let's catch up, shall we?

wow, it seems like forever and a day since i actually posted something worth reading on this thing. all you've heard about is illness and hair woes.......how boring, right? really that's about what my life has boiled down to lately. it really is never "boring" 'round here though. always something that needs done, messes needing cleaned, squabbles needing referreed, and the like.

on the sickness front, i'm over the food poisoning, but this morning woke up with a sore throat and plugged up nose. niiiiiiiice. happens every time i take those kiddos to the doctor. go in healthy, come out sick. i had no choice but to go. emma needed her 4 year check up.

i'm ready for spring. i can't wait to open those windows and air the germies out of our living space. ick.

on the hair........well, i still didn't get the purple streaks in. but i do have the box of dye here and ready for it to be done. i'm just waiting on a free moment to do it. i really don't have a good photo of phase 1 yet. phase one was just dying it a dark chocolate brown color. and i think i've cut off an inch here and there of stubborn hair to help shape it better. the girl really did a chop job. the one side is about and inch and a half longer than the other. quite ridiculous.

doug and i attempted to take photos----you know the reach your arm out in front of you and click kind hoping you got both faces in the frame---but failed pretty miserably.

here's the best. and i have no knowledge of photoshop and how to fix it to make it look halfway decent.


guess it's a good thing my last class session was posted yesterday. 'cause now i have time to take Lynn's photoshop class and learn how to fix that photo! it just started this week----it's not too late. wanna join me? she's teasing me with her intro: "Lighten, brighten, sharpen, pop, crops, and get out of the shadows. This class just started and there's still time to hop in and join the group so that you can improve your digital photos now. Intermediate class to follow in April." click here to register.

i've had photoshop for some time now. actually my husband knows more about using it than me. but man, can you do some cool things with that program or what!? i've been using a pre-historic version of PaintShop Pro. it does what i need it to, but i really need to get with the times and learn photoshop. i think i'm limiting my artistic ability by not knowing how to use the program. that, and because i don't know anyone, except wendy, that uses PaintShop Pro. so when i run into a snafu.....i'm stuck on figuring it out.

anywho. Lynn's class will consume my time for the next month. and then apparently some more time again in April.

wanna see what we bought at Ikea? sure you do!
this lampshade.


two of these kritter tables.....we got 2 of them for less than the full price of one. we still can't figure out why they were marked down so low. we're saving one for when emma is in school to use as a homework table.


this bench for our entryway for the kids to store backpacks & coats.


two of these stools for the table.


plates, bowls, tumblers and forks/spoons/knives.....we picnic a lot in the spring/summer and ash packs her lunch every day. they LOVE these. sorry, i'm too lazy to put all 4 pictures up.




we also bought some other odds and ends.....potholder, hand towels, tool kit.

i'm totally bummed that i couldn't find this. i've been wanting it fooooooorever. if you have a local Ikea that you frequent and you see this, but it for me. pretty please. i'll pay you + shipping. it's $6.99. what's up with not being able to buy it online, Ikea?


and, things we want to buy during a future trip. we couldn't get them this time because we took the car and not the truck because of the threat of bad weather they were reporting. the snow/ice never did make it through.

this loveseat. doug really, really wants a loveseat for the playroom so we can hang as a family down there more. right now we have no seating in that room except for the computer chair. i'm a little worried about the solid WHITE though. and i'm totally not savvy enough to make a slipcover.


i'm kickin' myself for not just getting this rug. it will be the first thing in my cart next trip.


for ashlyn's artdesk.


for i don't know where, but i LOOOOOOVE it!


*sigh*
i love Ikea.

