Day 2: Movie

This one is actually pretty easy for me...

One word - AUDREY!

My ALL TIME FAVORITE.... My Fair Lady! Closely followed by Breakfast at Tiffany's, Sabrina (1954 & 1995 versions) & Roman Holiday

Two words - John Hughes, the genius behind such greats as:

Mr. Mom, 16 Candles, Breakfast Club, Pretty in Pink, Weird Science, Ferris Bueller's Day Off, Some Kind of Wonderful, She's Having a Baby, The Great Outdoors, Uncle Buck and Home Alone!!!

Three Words: The American President. Rick and I really love this movie. Annette Bening's character, Sydney Ellen Wade, was one of two (other being Sydney Bristow on Alias) reasons why Sydney was named Sydney. She's a strong, independent, assertive, aggressive, loving, dynamic, driven, and outspoken woman. All traits we hoped our daughter would some how manage to find in herself. I think we are well on that path.

Movies are magical. They allow you to "go to places far away" and that is awesome! I love epic movies with amazing photography. There's nothing that fascinates me more that seeing period pieces, architecturally overloaded pieces, lots of action, over-the-top costuming and make-up, memory making soundtracks and scores. Jam packed with details, lots and lots of details - the kind you miss the 1st thru 10th time seeing the movie only to be surprised when they finally catch your eye on time 11 thru 50.

Did I mention I can't stand 3-D movies!!!! And even worse, remaking of already great movies... just shouldn't be done. Or re-releasing on the 10th, 25th, etc anniversary. I mean really, how many times are they going to release Grease.

Day 3: Book

I'm embarrassed to say this.... I don't read. I read my first book only a few years ago. I know "GASP". I realized that as an adult, I should be reading. Everybody reads, or at least should. Much like a good movie, a good book can bring your mind to all kinds of fun, fabulous places. My first book was Lance Armstrong's first book, It's Not about the Bike: My Journey Back to Life. It was a good book. But then again, I had nothing to really compare it too. My next book was required reading for me. For so many reasons I NEEDED to read this book and it was worth every single terrifyingly difficult turn of the page. Reading Down Came the Rain, I think, finished my healing from PPD. I saw myself on many, many - too many- of the pages. But what made me happier, none the less, was that I didn't see myself on some! It brought a new hope into my life. I realized that I liked reading these kinds of books. I was curious if I would feel the same about other styles. I then tried Divine Secrets of the YaYa Sisterhood and Memoirs of a Geisha. Couldn't really get into either of those. Then a magical little boy came into my life. Not Ryan, but a wizard named Harry. I LOVE the Harry Potter books. They are fantastic. I know... they are kid books, but I really enjoy reading them. I'll move on to something more age appropriate in time, just not sure when.

Next up: TV Shows!

Day 1: Song

Hmmm... this is a really hard one. Honestly, I don't think there is just one out there. With all the great stuff out, who can honestly say "______ is my all time favorite song" or "_____ is the best song ever recorded"?

However, with that said, I have favorites in many genre. You know, the ones that evoke that emotion or memory every single time you hear it. Those are my favorites...

• I've, literally, been moved to tears by The Lord's Prayer and Ave Maria
• I like just about anything from the 80's (who doesn't, right)
• Pearl Jam's "Ten" CD. Evenflow is my fav.
• Journey - Greatest Hits CD is the BEST, for obvious reasons
• Sound of Music, King & I and Moulin Rouge soundtracks
• All Andrew Lloyd Webber stuff - Phantom, Cats, Evita are on the top
• Anything by John Rutter. Had the pleasure of singing Requiem & Magnificat in high school and they still put me in the best mental place possible. My choir director thought it beneath us to sing anything other than college level stuff. We even did the full Messiah a few times... talk about a long performance. She helped open my eyes to "beautiful music".
• George Strait, Tim McGraw, Rascal Flatts, Lady Antebellum, Faith Hill
• I like Pink, Melissa Etheridge
• Fleetwood Mac
• Big Hair Bands from the late 80's- early 90's
• The Motown Sound - Temptations, Commodores, etc.
• Pat Benatar is a powerhouse
• Impressed with Ms. Taylor Swift
• Rick will kill me for this one, but Barbra Streisand... wow...
• I think singer/songwriters like the BeeGees, Dolly Parton, Carole King are genius
• John Williams - the man scores the BEST movies. How can you not think of Jaws without "dun num, dun num"....?
• Anything with a driving bass line or drum beat. Strong, diverse and powerful vocals

This could just go on and on... I guess I should have said what I don't like, that would have been so much easier!

