And the Winner is........

Team Integra!!!!!! They won the tournament. (Dialycia is the first girl on the front row) I will tell you one thing - I kinda hope my kids don't play competitive sports because I was a nervous wreck the entire day. I was nervous for my brother and SIL because they were the coaches and nervous for my little niece because she has my brother for a coach - LOL. I was soooooooooooooo proud of all those girls. It was 90 degrees and they had to play 3 games yesterday and the 2nd and 3rd games were back to back. The final game went into extra innings and Dialycia got a base hit and then eventually stole 2nd base and 3rd base and it came down to 2 outs, 3 balls and 2 strikes and the little girl at bat hit it to the short stop and Dialycia ran in and scored! We win! Yeah. I was jumping up and down and cheering so loud for them - I'm sure I looked like a nut but I was completely and utterly proud and happy for that team! They did AWESOME and were so excited to win.

Home visit - Day 2 &3

So, on our 2nd day here Trent and Dialevash and girls came in town and ate breakfast and then picked Ava up to head back out to their house. Mom and Terry had some errands to run so I mowed the yard for mom (she has a zero point turn riding lawn mower so it makes it super fun to mow). So after I finished mowing I headed out to my bro's house for a little swimming. I layed out for about an hour to get good and hot (remember, I'm a self admitted wimp when it comes to getting in water that's cooler than 90 degrees). I knew walking into the water via the steps would be painful for me and I would cool off before I made my way down, so I opted for the slide. Um, I felt like an 8 year old again - but it was so much fun! So much so, I went down it again. I had a little trick all planned out of having my pest, oh I mean niece, put one of those pool noodles in front of the slide so I could grab onto it on the way in the water and therefore not fulling submerging myself and my sunglasses. Um, Miss Thang, I saw the deceit in your eyes and the cunning smile you gave me as you were pushing it over. So, as soon as I was mid-slide, she pulled it away. She was "holding" it for me so it wouldn't float away. Yeah right! Hey, at least I am good for the entertainment purposes right? heehee

Dialycia and I then proceeded to have as many swim contests as we could come up with. She must have felt sorry for the beating I took while she pitched to me and I think she actually let me win a couple of races. After a couple hours of swimming we all got out to rest for a bit. Ava and I napped while Dialycia and Isabella played. My mom had come over at this point and Dialycia and Isabella went out and swam with her. Mom enjoyed the slide more than the girls. She would go down head first thinking she was once again a 6 or 10 year old but we had a lot of fun swimming. We were in the water for about 6-7 hours total yesterday.

Trent and Dialevash grilled out some dinner for us (all the veggies came from their garden and they were so good) and then the kiddos swam for a couple more hours and I jumped in the shower while mom watched them outside. She and I headed home and the girls spent the night with Dialycia. I told Mom - she and I are just dust in the wind when Isabella and Ava are around Dialycia, Uncle Trent and Aunt Dialevash. Ava still was fighting a pretty decent fever but felt good as long as she had motrin in her.

Today - day 3 - Mom and I ran a bunch of errands and did a little shopping. Met Terry for lunch and then did some more shopping. The girls stayed out at Trent & Dee's house and made cookies and lip gloss. They had so much fun once again today. Dialycia had a game tonight but they won by forfeit because the other team didn't have enough players tonight. Tomorrow is the rest of the tourney and their first game is at 10:00 am. Once again the girls are spending the night with their cousin. We head home tomorrow after the games are done. Hopefully, we get to leave after we see their super cousin win the fast pitch tournament!!!! I'll post pictures once I get home - I forgot my camera cord.

Home - Day 1

The girls and I are down at my moms for a few days. We came down Wednesday after my dentist appointment. My niece had a fast pitch softball game that we went to. They were playing for the league championship but lost 3-1 so they came in 2nd place. Tomorrow night starts their tournament and it finishes on Saturday. My brother coaches the team and my sis-in-law helps. These 10-12 year olds are GOOD!

At the game I felt Ava and she felt warm when we got home she had a 103 degree fever. The fever really didn't come down so she ended up coming home with mom and I while Isabella spent the night with Dialycia.

Before we left my brothers though Dialycia started practicing pitching. FAST PITCH!!!! She's 10 years old! Want to make matters worse? I decided to try and hit off of her. HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHA!!!!!!!!!!!! She technically struck me out several times but I did manage to get to get a few hits off of her. So, note to self - when wanting to feel good about yourself and remember that 25 years ago you were a decent SOFTBALL player, don't let your 10 year old niece throw fast freaking balls at you and you decide to swing at them.

We headed home, Ava talked in her sleep most of the night, well, until 2:30 am when she decided to go and crawl in bed with my mom and Terry. Terry (Pa) finally got up at 4:30 am because Ava decided to use him as a foot rest during the middle of the night. Grammy was her pillow.

More tomorrow on todays adventures. I'm worn out and heading to bed early tonight. The kids are spending the night with Dialycia tonight so I am enjoying the silence while it lasts.

Holiday Weekend

Glad the holiday weekend is finally over. Too many nights staying up until midnight - the kids included!

On the 4th we had Mark, Amy, Christine, Cory, JD, Ellen and Pam over for fireworks. It got pretty cool in the evening (in the 60's) so we bought some firewood and lit the firepit. Everyone roasted marshmellows and sat out by the fire. When it was good and dark we lit off the remaining fireworks we had from the night before as well as a "grand finale" one that was called "one bad mother" that JD picked up earlier in the day. It was just gorgeous outside by the fire, everyone in jeans and long sleeve shirts, tiki torches going to keep the mosquitos away. We stayed out talking until around midnight and then called it a night.

Saturday morning, Steve and I went to yoga. The girls and I just hung around the house and yard. They rode bikes and played and then I gave them an early bath and they went to bed at a decent hour that night. They still haven't caught up with all their sleep and their temperments are showing the results of it. Lots of whining - plus, Isabella is running a fever and is saying she's dizzy and it hurts to swallow. I'm guessing an ear infection so I'll call the Ped in the morning.

Ava is calling - her movie is over so off to tend to her and the mound of laundry that accumulated over the weekend with everyone changing clothes 3 times a day do to the crazy weather (cold in the am, warmer in the day, cool at night - plus pajamas and changes of clothes for STeve and I from the gym).

Good time

The guys setting up the fireworks - Jenni (JD and Ellens daughter in the background taking pictures).

Isabella, Jack and Ava

Amy, Mark and Christine and Will (Christine is holding one of the babies in the neighborhood)

Ava acting silly

Part of the tent - I bought a Happy 4th of July banner but we put a piece of paper that says 3rd over the 4th. LOL

JD & Amy while we were setting up

The girls playing with the balloons we put out.


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Wow, we had an amazing turnout last night for the block party. We kinda thought 30 adults might come - turned out there were about 65 adults and probably 30 kids. All but 3 houses showed up for the party and actually a couple who were getting ready to move in later this month came as well. We had tons of great food, great fun and great fellowship.

