Hope You Have a Great Day!!

Not that I don't enjoy everyday but today I realized this is by far the happiest I've ever been. I was driving somewhere today and thinking about how great everything in my life is. And I hope that all of you can have that feeling, even if only for one day, sometime very soon. Love you guys!!

What a way to start the day!

So yesterday I am driving to work and hear this strange sound. Thought it sounded like a flat tire--checked the tires when I arrived at work and once during the day--all is great. Super. Go home. Have a great night.
This morning, checked the tires before I drove off to another day of work. Driving, listening to the news, chilling out...I hear a rock hit the under-carriage of my car. Ah, wrong again--FLAT TIRE!!!
So I put on the flashers and pull to the side of the road. I am right past a toll plaza so people are flying by me. AHHH.....Call AAA and they say that it will be 45 minutes. I call work and let a few people know, since I really am not sure who my immediate supervisor is--(whole 'nother story!) At least I have AC--right?

The road rangers found me and fixed it before AAA got there. Milton was his name. He was really nice and fixed my flat in about 4 minutes. Good news, I was back on the road. The road rangers offer a free service of changing tires, bringing you gas, etc. They were life savers!

What a start to the day, huh?

Here are just a few shots from our amazing weekend. I uploaded the rest to snapfish and sent you all an email with the link.

I think we all had a great time and I am planning to do another one next year. Maybe even the same weekend, that way we can make a tradition out of it. I emailed the owner this morning to tell him where we put the key and to tell him we had such a nice time. I mentioned that we may be calling him again next year. Turner had a good point, I think next year we should take off either Monday or Friday and make a long weekend out of it. I sure didn't want to come home (except to see Reagan). Speaking of Reagan, she was less than excited when I got home, what a let down. I was expecting her to be super excited and run up to me, not so much. Then, all night, she kept getting up like every hour. It's like she wanted to make sure I was home and I didn't leave her again. So now she is eating lunch and taking an early nap! I just wish I could nap at work, oh well.

Thanks again for coming and I hope everyone had a good time. I know I did. Love you!

My Personal Nightmare (with Assistance)

So, I have in one week hired and subsequently fired a personal assistant.

Last week, I hired a very nice girl as my personal assistant. She didn't strike me as particularly FABULOUS - but she was the ONLY person to respond to the telemarketing part of the position with enthusiasm. And she was a clogger! She couldn't be all bad, if she was a clogger. Well, her recommendations were pretty good - not excellent - just OK. None of them commented on her stellar work ethic or superb organizational methods, but they did say that she was reliable and of high integrity. Well, I'm guessing that we must have been speaking about two different people here because I found neither attribute.

During week one (her only week), she worked 2 hours on Monday (that's all I really had time for) and six hours on Tuesday (during which I bought her lunch). She was planning on going out of town on Wednesday but not until AFTER coming to work. Well, Wednesday morning I get a call from her wondering if it would be all right if she came in a little late becasue she needed to have her tires rotated. I told her that it would be fine and I again emphasized that I could be flexible as long as she kept me informed. Around noon, she called back to say that she was still sitting at the tire place and asked if she could just come in next Wednesday (she was returning from her trip on Tuesday). I said I understood and I would see her after her trip.

So, at 9:00 AM Wednesday morning, she doesn't show up. I was a little cranky but I have too much to do to worry about where she's at. So, I leave her a nice message, expressing great concern over her whereabouts. Around 3:00 PM, she calls to say that she missed her flight from Dallas to Atlanta because her traveling partner left her wallet back at her friends house, so after being half way to the airport they had to turn around and go back to get it. So, they didn't get into Atlanta until almost midnight. So they decided to stay in Atlanta for the evening and drive home Wednesday morning.

Here is where the story holds water like a sieve. She told me that she couldn't call because she bought her phone off of E-bay and it didn't come with a car charger, so her battery died. (Did I mention that I bought a phone for her and it is the EXACT same brand of phone she already has and it came with a car charger and she had taken it with her when she left?). She said she had like 20 messages from her mom being completely worried. She said that she was going to write my number down, so that she could put it in her wallet, so she could call me, even if her cell phone died. And she emphasized (maybe 20 times) that this NEVER happens to her. It was really just a string of bad luck and she wouldn't be traveling anymore over the summer, so it wouldn't be a problem.

She asked if she could come at 8:00 AM the next morning to get as many hours in as she could. I, of course, told her that this would be fine and that I'd see her in the morning. Well, I didn't see her in the morning. In fact, I haven't heard from her since last Wednesday. I've left numerous messages on her personal phone, since I have suspended service on my phone. And since she's not returning my calls, I had to fire her over email this morning.

So, I am now assistant-less AND phone-less. I don't expect to see either again. My only saving grace is that I had not yet paid her for the 8 hours she worked for me. So, I guess it's a wash.

And the great PA search of '08 continues!

Long lost friend

Hey bloggers! I am happy to report that I was able to add myself as a contributor. I tried to access this site when you first sent it out, but for some reason, I was DENIED. Anyway, I'd been meaning to check back and Kramer further enticed me at lunch the other day with stories of personal assistants (where can I get one?!) and breast piercings of sorts. I hate that I've missed out on so much, so I've spent some time (don't tell the boss!) today retracing history. I'm feeling better now that I'm up to speed! Not much new to report with me, as I've shared a few recent pics of Michael with you all. He continues to do really well. A little behind in matters of some development (but right on target with his corrected age of almost 6 months), but he's an all-star eating his cereals and vegetables. We'll be introducing fruit soon! I've been taking him in for oral motor therapy for 4 weeks now, and he's doing well with that. I look at it has preventive maintenance. Hopefully doing therapy now will resolve any issues that could come up down the road when he starts talking and eating real food. He goes in for an occupational therapy eval in about a week. That will help us address his fine motor skills which need a little work. All in all, he's at the stage where he's learning something new every day. I hate that I'm not there for him all the time and have definitely been more stressed out between my insanely demanding job and wanting to be home with him etc. etc. I try to keep everything in check and just enjoy every minute I have with my miracle baby.

