Class is DRAGGING major ass tonight. ::yawn::

HUGE thunderstorm around 530pm this evening.. Made driving to school a complete pain in the ass. I could barely see the road..

Oh my God! The mail just arrived. There was a package from Amazon. Cool, I am thinking my book club's newest selection I just ordered is here. Nope. Erin just sent me My Fair Lady on DVD! She is just the coolest! :::smooches:::

Moira's last day of school went well. She is upset though. She says she will miss her teacher. I liked her Kindergarten teacher. Really nice woman. I hope the first grade teacher is just as good, if not better.

Just got back from KMart.. I just realized that I forgot the VERY thing I need to buy. Crap.

Todd Bridges? He will play Juice, a character "Y&R" executive producer David Shaughnessy describes as "a real out-and-out bad guy ...bent on revenge." Oy.

Holy Cow! I just got off the phone with AAA. I had the NICEST young lady answer the phone. She was so freakin chirpy and perky. I felt like I was talking to a Disney character. She was very sweet and she answered my questions. Thank you AAA!

I am "Dauntless" You have eluded capture, killed the assassin, reclaimed the family jewels and are now confronted with 100 armed men and no visible means of escape. Are you kidding? You live for these scenarios and always manage to escape. What's YOUR Austin Power's spy name?

Heading to bed.. G'nite!

One more!

BLUE You give your love and friendship unconditionaly. You enjoy long, thoughful conversations rich in philosophy and spirituality. You are very loyal and intuitive.

I am still up.. finishing making thank you cards for Moira's teachers and wrapping gifts. Boy - these teachers have the life! Just ask Shelley and Scott! ::teehee::

Poor Susan - packing DOES suck.

The playdate has left the building.... they had so much fun today.. I would love to have her over again.

So far the girls have played inside, then outside, now inside again. They pulled out the dress up box - they looked SO adorable.. (deranged but adorable) when they were done.

The playdate has begun ::dum da dum dum::

Had a nice night last night. I BBQ'ed some chicken and we had fries and fresh veggies with it. The girls must be feeling better (or hitting a growth spurt) because they ate really well. After dinner, Moira gave Paul a Father's Day card she had made in school (and had forgotten about). It had several very sweet poems on them. Paul had to excuse himself after he read them - he got all teary ::sniff:: it was so sweet. While the girls played after dinner, I worked on my troops paperwork that I have been neglecting to finish. I still have some paperwork left but not nearly as much! I see the light at the end of the paperwork tunnel! Moira has a buddy coming over today after school. Hopefully, her friend can stay for dinner. (hot dogs and hamburgers). They have half days now and tomorrow is the last day of school! I can't believe that her school year is over already! I am also in the midst of planning a mini trip to Baltimore sometime in August. Sunday - Tuesday kind of thing. It's only a 3.5 hr drive from us. The girls can handle the car ride. I want to do the aquarium. I also found Port Discovery, the DUCKS, Inner Harbor. I don't know if I will have time to do all of them though. Any suggestions? Remember, I have a 2.5 yr old and soon to be 6 yr old and I need to stay away from food related events due to Paul and Olivia's allergies.

A quick trip to the doctor. Eyes and chest are fine. Ears still a bit red. Her nose is running but it's clear snot (Eww - I know.). We just have to keep up the breathing treatments, every 4 hrs. Poor munchkin. I hope Olivia kicks this thing soon.

Oooh! Time to discuss the book!

Friday Five (on Monday) 1. How often do you do laundry? HAHAHAHAHAHA! At least 1-2 loads a day.I believe it is my cross to bear in this life. 2. What's in a typical wash load? Clothes and towels/washcloths. Bedding once a week. 3. Front or top loader? Powder or liquid detergent? FRONT loader baby! Woohoo! I used Liquid Arm and Hammer Sensitive Skin - perfume and dye free. 4. Do you use fabric softener in the rinse cycle? Ewwww. No. Smells oogy! 5. Dryer or clothesline? I prefer the clothesline but I use the dryer too.

I hope all you Dads (and Dad's to be, like Allan) had a great Father's Day! Olivia had a pretty major setback healthwise ::sigh:: Poor kid. She was coughing ALL day yesterday. Breathing treatments didn't seem to bring much relief. Neither did constant nose blowing. It's that DAMN post nasal drip that makes her cough and cough. After all the coughing, she starts wheezing, CAUSED by coughinh. Finally, we gave her some Benedryl, in the hopes that it would dry her nose out. She stopped coughing... and conked out. And woke up an hour later, totally revved up and ready to party. She didn't get to bed until 1am. Of course, there is no trace of coughing this morning... so when I make the doctor's appointment, she will appear to be fine. Dammit - I can't win. I think it's time to see a pediatric ENT and get some other opinions.

