Rachel's Summer Camp and Girls Day Out

Rachel was selected through the gifted program that she participates in at school for a summer college program at Mercer University. She is attending a math class in the mornings and a writing class in the afternoons. It is only for 1 week but she is truly enjoying it. We are so proud of her and her accomplishments at school.

I took the day off on Rachel's first day. It was supposed to be a day to get caught up at home since we've been traveling so much. Instead, I chose to spend the day with Anna. We ate lunch at the original Nu-Way hot dog restaurant in downtown Macon. I ate way too much there.

We tried to visit a couple of museums but we learned that they were closed on Mondays. I won't take another day off on a Monday again. I was so bummed about that. But, we salvaged the day by shopping at the mall. I had my camera with me since I had taken a picture of Rachel at her first day of class yesterday. Anna is really into cameras right now and she wanted to take pictures of me. She saw some prom dresses at one of the department stores that she wanted me to try on so she could take pictures. I think Anna has a promising career as a photographer. And, she made her Mommy feel like a princess getting all dressed up!

Air Show 2009

Me and Tora. Tora is an old friend who is a navigator on C-130s. He flew in a C-130 yesterday at the Air Show.

Me, Mick and Jeff at the Air Show

We had a beautiful day of weather in middle Georgia for the Air Show. Mick (Jennifer's Dad) traveled all the way from the U.K. to enjoy the Air Show. We sure do wish Mike and Jen and the kids could've been here too! We spent the day touring the aircraft, watching the aerial performances and eating way too much junk food.

Jeff and I also took the Marine Corps pull up challenge and won t-shirts. I did the female version (flexed arm hang) for 70 seconds. And, Jeff did the 20 pull ups required to earn a t-shirt. We may be knocking on the door or already at the age of 40 but we still can hang with the youngsters. :-)

Anna sitting in the cockpit of a C-130 at the airshow

Rachel at the Air Show

Rachel, Anna and Me standing in front of a C-5. This is the aircraft that I work in support of for the USAF. The C-5 motto is "Size Does Matter." :-)

Jeff knocking out the 20 pull ups to earn his t-shirt from the Marines. The Marines don't have nuthin' on P90X. :-) My husband rocks!

It's Report Card Time

Both Rachel and Anna received their report cards from school.

Rachel's summary read: "Rachel continues to excel in all areas. She is motivated and excited about learning. She is a super reader and loves to tell me about what she is reading. Keep practicing counting coins, bills to $20, and fair trades. Rachel is a wonderful role model. I can count on her to set a good example for others with academics and behavior. It is a joy to have Rachel in the class!"

Anna's summary read: "Anna continues to make good progress in Kindergarten. I am pleased that she is willing to try sounding words out in her reading and writing. She knows all 30 sight words well and reads 1st grade level books. She is very creative and enjoys making things when we have free time. Keep encouraging her at home."

We are so proud of our little ones. Congrats to Rachel and Anna.

Anna's 6-Year Birthday Portraits

I was a bit late getting these done this year since we were in Orlando the weekend leading up to Anna's birthday. Better late, than never...right? The photos above are her 1-year portraits. I thought everyone would enjoy seeing how much she has changed in five years. Below are the new portraits.

Disney World

We had a great trip to Orlando and the weather was gorgeous the entire trip. As usual, we would've loved to spend more time. Unfortunately, the cold crud seemed to linger with us for the trip. Jeff and I both had it. Rachel and Anna now have it. I'll probably be visiting the pediatrician with them tomorrow. It took antibiotics to help Jeff and I get rid of it (and we still aren't over it 100%). And, I suspect Anna and Rachel need the same. But, they pressed on like little troopers as they did not let illness slow them down one iota at Disney.

We arrived Thursday evening late in the day and then woke up early and went to the Magic Kingdom on Friday. Our friend, Roger, joined us at the park on Friday as well as Saturday and Sunday. Either Roger is a glutton for punishment or we simply entertain him. I haven't figured out which it is yet.

We went to EPCOT on Saturday, Valentines Day.

Here is an interesting bit of trivia for all you Disney fans...EPCOT stands for Experimental Prototype Community Of Tomorrow. Jeff said that he thinks it really stands for "Every Person Comes Out Tired." That isn't what Mr. Disney said but I think Jeff's opinion is more appropriate.