John had carpal tunnel surgery on both his wrists recently, and has recovered well. He still expriences some soreness after driving all day, but he doesn't have the pain he was having before surgery, thank goodness. He would wake up in the middle of the night in pain sometimes. I felt so bad for him.

Tomorrow marks my 3 year anniversary with Harland. Holy crap. Where does the time go? Actually, I feel like I've been here much longer than that. I don't know if that's a good thing, or just reinforces that this job is sucking the life out of me!

Well, I better get back to work. Looking forward to this weekend! (Though, as I mentioned to Kramer, not looking forward to putting on a bathing suit! Who has time for the gym?!)

I don't want 3 kids...EVER!!

This is really long I recommend it in pieces.

Hello to all. So this past weekend we had Scott, Michael and Angelina for 3 days while Brian and Laura took their Anniversary cruise. So Day 1 fine...short day. We got them after I worked on Saturday and by the time the boys got tired of keeping Angelina from making Morpheus hiss like I've never heard him hiss before it was nearly her bed time. So that was easy but then "If I don't get my way I'm gonna cry for my mommy" set in. Yeah everything I said no about which were things like taking Elena's lipstick and smearing it all over her face, she busted out in a cry/scream and called for going to Grammy's house. Then I made it ten times worse by saying that we couldn't do that because Grammy is on vacation(she was leaving the next day for a cruise). Apparently my mom is not allowed to leave her house where Angelina is concerned. Unless Angelina is going with her. So that sparked a full on depression which phased neither of the boys which makes me think this happens all the time.

Anyway, I call my mother and put Angelina on the phone with her(bad idea #2). So the only way t get her to stop crying was to plan an activity. So we decide to get excited about riding the train through Mt Dora. Well giddy up the kids and get to the train and it's closed for the summer. Here's where I go from ever wanting to be a mother to never even wanting to babysit again. So now that we hyped the train thing here goes crying spell #2 because the train is broken. So we decide to take a very overpriced boat tour around Lake Dora to see alligators and such. Well 2 hours of trying to keep Angelina away from Elena's lipstick in her purse had her crying for home once again. This time she needed to go home because Effie(their cat) missed Angelina and Angelina just knew he did. But then the captain let her drive the boat for a bit and that got us to shore.

From there it was time for another activity because Effie was still waiting. So why not kill 2 birds with one stone and water the grass while we get soaked. The boys, Angelina and I made fools of ourselves on the front lawn while Elena I think was inside praying(which she doesn't do normally).

So then we have dinner(Sunday dinner style) and Elena is ready to completely mess up the house by asking Angelina if she wants to make cookies. So once the dough is all squished in between Angelina fingers and squeezing out onto the floors and all over the chair she's having a blast. One point for Elena. So I'm at the sink cleaning up from dinner and it's quiet for 30 seconds when Angelina completely unprovoked and out of the blue says, "Crissy...you're not so bad." I nearly crashed to the floor with laughter, but she doesn't like when you laugh at her even though you're not really laughing at her. Funniest thing she's ever said. So not too many cookies later it was time for me to lay down with Angelina until she falls asleep and then sneak out of the room to play Scrabble with the boys and Elena.

Best game of Scrabble I ever played. Those 2 boys are the funniest kids ever. Witty beyond wit and they say the funniest things ever. They're like stand up comics because they even tie in current events. So Scrabble is over and pajamas come on and it's off to bed. I tried to have a tiny few minutes with Elena when Angelina starts screaming my name. So there goes that idea and it's off to bed for me. Don't ever sleep with Angelina, she'll push you off the bed and when you jump to the inside she pins you up against the wall.

So it's Monday and it's our final day and Angelina wakes up like a monster. She's crank and nothing will make her smile. EXCEPT...cat chasing!! So I'm sure by now Morphy understands it's just what we had to do. So the kids are out back playing/scaring with the fur balls when I decide to go in the bedroom and get dressed. The boys slept in or bed and I slept in the spare room with Not so "Angel"ina. So I go in and go to the dresser and there is the quilt on the floor. No biggie pick it up and make the bed. Well, pick it up and it's soaking wet. And the sheets are wrapped up in it...also soaking wet. But wait there are sheets on the bed so what is going on? Well I deduce that one or both boys wet the bed and together they changed the sheets. Which I can't believe didn't wake me up because they must have had to search for where we keep the sheets. AND where we keep the sheets is nearly out of their reach in the linen closet so I don't know how they did it.

So I take the sheets to the laundry and then wonder if the mattress is wet cause that's just nasty. Luckily I don't see or smell anything on the mattress so I think he must've been pretty wrapped up in the quilt. So I call my mom because it was day 3 and I was about to bust. She decides to now tell me that this happens quite often and that's why you need to lay a towel under the sheets where they'll sleep. Good info to have AFTER the stay is over. Then my mom says wait you have to find his clothes. Usually when they pee at my house they put their clothes in the bathtub. So I check the bathtub...nothing. I check the laundry basket...nothing. I go to their suitcase...bingo. So then I know it was Michael because his little pj's were soaked and stuffed into the lined side pocket. But since he closed the suitcase I decided it'd be best to just wash everything in there.

Then it was time to go home. At 2pm Brian and Laura would arrive home and I'd be free!!!! So we go to their house, type in the code to the garage because B&L were late AS USUAL and voila we are home. Angelina can see Effie and all is right in the world. But wait the door to the house is locked. Okay Boys where's the key? Huh? We don't have a key. ARRRRRRRGGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHH!!! Hot sun, no answer on Brian's cell phone and Angelina has to pee(and whine some more). So stay calm, don't panic. Let's go around back and sit on the shaded porch. Okay great now Angelina wants to go swimming. FINE, n more trying to win this battle for me. Swimmies on and in you go. Phew! Well that was only exciting for about 10 minutes until nobody would swim with her. I was in jeans and NOT IN THE MOOD FOR FUN!!! So now it's 2:40 and up strolls Laura and Brian. AMEN!! But wait they can't find their house key so they're still locked out, Angelina didn't pee in the pool like I assumed she had and the boys are getting yelled at for locking the door when they didn't even do it.

