Sick

"I cannot go to school today,"
Said little Peggy Ann McKay.
"I have the measles and the mumps,
A gash, a rash and purple bumps.
My mouth is wet, my throat is dry,
I'm going blind in my right eye.
My tonsils are as big as rocks,
I've counted sixteen chicken pox
And there's one more--that's seventeen,
And don't you think my face looks green?
My leg is cut--my eyes are blue--
It might be instamatic flu.
I cough and sneeze and gasp and choke,
I'm sure that my left leg is broke--
My hip hurts when I move my chin,
My belly button's caving in,
My back is wrenched, my ankle's sprained,
My 'pendix pains each time it rains.
My nose is cold, my toes are numb.
I have a sliver in my thumb.
My neck is stiff, my voice is weak,
I hardly whisper when I speak.
My tongue is filling up my mouth,
I think my hair is falling out.
My elbow's bent, my spine ain't straight,
My temperature is one-o-eight.
My brain is shrunk, I cannot hear,
There is a hole inside my ear.
I have a hangnail, and my heart is--what?
What's that? What's that you say?
You say today is. . .Saturday?
G'bye, I'm going out to play!"

I used to read this poem over and over again when I was in elementary school. Love Shel Silverstein-One of my favorites...

Devin is sick. Sick. Sick. Sick. I feel really bad for this little guy. He has really bad allergies and the wind has been bad here on and off for the last week and a half. He was having slight issues this past week but was OK and I held off on giving him allergy meds. This Sunday he started to get wheezy and a little more whiny. He was still OK enough when he woke up Monday am with just a little cough and not too much of a runny  nose. He only has 4 days left of school and really wanted to go so I sent him to school and told the teacher that his allergies were acting up and let me know if his breathing was too labored. I got a call from the school saying his breathing was really labored and he had a temp of 100.3. The ped could not get him in so I took him to Minute Clinic at CVS. She told me that his one ear was infected from allergy drainage and that he had a minor fever of 99.1. Gave me amoxicillian for his ear infection and albuterol for the nebulizer to help his cough. She told me to give him Claritin as well. His fever spiked to 102.2 when we got home from CVS and I gave him Tylenol and he took a nap (with a hacking cough.) He woke up and I gave him a breathing treatment and it did nothing so I called the ped and she said to wait two hours, do another and if that does not help go to the ER. Devin still could not catch his breath and was wheezy, dry coughing and short of breath when he tried to talk.

My fantastic neighbor stayed at the house with Riley while I took Devin into the ER. He was given a dose of Tylenol with codeine (since codeine is a cough suppressant), an oral dose of Prednisone and an hour long breathing treatment of adult strength albuterol. His admitting temp was 97.8 and within the hour his temp spiked to 102.6. He already had Tylenol in his system so the doctor was worried about this. He was watching him to make sure he did not have any febrile seizures and Dev was sent to radiology for chest xrays to rule out pneumonia. Films came back clear and he never seized.  The respiratory doctor was super nice and she said that she would not be surprised if Dev was diagnosed with asthma when he gets a little older. She said that Ash and Juniper? pollens are high now and with the winds Dev's little lungs cant keep up. I have no idea if this is b.c he was a preemie or not...but it stinks. Hopefully when we move to NJ he will only have issues in the spring and be OK for the remainder of the year. Vegas is one of the worst places for tree allergies and dust since it never rains to clean the air and its temperate throughout the year so trees bloom and re bloom. Here's to hoping he only has mild reactions to pollen, ragweed and mold. It is scary to see your little kid not able to catch their breath. We got discharged with the diagnosis of bronchitis and an ear infection (just as CVS said from allergy drainage.)

Today he is better. Still short of breath, not as nasaly and still won't eat. Since there's no mucus in his throat or chest mucinex won't help and there is nothing during the day besides claritin and the Tylenol with codeine he was prescribed last night. I can give him dimetapp at night to help suppress the cough so he can sleep. Did not help last night after we got home and him into bed...but today is a new day. I have so much to do around the house so hopefully he and Riley can watch some movies and occupy one another. 5 days left to finish everything up...Holy crow time is flying!