Highlight of the night were the fireworks. There is a family in our neighborhood who just moved here from Long Island, NY. Apparently you can't buy fireworks in NYC so they are VERY into buying and lighting since they moved here a few months ago (much to their immediate neighbors disappointment). But, here were Steve and JD bringing out there stuff and this little high school boy had a back pack filled with mortars (hopefully we don't hear about him on the news in a few years - LOL). At one point JD, Steve and Collin were getting brave with putting on their show and letting several off at the same time - well, one of the tubes fell over and a rocket soared over JD's head, another one hit his car and another one went over the fence behind the model home and went off inside this barn. We were waiting for the barn to go up in flames, but thankfully it didn't. They toned down their show after that. LOL

Block Party

Tonight we are having a block party so we've been busy getting ready for it. JD rented a helium tank to blow up red, white and blue balloons for the party. The girls and I were over last night visiting and JD and I were sucking in the helium. Ellen and Steve both said the same things to us "how old are you two"? LOL Oh, well the girls got good laughs out of it.

The kiddos did great at their first slumber party. Isabella said she only got a little homesick right when she was going to sleep but they had a great time. They came home around noon the next day.

Well, I need to go and frost the cake I am baking for tonight. It's Paula Deans Banana Nut cake - I made it once before and it was sooooo good. I finally had to throw it away so I wouldn't keep eating it the last time I made it. Hopefully, I'll remember to take some pictures tonight and post them later this week.

Slumber Party

That's where the girls are tonight. And who would have thought their first sleep over besides family would be with a boy! LOL Just kidding - sorta. Over the weekend, Amy said she wanted to have the girls down to have a slumber party with her kids (Amy is Christine our babysitters Mom). Amy and Mark (her husband) *adore* our girls - and the girls love and adore them just the same. They play with Jack and Cory (Jacks older brother) every day. Christine is 15, Cory is 12 and Jack is 4. So, tonight is the night. I dropped them off (they only live 2 houses away from us) at 5:30 so they could eat dinner with them and start the fun! They will just be happy to be able to eat after 8:00 pm and eat something other than fruit for a snack. LOL Amy said all the kids were going to sleep down in the basement (finished), watch movies and play all night. The girls drove me crazy all day long wanting to know how much longer it was until they got to go.

I know I've said it many times before - but man, oh man - I absolutely LOVE our neighbors. Saturday night we had a "party planning" meeting. We (JD, Ellen, Steve and I and Pam) are hosting the neighborhood 4th of July party. So, we met on Saturday evening to finalize all the details. It's going to be so much fun! We sat outside in our back yard for about 3 hours talking.

Then Sunday there was an auction across the street at the model home (they auction off the model homes furnishings when they get ready to sell the house). Tons of our neighbors came out to get some good deals! We all sat and talked before the auction started and then after it ended Steve and LaTonya's husband (the one who I asked if he was her son or son in law - not one of my finer moments. heehee) helped Myron aka "Preacher" move a 5 piece master bedroom set he won down to his house.

While all the moving was going on the girls were over with Ellen while I was talking to LaTonya and Pam - they were sitting on the front porch, rocking in their rocking chairs, eating chips and drinking coke that Ellen had brought out for them. Once again we all sat around and talked until 10:30 pm.. Mark and Amy, Pam, JD, Ellen, Steve, me and Joe (lives 2 houses down from us) sat in JD's front yard, ordered pizza and shared many, many laughs. Everyone is really forming a strong bond and friendship - lots of laughing and kidding is always taking place when we are together.

We have nicknamed most of our neighbors (well, the ones we know) - Steve is Chef, I'm Security (I'm always home and outside with the girls so I know all the comings and goings in the neighborhood), Ellen always calls me "The Hot Chick" - I think I like that name better. LOL Amy is The Landscaper because she has a beautiful yard, Joe is The Cop (he works for Homeland Security but his work car is white like an unmarked cop car, with security light, tons of antennas and CB's/radios, cop lights in the back window, etc), his daughter who is a holy terror is nicknamed Dennis the Mennis by JD (very, very true by looks and behaviour), the President of our Home Owners association is called The Mayor, Myron - the Preacher because he is a lay minister in his church. Those are the ones off the top of my head. I just realized while typing this JD and Ellen don't have nicknames. **note to self**must work on this. LOL

Well, I'm heading up to soak in a bubble bath and enjoy the silence while the girls are away for the night. (This post is more of my ramblings than usual but besides being a way to keep all of our friends and family updated easily, it also serves kinda as a journal for me to be able to look back and reference and remember things. )

Tired

Went to yoga and then took the girls to the pool for 2 hours. It was hot outside and I was in the water with them the entire time because the summer camp kids were there and it was crowded. So, I'm tired - hoping to go to bed early tonight. We've been at this gym for 1 1/2 years and today was the 1st time I took the girls into the family dressing/locker room. OMGosh - they have 6 individual shower rooms that have a huge changing area and then a HUGE shower with a hand held sprayer. I knew Steve always gave the girls showers after swimming but I just thought he had them stand under a regular shower head. They splashed and played in the shower and it was so easy to wash and rinse their hair. Plus, it's nice to know the shower is already out of the way for the day. Yeah!!!

Green grass

Yesterday the girls and I were taking a walk (well, they were riding their bikes and I was walking) and as I walked I was looking at the neighbors yards. Only 3 yards in the neighborhood had truly green grass - ours, JD and Ellens and one other yard. I wondered on the walk home why these people didn't water their yards? They mow them and keep the lawn manicured and landscaped but they don't turn the sprinklers on. Our water bill goes up at the most $30 a month when we water - and we water a lot. At least twice a week we soak the front and back yards leaving the sprinklers on at least 2 hours but usually close to 3 hours. So, I just pondered this thought on the way home - I just wonder why. I LOVE pulling up to our house and seeing the vibrant green grass, beautiful flowers and shrubs and people comment on how nice our yards look. Maybe we love our yard too much. LOL

I never posted this milestone for Isabella. But in the spring, she finally was brave enough to ride her bike without training wheels. She zips around the neighborhood now and comments on wishing she would have tried it last summer. Oh,well...that's just how Isabella operates - she doesn't do ANYTHING until she knows she will be successful at it.

Steve and the girls went to the gym last night when he got home and I did laundry and then took a shower. I checked my cell phone after I got out and saw Ellen had called and left me a message. She wanted to know if I wanted to come over and have a glass of wine with Pam and her and talk about our 4th of July block party we are organizing. She did mention if I didn't call her back she would be knocking on my door in 10 minutes. So, I change into some clothes, put my wet hair in a ponytail and grab a glass of wine and head over. Only, they aren't next door or at Pams. As I'm walking back into my house I look down the street and see them talking about 5 houses down to a neighbor. I head down there and we end up talking with some neighbors for about 2 hours. Poor Steve came home and didn't know where I was. Note to self: leave note on counter next time. LOL

Oh, I forgot....

Ava is totally potty trained. It was painless and easy and I'm glad its done! We just got a pay raise not having to buy diapers!

