Gobble Gobble Gobble

At Hayley's kindergarten evaluation, her evaluator said "Wow, her verbal skills are EXPLOSIVE!"

*Hmmmmmmmmm Where did she get that from???

And she laughed at the picture & asked if she could keep it.  I'm sure to put in her permanent record & to show the guidance counselor at the school.

We had another round of MRSA with Hannah.  If you don't know what it is, that is probably good.  I won't get into details, because it is gross.  She has been on antibiotics for 6 days & it is almost back to normal.  (Yes, nurse friends, she WILL finish the 10 days).

I should get some pictures up here soon! We had some cute ones taken at Penneys a couple weeks ago.  I'll see what I can do.

**Clarification**

In my earlier post today, I casually mentioned "Hannah" & "Pediatric Cardiologist" in the same sentence.
I guess that isn't nice!  Most of you didn't know the situation...

So here's the story:
Hannah has had a heart murmur since birth.  Apparently MOST kids have them until they are about 5... some pediatricians don't say anything  because they are 'normal' & no need for alarm.

However, Hannah's doctor didn't like what she heard at her 3-year well-child appointment.  It didn't sound quite normal to her - so to be safe, she sent us to the Children's Heart Clinic in Minneapolis.  We didn't really say anything about it because it was just a second-opinion type of deal.  We didn't even tell Tim's parents until we were on our way to the appointment.  We decided IF something turned out to be wrong, they should be in the know before hand!!

They took a chest X-Ray and listened to her heart for about 15-20 minutes.

Dr. Singh decided it sounded like "half of the kindergarteners in the state"& we could go home.

End of story!

Last year, at Hayley's 4th-year well-child exam, Dr. Benson sent her for an EKG within the clinic for her heart-murmur and they sent the strip to children's heart clinic for interpretation... I guess they can't do that anymore.

Just the Facts:

*Hayley has her Kindergarten Screening today.  She drew a picture for the evaluator.  A "mommy" bunny in the middle of the page, being attacked by approximately 20 large snakes.  There is a baby bunny in the corner of the page "watching his mommy get eaten."  Oh, my.  the child psychologist is going to LOVE that picture!

*Tim's foot is getting better

*Our refrigerator passed away last week.  It was 25 years old.  We were blessed with a WestRidge orphan.  My work had a kitchen-renovation plan where they took perfectly good 8 year old refrigerators and replaced them with brand new ones.  So, now we have about 5 - 10 fridges in the garage waiting for a home.  I learned how to switch the doors/hinges/handles on a fridge!

*Our new fridge is taller than the old one, so we had to rip down the cabinets on that side of the kitchen.  We uncovered a scrap of wall-paper from 1971.  WOW that place was colorful at one point in time!

*Our new health insurance was supposed to save money, but I feel like we have spent 10x more $ in the past month than we did in the past YEAR with our old insurance.  But Tim also went to the urgent care or clinic 4 times in 2 weeks. (with a $45/copay each time).

*The Pediatric Cardiologist we were referred to by our pediatrician wasn't In-Network.

*FYI: It costs $500 to spend 10 minutes with a pediatric cardiologist.

*Just how many Pediatric Cardiology clinics are there in Minneapolis? One.
**Update** I just called the insurance company.  The Cardiologist will be fully covered -minus the co-pay- because the pediatrician didn't send the referral letter to the insurance company.  Really? Do insurance companies really think I would just take my 3 year old in to a cardiologist JUST FOR FUN?? Silliness.

*Hannah gets her H1N1 vaccination on Thursday morning.

*Cub and Rainbow both claim to have the lowest price on turkeys in the state.  Cub is 37-cents a pound & Rainbow is 42-cents a pound.  SOMEONE needs to take their "claim" down, or adjust their price.

(One of those things has NOTHING to do with my family... but it really bugs me).

I'm a WINNER!

I am SO excited!

My cyber-friend, Kathleen, had a contest on her blog from Yoplait ... AND I WON!

I only had to answer a question about snacks & YAY!  (Come-on.  Who knows more about snacking than ME & my house?!?)