On a side note-Devin is one of the whiney-ist dramatic kids ever! I know he is sick and uncomfortable...but for example, we went to Spring Mountain Ranch to take some pictures the other day. A friend met up with us when we completed the kids shots and her kids and my kids were running around this pasture. Devin stubbed his toe (slightest stub ever!) and was a mess. Crying, shaking, snot dripping out of his nose, yelling that there was blood...mind you it was the smallest dot of blood (maybe a pencil eraser) and he just gets so worked up. I told him he needs to relax and calm down and cut it out. He totally over reacts and if he was really injured I would have more sympathy and patience but come on! I gave him an ultimatum that we would leave if he did not cut it out and he turned it off like that. Totally unneccesary behavior and ridiculous. He never had tantrums or outbursts of negative behavior but every now and then he does this dramatic, crying, snot flinging over reaction to minor injury. Other times he shakes it off and keeps going. Sometimes I think it is because he is embarressed and does not know what to do with his emotions, other times I think he just wants attention. I am SO not ok with wussy kids and if he needs a hug and a bandaid then ok-but I will for sure not entertain the over the top drama he creates. I sure hope I am not the only one who deals with this from a little boy. Girls are typically more delicate while Riley is tough as nails and Devin is my delicate one. What gives?  

Are we there yet?



tonights new do :)



On Friday hair length

I almost completely lost my cool tonight...but to alleviate the problem I had them take a bath in my garden tub. The kids love my bathtub because its super deep and big and they can swim around in it. They usually have a bubble bath in there since the water comes out at Niagara Falls speed the bubbles are AMAZING in our tub. Devin requested no bubbles since he wanted to swim tonight and "bubbles make it foggy." Well duh of course they do...so we did not do any bubbles and the kids practiced going under water and pretty much over flowing the tub tonight. They also discovered there is a slight slope at the back on the tub that they can slide down into the tub with. Great. I did give Riley a cute hair cut tonight though. I trimmed her hair a few days ago...but it was not short enough. I think it looks great toinght.

I had a pretty rough day today trying to get errands done and at home things done. I survived and all is good...but to be honest-it really blew. I am so over wrapping things in bubble wrap and figuring out what goes in what box size and at this point I just want to make a HUGE donation! I have so many pint glasses from college-Cornerstone and Plymouth...but do I still need them? I don't know. I do love them. They hold a special place in my heart for sure but it also means extra bubble and tape and careful placement in a box. What to do, what to do.

I am now having to accept that I am leaving Las Vegas in two weeks. I still have to book a hotel for Monday night the 6th for the kids and I. I seem to be putting it off since I am pretending it is not happening. It is on the to do list for tomorrow though. Reality is what it is and I have to swallow that, but for tonight I will act as if today is just another day and I get to hang out with my best girls whenever I want to.

I made a delicious dinner tonight and Riley ate all of hers as always and Devin put up a fight because he did not want to eat his veggies. I made BBQ chicken in a saute pan (so no char-god forbid there be any black from the grill) and green beans almondine with some carrots. I only gave Devin one carrot cut up in fourths and a half of a green bean cut in half. He was allowed to leave the table when he had a bite of carrot and a bit of green bean. I did not emphasize the chicken since he eats that all up everytime. We sat there for 49 minutes today by the time he had a bit of each. He gagged and heaved with them in his mouth while Riley chugged away at polishing off her entire plate. I mean seriously? I was stern tonight and did not let either one leave the table until dinner was complete. Devin did end up eating a piece of each (actually 3 carrot bites) and all the chicken. It is funny because I totally remember sitting at the table as a kid. He is old enough that it should be instilled if I know for sure it is something he will eat, and like tonight he whined and complained he was starving while I was preparing dinner.