Now Brian is yelling at Laura, she's calling him names and I'm wishing I had never said yes to this position. 10 minutes later and suitcases turned upside down the key appears and all is right in Apopka. If I may also note Angelina held it the whole time, figures!!

So I'm free at last free at last. Kinda. Then I had to go directly to my parents to pick up Buddy and watch him while my mom is on her cruise for the week. So now we have Buddy who is much better behavior wise than our last guests. He tends to spill food a little too but all in all there is almost no whining.

As for Reagan's ABC's Katie, she is waaaaaayyyyy advanced. I tried to do ABC's with Angelina and she wanted no part of it. And as for her numbers well I'll tell you one funny part. Whenever I would sit her on the toilet to pee she would sit for a second waiting for it and then say "here it comes, 4, 7, 6, 9" and pssssssssssssssssss. So she knows numbers just not sure of their order quite yet. And she is 3. Unfortunately she's not getting the attention that the boys had when they were young so she's a bit behind where they were.

I know this is really long. Hopefully you've used the bathroom and had lunch in between paragraphs. But last thing. On the way walking to the boat tour she all of a sudden says I have to poop, I have to poop. Oh great. We're 5 minutes from the car and walking towards the water. So I ask a lady and she says oh bathroom are right there. So I run with her and get her to the closest bathroom I could find which happened to be the men's room. Now we have to talk about why only boys use urinals. And it being right at her height she had to walk right up and investigate it. She we get on the potty and nothing is happening. So she tells me to bend down so she can hold my shoulders. What the?!? So now I'm squatting down with my face what felt like in the toilet because this kid smelled like she was about to explode. So she's tying to make something happen and she let's one hand off of me and squeezes the toilet paper holder with her hand and says," I better hold on". But you can't laugh at her because that makes her mad so I'm about to bust out laughing and EUREKA....we have #2.

So I am in fact ready for a day away from anything closely resembling taking care of anyone except for me and Elena. See you on Saturday. An address would be great.

Hi buds...

I love you Kater! Your Dad is soooo proud of you - you are amazing!!! I shed tears pretty much everyday for my Mom...so I know each day is difficult no matter how much time passes but, I know this time of the year is especially tough for you. I don't think one can ever imagine how hard it would be to lose a parent - but, it is truly one of the most painful things we will ever go through. But, please remember he is with you. Always.

Hope everyone is doing well. I enjoyed some chinese and visiting with Stace at lunch today. I know we are all looking forward to hitting the beach this weekend...we will certainly miss you Hows but, I know you have an important celebration party to go to. I am sure it will be a great success in honor of your awesome Grandfather!!

Kirk and I went to AL this past weekend to a co-workers wedding. The wedding was very nice and the bride/groom looked fantastic. I will post a few pics. We didnt do much sight seeing. It was fun but also a little bit of a trek in 1 weekend. Not much else new. I have another ADA committee meeting next week. So far so good.

Have a nice afternoon buds - keep smiling ;o)

I love this site

http://www.emtannerdesigns.com/shop/

...and yes, I have ordered the "Kate" calendar and a the pink and green plate with a R and Reagan.

My weekend

This is what we did this weekend. Downtown has a park that is free and it has a water area which was really fun and Reagan had a blast. As the parent, you also have to get wet (shower 1st) if you want to go in with them so Jeanette and I couldn't. I wish I had known that before hand, because Brian was the only one who had on his swimwear. Jeanette and I had to sit behind this yellow roped off area and I could barely get any good pictures. At first she was nervous about running through the water, but once Brian showed her what to do, she was all over the place. There were a lot of bigger kids, but she kinda stayed in a couple areas. There was a huge slide, but she's not big enough yet. They only let a certain number of people in at a time and for only a certain amount of time, that way the rotate people out. We could have gotten back in line and gone again, but it was getting late and she needed a nap.

They also have about 2 dozen little houses that are set up as a city and you can rent a tricycle and go from the post office to the deli, to the bus stop etc. They had little street signs and stop lights and the roads were painted like real streets. It's really cute and I think she will love it in a few more years. Brian's mom was in town for the weekend and she watched Reagan on Saturday so Brian and I could go out to dinner and a movie. Since there weren't really any movies out that we just had to see, I suggested we go ice skating. It was fun, but it is not something that I would do again. I remember being much better when I was a teenager. I think it's one of those things that when you become a mother, your brain ages so much that you forget how to do fun things. I feel and it hurt, but I kept going back out. We were there for an hour, paid about the same that we would have for the movies, but we talked and had a great time. It was worth it.

We also signed Reagan up for Gymboree Play and Music. It is basically a mini playgym for kids. I took Reagan to a class on Saturday and she LOVED it so much. We go to another class today and I will try and take pictures to post on her site in the next few days.

Girls weekend is only a few days away and I am super excited. I have almost packed and just need to go to Costco to get a few things and I am ready to go. I need to email everyone the address, I just keep forgetting. I promise I will get it to you by tomorrow.

Yesterday marked the official 4th anniversary of Doing Dishes. It was cool but sad at the same time. Sad because it reminds me that is has now been 4 years since I last saw my dad. He had come down to help me open and he stayed for a few days and it was great. 2 months later, he was gone. He was really my biggest fan when it came to the studio. He was so excited and loved hearing about what choices I made and what we were up to. I just can't believe it has been 4 years. I miss him so much. Everyday I think about him, but on "anniversary" days it is much harder. This is the last picture I ever took of him. He was painting this plate (which I have hanging on the wall at the studio) but he was actually in the background of another picture. I cropped the other people out and tried to zoom so it's not the best, but it's all I have.

Life Hiccups

The Bunn family went down to Georgia this weekend (no fiddles were involved) to attend a dear friends going away party. She's moving to Mexico to teach drama at an American School. I'm very excited for her and the adventure that awaits. I'm also a little jealous.