Hate SUV's? Do oblivious drivers make you want to scream? Check out this list of pet peeves!

Scott is REALLY a funny guy.. especially after a few drinks!

We had a busy day here today.. I had a registration meeting for my Girl Scout troop at 915am. Dad came down for a quick visit and we gave him his Father's Day presents. I hope he liked them! Then, we zipped up to visit Paul's Dad and Mom for a couple hours. Olivia was wheezing pretty badly by the time we left. I suspect it was the cat hair (they have 2 cats). I gave her a dose of Benedryl and she fell asleep while we were driving home. She was so out of it that we put her in for a nap and let her crash for about 45 minutes. Moira wanted to watch "Return of the Jedi" again so the 3 of us hung out and watched the movie. I woke Olivia up about half way through it. She was still woozy and was dozing on my lap during the 2nd half of the movie. We gave her a breathing treatment around 6pm. Both girls were way off schedule today - we just got them to bed about 20 minutes ago! Ahh - what the hell.. it's a Saturday. No big plans for tomorrow except Paul's birthday is tomorrow as well as Father's Day. We will have a nice pancake breakfast and let him open his presents. After that, I will put him to work! I have lots of things that need to be done! I want to repaint our 3 dressers a gloss white so they need to be sanded down and primed. I will have to get new pulls and I might stencil on the front of the dressers too. Anyone know of a good website where I can purchase glass pulls?

Moira had a half day today and next week. Wow - school's almost over! My baby will be going to FIRST grade next year! ::sniffle::

In local news - Father Allegedly Left Son in Hot Car Allegedly? The security guard FOUND the baby, 18 months old, IN his car. The sick bastard - his car had reached a high of 130 degrees. He says he forgot to drop his son off at his grandmother's house. How on EARTH do you forget you child is in the car? You don't. Unless you want to forget.

Mom came down around 3pm. She brought some steaks for dinner. So, I whipped up a marinade for the steaks, made a huge salad, rice and homemade icing for the cake. Everything was SO yummy! The kids loved the cake. Paul and my brother got me flowers. They are just beautiful. My Mom gave me the box set of all 4 hardback Harry Potter books! Woohoo! I have read them, albeit via borrowed books, but now I can read them again! I also got some pearls added to my ongoing strand of pearls. Martha Stewart gardening clogs(which are very comfortable), more books, some hat boxes and a few cool knickknacks. I had a perfectly lovely day today. Thank you all for your ecards, snail mail cards, comments and emails. You have all made my birthday very special!

I am posting like a maniac! What's up with THAT?

I am baking a cake with a mix that I purchased from Miss Robens. They sell a LOT of products that are allergen free. Cake and cookie mixes, puddings, pastas, condiments, breads and many many other items. I highly recommend it to anyone who is dealing with food allergies.

Woo - she's awake.. and seems like she is doing ok ::knocking wood::

Oooh - Beach Blanket Bingo on AMC!

Holy cow - Olivia is still sleeping...

Gemini Compatibility Compatible - Aries, Leo, Libra, Aquarius Complex Feelings - Gemini, Sagittarius (Paul is a Gemini too) Strange Attractors - Virgo, Pisces Incompatible - Taurus, Cancer, Scorpio, Capricorn The Air element of Gemini brings communication, intellect and speed! This is one of the joy- of-life signs, one that reaches out, expands and expresses. Gemini is an inquisitive student with a quick grasp of subjects. Mutable motivation brings adaptability. This is wonderful because variety-loving Gemini needs change. A flexible personality ensures that Gemini can connect with others. Gemini's active energy can go too far, and then Gemini has a hard time finding the right direction. Members of this sign needs a countervailing force of stability. The desire to communicate quickly and rapidly benefits when tempered by receptivity. Then not only can the Twins speak, they can listen in return -- and complete the circuit! Balance comes from slowing down, listening, and learning the fine art of follow-through!

Gemini Horoscope Thu Jun. 13, 2002 Too much stress from overwork might have you feeling a little bit under the weather, dear Gemini. You'll need to take some time out and rest, and you aren't likely to be used to this. Therefore you could well be feeling restless and frustrated. The best thing to do at times like this is to distract yourself. If you've been considering doing some research, this is the time to go for it. At the very least, read something that engrosses you. Hmm - seems pretty much on the mark for me. I am reasearching my family tree. I am in a book club. And I work too darn hard around here! LOL!

Mmmm! Nothing like a birthday bagel and coffee. Yummy! Wow - my blog looks SO nice without the advertising! Thanks again Susan. She's DA bomb! Olivia is passed out on the couch. She has been sleeping for about 40 minutes. My poor baby. She still had a fever this morning so I dosed her up with Motrin and gave her Amoxicillan. That was a fight - she hates it. I get to torture her 3 times a day and make her take the anitbiotic. She actually takes all the other stuff with no problem. Well - I had better get moving. Mom is coming down bringing birthday stuff and steak. I need to clean my living room and kitchen. Hmmmfph. Some happy birthday!

