Smellyann Strikes Again

Friday Fragments

Link up with Mrs. 4444 if you're playing along this week!

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TGIF!

That's all I have to say.  Not, you know I have more.

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So, you may or, more likely, may not have noticed I haven't fragmented again in a few weeks. Our lives are always, well, let's be honest, chaotic at their calmest, but things have been even crazier lately. For example, this week:

Monday: Rob had the day off, and I was exhausted, so I slept much of the day away. Nothing newsworthy there. But...

Tuesday: We decided to move.

Wednesday: I hunted around and found a potential place.

Thursday: I met the landlord inside the house with the kids, decided to go for it, signed the lease, paid the rent and security deposit, and got the keys.

Friday (today): We can move in.

I'm a little dizzy, but that's how we roll. Well, that's how I roll, anyway. Hubs is a tad bit freaked out by the whole thing, but we'll be aiight.

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I'm still on Project Vanity Plate, and this is today's find. Hopefully they're talking about God and aren't egomaniacs! If you missed it, I posted a whole bunch of them on Wednesday here.

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Today, in addition to checking out the house and stuff, was total nutballs. I took Rob to work at the buttcrack of dawn, and then I was supposed to take the daughters o' mine to the dentist, but I ended up konking out on migraine medicine and missing that appointment. Gah! I woke up just in time to shower and go meet our new lord of the land.

After the new house visit, I stopped to get the kids a semi-celebratory lunch (thank you, Wendy's Dollar Menu), zoomed home to update Chloë's résumé and grab her new headshots, and then dropped Sophie and Jack off at Jenny From the Block's house before racing to Chlo's audition. I didn't get to watch the actual audition, but I'm still tremendously proud of her. I was a nervous wreck for her, shaking and trembling, but she was confident and relaxed. How?! I don't know; she didn't inherit that from me, but hopefully her nurturing has had something to do with that poise.

Anyhoo, it's for an episode of a TV show I can't name at the moment, but we'll find out Wednesday if she got the part. Fingers, toes and eyes crossed! She really wants the role. I'm highly biased, but I think she was the cutest kid there, and she did great practicing her scenes for me. Stay tuned!

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After the audition, I raced to pick up the Littles before heading to pick up Rob, two hours late, from work. We headed over to the BMW place to pick up his supposedly 'fixed' motorcycle, a month after it was put in for repairs. After a freakin' MONTH, you'd think it'd be in excellent shape, right? Ha. More on that in a mome.

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We went straight to a Thai restaurant for a semi-celebratory dinner (not really; we just have not much food in the house currently, and we had a gift certificate to use there). Aren't these roses so cute? They were the straw wrappers atop each of our drink straws. Love!

We ordered family-style. This was my dinner. Well, that and a wee Spring roll. It may not seem like a lot, but apparently it was too much for me, because I didn't keep a single bit of it down, dang it. Um. It tasted better the first time. I probably could've kept it down, but I had the Jasmine rice with cashews, and, stupid me, I should've known better. I can never eat rice. It just looked so good. Anyway....

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All was well and good after dinner. Rob hopped on his motorbike, the kids and I buckled into the van, and off we went toward home. Only, I zipped into a 7-11 on the way home to refill my giant keg of Diet Dew and, well, hurl, and he followed me into the parking lot. By the time I restarted the van, his bike was smoking and leaking more fluids than a ... ah, skip that. Every metaphor I can think up is gross and graphic. Awesome. So not only was the BMW not fixed, but a freakin' panel was missing off the side, too! Really?! I'm way disenchanted with the place that had it for so long. They can bite me hard, right on my hindquarters.

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So, short story long, we sat there for an hour while Rob yapped on the phone to our insurance company, who basically solved nothing, and then watched him make the necessary repairs himself. I've dated some pretty useless guys before, and lemme tell you single ladies this: Marry a handy guy. I don't care what else you like about him, you will appreciate this advice. The other day, our toilet handle broke, and My Guy fished one out of his "pile of crap," as I not-so-tenderly call it, and fixed it on the spot. Pretty good. Back to the bike. While he was working, I went back into the 7-11 and bought a big bag of White Cheddar Popcorn. The kids pretended they were watching a movie while they ate it - and Dad was the show. I don't know how he felt about that, but I was entertained, and that's what counts, y'all.

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I don't know what else to tell ya. I have a million and one anecdotes I could share, but (a) you probably don't care, and (b) I should probably start packing. To move. Because we're doing that. Eek.

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Have a fab weekend, folks!

Fin.

Wordless Wednesday: Tent City In My Living Room, & More

Link up here if you're Wordless (or, not so much) today!

It's hot in Southeastern Virginia, and we don't have functional central A/C at the moment. Fortunately, friends who moved to Alaska blessed us with the portable unit seen at the back of this photo, so the kidoodles have been allowed to camp out in front of it in our living room tonight. This was their result. Can you tell which tent houses the boy-child? ;)

Sophia, 7, knocked out her two front teeth when she was three. It's been a long time coming, but finally an adult tooth has just popped out, with the other one sure to follow soon. Hooray!

Same child as above often brings me a weed or two, usually a dandelion, to serve as gifts of flowers which, to her, are beautiful. I have made the mistake of explaining to her that they were weeds, and that they belonged outside - this does nothing to brighten her spirit. So when she brought me this bouquet, which she herself envased in this green bottle, I accepted the gift with genuine delight. After all, this will only last for so long, and one day it will be the last weed-bouquet I get from her.

 

My silly kids, who went ShopKicking (a Smartphone app) with me around Target in exchange for spending some of our SK points on free Target gift cards to buy their little trinkets, here, posed in front of the store to show them off. Well, the picture was for a ShopKick contest to win a bunch of points, which we didn't - or did we?!

And finally, a first-thing-in-the-morning self-portrait, for no other reason than to show my messy office matching my bedhead hair. No, I wasn't naked; my spaghetti straps were just out of view on my tank.

I may be back with another WW post; stay tuned! ;D

Fin.

Friday Fragments

Link up here if you're fragmenting with Mrs. 4444 today!

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Is anyone else shocked it's May already? For Heaven's sake, our pool will be open in 3 weeks already! I can't believe how fast the time is flying. We are so busy all of the time, it's almost hard to keep up with flipping the calendar pages, I swear. Man. I wish I could clap my hands and stop time temporarily, and just... breathe.

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I haven't been here in a few weeks, again, because of our packed schedule. Aside from our usual nutso routines, we've had a billion and one doctors' appointment, and Rob's had an accident that has kept me occupied carting him to those, work, and everywhere else, so... I am off my blog routine again. But! I am here now, and that's what counts, amiriiight?

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If you've ever thought about visiting my town, Virginia Beach, I just wrote this sponsored blog post about many of my favorite places and things to do here. Check it out if you're interested!

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I love this cute picture of Jack eating wings during a mystery shop a couple of days ago.  With the watch and everything, he looks so grown up! For a nine-year-old shrimp, that is. I've been doing lots of mystery shopping again lately to make some much-needed extra fundage. It's fun, but man, all the reports! Ugh.

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I swear, Virginia must be the vanity plate capital of the world. They're so cheap here, after all. Even I have one! I'm going to start taking pictures of the ones that amuse or interest me and posting them as part of my Fragments posts each week (or month, as it were). Can you see this one that I snapped today? It says "RR M8T." Arggghh, Matey! Hee. Do you have vanity plates?

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On Wednesday, the kids took part in the coolest thing. We drove up to the Mariners' Museum in Newport News, VA, to attend a special event: a ham radio chat - which NASA said couldn't be done - with International Space Station Astronaut Donald Pettit! Here, the kids first learned about the early age of exploration, in the times before, during and after Columbus' life, so they could later relate that Age of Exploration to the current Space Exploration.

Then, we migrated over to the closed studio, where we connected with three classes (in New York, Michigan, and Louisiana) and the astronaut in outer space, about 400 km above Earth, over Italy. Selected students were able to ask questions and hear Pettit's answers in real time, and we learned a lot about living aboard the ISS. Did you know it only takes eight minutes to get up there, but two days to transfer into the space station? Wow. I would kill to have that opportunity. Maybe one day they'll take an old fart like me and see what they can do with me. I'll be like the female John Glenn. Anyway, it was really cool, and my kids - especially Jack up there - got a lot out of the experience. Way cool!

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I took Rob in for his Neuro follow-up today, after his mini-stroke scares and subsequent finding of a benign brain tumor back in November. I was hoping for a more thorough check-up than the five minute "How are you? Fine? See you in six months" that he got, but I guess no news is good news. He hasn't had any weird things going on like he did six months ago, even after his accident, so I suppose all is well for now. He'll go back in another six months.

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Also today, I went in for a my regular dental check-up, fully expecting to have two new cavities. My teeth have been ultra-sensitive lately, especially in two places, so I thought fillings were going to be the order of the day, if not a full root canal or some badness. But the diagnosis was surprising: I grind and clench my jaw and teeth so much that it's causing my gums to recede, and my enamel to wear, which is causing the pain and discomfort. The dentist said he'd be happy to sell me a $600 mouth guard, or I can go pick one up at any drug or sporting goods store for five or ten bucks and try that. Hmm. Tough choice. But yay for no new cavities!

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Stay tuned for a post about our train trip up to Richmond last week; we had so much fun in our two short days. I'm so glad MIL suggested it!