I'm ready for a big adventure. And everytime I hear myself say that - I think of the little boy who has turned my world upside down. I'm already ON a big adventure...I sometimes forget what a wild crazy ride Motherhood is...everyday is like waking up in the jungle (sorta) - there's just nothing predictable about it...just when you think you have a routine (or the semblance of one) a snake falls out of the roof of your toilet (that really happened to me in Zambia) or something similar...one little change to your day can throw it all off and sometimes, even when everything else in your routine has remained the same, the jungle king, himself (my little prince of mischief), decides that it's just not working and restructures his entire schedule!

So maybe a big adventure isn't necessary at the moment - but I sure could use a BIG trip! There's still so much of the world that I haven't seen or experienced.

Maybe I should back up here a bit. Aside from my friend moving to Mexico - there is probably a deeper seed sprouting this little life lust plant. I think I'm suffering from life hiccups. At first, I thought that I'd only get ONE - a sudden feeling of extreme OVERWHELMEDNESS brought on by an amalgamation of little things piling up in my life (the daily care of a child,working three jobs and starting a business) - you know just the usual stuff - that can usually run relatively smoothly until a wrench gets thrown into the picture (the death of a loved one or a weird recurring illness) and suddenly I have a massive traffic jam. Nothing can get through and my world comes to grinding halt and I think, "Gee, is this what it's all about?" - "Is this what I'm supposed to be doing?" - "Why am I working so hard?"

And so my response to this hiccup was to hire a personal assistant. Which is sort of working out. She's only worked one day so far and we seem to work all right together but more on her later.

My next big hiccup happened yesterday as we were driving home from Georgia. Reva called. She told me she was in New York. I knew her brother lived there with his wife and she had been hoping to visit them soon, I just didn't realize that it would be this soon. But I was excited for her and asked her if she was having a nice time.

She sounded kind of weird and she told me that she wasn't there for a good reason. Apparently, her sister-in-law just passed (that doesn't even sound right - "passed" - that word is for older people - my grandpa passed - but our friends don't "pass" - in fact, they don't die at all because we're all in our late 20's - early 30's)!

I don't know if you guys ever met, Kristen. She was Reva's year at Stetson (a year below me). She was one of my residents in Nemec, my first year as an RA. She married Reva's brother Anthony, who I think was your year or a year below. She was always very sweet. I think she became an RA, too.

She and a friend of hers had decided to train to run a marathon. Well, this weekend they were going to run a road race - just a 4K (between 2 & 3 miles). Kristen wasn't feeling very well, but decided to run anyway. She fell behind but waved her friend on with a smile. When her friend got to the finish line and turned around to wait for Kristen, she wasn't there. So she decided to back track down the course a bit to help her finish the race. When she got to the spot where she left Kristen, the ambulances were pulling away.

She had had a heart condition that everyone thought had long since healed. Occasionally, when she would run, her chest would hurt and she would have to stop for a bit. I don't think anyone thought that it was as serious as this.

I know that death has happened alot in our little circle and it always reminds us of the brevity of life and to cherish EVERY little moment we have. There's never a time that it doesn't catch you off guard - but DAMN - she was 28! They were planning on having children soon.

I went to her Facebook page this morning. All of her little pictures are so perfect - she looks so happy. I kind of want to leave a message, but I don't know who would ever read it.

I didn't even really know her but now I sort of wish that I had. We were Facebook friends. Just Facebook friends...

And so again, I find myself wondering how best to enjoy this HUGE adventure called life. How do we make sure that we're making the most of it? Are we living it enough? Are we laughing enough? Is there enough "lemonade on the front porch time" in your life?

Just as my mind wanders away to that, I am suddenly struck by the fact that my taxes are a month overdue and none of it makes any sense and the comedy of it all becomes apparent and I want to be drunk on life and spend the rest of the day being very silly!

Is she really?

I know that you all have to agree that Reagan is super extra smart. But that's the thing, you HAVE to agree. It's not like you are going to say "Kate, she is just normal." And I know as her mom and dad, Brian and I are biased. So are all of her Grandparents! So, my question is......

Is Reagan really smart, or just normal? I feel that a 19 month old that can do all her ABC's and now count to 12 almost by herself is pretty smart. She is even working on her opposites and can say down is the opposite of up. So I guess I just want to know how you find out if you child is extra smart. I mean, she does go to the preschool, but she is only there a few hours a month. I think they think she is smart, but they have older children (turning 2) in her same group, so compared to them, she may not look extra smart. She just may be their equal and the teachers don't realize that Reagan is much younger. I guess it really doesn't matter if she is smart, but I would like a guide or something to know if she is advanced. I wish I had a friend who had a girl the exact same age as Reagan so I could compare the two, but no such luck. I have read stuff on line, but they make so many general statements, like "Some children at this age may be learning their ABC's." Ok, Reagan KNOWS her ABC's and knows what a lot of the letters look like and can tell you. So is that LEARNING her ABC's or has she already learned them. You see what I am saying?

Now this post is not so you guys can tell me how smart my kid is, because I know you all think that, but of course you do. You love me and Reagan and even if she was not speaking and drooled all the time, you would say she is smart. I guess in the whole big picture, it really doesn't matter if she is smart now, because other kids her age could catch up to her by the time school starts and then she won't seem like a genius anymore. I know I am rambling on, sorry.

Check your email for food issues regarding Girls weekend.

Come on Beach Weekend!

I had a yucky day yesterday so even more of a reason to be ready for Girl's weekend! If it could have gone wrong yesterday...it did. So, I thought you all would like to hear of my day of catastrophies. At least they were to me :o). My WebEx did not go well in the morning – from the set up, to phone issues, to someone saying that bankers did not get WebEx invitation (but, we found out they did), to someone putting us on hold so everyone was hearing "hold music" so we had to change participant code to fix that and start over again, to a workman repairing by drilling and hammering right next to the room so it was loud (I finally got them to stop). It was overall a HUGE mess but, it somehow worked out…sort of. What is even funny is it really wasn't my meeting to organize.