Oh my God - I am 32. Yuck.

Why on earth is that banner flashing that today is my birthday? Is it June 13th already?

I must have caught a second wind.. I am feeling almost perky. Note I wrote almost ::grin:: Paul and I were discussing all the medications that have been prescribed for the girls. I think we will be holding a lot of them back until they each get over their respective cold/ear infection. I know I am pretty concerned as to how much medication they have. It's almost disturbing.. I would hate to give them stuff they *really* don't need.

So tired.... :::::yawning::::::: Must sleep soon...

OH my gosh! Thank you SO much to Susan! I now have an AD FREE blog! WOW! {{{{{Susan}}}}} You are truly a sweetheart. I am really and truly touched. I am really blessed to have made such wonderful friends while blogging in the past 6 months. :::sniffle::: I love you guys! : - )

Oh God - let me try to recap all the events of last night. WARNING: This will be a very long post. Ya know, I thought it was weird that Miss O fell asleep on me yesterday. I had put her down to sleep in her bed after holding her for about 20 minutes. I was a little worried she would wake up when I put her down - but she gave me a sweet smile, rolled over and went right back to sleep. I had to wake her up at 3pm so we could get Moira at the bus stop. I noticed Olivia was a bit flushed but I attributed that to her sleeping on her face while napping. By 430pm, she was laying, belly down on the couch, resting her. Took her temperature at 515pm - 102.8. Crap. I dosed her up with Motrin. We eat dinner. Olivia ate an amazingly good dinner (I should haven known better). I really needed to go food shopping and I had planned on taking Moira with me. There was a project handed out for school, involving the local supermarkets and the alphabet. Whoever completes it gets a prize from the supermarket and the school. Paul decided to take the girls and do that while I food shopped. Oy. An hour later, they have found most of the letters (hidden throughout the supermarket) and I am ready to leave. I help them find a couple more letters and we are done. They go to the courtesy desk for Moira's prize. I am in line, checking out. $226.00 later and I am on my merry way home. I get in the door and Paul had gotten the kids ready for bed. We get the car unloaded and groceries put away. Olivia wanted me to hold her - was very fussy. Paul tucked Moira in bed while I was holding Olivia. As I am on the couch with her, she instantly falls asleep (passes out) on me. I take her temp again. 103.8. I called the doctor. Obviously not in the office at 930pm. After speaking to the nurse answering service, it was decided to go to the ER. While I am talking to the nurse, Paul is holding Olivia. She was complaining that her tummy hurt and she was going to "splurp". I get off the phone and start packing the diaper bag. Then it happens. BARF. Olivia barfed all over Paul. She freaks out and is crying and barfing some more. He zooms into the bathroom with her and starts getting her cleaned up. I go in and try to help. Barf is the ONE thing that really "gets" to me. SO - I am gagging and trying to clean. Olivia starts barfing some more and Paul just kinda threw me out of the bathroom (thankfully). Fast forward 30 minutes. Olivia is cleaned up and so is Paul. The bathroom is still oogy but Paul said he would take care of it. I drove with Olivia to the ER. The hospital is about 6 minutes from my house. We get there at 1035pm. It was packed. ::sigh:: Olivia was pretty zonked out - all sweaty and very sleepy. We weren't seen by the triage nurse until 1115pm. He takes some info and wants to take her temperature. Rectally. Oof. Olivia is not usually that cooperative about rectal thermometers. Never has been. The bonus was that she was so out of it, she didn't realize what happened until it happened to her. 103.3 More Mortin. We wait for a few more minutes and then we are called into the ER. 1130pm. We are shown into a little curtained room. And we wait. And wait. AND wait. To the ER's credit, they were really busy. There is no chair in the room so I am sitting on the gurney/bed, holding Olivia, who is sleeping like a log. Poor baby - so tired. When one barfs up dinner, one tends to get sore and tired. While waiting, there are several people around me, in mysteriously curtained off areas. One woman is moaning "Ai yi yi.. I need something for the PAIN" about every 2-3 minutes. There is an old person ( I think a woman) who was calling out "Help", "God Almighty" and "Get me down" approximately every 6-10 seconds for 90 minutes. She would get moan, get progressively louder and then moan some more. Poor old bitch. I felt bad for her. I felt worse for the people sitting next to her. I was about 2-3 "rooms" over. Apparently, she was in restraints because she kept trying to get out of bed and would fall to the floor. She was also trying to take her diaper off. God - I hope I don't get like that when I am old. I hope Paul just puts a pillow over my face at that point. A nurse comes in and wants to take Olivia's temperature again. Rectally. As I undo her diaper, Olivia figures out what's going on (she's no dummy) and starts to scream. Luckily, the nurse is FAST and we get it. 101.5 - and that's AFTER the Motrin the triage nurse gave her. The ER doc finally comes in. Nice guy. He apologized for the delay in seeing us. He checks Olivia's nose, ears, mouth, chest, etc. Her ears are a bit red, according to him. We discussed her medical history. Olivia has Vesicoureteral Reflux. (Urine normally flows in one direction -- down from the kidneys, through tubes called ureters, to the bladder. Vesicoureteral reflux (VUR) is the abnormal flow of urine from the bladder back into the ureters). It pretty much resolved itself with the help of antibiotics - took about a year. (She has been hospitalized 2 times due to high fevers, dehydration and UTI's). The doc thought is would be best if we tested for a UTI. We needed a urine sample. The nurse came back in and "bagged" Olivia. Imagine a plastic bag with adhesive. You can guess where it was placed. You can imagine how thrilled Olivia was to have this done. Luckily, the nurse brought in stickers and a cup of Jello. Olivia was now her new buddy. What can I say? My kid is easy to con! I had brought a couple books, sippy cup, bottled water and a deck of cards in the diaper bag. Olivia was fussing about the bag. I told her she could take it off after she peed in it. She drank alot of water while we played with the cards. She finally peed about 30 minutes later. I take the bag off and give it to the nurse. Enough in the bag to bring to the lab for tests. We finally got the results at 250am. Negative. No UTI. Thank God. We get a script for amoxicillan and we are outta there! Home by 3am. She's in bed by 320am. Paul tucked her in and sang "You are my Sunshine" to her. ::smile:: He comes out and we discuss the events of the night/morning. Moira had gotten up when Olivia barfed and she didn't get back to bed until 1130pm. She has this cough that isn't quitting. It's a nasty cough. I kept her home today. She is still coughing. Poor damn kid. Olivia is a bit perkier this morning. I didn't get to bed until 345am. Moira woke me up at 730am, wanting to go to school. Nope. She's not too upset about it. Olivia woke up at 930am. Guess who will be napping today? Hopefully, ALL of us. Paul went to work this morning but is hopefully taking a half day. I am beat. I don't think I will be going to school tonight. Not on 4 hours of sleep. No effing way...