I'll receive a coupon for a Yoplait Kids yogurt, a travel cooler (to take your yogurt on-the-go), a fun spoon that changes colors in warm water, a reusable place mat with games to keep the kids happy while snacking, and a fuzzy tangle puzzle for some after-snack fun.

THANK YOU KAT!  She did inform me that it was random, so she didn't pick favorites :) LOL but I know I'm her favorite Minnesotan (unless she's a big Prince or Bob Dylan fan...).

In Other news:

Hayley turned 5 last week.  She is SO proud of this.  "I'm 5 - just like Vinnie".

Hannah is settling into "3" quite well.  She puts her hand up like the "Okay" symbol & yells - "THIS IS MY NUMBER!"  She should go work for Sleep-Number beds!!!

Tim is recovering from a tragic, life altering injury/illness. :P  He hurt his baby-toe.  Before you roll your eyes & say "big Baby"... he really had a problem!  He had a miriad of problems on his baby-toe & they all worked together to create much pain, 2 trips to urgent care, 2 trips to a podiatrist, an Xray, a strong Rx ibuprofen, antibiotics, a soft-walking boot/cast thing... but now he is healing quite well.  He still has some pain, but NOTHING like a week ago.  (Trust me, you do NOT want details, which is why they aren't included).

I came home (reluctantly) from camp yesterday.  Mom & I went up on Friday for Quilting retreat.  I scrapbooked until Saturday evening and got caught up in Hannah's Professional portraits album!  I want to scrapbook the 2nd & 3rd months of her life sometime.  I'd also like to do Hayley's 2nd year of life.  BUT something tells me they might be 16 before that happens.

There you go! Our week in a nut-shell.

Calgon... Take Me Away. ReMax? Take me Away?

Seriously - wasn't that phrase used by both companies?

It has been one bad week so far (it is Tuesday!).

First - my Vikings lost on Sunday.  It is Tragic.  We are NO longer "one of the only undefeated teams in the league". 

Yesterday, within 15 minutes of getting to work, the phone rang 13 times & I had 4 people in my office.  NOT kidding.  One man came down, said "Oh, I'll just wait for Denise. (and stare at you for the next 45 minutes)."

Today, as I was rushing to leave work, the phone rings & I answer (WHY?!).
It is an elderly woman that doesn't live at WestRidge.  She *thinks* she is signed up for a defensive driving class on Tuesday...
Conversation as follows:
I'm sorry Ma'am, you'll have to call back in about an hour and talk to Denise. She's in a meeting right now and isn't available.
"De.. what? Can you spell that?"
"D-E-N-I-S-E"

Oh, D-I-N-S-E-E? That's interesting.

"yes."

"So, can you tell me about the class?"

Ma'am, you'll have to call back in about an hour and talk to Denise.
So, where is RestWood? What are you? are you a building?

**insert steam coming from my ears**
"We are a Retirement Community - an Apartment Building"

OH! An Intern Community?

"yes."
"Can you tell me where you are?"
394 and Hopkins CrossRoad.  You go north one block to Fairfield Road.
"Oh, I live in Hopkins. Well, actually it is Minnetonka.  But it is close to Hopkins."
"nice"
So, I've never heard of West Road.  Can you tell me how to get there?  I live really close to Hopkins."
"Ma'am, can you tell me, are you closer to 169 or 494?"
OOOOH! I'll give you my address - I live on Sanibel Drive. I don't know what highway I would take. How do I get to RestRidge?
"Ma'am, I can't tell you how to get to West Ridge until you tell ME what road you are closer to."
"Oh, I just don't know.  I live in Hopkins."
I will just give you directions from 169, okay...

Oh, I live in Hopkins.

Okay - let me give you directions from 169...

*insert something about living in Hopkins and can I ask you something about a driving class?  I think I'm signed up for it.


PEOPLE - THIS LADY IS DRIVING.

Then, Hannah discovered that Corn Syrup makes great finger-paint.

Did someone say... Consignment Sale??

OH MY GOODNESS! I just found my new obsession.
Just Between Friends.

It is a twice-a-year consignment sale.  I have tried to attend and/or participate for the past 2 years, but the spring sale usually coincided with our annual trip to Florida.  This spring I attempted to do it and I missed the "Drop off your things on Tuesday" memo.  WHOOPS!