Then I managed to spill polynesian sauce all over my pants while eating in the car at chickfila. Lovely! Oh, yeah and when I walked in the door back to work…our receptionist said it’s Rachel’s b-day today (our president) and her name is not on marquee. I enter and post marquee in lobby and solutions center. Rachel noticed it as she was getting on elevator. Nice! I checked my list from HR and they did not even have her down. So, I called HR and they said it’s because she is on a different list. So that was not my mess up at least.

Oh, yeah to finish off the day. An admin assistant (Linda) called and went off on me at the end of the day yesterday. I had been helping her out with refreshing coffee/ice for her client education visits over the past few days. It seemed like this was happening a lot lately so I called the Brittnie (Senior admin of the assistants) and asked her this admin's partner was. Normally partners are to cover for each other (it is not supposed to be me). I don't mind helping here and there but, this was becoming a habit. So we chatted about Linda and she said that she has been having schedule issues. I guess it something about taking care of her granddaughter now and taking her to daycare. Kristen (old boss & head of HR) also called me and said for me not to help Linda anymore. She said she has changed her schedule to 9am so she shouldnt be having others cover her work...she needs to make a plan when she is not here. I agree. Anyway, I have always had a good report with Linda. But, she called and said that I don't need to help her out with set ups anymore...she has it all worked out. Her tone was quite short and snippy. She didn't know it was "such a burden" and all that she needed was some help. She was really out of line and condescending. She went on and on and asked that I come to her in future. She was so rude and this was totally blown out of proportion. I told her that I really didn't know what she was talking about....I mean just asked about who her partner was etc. She was ridiculous and I really didnt feel I should continue to battle her on this. I have helped her on many occasions so this was just crazy! I have never complained to anyone about it other than the conversations I had with Britt & Kristen. But, I did figure out how she heard about this. The person in the office right next to mine works in her in their division and you can definitely hear through the walls. So apparently "miss busy body" decided to go and gossip. Seriously, are we in high school? There is no need for this drama. Life is too short for the love! This was completely petty and unprofessional and I am above that. My fab husband had a chilled glass of white wine waiting for me :o)

Anyway, enough of my blab. I do think that God and my mom are trying to tell me something though. They are saying: Don't sweat the small stuff! In the end none of this matters.
So, keep smiling everyone...I am. :o)

My Charleston Vacation

We had a great weekend in Charleston. Here is a short recap--
We drove all day Thursday. Kylie was a great traveller! Sean's parents had dinner for us--fresh Mahi Mahi--it was great.

Friday we ran a few errands and went out to lunch with Sean's dad and sister. We were invited to the rehersal dinner. They had 130 people there and a DJ. It was like a mini-reception.

Saturday we went to see Thomas, Sean's BFF and his family. Sean is his youngest child's godfather. We had a ton of fun playing computer, trains and running around outside with Andrew (4) and Charlie (3). We then went to the wedding. It was nice. The reception was at a nice place on the water. Funny thing is that the happy couple is going to St. Lucia on their honeymoon too!

Sunday we got to have a nice breakfast and then hit the road.
I got to spend some quality time with Sean's sister Elizabeth this trip. It was great. We actually got some private time to chat. It was nice to learn more about her! I think we spend the perfect amount of time in Charleston--not enough to overstay our welcome but enough time that we can't wait to go back!

Back to work yesterday--bummer!

Art and Death

Yesterday I received a lovely card offering sweet condolences on the loss of my grandfather and detailing that a donation had been made in his name to the Art Academy of Cincinnati.

Thanks ladies!!! It's the PERFECT "In Memorium" gift for him! Grandma appreciates it, as well. It's wonderful to have such thoughtful and caring friends - "blessed" is almost an understatement.

If you are interested in checking out some of Dick's work over the years, click here.

Maybe Loki will inherit some of his artistic flair!

I love this stuff

Ok, so I have only used it 2 days, but I really can see the difference in my hair. I think it is making my hair softer and less frizzy, just like they said it would. Imagine that, shampoo and conditioner actually doing what they are susposed to. Best part, you can go to dove.com and get a free sample of some of the other types of shampoo. I love free stuff.

Pretty bride and 12 days left

http://ericmccarty.com/SchofieldSchapert1

This is Beth's wedding slide show from her photographer. Nice pics, thankfully there aren't too many of the polka dotted pig. Unfortunatley, there aren't a lot of Reagan, oh well.

I don't have too many deep thoughts today. I do have great news about girls weekend. I sent out the deposit and payment for the weekend along with the contract, so we are a go for Friday and Saturday night. The best part: the condo I got is a 2 bedroom, 2 bath, with a kitchen and a pool for only a little over $150 a night. That was cheeper than the Holiday Inn and they didn't have a pool. The condo is across the street from the beach, but I figured we would only hang out at the beach for an hour or so, so it wasn't that big of a deal. I can't wait for you guys to see it, you are going to love it.

Retraction

OK - so, maybe I was a little hasty. I suppose I do STILL hate the medical profession, but I'm feeling much better about humanity and those gentile individuals who devote their life's attention to the well being of others. (Also - my fever has subsided!)

I finally got through to Loki's doctor (who is now MY doctor), and he said that I was pretty much on the right track. Besides being amazingly sweet and not at all irritated by the neurotic string of emails I sent him, he suggested that we go out for curry! Who can complain about being prescribed an Indian dinner!!! And THEN, he invited us out to his house for a rockin' party tomorrow night. How cool is that? I think that's just what I asked for at the end of my previous post!

So, all is MUCH better with the world.

I also think I've hired a personal assistant. She's super sweet, very enthusiastic, an ex-clogger, and willing to work for the meager wage that I can offer! Hopefully, it will be a good fit.

The preparations for Dick's celebration of life are in the negotiation phase and it's been pretty amusing to be part and parcel to the whole thing. There has been discussion of everything from having live models available for sketching and string quartets to parades and flaming rafts! I hope that it turns out as fun as it sounds! I can't think of any better way to celebrate that crazy character!

Well, since I've exhausted my daily ration of (!)'s, I should probably end this post. I hope everyone has a FANTASTIC weekend!