Olivia is asleep right now, sitting in my lap. I was reading some blogs and she wanted to sit with me. I guess she got nice and comfy and zonked right out! Let me tell ya, being a Mom is great - especially these kinds of perks.

I never got a chance to update last night. I had Bonkos and didn't get home until 1030pm! Wheee! We ran a bit late because we also had a small baby shower for one of the women. She is due next month and will be having a little boy :::awwwwww::: We all got up on time today but Moira was having her birthday party in class today. Yes - her birthday is in July. Her teacher thought it would be nice if all the kids (who have summer birthdays) were able to celebrate their birthdays too. So - today was Moira's UNBIRTHDAY party ::grin:: We stopped at Pathmark this morning to pick up cupcakes to bring in to school. Nothing like last minute planning. Oh - and I have to share with you guys that I have an AWESOME long distance company. I pay .03 a minute! My long distance bill has dropped from an average of $55.00 to $19.00! YEAH baby!

Ding dong the Don is dead Which old Don? The Dapper Don Ding dong the Teflon Don is deaaaaaad.

Shelley recommended a new blog for me to read - Jamie aka Ravenstone Tower Chronicles. Go on - check him out! ***UPDATE*** Hrm - it seems I have been duped! Jaime is not a 13 year old boy. He is a grown woman named Sunny, who invented the entire story. HEy - what can I say - she writes beautifully! Hope she keeps the story going.

I wonder what Paul is getting me for my birthday? He always asks me and I keep telling him to look at my Amazon wish list. PLUS - they wrap and deliver! Geez - how hard can that be??

Anyone else having problems with Blogger? Grr! I can't update my template - it's not holding ANY of my changes. CRAP.

Good morning. We woke up late again. I guess this is becoming a Monday morning tradition around here! Not the kids fault. Paul and I were up late, doing things around the house. Get your collective minds out of the gutter - we were replacing the front porch light and the crappy ceiling fan in the living room. Now we have a nice QUIET Hunter fan. I LOVE IT! I had a great chat with Shelley and Scott the other night. Man - I wish they lived closer. They are too much fun! I am waiting for the building inspector to stop by to inspect the pool. Of course, I will probably be stuck here all day waiting for him. Jerk. If I am lucky, he will get here in the next hour. I need to go food shopping and I also have to stop at the pharmacy to pick up MORE medication. Thank God for insurance and prescription plans! Some good news - my Dad went back to work today! YAY Dad. He was going crazy being at home. Hopefully, I will be bale to get together with him sometime soon. I have been doing pretty good on the family tree although I don't know many dates and names. But, I have done well with working what I have! I need to corner my Step-Mom and my Mom and get more info from them too!

