tanning appointment and got ice cream before returning home. I was able to finish the laundry, finish packing and I was in bed by 9:00. Too bad I didn’t fall asleep until almost 9:30. At 2:00 am, the alarm woke me up for yet another cross country trip, but that I will save for the next blog.
I love the fact that my son is lucky enough to have three great grandmas and two great grandpas. I don't think he realizes how lucky he is, but I I know that he loves them all and knows what's special about each of them. I hope he is as blessed with family as I was growing up.
Now don’t get me wrong, I LOVE spending time with my kid, but it is exhausting. To add to it, I had to get ready for my trip to Los Angeles (blog 3). Thursday wasn’t too bad. The plans WERE pretty simple. I had two conference calls I had to call in for and I had to be in Plattsburgh sometime after 2:00 to visit with Grandma & Grandpa Reyell. No prob, right? HA!
My first conference call was at 11:30, so Kasey ate lunch a little early and I sent him upstairs for a nap. Around 12:45, I was done the conference call and I heard Kasey trying to get out of his room. Now this is against all of the rules, so I went upstairs to tell him to get his butt in bed. Well, I opened the door and his room was trashed and he had pooped. Great… Did I mention that my next call was at 1:00? Yeah. So everything was cleaned up and the little terror was back downstairs. I dialed in for my call, but I wasn’t able to say anything because Kasey was being REALLY loud. Oh well. By 1:30 everything was done and I was packing Kasey up to go to Plattsburgh.
Kasey and I ran a bunch of errands in Plattsburgh and headed to my grandparents’ around 4:00. Well, they weren’t home. I had told them at Easter that I would be there after 2:00 and they were MIA. Oh well, I figured that we would just go to my parents’ house and hang out there. So, back in the car we went and I got to my parents’ just to realize that I took the key for their house out of my purse during my packing spree earlier in the day. No prob! I would just get the spare key. Well, guess what? That was missing, too. So, Kasey and I had to play outside for 45 minutes until Daddy showed up. Too bad Kasey was dirty and soaked by the time Keith showed up. So, we cleaned up, ate a great dinner and headed for ice cream. Later that night I talked to my Grandpa Reyell and he said that they thought Kasey and I were coming up for lunch. So, he asked me to come up on Friday instead. I hadn’t really planned on driving all the way back to Beekmantown again, but I love them both dearly, so I said yes.
Friday was sheer hell. I got up around 7:15 and got in the shower ASAP. Kasey and I headed to my work to pick up a few things I needed for my trip. While we were there, Kasey scored a Nutrigrain bar and a peanut butter cup. He was so happy to see everyone. He chattered about it all the way to my Grandparents Garrant’s house.
Once we got to Grandma and Grandpa Garrant’s, Kasey was even more excited. You see, Great Papa had the motorcycle out. Needless to say, Kasey didn’t even want to go inside. Great Papa let Kasey sit on the bike and even took him for a little ride around the yard. They both looked like they were having a blast. Once we pried him off the motorcycle, Kasey ran and called “PAPA!” Of course Grandpa followed him and let Kasey do whatever he wanted. Finally we went inside and Kasey promptly trashed the place. Around 11:30 we headed out to have lunch with my other grandparents.
At about 11:45, Kasey and I showed up and Grandma and Grandpa Reyell’s house. Kasey took off for the lawnmower (he calls it a tractor) immediately. After quite the fit, he was dragged into the house. He instantly forgot about the lawnmower and went running to the living room. The first thing he said was, “Hi Gramma! Where’s Papa?” Got to love kids! Once Kasey realized that Great Grandpa was in the garden, he started asking Great Grandma about everything he could think of. It was cute. Kasey ate really well at lunch and he was awarded with a ride on the “tractor.” Now I love my grandpa, but I think everyone agrees that he lets us kids drive tractors along a bit too young, as my cousin Kait pointed out. So, Kasey drove all the way from the garden back to the house by himself. Of course Papa was right there the whole time, but still…
Finally, we hit the road and went back home. I managed to keep Kasey up until we got home (he doesn’t stay asleep between the car and the house and he won’t go back to sleep). I carried him upstairs, put him to bed and I went to lay down myself. I had most of my packing done and the house was somewhat clean. Kasey didn’t fall to sleep, but I dozed off a bit. Keith came home early and we had pizza for dinner. Then, we walked to my tanning appointment and got ice cream before returning home. I was able to finish the laundry, finish packing and I was in bed by 9:00. Too bad I didn’t fall asleep until almost 9:30. At 2:00 am, the alarm woke me up for yet another cross country trip, but that I will save for the next blog.
I love the fact that my son is lucky enough to have three great grandmas and two great grandpas. I don't think he realizes how lucky he is, but I I know that he loves them all and knows what's special about each of them. I hope he is as blessed with family as I was growing up.
Easter Fun
Well, a lot has gone on since my last blog, so I am going to break it down into three separate blogs. This one is going to be all about Easter.
This was Kasey’s first Easter where he got an idea of what was going on. Earlier in the week we explained to him that the Easter Bunny was going to come. All Kasey said he wanted was M&M’s and eggs. Well, Easter morning came and Kasey came down the stairs with his wild hair and saw the eggs. All of a sudden, it just clicked for him. He grabbed a basket and started searching for eggs. He found a good chunk of them himself. We only had to guide him on a few of them. So, 36 eggs later, we sent him on the hunt for his basket. That was hidden a little more carefully, but he found it and loved everything. There was a little stuffed bunny and chick, which Kasey claimed were “cute.”
After that, we headed to my uncle’s house for Easter lunch. All of the Reyells were there along with Aunt Sarah’s family. It was really nice. Kasey loved it because everyone he knew was there and Uncle Darrell has real chicks and ducklings. He also claimed those were cute, too. Once lunch was over, Kasey played with my cousin Keegan for a little bit (they are only a year apart) and we headed over to Shannon & Cyle’s for Easter dinner. By now, Kasey has acquired 36 jelly bean filled eggs, two baskets, and one mondo chocolate bunny. Well, the Easter bunny also hid six eggs at their house. This time though, the he put money and M&M’s in the eggs. Needless to say, Kasey was THRILLED! Meme and Papa gave Kasey a bucket full of candy and goodies, too. After some games and yet another meal, we were on our way home. Needless to say, we were all beat.
This was Kasey’s first Easter where he got an idea of what was going on. Earlier in the week we explained to him that the Easter Bunny was going to come. All Kasey said he wanted was M&M’s and eggs. Well, Easter morning came and Kasey came down the stairs with his wild hair and saw the eggs. All of a sudden, it just clicked for him. He grabbed a basket and started searching for eggs. He found a good chunk of them himself. We only had to guide him on a few of them. So, 36 eggs later, we sent him on the hunt for his basket. That was hidden a little more carefully, but he found it and loved everything. There was a little stuffed bunny and chick, which Kasey claimed were “cute.”
After that, we headed to my uncle’s house for Easter lunch. All of the Reyells were there along with Aunt Sarah’s family. It was really nice. Kasey loved it because everyone he knew was there and Uncle Darrell has real chicks and ducklings. He also claimed those were cute, too. Once lunch was over, Kasey played with my cousin Keegan for a little bit (they are only a year apart) and we headed over to Shannon & Cyle’s for Easter dinner. By now, Kasey has acquired 36 jelly bean filled eggs, two baskets, and one mondo chocolate bunny. Well, the Easter bunny also hid six eggs at their house. This time though, the he put money and M&M’s in the eggs. Needless to say, Kasey was THRILLED! Meme and Papa gave Kasey a bucket full of candy and goodies, too. After some games and yet another meal, we were on our way home. Needless to say, we were all beat.