911, what's your emergency?

first let me just say........everyone here is OKAY. *big huge sigh of relief*

this morning doug had to call 911. only after he called me first on both my cell phone and the home phone. but apparently i slept right through both phones ringing. kinda thankful though because there really wasn't anything i could do about his situation except worry.

we're under a Level 2 Snow Emergency, for you folks who never seen a flake of the white stuff, that basically means:

Roadways are hazardous with blowing and drifting snow. Roads can be very icy. Only those who feel it is necessary to drive should be out on the roadways. People should contact their employer to see If they should report to work. Obviously, if you are driving, use extreme caution.

we were hit with a winter storm that was supposed to dump loads of snow on us, but instead we got loads of ice, then a little snow.

doug works for a 24/7 company which never closes. never ever. in fact, they passed around a memo just yesterday saying that if a Level 3 Snow Emergency was declared while employees were on the clock, they would be expected to stay until the emergency was lifted.....even if that meant staying overnight. pfffffffft. whatever.

i told him he was an employee, not a slave. he agreed.

anywho.
back to this morning. as expected, he got up and ready to report to work and made it about half-way there before spinning out across 4 lanes of highly traveled, morning rush-hour traffic and landing in the snowbank against the barrier that separates eastbound and westbound traffic----but, FACING ONCOMING TRAFFIC.

truck still in the lane, facing the wrong way with traffic whizzing by at 50-some miles an hour. which for columbus drives is "using caution". how he didn't get hit by traffic is beyond me. i just keep visualizing the pixelated Frogger screen i used to play constantly on Atari as a kid. see it?

can we say panic attack? did i mention that i'm SO glad i was sleeping soundly when his pleas for help came? not that i wouldn't want to help him, but really, what was i gonna do except maybe get myself killed.

so, he called 911.
and they dispatched two police cruisers.
and they had two semi's block all traffic.
and they closed the highway.
and they spun him back around.
and he was on his way again.

no damage to his truck whatsoever.
no bruises on his body.

God was watching out for him.
lucky dude.
lucky me, i still have my husband.
lucky kids, they still have their daddy.

me and traveling don't play well together.

so, i never blogged about the curve ball thrown in my travels to seattle. well, here we go....

we get to seattle with no problem and find our luggage and find nena. go to lunch, make a run to target, then hit the road for a 3 hour drive to her house. half-way there, i look back to see ash sleeping and emma trying to sleep but looking rather uncomfortable in her own skin. so i just watched her for a while to see what was irking her so much. that's when i realized that she was breathing funny. her breathing looked rather robotic and her little body looked like someone was doing CPR on her the way her chest was rising and falling.

so we went straight to urgent care.

we were taken right back, she was evaluated and by this time had a very audible wheezing accompanying her labored breathing. it was scary. but her oxygen saturation was 95%. she had such a look of fear in her eyes and face and kept whining and complaining that her throat hurt. within minutes they were doing a breathing treatment on her. what a nightmare. 2 year olds and breathing treatments don't like each other too well. it was 15 minutes long. 15 minutes of me holding her as tight as i could while she kicked and screamed and cried and worked herself up into a fit like none i'd ever seen before. after that she was reevaluated and it was decided that she needed a chest x-ray. another fit without cooperation landed her in a papoose to get her still enough for the x-ray. then back to the room to find out minutes later that my baby girl has pneumonia.

PNEUMONIA!

how in the world did she get pneumonia? mind you, she had no other symptoms. no coughing, no fever, no crankiness, nothing. so we went forward with a megadose antibiotic shot and a steriod shot. poor thing was put through the ringer. and we were sent home (to nena's) on the promise that we'd return for a recheck the next day.

next day. no wheezing. labored breathing on exertion. oxygen saturation 93%. here we go again. another breathing treatment with even more kicking and screaming and crying. another antibiotic shot. and sent home with an antiobiotic prescription and a strict order to rest. HA!

i laughed audibly at that order. i said, "yeah, that's going to be next to impossible with 5 other kids running amuck in the same house." with a semi-stern reply he said "pneumonia is very serious and she needs to use every ounce of energy she has to heal her little body. staying still and keeping quiet....just resting." then he gave me some jargon about hospitalization, etc. so i snarked back and said "if she needs to be quiet and rest then she needs to be in the hospital. 'cause quiet and rest ain't gonna happen in a houseful of kids." we both had a little chuckle and parted ways.