Back home

Back home from a trip home to my moms. We spent most of my time at my brother and sister in laws house swimming at the pool. We all are nice and tan because of it - yeah. The kids had a blast! I mentioned to my mom one night how much it meant to me to see Trent and Dialevash with Isabella and Ava. They both love my girls and my girls love them in return soooo much.

They loved playing with Dialycia and Dialycia was so good with them. She made them lunch most days, heck - some days she made them breakfast lunch and dinner. She played with them, encouraged them while swimming (she worked with Isabella and by the end of the trip Isabella was swimming the entire length of the pool without stopping or taking a break and it's a big pool!). She watched TV with them, played with them and was just an awesome cousin. She and I raced several times swimming to which she beat me everytime but once - she probably let me win if the truth be told. When we got home I just missed them so much. I can't wait for Dialycia's ball games (she plays fast pitch softball) to finish so she can come spend some time with us here.

Picked up some kick butt fireworks from Mom for our 4th of July party here, had lunch with Brandy and Cindi (discussed and agreed we all feel like failures as parents because our children are way too priviledge and spoiled - decided we would implement a cleaning boot camp this summer for our children to get them in shape and helping out in the home), took Molly to be spay and declawed and rabies shot (it was $250 cheaper to use my moms vet than vets up here in Indy) and slept in a couple days.

Now, back to the daily grind here. Multiplied by listening to the girls fuss and complain because they are having to play on their own.

6 year old Wisdom

Last night while changing into my pajamas I mentioned to my niece and Isabella - one advantage to gaining weight is your boobs get bigger. (I'm sure they were thrilled with this tidbit of info I gave them.). I then proceeded to say, I'd rather be skinnier though with smaller boobs - boobs aren't all they are cracked up to be.

Silence.....

Followed by the best wisdom around - my 6 year old. She chimed in and told me "well, you are just going to have to wait for God to come back and get us and then you can ask for that".

Out of the mouths of babes.

Glorious!!!!!!!!!!

That is the only way to describe the weather today. It's sunny, light breeze and only going to be 74 today. I have the windows open and am enjoying listening to the birds singing (as well as the neighbor dog barking) - but it's just beautiful.

Funny Isabella comment: a few minutes ago she came in to the office and said "Ava should own her own business. She likes to yell alot". Then she said, "or she could be in a movie since she cries all the time". No joke! I can't make this stuff up folks. LOL Sad part - Isabella is 100% correct.

Off to water the plants and enjoy the beautiful weather.

Some pictures

This picture is of Ava and Isabella with her cousins - Grace is the one in the back and Sophia is next to Isabella. They all get along soooo good together. Grace (10 years old) is my cousin Vicky's daughter and Sophia (4 years old) is my cousin Sheryl's daughter. They both were adopted from China and are absolutely beautiful! (Isabella thinks it is "totally awesome" (her words) that she has not one, but TWO cousins who are from China). We were over at Vicky and Barbs house yesterday for a cookout and swim fest!


I had trouble loading pictures of the flowers (big surprise! LOL - I always have trouble with pictures) but here are a few. These were taken a couple weeks ago and everything has filled out and grown so much since these were taken. The first picture is the result of JD and Steve. We went to a nursery with JD and Ellen one Sunday and what started out as me saying ONE particular plant would look good in front of these electrical boxes turned into Steve and JD totally landscaping it. They had fun and so did Ellen and I as we sat on the front porch and watched our men working hard in the yard! We have "joint custody" of the flowers at this time. LOL Ellen tried t sneak her cilantro plant in there but JD removed it. There is some sage as well as some other flowers that aren't shown in the picture.

This is the fence row next to the "Barkers" (the dog who barks constantly when she doesn't have her bark collar on) - this side has really filled out since this picture.

This is our fence row along JD and Ellens house. JD has done a great job with his back yard this year.

This is the back side of our house - we have an herb garden scattered in the flowers - rosemary, basil, cilantro, CHIVES!! (this is for Jecku - :)) and some other things but I forget. Eventually we will be building patio off of this area but probably won't happen this year - hopefully next Spring though. The area sticking out of the house is our gas fireplace in the downstairs family room.

Happy Fathers Day

Hope all the fathers had a great fathers day. We bought Steve Guitar Hero for the Wii last night. I had planned to get him an iPod docking station but when we went to check them out of course, we only liked the Bose system which was a little out of my price range. He'll probably get more use out of the Guitar Hero anyway. He's a kid at heart.

This afternoon we went over to my cousins house. They have a beautiful home and just put a new pool in a couple months ago. The kids had a blast playing with their cousins Grace and Sophia. My aunt and uncle (dads brother) was there as well as my other cousin and her boyfriend. We had a great time and it's been so fun reconnecting with this side of the family. I took some pictures that I'll upload later this week.

Well, Steve's waiting for me to come watch some Anthony Bourdain show with him (chef show) - so off I go!

Day 2

Ava is doing awesome with her potty training. We are having wonderful success. 2nd day with a nap and no diaper and waking up dry too! The advantage to waiting so long is she really doesn't need my help - but we have been chained to the house. Tomorrow we are getting out because we have to go pick up a fathers day present for Steve.

Steve is at the zoo tonight for a VIP event. I don't really understand exactly what it is, I just know it's black tie and people pay quite a bit to attend. It's raining cats and dogs, muggy and steamy - I sure wouldn't be happy to be in a tux if I were a guy or wearing a long formal gown if I were attending. I will gladly sit in the comfort of my home in the nice, cool air conditioning.

Sunday we are going over to my cousins house for a cookout and pool party. I haven't told the girls yet they are going to be able to see their cousin Sophia. They would drive me batty constantly talking about it asking if we were going today. Next week I think we'll head down to my moms for a visit and to pick up some fireworks. Although, I did hear the weather was suppose to turn cool - so if that's the case, we may wait a week because I want to swim at my brothers new pool -and I'm a sissy with water and cold air. LOL

Ok, the kids are quiet so that means trouble. There is no way they are asleep - it's too early. Off to investigate.....

So far so good!!!

I'm so proud of Ava!!!!!!!!!!!! She is doing awesome with the potty training. She has gone to the potty by herself all day long. AND she went down for a nap without a diaper and stayed dry! Yippee Skippeeeeee!!!!!!!!! I'm not crazy enough to put her to bed tonight without a diaper - I'll give her a week before i attempt that. I guess this is one advantage to waiting so long to start this process - she can sense it on her own!

Please Lord, let tomorrow go as smooth as today!

They are at the pool with Steve right now - we were at home inside the entire day. Isabella was pretty bored - but we read a lot of books, watched Barbie Mariposa and Charlottes Web 2 and Isabella and I played countless hands of Uno (she won every time!). Tomorrow it's suppose to rain so it will make staying inside easier.

A little brag on Steve - he is going to be promoted to basically a regional Chef for his company. He will work in development with the other Chefs in his region. This is a HUGE, HUGE step towards becoming the corporate chef. Especially, since he has only been with the company 4 years and there are Executive Chefs who have been with the company for 15 years in his region. He is an awesome Chef, fantastic manager and super talented so he will do fabulous!!! Yeah Steve!!!