I am still going to try and be super mom and TCB tomorrow. Have to get Dev off to school by 8, head to realtors office, run errands, get him and head home for lunch and packing. Heading off to bed now so I can do so. Every night one of the kids have been waking me up. Not both each night, but each one every night. Not needing anything, but jsut waking me up since I sleep so lightly. I get no sleep with these two dogs as it is. As you can see I am on my left side with Woody resting his head on my thigh and Cera behind me. (and I am not a small dog person as it is....) I would like one night in a hotel ALONE to take a shower alone, eat dinner quietly and slowly and to go to bed with noone else around once all of this is said and done!

Haven't lost my mind yet...



He is getting so great at coloring



I have to keep reminding myself that military families do this all the time. Not for a month-but for 6 months, a year or even longer. Then the devil on the other shoulder says, "They chose to have kids knowing their husbands would be gone." Then I take a step back and realize I am thankful that my husband will see the kids in 3 more weeks and is totally healthy and not at risk of dying at enemy lines and is just across the country working.

He has been gone for a week. I have been used to Frank traveling for work for a few days to a week at a time here and there and that is totally fine. Not hard, just a little extra tiring. Having said that, the first week is almost done and I am exhausted. Not only do I have to do the Mommy routine, I have to pack this house up which is the hard part. The further I get into it, the more daunting it really is. We still have 2.5 weeks left and I still need a lot of this stuff just to get by. Toys, TV, bedding, clothes, bathroom stuff and kitchen stuff are of the necessity. I also have to take into account that the movers will not have my stuff in NJ for 7-10 days after they leave my house in Las Vegas so I have to pack separately for what we will need to stay at my mothers house for a week to week and a half. Not to mention I have to break down stuff like our outdoor play things, and wrap all the tool in the garage in stretch wrap in addition to packing.  I ran out of boxes and ordered more on Sunday and they called yesterday to let me know they are backordered and will arrive on the 30th. So not ok. I have to go to a few stores and pick up some in my free time.  I really need to remember to buy wine at the supermarket when I go tomorrow. Oh and Devin does not nap. I have him doing a worksheet now so I can go through emails and such now.



today at Town Square



The kicker is going to be the day we leave. I will either grab a cab or a ride to the airport and have all my luggage to check (to have in NJ) along with the two car seats. Then going through security I will have the carry on bag with activities/food/drinks for the kids, two small dogs in airplane approved carriers (which are considered my carry on and Devin's) and two excited and probably exhausted/hungry kids since our flight leaves at 2pm (getting to airport at 12:30). I just hope for my own sanity the flight is not full and we have super nice flight attendants. God give me strength to make it through a 9 hour travel day with those 4 young beings. I am going to have to have Frank get a gate pass so he can meet us at the arrival gate. I know by then I will need a hand.

Things with the house seem to be moving along well. Inspection went well and the few action items are being executed for us. Our lovely new home has been wallpapered throughout...anyone want to come over for a "steam and removal" party? It is going to be super fun and definitely not something you want to miss out on! Then, after the super fun "steam and removal" of wallpaper party we may have a totally rad "clear the backyard brush party"-come on you know you want to come over for that! Anyone recommend a tree stump grinder company? Or someone to buy wood from for our first winter?

Flight is booked, moving company is set-I will be officially out of Vegas for good Tuesday Feb 7th at lunchtime. Sigh. 17 days and counting.

Moving along quickly-Saved 83.3% at Gymboree ;)

When Frank first left, we had 26 days until I flew to NJ. Now we are already at 21 days. I know the last 5 days zoomed right on by just like the next three weeks are. We most likely will fly out Tuesday Feb 7th or Wednesday the 8th. So three weeks from today I will be out-skis from NV. Weird....How packing SUCKS with a big fat capitol "S" but it is progressing smoothly. I ran out of bubble wrap but that was delivered within two days of me placing the order. Back to work here now with filling up boxes. I am not a pack rat and thank God for that. I have no baby stuff left over besides Riley's bedding (anyone know someone who needs frilly girl bedding?) and my diaper bag. I have CL-ed or donated everything else. That said, we still have so much stuff. It does not seem that way when it is all put away in it's place...but when you have to take all the stuff from cabinets and pack it in an organized fashion...it piles up. Safe Nest is my favorite place to donate stuff to since it helps women and families with small children so I have been making bags for them. I just wish they would pick up instead of me having to remember to bring the bags in the car to the drop off bins.