then comes the fun part. administering "yucky" antibiotics is NOT fun. oh, and just when you thought it couldn't get any worse we add in 4 nights in a row of her puking all night long. i mean, ALL night long. like every 10 minutes. sun comes up, she's fine. sun goes down, she's puking. niiiiiiiice.

and ya know what. in chicago during our layover i had an overwhelming sense that i shouldn't get on that plane to seattle. something in my gut just said don't do it. after that rigamaroo.....i should've listened. there's something to say for gut instinct don't ya think?

but nonetheless, we were there and i tried to make the best of it. nena, ryan and the kids were good troopers putting up with us for a week. THANKS guys!

no one in heaven.

so the adventure me and the girls went on that i talked about before was a week-long trip to seattle to visit my friend nena. the girls couldn't have been better at the whole traveling thing. they did great (for the most part)!

this was their first time on a airplane and you could just see in their eyes that they thought it was nothing short of magical! they flight attendants were super helpful and doted over them the entire trip.

ash had talked to her teacher a lot about the trip before leaving and how she was scared to fly, etc and her teacher was GREAT at helping her. she calmed her fears by telling her that she was scared too and that once she got up in the air all her fear went away because it was sooooo beautiful. the day before we left, Mrs. P even pulled ash aside during free-time and looked up pictures on the internet to show her what the beautiful clouds looked like from an airplane.

the first leg to chicago, ash was very introverted and quite a bit nervous. the noise was almost too much for her----our seats were the last row. which was really a blessing. because even though it was loud, it also meant that she was close to the bathroom and the flight attendant sat beside her and talked to her the whole time. having the opportunity to talk someones ear off always makes a flight seem to go quicker.

emma, she was a hoot! all she wanted was the window seat and shouted "go faster, go faster" during takeoff. the girl has NO fear whatsoever.

so, anywho.
in chicago i had a mini-meltdown. lack of sleep, fear of not knowing how the next 4 hour flight would play out with the kids, emma puking, tired kids....just a little of everything. along with the gut instinct that said....don't get on the plane. doug reassured me that it was just lack of sleep and once we got there and i had a day to rest everything would be okay. but i was sooooooooo tempted to book a flight back to columbus.

we got on our next plane and headed west to seattle. the flight was uneventful and i wished i hadn't checked emma's carseat as luggage. she was far too interested in buckling and unbuckling her seatbeat and a little cranky from getting up at 430am. she half-whined/half-cried "i want daddy, i want daddy, i want daddy" for an entire hour while i held her in my lap before finally crying herself to sleep. a bit in a dramamine induced stupor, i guess.

ash took several pictures from the plane, but never did ask why she didn't see fluffy clouds like her teacher said. guess she forgot about it when she realized flying wasn't so bad afterall. the biggest lifesaver of all was suzi's portable dvd player. watching a princess movie was familiar in the midst of all the unfamiliar. she watched movies, colored or bugged the flight attendant the whole time.

here's my favorite of all the ones she took:


we got to seattle with a 3 hour time change. whew. that makes for a looooooong day.

before exiting the plane ashlyn talked to the pilots a bit and then asked for some pilot wings---a little bagde shaped as wings. something she saw on a cartoon. i was shocked when they took her hand and led her up to the cockpit to grant her wish. i thought for sure they'd tell her they didn't have any and then i'd be dealing with a moody little girl. but they did and she was grinning from ear to ear.



and then........then, they let the girls sit at the controls in the cockpit. all my stress melted away. seriously it was so cool to see them in such awe.


so, i'll save the what happened while we were there for tomorrow and skip right ahead to the flight home.