Roger also joined us at EPCOT and we met up with Mike, a coworker of Jeff's, and Mike's wife, Wendy. It was Mike and Wendy's first visit to EPCOT so we served as tour guides to help them navigate and to choose how to most efficiently spend their time since they only planned to be there for one day.

I think the best part of our visit to EPCOT was the stop at the World of Coke exhibit. Neither Jeff nor I have ever stopped there out of all of our visits to EPCOT. Actually, we never even noticed it being there. Nor have we ever visited the World of Coke in Atlanta, GA. So, we made it a point to stop there on Saturday. But, Jeff was set up. Roger had been to the World of Coke before. And, he knew which Coke products were good and which weren't. He deceitfully encouraged Jeff to try the Italian Coke product called "Beverly." Of course, the rest of us were in on it too. Roger told Jeff how delicious it was. So, it was the first thing that Jeff went for. And, Jeff was thirsty so he took a big gulp. Jeff took a big swig and quickly said, "Oh God!" I thought I was going to pee my pants I was laughing so hard. I took a small taste of the Beverly drink myself and I have to admit, it was pretty bad! Poor Jeff....I almost felt sorry for him....almost. Are you kidding? Feel sorry for him? We live for stuff like that! :-)

During our trip around the World Showcase at EPCOT, we visited the American pavilion. We wanted Mike and Wendy to see the show there as it is one of the better ones in the World Showcase so we waited for it to start. And, in usual Disney style, there was entertainment to keep you busy while waiting for the main show to start. Anna was singled out by the singers. Most people would answer the city and state that they are from when asked where they live. Anna gave a different answer which was very appropriate considering where we were in the World Showcase. You'll have to watch the video to see how it turned out. However, I keep trying to add the video here and am not having much luck for some reason. I'll try to do it another day to see if I have any better success.

We spent Sunday at Hollywood Studios. The highlight of that visit was going to the new American Idol Experience show. We never watch TV at home so neither Rachel nor Anna have ever seen the show on TV but they sure did enjoy it at Disney. They enjoyed it so much that we went to two different shows that day. It's pretty realistic too. We got to vote on the people too. The park guests voluntarily audition to be in the show. And, the winner at the end of the day gets a pass to be at the front of the line at a real American Idol audition. They even had judges that were similar to the three on the real show....including a guy that was a bit candid like Simon is in the real show. We had a blast!

We spent Monday at the Animal Kingdom which is my least favorite of the parks. But, we still had a great visit nonetheless. The Everest ride always kicks my bootie.

Tuesday was our final day at Disney and it was also Anna's 6th Birthday. We spent it at the Magic Kingdom. Anna's favorite character is Winnie The Pooh so we got her a stuffed Pooh bear that was as big as her and it was waiting for her when she woke up on her birthday. Jeff and Rachel ventured to the Magic Kingdom the night before Anna's birthday to buy the giant Pooh for Anna.

She also got some Pooh earrings and a Pooh necklace from us. She had the best time at the park too. Since Disney is allowing any guest in for free on their birthday in 2009, we got other perks since we were already Annual pass holders. Anna got a $62 gift card from the park to use while at the Magic Kingdom. She bought toys for herself and Rachel. Anna was sad that we had to leave a bit early to return home to Georgia today. We had to return home today as Jeff has to travel for work to Dayton, OH, tomorrow. It's hard to believe our little girl is 6 already!

On the way home from Orlando, Rachel noticed a billboard as we we driving down the interstate. She asked us, "What are adult toys?" Jeff began explaining..."You know, remote controlled airplanes (I added, "and, battery controlled.") And, Jeff said, "Lots of action packed movies." I know our children have to learn about the real world at some point but some times they aren't quite ready for the real world and then parents are left in trying to figure out how to explain something to a child who is not mentally ready to comprehend the full scope of the subject. Or, in our case, you lie (sort of) a little just to get past the moment. Of course, the "We Bare All" sign was just a few miles up the road too.