Wednesday, April 8, 2009
A little update
So it’s been over a week and it looks like I am slacking again ALL over the place. This will probably be pretty short, but who really knows.
Last week was sheer hell again, but in a good way. Saturday Keith, Kasey and I went to the egg hunt at the library. Since Kasey was right in the middle of the age groups, I decided I’d let him go look for eggs with the 1-2 year olds inside the library. Most people would ask why, but after seeing the little kids out on the lawn trying to keep up with the 3-5 year olds was kind of sad. Kasey found his five eggs super fast, so he helped another little boy search for eggs. We then grabbed a couple of snacks for him and we were ready to leave. We figured all of the eggs were already gone, but Kasey managed to snag two more just before some big kids tried to take them. He was so happy that he managed to get a package of M7Ms (mnmnms as he says it). After that, we headed to Plattsburgh to drop Kasey off and go to a double feature at the movies. That’s right, two movies in ONE day. I can’t even remember the last movie I went to see in the theatres. Anyway, we went to Cumberland 12 to see Fast and Furious and Adventureland. I had to say that I liked both movies, but I loved Fast and Furious. I can’t help it. Fast cars and Vin Diesel. WOW! He he. After that, we picked up Kasey and headed to the mall. We ended up buying new shoes for Keith and Kasey. I got Kasey the cutest Converse All-Stars. I’ll have to post a picture of them. Finally, at 8:00, we got home to relax a bit.
Sunday was MUCH calmer. Kasey and I went to Price Chopper, as always. He still loves going and he doesn’t even realize that I use it as an opportunity to squeeze in some speech therapy. Once we were done there, Kasey decided that he wanted McDonald’s for lunch, so off we went. Basically, we just hung around most of the day and we watched the final episode of ER. I was sad to see it end. It’s one of the few shows that have withstood the test of time. Kasey did not take a nap, yet again, so he was a crab. He managed to land himself in time out quite a bit. I got some spring purging done, too. Hopefully I’ll be able to do a little bit more this weekend.
Last night we went to my parents’ house, like we do every Tuesday. Kasey ate SO MUCH. He had 1.5 tacos, a cinnamon bun, 2 cookies, and gummy worms. WHAT A PIG. My grandpa came down to give Kasey a chocolate bunny for Easter and that made his day. He was happy to see his Great Papa. He crashed in the car, which was really cute. He was talking most of the way and then he was out like a light.
The rest of this week will just be dashing around to get ready for Easter. Plus, I head out to Los Angeles in about two weeks, so I’ll be getting ready for that, too.
Last week was sheer hell again, but in a good way. Saturday Keith, Kasey and I went to the egg hunt at the library. Since Kasey was right in the middle of the age groups, I decided I’d let him go look for eggs with the 1-2 year olds inside the library. Most people would ask why, but after seeing the little kids out on the lawn trying to keep up with the 3-5 year olds was kind of sad. Kasey found his five eggs super fast, so he helped another little boy search for eggs. We then grabbed a couple of snacks for him and we were ready to leave. We figured all of the eggs were already gone, but Kasey managed to snag two more just before some big kids tried to take them. He was so happy that he managed to get a package of M7Ms (mnmnms as he says it). After that, we headed to Plattsburgh to drop Kasey off and go to a double feature at the movies. That’s right, two movies in ONE day. I can’t even remember the last movie I went to see in the theatres. Anyway, we went to Cumberland 12 to see Fast and Furious and Adventureland. I had to say that I liked both movies, but I loved Fast and Furious. I can’t help it. Fast cars and Vin Diesel. WOW! He he. After that, we picked up Kasey and headed to the mall. We ended up buying new shoes for Keith and Kasey. I got Kasey the cutest Converse All-Stars. I’ll have to post a picture of them. Finally, at 8:00, we got home to relax a bit.
Sunday was MUCH calmer. Kasey and I went to Price Chopper, as always. He still loves going and he doesn’t even realize that I use it as an opportunity to squeeze in some speech therapy. Once we were done there, Kasey decided that he wanted McDonald’s for lunch, so off we went. Basically, we just hung around most of the day and we watched the final episode of ER. I was sad to see it end. It’s one of the few shows that have withstood the test of time. Kasey did not take a nap, yet again, so he was a crab. He managed to land himself in time out quite a bit. I got some spring purging done, too. Hopefully I’ll be able to do a little bit more this weekend.
Last night we went to my parents’ house, like we do every Tuesday. Kasey ate SO MUCH. He had 1.5 tacos, a cinnamon bun, 2 cookies, and gummy worms. WHAT A PIG. My grandpa came down to give Kasey a chocolate bunny for Easter and that made his day. He was happy to see his Great Papa. He crashed in the car, which was really cute. He was talking most of the way and then he was out like a light.
The rest of this week will just be dashing around to get ready for Easter. Plus, I head out to Los Angeles in about two weeks, so I’ll be getting ready for that, too.
Saturday, March 28, 2009
Seattle and back
Well, it's taken me almost a week, but I am FINALLY blogging about my trip. My on-site review of our office went well, but I worked crazy hours. Luckily, I was done working by Thursday afternoon. I was able to relax the rest of the day and Friday morning I drove down to Seattle to spend some time with Aunt Colleen, Uncle Dave and Jake.
Aunt Colleen works from home, so she was there when I arrived. I was able to unpack and chat with her for a bit in between her meetings for work. Once Uncle Dave got home from work, we had chicken, potatoes, asparagus and some white wine for dinner. Afterwards, we played some board games, which was a bunch of fun.
Saturday was a busy day. We went to the Space Needle, Pike's Market, and Kirkland. It was a ton of fun and the weather was beautiful (for once). To wrap it all up, we stopped at Chateau Ste Michelle, which is a winery. There is some amazing wine in Washington! Then we headed back home and played more games, drank more wine and ate some dinner.
Sunday we went to church at Timberlake Church. It was so much fun! Have you ever been to a service that's more like a rock concert? I loved it. Once we got back, we grabbed some lunch and headed to Snoqualmie Falls. Have I ever mentioned that I love waterfalls? They were really beautiful, but it was too cold and rainy to walk down to the bottom. We also checked out the Salish Lodge, which Uncle Dave's company manages. If Keith and I head out the Seattle to visit, we will be spending a night there. It has a fireplace in every room and it overlooks the falls. When we got back, we relaxed, played some wii, ate dinner and I headed off to the airport.
My flight home wasn't too bad. I didn't get too much sleep and I was a total bitch by the time I got home. Once I got home I crashed for a few hours and awaited the arrival of my family. I made some spaghetti for dinner and Kasey came running through the door. He was so happy to see me. Keith was pretty happy. too. :) I bought Kasey a couple of things while I was gone and he loved them.
On Tuesday, Kasey and I hung out all day. We went to visit my grandparent's Reyell. Grandma finally came home from the hospital and she was happy to be home.
