Day 4

Day 4 – Thursday – June 24, 2010

0640 Felisa is up. Too early again! Of course I'm not really surprised since she fell asleep early last night. So I get up and go upstairs with her. Grandma is already up since she forgot to put the trash out last night.

Breakfast – coffee- shower

0940 Arrive at the town square. The book store doesn't open until 10 so we walk around the farmers market while we wait. We bought cinnamon rolls, beef sticks, bison sticks, grape jelly, and kettle corn. Couldn't buy anything else since we're on the road. We ate some of the kettle corn and cinnamon rolls while we wait.

At the book store, I dropped off some books for trade. The children's book selection was not bad for older kids but there wasn't really anything for Felisa. I found one book that I have been wanting to read but isn't available at the library (Your Money or Your Life). I think that I have enough trade credit to last a few years at this store. I don't really understand their system but oh well. Fewer books in my house is a good thing regardless. And maybe some kids here will be very happy to find the books we left.

Stop at Hyvee to buy milk and potato chips. There is a sign on the door that the grocery store is a wifi hotspot. I almost brought my computer to town just in case I found a hotspot but I didn't. I certainly wasn't expecting to find it at the grocery store either!

1100 Back at Grandma's and waiting for lunch. Chicken salad today – yum!

After lunch we watched more Game Show Network while we waited for Stacy to come by with Ben. Donna stopped by and so did Ron. Ron's not sure if Tegan will be around this evening or not to play.

Stacy came with Ben – such a cutie! I got my baby fix. So sweet!

Time for dinner…. This time the Asian Buffet. What is it about buffets in general and Chinese food in particular that incite us to eat soooooooo much more than we should? It was good and definitely filling!

After dinner we headed over to Ron and Naomi's to let the kids play with Tegan and Briley. They all had a great time. Uncle Randy came over with Dakota to visit for a few minutes too.

Finally, time to head back to Grandma's and get ready for bed. A little before-bed GSN and foot baths in the sink. Then, bed time!

Day 3

Day 3 – Wednesday – June 23, 2010

0615 Bella is up.

0630 Ryan is up.

0645 Felisa is up and they have all gone upstairs where I am sure Grandma is still asleep so I guess that means I have to get up and make sure they stay quiet. Apparently they are not very tired and they haven't adapted to the new time zone yet. I tell them to look at the scrapbooks quietly while they wait for Grandma to wake up.

When Grandma gets up she gives me my birthday present – a card and some new jammies. Felisa gave me the card she made at home and brought with her. Breakfast is Count Chocula for the kids and Multi-Grain Cheerios for me. Then the kids disappear downstairs for a while. I'm on my way down to get dressed when Felisa tells me I have to stay upstairs.

A bit later Felisa comes back to get Grandma and I for the unveiling of my present… A re-creation of Big Trip with Lincoln Logs, Thingamajigs, and plastic cowboys and Indians. At the end of the trip there is even a scrapbook a la Etch-A-Sketch. I love it – very creative!

0830 Time to get dressed.

0859 Leave for our day trip to see the Lincoln site at New Salem.

0900 Jo wants us to cut the corner through Bushnell but after yesterday's cornfield adventures, I'm a bit worried about flooded roads. We'll go through town instead.

0940 Ryan is testing out the cinnamon jolly rancher candy we bought at Hersheypark on Saturday. He says it is very good.

0951 Crossing the Illinois River. The water is definitely high.

0953 Stop at Hardees for a snack. Ryan must be in a growth spurt because he has been eating non-stop so far this trip. Maybe a more substantial snack will hold him for awhile. We can save the snacks in the snack box for cornfield emergencies!

1004 See a lady on a riding mower wearing a pioneer bonnet.

1019 Sangamon River. This one is high also.

1040 Arrive at New Salem Historical Site.

12:28 p.m. Done with our tour. It was a nice place but the heat has definitely set in for the day. Hot, hot, hot!