One day, I was cleaning out the 24m-2T tub that is sitting in our room & decided to set apart some things for the sale.  I ended up sending 60 items to the sale & only took home about 15!  Three of them I highly overpriced because I wanted to say "I tried", but didn't want to actually sell them.  (Winnie the Pooh & Piglet Halloween costume + a Disney Trival-pursuit game).  I noticed today that I never rubbed the $1.80 price marking from the thrift store where I BOUGHT the Disney trivia game... ! LOL! Maybe that is why no one bought it. "WHA?! She only paid $2 for it & is trying to sell it for $10? I don't THINK so!"

I volunteered for one shift, so I was able to get into the pre-sale the night before it opened as well as the 1/2-Price Day pre-sale.  (I only wanted to find Christmas Dresses for the girls and snow-pants for Hayley).  Those women are CRA-ZY!  I swear I saw one woman with 2 laundry baskets and a baby-stroller... all 3 piled WAY higher than the woman was tall.

But I DID get a SUPER cute Gymboree outfit for Hayley for $15 - 5 pieces: Hoody/zipper Sweater, Long-sleeved shirt, Skirt, Leggings and matching socks.  Some of you just said "WOW! Awesome deal!!"
But for those who just said "What is Gymboree & why would you pay $15 and be excited?"... Gymboree sells very nice clothes for kids. Kind of pricey for me normally - a pair of jeans for a 4 year old would cost $25-$30... (but they will never wear out.)  A Sweater could be $30 easily.  The outfit I got - each piece probably averaged $20 brand new.  She wore it to church today & looked SO adorable.

Well, anyway - Spring 2010 will be Sale #2!

(Oh, and I made almost $100!!!!)

Time-Saving Tuesday

I feel like part of our jobs as friends, women, mothers and wives is to share the things that make our lives easier with each other.

Today it is Downy Wrinkle Release spray. 

In the past I have laughed at the commercials... "Yeah, right.  NO WAY that works."  But in preparation for the consignment sale, the organizers highly recommended it to get rid of the storage wrinkles.

I'm not saying it works on the super-wrinkely khaki pants I pulled from the bottom of "THE PILE" on Sunday.  But, it totally worked on the stuff that had little wrinkles... you know - the crease down the middle of the shirt, the pocket that is flipped up, the hem-line that won't stay down.  It is perfect for the clothes in the laundry basket that have been neglected for a day or two. (or a week).  Our dressers have VERY small drawers & our shirts always get all scrunched up. 

I am almost positive that it is 98% water, 1% fragrance and 1% whatever "Fiber Relaxant" is.  BUT I don't care. IT WORKS.  I would recommend looking for a coupon because it cost $6.50. It is a pretty big bottle, though. 

The fact my kids won't look like a neglected basket of laundry and the lack of ironing I'll have to do is priceless.
*insert Master-Card commercial here*

(also, stop laughing.  Just because I bought an ironing board in May & it sat - still wrapped in plastic - in my front entry way until September... doesn't mean I don't iron!!!)

Happy Half-Birthday To ME!

Why don't we celebrate half-birthdays? 
My friend & co-worker, Noelle, came to work this AM with a Large Pumpkin Spice Latte from Caribou for me.  I told her there were very few other ways I'd like to celebrate my 1/2 birthday than with a PSLatte from Caribou.

So, if you haven't checked out my Challenge-blog, do it.  It is so much fun to have a super-long TO DO list.  I was doing something last night & Tim mentioned going to the drive-in.  He said "Then you can cross that off your list."  I can't tell if he was being helpful, or sarcastic that I had to put that on the list.  He's been BEGGING me to go to a drive in for the past 4 years.

I have been a cleaning-out FOOL! LOL  Between my list & this upcoming consignment sale I'm participating in, I have been digging deep.  The only problem with sorting, organizing, shredding... is the 'normal' housework gets neglected.  I feel like I worked for 5 hours on Sunday afternoon... & I did.  But it was sorting all the too-small clothes and the summer clothes & the laundry that has been piled high.  That means the dishes didn't get done & the girls' room was pretty... well... normal.