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Aren't these newsprint nails so cool?! I am totes going to do this as soon as I find where I put the rubbing alcohol. Hopefully that'll work, since Rob drank all the vodka and stuff. Kidding. There's probably not even a beer in this house. I love this manicure, though. Trés cool.

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And finally, my 10½-year-old, Chloë, has a "boyfriend," S. Yeah. We've reached that stage. They're mad about each other. I even had to go on a ride with them to make sure they didn't kiss!!! WHAT?! She's TEN, FPS. I'm keeping a tight rein on this one and don't let them hold hands or anything, but S did recently give her a necklace in her favorite color, with hearts on it... oh, my word. I'm not ready for this part!

Since Chloë had a photo shoot for her acting and modeling "career" recently, my friend Saritah - S's mom - was joking about, "Great, my son is dating a model. That'll go to his head..." but yeah. He is. Hee.

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Well, I hope you all have a great weekend, and I'll be back in a bit with my Aloha Friday question & some more updates from our latest travels and adventures. Ciao for now!

Fin.

Love The Moment in Virginia Beach!

  

Our family moved here to Virginia Beach, Virginia, just over 10 years ago, when we were at the end of my twin pregnancy. We were shipped over in an emergency evacuation from Guam in order to help save the twins' lives, and I had major reservations. As it's right next to Norfolk, which is a major military town (well, now they all are here, including Virginia Beach) and from which my husband had shipped out on several overseas deployments during his Naval career, he didn't much care for the area before we got here. I was excited about the idea of living back in the States, but having no idea what to expect, it was definitely going to be the beginning of a new adventure for Team Odette.

Virginia Beach has turned out to be a fabulous location for many fun experiences for our family. As my husband nears his retirement from the Navy after 20 years of service next year, and we are debating about where to live, the possibility exists that even after 11 years, this family full of wanderlust may remain right here in this area. That's saying quite a lot, for us!

Now, you can go to the Virginia Beach Visitors and Convention Center site and do lots of looking around - and, hopefully, planning - to see what there is to do in our adopted hometown, but I'd love to share some of the things we have done over the years and some more that - yes! we still have left to do. Obviously, since we arrived with a 17-month-old and have had a few children since then (most of you will know already that only one of our twins survived after birth, so we now have three living children aged 10 and under), this will be pretty kid-centric. Rest assured, if you're sans children, there is still plenty to do - or not do - in this beautiful city, the largest in the Commonwealth of Virginia. Click here to start your exploration!

Obviously, no post about Virginia Beach would be complete without a thorough mention of our miles and miles of beautiful Atlantic oceanfront. With a husband in the Navy, a wife who was a marine biologist pre-marriage, and three water-lovin' babies, the Oceanfront is a big draw for us. The beach is gorgeous, and the water temperatures are comfortable for the traditional swimming months of the year, with manageable waves for the little ones most of the time. (And there are plenty of lifeguards and notifications for hazardous conditions to keep us all safe.) The area boasts a long boardwalk, complete with all the kitschy shops, skyscraping hotels, and local seafood restaurants you would expect to find in a beach town.

These "no swearing" signs are a common sight near the beach, in an effort to keep our town family-friendly. I get a big kick out of them!

There's a long pier for fishing and crabbing - unbelievably, we still haven't done that, but it's on this year's "must do" list - and stores aplenty for anything you might have forgotten. If you get tired of the beach (you nut, you!), there are other things to do along the beach and nearby streets, like several miniature golf courses, a small rides-and-games miniature amusement park, and whole-family bike rentals scattered around the coast. If I've left anything off this list that you would want to do, drop me a comment and I'll be sure to let you know whether that's available, too. I know there's a great nightlife scene down there as well, but with three children, it's not a huge priority for us at this stage in the game, so I can't attest to the latest and greatest venues. One fun (and free!) favorite, though: during the warmer months, the city brings in a menagerie of entertainment acts from musicians to comedians to buskers of all kinds and positions them along Atlantic Avenue for everyone's pleasure. Oh, my gosh, I'm thinking of about 57 more fun things about the Oceanfront and could make this entire post about just that, it's so fun-filled. But there is so, sooo much more to this city, that it wouldn't be doing it justice if I didn't move on. And so I shall.

 

Another favorite area of ours is in the southern portion of the city, Pungo. It's where farmer upon farmer grows u-pick strawberry fields and the home of the annual Strawberry Festival, where the sweet fruit is made into every dessert, drink and concoction you can imagine. There are rides, games, and plenty of other fun things to do during the festival, too, but if you miss it, Pungo boasts a great pizza-and-ice cream joint, aptly named Pungo Pizza, that's a great place to stop when you're hot and tired from grabbing bucketsful of red, juicy berries!

One of my favorite destinations is at the corner of Dam Neck and Princess Anne Roads: the Virginia Beach Farmer's Market. There are plenty of local farmers with booths there, so if you're environmentally conscious and are trying to eat locally-grown, often organic food, this is your go-to place to shop. Virginia Garden is even an all-organic grocery store at the Market, and the owner, Michelle, could not be more helpful and informative if you're newly embarking on your organic journey. Her shop boasts food from Virginia's own Polyface Farms, which you may or may not know as the farm of Joel Salatin, the highly articulate farmer featured in the must-see documentary, Food, Inc. (And that $10 glass jug of apple cider at the store is totally worth it, by the by.) Love seafood? Visit Uncle Chuck's stand - all the fish, shellfish and more is freshly caught and is procured by Uncle Chuck himself. Take it from me - do NOT miss getting a 4-pack or two of his made-by-hand crabcakes. They are absolutely the best, and believe me, I have tried a heckuva lot of them in my 35 years on this planet! (Plus he's just a really awesome guy, so visit him even if you're not a seafood person. I love the dude.) The Farmer's Market has bakeries, butcheries, gardening shops, a sweets shoppe, and even live music on (I think) Friday nights. I love the place and would go every week if I could!

Hunt Club Farm is another one of my family's favorite places to go, especially in October when it's time to pick out one of these big, fat pumpkins for our front porch. If you go then, you'll also be able to visit the petting farm, let the kids loose in a gigantic pile of hay, ride some rides, eat candied apples, shop locally grown produce and gifts and - my personal favorite - take a hayride around the large property. Fall is not the only time to visit, though - my readers will know we've visited the Winter Wonderland in December, which is loads of fun; you can have a birthday party with pony rides and the whole bit, and they're now doing fun Springtime events like Easter egg hunts an' such, too. It's a great place to go!

A post about Virginia Beach would not be complete without mention of the recently (within the past five years or so) made-over Town Center, which is conveniently located just five minutes from our abode. We go there often and even did our 2011 Christmas card pictures at this very fountain! There are, I think literally, a billion different kinds of restaurants, from Ruth's Chris Steakhouse to sushi to ice cream parlors and everything in between, nestled among every other kind of shop you can think of. In fact, the only two things in Virginia Beach that we don't have (yet) that I'd like to see are Staples and Whole Foods - but they'll come in time, I know! Anyway... Town Center is fun to walk around, "see and be seen," and get your share of gustatory delights. Don't miss Confetti, an ice cream stop. Trust.

 

Another fun place to visit for kids from 1 to 101 is the Virginia Aquarium, on General Booth Blvd just south of the Oceanfront area. There is so much to see and do there, you'll need to make a full day of it. They have an IMAX screen, lots of exhibits, a gift shop, and the coolest walking trail between the two sections of the Aquarium. You can go from there on whale- and dolphin-watching boat tours, and that there is another on our yet-to-do list before we leave this fun town!



Right next to the Aquarium is this guy, Hugh Mongous, the giant ape who is the mascot for Ocean Breeze Waterpark. Of course we have a waterpark, right?! It's on the smaller side compared to some other venues we've been to, including Water Country USA located an hour north in Williamsburg, but it has everything you could possibly want to spend a full day in the sun and water: a kiddie area, wave pool, slides a-plenty, and so much to eat. There's an arcade, Dip'n'Dots, candy shop, gift shop, locker and tube rentals, and more. We've gone there many times, and there's still something new to do every year when we go. Don't forget the sunscreen and flip-flops!

Another site we're lucky to have just a few minutes from our home is Mount Trashmore Park, and yes, that's its real name (it was built on a landfill but is completely safe). Mt. Trashmore is just one of many beautiful parks in this city, but it's definitely a favorite of ours. The brandy-new Kids' Cove area, above, is not just a small reason for that. The kids could literally get lost in there for hours while you either chase them around or sit and knit, knowing they'll make it back to you when they're hungry/thirsty/doing the potty dance...! I usually do the former for about five minutes and then give up and do the latter. Anyhoo, besides the Kids' Cove, there is a skate park there, plenty of playground equipment and picnic locations, and a huge "mountain" to run around on, fly kites on, and of course - if you're a kid at heart - roll down when you're finished. My favorite thing to do there is go the annual Independence Day party, which is huge. Huge. Click here for more fun things to do in the Virginia Beach Parks & Rec system, because you'll want to visit other places like Red Wing Park, Woodstock Park, City View Park... and some of our many Rec Centers, as well. I could go on and on!

Are you a history buff? Still on our to-do list while we're here is visit the Francis Land House, above, the Adam Thoroughgood House, and the many other historical sites in town that you can read about here. I can't profess my love for these places just yet, because we still haven't been there! It's high on the priority list, too, though.