The rest of the week was crazy busy at work. Tonight, Keith and I are going to see The Loggerm which ought to be a blast. Hopefully the rest of the weekend will be relaxing.
Aunt Colleen works from home, so she was there when I arrived. I was able to unpack and chat with her for a bit in between her meetings for work. Once Uncle Dave got home from work, we had chicken, potatoes, asparagus and some white wine for dinner. Afterwards, we played some board games, which was a bunch of fun.
Saturday was a busy day. We went to the Space Needle, Pike's Market, and Kirkland. It was a ton of fun and the weather was beautiful (for once). To wrap it all up, we stopped at Chateau Ste Michelle, which is a winery. There is some amazing wine in Washington! Then we headed back home and played more games, drank more wine and ate some dinner.
Sunday we went to church at Timberlake Church. It was so much fun! Have you ever been to a service that's more like a rock concert? I loved it. Once we got back, we grabbed some lunch and headed to Snoqualmie Falls. Have I ever mentioned that I love waterfalls? They were really beautiful, but it was too cold and rainy to walk down to the bottom. We also checked out the Salish Lodge, which Uncle Dave's company manages. If Keith and I head out the Seattle to visit, we will be spending a night there. It has a fireplace in every room and it overlooks the falls. When we got back, we relaxed, played some wii, ate dinner and I headed off to the airport.
My flight home wasn't too bad. I didn't get too much sleep and I was a total bitch by the time I got home. Once I got home I crashed for a few hours and awaited the arrival of my family. I made some spaghetti for dinner and Kasey came running through the door. He was so happy to see me. Keith was pretty happy. too. :) I bought Kasey a couple of things while I was gone and he loved them.
On Tuesday, Kasey and I hung out all day. We went to visit my grandparent's Reyell. Grandma finally came home from the hospital and she was happy to be home.
The rest of the week was crazy busy at work. Tonight, Keith and I are going to see The Loggerm which ought to be a blast. Hopefully the rest of the weekend will be relaxing.
Sunday, March 15, 2009
From the other side of the country
I had the intention of blogging before I left for my trip, but that didn't go as planned. Last week was somewhat calmer and I am so grateful for that. I managed to not get anything done until Thursday night. That night, I got my haircut and I worked on my packing. Let's just say that the few things I threw in the suitcase last Saturday were far short of what I actually took with me.
Friday was sheer chaos. Kasey and I headed out at 7:00 to meet with his therapists and case manager for his speech and special instruction. Kasey was discharged from his special instruction and his speech was dropped down to two days a week. Everyone couldn't believe how far he's come in six months. So that's the good news. The bad news is that he will only get services for the next six months, so I had to start thinking about preschool. Well, I actually enrolled Kasey in nursery school at the YMCA. It's only two days a week for 2.5 hours, but he also gets swimming lessons, which is really great. I am so sad that my little munchkin will need a backpack soon.
After all of that, I managed to bring Kasey to the gym and we went to McDonald's for lunch. Then, I dropped Kasey and Meme off at Meme's house and I headed to the mall to pick up some stuff for my trip. Once that was all done, I went to go visit Grandma Reyell at the hospital. She is doing so much better. I sadly had to dash away to bring my brother to Montreal.
Now bringing Craig to the airport was fun, UNTIL I had to drive home. I did get a bit lost and traffic was a mess, but I eventually got home. When I got there, Shannon and Cyle were there which meant a rousing night of cards. It was fun. We haven't done that in awhile.
Saturday, I'd just rather not even talk about. I basically flew around packing, grocery shopping, cleaning, etc. I was in bed by 9:00 because I had to leave the house by 2:00 am.
After VERY little sleep, I rolled out of bed and was out the door by 2:30 am. I got to the airport just in time to find out that Continental AND TSA open at 4:30. So, I had to wait around for people to get to work. One of the x-ray machines was down, so security took forever. My flight to Newark was a bit rough, but at least it was fast. I managed to take a quick nap. My flight to Seattle was a nightmare. We boarded a little late and I was hoping to have the seat next to me empty. Unfortunately, that wasn't the case. A very nice man from Tel Aviv sat next to me, which wouldn't have been a problem if he had showered or brushed his teeth in the last week. It was all topped off when he fell asleep. He happened to start snoring AND FARTING! It was SO gross. I almost puked. The plane was full, so I couldn't move. Let's just say that it was a really long six hours. Once we landed I grabbed the shuttle to Enterprise and picked up my car. After two hours of driving, I finally arrived in Bellingham. Now, I am just relaxing and trying to stay awake.
I hope this week goes well. It's really beautiful up here in the Pacific Northwest, but I really miss my family. I guess Kasey kept asking where I went and he doesn't really get it. I feel so bad. Oh well. He'll forget all about me by tomorrow. Anyway, I get to see Aunt Coleen and Uncle Dave at the end of the week, so that will be really exciting!
Friday was sheer chaos. Kasey and I headed out at 7:00 to meet with his therapists and case manager for his speech and special instruction. Kasey was discharged from his special instruction and his speech was dropped down to two days a week. Everyone couldn't believe how far he's come in six months. So that's the good news. The bad news is that he will only get services for the next six months, so I had to start thinking about preschool. Well, I actually enrolled Kasey in nursery school at the YMCA. It's only two days a week for 2.5 hours, but he also gets swimming lessons, which is really great. I am so sad that my little munchkin will need a backpack soon.
After all of that, I managed to bring Kasey to the gym and we went to McDonald's for lunch. Then, I dropped Kasey and Meme off at Meme's house and I headed to the mall to pick up some stuff for my trip. Once that was all done, I went to go visit Grandma Reyell at the hospital. She is doing so much better. I sadly had to dash away to bring my brother to Montreal.
Now bringing Craig to the airport was fun, UNTIL I had to drive home. I did get a bit lost and traffic was a mess, but I eventually got home. When I got there, Shannon and Cyle were there which meant a rousing night of cards. It was fun. We haven't done that in awhile.
Saturday, I'd just rather not even talk about. I basically flew around packing, grocery shopping, cleaning, etc. I was in bed by 9:00 because I had to leave the house by 2:00 am.
After VERY little sleep, I rolled out of bed and was out the door by 2:30 am. I got to the airport just in time to find out that Continental AND TSA open at 4:30. So, I had to wait around for people to get to work. One of the x-ray machines was down, so security took forever. My flight to Newark was a bit rough, but at least it was fast. I managed to take a quick nap. My flight to Seattle was a nightmare. We boarded a little late and I was hoping to have the seat next to me empty. Unfortunately, that wasn't the case. A very nice man from Tel Aviv sat next to me, which wouldn't have been a problem if he had showered or brushed his teeth in the last week. It was all topped off when he fell asleep. He happened to start snoring AND FARTING! It was SO gross. I almost puked. The plane was full, so I couldn't move. Let's just say that it was a really long six hours. Once we landed I grabbed the shuttle to Enterprise and picked up my car. After two hours of driving, I finally arrived in Bellingham. Now, I am just relaxing and trying to stay awake.
I hope this week goes well. It's really beautiful up here in the Pacific Northwest, but I really miss my family. I guess Kasey kept asking where I went and he doesn't really get it. I feel so bad. Oh well. He'll forget all about me by tomorrow. Anyway, I get to see Aunt Coleen and Uncle Dave at the end of the week, so that will be really exciting!
Monday, March 9, 2009
Another week has gone by...