Reasons I HATE the Medical Profession

So, let me just start by saying I was SOOO excited to finally get insurance again (even if it did cause us a minor billing/proximity nightmare). And overall, I was MOSTLY thrilled by my birthing experience. Whatsmore, I LOVE Loki's hippie dippie doctor Reid Blackwelder.

That being said I HATE the PROFESSION of medical care. Against the wiser suggestions of my dear dear friends, I chose NOT to seek medical advice for my Mastitis (re link: I personally LOVE the boob picture - NO, mine doesn't look like that).

I instead chose the natural route. I followed a rather strict regime of 1/2 a dropper of Goldenseal every day for the past 5 days. I stopped taking it yesterday as I've been feeling much better and even though I'm into the whole herbal thing - I'm wary of extended use of ANYTHING - and last night I woke up sweaty and this morning I woke up lethargic and feverish.

Anyway, I attempted to contact Loki's doctor, since he's so SUPER cool and into that whole herbal thing but alas, he doesn't take new patients (so says the appointment lady). So, I figured that since I had the woman on the phone that I would go ahead and set up Loki's 4 month appointment since they wouldn't do it at his 2 month appointment because Dr. Blackwelder likes to fly by the seat of his pants...reference above link!

When I mentioned this to her she promptly informed me that Dr. Blackwelder is NOT his primary care physician (even though it is the ONLY doctor he has seen since birth including in the hospital) and that she could not schedule an appointment for either one of us. I was irate, after pointing out that he is the only doctor Loki has seen up to this point and she said that it was probably because Dr Blackwelder was filling in for the doctor listed as Loki's primary. Well, isn't it a little odd that all appointments I've subsequentially scheduled have been solely with this doctor? AAAAARRRRRGGGGHHHHH!

So, now I have mastitis and no doctor and Loki apparently is in doctor limbo land (thank goodness - he's not gotten sick, yet!)

The best she could do for me was schedule me for an appointment in mid-August with another doctor and put Loki on Dr. Blackwelder's "wish" list!

SHEESH!

This is why I hate the medical profession!!! I don't want to jump through hoops - I don't want to deal with red tape - I just want a kind and compassionate physician interested in MY well being (and the well being of my son)!

If this sounds overly harsh - it might be the fever talking...sorry...

You are going to die laughing

Try JibJab Sendables!

Vivian sent me this for my birthday and I swear it almost made me pee my pants. I sent it to Brian, who also thought it was the funniest thing he's seen in awhile. I have no idea where she got some of those pictures. Doesn't it look like Reagan has a faux hawk? I love it!

My birthday was more than expected. I was more than happy with the bathing suit and flowers and carrot cake, but when Brian got home from work, there was more. Reagan got me a gift cert for the local car wash place since she is always making a mess in my car. Brian got me a memory card and reader for my new cell phone and a charger for my car (which I instructed him to retun because I just won't use it and he spent way too much). He also gave me a gift cert for the the scrapbook store that I used to go to when I had spare time. We went to dinner and had a really nice time. Of course, I was a nervous wreck about Reagan all night and called my mom 4 times, but Reagan did well. My mom let her get up at 6am WHAT WAS SHE THINKING!!!!!!!!! After school today I am going to have a tired little monkey on my hands. Thanks for all your well wishes and again, thanks for the gift certificate for the spa. I can't wait for girls weekend, only 15 days!!!

Mini Vacation--deep thoughts

Today was a quick work day. I got to leave early because I am on vacation! Sean and I are leaving for Charleston for his cousin's wedding. We are looking forward to a wedding were we just show up and support the couple. We are excited that we get to spend some quality time with Sean's parents. too! Plus Kylie gets to meet their new dog, Charlie!

I have had my own deep thoughts lately. As you all know, I am impatient in most things. I just have these goals that I don't think I am ever going to meet. I have a list of things I want to accomplish in life and don't think they are ever going to happen. As a result the anxiety I have never seems to go away. I am not crazy all the time but most times at night I have these thoughts of how I am just "treading water" and not moving forward. Its so funny, how Sean is the opposite, I guess that is why we are meant to be together! Once in a while I wonder if I made the right decision concerning going to law school and moving to Miami. I know positives have come of these decisions and I can't go back but sometimes "what ifs" cross my mind.

Kate, I think the feelings you are feeling are normal for a parent. I think you are feeling these feelings because of the love you have for Reagan. As her parent, you always put her needs first. Who could ask for a better parent? I think when frustration raises its ugly head it is only because of your desire to support, love and nuture Reagan. You are a great mom. Your gut instincts are correct, don't second guess them.

I will give you all an mini-vaca update when I return. If anybody wants to call tomorrow or Sunday we will b driving and driving...with plenty of time to talk! :)

My thoughts for the day

Yeah, it's my birthday. And I am excited, but really, it's just another day in my life. One that will be better as soon as Reagan can articulate and say "happy birthday momma." Brian and I are going to the Alahambra Dinner Theater tonight where they are doing The Sound of Music. So that should be fun. He bought me a new bathing suit for my big present, boy did they go up in price! I guess I haven't bought a new one in like 3 years. I also got a carrot cake and flower this morning so that was a nice suprise.

So glad that Cris is now a blogger. You know her stories are second to none!

Here are my deep thoughs about motherhood for the day. Sometimes I just don't feel like I was meant to do this. (please take that with a grain of salt and assume I am over exagerating) Reagan just keeps getting sick and I keep losing sleep and I don't like to lose sleep. I need sleep!!!! I really lose my patience with her when I am sleep deprived and then I feel so guilty for wishing I could tell her to SHUT UP, eventhough I don't. I just hate feeling less than love for her. Most of the time, only love, but when lack of sleep is involved it can get pretty scary. I just am so looking foward to our girls weekend so I can sleep, without being 1/2 awake and listening to the monitor all night.

Cheers

Hello friends....