Day 1

Day 1 of potty training Ava has begun. Why do I dread it so? Oh yeah, I'm chained to the house and also being in the same room with the kids all day long. LOL (tongue in cheek everyone, I love my kids to pieces!!!!)

Ava will be 3 next month and I figure I've put it off long enough. Isabella was trained so super easily in one day - Ava, I don't think it will be that easy - but I have to start being more positive!!!! Of course she can do it!!! (note to self: repeat this over and over all day long). I already feel like a big loser of a parent for waiting this long to start the process. Isabella was trained at 2 years 5 months - Ava is now 2 years 11 months. I try to tell myself I waited until the summer months - but really, I just wasn't looking forward to it.

Ava kept telling me this morning - I'm a baby, I need to wear diapers. I am a baby, babies don't wear panties. LOL I'll spare everyone the play by play and just report i we have success at the end of the day.

Invisalign

I got my trays today for Invisalign. Invisalign is basically removable braces. It's all computer generated and you have "trays" that you wear 22 hours of the day (removed only to drink or eat). I call them - an expensive diet! LOL We upgraded our dental insurance to cover Adult Orthodontics so it's nice to finally be on the road to perfect teeth. I didn't have bad teeth to begin with, just a little crowding on the bottom - but still, I'm such a teeth person I wanted to get them fixed while it was covered. When Steve came home from work today he couldn't even tell I had them in, they literally are like a clear 2nd "skin" on your teeth.

After I got back from the dentist (of course, the trays couldn't have come in while Steve was on vacation last week - so I called Christine to come down to watch the girls for an hour) I took the kids to the pool. It was only 80 degrees here today so I knew the pool was going to be chilly - especially after getting out! So, I warned them before hand if we went they had to play on their own because Mama more than likely wasn't getting in the water today. They did awesome! Isabella is a little fish and swam all over the place. Thankfully, she can touch in almost the entire pool - just a little section where she can't touch. Ava stays in the shallow end and jumps off the side non stop. But, Ava basically went to the pool to sit on the lounge chair next to me eating snacks I brought. LOL

It's suppose to be nice (no rain) the next 2 days so I plan to work out and then hit the pool for a couple hours. It's awesome putting the kids to bed at night after a day in the sun and pool.

I do have a prayer request for the prayer warriors out there. My sister in law Angie (she is married to Steve's oldest brother - the "Favorite One" Danny (Danny's self proclaimed title) - well, her mother entered hospice care last week. Please pray for peace, comfort and acceptance of what they are experiencing. Thanks!

Sex and the City

I saw the movie last night and LOVED it. I laughed, I cried - I totally enjoyed it. I went with 4 of my neighbors and we went and had a cocktail (Cosmo's of course!) before the movie and had a good time. We already decided Mamma Mia is our next group movie to see.

We had a "block party" on Friday evening and most of the neighbors came out. We played cornhole, ate, socialized and had a good time. I did have a major "alishaism" and asked one of the neighbors if this one particular woman was his mother in law (um, it was his wife). In my defense - first off, he looked super young (he was around 50 he said) and he is sooo quiet where his wife is very outgoing and funny. Thankfully, Latonya has a great sense of humor and when she was getting ready to leave (of course, JD ran straight inside to tell her what I said to her husband) she walked outside to where we all were and said "come on Son, it's time to go home". LOL Oh, well - at least I'm good for the entertainment.

It's hot here so Steve and I are going to take the girls to the pool for a couple hours. Other than that, not much happening.

Chicago

We had a great time in Chicago but are happy to be back home. Here is a summary of our trip (more for my memory keeping than anything). We left the house around 9:00 am to make the 3 hour or so trip. Isabella and Ava were pretty sad with us leaving, so I left my cell phone with Isabella so she could call anytime she wanted (um, which she did call about every hour - LOL). We make it downtown and find the theater without much trouble. We pull into the parking garage and see the price to park for 3 hours or so - $27!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! We would have backed out and went looking someplace else, but the other lot we pulled into was for about $22-$25 and it was an open lot and I just didn't like the looks of it. We suck it up and take the "we're on vacation attitude and are willing to pay it. Head to the theater thinking we have about 30 minutes or so before the show and remember - oh yeah, Chicago is an hour behind Indianapolis.

We walk around and do a little shopping (Steve fell in love with Nordstrom Rack) and headed back to the theater. Wicked was fantastic, fabulous, worth every penny, want to go back and see it again!!!! (can you tell I really liked it?). Didn't hurt that we had seats in the 3rd row center stage - so we could literally see the actors sweat and spit. LOL Here is a little info about Wicked: http://www.wickedthemusical.com/#AboutWicked

Find our way to the hotel and check in. The hotel is soooo nice!!! (Thank you priceline.com for allowing us to afford it). We didn't have reservations until 9:00 pm (10:00 Indy time) so we decided to go get a little bite to eat in the hotel bar to tide us over. Oh, I forgot - we valet parked our car at the hotel - if I thought $27 was expensive I was prepared to be shocked for this - $45 for parking at the hotel. At this point, I was really sick of handing out money!!!! LOL

The being tired of handing out money didn't end when we went into the bar and ordered an $8 beer - for one - not both. I decided to go ahead and get an imported beer since it was only a whopping $.50 more - LOL. So, I savored my $8 Amstel lite like it was my last beer on Earth. I don't know why the money thing was bothering me so much. Maybe I was so surprised it was as expensive as it was or Steve has just stopped all of my spending almost totally that I just hadn't spent money in a while. I just kept making mental notes of how much everything was costing.

We headed out to dinner at Charlie Trotters and were excited to see what the night would hold. We knew the dinner would cost a small fortune and had prepared for it in advance. They had two options - a Vegetable Menu or what they call the Grand Menu. Both were tasting menus and we cose the Grand Menu at the discount price of $155 per person (YES, you read that correctly). I told Steve I really didn't feel like drinking so I was going to order ice tea. Of course, we could have opted to have a wine pairing with the meal (to the tune of $100 more per person) - gosh this money thing was really on my mind wasn't it. LOL I'm sick of hearing myself talk about it. Steve ended up getting a local beer instead of the wine (I promise I told him to go for it) but he said he really wanted to taste the food "purely" (that must be Chef talk). Well, I'm not a real big seafood eater since having Isabella - previously I pretty much lived off of fish. First course - fish, second course - fish, third course - you guessed it - FISH. (You can view the menu at http://www.charlietrotters.com/restaurant/) Backtracking a minute, the Captain did say if we wanted ANYTHING to ask for it. So, we did. Steve asked if he could swap out the 3rd course for the 3rd course on the Vegetarian menu as well as adding a cheese course. The Captain said "we will take care of you". If I am being truthful, I have to admit I kept thinking I wonder how much this "taking care of us" was going to cost. (hey, I can make fun of myself!!)