Well, the week was relatively calm until all hell broke loose on Thursday. Can’t we just go one week with a bit of normalcy?
Thursday morning, my mom sent an e-mail stating that my grandmother was brought to the hospital by ambulance. Apparently, she fell down two stairs and broke both of her ankles. My poor Grandma Reyell has more stuff happen to her, I swear, but this was pretty bad. Her and my grandfather had just gotten back from there sojourn in Florida a few days before the accident. It turns out that she had a hairline fracture on the left ankle and a compound fracture on the right. Here’s what I don’t understand. The hospital kept calling it a compound fracture, but it never broke the skin. Anyway… I guess after she fell grandma dragged herself to the cordless phone just to find out it was dead and she had to drag herself all the way to the kitchen to get the wall phone.
On Friday, I decided that I would go to the hospital to wait with Grandpa while Grandma was in surgery. They didn’t come to get her until 3:15. They didn’t even know at that point if they could operate because her ankle wasn’t set correctly twice on Thursday. Luckily, they opened her up and she was out of surgery in a half an hour. I can honestly say that I cried when I first saw her. She’s so little to begin with and to see her in that much pain, it just broke my heart. Go ahead, call me a wuss, I dare you!
Backtracking a bit… I went to the gym with Kasey Friday afternoon. Linda, my mother-in-law, said that Kasey is really nervous and timid around other kids and that he wouldn’t going into this bouncy house they have. She said my goal was to get him into the bouncy thing. Once we got there, Kasey was a little shy. Once he went through his little icebreaker of saying “Hi” to the other kids, he was playing and having a blast. I also got him to FINALLY go into the bounce house. The first time, I had to crawl in with him. About halfway through, I snuck out and he was fine. I actually had to coerce him to get OUT of the darn thing. Later on, he got in line to go again and he went in all by himself. I’m happy he’s starting to get over some of his anxiety, but at the same time, he was a little bit of a bully, too. I guess you can’t have everything…
Friday night we were supposed to meet Aimee, Jaramy, Dee, & Mark at PSU to go to the Laramie Project. Crazy us didn’t buy tickets beforehand and it was all sold-out. So instead, we headed to Friendly’s for ice cream and then we headed back to Dee & Mark’s for awhile. Around 1:00, we got home, unloaded the kid and dog and crashed.
As for the rest of the weekend, we didn’t do much. Kasey and I took a long walk on Saturday and bought two street hockey sticks, which he LOVES. On Sunday, Keith and I watched The House Bunny. Other than that, I was trying to get everything figured out for my work trip next weekend. Hopefully it will be warmer in Seattle/Blaine. I’m sick of the cold!
Thursday morning, my mom sent an e-mail stating that my grandmother was brought to the hospital by ambulance. Apparently, she fell down two stairs and broke both of her ankles. My poor Grandma Reyell has more stuff happen to her, I swear, but this was pretty bad. Her and my grandfather had just gotten back from there sojourn in Florida a few days before the accident. It turns out that she had a hairline fracture on the left ankle and a compound fracture on the right. Here’s what I don’t understand. The hospital kept calling it a compound fracture, but it never broke the skin. Anyway… I guess after she fell grandma dragged herself to the cordless phone just to find out it was dead and she had to drag herself all the way to the kitchen to get the wall phone.
On Friday, I decided that I would go to the hospital to wait with Grandpa while Grandma was in surgery. They didn’t come to get her until 3:15. They didn’t even know at that point if they could operate because her ankle wasn’t set correctly twice on Thursday. Luckily, they opened her up and she was out of surgery in a half an hour. I can honestly say that I cried when I first saw her. She’s so little to begin with and to see her in that much pain, it just broke my heart. Go ahead, call me a wuss, I dare you!
Backtracking a bit… I went to the gym with Kasey Friday afternoon. Linda, my mother-in-law, said that Kasey is really nervous and timid around other kids and that he wouldn’t going into this bouncy house they have. She said my goal was to get him into the bouncy thing. Once we got there, Kasey was a little shy. Once he went through his little icebreaker of saying “Hi” to the other kids, he was playing and having a blast. I also got him to FINALLY go into the bounce house. The first time, I had to crawl in with him. About halfway through, I snuck out and he was fine. I actually had to coerce him to get OUT of the darn thing. Later on, he got in line to go again and he went in all by himself. I’m happy he’s starting to get over some of his anxiety, but at the same time, he was a little bit of a bully, too. I guess you can’t have everything…
Friday night we were supposed to meet Aimee, Jaramy, Dee, & Mark at PSU to go to the Laramie Project. Crazy us didn’t buy tickets beforehand and it was all sold-out. So instead, we headed to Friendly’s for ice cream and then we headed back to Dee & Mark’s for awhile. Around 1:00, we got home, unloaded the kid and dog and crashed.
As for the rest of the weekend, we didn’t do much. Kasey and I took a long walk on Saturday and bought two street hockey sticks, which he LOVES. On Sunday, Keith and I watched The House Bunny. Other than that, I was trying to get everything figured out for my work trip next weekend. Hopefully it will be warmer in Seattle/Blaine. I’m sick of the cold!
Monday, March 2, 2009
Blood, Bruises, and Other Chaos
I apologize for my delay in posting anything new, but it seems that we are always busy. I realize we probably create the craziness ourselves, but oh well.
Now, let’s see… Going back to 2/21, Kasey and I drove to Albany for Emma’s birthday. I realize that driving three hours each way in one day sounds like a lot, but my kid is awesome and I like traveling with him. With that being said, please note that his bladder does not travel well. We were about an hour into the trip when I noticed that Kasey’s cheeks were bright red. Can anyone say sunburn? What can I say? He’s irish, he burns in any sunlight. So, we stopped at Target in Aviation Mall. I had intended on taking him to the bathroom there, but he had already peed through his pull-up, pants and into his car seat. Needless to say, he was changed in the back of the car and we went to Target to get a towel for him to sit on, an extra pair of pants, and sunshades. We bought a few extra things and we were on our way again. We somehow managed to be only about 10 minutes late, which is quite impressive for me.
I arrived just about the same time as Stacy and Robin. That’s right! I finally met Robin! Her mommy travels with kids, too! She looks so much like Stacy when she was little. I almost feel like I’m watching my best friend grow up again. Anyway, Kasey had a BLAST at the party. There were about ten kids, including Kasey. He just loved every minute of it. We stayed until just before Kasey’s bedtime. I then packed a sleepy kid in pjs into the car and we were off. Kasey fell asleep around 8:30 and slept until about 10:00. Then, he woke up and finished watching his Backyardigans DVD. That’s right, I cheat. Anyway, we got home around 10:30 and Kasey was up to party. Too bad he was swiftly carried to bed for the night.
As for Sunday, we just relaxed. I think I even took a nap in there somewhere.
On Friday, we had to take our cat, Hermione, to the vet’s. Apparently she has gingivitis, which resulted in her having two teeth pulled and an extensive cleaning. She was really out of it Friday and she was still a little loopy on Saturday.
This Saturday, we just hung out around the house. I cleaned through most of my kitchen cabinets and I washed all of my stemware. Once that was done, I just read a book and took a nap. Kasey helped me make spaghetti for dinner, which was fun, but he is a little too excited to shake oregano into the pot. Oh well. How else do they learn, right?