so we get to the seattle airport 3 hours before the flight was to leave. SEA-TAC is huge---to me anyway---and a little bit confusing. so we left early and planned to eat breakfast there and just chill. this time when checking in, we were the only ones in line. the gentleman could see i had my hands full with all our luggage and two excited little girls. so he met me at the kiosk and took my license and let the girls print our tickets. i'm sure he had kids of his own, because he was a pro at knowing they'd both want a turn pushing buttons, etc. it was a beautiful way to start the day. then i noticed that we were all in different seats....several seats apart. i laughed and said, "ummmm, yeah. i don't think these seats are going to work too well." he had a little chuckle and fixed them right up. moved us all together and to the first row past first-class. woooohoooooooo. more legroom! SCORE! i asked about taking the carseat onboard---which i had always thought wasn't allowed---and he said sure. oh my....seriously just when i thought the day couldn't get any better, i asked if there was a play area and he said YES! hallelujah! seriously. play areas in airports. it's a beautiful thing.

so we got through security and made our way to play. look how fun this playplace was...


ash was a little overwhelmed with the whole security screening process. lots of sensory input for her. she's matured enough in therapy to not have a meltdown when she has sensory overload, but she still wants to take some time to just chill and regroup. so there she was. chillin' and snackin'.

after playing we got some wendy's, played a bit more, did the bathroom routine and headed for our gate. 45 minutes early. playarea at gate A2. our gate A13. did we make it, or did we miss it?

to be continued.......(that's a lot of typing with a kid using me as a jungle gym ya know.)

story continued:
so, who woulda thunk it would take 45 minutes to make it from gate A2 to A13? seriously. at the columbus airport that's like a 5 minute walk. not seattle. not with 2 kids, one of them sick. not with carry-on luggage.

we were about 50 yards from A13 and heard "willis party of 3 this is your final boarding call. willis, party of 3."

niiiiiiiiice.

they saw me coming. running actually. dragging 2 kids beside me.

but we were in the first row past first-class---thank you mister nice flight reservation man. i arrived to our seats just in time to listen to a grumbling passenger frustrated about having to sit smooshed again the window with a center-seat passenger beside her traveling with a medium sized dog.....on her lap. for 4 hours. yeah, i wouldn't have been too happy either. they were on the opposite side, one row back. they resolved the problem quickly and all was well again.

snapped the carseat in, buckled emma up, got ash settled in and we were on our way. it was a bit bright and sunny and all emma wanted to do was sleep so she pulled down the shade. flying right along and on schedule. about an hour later, emma woke up and open her shade to see this:



ash was distracted with a coloring book, but when she looked up and saw all the clouds she gasped and said with excitement you usually only see on christmas morning...."mommy, look! we're in heaven!" followed by a mood that quickly turned melancholy and then said with sad puppydog eyes...."but there's noone here. where's jesus? and where's big grammy?" "how come nobody is in heaven mommy."

which was followed by a little explaination that yes, we are in the sky, above the clouds, but not in heaven. i don't know if she was more confused or more relieved.

sweet innocence.

the adventure with the Adventurers...

SURPRISE!


the Adventurers have arrived! at 6:30PM on the dot. and i know you're dying to know just who was up to this sneaky little adventure, eh? well, let me introduce you to....

Adventurer #1, Suzi. aka, the mastermind. (my best friend, also doug's cousin--"aunt" Suzi to my girls)


Adventurer #2, Andrea. aka, accomplice. (suzi's sister)


Adventurer #3, Nikki. aka, accomplice (a long-time friend/suzi's other best friend--niss Mikki to my girls)


these girls are beautiful both inside and out! i seriously would crumble into a big mess if i didn't have them around as friends to lift me up and see me through the trials of life.

so, on with the details. they picked me up 6:30PM friday night in her SUV with window paint on the back window that said something to the effect of.......well, i'll just show you.


the honks, gestures and verbal responses we got were hysterical. you know you're driving through podunk town when you roll down your window at a stop light and say to the car next to you...."hey, it's my birthday---honk!" and they respond..."i would, but i don't have a horn."