In the end, we had TEN (10) courses with our meal. I truthfully wasn't digging the food until about the 6th course (the veal and it was DIVINE) but the experience was phenomenal. Towards the end of our meal, our captain realized Steve was a chef and asked if we wanted to go and see the kitchen. Uh - heck yeah we want to see the kitchen of one of the top rated restaurants and chefs in the WORLD!!! He took us into the kitchen, Charlie Trotter had already left for the day but we did get to meet and talk with the Chef de Cuisine (I think that's his title), see their herb garden outside, tour the wine cellar (the massive 2000 bottle wine cellar), see a bottle of wine prices at $19,000 (from 1923) and one priced at $21,000 (from 1903) shhh, I even touched them! LOL And then, when we left the Captian gave us his personal Charlie Trotter wine tool, a Charlie Trotter book, Charlie Trotter cook book, Organic salad dressing all in a nice little bag. Oh, and he printed off menus for us with what we had for dinner. At this point, I had forgotten about all the darn fish/seafood courses I had just consumed. LOL

We got up the next morning and went and ate at Lou Mitchells - a famous little diner close to Union Station. http://www.loumitchellsrestaurant.com/ At this point, I was missing my little munchkins and tired of giving our money away so we decided to go back and check out of the hotel and head home. Plus, I was tired and worn out. LOL

I would never want to live in Chicago with little kids, but I definetly want to take the girls there when they are a little older and can go to American Girl store, The Shedd Aquarium, maybe a Cubs game and to see Wicked again. But, it was a great way to celebrate our 9 years of marriage!

Am I the only one?

I am the first to make fun of myself when I say something goofy -this happens often - just ask Steve. I make up words all the time!

So, I love the show Top Chef on Bravo. I had noticed in the last couple of episodes a couple of the chefs had made "Sweet bread". One chef even mentioned it's like a "crispy chicken nugget". Odd comparison I thought.

Well, the other day while driving I told Steve I hope they have sweet bread on the menu at Charlie Trotters when we go because I really wanted to try it. (The judges RAVED about how delicious sweet bread was, how great it tasted and on and on).

Ok....when I think of sweet bread - I think of banana nut bread, zucchini bread and so on. So, he and I were watching an episode the other day together and it was talked about again. I asked him, "how do you make the sweet bread they are talking about" . (Thinking to myself, because it sure doesn't look like banana nut bread.) Being my naive (stupid?) self, I said - what do they do, just batter it and fry it? He looked at me crazy and said "it's a thymus gland" . Apparently, it's not ANYTHING like what I had been thinking. Well, I said then - why don't they just call it what it is, they had me all confused???? He asked - would you rather eat fois gras or "goose liver"? Point taken. Fois gras sounds much better (until I learned how they got that goose liver so fat and juicy). :(

So, the moral of the story - I really, really hope there are not any sweet breads on the menu at Charlie Trotters unless it's going to be Banana Nut bread! LOL

What a Weekend!

The weekend is over and we missed a tornado by less than a mile! It stormed here Friday evening and it was wicked! It looked like something out of a horror film. The electricity went out around 10:30 pm and didn't come back on until around 5:00 am.. It was pretty hot during the day so we had turned the a/c on - it got hot quickly after the ceiling fan went off especially. I tossed and turned (and was also a tad fearful a tree was going to come flying through the bedroom window) so I went to Ava's bed (she was in bed with Isabella). Steve said he ended up going downstairs to sleep because our bedroom was just too hot. Thankfully, we were spared from a tornado and didn't have any damage.

Sunday we didn't go to church because the girls still sounded horrible with their coughs and I still can't see the best (things are still pretty blurry). It was a beautiful morning and Ava and I took a little walk while Steve and Isabella were asleep. There were tons of neighbors outside and we stopped and chatted with them. When we got back home, Steve was outside and we sat out back and drank coffee with JD and Ellen and their neighbor Pam. We all sat and talked for a couple hours - it really was a great time. Steve and JD went and got some flowers (those two are funny together) and Ellen, Pam and I sat on the front porch rocking while we watched the two guys work.

My in-laws arrive in about an hour and the girls have been excited all day long. Steve and I head to Chicago Wednesday morning and we are super excited to celebate our 9 year wedding anniversary!

Updates

First off....we all got some sleep last night. It felt so good! Ava woke up around 6:45 am and it was so easy getting up after a good night of rest. Isabella woke up coughing only once but stopped after a couple of minutes and went back to sleep. Ava is coughing a lot this morning and just looks like she is run down. Hopefully, she will rest some today and let her little body heal. I'm not going to be able to go to the eye doctor today, Ava just looks too pathetic to drag her out for him to check my eye. I'd rather just hold off wearing contacts than make her be miserable.

Steve and I are all set for our trip to Chicago. While watching Top Chef a couple nights ago I decided where I wanted to go and eat breakfast. The Chefs did a QuickFire Challenge at Lou Mitchells - and the food looked good. It looks like just a big diner but they said there is always a line to eat at the place. Hoping since we are going during the middle of the week, we will be able to get in. We'll see Wicked during the day on Wednesday, dinner at Charlie Trotters in the evening and breakfast at Lou Mitchells Thursday morning. Other than that - I don't know what else we'll do.

Steve's parents are arriving on Monday to stay a week. It will be good to have them here to love on the girls. Plus, I'm especially looking forward to my mother in laws enchiladas - they are soooooooo good!! We ask her to make them for us each time they visit. My mouth is watering already just thinking about it.

Thank you all for your emails and calls- they mean the world to me to know you care and are praying for the kiddos.

Sick little girl

Please pray for Ava - took her to the Pediatrician this morning and after a few chest x-rays it was confirmed she has pneumonia. She's been running high fevers and coughing horribly. Isabella is coughing nonstop as well but her lungs sounded good and clear so the Ped thinks she is suffering just from a cold.

Here is one more picture of Ava and her frog - my niece took this picture! Ugh....I don't know why the picture didn't load after my words. My only gripe about blogger. It has to be easier than what I'm doing.

What a weekend! Tons of Pictures

My oh my!!! What a weekend. Lots to talk about and tons of pictures to go with it. The pictures are in reverse order because, like I've said many times before - I stink at adding pictures on blogger. Oh, well!

We left early Saturday morning to head over to Lawshee, Ohio - population 200 - give or take. We made it there in about 3 hours and the first thing we got to see when we arrived were KITTENS!! There were 5, 3 week old little kittens. This sparked "Mommy, can we have one?", "Puuuuulllllleeeeaaase can we have just ONE?". I finally said sure, but you have to give away either Daisy or Molly. That ended the conversation quickly because they love Daisy and Molly. We decided to venture out and go to the Peterson (my mom's family) train trussel. I kept calling it a train trellis - LOL. We all piled in the back of Cecelia's (my moms best friend) truck and headed over. What rednecks we were!! It was me, Steve, the girls, Dialycia (my niece), My mom, 2 of my uncles, my aunt and a dog in the back and another dog in the front seat with Cecelia. My little city girls adapted to the country quite well I must say (much easier than their Mommy). They had no fear and walked across the trussel without missing a beat, then went down and scouted out things along the creeks bank. Dialycia found a live mussel and Ava found a live frog. Ava played with that frog the entire time we were there. The men all skipped rocks across the creek - and it was just a peaceful, beautiful time. We loaded up in the truck to head home and I noticed Ava had a mussel shell with her holding it with both hands. I asked what she had and she replied "a frog house". She had put her frog inside of the empty shell. I didn't take my digital camera on this venture but Dialycia got a great picture of Ava and her new friend on Mom's camera.