Now yesterday sort of sucked. To be honest, it started out fine. Kasey and I went to Price Chopper, like we do every Sunday and he helped me grocery shop. He was really good, so we had McDonald’s for lunch (Keith also asked that I pick it up). After lunch, Kasey went upstairs for a nap. Two hours later, he still wasn’t sleeping, so we just let him out of his room. While he was upstairs, Keith and I watched Pineapple Express. What a crazy movie. If you want to read a review, check out Keith’s blog.
Here comes the sucky part… We have told Kasey about a million times not to play on the stairs and not to ride his big Tonka truck anywhere near the stairs. He actually has log rolled down the stairs twice, but he didn’t get hurt, but rather it just scared the hell out of him. Yesterday was a different story. Kasey somehow decided to ride his Tonka truck down the stairs. At the sound of the first thud, we knew what was happening. Kasey rolled multiple times down the stairs and crashed at the bottom. What scared me the most was that he had a terrible bloody nose. He also scratched up the left side of his face and got a black eye. I can honestly say, he scared me to death. What I don’t understand, is why he wanted to go play with his truck as soon as the blood dried. What is it with boys??
Anyway, Keith and I had planned to go to my in-laws for dinner, so we left early to try to find a gate for the stairs AGAIN. I’ve been trying to find one that will work that is pressure mounted, but our newel post is only 28.5” tall, so that makes it so much harder. Unfortunately, we couldn’t find one in Plattsburgh, but I did order one that I hope will work. If not, I may have to ruin the banister by mounting a gate. I didn’t really want to do that because we don’t plan on staying in our house too much longer. Oh well. We’ll see!
As for this week, I think I, personally, will be busy. I have a work trip to Blaine/Seattle coming up on the 16th and I have to get the house, my packing, and my work stuff all in order before I go. I think on Friday we are going to see the Laramie Project at Plattsburgh State. Other than that, who knows what the weekend will bring!! Hopefully, less bruises and blood.
Now, let’s see… Going back to 2/21, Kasey and I drove to Albany for Emma’s birthday. I realize that driving three hours each way in one day sounds like a lot, but my kid is awesome and I like traveling with him. With that being said, please note that his bladder does not travel well. We were about an hour into the trip when I noticed that Kasey’s cheeks were bright red. Can anyone say sunburn? What can I say? He’s irish, he burns in any sunlight. So, we stopped at Target in Aviation Mall. I had intended on taking him to the bathroom there, but he had already peed through his pull-up, pants and into his car seat. Needless to say, he was changed in the back of the car and we went to Target to get a towel for him to sit on, an extra pair of pants, and sunshades. We bought a few extra things and we were on our way again. We somehow managed to be only about 10 minutes late, which is quite impressive for me.
I arrived just about the same time as Stacy and Robin. That’s right! I finally met Robin! Her mommy travels with kids, too! She looks so much like Stacy when she was little. I almost feel like I’m watching my best friend grow up again. Anyway, Kasey had a BLAST at the party. There were about ten kids, including Kasey. He just loved every minute of it. We stayed until just before Kasey’s bedtime. I then packed a sleepy kid in pjs into the car and we were off. Kasey fell asleep around 8:30 and slept until about 10:00. Then, he woke up and finished watching his Backyardigans DVD. That’s right, I cheat. Anyway, we got home around 10:30 and Kasey was up to party. Too bad he was swiftly carried to bed for the night.
As for Sunday, we just relaxed. I think I even took a nap in there somewhere.
On Friday, we had to take our cat, Hermione, to the vet’s. Apparently she has gingivitis, which resulted in her having two teeth pulled and an extensive cleaning. She was really out of it Friday and she was still a little loopy on Saturday.
This Saturday, we just hung out around the house. I cleaned through most of my kitchen cabinets and I washed all of my stemware. Once that was done, I just read a book and took a nap. Kasey helped me make spaghetti for dinner, which was fun, but he is a little too excited to shake oregano into the pot. Oh well. How else do they learn, right?
Now yesterday sort of sucked. To be honest, it started out fine. Kasey and I went to Price Chopper, like we do every Sunday and he helped me grocery shop. He was really good, so we had McDonald’s for lunch (Keith also asked that I pick it up). After lunch, Kasey went upstairs for a nap. Two hours later, he still wasn’t sleeping, so we just let him out of his room. While he was upstairs, Keith and I watched Pineapple Express. What a crazy movie. If you want to read a review, check out Keith’s blog.
Here comes the sucky part… We have told Kasey about a million times not to play on the stairs and not to ride his big Tonka truck anywhere near the stairs. He actually has log rolled down the stairs twice, but he didn’t get hurt, but rather it just scared the hell out of him. Yesterday was a different story. Kasey somehow decided to ride his Tonka truck down the stairs. At the sound of the first thud, we knew what was happening. Kasey rolled multiple times down the stairs and crashed at the bottom. What scared me the most was that he had a terrible bloody nose. He also scratched up the left side of his face and got a black eye. I can honestly say, he scared me to death. What I don’t understand, is why he wanted to go play with his truck as soon as the blood dried. What is it with boys??
Anyway, Keith and I had planned to go to my in-laws for dinner, so we left early to try to find a gate for the stairs AGAIN. I’ve been trying to find one that will work that is pressure mounted, but our newel post is only 28.5” tall, so that makes it so much harder. Unfortunately, we couldn’t find one in Plattsburgh, but I did order one that I hope will work. If not, I may have to ruin the banister by mounting a gate. I didn’t really want to do that because we don’t plan on staying in our house too much longer. Oh well. We’ll see!
As for this week, I think I, personally, will be busy. I have a work trip to Blaine/Seattle coming up on the 16th and I have to get the house, my packing, and my work stuff all in order before I go. I think on Friday we are going to see the Laramie Project at Plattsburgh State. Other than that, who knows what the weekend will bring!! Hopefully, less bruises and blood.
Friday, February 20, 2009
Yet another busy week
Again, we have been one busy little family… It all goes back to last Friday (aka: The day before the wedding). I was actually smart enough to take the whole day off of work to get everything ready for Katy’s wedding and boy am I happy I did!
I dashed out of the house at 11:00 and nearly forgot my bridesmaid’s dress (seriously, who does that?). Once everything was in the car, I was off to run errands. Dee gave me a couple of items to pick up for the emergency bag and I had to find hair clips, a purse and closed toe shoes. I went to walmart and I have to say that I honestly hate that place. I couldn’t find anything I needed from there, so I went to the mall. I first attacked Claire’s for something to put in my hair (stupid me cut it too short to do anything nice with it). Much to my surprise, I ran into Katy there. Seems that we had a similar issue with missing hair clips. I asked her what she was up to for the rest of the day and she said nothing, so I dragged her along with me to try to find a purse, shoes, nail polish and nylons. Luckily, she talked me out of this really ugly purse with a hideously huge bow on it. I was just going to buy it because it matched our dresses. Ha ha! Next we stopped in Payless. I have to admit, I generally try to avoid this store, but I needed shoes that would keep my feet warmer and I was desperate. Wouldn’t you know that we found a pair of shoes that nearly matched our dresses? Good thing Katy made me try them on! They were only $10 and all shoes were buy one get one half off, so I bought Dee a pair, too. Who can beat $15 for two pairs of shoes we’ll wear once? After running to Target for the remaining items, I went to General Trading Company and found a new Vera Bradley purse that went well with my dress (What can I say? I’m obsessed!).