GORGEOUS day today! WOW! I love days like this - cool and sunny. Ahh! Perfect for the kids. They had SO much fun today. Allison, one of Moira's friends came over today, around 11am. They played inside and outside. Just kept going in and out.. in and out. It was cute, especially watching Olivia trying to keep up with them. To Moira's credit, she put up with a lot from Olivia today! Around 3pm, ANOTHER buddy, Nick, stopped by to play. Allison left at 345pm and Nick left at 430pm. It's good when Moira has a friend (or 2) over. It keeps her out of MY hair. For some very ODD reason, she seems to think that Paul and I are supposed to play with her all day. Sure - right. I did some crafts with the girls earlier - we made bracelets and necklaces with the zillions of beads that I own. Hmm - time to restock. We used a lot of beads! We just finished dinner. The kids are pooped. They are playing blocks on the living room floor right now and I just popped in Fantasia (the first one). Hey - classical music is good for the brain. Paul is working in our room - finishing the painting. I know.. it took a long time but we have SO many projects going on at the same time. Poor guy - he is SO over-extended. I will be heading to Home Depot later. I have to get a new porch light. Yay! I have hated the one we have for a loooong time. Plus, I need to get play sand for the sand box. Gosh - I hate that thing :::grumble::: but the kids adore playing in it. How can I say no? I am such a push-over.

Busy morning.. Olivia slept very badly last night. She and I slept in the recliner for a couple hours last night. (around 1245am to 330am). I tucked her back into bed at that time. Around 5am, she woke up screaming. Her eyes were sealed shut - poor baby. We wiped her face and calmed her down and she ended up going back to bed. She woke back up around 6am, coughing and crying. She woke up Moira. I went to bed and Paul got the girls set up. He walked Moira to the bus stop while I packed the diaper bag and things for the doctor's appointment. We had her tested again today for food and environmental allergies. On a scale of 1-4, with 4 being the highest (most dangerous level - anaphylactic), she is a 4 to dairy, peanuts and cat, 2 to eggs, grass, dust mites, and a 1 to peas. The bonus to the testing is that she CAN now have green beans, chocolate (dairy, peanut and egg free, of course), strawberries, raspberries, and blueberries. I managed to get a nap when we got home. We were in the office for about 2 hours. Olivia, who has given up napping for the past 3 months) took a nap too. Of course, she was doped up on Zyrtec that the doctor had given her in the office. They had given her a drop test with milk. Just dabbed some on her skin. BANG - hives ALL over. It was pretty disturbing to watch. Thank goodness Paul was with me. I was able to concentrate and ask a LOT of questions and wrote down the answers. She got a ton of prescriptions (Claritin, Nasonex, Albuterol, Pulmicort and a new combination drug DuoNeb {albuterol and atrovent}) Oy. Thank God for insurance plans. These are not all to be taken at the same time! Some are as needed - in case she starts wheezing. The 4 of us were supposed to meet up with my brother at Mom's place tomorrow for an early birthday dinner. I had to cancel because we are all still sick. OH! Great news with my Mom - she had another PET scan done yesterday to see if there was any cancer. There was NOTHING on the scans! YAY! YAY! Negative results! Woohoo!. ::taking deep breath:: I am typed out! I have class tonight ::sniffle::cough::hack:: I will try to update later.

Holy crap! TONS of rain here. My neighborhood was flooded - with up to 2 FEET of water! More crazy thunder and lightening. Paul had to drain 3-4 inches out of the pool. Twice. There was one lightening hit that actually made our telephone ring. Very bizzare. My street flooded. The cross street at the end of the block also flooded. I videotaped it. Unreal. The kids were freaking out with all the thunder and lightening. But, they are in bed now and all is quiet in the KateSpot home. I still have slight touch of laryngitis and now my throat is sore too. Olivia's eyes are not looking too good - I think she either has pink eye or some type of eye infection. Great. She also has her skin test tomorrow. Paul took the day off so we can both be there for the test. 9am. Poor kid - it's been 2 years since the last test. She isn't going to like it but I am hoping we will get good results.

I have been cleaning all day - yuck. I folded laundry, vacuumed, cleaned the bathroom, cleaned the kitchen, sorted through the girls clothes and I still have to go to the store and the pharmacy! I have lost power twice today - Grr! It's very humid here in NJ. I hope we get more rain. It should cool off after the rain. We had some serious sounding thunder last night with a really cool lightening display.