Anna's Early Birthday

We'll be in Orlando for Anna's actual birthday so we (Jeff, Rachel and I) celebrated a bit early so she could enjoy the Winnie the Pooh cake that I made her. It's hard to believe that our "baby" is almost 6 years old! Jeff has the same cold crud that I have and he's got that Barry White voice going for him in the video. Anna reported this morning that her other top middle tooth is loose.

Awards

Anna and Rachel

Anna got "Student of the Week" last week. Her reading skills have grown significantly in the past few months.

I received feedback from Rachel's teacher a couple of weeks ago regarding her performance to date. She is doing exceptionally well at school. She is in the first grade and is reading and comprehending at a 3rd grade level.

We are grateful that both of our children are doing so well in school.

Angela

I don't think I ever posted here that I was promoted last year. I was hired as a GS-12 back in July 2007. I was promoted to a GS-13 last November. The beauty of it is that I'm in a non-supervisory 13. Usually, those only went to engineers. I interviewed for and was selected for a non-supervisory Program Management GS-13. I am now the focal point for software being utilized on an aircraft.

The other good news is that I was nominated and selected as Civilian of the Year (in the GS-11 thru GS-13) category for 2008. I won at the Group level but not at the Wing level. I was just appreciative that I was nominated at all. I've got to go Monday and get an official portrait done for this.

Birthday Weekend

Lunch with Grandma and Papa

Gail and Harold came to visit with us this weekend to celebrate Jeff's and Anna's birthdays a bit early since we planned to be in Orlando during Anna's birthday.

Gail and Harold went to their school on Friday and had lunch with the girls. Anna and Rachel love it when family members have lunch with them at school.

And, the girls can invite up to two friends to eat with them. Rachel picked her best friend Chloe and another classmate, Elizabeth.
Weekend of Birthday Parties

We had a very busy weekend. Rachel was invited to two birthday parties and Anna was invited to one. We had one party 5:00 Friday night, one at 12:30 on Saturday and the last one at 2:00 on Saturday. The last party was at a local place that has putt-putt golf, games, batting cages, go-carts, etc. I spent about 20 minutes in the batting cage. I've always loved to play softball or baseball. However, you'd think I'd have the good sense to not push the limits. My shoulders and back are killing me today.

Lesson learned: We will not accept invitations to that many parties again in one weekend. It was a bit much. We were exhausted from all of the running around.

After all the parties, Gail and Harold took the girls to see a movie and then Jeff and I got a date night out for just the two of us. We went to dinner and then saw a movie. The movie we saw is New in Town. It was a cute movie. The plot was predictable. But, it was something humorous which we both needed.

Jeff's Birthday Cake

I wasn't sure what theme I would choose for Jeff's 40th birthday cake but I found a cute design at the local cake decorating store. In this family, chocolate has to be the predominant flavor of any cake. So, this theme worked well.

It took me a while to do today. I don't think he thought it was nearly as humorous as I did though.

Anna...an American Girl

Gail and Harold gave Anna her birthday presents early. Anna received Ruthie, an American Girl doll, for Christmas. Gail and Harold gave her several more pieces from the American Girl collection for her birthday.

Question of the Week:

Before finishing typing this post, Anna walked up to me asked me, 'Mommy, what does "deep doo-doo" mean?'

I'll close this post on that note. I don't even want to think about in what context she learned that term.

Anna Moments

I was in my bathroom braiding my hair when Anna quickly entered announcing the need to poop. We have three bathrooms. Why she felt the need to take a crap in the one that I happened to be in is not something I'll ever understand.

But, if I had not been there I would've missed the interesting conversation that ensued. Anna said, "Mommy, why is it hard to push poop out?" I replied, "Well, maybe you need to eat more fiber; things like fruit as an example." "But, I eat fruit," replied Anna. "Maybe you need to eat more and maybe add some raisins." Then, she changes the conversation to another facet of pooping. "Mommy, part of my poop looks like a snake. The other looks like a snail," she shares with me. At that point, I just stopped talking and smiled. Really, you can't pay for entertainment like this!

We took Rachel and Anna to see Bedtime Stories today. We all enjoyed the movie I think. After we got back home, Anna was having a conversation with our next door neighbor's son, Christian. He was standing in our front yard. Anna was yelling from our open upstairs bonus room window. She yells to him, "We just got back from seeing Bedtime Stories and Bugsy farted."
We watched the whole movie and the one thing she felt noteworthy to share with Christian was that the guinea pig farted after eating marshmallows. Ahhh, that was money well spent.