Just before rehearsal, Katy and I headed over to her parent’s to drop off our dresses. While we were there, we did a little cleaning to help out Mrs. LaBarr and then we were on a run again to the rehearsal. Now, I have to be honest, when the groom is missing, the rehearsal goes super fast. After two quick practice runs, I took a very wet Jack (he was playing in the baptismal font) back to Dee and Mark’s. Once Kim, Katy, Dee & Mark were there, we had pizza, breadsticks and cookies. THEY WERE ALL SO YUMMY!! Then we played Apples to Apples, which got way out of hand, but it was a blast. Finally, I headed off to my parents house for some much needed sleep.
Saturday came all too soon and I was up and running AGAIN. My wonderful mom made me chocolate chip cookies for breakfast. How awesome is that?? Then, I went to Klipper Korner to get my hair done. I hate to say this, but I hated my hair. I wanted something really simple and I ended up looking like an old lady with way too much hairspray. I guess I’ll have to prepare better for the other two weddings I’m in this year. I then returned to my parents to wait for Dee to pick me up. Once she picked me up, we sped to Dee’s parents and threw our dresses on as the photographers were already there. Now about the photographers: Katy had Greer and Cicarelli and I have to tell you guys, they are wonderful. They did Dee’s wedding, my aunt and uncle's wedding, and now Katy’s and I just love their work. I think I’ll have them do our next family pictures. Anyway, the wedding was beautiful. Ryan, Katy and just about everyone cried. The reception was amazing and, yes, I did eat two plates of food, but it was SO worth it. I should have noted sooner though that my dress was taken in a little too much and the boning in it made it very hard to breathe. Well, Keith and I had a blast and I’m pretty sure everyone else did, too.
Sunday was the post-wedding brunch at Crickets. Thankfully, Katy and Ryan allowed Kasey to come and I got to see my little guy for the first time since Thursday. We picked up Jack at Cliff & Joan’s and headed to Plattsburgh to do a baby-swap at my in-laws. Kasey was less then wonderful at brunch, but once we got a ball out, Jack, Mark, Dee, Kasey and I played a little soccer which kept the boys giggling. We had to pick my car up on the way home, so Kasey and I stayed at my parents for a bit and Keith went to pick up Abby and head home. Well, this is where it gets interesting. Apparently, Kasey is now obsessed with the mall. He decided to tell me that he didn’t want to go home, but rather he wanted to go the mall for a ball. What can I say? I missed him terribly, so off we went. Wouldn’t you know it, he really did want a ball. He didn’t ask for it until we were in Dicks and I told him he couldn’t have another pair of Crocs. So, we went off to Target to buy a new DVD player and we found a ball for Kasey. He was a good kid, so I guess he deserved it.
Monday I was off for President’s Day, so Kasey and I went to the grocery store. That kid sure loves shopping! I actually don’t mind bringing him because I use it as a speech therapy session. Once we came home, Kasey was off for a nap and, believe it or not, he actually took one in his big boy bed. I guess I really tired him out!
Tuesday I had my six month dental cleaning and it was sheer hell. I went to run some errands and then we went out to eat at Butcher Block with the in-laws.
Wednesday I started to feel pretty crappy and yesterday morning was terrible. I stayed home from work and literally slept all day. I feel a little better today and hopefully I will be much better by tomorrow.
As for tomorrow, Kasey and I are heading down to Albany for Emma’s 2nd birthday party. Now, for anyone who doesn’t know Emma, she is this sweet little girl. She and her brother, Tyler, belong to Jamie & Andy Bosselman. Jamie is Stacy’s cousin. They are really great people and I hate that we don’t get to see each other more often. I’ll try to update you on that trip on Sunday, if I get a chance. However, I just may want to relax for a change!
Kano E
I dashed out of the house at 11:00 and nearly forgot my bridesmaid’s dress (seriously, who does that?). Once everything was in the car, I was off to run errands. Dee gave me a couple of items to pick up for the emergency bag and I had to find hair clips, a purse and closed toe shoes. I went to walmart and I have to say that I honestly hate that place. I couldn’t find anything I needed from there, so I went to the mall. I first attacked Claire’s for something to put in my hair (stupid me cut it too short to do anything nice with it). Much to my surprise, I ran into Katy there. Seems that we had a similar issue with missing hair clips. I asked her what she was up to for the rest of the day and she said nothing, so I dragged her along with me to try to find a purse, shoes, nail polish and nylons. Luckily, she talked me out of this really ugly purse with a hideously huge bow on it. I was just going to buy it because it matched our dresses. Ha ha! Next we stopped in Payless. I have to admit, I generally try to avoid this store, but I needed shoes that would keep my feet warmer and I was desperate. Wouldn’t you know that we found a pair of shoes that nearly matched our dresses? Good thing Katy made me try them on! They were only $10 and all shoes were buy one get one half off, so I bought Dee a pair, too. Who can beat $15 for two pairs of shoes we’ll wear once? After running to Target for the remaining items, I went to General Trading Company and found a new Vera Bradley purse that went well with my dress (What can I say? I’m obsessed!).
Just before rehearsal, Katy and I headed over to her parent’s to drop off our dresses. While we were there, we did a little cleaning to help out Mrs. LaBarr and then we were on a run again to the rehearsal. Now, I have to be honest, when the groom is missing, the rehearsal goes super fast. After two quick practice runs, I took a very wet Jack (he was playing in the baptismal font) back to Dee and Mark’s. Once Kim, Katy, Dee & Mark were there, we had pizza, breadsticks and cookies. THEY WERE ALL SO YUMMY!! Then we played Apples to Apples, which got way out of hand, but it was a blast. Finally, I headed off to my parents house for some much needed sleep.
Saturday came all too soon and I was up and running AGAIN. My wonderful mom made me chocolate chip cookies for breakfast. How awesome is that?? Then, I went to Klipper Korner to get my hair done. I hate to say this, but I hated my hair. I wanted something really simple and I ended up looking like an old lady with way too much hairspray. I guess I’ll have to prepare better for the other two weddings I’m in this year. I then returned to my parents to wait for Dee to pick me up. Once she picked me up, we sped to Dee’s parents and threw our dresses on as the photographers were already there. Now about the photographers: Katy had Greer and Cicarelli and I have to tell you guys, they are wonderful. They did Dee’s wedding, my aunt and uncle's wedding, and now Katy’s and I just love their work. I think I’ll have them do our next family pictures. Anyway, the wedding was beautiful. Ryan, Katy and just about everyone cried. The reception was amazing and, yes, I did eat two plates of food, but it was SO worth it. I should have noted sooner though that my dress was taken in a little too much and the boning in it made it very hard to breathe. Well, Keith and I had a blast and I’m pretty sure everyone else did, too.