Happy Anniversary Paul. I can't believe that 9 years ago today, we stood together in front our family and friends, pledging to share our lives together. The time has passed us by so very quickly.. So many wonderful times... some bad... too many sad times. We have 2 beautiful children and a great place to live. I have much to be thankful for. I appreciate you and everything you have done for our family. Here's wishing for a lifetime of happiness and love. I love you.

Escaped Prisoner on the Loose Lovely. Freakin dirtbag.

Congratulations to Susan on becoming an official homeowner. Wait til tax time - all that interest! All those write-offs!

I feel like a slug today. I have class tonight and I am SO tired. Olivia has been hacking and scratching today. I had to take her off her Claritin since she is having allergy testing on Friday. She needs to be antihistimine free for 72 hours. Poor kid - she is miserable. I gave her Delsym - jeez, that stuff just smells horrible and tastes worse than it smells!

The show was SO cute.. I couldn't help crying through it. I am sure Paul will hear every sniffle I made while I was taping the show.

Moira's kindergarten class is performing in an "end of the year" show. I can't wait to see it! Starts at 1015am. I am bringing my camcorder and camera... and Olivia. Oy - I hope she behaves!

From Fox News - The bus flipped over twice and some passengers were hurled onto the asphalt, while others, including a man and woman embracing in their final moments, died trapped in the burning vehicle. Many passengers were soldiers en route to bases in the West Bank.

I feel so icky ::cough cough:: I am losing my voice!

Paul and I have been doing a lot of research on our family tree. We have found a lot of his family as far back as the late 1700's! It's like working on a giant puzzle.

I am back from the mall. I had to take the Parkway there and it is STILL very smoky. I saw several firetrucks on the side of the road. There were a LOT of smoking patches on the ground, on both sides of the parkway. It was very creepy to drive through it. And the smell - Ew!

Gorgeous day today. So, I am off to the mall. I need to get my Mom a birthday gift. We share the same birthday! Paul's birthday is the 16th and our 9 year wedding anniversary is the 6th (Thursday). I had best get shopping! Tata for now!

Just got the kidlets into bed. Moira had soccer tonight. I think her team won... I am not sure. I stopped keeping score. I brought the camcorder and taped some of the game. It's so damn cute to watch the munchkins run all over the field.

Well - I got bored with the other template, so I updated it! Still working on links, etc... Whaddya think?

Did anyone hear about the fire in Berkley Township yesterday? Parts of the Garden State Parkway had to be shut down due to smoke and fire!

Damn It I had a whole long post written out and POOF! Gone

Good evening! We had a very productive day today. Paul didn't get home until 7am! The girls and I were up and doing our morning routine by 915. I mowed the front and side yard while the girls drew chalk pictures on the walkway. Paul woke up around noon. After lunch, I helped him take the cover off the pool. We didn't use chlorine last year. Instead, we used Biguanide. It's not as harsh on the skin and eyes. So, when we took the cover off, the water was pretty damn clear. The kids wanted to go swimming! Yeah, right.. NOT. Tomorrow, we will add the rest of the chemicals needed and we will probably be swimming by the weekend! YAY! Dinner tonight was quite simple - grilled steaks, mashed potatoes, fresh veggies for salad... yummy. After dinner, the girls wanted to go in the sprinkler. They lasted about 15 minutes. Well water is cold! Bath, book and bed! They were both in bed by 830 and I haven't heard a peep out of them! I have to teach Sunday School tomorrow and next Sunday. Then - I get the summer off from teaching! I need to find a craft for tomorrow - better late than never, eh?

Interesting article found on FoxNews - NEW YORK — A "lady" doesn't ask a man for a date, eat grits, forward joke e-mails or cuss at work — and she always knows which teams are playing in the Super Bowl. Some quotes from this article are: "According to the slew of new books on women's etiquette, a gal must follow the above rules or her reputation, and possibly her career and love life, will pay the price." and "Many men have thanked me for writing this book," she said. "They say they feel overpowered by female aggression and would love to see more ladylike behavior." Fucking dream on.

Another thing... Does anyone else find the "Pet Psychic" disturbing? She's a freakin nut. And.. I just love all of the DirecTV commercials. Heee.

I am watching Making Marines on the Discovery channel. The Drill Sergeants are very scary. I can't believe they have any voices left, judging by the way they scream at the newbies. They are filming the new recruits at Parris Island. The poor bastards. Paul got called into work about 20 minutes ago. Damn it. I did get to read some of my book club selection "Invisible Monsters". What a freak-ass book. Oy. VERY disturbing indeed!

I took Moira up to her allergist today. Poor kid - she is so full of snot (gross, I know). Her allergist is SO cool - he gives tons of samples and hands out scripts with NO problems. I take Olivia back next week for HER visit. They will be doing a RAST test (skin prick) and re-testing her food allergies. Ugh - poor baby. I have class tonight. We are staying home this weekend and (hopefully!) opening the pool! YAY!

