Skate skiing

It’s odd that the more I skate ski, the tireder I get and the better I do. I guess I’m not fighting it as much. A metaphor for life? I think so.

Day 11 – Snow and more snow!

Mike has dug out the bathroom window at least 3 times since Chris left!

Well, it looks like with all the new snow and the storm “headed” our way (I quote it since it hasn’t stopped snowing all day unlike the prediction), Greg, Gwenan, Vera and George won’t be visiting us. Bummer! Guess I’ll have to figure out something fun for the girls this weekend! Wish me luck…

Guess I'd better get the girls SOON since we're almost snowed in!

Day 10 – Not so sick

Sammie being not so sick.

This morning, Sammie and Ellie joined me in bed. Then Sammie started complaining about not feeling well. Well, with the stomach flu raging around town and me not wanting to risk getting anyone sick, I decided to keep her home.

And since Ellie had PT this morning, I decided that I’d just keep them both home.

Well, Sammie wasn’t sick. Not even a little. LOL! Ah, well.

Spinny McSpinerston showing just how "sick" she was!

PT for Ellie went great! The therapist, Margaret, was really pleased with how far Ellie has come. We have one more session and then we’ll see if we’re done. Yay! It’s so nice to see her go so far so fast!

This is an adorable little sleeping bag that Ellie made from felt for buggies.

The rest of the day went well, but I have to tell you – I was glad when the babysitter, Ashleigh, showed up! I needed a break.

I headed to the Dogwood, chatted with Phoebe, Doug, Parker and Heather. Ryan, a fellow photographer, showed up and said that everyone was at the Princess. I headed there, but ran into Dawne who told me that there was a Flauschink thing at the Talk – a presentation, history, stuff like that – so I kept her company. What a blast!  I ended up having a little too much to drink, but had a great time getting out.

Day 9 – Big news!

We should find out if Ellie's allergic soon!

Well, we decided to see if the allergies are still there. Isn’t he adorable? We’re still tossing around names – Ariel (he might be gay) is one. LOL! Another is Lilly. Hmmm, maybe I shoulda gotten a girl kitty….

This is another hint for something else I’ve been working on….

Whatever could this mean?

It was dumping so hard this morning when we left that I couldn't bring my camera out!! Crazy....

(Oh, and April Fools on the kitten. )

Day 8 – Craziness

Mmmmm, breakfast! G'morning, everyone.

Tuesday was a crazy day. I didn’t have anything on my schedule, but yet it ended up being super busy with a lot of good things happening. We saw Cea who confirmed that my exhaustion was from the thyroid being off again. She also worked a bit on Ellie, who is doing amazing – and seems to be past her cat/beta carotene allergies. We’ve pretty much confirmed the beta carotene…. Now to confirm the cat allergy! And Ellie had some orthobionomy to help with her mobility. It is doing amazing things for her!

Ellie had a great day at school, too. And Sammie just LOVES her music class!

What a silly girl!

Ellie was in a more subdued mood when I got this shot.

Day 7 – Sushi and wind

Not the promised 4" of snow....

The wind has been crazy today. We had expected to wake up to several inches of snow, but just woke to cold. Sammie didn’t go to sleep until quite late last night and was really tired and emotional most of the day. She alternated crying for Nana (who she now knows is going to Alaska for the summer with Papa) and Daddy, who she misses quite badly.

Yummmmmmm!!! I love me some spicy scallops!

The girls in their new summer dresses in spite of the 17 degree weather outside - enjoying their sushi!

We got home and I read a book to the girls while playing “kitty”. Then we ordered sushi, bathed and the girls went to bed. I’m so happy that they both fell asleep quickly – something I should be doing, too. Hopefully they’ll be happier tomorrow!! (Or Sammie, anyway.)

Good night. Sleep tight. Don't let the bed bugs bite.

Day 6 – Home again…

Yummy Thai food

Before heading home, I bought some stuff at Whole Foods. Oh, how I wish we had one closer!!! It’s so nice having a variety – even if only for a short while. LOL!

Nana, Papa, Ellie and Sammie met me at Jiffy Lube where we left the car for a little TLC. Then it was off to lunch. The 3  or 4 sushi places we wanted to go to were closed (?!?) so we went to a Thai place. Expecting mediocre food in a strip shop, we were pleasantly surprised by some delishious delights! I loved my seafood plate and the girls were enthralled with their healthy and scrumptious food. Nana and Papa were also quite surprised at the quality!