...and a very HAPPY BIRTHDAY KATER-TOT! :o) Hope you have a fab day with your sweet fam. Welcome to blog-land Cris! So glad you are on now. See you at lunch.
So, had a nice time on our little vaca last week. We enjoyed being in Jax with K, B, & little R. She is such a cutie pie. Savannah was fun to just walk around river street and shop. We had a great late breakfast at this place called Clary's. It is from the movie "Midnight of the Garden of Good and Evil." Kirk and I had been before so we had to go back...it is a great little diner! We of course went to "River Street Sweets" which is a fab little homemade candy shop. When I was younger our fam would be in the craft show in Savannah so Mom, Dad, Blain and I would always enjoy River Street and that great sweets shop. It brought back great memories. Then we did a lot of walking which was needed after that breakfast. We also hit Paula Deen's brothers restaurant called "Uncle Bubba's Oyster House". We had some great seafood...I recommend you try sometime. We enjoyed visiting Kirk's parents. We did a little shopping, walked downtown Greenville, went to peach orchards, ate WAY too much....but, it was great to catch up with them and visit. We also went to a family-owned dairy farm in Greer, SC called "Happy Cow". It was pretty fun. I guess I am a city girl and I have never been to one so I found it interesting how the cows are milked and how they know when its their turn....they just walk up. I guess they are used to their daily routine, huh? It was pretty cool. Kirk and I took turns driving back home on Sunday. We of course had to hit a Dairy Queen on the way home...its tradition on a road trip as I am sure you would all agree. It was a nice time away but, we were glad to get home. Things are good at work. Not too much else new. I am volunteering for Ronald McDonald this Friday night with my work so I will let you know how that goes. By the way, I am now involved with the Central Florida American Diabetes Assn and I am a volunteer. This means a lot to me and something I want to do. It will also keep me busy. I also just got recruited by the head of it to be on their committee for this walk. This is something I signed up for Mom not through work. So, the Kramer family will be on a team for the 5k (3 miles walk/run) on Saturday, Nov 1, 2008 called "Step Out to Fight Diabetes". We are doing this for Mom and we will have a team name for her and everything. I will email you all info soon about the team if you have interesting in joining team or contributing to the cause. It is appropriate since that will be four days before Mom's 1 year. Blain/Loretta are raising $ with us too but, probably won't be here in-person as it is just too expensive right now. But, I am very excited to do this together for her and as I said we welcome anyone who would like to join the team. It does not cost to sign up for walk but, one catch is you do have to raise $ but, you can raise whatever amount you want or you can just support us by giving our team a donation. FYI - We will be walking this event. I will send info soon :o). Happy Wed buds! :o)

HAPPY BIRTHDAY KATIE!!!!!

Good morning to all and Happy Birthday to Katie!! Even though you opened your present last week, totally unfair. I hope you have a fantastic day.

Son of a...

Good god this thing was difficult to figure out. Apparently I could only sign up on this email address. So much for trying to promote my website(please visit us at www.booksetseller.com). Well now that I'm finally on I'm exhausted so I'll be back in the morning. I've enjoyed catching up on everyone's lives.

On Katie's birthday and before my lunch with Kramer. GOOD NIGHT!!!

Soggy Weddings & Fireworks (when even sparks won't fly)

Somehow, Whitebread and I have managed to COMPLETELY fill our social calendar this summer.

We spent this past weekend in Colonial Williamsburg, attending the wedding of a high school friend.

I hate to say that I felt completely GUILTED into attending this wedding - but honestly, I felt COMPLETELY guilted into attending this wedding.

This was one of those high school friends who was VERY offended that she was not asked to be in our wedding and as a result I was not asked to be in her wedding (and as you can see, I was just heartbroken). Actually, I thought we were off the hook for even having to attend but this girl relentlessly told me how important it was that we were there and reminded me that she came to our wedding (which for arguments sake was in her hometown where she would probably have been traveling anyway and didn't have to pay for a hotel room or anything of the sort) - not that I'm being petty about the whole thing (though I really am being quite petty and I might in fact, still be a little bitter except for the fact that we did have a nice time.) But, we were the ONLY guests to travel from TN for the wedding without having been included in the wedding party (though again, I emphasize the fact that I really did NOT want to be in this wedding). I just found it amusing that I felt so very OBLIGATED to travel so far.

Anyway, we decided to actually make a trip out of it. If we were going to be traveling we might as well enjoy ourselves - so we left a day early so that we could visit Colonial Williamsburg. I've never been to Colonial Williamsburg, so I had no idea how COOL it really was! It was SUPER fun to experience this blast from the past on the very day that we celebrated our nation's independence. I am SO excited to return with Loki when he's old enough but I'd like to be sure to study up on the role Williamsburg played in the Revolutionary War and the birth of our nation so that the stories will resound a little more.

We ended up leaving the Colonial part of Williamsburg early, due to inclement weather - with plans to return for the Fife & Drum Celebration that was scheduled just before the Fireworks - but the rain never really let up and we got distracted by Captain George and his All You Can Eat Seafood Buffet!!!

It was GREAT (and "World Famous") . Honestly, it was really good for a buffet and we ate a TON of crab. Then we had a few drinks and started to really miss Loki (we left him with the Grandma's), so we did what any new parent would do in this day and age - we whipped out the old cellular telephone images and shared them with our server who expressed a mild amount of enthusiasm...LOL. He, nonetheless asked a few semi interested questions and so we tipped him extra for his attempt to relate and by the time we left - the fireworks had started and the rain had not stopped. So we watched the celebration from Rocket (our other car).

The wedding the next day was nice - though we missed the ceremony because the directions included in the invitation misled us to believe that we were closer to the wedding site than we really were AND they neglected to mention the toll booth for which we had NO money and subsequentially will receive a ticket for if we don't send in our check for $2 in 30 days or less. Talk about poor planning for your out of town guests - though I guess, since we were really the only ones to be traveling from out of town- it was more like they just screwed us over - LOL.

On the up side, we arrived just in time for the cocktail hour - which is really the only reason we were there anyway! YAY - open bar!!! Nah, we really had a good time. The bride was beautiful and the groom is a Navy man so he was rather decked out in his uniform - along with his groom's men.