anywho. they took me an hour from here to Hocking Hills/Old Man's Cave. a gorgeous, lush green area with beautiful above ground caves, cliffs and waterfalls that were barely trickling from the extreme heat we've had-----but it's still gorgeous without all the waterfalls. and just as slippery. just sayin'.

we checked into the hotel and they had me open a card and 2 small gifts. the card was for a little boy's birthday that had a birthday sherriff sticker i had to wear and they also got a lightup tiara from the dollar store and a lightup wand that i had to carry to dinner. a total hoot!


dinner at bob's because apparently when you are in the boonies the only places available for "safe" consumption are McDonald's and Bob's. you just don't stop at any old mom and pop diner on a road trip. you know what i mean.


after dinner we made a quick trip to wally world for some necessities, then back to the hotel room to open my gift. they put together a pampering basket (nail polish remover, french manicure kit, loofah sponge, bubble bath, lotion, body splash, avacado face mask, a chick flick, popcorn, my favorite movie snacks--sour patch kids, hot tamales, etc, and a flat iron hair straightener. i'll spare you all those pictures.....for now anyway.

oh, and more birthday cake.


we watched a chick flick--Because I Said So.

saturday we spent the early afternoon at the caves hiking--which is totally in my element.....i love stuff like that. makes you feel so alive to feel your muscles working and your heart beating.


and this sign was meant just for me. if only i'd seen it *prior* to hiking i just might have been okay.


so the story goes a little something like this. climb up into the little alcove with andrea. little, but high off the ground. and slippery. 'nuff said. i totally biffed. it was hysterical. then, we saw the sign above and burned off a few calories laughing all over again.

went over to Ash Cave and had a picnic lunch, did a little shopping. here's one from Ash Cave. it totally doesn't do it justice.


went swimming and hottubbing. sorry no picture from that. i know, you're so disappointed. you'll get over it. right?

saturday night we got all dolled up for dinner out and a little photo shoot. totally fun. here's my 3 faves...






watched another chick flick---Sleepover. then totally giggled all night long like little girls. we have lots of crazy silly pictures from that night. getting a little burned out on resizing pictures, so they'll have to wait for another day.

sunday we spent scouting out the antique shops. another thing that is totally in my element. i'm all for repurposing, recycling, reusing. found lots of stuff i wanted to buy, but let the temptation pass me by. i was looking for the pink gooseberry pyrex, but didn't find any. oh, and crocheted afaghans. i want one so bad. i really need to just give up and learn how to make one myself.

no pictures from the antique shops either----it was pouring buckets and buckets of rain and i didn't want my camera to see its end.

got back sunday and remember that doug took the kids out of town, so the house was quiet. total bliss. took a nap.

then went back out with suzi to watch Hairspray. good flick. i'll be buying that one.

definitely a birthday i will never forget----it was everything i needed. being away from life's troubles, focusing solely on having fun with no motherly responsibilities for the whole weekend. ahhhhhhh!

GIRLS, errr Adventurers, words can't THANK YOU enough! seriously. thank you.

and total props to doug for being in on the whole thing and keeping the kids all weekend. he's cool like that. *smooches* babe.

yes, i'm still alive...

so, where've i been.
well, other than california, i've been here.
we had a wonderful visit from doug's mom, sister and her two beautiful miracles.
since they left though, we've pretty much been stuck inside.
tending to sick sick kiddos, snuggling them back to sleep or wiping pink-eye crusties from their eyes much to their dismay.
i'd be good if they never ended up with that again.
phew, what an ordeal.
ashlyn got it bad and almost had to go to the hospital through the night one night because her eye swelled shut and she was in a good amount of pain. a call to the doctor and we had orders to medicate her, warm compresses and wake her every 1 1/2 to 2 hours to check on her til morning.

not to mention, i have another crazy book deadline looming and absolutely no inspiration to draw from. i think i'm tapped dry. i think this will be my last for a while. i'm ready to scrap just for fun again.