Sunday was the post-wedding brunch at Crickets. Thankfully, Katy and Ryan allowed Kasey to come and I got to see my little guy for the first time since Thursday. We picked up Jack at Cliff & Joan’s and headed to Plattsburgh to do a baby-swap at my in-laws. Kasey was less then wonderful at brunch, but once we got a ball out, Jack, Mark, Dee, Kasey and I played a little soccer which kept the boys giggling. We had to pick my car up on the way home, so Kasey and I stayed at my parents for a bit and Keith went to pick up Abby and head home. Well, this is where it gets interesting. Apparently, Kasey is now obsessed with the mall. He decided to tell me that he didn’t want to go home, but rather he wanted to go the mall for a ball. What can I say? I missed him terribly, so off we went. Wouldn’t you know it, he really did want a ball. He didn’t ask for it until we were in Dicks and I told him he couldn’t have another pair of Crocs. So, we went off to Target to buy a new DVD player and we found a ball for Kasey. He was a good kid, so I guess he deserved it.
Monday I was off for President’s Day, so Kasey and I went to the grocery store. That kid sure loves shopping! I actually don’t mind bringing him because I use it as a speech therapy session. Once we came home, Kasey was off for a nap and, believe it or not, he actually took one in his big boy bed. I guess I really tired him out!
Tuesday I had my six month dental cleaning and it was sheer hell. I went to run some errands and then we went out to eat at Butcher Block with the in-laws.
Wednesday I started to feel pretty crappy and yesterday morning was terrible. I stayed home from work and literally slept all day. I feel a little better today and hopefully I will be much better by tomorrow.
As for tomorrow, Kasey and I are heading down to Albany for Emma’s 2nd birthday party. Now, for anyone who doesn’t know Emma, she is this sweet little girl. She and her brother, Tyler, belong to Jamie & Andy Bosselman. Jamie is Stacy’s cousin. They are really great people and I hate that we don’t get to see each other more often. I’ll try to update you on that trip on Sunday, if I get a chance. However, I just may want to relax for a change!
Kano E
Tuesday, February 3, 2009
Lots of updates
Well, it’s been awhile, so I figured I’d do a little update. Let’s see… Keith’s birthday was a week ago. It was pretty low key. I just ordered a couple of pizzas and we had ice cream cake. Kasey fell asleep in the car and was a nightmare and didn’t want to eat dinner. So, he just had cake for dinner. What a bad mom, huh?
Last Wednesday, amongst a nasty snowstorm, Keith, Kasey, Denny, Linda and I headed out to the Flynn for Sesame Street Live. It was a Christmas present for Kasey from his Meme and Grandpa. We didn’t get to leave Plattsburgh until well after 4:00, so, needless to say, we didn’t get there any too early. We had just enough time to scarf down some food at Scuffer’s and trudge through the snow to the Flynn. Kasey really loved the show, but I do have a couple of complaints. First of all, why the hell would a show start at 7:00 when it is intended for children? Honestly, but intermission, Kasey was fading quickly. Luckily he made it through the whole show and chattered about it most of the ride home. Secondly, why does everything have to be so damn expensive. I mean seriously, $8 for a mylar balloon? $25 for an Elmo. Geez. Kasey convinced me to get him a figurine set of all of the characters, but that was still $25. Oh well. I guess these are the things you do for kids.
Speaking of the snowstorm… Nine years ago, almost to the day of Sesame Street Live, I was headed to the Flynn with my best friend Stacy for a Guster and G Love concert in the middle of a blizzard. My how history repeats itself…
Friday night I had another interesting night at the Flynn (I really should become a member). My mother and I decided to go to the Ladysmith Black Mambazo concert. Yes, it’s true, I am a huge fan of this South African a cappella group. Call me a geek, I dare you!! Anyway, I rushed out of work at 5:00 Friday and met my mom at Gus’s (aren’t we fancy??). Just as we were getting ready to leave I received a frantic call from Keith asking where we were. Apparently the ferry crashed at 5:30 and he was scared that we were on it (knowing full well that we have shit for luck). Luckily we weren’t, but it still meant a really long delay. Once we finally got to downtown Burlington, we had to wonderful task of trying to find parking on a Friday night. Needless to say, Jenny the Garmin was useless. We tried to go to the parking at the Burlington Towncenter, but it was full, which meant driving in reverse out of the parking garage. Luckily, my mother was driving. We finally found a rather shady parking garage with spots left open and we ran to the Flynn. We barely got our tickets in time and the lights were flickering shortly after walking into the building. Now our seats… I guess I should have taken into consideration the fact that there are a lot of fat people in this world. If I had, I would have bought another ticket just for an empty seat. I was squished next to this fat woman who had the nerve to continually elbow me in the ribs. Don’t get me wrong, she looked nice, but I wanted to knock her teeth out. I guess we’re lucky my mom didn’t sit there because we would have ended up in jail. The concert was absolutely amazing. Ladysmith only comes to the States every five years or so, which makes this a truly special event. They are so energetic live that I bought a DVD (again, I know I’m a geek). At the end, my mom and I rushed to buy the CDs we were missing and the new DVD because there was going to be a meet and greet with some of the guys. Well, my bladder won out over waiting, so we dashed to the bathroom. Luckily, we didn’t miss the meet and greet and we were able to get two signatures on all of our stuff. Finally we were headed home. I ended up rolling into bed about 1:30 in the morning and, for once, I felt like my old pre-mom self. It’s nice to act out of character every now and then.
Now Sunday, I think, goes with out saying. WAY TO GO STEELERS! Kasey was the most excited out of all of us. He kept saying, “Football cake for football party.” It was really cute. He helped me decorate and was persistent about eating that cake. He managed to make a mess of everything, but he had a blast. I have to admit, it was a great game. I hate blowouts, but I would have enjoyed a little more wiggle room.
Monday was chaotic. I preemptively took the day off anticipating fatigue and a slight hangover. Well, I was right about the fatigue, but I also forgot to factor in Kasey. He was CRAZY yesterday. I didn’t get very much done, but I guess that’s just how it goes sometimes. We did however; get our BlackBerry Storms in, which took the whole day to set up. Honestly, I don’t know what everyone is bitching about. I love it and it’s so easy to use. I am officially addicted! Also, Monday was my dad’s 45th birthday.
That’s about all for now. I am hoping for a calm week and weekend for a change.
Kano E
Last Wednesday, amongst a nasty snowstorm, Keith, Kasey, Denny, Linda and I headed out to the Flynn for Sesame Street Live. It was a Christmas present for Kasey from his Meme and Grandpa. We didn’t get to leave Plattsburgh until well after 4:00, so, needless to say, we didn’t get there any too early. We had just enough time to scarf down some food at Scuffer’s and trudge through the snow to the Flynn. Kasey really loved the show, but I do have a couple of complaints. First of all, why the hell would a show start at 7:00 when it is intended for children? Honestly, but intermission, Kasey was fading quickly. Luckily he made it through the whole show and chattered about it most of the ride home. Secondly, why does everything have to be so damn expensive. I mean seriously, $8 for a mylar balloon? $25 for an Elmo. Geez. Kasey convinced me to get him a figurine set of all of the characters, but that was still $25. Oh well. I guess these are the things you do for kids.