Have a thing for lighthouses? Then you'll definitely want to drive north from the Oceanfront and hit up Fort Story. Yes, it's a military base, but you can get onboard to go exploring the fully-accessible new lighthouse, above right, the beach there, and more. I hear tell that there's plenty of dolphin activity down at the waterfront, but I've yet to see that for myself. Mark that down on my to-do list!

And finally, I have to mention Chesapeake Beach, aka "Chick's Beach," a lesser-known, out-of-the-way, but totally cool "locals'" beach in town. The waves are much more mild, and it's far less populated during the summer, so it's perfect for those looking for a quieter, more chill experience at the beach. It's wonderful for kids who don't like to be knocked around by ocean swells, like my two older kiddos. There are some great local restaurants in the area, too, so it's definitely worth checking out.

There is plenty more to this great town, and also it's a wonderful jumping-off point to the Outer Banks of North Carolina, the Eastern Shore, Colonial Williamsburg, and much more. If we do end up leaving this area, you can be sure we'll be back to visit for more reasons than just the many friends we've made here. Virginia Beach. Love the Moment!

Be sure to click here to "like" Virginia Beach - Live The Life on Facebook:

{I wrote this blog post while participating in the SocialMoms and Virginia Beach blogging program. For more information on how you can participate, click here.}

Fin.

Team Odette: Health Watch

If you've been around here for a while, even if you've been in and out, then you know the five of us seem to LIVE at the emergency department and have lots of health issues. Well, we do, and I often get asked about what's going on with so-and-so with such-and-such, so here's a mostly-comprehensive update for all you concerned citizens out there. I'll go in age order, to simplify things, starting with the Old Fart.

Rob had a nasty, scary accident last weekend. We thought he'd broken his arm, which would have been a miraculously slight injury compared to what could have been, but he didn't even do that. He's got what's known as "Goalkeeper's Thumb," and he'll probably need to see a hand specialist for the resultant pain and nerve damage he's sustained. Currently, I'm hauling him to work and his various doctor appointments, which is killing us on gas, but at least he's here to kill us on gas, so I'm thankful.

Other than that, he's doing well. There have been no more stroke-like symptoms and nothing going on with the brain tumor. That's just a "watch and see" situation, so there's not a whole lot to report on that subject. He's great as far as that's concerned. Whew!

Oh yeah, one more thing: He's got an inguinal hernia on which he'll need surgery sometime next month. It's painful for him, so between that and the arm, he's in a lot of discomfort lately. I feel bad for the ol' chap.

I've got several things going on, and I take an annoying abundance of prescription medications for my various physical and mental ailments. I eat more medication than food in a day, I swear! My diagnosis of Bipolar Disorder I With Psychosis continues to dictate much of how I function personally, and we function together as a family unit, although my current cocktail has found me in the fleeting myth that is mental stability with this disease once again. I'm trying not to focus SO MUCH on the disease, else it takes over and becomes sort of a self-fulfilling prophecy type of situation, if that makes any sense.

I remain in therapy, with the most awesome therapist I've ever had. And I've had a few more than a few! We have made great strides recently and are really getting into the nitty gritty now. It's tough work, but we've had several huge breakthroughs, and I know we are really getting somewhere. My therapist is proud of me, my friend Jenny From the Block is proud of me, and I do believe that I am proud of me. I now believe there is a light at the end of this tunnel, and I can see that someday there will be an end to the anguish and heartache that have shackled me for nearly three decades to depression and suicidal ideation. It's a tremendously wonderful feeling.

In other news, I'm currently suffering from a lot of bad migraines and have restarted the steroid treatment, along with three other maintenance and abortive drugs, that I used in the past to get things back on track in the ol' noggin. Starting in college and ending when I was pregnant with Sophia, I had a migraine or some type of bad headache every day for 10 years, and the same Headache Clinic diagnostician fixed me up then.  It's not happening as rapidly this time around, but I can feel things are improving.

And finally, I've recently seen the gastroenterologist, since I continue to (sorry) vomit several times a day since my surgery more than three years ago. I started having severe heartburn a month or two ago, and it's gotten progressively worse, so I'm getting another upper endoscopy in a few weeks to see how badly I've eroded my esophagus. More drugs for that, and they work great, so hopefully we can get things repaired in the food tube.

 

Not a whole lot going on with Chloë at the moment, which is great. She was evaluated for her growth deficiency several months ago, which is a different form than Jack's, but she's not eligible for the growth hormone shots he gets. At least, insurance won't pay for them, because they're not "medically necessary" since her 5-year-old size correlates to her bone age (according to x-rays and bone scans done on her hands). This was devastating news to her, and she cries every time it comes up. She really wanted those shots; the novelty of being a pixie doll has worn off, and she wants to grow. I think she's lovely just the way she is - as is Jack - so it breaks my heart that she's so disappointed and upset about her body. We continue to work on her self-image, and other than that, she'll be followed by the endocrinologist for her growth issues from here on out. 

All three kids have well-child check-ups coming up on Monday, so I plan to discuss their respective migraine issues (all FIVE of us suffer from them, which sucks as a parent watching them in the same horrible pain you know and have experienced yourself) and see if I can't get them followed by neurology in the same Headache Clinic I visit.

Jack's migraines are the least frequent, and he continues on his nightly shots of Nutropin (growth hormone). He's doing fantastic with that, both in that he's actually growing and I've finally had to bump my 9-year-old boy up to 4T pants (hey, I didn't say he was huge) recently, and also in actually taking the shots. He barely flinches anymore and is this-close to giving them to himself. We're trying to get him to be able to do it on his own, but he's not quite ready for that, so he does everything to set up the shot except press in the actual injection. Other than that, he's doing wonderfully!

Sophia went back to CHKD (Children's Hospital of the King's Daughters, based in Norfolk) on Thursday for the breathing issues with which she continues to intermittently experience.

Chloë was with Rob while he was getting an ultrasound over at Portsmouth Naval Hospital (for his hernia), which is why she isn't in these pictures from CHKD. There was a lot of hurry-up-and-wait time for this visit, so I kept Jack and Sophia busy with memory games. This is just a collage of the various silly faces they made while thinking of what was said before that they had to repeat, and what they would say on their turns. I kept having to simplify the game, which was an "A, my name is Alice" type of thing, because they couldn't think of enough place names for each letter and would get frustrated. Still, it passed the time!

Finally, we were taken down the hall so Soph could do another breathing function test, and she did pretty well on that. She struggled a little bit at times, but for the most part, she exhibited good, full lung function.

While I was trying to get a decent picture of that, my silly boy popped up in the middle of the picture and made this face. Goof!

So after talking with the pulmonologist, Dr. E., about the various tests Sophia's had (Pulmonary Function Tests, MRI, etc.), she continues to be concerned about the Cental Apnea and thinks there may be an Obstructive Apnea component to that as well, since I reported Sophia's increase in frequency and volume, and Dr. E. felt enlarged tonsils. I have to get her back to CHKD for an x-ray of her adenoids, and then she's going to see the ENT about possible removal of those and the tonsils.

As far as the daytime breathing issue, Dr. E. continues to be stumped by it. Upon further discussion, the two of us put together that she must have some sort of negative association with new van, and I'm going to get her into therapy to figure out what is wrong. We think they're panic attacks, since 90% of the time, that's where they happen, almost always when Rob's not with us or we are having any kind of dispute up front if he with us. She witnessed an argument shortly after we got the van - actually the night we brought it home - and this issue started within a fortnight or so of that, hence this epiphany. We'll see how it pans out, but I probably won't give a lot of detail on that except to give a yay or nay on whether it's been resolved, in the future.

In other news, Sophia is ENORMOUS. Well, for one of our kids, that is. She eats, like, 10 small meals a day. I mean, it's constant. She's solid and squeezy, but not chubby, so she definitely works off all those calories. She's over 55 lbs at age 7 now, while her 10½-year old sister is about 48 lbs and 9yo brother hovers around 40! The hand-me-downs from Chloë to Sophia have reversed to hand-me-ups, which aggravates the older child to no end, poor thing. When I buy clothes (size 7 for Sophia, while Chloë's still in a 5-6), I make sure to get a few special pieces that are new for Chloë, to ease that sore spot.

And finally, Sophia's migraines are worsening. She's had three since winter began, which may not sound like a lot, but they're really bad when they do happen. She rarely throws up, but she always does when she gets these. She had one on Thursday night and was absolutely miserable until she slept it off and woke up around 0400, bouncing off the walls as usual.

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So that's that. Consider yourselves up to date. I'll be catching up on blogging today, since we're heading up to Richmond with Jenny FTB and her kids on the train tomorrow until Friday (sans Rob), and laundry and packing will be our main foci today. I'll need the break from that!

Have yourselves a good one!

Fin.

National Child Abuse Prevention Month

This subject is near and dear to my heart, as someone who went through this as a child and has been living with the fall-out ever since, so I'm donating this post on behalf of the Social Moms Network in order to raise awareness for this worth cause.

April is National Child Abuse Prevention Month, a time to recognize that we can each play a part in promoting the social and emotional well-being of our children and the kids in our communities.