• Rap... some I can handle
• What's "in" right now on the Pop stage
• Punk
• HEAVY metal

See. That was much easier. I love music - it's fantastic!

A Month of Holly

Due to a general lack of creativity at this time, I want to start a little program I saw on Nancee's SIL's blog to help give me something to post here besides absolutely NOTHING...

It's to inspire me to blog something everyday for a month. The subject: me.

This is how it goes:

Day 01 → Your favorite song

Day 02 → Your favorite movie
Day 03 → Your favorite book
Day 04 → Your favorite television show
Day 05 → Your favorite quote
Day 06 → Your favorite food
Day 07 → A photo that makes you happy
Day 08 → A photo you took
Day 09 → A photo of you taken over ten years ago
Day 10 → A photo of you taken recently
Day 11 → A photo that makes you angry/sad
Day 12 → Something you find interesting
Day 13 → A fictional book
Day 14 → A non-fictional book
Day 15 → A song that represents something significant
Day 16 → A song that makes you cry (or nearly)
Day 17 → An art piece (painting, drawing, sculpture, etc.)
Day 18 → A hero
Day 19 → A talent of yours
Day 20 → A hobby of yours
Day 21 → A recipe
Day 22 → A website
Day 23 → A YouTube video
Day 24 → A passion
Day 25 → Your day, in great detail
Day 26 → Your month, in great detail
Day 27 → A hope
Day 28 → A dream
Day 29 → A goal
Day 30 → Something you've learned about yourself in the past month

Should be an interesting adventure for me.

Sydney's School Music Program

There was a music program at Sydney's school on March 4th for the 1st graders. She practiced so much the days up to it...

2010

A new year, a new day... what will I have to say this year????

YES... I will!

So many things have been going on here and I think it's time to start sharing it all with everyone again.

Ryan & I took a walk with Nancee and Erica this morning. The weather is so amazing right now - cloudless sky, cool breeze and bright sun all make for a really enjoyable walk. I love the sound of all the trees rustling in the wind and the occasional wind chime. It's starting to feel like fall is on its way, even with the still 90+ degree days. I'm trying to get the house all cleaned and ready for Mom's visit. Although with the weather this nice it's making me want to do a "Fall Cleaning".

Have I lost it???

Interest in updating the blog gone.... I think, maybe? Should I get back to it... I think, maybe???

May 2009 Pics

Here are the pics from last month. They are up on Snapfish.

Soon...

I promise, something will get posted soon! Just not sure what.

The Graduate!

Our Graduate!



with Mrs. Stonehouse - her Parapro (teacher's assistant)

with Mrs. DeMarco - the BEST teacher ever.


Katlyn, fellow GS. Sage will be in the same class for 1st grade next year.

They sang this song at the beginning of the ceremony. Didn't know it was going to happen, that's why I missed the first few seconds of it.

The big day is coming...

Sydney "graduates" from Kindergarten on Friday morning. I can't believe just how fast this year has flown by. She's done remarkably well this year - exceeding even our expectation and becoming one of the brightest children in her class. She's super excited about the big event and is glad she gets to wear a cap and tassel. We'll be there, like all the other proud parents, taking tons of pictures and video. So... check back on Friday!!!

Her next school year starts on July 20th.

For the BEST Mom....

Happy Mother's Day Mom... you are the best mother in the world. You are strong, brave, bold, a friend, daring, assertive, outgoing, loving, kind, generous, adventurous, outspoken and only shared by me with one. I'm so grateful to have you as our mother. Heather and I are so much like you. You have raised us well and have been the perfect role model.

Love you...
#2

What might have been????

He likes playing with Sydney's hair clips, so I put several in his hair today to see what he would have looked like "as a girl". Sooooooooooo cute!!!! He left them in - didn't even seem to bother him.

This was taken while the MIL was here. Again, didn't care that it was on his head.

Eye Pics

He had a blast last night in exam room #15 at TMC's Children's ER. 7:00pm...We got right in when we arrived, flew threw triage and into the room.