I really have no idea where my mind is these days. For example, today I had to go to the bank after I dropped Devin off to school. I drop him off and realize I forgot my deposit at home-which is 25 min away in the wrong direction. I also forgot to give Devin his allergy medicine so now he is all congested again. Gosh I suck. I really do need to start using post it notes again to keep myself more on top of the daily BS I have to take care of. I can honestly admit I forget to put deodorant on half the time. Rarely do I get to take a shower without a kid and when I do, but the time I am drying off and getting dressed at least one of them is in the vanity area with me. They both climb all over the place, want to put lotion on, want to clean out their ears, brush hair, f around with the water and so on...so yes, half the time I forget.  I was the same way with my bc pills. I actually had them taped to the fridge so I would remember to take them. I still forgot. I sure hope I am not the only one like this.

Gymboree gymbucks redemption started today so I preshopped last night. I usually do this without the kids but since I am a single mommy for a few more weeks I had no other choice but to bring them. The staff at my gymborees are SO nice and helpful. No matter who is working at either of the two locations I go to, they are always going above and beyond for me. I used to shop there a lot but this year I did shop Baby Gap more since they seem to fit my petite kids better. The earning period for these gymbucks started way back in Sept and went through yesterday. Over the last 4 months I earned $150 in Gymbucks so I had to spend $300 in merchandise to get the $150 off. Gymbo Corp wants people to use them for new line (Spring) and stock up on full price stuff....but that is not how I do it. I bought all fall/winter clearance from this year for next year. There was SO much for Riley and of course hardly anything for Devin. The lady working was super nice and went through the whole back stock for me of all the sale lines and was only able to find one, yes one outfit and it was ugly so I did not get it. I was able to put together one outfit for him which is cute. She did pull lots of jammies though for Devin and Riley which was awesome. Devin loves clothes as does Riley so they had a ball looking at new stuff. Devin really wanted a new pair of board shorts and rash guard but I talked him out of it saying he can pick it out in NJ this summer. I cannot really buy from toddler boy/girl for them anymore because that sizing is made for chubby kids while kid girl/boy is made more streamline (what I need.) I paid (after taxes) $162.41 and the total would have been $969.70 if bought at retail. I think that is a pretty good savings considering its 83% off and I will be able to make that back times a lot when I sell on EBay! There is one shirt not picture I bought for Riley but it doesn't go with anything but the penguin denim shirt and its plain purple. Lame. The unicorn stuff was sold out bottom wise, but it can go with jeans. Same with the snowflake shirt-perfect with a jean shirt and the decorative tights...Love good deals.

Our new house-kids sleeping in bed with you

Ok, now that inspections are done. Three day attorney review is up and all mortgage stuff is set up...I can get excited about the house we bought. Its official, we will be moving into Shamong in three and a half weeks. It is in Brotherton Acres/Shadow Lake right where Atsion meets Oakshade. Fantastic neighborhood and on a wooded acre lot! Cannot wait to make it ours. Frank has never lived in the woods and has never had a fire place EVER in his life so I cannot wait for him to experience cozy winters in our new home. I was a teeny tiny bit nervous about what he thought today when he saw it for the first time for the inspection. I went house shopping without him and since this is going to be our home for the long haul I was a little stressed out. Having checked out 12 houses in 2 days in three townships---I am super happy he is pleased. Lord knows it will be freezing when we move back in early February. South Jersey has not seen snow this winter (beside that random storm around Halloween) so I am guessing we will have a blizzard the week we move back. :) By now they should have seen 2-3 good storms....mother nature is just waiting for our arrival from the desert! I guess I need to buy boots, snow suits and some mittens for the kids. Haha more than the coordinating ones from Janie and Jack that are just knit.