My eye had been bothering me all day so I took my contacts out and put my glasses on and I felt better. Sunday morning we got up to go to church and although my right eye was a bit puffy, it didn't hurt when I put my contact in so I didn't think much about it. My vision was a bit blurred but nothing that made me think I shouldn't be wearing my contacts. After church we went out to eat, came home and changed and headed over to Serpent Mound. It is such a neat place and we climbed the tower to view the masterpiece of the Serpent in the grass. While walking we saw some trails. Someone had the bright idea for us to head down one of the trails. I was wearing - flip flops, a skirt and carrying a Coach pocket book. Perfect hiking attire right? It was glorious and beautiful and once again, my city girls were soaking this up. Oh yeah, along the way - Ava found another freakin' frog!!! The pictures in the post are of the 2nd frog/toad. We did talk her into letting this one go before we got into the car. After a stop at an ice cream joint on the corner, in the middle of nowhere we headed back to Cecelias to play corn hole. (google it if you aren't aware of what corn hole is - LOL). At this point all of my uncles (5) and my aunts were over at Cecelias. Everyone played cornhole for several hours and enjoyed a BBQ. At this point, my eye was giving me some trouble and pain so I took my contacts out. INSTANT pain. Watering eyes, red eyes - stabbing, throbbing, raw pain. I tried playing cards for a while but the kitchen light was causing my eye to water and my eye hurt everytime I blinked.

I called it quits in cards (I was losing anyway - LOL) and washed my face and decided to head to bed. The pain continued to intensify and I swear I thought I was having an anxiety attack from it. Everyone who was still there recommended I go to the ER. So, off we went. Diagnosis - severe corneal abrasion. I received an eye patch (so stylish!!!), some pain pills, eye drops and was ordered to basically stay in the dark and not open EITHER eye for at least 36 hours.

My mom took the girls the next morning with her to the Memorial day service at the church and cemetary and Isabella brought my digital camera with her I found out this morning in fact! The picture of Ava in the red shirt with the a on the front, the goats (the baby one was only about 4 days old) and of the butterflies was taken by Isabella. I love the picture of the 3 butterflies! Meanwhile, Steve packed up all of our stuff and as soon as they returned we headed home. I literally couldn't open my left eye because it caused such severe pain in my right eye - so I just kept a pillow on my head. This was actually our 9 year anniversary and as Steve led me to the bathroom at one point he said this was just a look into the future 40 years from now (one of us having to lead the other to the bathroom. LOL)

Once home, I layed on the couch and listened to Isabella watch some TV. Steve said he would read the paper to me if I wanted or he could download an audio book. So, he downloaded the Janet Evanovich book I had just started reading and I listened to it for a few hours. He had to go back to work yesterday morning but I still couldn't see anything after I removed the eye patch. The girls were so wonderful, caring and just down right perfect yesterday. Isabella made toast for them, made peanut butter and jelly sandwiches for lunch and entertained Ava. Steve made me an appt with an Optomitrist and we had my eye rechecked last night. He said it was healing nicely and would just continue to improve each day. I go back on Friday morning for a recheck before I put my contacts back in.

This morning I feel soooooo much better. Thank you for your prayers. It is still very sensitive to light so I feel like I've made the house into a cave. The girls will have to play inside for most of the day until Steve comes home because it's so sunny outside. But, they'll manage.

Oh, and the picture of Ava's knees - the girl was constantly falling because she was running so darn hard everywhere she went. She was beyond excited at every adventure we experienced.

Going away for the weekend

We are going away for the weekend to a get together with my mom's family. It's just outside of Cincinnati - so not far at all (about 2 1/2 hours). My moms family gets together every Memorial Day weekend and always has. The high school they all went to (my mom has 5 brothers) has their alumni banquet on Saturday so everyone always heads *home* for it. We are going to be staying at one of my mom's childhood friends houses - we've stayed here ever since my grandfather died. Everyone always comes over to play cards, we walk down to the stables and pet the horses, see the cows, etc.. It's a super small town out in the middle of nowhere - LOL - only about 200 people - but it's always a very good time. Sunday we always have a cookout at my moms friends house in the evening, Monday we go back to the church for a Memorial Day service and then go to the local cemetary and have a small service out there (prayer, 21 gun salute and playing of Taps) and then place flowers on the graves of the veterans. Then after that, we all head over to my Aunt and Uncles and cook out again. This year Steve is actually going with us - yeah!

Need to get back to packing and cleaning (I absolutely can't stand coming home to a messy/dirty house after a mini-break). Anal, I know.

Kindergarten Graduation

I really don't know how to post pictures very well here on blogger - they never appear in the order I want them too - oh well. Here are some pictures from earlier today. The play was super cute and Isabella did an awesome job. We were so proud of her. I don't have all that many pictures due to Miss Mother of the Year not being able to locate the battery charger for the camera (of course, I located it once we were home and everyone changed). I'm only posting the picture of me and Ava so I can show off the necklace Steve and the girls got me for mothers day. I should have had him take a closer picture of it - note to self - do this next time wearing. LOL

Funny thing about the schools name inside the gym. I wanted to take a picture of the name of the school - didn't pay attention to the photo which was displayed when I snapped the picture. After loading them to the computer - I just noticed it is of Isabella!!!!!!!!! It is her and the librarian (and let me tell you - her Librarian looks NOTHING like the sterotypical librarian!!! She's so darn pretty!

God bless him

God bless and love him (Steve). Poor guy goes off to buy white sandals for the girls (I did show him pictures online of what I would want for them just so he got an idea). Well, he comes home and both of the girls toes were just about hanging over the ends of the shoes (as well as their heels) - and they had about 4 other colors besides white. So, he's now heading back to exchange them for shoes that atleast will fit them longer than a week. Poor guy, no good deed goes unpunished.

Thank you though Steve for saving me the trip. (sad I know, but we communicate through the blog at times).

Graduation Eve

Alrighty, the eve of Isabella's kindergarten graduation and play and thank goodness I thought ahead just a bit about what she was going to wear. I use to be uber high strung, stressed over everything, planned things days, weeks, months in advance. Now, I'm mediated for the above mentioned and kinda go with the fly by the seat of my pants routine. LOL Old Alisha (aka pre-medicated) would have known and had in my possession what Isabella would be wearing tomorrow on her first day of kindergarten. Which brings me to the pickle I realized I was in....Isabella has the following shoes that fit - crocs, flip flops and tennis shoes. Now, I may be laid back now, but I sure as heck haven't lost my fashion sense. heehee So, I have entrusted my dear hubby with the task of buying shoes after he finishes working out (the girls went with him to the gym). I guess I should be thankful I semi-planned ahead and thought about it tonight, otherwise tomorrow I don't think there is enough medicine out there to have changed my freaking out at 8:30 a.m. and deciding which dress looked the best with crocs. LOL

Alrighty...every parent thinks their child is talented and gifted right? Steve and I are included in the group. But, really - all biased feelings aside, Isabella really has an eye for art. Today she brought home a chalk drawing (is that what it is called?). Blue sky, green grass, brown tree trunk and limb. So simple, but yet she somehow visualized it pretty profoundly for a 6 year old (ok, here is the Mama who thinks her daughter is the next Van Gogh, Matisse, Monet, Michaelangeo - LOL). I'm attaching pictures of two pieces she did last year in PRESCHOOL when she was almost 5. Van Gogh's Sunflowers and Monet's Water Lilies. More pics tomorrow from the play and graduation.