Child maltreatment includes all types of abuse and neglect of a child under the age of 18 by a parent, caregiver, or another person in a custodial role (e.g., clergy, coach, teacher). There are four common types of abuse:

• Physical Abuse
• Sexual Abuse
• Emotional Abuse
• Neglect

In 2010, U.S. state and local child protective services (CPS) received 3.6 million reports of children being abused or neglected. Children who experience abuse and neglect are at risk for emotional and physical health problems for the rest of their lives.

Listed below are things you can do to help prevent child abuse (from Darkness to Light website - http://www.d2l.org/site/):

1. Learn the facts about child abuse and understand the risks.
   1. Read a book, attend a class, or look online to see how many children are affected by the different types of child maltreatment.
   2. Abusers are often people the family trusts; they look and act just like everyone else.
2. Minimize the opportunities for abuse to occur.
   1. Avoid situations where a child is alone with an adult – and avoid one-adult/one-child situations with children other than your own.
   2. Monitor the Internet use of children so that they aren’t lured into inappropriate activities.
3. Talk about abuse
   1. Talk openly to your child and understand why children may be scared to tell someone about abuse.
   2. Talk to other adults about child abuse. This helps raise the consciousness of your community and influences their choices about child safety, while also putting potential abusers on notice that you are paying attention.
4. Stay alert to the signs of abuse.
   1. Read a book, attend a class, or look online to determine the signs (physical and emotional/behavioral) of the different types of child maltreatment, while also understanding that some children may not display any signs
5. Know what to do if you suspect the abuse or neglect of a child.
   1. Your reaction to suspected child maltreatment can determine how the child responds so it’s important not to overreact.
   2. Provide support to the child.
   3. Report suspected child maltreatment to appropriate authorities, either by calling the Childhelp National Child Abuse Hotline at 1.800.4.A.CHILD or by calling local child protective services or law enforcement agencies in your community.
6. Act on suspicions.
   1. Even if you don’t have proof but you suspect abuse has occurred/is occurring, you should report it. If you want to talk to staff about whether or not to report, you can call the Childhelp National Child Abuse Hotline at 1.800.4.A.CHILD.
7. Get involved in your communities.
   1. Meet and greet your neighbors and organize/participate in activities in your neighborhood
   2. Go to a parents’ meeting or volunteer at your child’s school or run for an office in the parent organization at your child’s school
   3. Participate in an activity at your local library or community center
   4. Attend local government meetings (city council or school board meetings) and let them know how important resources are in your community. Let them know how parks, strong schools, and accessible services help to strengthen your family and other families
   5. Support legislation that protects children.
   6. Call and write your members of Congress.
   7. Write letters to your newspaper.

Parents may feel they can’t prevent child abuse unless they personally see it happening to a child, or are involved in a field of work that helps children who have experienced abuse or neglect. But that’s not true! We all have a role to play and the role of parents is a crucial one. It’s critical that adults take responsibility for keeping children safe if child abuse is truly going to be prevented. This will require that each of us understands our role in protecting children and preventing child abuse. . CDC’s approach to preventing child maltreatment is promoting safe, stable, and nurturing relationships between children and their parents or caregivers. One way you can help ensure all children have safe, stable, and nurturing relationships is by supporting parents in your community

Bullying is another way that children are abused. There is evidence that children with histories of abuse and neglect are more likely to engage in bullying behavior and are at a higher risk for being bullied by their peers than children who aren’t maltreated. (Shields & Cicchetti, 2001) Check out our resource on how parents can stop bullying and violence against children in the classroom.

Visit Social Moms Network here for more infomation about this importan topic.

Fin.

Wordless Wednesday - More Easter Faves

Here are some more shots from this past Easter Sunday that didn't make it into my new header (which, by the way, do you like?!):

So which is your favorite?

Link up here if you're Wordless today! Thanks for hosting, 5MFM! And thanks for looking!

Fin.

Sunday Stealing: The OC 25 Meme

Link up here if you're playing along today! Happy Easter/Passover to all who celebrate!

Sunday Stealing: The OC 25 Meme

1. What is your origin of your first name? What about any nicknames?

My mom just randomly came up with it. I was supposed to be "Eleanor" after my dad's mom, or "Clayton" if I was a boy, but when my dad wasn't in the room, my mom quickly put down "Melanie" instead. Hee! I've come to appreciate that, although my elementary school BFF was Eleanor, so of course I had wanted that to be my name then. My middle name is Ann, so my dad always called me "Mellie Ann," which my wonderful older sister changed to "Smellyann" at some point. And there you have it.

2. Have you any claims to fame?

Apparently, I'm meant to be a writer. In college, I came in second (or third?) in a huge poetry contest - you've probably seen the ads for it - and my published poem was analyzed in the front of the anthology in which it appeared. I was supposed to have my boys' and my story published in the Chicken Soup for the Twins Soul book, but apparently they decided it was too sad and took it out later on, which is fine with me. And more recently, my "Works for Me Wednesday" pets edition blahg post was published in a book called That Works For Me! or something like that; I had to give the proper permissions and all that. I've always been a pretty decent writer and thought I've had more poetry and maybe a novel rattling around in there, but I haven't been able to get started. We'll see if that ever comes to fruition.

3. If you were famous, how would you introduce yourself to someone who had never heard of you?

The same way I do now, I suppose: I'd have the head of my huge entourage do it. Heh.

4. Which of your country's achievements do you hold in highest regard?

Lincoln's Emancipation Proclamation couldn't have come soon enough; I think it just edges out winning the American Revolution. JMHO

5. As a child, what did you want to be when you grew up?

First, I wanted to be a teacher and librarian. As I grew up, though, I wanted to be a marine biologist. And until I got married, I was one. For a brief time, I was livin' the dream I grew up having. Now, I'm happier things worked out this way. I wouldn't change a thing, except for maybe a fatter wallet..

6. What was your most prized possession as a child? Do you still have it?

It was my red-and-white stuffed puppy dog named Snowflake, who eventually was missing an ear. The other ear had holly leaves and berries on it. I loved that puppy. I don't know what happened to her.

7. What would you change about yourself, if you could?

Pfft. What wouldn't I? That would be a shorter list. I would take away the Bi-Polar Disorder from which I suffer (as do those around me, I'm afraid), and I would give myself more strength of character. People who know the sorts of things I've been through always tell me what a strong person I am, but I don't feel that way. I feel like a weak, meek little mouse. My therapist tells me I am progressing though - she told me recently that I was "individuating," since I am no longer seeking my father's approval. I laughed and said it was high-time at 35, but she says she sees people much older than I am who haven't gotten that far and wow! I am babbling! Anyway, physically, I'd get my plastics to remove the skin I have hanging around (literally) after my 200+-lb weight loss.

8. What are you obsessed with?

Yarn. Picking at myself. My husband's nuts. Jafra. Couponing. And more yarn.

9. What is your greatest achievement so far, or the high point of your career?

Oh, I've received my fair share of academic accolades, but my proudest achievement was winning "Class Giggler" in 3rd grade. I still have the certificate!

10. When/where were you happiest?

January 2, 2001: The day we eloped was the most blissful day in my life. I'll never, ever forget that high.

11. And the lowest point in your life thus far?

March 25, 2003: The day I held my older twin son as he shuddered taking his last breath. Nothing is worse than outliving your child.

12. What was the best decision you ever made?

Marrying Rob! He is so good for, and to, me. We both have our share of shortcomings, but I definitely ended up with the better end of the deal. God knew what he was doing when he brought me this man.

13. If you have any body modifications, which was most painful, or which do you regret the most? If you haven't got any, do you have any planned, or would you ever consider getting any?

Other than four piercings in each ear, I have a nose ring. So that was the most painful. I haven't fully decided on getting a tattoo, but if I do, it'll be a joint one with Rob, honoring our four children together.

14. What is the most idiotic thing you have ever done while intoxicated?

We don't have to go there, do we? Let's not. Maybe the next time I get that intoxicated, which will be never, I'll share that story with y'all. ;) Let's just say I'll probably never drink Goldschläger again!

15. What is your favorite joke?

I am so terrible at remembering things like jokes and movie quotes. Asking me to tell a joke is putting me on the spot. I like stupid jokes anyway, like this one:

Knock Knock?

Who's there?

Little old lady.

Little old lady who?

I didn't know you could yodel!

16. What is the coolest/most impressive thing you own?

You mean aside from my iPhone? (You know I love that dang thing.) Okay, let me think on it a minute... probably the Britto. We bought a limited edition giclée of his called Deep Night Romance on our Mediterranean cruise, and it sums up our love for each other beautifully.

17. When did you last cry, and why?

I cried a little bit last night, thinking about this coming Monday. It'll be the 28th anniversary of my mom's death, and I always get a little weepy.

18. What's the best piece of advice you've ever had?

Surprisingly, it came from my dad. I'll paraphrase: "Don't let anyone rob you of your joy."

19. Similarly, what's the nicest thing anyone's ever done for you?

A semi-anonymous benefactor helped me pay for my college degree, the day I was going to get kicked out for non-payment of my classes. Biggest relief of my life!

20. Have you any vices?

I'm too self-indulgent.

21. Do you regret anything?

No regrets. I live for today, and tomorrow. There are things I wish I'd done differently, but I didn't, and I have learned and grown from them.