Enchanted was playing on the TV up on the wall. He climbed up onto on of the chairs while I got the rails up on the stretcher and got his "space" set up. Got his Cherrios, water and a few toys out. Took out his blanket from home (getting very close to bedtime). He sat on the stretcher for about 30 mins... snacking, laying down, hanging out. Down he went - had to check out all the surroundings. He really like the mirror on the wall and all the horrible stenciled sunflowers & birds on the walls.

He was so well behaved considering he was super tired. When we first got there, the RN gobbed some lidocaine gel on his eyelid so that it wouldn't hurt much when they had to mess with it. An hour later, the MD came in. Of course the gel had crusted the cut shut and she didn't want to mess with it.

Me being, well, me, insisted that it get busted back open, cleaned out and she take a better look at it. 15 minutes later a tech came in, cleaned it off and off she went. The MD came back a little while later. "Yikes, that's a pretty nasty cut and in a very tough place to treat." She said "we don't glue that close to the eye for obvious reasons and I'm a little hesitant about stitching on the lid. With it being in the fold, I'd rather not mess with it." So.... she left us with the "go home and see if it will come together on it's own" option. I was told to keep it clean and put Neosporin on it twice a day and not to let him hit it again because it would pop back open with the slightest of trama to the area. Yeah, she obviously doesn't know him that well.

So, after he fell asleep while waiting for discharge papers, I packed up everything and we headed home. We got back home at 10. I changed him into jammies, gave him his bottle, gobbed medicine on... he passed out in my arms again. Got him settled in his crib around 10:30 only to have him wake up at 12:35. He's done really well today. Staying rather calm and not doing a lot of running/climbing.

The cut looks good though. Red and puffy, but overall, nice. Bruising should be coming in the next few days. He's a champ!

The first of many... ER trip #1

Took Ryan to the ER tonight. Busted his right eyelid open. More to come in the AM... He woke up at 4:23 this morning and didn't go back to sleep until 9:15; now this.

I'm tried.

Nothing...

Ryan woke up at 4:20 this morning. Yes... "damn it" was the first thing to come to mind. After running around for several hours and an hour long walk with Nancee, he finally went to sleep around 10:30 only to be woken up by the loud ass recycling truck. Bastards. He's been a shit since then. Hopefully, after an early dinner and a long bath, he will go to sleep and have a good night.

Good news: I'm back to days tomorrow. So excited about that. I'll be glad to get back to "real nursing". I will only roll my eyes at the PM nurses that I get report from when they say "last night was so terrible". Seriously... they do NOTHING at night compared to the craziness of days. My last night shift sucked so terribly bad. I gave 5 scheduled meds the entire 12 hours shift. I was ready to poke my eyes out by midnight and I had seven hours to go. BORING is an understatement. I will be good to work with all my friends and get back into the swing of a real shift.

The MIL comes this weekend. Sunday thru Friday. Gotta get my house cleaned before then. She's ready to take the kiddos shopping for clothes, make a tasty pot of Jewish Penicillin (matzo ball soup) and the worlds best brisket. We are planning on going to the Pima County Fair on Tuesday afternoon. An uneventful visit, but she enjoys spending time with the kids.

Rick had his last meeting with his cardiologist this afternoon - "all clear". Not a cardiac issue at all, but he does want him to work on getting some of his lab values down. He's been very careful about what he eats since the episode. I think he's down 10-15 lbs in 6 weeks. I guess I should be paying closer attention... God knows I need to drop about 50 pounds.

I'm the new owner of a beautiful porcelain tooth. My crown was put in yesterday and it's gorgeous. Aside for the awful week worth of pain (prior to the unplanned root canal), this extremely unsettling process and been awesome. I case you don't know my dental history it goes a little like this: NOTHING! No cavities, no root canals, no crowns, nothing. That was until my last bundle of joy ruined my perfect record. After having Ryan my teeth went to hell. I've had 4 cavities (two on one tooth. if you can imagine that), a cracked tooth = crown, and a root canal. DEAR LORD... nothing else please! Oh, I have to get a night guard to sleep with now too. Apparently I clinch my teeth very badly at night. No grinding, but severe clinching. Fun times. FYI - if you live with headaches and have really tight upper back/neck muscles... you probably do too. That's where I store all my stress. Blah blah blah... I love my dentist, so I don't mind going back to see him. He's my age and really cool. If you ever need a good one, Gabe is the guy to see.