Our favorite parts…

Felisa – Bay (the horse)

Ryan – watching the person chiseling the bowl

Bella – the small boat in the museum

Sheila – coming here again (I came here on a 5^th grade field trip as a kid)

12:42 p.m. Lots of bugs hitting the windshield today.

1:03 p.m. The "water on road" sign is almost underwater.

1:10 p.m. Hit the McD's drive-thru for lunch. See Herbie the Love Bug in the parking lot.

1:14 p.m. Bella's chicken wasn't in the bag so we stop at Hardees before we cross the river to get her some chicken.

1:17 p.m. Illinois River

1:26 p.m. Felisa says she needs to go to the bathroom. Why didn't she tell me when we were in town? Hope she can hold it – not sure how far the next gas station is.

1:36 p.m. Stop for gas in Ipava. $2.70/gallon. It was one of those "we're not from around here" type of stops. I love how friendly everyone is but hate feeling like I stick out like a sore thumb sometimes. It's like that sign we saw in Texas… City dogs go to one side and country dogs go to the other. I'm definitely a city dog around here and do not blend in very well.

2:20 p.m. Finally make it back to Grandma's.

We watch TV for a while – Game Show Network – then the girls convince me to take them all to the park even though it's hot outside. In the shade, with the breeze, it's bearable. After the park, more TV then dinner. Beef and Noodles – yum! While we were eating a thunderstorm blew in. Thunder, lightning, and more rain! After dinner, Mythbusters on tv and a few birthday phone calls for me before bed.

Day 2

Day 2 – Tuesday – June 22, 2010

0545 Wake up. See daylight. Check the clock. Decide it is too early to get up and go back to sleep.

0715 Wake up. Bella is awake. It is time to get up. Maybe if I hurry I can get a quick shower and we can be out of the room by 8:00.

0810 Headed down for a delicious breakfast of hotel eggs and what is that?!? Is this a cheez whiz omelette? Ick. Guess I'll stick with the sausage patty and a cup of coffee.

0840 Done with breakfast and leaving the hotel room to check out. Clearly my 8 am departure was overly optimistic.

0854 Car is loaded back up. We are so out of practice – this is taking forever!

0858 Went back to the front desk to check our room bill. Should've been paid with points, not the credit card. All fixed now. Time to hit the road.

0912 Traffic is moving very slowly this morning. No one seems to be in a hurry at all. On a different note, the new seating arrangement seems to be working out for the kids but it's a bit louder for me. Bella and Felisa talk and laugh (and occasionally argue) all day long in the back seat. So far they seem to be sleeping less in the car since they can play together instead of being one in front of the other. Ryan gets pestered a bit more since he's stuck in the middle row and ends up as the middle-man, passing things and messages back and forth. But he seems happy enough.

0913 Look – a Sonic! And I'm not even stopping. Aren't you all proud of me? Such restraint…

0917 Great Dane puppies for sale. Shall we stop and pick one up?

0920 Johnny Appleseed Roadside Park

0954 Felisa wants to stop for lunch.

1003 Raindrops.

1011 Columbus. Finally. I am feeling very behind this morning. Not sure why. Maybe it's because we usually make it at least to Columbus on the first day and this year we didn't. That's what the scenic route will get you – behind schedule!

1106 Mad River

1115 Gas, $2.85/gallon and lunch at Taco Bell. Apparently we won. We are victorious over the tacos! Back in the car, I get my laptop out to charge Ryan's MP3 player while we drive. I was hoping the USB car charger that works for the DS would work for the MP3 player also but it didn't. In hindsight, it would have been better to go back out to the car last night to get the charging cord. Oh well!

1153 Great Miami River. Why are there so many Miami things here in Ohio? Miami of Ohio University and the Great Miami River. I wonder if it's related to the Miami in Florida.

1154 Jets on the overpass in Dayton and a space-themed relief mural on the retaining wall. Cool!

12:14 p.m. Leaving Kroger and Starbucks. The girls want to watch a movie. Amazingly enough they asked at a good time. We are stopped and I can get all the cords out and get things set up. Everything seems to be working fine.