22. What is the best invention ever?

Hello?! The iPhone! lol

23. How would you describe your relationship with your family?

I have a very small living family. My mom is gone, my dad and I aren't speaking at the moment, and my sister and I are as close as we can possibly be from a distance. I love that broad! ♥

24. Who is your biggest inspiration?

Anyone with deep emotional fortitude, who can come through a tragedy and not completely fall to pieces. Well, falling to pieces isn't the thing, but someone who can pick up those pieces and make life work again - that's inspiring to me.

25. What are you going to do when you've finished Sunday Stealing?

Work on my April/May Jafra newsletter, a week later than I'd planned. Oops.

Happy Easter!

Fin.

Friday Fragments

Link up here if you've got bits & pieces rattling around in the ol' noggin to share with Mrs. 4444 and friends today! I have quite a few, so take a load off and stay awhile, won't you?

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I've got new news, so pop on over to this post if you want to know what big changes are afoot in my (and my older daughter's) lives!

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Likewise, I'd love your input on my Aloha Friday question for this week, which is here! Let me know if you have an AF post this week, too, so I can be sure to check it out!

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I've been playing around with the new Jafra color collection lately, so I'm experimenting with some new looks instead of my usual standby, which is closest to the bottom right in this collage. Which do you like best?

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Chloë, my oldest, was looking particularly adorable today, so I snapped this photo of her and then played around with it in Picasa by Google. I can't claim credit for those curls, which she gets from her daddy. His hair looks just like this when he's not, well, in the Navy for 19 years!

 

Chloë wanted a makeover, so we played around with some of my make-up on her for a little while Thursday evening. What do you think about make-up on a 10-year-old? Totally wrong, or okay if it's just for fun, like this? Obviously, we don't do this very often, but I think it's fine once in a blue moon, for kicks.

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Speaking of Jafra, I've been painting my nails with our wonderful lacquers faithfully, and they're actually growing and not breaking! I have paper-thin nails normally, and they break easily. My sister's nails are long and strong, so I sent her this picture on Facebook. Yeah. We bonded over nails. What can I say; she's a cosmetologist!

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Sophia and Jack have been having so much fun with their Kiwi Crates over the past few months, that I finally relented and renewed their subscription after being asked approximately 8700 times. They worked on it a bit Thursday evening and made parrots and treasure boxes. Can you guess the theme? Yep. Next we'll be making pirate hats and eye patches to go with them. Fun!

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After nearly two years of trying to get a table to our local Melting Pot's Girls' Night Out, I finally scored us a table - at 10:30 PM! It ended up working out to be a good time, albeit very late, because my friend Tabby and I had preview tickets for the movie American Reunion, the American Pie sequel, the same night. So for seven hours, I was out with first Tabby, and then Tab, and two of my "Turtle Friends," Saritah and Jenny From the Block at dinner. And oh, my gosh, I laughed so hard and often during both events. The movie was hysterical from start to finish, and we had ourselves a hilarious time at dinner, too. I hope we don't have to wait another couple years to do it again!

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Our tax refund check came in recently - well, partially, anyway, as the IRS denied Chloë as our child based on a clerical error on their part, argh - so Rob and I got some very necessary new tires for his motorcycle, Elsie, and my Odyssey, Penelope. The tire appointment was supposed to take about two hours, so I asked Jenny From the Block to keep our kiddos while we were there. I just wasn't up to deal with the boredom whining, basically! She agreed, so in the end, Rob and I decided to venture out together on his motorcycle for the first time, to use one of our Groupon-like certificates for a local Thai restaurant which we'd never tried. We were the only people there for quite a while, as you can see, but it certainly wasn't because of the food quality!

Our meal was excellent, although mine was spicier than I expected. I can't do spicy, and not just because of my sensitive gastric bypass pouch; I never could handle it. I just don't have the stomach - or tongue! - for it, sad to say. Still, it was good. But better than that was the fun of riding around on the back of the BMW with Rob! I had so much fun! I was a little scared, sure, but it was a breathlessly-exhilarating kind of fun. I hope we get another chance to do that again soon, too!

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So pretty much other than the pictures and details of Jack's birthday party, I'm all caught up now on my blahggy show-and-telling. I really ought to do that, especially since it'll be time to show Sophia's birthday party pictures in another week! On Friday the 13th, my youngest child will turn seven! We'll have her, 9-year-old Jack, and 10½-year-old Chloë. It' to face the music: my family is aging out of the "little kid" stage. I guess we're pretty well established by now, huh?

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And now to leave you with my old standby, a Cute Kid Quote. As you may or may not know, in my previous existence as a singleton, I was a marine biologist, studying shark feeding behaviour. My kids know all about that, and for whatever reason, it comes up frequently. Anyway, Thursday afternoon, we were driving around, when Jack suddenly asked what a car's muffler was for. Before I could answer, Sophia snapped at him, "She doesn't know! She's not a car biologist! It's not like she dives into cars!" I had quite a chuckle over that one! These kids. They kill me.

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On that note, thanks for stopping by, and have a fabulous weekend!

Fin.

Rebirth

On Sunday, we were invited by one of my "Turtle" friends, Saritah, to witness her and her two sons' baptism at their church in Portsmouth. I love her to death, and I've also never witnessed anyone's baptism - except Robby's, of course, but that was hardly customary - so I was overjoyed to attend.

It was a beautiful ceremony, and it really got me thinking. I grew up as a Christian Scientist (which is not Scientology), so I wasn't baptised in the traditional sense, as they believe you're baptised in the Holy Spirit without the ritualism of the water baptism. (That's truncating the full explanation, but feel free to ask if you need more.) Anyway, I've been struggling my entire adult life - that's 17 years, folks - with the decision about whether to be water-baptised, ever since I left Christian Science after college. I'd read Mere Christianity by C.S. Lewis, and it inspired somewhat of a Christianity identity crisis in me that has had me on a path of questioning and wanting to soak up all I could about living according to God's Will ever since. I have often failed, but I continually try... and anyway, back to my point.

I decided, at Sarah and the boys' baptism, that when my first living child decides to be baptised, I would do it with him or her. I didn't have long to wait, as later that day, Chloë and I were out together, and she brought up the fact that she, too, wanted to be baptised. Rob and I had decided long ago that we wouldn't baptise them as babies, because we wanted them to come to the decision on their own, when they were old enough to understand the full gravity and import of the decision.

I was so excited to hear of her choice! I gently interrogated her, and without prompting, she was able to clearly explain to me the meaning and importance of baptism in her life, and her walk with Jesus, so I was satisfied that she understood the undertaking. So, like that, we decided that together we would be baptised at our church at the next opportunity. I can't wait! I'm beyond excited. The time is right for me. I'll find out at our Easter services on Saturday night when that will be and, of course, let y'all know!

 

All four of us Turtles - and our collective 16 children - met up at a nearby Golden Corral for lunch after the baptism. The Other Melanie's family went home to change first, so her kids aren't represented here, but you'll see some of them in a minute.

Saritah's 8-month-old baby, Tempe, was lucky enough to join us at the adult table. She's sitting next to her mama, with Jenny From the Block grinning across the table. Jenny's hubs was ducking out of the picture, next to her; he's camera-shy!

After Chloë shot her straw wrapper across the table at Sophia, Saritah's hubs mentioned something called, "The Snake." I'd never heard of this before, so I made him demonstrate. Here he is getting it ready.

And there it is. Silly. Am I the only one who had never heard of this before?!

At ten, Chloë has her first puppy-love crush on Sarah's older son, Sebastian. It's not unrequited. The two of them... *sigh* I'm trying to discourage such attachment so young, but I've been pretty unsuccessful thus far!

Here's Ginny, another of Sarah's four children, showing off her chocolate mustache. At some point, nearly all of the children were sporting one!

After lunch, a nice couple took Jenny's and my cameras and took photos of all of the Turtles and most of our family's - a few of T.O. Mel's kids opted out. T.O. Mel is preggers with #8! I'm delighted for her, and yeah, a little envious, too. 

The Turtles, Left to Right: Jenny, Melanie, Saritah, and moi

So, that was that awesome day. I'm so happy for Sarah and the boys, and excited for Chloë and myself! Stay tuned...

Fin.

Wild Horses Couldn't Drag Us Away

Once upon a time, also known as Friday morning, Jenny from The Block, her kids, and my kids, piled into Penelope (my Odyssey) and took a road trip up the Eastern Shore of Virginia. The main purpose of the shop was to do a mystery shop for which I was well-paid, but we got, shall we say, side-tracked, after that was finished. Had ourselves a little adventure, we did. Would you like to hear about it? Good. Grab a seat, your beverage of choice, and your mouse, because you're gonna need to do some scrollin'. For once, I had the Nikon with me and got over my camnesia!

So we meandered down the road a piece and, after talking to the scarcely-toothed manager of a local convenience shop, found our way here. You know the book Misty of Chincoteague? It's about the wild horses that roam this area. Well, I've been meaning to bring the kids up here for the entire, oh, nine years we've been living in the Beach o' Virginia to look for them. Finally, we made it. Too bad our respective Rons weren't with us. (Which is Jenny-and-me speak for "Rob," both our husbands' name...) Eventually, we plan to return for longer than a few hours and do the trip proper justice.

The first creature we spotted wasn't a horse, though. It wasn't even a vertebrate. The flutter-by captivated the five children's attention for a good few minutes before we went hiking in search of the Assateague Lighthouse, our first conquest.