Then the girls and I headed into the mountains. Because we left at (what I thought was) a decent time, I thought it would be fun to go to Florissant. I had seen signs for the fossil beds and promised the girls dinosaurs. Unfortunately, they were fossilized redwoods! While quite impressive to me, they left a little to be desired after the first glance for the girls! Ah, well! At least it broke up the trip. Right?

Ellie and Buggy posing in front of one of the biggest stumps

Sammie suitably unimpressed

Pretty weeds

Day 5 – The crazy Poiriers!

Can you spot the Nana? She's hiding behind the Andi! Oh, and the girls LOVED riding in a dualie!!

On Saturday, mom, dad, the girls and I stopped at the mall for a Hanna Andersson sale and spent probably a little too much (Ellie needs special cottons that they carry). Then it was off to Greg and Gwenan’s house to meet Vera, see George and the rest of the Poirier cousins… (Unfortunately, Geoff and Colette already had plans and weren’t able to make it.)

We had a BLAST! The kids were hilarious and it was so great seeing my brothers. I can’t tell you how glad I am that G&G&G&V moved back from Reno. Yay!

Vera was obviously having a BLAST!

Me and the girls before any major editing out of the door!

A few more photos can be found here. (Contact Andi if you don’t have the password.)

Day 4 – I could get used to this!

A beautiful sunny day - even if you can't tell - with a freshly shoveled driveway.

The girls, once again, were dreams this morning! They desperately wanted to make my coffee so I led them through the routine. Perfection! They made me a cup of perfection!

This photo cracks me up. It looks as though I told them to make those expressions, like for some weird art photo. Nope! I just asked them to hold up my cup of amazing coffee!

Then it was off to school while I packed and did some pilates. (Shhh, don’t tell Chris that I want to shave a few lbs while he’s gone.) And then it was off to Colorado Springs!

Let's hear it for free toys from Sonic that provide at least 30 minutes of fun!

Where the deer and the antelope play! (Or freeze)

We stopped in to say hi to Grandma Judy and Grampa Tom before heading to Nana and Papa’s house! The food was delish (even if it looked a little odd… LOL!) and the girls whined when we had to leave – we all had a great time.

Checking out all the old photos of daddy when he was a little one.

Sammie hanging with Grampa Tom

Grandparents and grandkids - having a wonderful time together!

Tomorrow we head to Uncle Greg and Auntie Gwenan’s with Nana and Papa to meet baby Vera for the first time – and play with cousin George! The girls are so jazzed!

Day 3 – Just a typical day

Almost 10" of snow fell last night! And not that heavy, wet stuff, either.

You know, getting up at 6am to a 3.5 year old jabbering your head off about how her giraffe likes to eat things. Nonsensical things. (I managed to get her giggling non-stop by making said giraffe do strange things to itself. Don’t worry, G rated. I swear.) A typical day where the 5.5 year old wakes up happy as a lark. Where said children harass their poor mom into fits of laughter at the breakfast table. And the typical day where you go to clear 10″ of snow off the car after the kids are dressed and they come out of the house UNASKED! Oh, and we actually got to school… get this… ON TIME!

Oh, wait. Not so typical!

OMG! They are READY to get in the car BEFORE being harassed!

Then it was off to Ellie’s first day of PT. She LOVED her therapist, Margaret! (Well, so did I!) She did awesome, is super excited and we have a slew of easy, fun exercises for her to do to get her leg back 100%. Yay!

A little physical therapy for Ellie

At the end of the day I was driving home thinking about how I really needed to shovel the drive and take in the trash. Bringing it out was… well… sort of a pain. I had to pull the huge wheeled can through that 10″ of snow. Not so much fun. So with the 3 or more additional inches, I wasn’t excited about it. And the thought of Ellie lugging her hobbled leg through that snow wasn’t a great visual.

But as I turned the corner, there was no trash can. *gasp* And lo and behold, the driveway was shoveled to the front door! I then remembered mentioning to Mikey, who shovels our roof and is generally my hero, that Chris was gone. He mentioned that he would swing by and act like “dad” for me…. He rocks!

Oh, and as I rounded the corner to walk to the house, I just had to grin. Mikey had definitely been here.

*smile*

Hope your flight to Europe was awesome, honey! Did the upgrade treat you well?