As promised, I am posting pictures from yesterday's beach trip...
Olivia was having so much fun collecting shells.

I managed to get a picture of the 2 of us but it was tough.

She wanted to chase the sea gulls.

This is the front and side view of the MTV beach house. As you can see, nothing going on here.


Olivia passed out on the couch around 430pm yesterday. I had the hardest time waking her up for dinner!

Overall - it was a great day. Moira was upset we didn't take her but there will be plenty of time for all of us to make it to the beach soon. I grilled hot dogs last night and the kids had watermelon for dessert. What a mess!

WOW! Harry Potter ROCKED! I want to watch it again!

Hi! Just got back from the beach! Olivia and I got down there around11am and we wandered around the beach. It was a nice day although a bit foggy down by the water. Olivia was a little freaked out by the water, giving a little scream everytime the water came up close to her. It was pretty funny. There was one wave that snuck up on us and got our feet all wet! Of course, I was wearing my sneakers! Olivia was wearing her water shoes so she was ok. I took a bunch of pictures and I will post them up later. Oh - we also saw the MTV beach house. Nothing going on there but a lot of security and cops just hanging around. Gee - and I was hoping to see P. Doody or Diddy or whatever his name is today ::snicker::

I started work on my family tree last night. HOLY crap - I have a LOT of work to do! Thank goodness I have a lot of it written dowm. I wonder how I can (IF I can) search the Iranian databases. I will have to try to get my cousins or my uncles email addresses so I can get more information.

I picked up the new Harry Potter widescreen DVD for $14.97! Yeehaa! I know what I will be watching tomorrow night! I also bought Family Tree Maker so I will be starting to work on MY family tree and I want to attach Paul's extended family (which is BIG!) to it as well. I hope I am able to do that. Anyone use this program yet? I had class tonight. Jeff, the instructor, is really a nice guy. I like him. He gets off into some serious tech jargon every once in a while but we manage to veer him back on track. Not much else new tonight. Olivia is sleeping.. thank God. Moira, on the other hand sounded gross as I was leaving for school. I hope she is ok in the morning.

Liz aka The CandleLady is on hiatus. I will miss you sweetie. Keep in touch!

There is a man who attended the same HS as I (graduated 2 1 year ahead of me) who is being charged for aggrevated sexual assault of a child. Disgusting. I know of this person. I was friends (at one time) with his sister. I want to vomit. Scumbag

Around 1245am last night, I was having a grand old chat with Erin when Olivia woke up again. I gave her a second breathing treatment (during which she fell asleep) and finally got her back into bed by 2am. I woke up again at 715am to wake up Moira for school. Paul was home this morning so he took Moira to the bus stop and I went back to bed. Olivia woke up around 915am and then my Dad called. I am so glad I managed to get a little more sleep (I am yawning as I type) because I have class tonight.

Comedian Bob Hope is 99. Happy Birthday Bob.

A friend of mine who lives in the middle of Silicone Valley, CA just emailed me regarding a huge underground explosion at a large company, Novellus.She said she lives about a block away! I hope things are ok with her and her family. I have been checking the online news sources and there is no information as of yet.

Oh my God - I will be ::gulp:: 32! Or, as I like to say "20-12" or "I will be celebrating my 12th anniversary of being 20." ::sigh::

I wonder if my comments are now updated. I had a bunch of error messages before...

Just got Olivia into bed about 20 minutes ago.. the past 4 hours were filled with crying. The sad pathetic type of crying... the kind that breaks apart your heart and makes you want to do anything to fix whatever is wrong....

We just got back from the doctor's office. I took Olivia in just to be sure. I was right - post nasal drip. Lungs clear, ears clear. Damn - this is SO frustrating. Basically, she has a cold.

I was busy all day yesterday and by the end of the day, I felt so gross. I must have caught a cold from the kidlets (the little plague carriers). My nose was all stuffy and I had a sore throat. Olivia must have had those plus she has an awful post-nasal drip that is making her cough so hard she gags. Poor baby. She had a tough night last night. She coughed for a while before we finally got her up and sat her out with us. Olivia sat and watched Trading Spaces with us and got a nebulizer treatment. She coughed so much that she was wheezing. We got her back into bed around midnight. Paul is still working on our room. It's been a difficult process because we cannot empty the room. I have nowhere to put the furniture. Plus, the walls are pretty messed up. He had a LOT of spackling and patching to do around the room. So, he would alternate between painting, priming, spackling and sanding. At one point, he painted a happy face one of the unpainted wall and the kids went NUTS! They thought that was the coolest thing!

I just finished watching the HBO special about the Twin Towers. A very well done tribute. I cried through most of it. Listening to the messages left on people's machines was just so horrible.. I couldn't even imagine the pain the family members must be feeling... I just remember how scared I was when I didn't know where my brother was or if he was safe.