I love watching the kids on a mission. Look how big Sophia is - she's the second-youngest, too! Jenny's kids are peanuts like Jack and Chloë. ♥

Ooh, looky! There it is, just over yonder!

Oh, whoops. Hang on, Moms. We have to stop and do a kickline together. The kids came up with that on their own, and then the did it about six more times during the day, in various places. Too cute. Especially the way Jack can barely stand up to do it. He's kind of, um, awkward. You should see him run. I can say it, because I'm his mother. The boy runs funny.

In short order, we found the clearing where the lighthouse lives, in all its resplendent glory. Or something.

Jenny and the kids checked out the structure, while I checked out... them.

I love that the cinderblock seemed to have been placed there just for my wee laddie!

Here's what he was so fixated upon: acres and acres of pure, unadulterated Nature. Gotta love it!

Yeah, welcome. Except, what village? I must've missed that part. It was the blink-and-you-miss-it type of town.

More signage. You can read it. I don't need to describe it. It was there, so I took its picture. That's what we perfeshunul photographers do, y'know.

The entrance of the lighthouse was all one-room schoolhouse-looking. I liked it. All old and historical. Pretty cool.

The Assateague Lighthouse. And some other little building. The keeper's quarters? I don't know.

We found a nice lady to take a picture of the seven of us together. Look, you can see the kids doing their kickline again. Hee.

 

Sophia taking a quick breather... (edited in Picasa for coolness)

Curly Sue had a look-see through the thingamajig, too. Nature at its finest, ready for its close-up!

Sitting on the bench near the lighthouse, Sophia deduced that the logs used for it were cut down by the late Mr. Jones memorialized thereon, and I was pretty impressed by that. Maybe you had to be there, but it was a great example of logic and reasoning for an almost-seven-year-old!

(Click pic to embiggerate) The kids all sat on the bench for another rest, and while they did so, I had them show me all the emotions I could think of. The funny part was, Jack was super-grumpy at the moment (tired), and all his expressions were exactly the same while the other four were being theatrical. Goof.

Hiking back to the van, we spotted this flash of white in the distance. Could it be a pony? We had to go see.

Oh. Nah. It was just a log. A log that proved to be quite entertaining to the shorties for several moments.

Gavin: "Get your hands out of my butt!" Madison: "Get your butt off my hands!" Okay, I made that up. Paraphrasing from the movie G-Force... ah. I entertain myself.

Cutie-pie little Gavin... he's such a sweety-kins!

More walkin', and lookin', and standin' around... And yes, we drove all the way up there and forgot to shoe poor Sophia. I carried her around a lot that day, and she is decidedly not a lightweight. Whew.

Another Gavin capture, looking cutesy-pie

Okay, yet another one, but I just love seeing little kids crouching like that! We were trying to decide whether a nearby plant was poison ivy. (It wasn't.)

 

All right, back to Penelope, to go find us some horsies!

I just love a van full of bebes!

This was the view out my driver's side window, when we were watching the horses, of which I did not actually obtain one dang picture, because they were so far away and well-covered by the brush and trees. Poopsticks. But it was still cool being out there and watching them. It was like being on safari. For horses. In Virginia. That was my fantasy.

Somewhere, out there, beneath the pale moonlight.. okay, it was daytime, and now I'm going to have that song in my head. Anyway, out there is where the ponies were roaming. We probably saw 6-8 of them. It was all very exciting. I can't wait to go again!

After we left the Assateague/Chincoteague area and did a little souvie shopping, we found the NASA Visitor Center and decided to go in there and check things out. And behold, it was good. A very good idea.

Yeah. The boys were in seventh heaven with all there was to see and do, rocketry-related. It wasn't lost on the girls, either. Fun times!

Curls will pose with any old satellite model if you train a camera lens on her. A born model.

A big ol' NASA balloon model, which is ginormous compared to the Washington Monument model. How come I've never seen one of these floating around? I guess maybe I wasn't paying attention, because, um, they're really big. BIG.

Madi and Gavin checking out a rocket trajectory

Chloë was transfixed by the astronaut-guy, who was all Madame Tussaud's-looking. Kind of creepy, but cool. Kind of.

I had fun following Jack around while he ran here-to-there, pointing out all the things hanging from the ceiling. It was too cute!

More walking and pointing. No talking, just the pointing.

At some "point," I wondered if he really cared where he was aiming that finger and just got into the habit of doing it!

A-ha! A center just for the wee folk, in the middle of the museum. There was all kinds of nifty stuff in there for the quintet.

 

Right after this was taken, Sophia accidentally leaned on that lid Gavin was lifting, while his bitty fingers were underneath it! Ouch! Poor little fellow.

There's Jack, doing his engineer thing, figuring things out, making 'em work. He spent a good chunk of our time there at this propulsion exhibit.

Finally, he had enough and went to go look at models of Naval ships. Jenny's husband works on this kind when he's away... but I'm blanking on what it's called at the moment.

 

And of course, we have an aircraft carrier here, which Jack stepped aside for me to snap, knowing it was his Daddy's kind of ship.

Then Gavin came over and found the ship his Daddy goes on, whilst Jenny brought over some free educational loot materials for us to use in our respective homeschool pursuits. Sweet!

A quiet moment for Soap

Chloë was watching a video about I don't know what, because I was too busy admiring her curls and ringlets.

Sophia kept insisting the two bacteria samples on the right were mixed together to form the color on the left, despite my continually telling her that it was three different organisms. Stubborn girl!

Here's what they actually were. ;)

The kids learning about El Niño and La Niña

Hey look, Gavin's a pointer, too! Must be a boy thing.

Jenny wanted to pose with the astronaut suit thingy, so I told her to "look spacey," and this is what she did. Ha! She's a hoot, that Jen.

At the end of our impromptu field trip, we stopped in the gift shop. Of course, Jack wanted one of every. single. thing. he saw in there. Little did he know I'd already scooped up some goodies from the souvenir shop we'd visited in Chincoteague, so it was killing me that he waaaaaanted something so badly and I (thought I) had left my wallet in the car. (Turns out I didn't, but that is probably a really good thing, since I kinda wanted one of everything, too!)

 

What? The back of his head is pretty cute, too - especially since you can tell his eyes are bugging out in the front, right?

*sigh* All right, all right, I can't stand it anymore. I whispered in his ear that I had something special just for him out in the car, and it was our little secret, and I'd show him later, and shh-shh-shh-shh-shhhhhh!

Oops, one more last pointy-point before we headed out to Penelope and back home.

 

When we got home that night, and the girls weren't looking, I gave Jack his pressies. He was pretty excited, so much so that the first thing he did was go show his sisters. D'oh! Jack! Good thing I'd gotten them each a Chincoteague/Assateague snow globe to make up for it, but they (rightly) felt shortchanged. Ah well. I just said it was "late birthday presents," and that seemed to do the trick.

And that was the end of that little jaunt.

Fin.

P.S. Sophia's snow globe is already broken. Le sigh.

Something's Fishy At Sweet Pea Academy...

So with the help of my MIL and her brother, along with lots of bonus points from doing community service with the Scouts (both Cub and Girl), we turned in enough Labels For Education to get the following goodies:

(Photo from LFE site) A world map, which hasn't come yet, or I'd have a better picture to show you,

a dozen bottles of tempera paint for our artistic pursuits, and,

 

our new 5-gal fish aquarium! The kids are decidedly most excited about this new swag.

We ran as soon as possible over to Petco to get some gravel, silk plants, food, and dechlorinator to set up our tank, as well as figure out which fish we were probably going to get after the tank had time to set up for a few days. I put it together, and the kids were beside themselves the whole time. Jack kept saying, "I'm going to cry happy!" He said it again today when we went to go get our fish.

This is Steve, who helped us both today with our new fish and the other day when we picked out what we'd need to get the tank ready, pulling out Chloë's Starfire Red Glofish and Sophia's Galatic Purple Glofish (both are Danio rerio).

The girls with their new fishies!

Then, Steve plucked out a Neon Tetra (Paracheirodon innesi) for Jack. We were originally going to go with something else, but Steve said no, too big. Jack recovered quickly from that setback.

Does Jack look like a little white monkey when he's super-excited, or what?!

We also picked out an algae-eater (Hypostomus plecostomus) for the tank, although eventually it'll get too big for our tank. That's okay; we planned on upsizing eventually anyhow. Sophia got to carry it on her lap on the ride home.

 

This is Hallie, the very friendly Scottish Terrier we met at Petco today. I always wanted to get a Scottie and name him Hamlet. Hallie was all over me; cute pooch!

 

I went against common knowledge, sense and practice and unceremoniously dumped our four new fishes into the tank, instead of taking the proper time to acclimate them to their new environs. Sue me. They seem fine.

I stopped at Jenny From the Block's house after Petco to bring her a few things, and we collectively decided that, since she's the tank "maid," we'll name the plecostomus Alice. Get it? C'mon, please tell me you get it. We briefly considered "Hazel" as well but quickly decided that was too old school for Alice. Hey, Alice? You lookin' at me?

And finally, we have Jack's Tetra, originally named "Little Frankie" but renamed "Speedy" since "he moves so fast" on the far right; Chloë's hot pink Glofish named "Moon" on the bottom left, and Sophie's "Starlight Starbright" above Moon. They all seem happy with their new home.