Cross your fingers for me!  I have 65 items going to a consignment sale tonight.  If I even sell half of the stuff, I will net $150!  I know that isn't much, but it is half of the next pre-school payment.  That will be awesome.

October 13, 2009

This week brings back so many fond memories.  It is the week we traditionally had our first "Break" from school! MEA weekend.  When I was in Junior & Senior high, our youth group always went to the MEA retreat or SHOUT as it was later known. 

How much fun was that weekend?!  Well, it was the first opportunity to see most of your camp friends since the summer.  It was an opportunity to see all the cute boys that didn't go to camp.  We usually got to see our Camp Counselors/Staff members because most of them lived at Bethel & would come visit with us.

We stayed at the Salvation Army camp near Silver Lake Road in Shoreview/Saint Anthony.
We went to Bethel & had volleyball & 4 vs. 4 basketball competitions, that SOMEHOW my team won like 4 years in a row.  There was the singing/instrument competitions that were fun, but I was never "good enough" to WIN WIN. The Bible Quiz.  Oh.  We kicked butt at Bible Quizzing.  (well... we would usually take 2nd or 3rd, but still...)
And most of all - during the weekend - we would celebrate the birth of my bestest friend in the entire universe... Chad Gallagher.  Oh, wait.  No. 
MISS KRISTA ANTOINETTE KOPPENDRAYER!! 
(To be fair, she did share birthdays with Chad).

So, all this tripping down memory lane is to say "HAPPY BIRTHDAY DARLING!"

101 in 1001

Okay, so some of my 'cyber-mommy' friends have been talking about a project called "Day Zero". You choose 101 things to accomplish in 1001 days. Then you choose a starting day and go for it!

I have decided to create a separate "blog" to track my challenge. that way, this blog can be about family things & the other can be exclusive to my list.

The web-address is: http://saras101in1001challenge.blogspot.com

More Pictures, anyone?

Is it just me...

Or did June TOTALLY fly by?

Well, my diet challenge went like this in June:

1. Get SUPER fired up to loose weight
2. Get the Jillian Michaels DVD from NetFlix
3. Be totally motivated & do the DVD for 5 days straight
4. Realize how silly I must look to Hannah when I'm trying to do the bicycle crunches (because that SOOOO matters)
5. Realize that reading books is WAY more fun...
6. Take a week off & lend the DVD player to Amanda...
7. Be convicted of this break & take a walk 3 days in a row to the park.
8. Realize it is July & re-dedicate myself to my challenge.
9. Step on the scale & realize Baby Lofstuen was 6" & 11 ounces & I only lost half of his birth-weight... not all of it (but hey! that's 3 1/2 pounds less than I was in May, right?!)
10. Now, I am looking 6 weeks down the calendar & my new goal is... -10 pounds by Florida!!

Day Three...

Can't
Get
Away
From
FaceBook.

Must Do workout.
Must Eat (make) dinner.
Must Clean living room.

Must
Return
To
FaceBook...

Today is a hard day to be motivated. Not because I hurt (which I do, but whatever)... Not because I don't want to do the workout (which I don't really...) Not necessarily because my neck hurts from trying to watch the video and exercise ... all while trying not to use my neck muscles to do the crunches...

Mostly because I'm addicted to FaceBook and now my Blog update! LOL.

Now that I have openly admitted that... I'm closing down FB (for now) & going to hit the mat. The girls both fell asleep so this is a great opportunity to do it without them underfoot.

Stolen Picture Alert!

So, I stole this from Carrie... who stole it from Lois (after Lois sent it to her)...

Great Auntie Lois (Soon to be "Grandma" Lois) & Hannah Jase!

By Popular Demand

SOMEONE I love dearly (named Renee) has specifically asked for some pictures of the girls!
SO, FINE!


Hayley much preferred this ^^^ than the following picture:


No, that isn't excitement & pleasure on her face... Sheer Pure Fear

Hannah, of course, wanted to climb up the shed & jump off the roof...


Daddy makes the greatest floaty-pool toy.


Sistaz 4eva


Tonight at the park. She drew an apple. Then we drew chalk-outline bodies.
Some lady walked by & exclaimed... "WOW! She is really a good artist!"
(duh, woman... her 32 year old mother drew the bodies... she is just filling them in)


Hannah will not LOOK at the camera for more than 2 seconds... and she for SURE won't smile.
So, this is what I get!