we are in the middle of a kitchen makeover too. we started well over a month ago, but it quickly got put on hold while we waited for our countertops to be made. i'm beyond thrilled that they are now installed thanks to doug and my dad spending the bulk of the day on it! and boy do they look sharp. you'll have to wait for a picture though. we've still got a long way to go. like stripping wallpaper, sanding cabinets, patching, priming, painting.....blah, blah, blah. lightfixtures go in tomorrow and i pick out paint then too.

so, i've been taking the pictures and have lots to share.
i'll try not to be absent for so long next time. but can't promise another update for at least a week----book projects need to be a week from monday. eeek!

anywho.
feb 11
who can resist chubby little fingers smothered in chocolate frosting. long, long ago, doug started a little weekly tradition with ashlyn making some sort of treat with her. cake, cupcakes, brownies.....something. usually on sunday, but sometimes on his other days off instead.


feb 10
well, she had high hopes with 10 valentines on her list to make. she pooped out after 2. it's all part of her sensory thing. she has trouble remaining focused on a task for too long. (more about that in my next post---stay tuned.)


feb 9
happy 33rd birthday my love. his favorite----homemade apple pie. in progress.


feb 8
she won't sleep any other way this past week. clung to me like a magnet.


feb 7
american idol. tuesday and wednesday nights. never miss it. if we don't watch live, we watch it on DVR. i've decided i've had enough of the auditions...let's get on to the good stuff.


feb 6
emma and my newphew jason (2 months older). all they did for a week was fight over any toy the other had. annoying at first, but quite comical by the end of the week. incidentially, this is the only picture i have of the two of them together. emma just didn't care much for the invasion on her territory. guess that's thanks to having a bigger sister who torments you on a daily basis.


feb 5
mmmmm........fresh garden salad awaiting some grilled chicken.


feb 4
i sent doug out to kroger for some tums. he came home with 4 bottles---why not, they were on sale afterall. sad thing is i think 1 whole bottle is gone already.


feb 3
the clutter magnet. (top of the microwave)


feb 2
he is an incredible daddy.........and his adoring newphew makes him long to have his own boy that much more.


feb 1
a visit to COSI (our science center) with cindy and the boys.


jan 31
family night at magic mountain. and worth noting----ashlyn's first time ever to go through the tunnel maze on her own. we are starting to see evidence that her therapy is making a difference. before now, she was extremely fearful of these type of tunnels.


jan 30
mmmm. darn that suzi. she's got me hooked on starbucks frappaccino. mocha frappaccino is my fav. a nice little treat while waiting to board our flight home from california.


jan 29
learned how to solder metal at the tradeshow. fun, but i don't think i'll be investing in the supplies any time soon.


jan 28
the roaring lion in the atrium of our hotel in california


jan 27
california palms at night on road leading you to disneyland.


jan 26
hollywood california.


jan 25
suzi and i ready to hit the icy gray skies heading for warm, sunny california weather.


one of the first pictures i took in california.


we took a little road trip along the Pacific Coast Highway and ended up at a beach right at sunset. absolutely breathtaking.


suzi meets her future husband at downtown disney.


jan 24
a screaming clearance bargain at target made for a perfect {early} birthday surprise from daddy. something she's been wanting for the last year.


jan 23
her comfort. sucking her thumb while tickling her nose with a handful of Baby's hair.


jan 22
6 inches of snow makes for a lot of fun playing in the fluffy stuff.


jan 21
you know it's gonna be an interesting day when you get attacked by the dishwasher first thing in the morning *sigh*


jan 20
garlic cheese biscuits. yum.


jan 19
nothing sweeter than listening to ash sing jesus loves me along with the veggie tales while listening to her headphones.


jan 18
they have an entire room----the biggest room in the house---just to use as a playroom. why, oh why, do they have to dump everything at the top of the landing all the time?


phew. i'm tired.
i'll be back next week with more scoop from my trip to california.
it surely was an adventure to say the least.
definitely memorable.