When I often remind Jeff that Anna is the result of his best and fastest swimmer; he reminds me that she is also the product of my one and only egg produced that month. We have done well contributing to the gene pool, don't ya think? I joke about things like this but honestly, you couldn't spend a minute with Anna and not totally fall in love with her. She keeps me laughing.

School Pictures 2008

Below are Rachel's 1st Grade portrait and Anna's Kindergarten portrait.

Anna in Kindergarten (Age 5.5 years old)

Rachel in First Grade (7 Years Old)

Ahhhh, Memories....

A person soon learns how little he knows when a child begins to ask questions.~~Richard L. Evans

On the way home from dinner last night, Rachel asked Jeff and I, "How do police know if a car is speeding?" Jeff and I then proceeded to explain the concept of a radar gun and how it shows the speed a vehicle is traveling. Then Anna jumps in with every silly question that a 5-year-old can think of just to be part of the conversation..."Is there anyone speeding right now?" Jeff's reply: "Oh, I'm sure there is someone speeding some where." "Are you speeding right now Daddy?" Jeff replied, "No, Anna, I am not." Anna retorted, "But you were caught speeding before..." Jeff sighed and in a calm but resigned voice he replied with a smile, "Well, yes, and thank you for reminding me." I, of course, was snickering in the passenger seat and thankful it wasn't me that just got bested by a five year old.

See, a year or so ago, Jeff was pulled over for speeding. And, the girls were in the vehicle with us when it happened. Kids are always good at remembering our mistakes ( so they usually remind Jeff of this at least once or twice a year. :-) Now, if I could just get them to apply that great memory to remembering to hang up their coat and bookbag instead of throwing them on the floor, I'll call my life a success.

The kids also remember that the reason Jeff was speeding that night that he got the ticket and it was because of their whining, fighting and complaining was in high gear making even the most patient of people feel like running and screaming into the night. He let it get to him. Jeff just wanted to get home and get out of our jeep away from the insanity. The kids were going at it.....you know..."She touching me." "She's looking at me." "She's making annoying noises." And, they were getting louder and louder. The only resolution we've found to date is simply to tell them both they aren't allowed to speak (and you must also add "no singing, humming, whistling, thumping the door, etc. " and any other item specifically telling them no sound) until we get to our destination.

We stopped at Walmart before returning home and while shopping I overheard a Mom tell her children, "Could you PLEASE stop talking?" And, I heard myself saying the very same thing at dinner earlier in the evening. Both girls never stop talking but Anna wins the prize as of late. She'll jabber on and on about nothing, anything....she just never shuts up! My Mom used to have a saying about people who talk a lot, "if you were to tape their mouth shut, they would fart themselves to death." Well, that's Anna. I remember when our children were infants. Like other parents, we were absolutely thrilled when they said their first word. We worked so hard at helping them learn to communicate. We even taught our daughters some basic sign language as infants so they could communicate before they were able to verbally. But, now, oh what we would give for just small pockets of peace and quiet. It is constant chatter from the time they wake up until they go to sleep and it usually ends up with some discussion on poo poo and pee pee (because there simply isn't anything funnier to children, and grown men, than bodily functions).

When they bring their petty squabbles to me and punishment is warranted, I discipline them both simply because I'm not going to spend all day playing judge and jury trying to figure out who started it...you simply can't apply sanity where there is none. As Bill Cosby once said, "Parents aren't interested in justice - they want QUIET!" And, by the way, if you're a parent and you've never seen Bill Cosby: Himself, it is a must see video.

Now, it's time to go wake up the little ones. I'm sure they are well rested and ready to begin the day with lots of great conversation on poop and pee. :-)

September Potpourri

Out of the Mouths of Babes

The topic of the sermon at church this past Sunday was authority. The children's sermon was centered around this too. When the children were asked who they knew that had authority, one responded, "God." Another responded, "Jesus." When asked who had authority in the home, Rachel replied, "our parents." When asked if anyone else could name someone with authority, Anna blurted out, "the banks." With that, the entire congregation laughed. Who knows why she came up with that one....you never know what she'll say.