Week 2?

Today I started the Jillian Michael's 30-day Shred DVD.

It is about 20 minutes of a circuit training program... starring everyone's FAVORITE Female butt-kicker from Biggest Loser... She was actually really awesome in the video. She and her double-six-pack abs & her perfect-arms telling me the burn is GOOD and it will get easier. HA!

I had to modify it a little, because I knew my neighbor-down-stairs was home and didn't want to do 60 seconds of jumping jacks... so I did "Half-Jacks" (3/4 jacks?) Just one leg & both arms involved...

But everything else was TOTALLY doable! The girls really got into it & I now need to get them some 2-pound weights... they fought over mine every time I put them down.

During the "legs shoulder width-apart" sections.. yup. Mommy = Bridge.
So, most of my workout was spent trying NOT to step on the girls.

Hayley called it the "Exercise is Fun" video!

Off to some mommy-time... bath & books are next on the agenda. Maybe I can read books WHILE they are in the bath... multitasking.

Hayley announced "All your typing is making me CRAZY! Let's GO!"

I love her.

And the Result is.... (drum roll, please)

Tim is down 6-pounds.
Sara Lou is down 5-pounds!

YAY US!

my 5-pounds is a bit sketchy, because I weighed on one of those doctor's balance-scales, so I didn't REALLY get an accurate reading, but heck - it is 5-inaccurate pounds less than last week! LOL.

(but I did weigh-in on my digital scale, that I trust more for some reason, so I have a good starting # from there as well).

AND my friend Amanda challenged me to do Jillian Michael's "30-Day Shred" work-out DVD with her. She started over the weekend & I was SUPPOSED to start Monday, but will start when that dang video arrives. (I found it on NetFlix FOR "free"!) She said there are push-ups involved. YIKES!

BTW - Jillian is that annoying, but completely lovable brunette trainer from Biggest Loser. I'm going to imagine punching her in the face at the end of each work-out to make it through! LOL! BUT - I must say, SHE is what people like me need! Someone who cares enough to kick-my-butt.

So, I am going to eat my turkey-meatloaf.
(Jenn Hammond... I'm thinking about you with every-bite! LOL)

The Summer of Losers

No matter how many people tell me "wow, those pants are FALLING off you"... or "Wow, your hips looks smaller"... or "Sara, you have been loosing a TON of weight..."

They are all W R O N G.

I weigh approximately the same as I did the day I came home from the hospital with Hannah. & that isn't a pretty place to be.

So in order to get the scale to catch up with what my body is apparently telling people... We're ON. (oh, I don't see what everyone's talking about... I feel like I look pregnant when I look down... AND I AM NOT!).

Timmy wants to loose 60# between now & August 6th (which is totally achievable for him)... and I'd like to loose *something*! I hate giving myself a number, because, TO ME, it is just a number to fail. Seriously - if I say "I want to loose 5 pounds this week"... and loose 2... I say "Well, I failed my goal, so I might as well give up. Hand me those Oreos!" [mmmmmmm. Oreos]

No, that isn't mentally healthy or right - but it is me. Until I can change the way Sara Lou thinks... I'm going to say: "I want to loose something before Florida".

I'd love to loose 40#, but that is jinxing the whole thing. SHhhhhhhhhhh Don't tell me I said that.

How about this guideline: Between now & his birth, I want to loose as much weight as Cousin Carrie's Baby weighs (at birth). That is *on average* 7 1/2 pounds... and I have about 3 weeks to go. I'm PRETTY sure I can do it.

So. Now that this post is all about weight loss... Please - feel free to ask me how I'm doing!!

The loser this summer - I hope - is Hannah's Diaper Drawer. Crossing my fingers that she can be potty trained (mostly) before our trip in August... or at least before her 3rd Bday in September. She knows what's going on *down there*. She is just too stubborn to do anything about it. As long as it is HER idea... it will happen.

Off to watch some tv-shows... I mean... read the new book mom gave me... I mean... read my darling daughters some good night stories before tucking their precious heads into bed.