The kids are totally thrilled. I mean, it's been a couple hours, and they're still in their staring at the tank. Jack exclaimed, "This is even better than going to the Aquarium, because now we have our own aquarium!" Ha! I'm so happy they're delighted. So. Happy.

Fin.

P.S. Thanks, Mamacita and Unc!

 

When The Going Gets Tough...

Yesterday, Sunday, was the ninth anniversary of our son Robby's death. I always keep a three-day vigil, during what was once his short little life, and hope for a different outcome. It's always the same in the end, of course, but I do it just the same. I imagine I'm not the only mother to do this. Saturday, Day Two, was my "I'm so angry, I gotta MOVE" day, so I broke out the long-neglected rollerblades and went for an hour-long spin all over the neighborhood:

I hate how I look in these pictures, but there's nothing I can do about that right now, short of plastic surgery. Plus, I had shorts on under the skirt, so my butt looks enormous. Hee. Oh, well.

Sunday was the actual anniversary. I woke up sobbing around 0300. Sophia, to my chagrin, came down to find out what was the matter. I explained about Robby, and she went to fetch Daddy, who came to comfort me. My nose always expands about 300-fold when I cry really hard, I think:

I don't know why I took the picture; I just love the iPhone's Instagram app so much!

When I'm stressed, aside from taking my pills, I have to do something to de-stress, and my go-to hobby of choice is knitting. And so, for the first time in a month, or maybe two?, I started hexipuffing:

At long last, I broke into my delightful mini-skeins from The Knitting Goddess, pulling out Summer Sun first because it was just the cheery colorway I needed at the moment. Each mini makes, for me, three full puffs with enough for maybe 1/3-to-½ of another. Plenty; I was expecting two!When I finished that trio, I napped. For a very long time.

When I finished that trio, it was about two house later, or perhaps three, so I went down to "my" 7-Eleven for a Diet Coke and a white rose. I was in luck; they actually had one nearly-perfect specimen. Just one:

In past years, we let go a slew of baby blue balloons for a happy-birthday message to the wee laddie, but the environmentalist in me could no longer stomach that. I took to Facebook for suggestions and got a number of lovely ideas, but the one we decided to go with was letting rose petals go in the water for him. Hence the rose.

We got this stone out of a catalog years ago, maybe the first year, and it sits out in the front "lawn" with the rest of the stones that our living trio made with their hand- and footprints and various stones and marbles.

I started to knit some more, but by then I was exhausted again, physically and emotionally, so I napped. For a very long time.

At last, Rob was waking me up, telling me it was time we go let the petals free in the water. It was a cold, rainy day, just the sort of day for such a thing, I suppose, so we bundled up and headed out to Chick's Beach. It's normally a very calm beach with soothing waters and empty sands, much more suitable than the oceanfront for such an endeavor, but we were in for it this time. The tide was in, and the storm had riled things up quite so; we got soaked and froze our little selves to death!

Jack took his petals from me and went first:

Next up was big sister Chloë:

She placed her petals in so delicately for her brother, true to form.

Sophia went next:

Unlike her more dainty older sister, Sophia, who is a bit more... brutish, shall we say... rather dumped hers into the water. All well and good. I told them each to do it however they wanted to do.

Daddy was the penultimate petal-pusher, before taking the camera from me:

Poor Rob got absolutely soaked and frozen to the bone. I wore shorts and Crocs, so I was good:

I decided to just fling my petals all out at once, just as the wind blew in my face. Um, that plan therefore backfired, and my petals wound up all over the beach. Ah, well! I enjoyed the experience immensely; we'll be back to do it again next year.

Before we left the beach, Jack placed the rose stem and the sprig of Baby's Breath into the water for his brother and Robby's pals, before taking off running up the beach when the waves overtook him. Time to go.

When we got home, everyone showered except me, to get warm and rid themselves of wet and sandy clothes. And so, I wound a ball of the Goddess' "Twirl" colorway - it's beachy-hued and appropriate, right? - and knit three more puffs before taking another wee nap.

When I awoke, it was after 2300, just in time to go on my errand of bringing a friend to work, and now here we are, catching you up with Vigil 2012. I'm about to dig into another Goddess colourway; this time, it'll be Soft Sky:

Maybe I'll have a few to show you on th'morrow, or maybe I won't and we'll just do our regular school routine. Until the next time, my loves, carry on and be well.

Fin.

Sneaky Peeky: Easter Outfits, 2012

Just a quickie shot to show off my cutie pies! Mo' bettah pictures to come in the weeks ahead, hopefully completely with an Eastery-themed blahg header to replace the Christmas one.

Tell me they aren't adorable. I dare you! ;)

Fin.

Whatever Works!

On a particularly sunny day recently, this was Sophia's brilliant solution to the problem of having left her sunglasses at home. I thought it was hysterical and made her keep it on until I got to a stoplight and could snag a quick photo! Fortunately, she had no intention of taking it off until we got to our destination, so little convincing was necessary.

That kid is such a hoot! ♥

Fin.

Nine, Nine, Fraulein

Nine years ago this morning, I gave birth to these two little guys via emergency C-section, at 31 weeks' gestation. The identical twin on the left, Robby, was twice Jack's size, whereas they had been non-significantly different in size just one week earlier. Twin-to-Twin Transfusion Syndrome led to severe Hydrops Fetalis, which proved fatal to our sweet angel baby three days later.

Meanwhile, the itty bitty survivor on the right, Jack, is now this young, albeit still petite, man:

Happy 9th birthday to my sons, Robert William & Jack River! Mommy and Daddy love you both so very much. ♥

Fin.

Friday Fragments

Link up here if you've got newsable bits to share with the pulchritudinous Mrs.4444 and cohorts today!

☼

I haven't fragmented in 3 weeks, because I've been SUH TI-RED. I've had my share of drama and stuff I could've shared with you, but I've actually been sleeping more, well, at least on Thursday nights I guess, so I didn't make it here. I won't bore you with three weeks worth of bits, though, rest assured!

☼

Confidential to Mamacita: I'll do the online Jeopardy! test if you will!! Surely they can get a stool or something so you can stand on it to see over the podium... ;)

☼

The kids, normally night owls anyway, have been totes off their sleeping schedule since Daylight Savings time began. Last night, they were up until - no joke - 0500 (so, this morning, I should say)!!! I stayed up with them, to ensure they didn't burn the house down, and it was so late when they finally crashed that I just decided to stay up and face the day. Well, that plan was a FAIL, and I lay down at 10 AM for a "nap," thinking I'd just sleep 'til noon or whenever the kids got up. NOT! I didn't wake up until after 4:30 PM!!!!!!! S**T! That meant we missed our Girl Scout meeting, which was a field trip to the local Food Bank. Major suckage. :(

☼

So this boy:

(2012 Pinewood Derby winner for his Den and overall Pack)

had his District races this past Saturday morning. There were only four heats this time, as there were four lanes, as opposed to our (ahem, much better) six-lane track. He won three of those heats and came in 3rd on the other. Our Pack drops the lowest heat score, so I thought that was standard operating procedure for all Derby races. Well, apparently not, because even though his car was zoomin' and it looked like he would take home a trophy, he didn't even land a 3rd place on the podium. I was stunned All. Day. Long. And I know, I know, it's about the fun and not the trophy, but dang, I so enjoy looking at those things up on my mantel! Having never earned a trophy of my own, I'm enjoying living vicariously through my kids' awards. Sad, I know, but ... ah, well. For one thing, there's always next year. For another, it was still fun and exciting.

(Still, though. Crap!)

☼

The cookie sale is over! Hallelujah! It really wasn't that bad for me, since I'm not the cookie mom and didn't do a whole lot of door-to-door that year, but we did a bunch of booth sales that usurped our weekends for the past month or so. Anyway, I'm glad that's over and we can get back to our not-so-normal weekend pursuits.

☼

AND, now that that's over (cookies), I can once again concentrate on my reborn Jafra business. I'm celebrating 13 years with the company this month! If any of you would like to order or have questions, check out my Jafra website or send me a message/comment through here. Anyone who visits from Friday Fragments will get 25% off their first order - the biggest discount I can offer! (Offer good through the end of March. Must mention FF to get discount.) ☺

☼

I hope you're reading this post slowly, because that's how I'm typing it. My thumb is all bandaged up, since I shoved the back end of a sewing needle ¼" deep in it, whilst sewing Girl Scout patches on Chloë's vest. I hollered. A whole bunch. Loudly. You may have heard me?

☼

Our nice hunka-hunka-burnin'-tax refund is due any day now, and we have a looong list of things - mostly vehicular and medical - it's going to be parceled out to in a quicklike fashion. One of these days, maybe we'll actually be able to hold onto it longer than a week or so. That'd be nice. (At least I don't need more yarn...)

☼

And finally, while my boys' birthday is actually on the 22nd, we're celebrating Jack's 9th birthday party this Saturday with friends. Yep, St. Patrick's Day. No, I'm not going to make the above rainbow cake - it just looks like ick to me - but you'll have to stay tuned to this blahg to find out what I do end up serving. He's SO excited and had been counting down the days!

☼

Hope you all have a great weekend!

Fin.

Sunday Stealing: The Not My Year Meme

Link up here if it's not your year, either!

Sunday Stealing: The Not My Year Meme

1. Are you in a job that you truly enjoy?

I'm a stay-home homeschooling mom of three. I damn well better be, huh?