Glad I'm in Indiana today

This morning as I was sitting and drinking a cup of coffee, reading the newspaper and listening to the TV (such a multi-tasker - LOL) I happened to look up and notice the weather in Dallas today - NINETY EIGHT DEGREES!!!!!!!!!!!! What the heck? It's not even June yet! Now, it's only in the 60's here so our weather isn't much to write home about but I'll take mid 60's and sunny vs 98 degrees in May! There were many, many things I loved about Texas - but the heat was not one of them.

We are in dire need of going to the grocery store. Our pantry is bare!!! I really dislike the grocery store, meal planning and all that is associated with cooking (bad wife!) so of course going to the grocery is just another dreaded chore. I vowed to Steve today that when Isabella is in full day school next year I was going to dust off the apron and start cooking some full meals. Maybe my dislike of cooking is because just as I finish cleaning up one meal it's time to start working on the next one. LOL Ok, enough complaining by me!

Isabella has one more day of school left and then it's the school play/graduation. I will be glad to have her home all day and not have to stop mid-day to take her to school. (am I crazy saying that????)

Well, off to go get Isabella's hair cut. Her hair is WACKY lately. We don't know if it's because she's starting to get some curl in it, the chlorine from the pool or if her steriod inhaler she takes daily is changing/affecting the texture. Whatever it is, I can tell you it is a nightmare to comb (and this isn't just from me - hubby agree's wholeheartedly - he even googled it today it's that bad. LOL).

A picture post

It has been way too long since I've posted any pictures so I finally uploaded some off the camera to hopefully post (I'm not too swift at posting pictures on blogger just yet).

The first three are out at my brothers house during the kids easter egg hunt. Steve's mom always sends the girls these colored eggs that are filled with confetti - you smash them and the confetti goes everywhere. Of course, Uncle Trent is always the receiver of just about the entire 4 dozen. LOL The last two are when Isabella was reading Green Eggs and Ham at school. Ava was able to sit at the table with her and have snacks before her sister read to the class - Ava was so proud!

Sunny Day

The sun has been out for 2 whole days and what an impact it can have on your mood - well, at least mine! It has been cloudy and dark most of last week and I get so unmotivated when it's like that. I can handle a day of darkness but then I need the sun!!!

Last night when Steve came home we wanted to get out of the house so we went to Watson's. I don't know if they are throughout the states or not - but it is a huge store selling outdoor goods - hot tubs, big swing sets, pools, patio furniture as well as pool tables, etc. Well, we went and spent almost 2 hours in the store. The kids played on the play sets for a bit while Steve and I discussed what we liked/disliked about each one for when we decide to buy one. Then we went and looked at all the hot tubs and crawled in a few that didn't have water in them. Finished out the "tour" by playing air hockey, Ms Pac Man, Asteriods (I think that's what it's called) and some other video games they had on display to sell. The kids were ready to leave before Steve and I - we were hooked on the video games. heehee

Side note before I forget - if you are looking for some beautiful music by a great group - check out Selah. I found them about a month ago and have fell in love with their music. I have a few songs on my playlist but I really enjoy their music.

Steve is off today so we are hitting the gym and then probably just playing outside. Thursday our Wii game arrives (JD got us one in Florida and is sending it to us via UPS). Right now we have his while he is out of town and we have so much fun playing it. The disc that comes with the Wii has lots of things to do (bowling, tennis, golf) but we have rented a couple of games from Blockbuster and have a lot of fun as a family playing it. Last night Isabella rented some Carnival game that has all of the games and events you would find at a Carnival/fair on it. To be a fly on the wall while Steve and I were doing the strength game (the one where you have the hammer and hit the mat and the little ball rises hoping you are strong enough to hit the top bell). Well, you have to basically pump your arm up and down to get the "strength" built before you release and hit the mat. Um, one try was enough for me. Enough said. LOL

Off to get this day started!

Productive day thus far

It's been a pretty productive day so far! I have been in the process of switching winter clothes out and hanging summer clothes in our closet, moving and reorganizing, sorting for goodwill, etc and made great progress today. Plus, I cleaned and organized 2 dresser drawers, vacuumed upstairs and downstairs, did 2 loads of laundry, rehearsed lines with Isabella for her school play (she knows them and is so darn cute acting them out) and am getting ready to attack the ironing next. I like being able to check things off of the "to do" list. It mentally relaxes me. heehee

Steve's parents are going to be coming and staying for a week the first week of June. We can't wait for them to come visit. Steve and I are going to be going to Chicago for 2 days/1 night to celebrate our 9 year anniversary and also just to spend some quality time together. I got us tickets to see the broadway production of Wicked - that should be fun as well. We also have reservations at Charlie Trotters restaurant - we have been dying to go there for several years. Hopefully we'll be able to take his mom to a casino while they are here as well - we had a good time going during their last visit. Also, we hope to hit up a few yard sales on the weekend - we had a blast and so many funny memories during our last yard sales adventure. LOL

I've kinda had a mini awakening the past few days. I've kinda been bothered, hurt, upset by lack of contact/support during Isabella's illness. I feel like I've always been a pretty good friend listening and offering support when it's needed to others and while yes, prayers very well may have been offered in our names I guess I thought more people would ask or mention or call regarding it. I'm sure I'm being a tad too emotional regarding this and it's probably not that big of a deal - or maybe it's realizing those I can really count on who offered their support via a card, email or phone call. I was talking to one of my best friends Stephaney yesterday and telling her my feelings about it (she had called to check up on Isabella and her test on Friday) and letting her know how much I appreciated her friendship and the time she took to let me know she cared and was thinking about us. I said I had made a mental note of those who didn't say anything - to which she replied "so, you've put them on probation". LOL So true! (I think - heehee). Oh well, I'll still be as supportive as I can be and will let others know I'm thinking of them and praying for them during tough times and struggles.

Well, Ava is calling and wanting me to go watch Caillou with her. She's such a nut...she just came in to the office and said she wanted a drink of "coke". (I bought 5 cases of cokes, diet cokes, cherry cokes, etc from CVS because they were a fantastic price and I figured I'd stock up for summer bbq's and get togethers). Well, I hadn't had a diet coke in months and thought what the heck, it looked good - I'll go ahead and have one and hope the aspartame doesn't corrode my brain LOL so that is what Ava wanted a drink of. She took a drink and said "ummm, that diet coke tastes like beer".!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Out of the mouths of babes. p.s. - we've never let her taste beer but she knows her Daddy drinks one every now and then. LOL

An answer, maybe?