The Merry Month of May

So far, So good. I haven't seen a flake of snow for... about 4 weeks. I think it's gone. It is now officially safe to go outside.

Tim & I survived our birthdays. I took Tim to a hotel for his birthday (Easter Sunday). I wish I could say it was super fun, but we walked in the room, Tim laid on the bed & promptly fell asleep. He slept all night. He had been sick for about a week, so it was good catch-up for him. But I had planned on going to Dave & Buster's for some dinner & "play-time" (Dave & Busters is like Chuck E. Cheese for the "over 12" crowd.) ~ Planned on staying up really late eating popcorn and watching a movie or two...

Instead, I ordered a pizza & sat in the hot tub watching Friends. by myself. Wheee.

On my birthday weekend, I drove to Iowa with my mom & grandma & daughters to celebrate my "twin-cousin" & her coming-soon baby-boy! We had a great trip. I took the day off ON my birthday. I hung out with my husband & girls in the morning & in the afternoon, went to Sara Jo's house and she & I went on a "Dual Birthday Date". We are such moms. We got our hairs cut and ended up buying Milk at Target.

Remember when we used to just 'hang' out? watch movies (or pretend to watch movies while we sat & talk all night long)...

We did manage to sneak in a fabulous dinner at Outback in between ~ We even got free birthday dessert & not just a scoop of ice cream. Nope, she let us have our cheese cake & "Thunder from Down Under" Brownie!!! Happy Birthday US!

Well. That brings us up to now.

Hayley's gymnastics is done for the next 2 months. It starts up again mid-July. IF we enroll her. I'm torn because Gymnastics is at 6:15 on Wednesday. "church" starts at 6:30pm. I definitely think church is more important... but gymnastics has been so good for her. There is another gymnastics option for her on Saturday mornings at 9:45. We don't DO 9:45am.

We haven't decided if we are going to go to Wednesday-night at our church, or do AWANA at my parents' church. I LOVED AWANA when I was a kid... & I could hang out with Sara Jo during AWANA at Oak Grove ;)... But since we are trying to get more involved at our church, I think that is more logical for us. Plus they have Women's Bible Study during Wednesday night kid-time & child-care for Hannah. "Our" church has AWANA on Sunday nights...

BUT - I want Hayley in Gymnastics. She LOVES it, I think she is getting braver, stronger and more adventurous (she even did the Monkey bars BY HERSELF on the playground.).

(I might have to bite the bullet and get up on Saturday AM.)

Okay - it is a beautiful day & I am "wasting" it by sitting inside at the computer.

On to the Park We Go!!

Easter Photos

Here are some pictures of our Easter!

We saw Mister Easter Bunny at The Woods in Maple Grove!


Dying Easter Eggs:





(or... hand dying?)







Mom thought she'd make our Jello healthier by adding some Beans... JELLY BEANS!

So the results are in....
She doesn't have Whooping Cough.
Or even "False Whooping Cough".

Today we went to a park near our house. I noticed something lumped around Hannah's ankle. Her diaper had ripped at the tab & slipped down her leg. Well, she was about to go down the big slide... something she's been afraid of... so I didn't want to slow her progress down with something as trivial as a diaper. After all, she has been potty-training & she knows pee-pee goes in the toilet or diaper... and she has some great bladder control. I didn't think 2 minutes would matter (famous last words of a mom)... YOU ALL KNOW WHAT IS COMING! She slid down & then on her way back up... she pee'd all down her leg, promptly ending our trip to the park.

Note to self. NEVER leave a potty-training child diaper-less. Ever.

This upcoming weekend, the girls & I are headed to IOWA!!

And by girls, I mean, Hayley, Hannah, My mom AND my Grandma.
PARTY ON WAYNE,Party on Garth.
My Twin-Cousin*, Carrie, is expecting in June and we are attending her shower.

The "good" parts of this trip will be:
I get to sit in the back of the van with the girls & the DVD player.
We are staying at a hotel that has a pool.
We get to go to Carrie's Shower (Crossing fingers for silly Shower Games... my specialty).
I get to see Auntie LaLo & Laura.
AND I get to share a bed with one of my babes.