Speaking of the snowstorm… Nine years ago, almost to the day of Sesame Street Live, I was headed to the Flynn with my best friend Stacy for a Guster and G Love concert in the middle of a blizzard. My how history repeats itself…
Friday night I had another interesting night at the Flynn (I really should become a member). My mother and I decided to go to the Ladysmith Black Mambazo concert. Yes, it’s true, I am a huge fan of this South African a cappella group. Call me a geek, I dare you!! Anyway, I rushed out of work at 5:00 Friday and met my mom at Gus’s (aren’t we fancy??). Just as we were getting ready to leave I received a frantic call from Keith asking where we were. Apparently the ferry crashed at 5:30 and he was scared that we were on it (knowing full well that we have shit for luck). Luckily we weren’t, but it still meant a really long delay. Once we finally got to downtown Burlington, we had to wonderful task of trying to find parking on a Friday night. Needless to say, Jenny the Garmin was useless. We tried to go to the parking at the Burlington Towncenter, but it was full, which meant driving in reverse out of the parking garage. Luckily, my mother was driving. We finally found a rather shady parking garage with spots left open and we ran to the Flynn. We barely got our tickets in time and the lights were flickering shortly after walking into the building. Now our seats… I guess I should have taken into consideration the fact that there are a lot of fat people in this world. If I had, I would have bought another ticket just for an empty seat. I was squished next to this fat woman who had the nerve to continually elbow me in the ribs. Don’t get me wrong, she looked nice, but I wanted to knock her teeth out. I guess we’re lucky my mom didn’t sit there because we would have ended up in jail. The concert was absolutely amazing. Ladysmith only comes to the States every five years or so, which makes this a truly special event. They are so energetic live that I bought a DVD (again, I know I’m a geek). At the end, my mom and I rushed to buy the CDs we were missing and the new DVD because there was going to be a meet and greet with some of the guys. Well, my bladder won out over waiting, so we dashed to the bathroom. Luckily, we didn’t miss the meet and greet and we were able to get two signatures on all of our stuff. Finally we were headed home. I ended up rolling into bed about 1:30 in the morning and, for once, I felt like my old pre-mom self. It’s nice to act out of character every now and then.
Now Sunday, I think, goes with out saying. WAY TO GO STEELERS! Kasey was the most excited out of all of us. He kept saying, “Football cake for football party.” It was really cute. He helped me decorate and was persistent about eating that cake. He managed to make a mess of everything, but he had a blast. I have to admit, it was a great game. I hate blowouts, but I would have enjoyed a little more wiggle room.
Monday was chaotic. I preemptively took the day off anticipating fatigue and a slight hangover. Well, I was right about the fatigue, but I also forgot to factor in Kasey. He was CRAZY yesterday. I didn’t get very much done, but I guess that’s just how it goes sometimes. We did however; get our BlackBerry Storms in, which took the whole day to set up. Honestly, I don’t know what everyone is bitching about. I love it and it’s so easy to use. I am officially addicted! Also, Monday was my dad’s 45th birthday.
That’s about all for now. I am hoping for a calm week and weekend for a change.
Kano E
Tuesday, January 27, 2009
Thursday, January 22, 2009
My big boy...
Well, Kasey's new furniture was delivered by Ashley's yesterday along with our new bedroom furniture and some dressers for the downstairs bedroom.
It took me all afternoon to get Kasey's room configured and reorganized, but finally, I was done. He was SO excited about it. He keeps trying to say big boy bed, but it doesn't come out very clear. He had to show Daddy and Aunt Shannon and call Nana. He loves it all. He keeps opening all of his drawers and climbing up on his bed. Most of the afternoon, he just sat in bed and watched his DVDs, which I was happy to let him do as I still had to configure and unpack our bedroom.
Once bedtime rolled around, Keith and I were really nervous and we were taking bets on how many times Kasey would get out of bed. Much to our surprise, he cried for a few minutes, but he fell asleep and didn't get out of bed once. He even stayed in it this morning when he woke up. Needless to say, Kasey won the bet! I can't believe he was that good. I realize it probably won't stay that way, but I am happy to have one night under my belt. We'll have to see what naptime today brings. I'm so proud...
Kano E
Monday, January 19, 2009
Busy Weekend
For the first time in a long time our weekend was pretty much booked.
My parents left for a cruise on Saturday, but Erika stayed home with Kasey on Friday. After I finished work, I met Erika at my parents (Kasey would be spending the night there) and we met our friends Mark, Dee, Andy, Danielle, Jaramy and Aimee at Koto for dinner.
I don't think we have been out with friends sans kids in a really long time. Although I enjoy spending most of my time with Kasey, it is nice to get out for some adult (I say adult even though I am not really considered one) interaction.
We had a really great dinner - I am a pretty big fan of the Koto, although I can only afford to eat there like once a year. Then we went a bowled three frames at the bowling alley. I had an up-and-down night. I bowled a 131 in the first game, which followed with a terrible 99 in the second game, then man-upped again with a 152 in the final game.
On Saturday, we went back down to Plattsburgh. I had to bring my parents to the airport for their trip, and Kasey was going with Erika and her parents to Craig's hockey game in Potsdam.
After I dropped off my parents I went home and did some work around the house, caught up on my DVR shows, and played some Mortal Kombat.
Cyle and Shannon (along with Jameson) came up for a few hours and for dinner, before Erika and Kasey got home around 9:30.
Sunday, Erika and Kasey again were hitting the road - this time with Shannon and Stephanie to Albany to look for brides maids dresses. Kasey was the world traveler this weekend.
I went over to Cyle's to help get his Wii back online - then the two of us went to an AFC/NFC championship game party.
After the first game, we headed back to my house to meet Erika, Kasey and Shannon to watch the Steelers game. So, I got to bed a little late last night after watching the Steelers move on to the Super Bowl.
KanoK
My parents left for a cruise on Saturday, but Erika stayed home with Kasey on Friday. After I finished work, I met Erika at my parents (Kasey would be spending the night there) and we met our friends Mark, Dee, Andy, Danielle, Jaramy and Aimee at Koto for dinner.
I don't think we have been out with friends sans kids in a really long time. Although I enjoy spending most of my time with Kasey, it is nice to get out for some adult (I say adult even though I am not really considered one) interaction.
We had a really great dinner - I am a pretty big fan of the Koto, although I can only afford to eat there like once a year. Then we went a bowled three frames at the bowling alley. I had an up-and-down night. I bowled a 131 in the first game, which followed with a terrible 99 in the second game, then man-upped again with a 152 in the final game.
On Saturday, we went back down to Plattsburgh. I had to bring my parents to the airport for their trip, and Kasey was going with Erika and her parents to Craig's hockey game in Potsdam.
After I dropped off my parents I went home and did some work around the house, caught up on my DVR shows, and played some Mortal Kombat.
Cyle and Shannon (along with Jameson) came up for a few hours and for dinner, before Erika and Kasey got home around 9:30.
Sunday, Erika and Kasey again were hitting the road - this time with Shannon and Stephanie to Albany to look for brides maids dresses. Kasey was the world traveler this weekend.
I went over to Cyle's to help get his Wii back online - then the two of us went to an AFC/NFC championship game party.
After the first game, we headed back to my house to meet Erika, Kasey and Shannon to watch the Steelers game. So, I got to bed a little late last night after watching the Steelers move on to the Super Bowl.
KanoK
Sunday, January 4, 2009
New Videos
Here are a few videos that I thought everyone would enjoy. The first video is Kasey's Elf Yourself. It's his newest obsession. He'd watch it all day if we let him. The second video is Kasey unwrapping his tricycle. Needless to say, he LOVES it. The last video is Kasey playing with his new bouncy horse. He really thinks he's a cowboy. The horse was named Santa.
Kano E
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