One Hundred and Twenty-Eight

What is the significance of that number? That is my current weight. I have lost 11 pounds since August. Do you want to know the last time I saw a weight in the 120s? That would be prior to my first pregnancy. I weighed 124 pounds when I became pregnant with Rachel. Since that time, I have not seen anything in the 120-130 range. I finally decided to shed the "pregnancy weight." It has taken being a bit more disciplined with what I eat (minimize the bad carbs) and exercising more. You know, the things we are supposed to do...exercise and eat a balanced, healthy diet. Yes, I've cheated. I've had my share of junk. I just don't over do it anymore. Plus, I have found that I really enjoy riding my bike. So, I do that a few nights a week for about 7 miles per ride. My goal was to get to 125 lbs. I'm quite happy where I'm at though and really think toning up more is my next goal. I don't know that my stomach will ever be the way it was pre-pregnancy after two c-sections, two laproscopys, and two pregnancies where my belly was HUGE back to back. And, things have shifted after pregnancies and due to old age but my primary goal is to be a bit healthier. And, I think I've achieved that much.

People that I see daily don't seem to notice much but people I haven't seen in a while can tell and usually ask if I have lost weight. Although, one of my coworkers was offering me cake to "fatten me up a bit." I think people have gotten used to me having a little bit more meat on me so some think I look too skinny now. I am by no way too skinny but compared to what people are used to seeing, I could see how some might think I look different now. I'm just thrilled to actually fit in a size 4 again. I never thought I'd ever see that day again. Of course, I need new clothes now. Jeff loves that! Of course, he gets a wife who is in better shape than she has been physically in quite some time and he has his pricey hobbies so I don't expect any complaints from him when I shop. :-)

Brisingr

Brisingr is the title of the book I'm currently reading when time allows. It is the third installment in Paolini's books. Some of you may have seen the movie Eragon. It is the third book following Eragon which was the first book.

There are so many things in Paolini's books that remind me of Tolkien's books (Lord of the Rings). But, I find them mildly entertaining so I was looking forward to reading Brisingr which was released earlier this month.

It'll take me a while to read it though. It's not like I have hours to sit around and read a book.

Heading to Alabama

I plan to go to Alabama this coming weekend to visit with my Mom. I figured I'd better do it while I can since we'll be gone or have visitors in our home for the next few weekends after in the month of October. I'll post an update on my Mom when I get back for those wondering about her.

Got Contacts

I've been wearing glasses for years and I finally grew sick of dealing with them. I tried contacts years ago; eight years ago to be exact. They seemed to bother me at that time. But, the ones I have now don't seem to bother me at all. I got them yesterday and have a follow up appointment with my optometrist next week. So far, so good. I love them actually! And, I'm grateful to not have to deal with glasses. Of course, I wanted to smack the optometrist yesterday when we discussed the need to change my prescription since I was "approaching middle age." Well, thanks doc! Like I need to be reminded. GEEEESSH! Oh, and did I mention that someone in church on Sunday mentioned they liked my "Sarah glasses?" I didn't understand what he meant. Then he said, "your glasses look like Sarah Palin's." I guess even beyond the glasses, I do favor her a bit. Kind of funny really when I started thinking about it. That's not the reason I wanted to shed the glasses though. Just thought it was a humorous point to share.

Poor Kiddo....

"There was never a child so lovely but his mother was glad to get him to sleep." ~~Ralph Waldo Emerson

Around 3:30 a.m. last night, we heard a familiar sound....Anna's door opening along with the pitter patter of feet heading towards our bedroom. I'm sure Jeff and I both lay there hoping the other would respond first but alas, it was my night as I heard Anna cry out, "Mommy!"

She cried, "my tummy hurts." Now, with Anna, it is always a crap shoot as to whether you should take her seriously or not as she is known to cry wolf from time to time. She visited our bathroom and then I went back to her room and laid down with her while rubbing her stomach. She started to doze off and then hopped up about 30 minutes later. She ran to the bathroom where the diarrhea commenced. I was able to get her settled back down after that for a short period. We dozed off together until I thought she appeared to be settled and I slipped out of her bed and into my own around 6:15 a.m. I was in bed maybe 15 minutes when Anna appeared in our bedroom again saying her "tummy hurts." And, Rachel was along this time as she was mad because Anna's crying had awakened her. We sent Rachel back to her bedroom and this time, Jeff pulled Anna into our bed where she maybe rested for five minutes before stating that she needed to vomit. That got a quick response from Jeff as he raced her to the bathroom.