We are slowly getting our bodies used to colder air. I turned our thermostat down three degrees so its not so much of a shock. I know it sounds silly, but it will help keep our heating bill down once we move. The temperature differential is much much greater in NJ than it is here for internal home temps. Devin tells me its freezing and Riley's little nose is always cold inside the house. Haha it is only 67* in here now but they are used to 70*. They wear slippers now all the time and Riley has been so much more snugly to "keep cozy." All I can say is Thank God we bought a house that has gas heat instead of oil. The majority of the other houses all had oil heat...whew glad I picked out one with gas especially since I do not remember how to cook with electric!

Since Frank is in NJ.....my cal king bed is way empty. We have NEVER allowed our kids to sleep with us in bed. I am completely anti bedsharing. I know some parents love it....it's not for me. Thank goodness Frank feels the same way. It is total BS that people said they had to because they nursed...blah blah blah. I exclusively breast fed and got my butt up and walked to the nursery, fed the baby in the chair, put the baby back to sleep (in their crib-alone) and walked back to my room. Whoa super hard and super exhausting. Insert laugh. I really do not understand why people want their kids in their beds. Not only are you giving them a dependency and will have to break them of it, but you are eliminating any alone/private time with your partner. Devin has been in his own room since he was 7 weeks old. Frank made his crib and that is when it was complete. Riley went into her room at 8 weeks as well and would have been sooner, but we went to Hawaii when she was 7 weeks and I figured it would have been easier to transition her when we got back. Both have been solid sleepers since I have been consistent with keeping them in their own rooms/bed ALONE. That said, when I took Riley to potty when I was getting ready to go to bed, Riley wanted to snuggle with mommy last night since Daddy was on an airplane. I thought about it and said no and put her back in her room. I will stick to my guns with this one. Now is definitely not the time for me to start loosing sleep or having to readjust them.  Again- to each his own, but no way Jose in this house. 

about the move-Devin sat in Kindergarten for a lil math!

Holy crow life is in fast forward right now. I flew back in from NJ last night and Frank flies out Sat mid afternoon. He is there to stay though....he will have to come back to NV for some testing at work now and then, but for the most part-he will be a NJ resident.

The shipment of boxes arrived last Thursday am 4 hours before I was to fly to NJ so I was able to pack only 5 boxes. I have packed three more so far today and holy hell is this over whelming. I can do it, but there is just so much to do. I have to leave the play room out since I will be here alone with the kids until moving day and they DEFINITELY need their toys to keep me sane.

Surreal. I know I have used that word before to talk about this, but that is really the only way I can describe this feeling. Coming up on 5 years here in Las Vegas (the longest Frank and I have lived anywhere in 9.5 years) we have been told we are moving....to Sonoma, CA, then Orange County Cali....and now NJ. Now its real. We are moving. To NJ. In very little time. After going back there this weekend I am more excited than ever to get back to woods, water, seasons and of course friends and family.

Then today once the dust settled with what is going on with the move, I started to think about actually leaving. I am leaving Las Vegas. I am leaving a great group of ladies I have grown to love. Every other place we moved we were only there for 9-18 months. I made friends and besides some ladies in PGH, I really have not stayed in contact with any. Here, I made friends and they are awesome. I really will miss them, and I cannot believe in 4 short weeks I will have to say goodbye. For some of them, I will probably never see them again. With us all having kids it will make it hard to reunite especially since the ladies I am friends with are not all friends with one another. It is not like we can do a girls weekend to catch back up. I do have faith that I will see a few of them since they have family on the East coast so maybe we can rendezvous...It is just sad. I got all choked up the two times I started to mention it this morning....and Frank will not even be here to watch the kids so we can go out for one or two more happy hour girls time.