Need help getting Ryan to eat better. He's a nightmare. Throws his plate on the ground, uses his spoon as a drumstick and still won't drink his milk from a sippy. He's a terrible eater. Grrr..... This kid is my "bad" kid. Loves to scream bloody murder when we tell him no or stop him from doing things. Temper tantrums are just around the corner, I'm sure. Shit...

Party Fun

Julianna & Marissa were here Friday night for a sleepover. They all had a blast! They had the perfect dinner of chicken nuggets & macs 'n cheese then decorated their own mini-cakes (funfetti with strawberry icing, per their request). After all that mess, we did pedicures at the "spa", showers x3, run around and play before popcorn & movie. They all slept through the night with no issues, even though it was raining and hailing during a part of the night. The worst part of the whole night... wake up time @ 5:15... DEAR GOD, what was that crap about? By 6:30 I had all three in my room saying "we're starving", so up I got to make chocolate chip pancakes for the little angels. After breakfast we had an easter egg hunt in the house, then manicures and even more running around/playing/dress-up. Deb came and got them about 12. Here's where the fun part starts... Sydney goes to take a nap around 3:00. Around 4:30, she runs in to the living room screaming and crying "I just puked all over the place". We both took off running to her room - yeap, puke everywhere. Big, giant clumps of half chewed elbow noodles in red vomit on her pillow, blanket, quilt, and her new Hannah Montana dress up outfit that Granny got her. Off to the shower she went with Rick and I drug everything to the kitchen to scoop all the nasty stuff off before going in the washer. FUN TIMES... not! She was loaded up with Pepto, crackers and Gatorade. Fell asleep for a little while, watched TV, and just kinda bonded with the loveseat. Poor kid - looked miserable. That night the bed was remade, with beach towels over all the possible puke targets. Bucket at her side, she went to sleep around 7:30. Uneventful night... no breakfast, 2 nuggets for lunch, hardly anything for dinner. She goes for her 6 yr check-up today @ 1:30, so we'll see what to do about the poor appetite.

Birthday Girl

Yesterday was a super busy day for us....fun, fast, exciting! A good birthday for Sydney.

• school - as you can see, she was given a "crown" from her teacher (worn ALL day) and her name was announced over the PA during the morning a pledge/news/menu thing. She was excited about getting a "Happy Birthday from your Principal" pencil too.
  

• homework/Girl Scout stuff
  
• lunch (nuggets & fresh fruit) at Hacienda del Lago
  
• shopping spree @ Target!!! It was a lot of fun watching her go up and down every aisle looking for things she wanted. She always hears "no" from us, so this had her super excited. Notice a common theme in the things she picked out???? We love Aunt Denise & Nanny (Heather).
  

Yes, she fell asleep like that. She needed to rest up before heading back out!

• Girl Scout meeting - planted flowers & veggies. Had cupcakes too...
  

• dinner with the neighbor's - "Rick-fil-A"
• presents - Sydney received lots of great things this year. Games (board, Wii, think) & clothes were the majority We've already played Guess Who & Hungry, Hungry, Hippo. And seriously...damn Chinese crap. They make games real pieces of shit now-a-days. When playing HHH, we had to be careful not to hit the hippos to hard or they would get stuck or the head would get all jacked up. Remember playing that as a kid and being able to smash that thing - no more! Was tons of fun though. Oh, and the "marbles"... yeah, not marbles anymore. Weird plastic ball thingys. Grrr... She's watched her iCarly DVD's and, of course, we've all listened to the new Hannah Montana "The Movie" soundtrack! She's anxious to use the Pixos tomorrow.
  

• cake & icecream

Ended up with SpongeBob because I waited until MONDAY to order the stupid thing and they were out of the Hannah Montana things. She freaked out when we picked it up after scouts yesterday. "Oh man... that's AWESOME! I love it.... sweet" were just a few things she shouted in the bakery area at Fry's. She was excited about being able to lick the icing off the giant S-Bob bendy toy. Life is soooooo easy when you are six.

Rick is taking her to see Monsters vs. Aliens 3D tomorrow and I get to take her to see Hannah Montana: The Movie next week. Her 6 year check-up is on Monday. Curious to see how much she's grown in the last year.

@ 5:42 pm

SIX years ago my daughter was born. 6 lbs 11 0z. 18" long.

She's funny, super smart, stubborn, friendly, curious, wacky, busy little girl. We love her tons and have loved watching her grow. More to come...