Since that point, she has been vomiting off and on throughout the day and running a low grade temperature. She has slept some in between the unpleasantries.

I don't know if there is any sickness that people would choose but nausea is one of those things that makes a person miserable. You can't help but feel compassion for anyone suffering through it as we all know how miserable of a feeling that is. And, it's always terrible when you see your child sick regardless of what they are suffering from.

Around this house, Jeff is the adult that is always more susceptible to stomach bugs so he's loading up on fattening foods today preparing for the worst in the next few days. He plans to go to McDonalds for a Big Mac, super sized fry and large milkshake for an afternoon snack. And, wash that all day with as much chocolate as he can handle. He figures it's all coming back up so he's going to live for the day.

At least it's hitting us early this year. Last year, it happened while we were in Orlando on our Disney trip. Jeff was sick and so was Gail. Hopefully, we'll be past the illness by the time we go in October so that we can enjoy our trip to Disney this year with battling illness too.

You know, I can't help but wonder, why is it that stomach flu problems always hit in the middle of the night? At least that always seems the case with my family.

The Tooth Fairy Is Going Broke

Anna has had a loose tooth on the bottom for a few weeks now but she would not let us pull it. I noticed last week prior to leaving for my business trip that her new tooth was coming in so I figured it would push the old tooth out soon enough. It loosed the old tooth enough that she allowed Jeff to pull it this evening and her tooth came right out. She is all excited now that the tooth fairy is coming to see her again; but this time it's for a tooth that came out naturally vice having to get it pulled like she did with her top tooth earlier this year. The tooth fairy needs a pay raise. These girls are going to break the bank!

Anna Lost Her First Tooth

Anna was jumping on the trampoline with my neighbor's son a week or so ago when her front right tooth collided with his knee. The tooth held fast but was a bit sore for a couple of days. After that, she seemed fine. Then about seven days after the incident, I noticed her tooth starting to change color. It continued to darken in color with each passing day after. So, I brought her to the dentist to be evaluated. The first good news was that she did not damage her permanent teeth. The bad news is that the tooth was dying and needed to be removed. The other good news was that she is almost at the age to where that tooth would be falling out on its own anyway so she won't look odd missing a front tooth at the age of 5. So, an appointment was made with a local oral surgeon to extract the tooth. The appointment to do that was this morning.

The procedure went well. They did give her some "laughing gas" to help her tolerate the procedure. They also numbed the area where the tooth was removed. The oral surgeon said she did very well and all appeared well afterwards. I think the numbness of her lip bothered her more than anything. That is a difficult feeling to prepare a child for and I think she was not quite sure how to process that. By lunch time she was ready to eat and life went on as usual the remainder of the day.

She was excited at the thought of the tooth fairy coming to visit her tonight. It'll be a while before her permanent tooth comes in so she'll have that gap for a while. She seems unfazed by it though and we are thankful for that.

Above is a picture of Anna after having lost her first tooth....maybe in an unconventional way....but a milestone to her nonetheless.

Our Imelda Marcos In the Making

The one thing children wear out faster than shoes is parents~~John J. Plomp

Anna is hard at work at trying to surpass Imelda Marcos with the amount of shoes that she has. The most recently purchased shoes were acquired last night. She saw some galoshes she just had to have...she dubbed them her "happy boots." It does not matter that these boots are made for rainy day wear. Anna will wear them as part of her daily attire. Why? Because she likes them.

And, did I mention she has decided she wants her hair to be long again? Unfortunately, it's in that in-between stage at the moment where it's too short to effectively use a rubber band or barrette yet too long and hangs in her eyes. It probably bothers me more than her. Of course, I hate that tween hairstyle that is popular right now with some local kids where the bangs are long and hanging over their eyes. Drives me bonkers! She is determined she is going to have it long again though so we are working through it.