Devin is doing very well in school. Today he went into the kindergarten at his school which is down in another wing. At his preschool they typically send the 4 year olds into the Kindergarten classrooms later in the spring (kind of like an orientation) so they have an idea what they will be going to next fall. I think that is a great idea. Devin got to go today not for orientation though.  Now here is the SUPER DUPER proud moment. He got to go today to sit in on their math lesson. He is excelling so much in the 4 year old room that they wanted to see how he would fair in the kindergarten class. He of course was not shy and blended right in with the kids. Teacher said he did very well and enjoyed it. YAY! I am very happy and reassured that we made the right choice to send him to Kindergarten this fall even though he will be just turning 5 this summer.

Riley Mae is awesome. She plays so well independently and is a pleasure to be around. She talks and talks and talks nonstop but says some super funny things. She now calls Frank "honey" then laughs and says "just kidding." She sings and imitates Ariel and the girl bird from Rio all the time and of course can full on "talk" her babies and dollies when playing upstairs. She still changes 2-3 times a day and thankfully is much neater when she eats so I am removing less stains. She and Devin were talking about what they want in their new rooms when we move. Devin wants Spiderman sheets he saw in the PBK catalog and Riley wants Barbie. I am not really into the Spiderman duvet they have so he will have to settle with just the sheets under his sports bedding. Riley can get Barbie sheets too if I can find them? Maybe EBay?

In a few more days I will fill y'all in with the house info...but I can say moving time is second week of Feb.

weekend of playing outside-almost go time



Temperatures are super mild right now in the valley. It is about 60* and sunny and I love that. Nights are still freezing into the 30's but the days have been warming up big time. We took full advantage of it this weekend. Friday we went to Spring Mountain Ranch within Red Rock Canyon. Super beautiful and lots of great photo ops. Too bad I forgot to bring my camera. Boo! My cell did take some decent ones and I will definitely be taking the kids there one day this week for some real picture time with the SLR.  It is actually a very historic and cool place. The farm house (on the ranch) is very 60s and has a lounge, few  bedrooms, great room, bathrooms and kitchen.

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at the pond

There is still a wet room off the pool deck which has stone flooring with a shower and sink to freshen up from the pool. The kitchen's appliances are all that avocado green and of course General Electric. Some lady named Vera Krupp? used to live there as well as Howard Hughes. Hughes used it as a retreat and a place to do business while in Las Vegas. Spring Mountain Ranch really does offer great history from the Spanish trail up to the 70's when the Nevada park system took it over. On the grounds beside the main house is a blacksmith, stables, ranch hands quarters, an outhouse and two other buildings that we couldn't get access too. There is also a pond (they call a lake) and of course the area that was the (at one time) working ranch.  It stands at 3800 feet so it was cool and beautiful out there. This is only about 5 minutes from my house and I had never been there. Shame on me. I loved it. Can't wait to go back this week.



Yesterday we went to Valley of Fire which is another Nevada State park. It is about an hour from us north of the city in the middle of no man's land. We have been here a few times before but it is one of those places that just is rich in history and education as well as a fun place to spend the day outside. The kids LOVED climbing all over the rocks and playing in the sandy dirt. There are petroglyphs that are 3000+ years old and some petrified wood along the cool red sandstone formations. The ancient people lived there starting around 300-1150

AD-how cool right?! I love old history, and to see it still on the walls of some of these formations is just so cool. We spent about 2.5

hours hiking and climbing before we made our way back to the valley. Weather was phenomenal there too ranging from 52-68 depending where we were.

Frank only has one more weekend here until he heads East and I will be away in NJ that weekend. We wanted to try and squeeze as much in as possible these last few weeks we are together here. We will be getting a sitter a few more times just so we can go out on the strip to take in as much as possible before it is go time. The packing supplies I ordered last week are all here but the boxes. They are back ordered! Go figure. So now I wait until they arrive until I can start to organize and pack away everything. Will update everyone on my date leaving as well as where we are going as soon as we know. If you want to come to Vegas and visit-hurry your ass up since time is short and definitely running out. We will have been Las Vegas residents for just under 5 years by the time we depart. Weird how that time has gone by that fast!