I hope everyone tonight watches the HBO special at 9pm, "In Memoriam:New York City". There is another extremely moving article written about the Towers from the NY Times. Read about it here.

I cleaned Moira's room today - this kid has a LOT of stuff. It was so bad that I couldn't make her do it - she would have had no idea where to start. I carted out 1 1/2 garbage bags of little crappy bits (broken toys, junk papers, tattered books, etc). My kid is a pack rat! Her room looks SO much nicer now. She is able to actually SIT at her desk. She is playing on her computer now. I figure next year - Olivia will get Moira's computer (Pentium 166 but great for the kiddie games like Reader Rabbit, etc) and we will buy her a new monitor. Moira will get our current system and we get a new one! Wheeeee! I am already debating what to get - laptop or tower. I do have a scanner albeit 600 dpi but it works. If I get a laptop, I would have to get a docking station for it and that seems like a pain in the ass. I think I will just get a tower with a nice 17 LCD :::rubbing hands gleefully::: and I am hoping we will have high speed access in our area! Well - I have to do some more work around the house. Paul is painting in our room and it's looking really good! I am so excited that my bedroom will be SO nice! YAY!

From Susan - hints and tips from the Trading Spaces gang. Thanks Susan! ::smile::

I have been watching Trading Spaces and laughing my ass off. The last home owner, upon opening his eyes, said "Oh Sh*t", followed up with "Where is the God Damn ceiling fan?" Geez buddy, you just got your entire room redecorated for free and you have the balls to bitch about a crappy fan? Putz.

So tired.. long day Went food shopping and stopped back at Home Depot for more flowers and dirt. Paul put up my new mailbox (pics to follow later), trimmed some dead tree branches and rotated our stockade fence (per Township code regulations - the previous owner put the fence up backwards - on purpose). I planted the rest of my flowers and did a bunch of laundry. BBQ'ed some chicken and made pasta salad... I might post more later.. depends if I fall asleep or not ::grin::

For all you Hello Kitty fans out there (Suzie), I found this link off Quinn's blog. Too funny!

Ok - perhaps this is a dopey question.. but.. here goes.. If I change my blogger template, will I lose my archives from THIS blog? I have been wanting to change my template, colors, etc but have been a little too chicken to try it lest I wipe out my archives, etc..

By the way - I hope everyone has a great (and SAFE) weekend. Paul and Moira are both off on Monday so I will be trapped with the 2 of them as well as Olivia. YIKES

It's Friday night... kids are in bed, Sinatra cd playing, candles lit, dishes done... and Paul isn't here. He is driving his Mom's carpet cleaner back to her house. They need ot for this weekend and we forgot to bring it down earlier this week. Oh well.. it's certainly nice and quiet! I got some planting done today. Red geraniums and vinca vines in my planter boxes on my back deck. Tomatoes finally planted (Big Boys, for anyone interested). I also transplanted a cute little pink geranium that Moira gave me for Mother's Day. In the front, I planted pink petunias (New Wave) and red impatiens (New Guina) in planters. I still have more planting to do tomorrow. I can't wait. I love to garden. I wish I had more time to do so. Plus, my soil is pretty crappy so whenever I plant anything in the ground, I have to make sure they are pretty hardy plants. I have mums that I planted 5 years ago and they are gorgeous. A beautiful burgandy color. They bloom twice a year for me, each blooming is more lush looking than the last. I will post up some pictures when I get everything set. My Dad has a nice garden and so does my Mom. Hmm - a talent inherited perhaps?

I don't know WHY I have class tonight. I think I will skip tonight. By the time Paul gets home, I will be pretty late for class. I can get the notes from someone in the class.

Just made it back from Home Depot. Bought a bunch of plants for my garden. I will finally have the time to PLANT! YAY! Paul will finish painting this weekend (I hope). He is on call this weekend.. I hope they don't call him into work. Ugh! My poor little town will be attacked with all you Northerners! If he gets called in, it will take him some amount of time to get to work. Getting home will take forever!

Friday Five! 1. What's the last vivid dream that you remember having? It's been a while... I don't really remember. 2. Do you have any recurring dreams? I don't think so 3. What's the scariest nightmare you've ever had? I dreamed I was being stabbed in a parking lot. The attacker was making these giant sweeping motions with his arms. I couldn't run away. Scared the snot out of me AND Paul. He tried to wake me up and I was pushing him away. 4. Have you ever written your dreams down or considered it? Why or why not? I almost always forget them before I get a chance to write them down anyway 5. Have you ever had a lucid dream? What did you do in it? This goes back to my nightmare - I remember trying to fight off my attacker with my hands and arms and getting stabbed in the process. After Paul woke me up, he said I kept looking at my arms and rubbing them. Weird.