Well, once again Isabella threw up after having severe stomach pains (on Sunday). This time, I asked detailed questions why it was going on. I was determined to get to the bottom of this! It is not normal for a 6 year old to throw up once a week. After speaking with her Pediatrician we are pretty sure she is having acid reflux. Yesterday morning after eating her stomach starting hurting so I gave her a pepcid ac and within minutes the pain was gone. So, she is now on a prescription of Prevacid. They said we will be able to see results in about 4 days - until then,I'm going to try and keep her diet pretty simple. I really hope this is the answer to why my little girl is getting sick.

Isabella has only one more week of school left. I can't believe she is about to be a 1st grader!!! Crazy. They are at the gym's inside pool swimming with Steve and should be home shortly.

We were able to play outside today since it warmed up. Isabella is teaching Ava how to drive the Barbie jeep. Watch out people....she's a crazy driver like her Mama! I loved hearing their giggles and squeals while they were playing today. Warms my heart! Plus it was a nice change from hearing them fighting. heehee

Wonderful Weekend

The girls and I had a fabulous weekend. We made it to my moms house around 6:30 and got the car unloaded. My bro, sis in law and niece came over shortly after and we played some cards for a bit. Isabella and Ava went with them and spent the night at their house. It was cute as we were playing cards...Ava was sitting on Dialevash's lap in her pj's, hugging her new Koala Webkinz and her new quilt Pa bought for her - she was so tired but wasn't going to give in and fall asleep out of fear of being left behind. LOL She would turn around every few minutes to Dialevash and ask "DeeBash, we go your house now?" The way Ava talks cracks me up - I don't do it justice describing it or typing it out like she speaks - but it warms my heart every time I hear her talk (well, most times!!! The kid talks nonstop). LOL

Saturday morning Dialycia called around 9:00 am wanting to know when we were coming out to the house - the kids wanted to go outside and play but Uncle Trent said they couldn't go out in their pj's. (um, the kids won out on this argument because by the time we got there around 9:45 they were all outside in the pj's hitting balls from the pitching machine). LOL Trent had just bought the pitching machine thing the night before and we all took turns swinging the bat at it. Talk about COMICAL!!!!!!!!!!! Especially when a 10 year old, 6 year old and 2 1/2 year old are better than the adults. heehee

They filled their pool a couple weeks ago but the water is still VERY chilly. Well, Dialycia accepted a bet from her dad and decided to go swimming. Of course, Ava and Isabella wanted to follow suit. My girls were too cold and got out just about as quick as they got in. But, it was if a bright neon, flashing sign was going off over the house proclaiming: THE POOL IS OPEN!!!!!!! Because within minutes 6 other neighbor kids were at the house jumping in and swimming.

I went and jumped on the trampoline with Isabella and Ava - boy oh boy, that can wear you out! I had my heartrate up and my muscles aching after 15 minutes of jumping. Trent made us lunch and then Ava went down for a nap and Isabella and Dialycia went over to one of the neighbors to play. Trent, mom and I camped out in front of the TV and watched America's next top Model marathon. Mom and Trent made dinner (spaghetti and garlic bread) and then we all went out for round 2 of the pitching machine humiliation. I gave the girls a bath and then they all went in Dialycias room to watch Alvin and the Chipmunks and we played some cards. We finally went home around 9:30 pm. It was a great day. Sitting out in the swing by the pool, watching Trent the pool boy clean out the pool and listen to the kids squealing and laughing - life can't get much better than that.

We got up and packed up and headed home pretty early yesterday. I came home to a big Victorias Secret bag and another pretty bag next to it. They got me the most beautiful pair of thin cotton Victorias Secret button up pj top and pants and the most gorgeous necklace from Brightons. There is a story behind Isabella being tricky and asking me what I wanted for mothers day all on her own but my wrists are sore from all the typing. LOL The day ended with me and my baby girls sitting on the couch and them showering me with tons of hugs and kisses. Now, that was the perfect mothers day gift one could ever ask for!

I Respectfully Disagree

Those were the words the Pediatrician used when I told her what the Allergist said today about Isabella not having asthma. She was very upset and said she wasn't going to refer anymore of her patients to him. She was rattling off tons of statistics and all of Isabella's history and basically told me she felt he was wrong. And Steve and I agree with her. I grew up with our Pediatrician, she was Valedictorian of her senior class and graduated from med school Suma Cum Laude. She's very smart, reads and studies all the time to keep up to date on everything and most importantly, Steve and I trust her judgment wholeheartedly. She made some very good points that I wish I would have presented to the other doctor but his bedside manners stunk and I was trying to process everything. I dislike taking the kids to the doctor alone because I always seem to get confused after leaving the office with what they actually said. Steve is much better at comprehending stuff like this and remembering what they say. This is just about the only time he remembers anything well. LOL But, she pointed out Isabella's last two major attacks required massive doses of steirods to calm everything down. The steriods worked almost immediately. If it was a sinus infection causing the coughing - steriods would not heal it, antibiotics would have to be used. Also, Isabella has been diagnosed by a total of 3 different pediatricians with cough variant asthma and they have studied her records and know her history much more than the doctor today. So, we won't be going back to this doctor. She offered to send us to someone at Riley (the childrens hospital here in Indy) who is also a believer in cough variant asthma for follow up - which we will do in the future if needed.

I felt so much better after talking with our Ped and she confirmed what my gut and Steve's gut instincts were with his diagnosis. Our Pediatrican said it was our choice to take her off of the asthma meds but she strongly recommended not going that route because she would guarantee another attack within weeks. I cannot one, let Isabella suffer through the hours upon hours of coughing at night and two, make my child digest massive doses of steriods because of an experiment. I'm probably making no sense and am just rambling. This post I guess is more for me to put my thoughts down on paper so to speak.

One final thing - a big shout out goes to my Aunt Dottie who sent Isabella and Ava the cutest DVD - I believe it's called Wormie! The girls LOVE it and have watched it several times since receiving it. It also came with a music CD and we listened to it the entire 2 hours on the way down to my moms. Thank you Dottie!!!! Also to those who have emailed letting me know you are praying for Isabella and asking how she is doing - it is appreciated by me more than you know! I know people pray for her without letting me know, but it sure is nice hearing you are in others thoughts and prayers!

The girls are staying over at my brothers and SIL's house tonight. Isabella called Dialevash on the way down to make sure they could stay tonight. Trent even asked for diapers and wipes. LOL I told him he could call me and I'd come out and change Ava's stinky diapers if needed, but he said it was ok, he'd just make my niece change them. heehee

Off to read and relax in the quiet.

Oh, P.S. - way to go Michelle making Trent and I look bad!!! Sending mom flowers????? You stinker!!!! LOL They are so pretty!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Oh, and thank you for my mothers day card - it was so nice and thoughtful of you. You're a great sis!!! Love ya!