I was disappointed that there didn't seem to be enough cake to go around. The cake didn't look very big to start with (but there weren't that many guests) and surely they would have spare in the back, just in case, right? WRONG - they put out the cake and before I knew it there weren't even any crumbs left behind from those who actually got some! But they did have a candy buffet - so I made SURE to get my fair share and then some...

Anyway, enough about the wedding. We got home and I SWEAR Loki had grown three feet. Well, that might be a bit of an exaggeration, but he looks a lot bigger to me!

And in other exciting news, I think I'm going to hire a personal assistant - anyone looking for a job? - the pay isn't great but the hours are SUPER flexible and your boss would be pretty laid back - but the commute might be a real bitch!

My poor child

So, after a weekend of healthy, Reagan wakes up at 10:30 last night and has a fever of 103. I swear this child can not catch a break. She has a pretty big bug bite on her cheek and it appears to be really swollen and red, so I called the doctor to see if we should be giving her something like Benedryl or something other than Motrin. I am hoping that the fever is related to the bug bite and not another freak virus that we have to deal with. In the mean time, she is watching Strawberry Shortcake and sitting on the couch at the shop, happy as a clam. I normally don't let her watch TV, and I never let her watch it at the shop, but she is just so pathetic that I felt like she needed some down time. I just wish I had a babysitter around here that I could call at a moments notice and they could come to the house to watch her.

Now, let me talk about my views on watching TV. There are a lot of people out there that say children should not watch any screen till age 3. They even say "NO screens till 3". They claim that the tv can basically reprogram their brains and the screens mess up their eyes (i am totally paraphrasing). I have to admit that I don't think that is such a bad concept, but TV sure is convenient to keep them occupied. I never want to be one of those mom's who use the tv to babysit their kid. But, when Reagan is up in the morning and I have to take a shower, she will sit very quietly on my bed with her juice and watch Clifford, or whoever else is on at the moment. She has developed an EXTREME love of Strawberry Shortcake and we did buy a portable DVD player for long car trips. I define long as over 3 hours. That means no tv on a trip down to visit grandparents in O-town. The trips to Tenn and NC were quiet and nice and but she stared at the tv like a zombie and that made me uncomfortable. I just don't want her to be one of those kids that is obsessed with tv. Growing up, Beth and I were only allowed to watch 1 hour of tv a day and that started when we were young and went until we were at least in high school. I love that concept and I want to instill that in Reagan, but my question is, how plausible is it in our world today? Many experts claim that tv is why so many children are obese in our country and I do not want Reagan to fall into that category. My parents always told us that we needed to go outside and play, but that brings up a whole different topic on the safety of our children nowadays. Beth and I would play outside from after breakfast, till lunch, then back out again till dinner. My mom never worried about us, never checked on us or made us carry a cell phone or mace. Currently, I don't think that kids can do that anymore, not without the parents living in fear that someone will scoop them up and they will be the headline on CNN that evening.

Too much to worry about, or just let it ride off your back, what do you think?

Crazy busy

I hav been reading all the blogs and love the stories. The wedding sounded like fun albeit Beth's treatment of your fam, Kate. I am sorry. The celebration of life dinner sounded like fun. I will be over for leftover dinner. Pasta--my weakness!

As for the Allen household, Sean and I were going through a bit of a rough patch but we are on the upswing. I am hoping that I don't have to work much this weekend so we can spend some time together. We haven't been fighting but not communicating in the best manner. We had a long talk and are determined to improve. It doesn't help that I am the most impatient person in the world and worry to the extreme about things I cannot even help. I am thinking about maybe trying some therapy to help control my worrying. I know, I know--Allison in therapy--NEVER--she is so normal---HA HA. If I could figure out how to put in a smiley face on this blog I would!

I have been so busy at work it is crazy. Ever have a day where you look at the clock and it is 1pm and nothing has been accomplished? Welcome to my day! I prefer being busy but this is nuts. I kinda want to scream just to release a bit of energy!

We officially made our quarterly bonus so that is good news.
In other news--my parents are taking their cruise to Alaksa soon. They are very excited. They call to tell me about it alot. They are obsessed with seeing "the bears". What kind you ask? Any kind!

Daring Dinner Parties In 20 Minutes or Less

Last night we hosted a rather impromptu dinner party to celebrate Dick's life. A few of my friends knew him and loved him, so since MJ was in town we decided to have them all over.

We genuinely LOVE social events of this nature, but usually I have a few days to plan (yes, it's true - I do occasionally plan things) and we almost always shoot for the stars - ie we plan rather extravagant menus with matching alcoholic beverages. Its a guaranteed good time.

Well, when grandma (MJ) rolled into town, I knew that it was important for us to do something, so we threw this dinner party together in about half an hour. I did most of the cooking which was TOTALLY out of the ordinary.

I made baked ziti with italian sausages (there were veggie sausages, too, since we have a few veggie friends), a garden salad, and plenty of wine. My mom brought a "Happy Anniversary Cake," which was super sweet since we hadn't planned on celebrating the big TWO until this weekend.

I am really only posting about this to toot my own horn. I'm usually the hostess with the mostest, while my personal chef handles all of the details in the kitchen during our parties, but this time I played both roles, since Whitebread had to work late and the party had sort of started with out him.

Everything went over super well. My friends all had a great time - in fact, we had to kick some of them out around 11 PM. My Dad was only mildly obnoxious and EXTREMELY amusing! And Grandma kept her hearing aid turned ON for most of the night (always a good sign).

One of my friends has a brother(Mark) in college in Cincinnati and when Dick grew too ill to care for himself, MJ hired him to come and help her out and he just happened to be in town, too. So, it was nice to see him. My Dad jokingly blamed him for his father's death...

Mark is actually going to give Grandma a ride back up to Cincinnati on Saturday, which is SUPER nice, so that my Dad doesn't have to make an extra trip. And Mark loves it, because MJ will pay for gas. Though Dad was certain to ask him not to kill his Mother, too.

My only downfall is my inability to cook the appropriate proportions. We have a tray and a half of ziti left and about 3 big bags of salad. I guess it's better to have too much than too little. Anyone want to come over to our house for leftovers?