By "Share" I mean... no matter HOW big the bed is,
a) I will be grabbing the edge while pushing a foot away from my face or a fist out of my gut...
b)Maybe mom & I should share a bed and let the girls fight it out in theirs.
OR...
c) the girls can camp out on the floor & mom & I get our OWN space.

Me thinks plan C is the winner.

Well, I have pictures from Easter Sunday. On the Camera. Locked in the glove box in the car.

I know the suspense is killing you, but you'll have to wait.


*Twin Cousin... we are basically the same person in different bodies. We don't look alike, but we have the same sense of humor, the same outlook on life, talk the same, walk the same, we have the same grandma... TWINS!

Seventeen Days.

That is all it took to get me back to my blog. I just feel I have nothing exciting to say!!!

But let me tell you about our "excitement"!

Hannah & Hayley have had "weird-to-mom" coughs the past week. So I took Hayley in to the doctor today. (Her's seems to be more aggressive and a bit more harsh than Hannah).

The Pedi. said he wanted to test her for WHOOPING COUGH! What?? is this 1942? Apparently there are outbreaks of W.C. in the area and even though she's all inoculated, she can still develop this "bacterial infection of the lung" So they stuck a cotton-tipped wire up her nose to scrape the back of her nasal passage...

I'd LOVE to report she was nice and calm. HA HA HA !!! Have any of you met my drama-mama?? It took me & an LPN to hold her down. The RN doing the test said "WOW! She's strong for a 4-year old girl."

Here are a couple pictures for your viewing pleasure:



Hayley is enjoying her Gymnastics class. I'm not sure if an Olympic career is in her future. I think she is already taller than most Olympic Gymnasts...


Tim & I took the girls to the Children's Museum on Family Free Day in March.
The third Sunday of the month - everyone's free! & if you park at Macy's... FREE Parking.

Tim had to tell me no less than a hundred times to stop making the girls POSE for pictures, because we were there for them to have fun!! WHAT?! If you can't make a photo shoot out of it, it isn't worth it!!

(Tara... Tim said "Look, it's Antie! He didn't really die!")

And finally... since I didn't go out much with the girls this winter, Hannah decided to take matters into her own hands.

and made...

Salt-Angels.



I learned my lesson after Hayley made "Formula-Angels" 2 years ago... so I took some pictures & found the humor in the situation before cleaning up the mess. (& might I add, Salt is WAAAAAY less expensive than a can of baby-formula.)

Ta Ta for Now... I'll be back with some Easter Pictures, I'm sure.

Every Six Months or So...

... A BLOG UPDATE!

So this weekend... so many things happened.
NONE were particularly exciting (for the Harrigers, anyway), but still...

The most exciting thing in my own life, was on Friday night, SaraJo called at 9:30 & was looking for a date! She was at a baby-shower at church & wanted a little bit of Sara Lou time. So we went to the grocery store. I'm thinking this tops the list as "Best Date EVER". Then we sat in the car and chatted for an hour.

Then on Saturday, I CLEANED the van. (ALMOST as exciting as the grocery-store date). I vacuumed & pulled out the seats. Four hours, my friends, FOUR hours. The girls spent the whole time outside enjoying the first warm & wonderful spring day.

Sunday... I cleaned the living room & rearranged the furniture so we can get the patio door open and the girls can play on the deck.
(2009 "Objects Over the Railing" Tally: One).

Then... I started packing for CAMP! Mom and I leave on Friday for Quilt & Stitch (& Scrapbook) weekend. I went through my scrapbook stuff, got overwhelmed & eventually chose an easy project to bring.

During the day on Sunday (or technically Monday morning?) a great thing happened to my extended-"family" - my friends Ben & Becky delivered their Twin Girls! They are about 10 weeks early, but they seem fine! CONGRATULATIONS!!!

The worst thing that happened was Sara Jo told me about a friend from college who's wife passed away last week. Very sad, but reading through her "caring-bridge" website really uplifted me... they were SO strong in their faith through out her treatment, surprise pregnancy and delivery of a perfectly healthy baby-girl & right up to the end. My heart and prayers go out to the Aberles!

So... if I'm a good blogger, I'll be back. If I continue on my curve. See ya in September!