2. If you could do any job in the world what would it be?

I'd be a family court judge. And I hope to be, one day...

3. If you could be a character in a novel who would you be?

I'd be Tom Sawyer. What an imp! I like mischief as much as the next kid, you know?

4. When it comes to spending time with those you love, do you think it should be about quality or quantity?

Both count, but definitely quality over quantity. If you're not really present with each other, what's the point?

5. Is there a job/career you wanted but realized you couldn’t possibly do for one reason or another?

Pre-marriage and babies, I was a marine biologist. I was working with the pre-eminent scientist in our field (elasmobranch feeding ecomorphology, or in layman's terms, shark/skate/ray feeding behavioral ecology). A year and a half into my Ph.D., I realized I didn't have the passion to pursue that and be at sea half the year and then, when I was home, spend all my time stressing over grants and funding for research, etc. I wanted to be a wife and mom, and I didn't want to give up those desires, no matter how much I loved being a Biologist. And I did. And I still do... but. I love this so much more.

6. If you could live anywhere in the world or out of this world where would you live?

Oh, I'm so glad you added that last part. I'd love to live on Jupiter, assuming it were hospitable to humans. It's my favorite of our planets. (What, doesn't everyone have a favorite planet?)

7. Where would you most like to visit and with whom?

Everywhere I've never been, with Hubs and the trio of offspring we're raising.

8. Which skill would you like to learn?

Oh, gosh. I want to learn to spin my own yarn. And dye it. I want to learn to relax and meditate. I want to learn to practice self-patience and -forgiveness. I'd like to be fluent in every language, but at least five. It would be fun to be able to juggle while riding a unicycle... okay, now I'm getting carried away.

9. What made you laugh today?

A high school friend's Facebook status update: "Miracle Whip is actually tweeting on Twitter. What has the world come to when condiments are reminding us to set our clocks ahead?"

10. What are you looking forward to tomorrow?

Cleaning, organizing, and doing.

11. What is your sign and do you believe in horoscopes etc?

I'm a Virgo, and to the extent that it's fun. I fit the typical Virgo profile to a "T," but I don't go all nutso about it.

12. If you could change one thing about your life thus far, what would it be?

Many things... like, if I had known then what I know now, I would have seriously reconsidered going to the University of Miami, where top students like me struggled financially and football players were treated like gods, and perhaps gone to one of the several schools offering me a full, free ride instead.

13. If there was one charity you could give a huge contribution to, which charity would it be and why?

Heifer International. I think it's an awesome program.

14. Should smoking be legal?

No fecking way. Ugh. Don't even get me started.

15. What are your views on the smoking ban in public places?

Fully supportive - what'd I just say?!

16. Why do you blog?

To answer questions for your total entertainment, edification, and... okay, for my own amusement, too. And other things, but I've already answered this question eleventeen times before now.

17. Do you have a favorite author?

I'm not sure, but Jodi Picoult would definitely be near the top of the list, along with Elizabeth Zimmermann.

18. Can you play any musical instruments?

After my mom died, I learnt to play the organ/piano, which she also played. And my vocal chords. But I've always had a terrible ability to sight read music, so I didn't go very far with the keyboard. I did sing all through high school, and I was going to sing in college, too, but I got mono right before my audition, and then I got stage fright. I hate auditioning. Just give me the part I want and we'll go from there. Hee. 

19. What would your ideal car be?

I would love to zip around in a cute little Mazda Miata convertible, or a Smart for Two convertible. Red, of course. Red cars go faster.

20. Describe yourself in one short sentence.

I am so weird.

21. What do you look for in a spouse/other half?

A penis, for starters. That's a must. He's gotta make me laugh and make me think, even better if he can do them both at once. Everything else ... let's just say I got so lucky with Rob. He definitely got the short end of the marital stick! ;)

22. Worst meal you’ve had?

Chicken a la king, when I was, like, five. I'd probably love it now, though I'm too scared to attempt another go.

23. What do you do to relax in the evening?

Rob.

24. Do you get along with your siblings?

I have one full sister 17 months older, and yes, we are very close. Always have been. I have a much-older half-sister whom I've never met, and two former step-sisters with whom I no longer have a relationship.

25. Do you have any regrets?

Everytime I start painting my nails, I instantly regret not going pee first.

Have a great week, y'all!

Fin.

Sunday Stealing: The Eve Was Framed Meme

Link up here if you're a dirty, dirty meme'er like me.

Cheers to all of us thieves!

 

1. Why is your favorite color your favorite?

It's the color of the clear sea in the medium depths of the Caribbean, the most beautiful color I've ever seen, and reminds me of what I love in the world.

 

2. Do you prefer dogs or cats or do you just hate animals, and want to kill baby seals?

That question made me snort! I prefer itty bitty little puppy doggies, but I love all animals. Even the ugly ones.

 

3. How much time do you spend on the computer?

Six.

 

4. Not including porn, what do you do on the computer?

This meme is cheeky, eh? I do everything, a little of this, a little of that, a little of s'more stuff... nunya, mostly.

 

5. Are you a clock watcher?

Rarely. Only if I'm bored, which I try not to be.

 

6. What did you look for in a partner?

Intelligence and a good sense of humor, decency and kindness, love and passion.... and obviously not height. Sorry, baby. Hee.

 

7. What type of clothing do you prefer?

Whatever I look good in and disguises my 7-to-10-year-old baby belly!

 

8. What is your favorite type of music?

I can't lie. I like my Pop music best. I know it's lame, but it's so... singalongable, mostly!

 

9. Do you believe in the paranormal, ghosts, ESP, levitation, spoon bending?

Not right now, nope.

 

10. The most important question: Do you have a innie or outie belly button?

I've got a way-the-hell-innie.

 

11. What kind of car do you drive?

C'mon, I've got three kiddos. A minivan. 2010 Honda Odyssey. I've had it a year and a half, and I still miss my old van.

 

12. Girls Just Wanna Have Fun or The Boys Are Back in Town?

 

The former!

 

13. Camping or the Ritz?

 

As much as I love the great outdoors, I'm more at home in a fancy hotel.

 

14. What food are you craving RIGHT NOW . . . did you eat it?

 

I don't know, but no, because whatever it is, we don't have it. Oberweis cottage cheese, I think. It's the best!

 

15. The most thrilling place you've ever visited. Why?

 

Oh, gosh. I'm hard-pressed... Okay. Our 2008 Mediterranean cruise was pretty awesome. I love culture, I love travel, I love being on the water... and I was with my darling husband. The only downside about that trip was that I was still mighty big (I had my surgery the following January), and we couldn't do a few of the excursions we'd planned because of my size.

  

16. If you could slip into the skin of one public figure--celebrity, artist,--who would it be?

 

Does Matt Damon's wife count? Then he could slip into my skin. Did I just say that?

 

17. Look up from your computer. What do you see first?

The Britto we bought on the aforementioned cruise!

 

18. Sum up your philosophy of life in one sentence. You can borrow it from someone else, if you'd like.

You take the good, you take the bad, you take it all, and there you have the facts of life, oh, the facts of life... sorry. I'm in a singing mood.

 

19. Name the one thing you just don't understand about kids today.

No. The kids, I get. It's their parents I don't often get!

 

20. If you could steal one work of art from a museum or gallery, which would it be?

 

Dalí's The Persistence of Memory has always captivated me.

 

Have a stellar week, kids!

 

Fin.

Saturday 9: Look Out Here Comes Tomorrow (RIP Davy Jones)

Link up here if you're playing along today!

1. How much do you worry about your future?

 

Six.

 

2. Do you believe that anyone could be perfect?

 

Just one, and He's not here on Earth right now. The rest of us... we're only human.

 

3. Regarding your future, what is the best thing you could hope for?

 

That I'm alive in it, with a modicum of happiness and sanity, and not driving my hubs and kiddos up a wall - whilst they're driving me up said wall.

 

4. What's the greatest extent you've gone to help a friend in need?

 

Well, my sister's two daughters are pretty hearty and hale, unlike my own four kids who have all had their various illnesses (and death, in one case) and weaknesses throughout their young lives, so when her younger daughter took ill with a common childhood disease, she kind of freaked out. I dropped everything and drove all night from Virginia Beach to Western New York to be with her and her family until little H got better. I hope it was appreciated, because I had to wean my then-nursing son to do it! (He'd turned a year old the week before, so I'd already planned to, but still!)

 

5. What did you do lately that was really brave?

 

I stepped away from my various (11??) positions in leadership in the Girl Scouts on Wednesday. It broke my heart to do it on the one hand, but on the other hand, I really wanted and needed that, and I feel great since doing so.

 

6. What do you wish you hadn't let yourself do?

 

Take on so many things all at once last year, and let myself get unstable because of it. It's been about a year and a half since I've been stable (I'm bipolar), and it's kind of been hell on all of us with all the med tweakings and freak-outs while we try and figure out the right (new) cocktail for me...

 

7. Who is the wisest person you know?

 

My mama-in-law is pretty sage. I ask her for advice often, and she's always got good stuff knocking around in that brain of hers.

 

8. What's the most tasteless joke you've ever heard?

 

Oh, probably something disgusting and racist, which I do NOT tolerate.

 

9. What does your answering machine / voice mail message say?

 

Call it and find out, Willises!

 

Have a good weekend.

 

Fin.