12:25 p.m. Having a hard time finding my way back to the highway. Ryan is messing with the DVD player, trying to get another set of headphones hooked up (which is distracting) and there is policeman following me which is making me nervous. I have no idea what the speed limit is in this town and don't see any signs around.

12:26 p.m. On the on-ramp, another policeman has someone pulled over. They're everywhere!

12:48 p.m. Indiana. Finally! See what I mean about being in slow-motion today.

12:49 p.m. Oh yeah. Now I remember the RV billboards lining the highway in Indiana, just across the border from Ohio. I think there is actually an RV factory or museum or something in Indiana somewhere.

1:10 p.m. Wilber Wright Road. Maybe we should plan to stop one of these years and check out the Wilber Wright museum.

1:11 p.m. A huge bunch of sunflowers lining the highway.

1:17 p.m. Thinking of things to see on our trips… maybe we should check out the Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs this year since the Olympics are fresh on our minds from the winter. I've never seen it myself either.

1:28 p.m. Nameless Creek

1:48 p.m. Passing the Mammography Mobile. I thought it was a blood drive van at first but it's not.

1:49 p.m. Another construction warning sign, this time for 65N. I already opted for the downtown route rather than the loop which I had planned to take because of construction warnings for the loop. I may never make it through Indianapolis.

1:54 p.m. A red light. Which everyone is treating as a stop sign. They stop, look for traffic, then turn left. On a red light. Oh, I just now got it… maybe it was because it was onto a one-way street? Is that why everyone was doing it? I did it also but only because I didn't want to cause an accident or road rage but not following the local customs! And to tell you the truth, I can't remember if it was a one-way street or not. Hmm…

2:08 p.m. Finally made it through Indianapolis. This is one of my least favorite cities to drive through. It always seems like such a hassle and such an obstacle. There is always tons of traffic around here too.

2:10 p.m. Water going over a dam.

2:18 p.m. Ryan is reading his Boys Life issue for July. Apparently July is National Hot Dog Month. Yummy!

2:23 p.m. Felisa is asking how much longer. She is not impressed at all with my tirade about how it is still 3 hours (she had just asked less than 30 minutes ago) and how we are still in Indiana and how once we finally get to Illinois, we still have to drive all the way across it to the other side.

2:45 p.m. Stop at Burger King for a snack. Or is it a second lunch? They have a new pork tenderloin sandwich so I give it a try. Not bad. Felisa asks again how much long and I tell her Jo says it is about 2 hours and 45 minutes. Fill up with gas also before we get back on the highway. $2.85/gallon. Hopefully this will be our last stop before Grandma's house.

3:04 p.m. Back on the road again. I am starting to think we are never going to get there. Maybe that's why Felisa keeps asking –she can sense my hopelessness.

3:18 p.m. A couple guys are hanging off the Hanging Rock billboard. It looks like they are trying to get it hung up but it's pretty windy here. They fit right in though – maybe they should stay there. Just like the cows on the Chik-Fil-A signs.

3:27 p.m. A billboard of farm animals smoking. "It looks just as stupid when you do it."

3:34 p.m. Illinois! (and time zone change – oops, forgot about that)

2:39 p.m. Felisa asks how much farther . I tell her 3 hours and wait for the reaction. Jo forgot to remind us of the time change when she asked earlier. She takes it pretty well, considering.

2:52 p.m. Cows in a truck, on their way to the slaughterhouse I'm sure. Bella and Felisa tell me that they "saw a cow's butt". Great. I wonder if the butt obsession will last for the entire trip because I've noticed a recurring theme already, listening to them play.

3:49 p.m. Market report on the radio… soybeans, etc. Must be in farm country!

3:57 p.m. Listening to an NPR story about drive-in movies. That would be fun, as long as it's not too hot and there aren't any mosquitos!

4:03 p.m. News report of wildfires in Colorado. Uh oh. Hope it doesn't affect our time in Durango and Mesa Verde.

4:23 p.m. Illinois River

4:25 p.m. See a gigantic windmill blade on the back of a semi, on its way to be installed.

4:36 p.m. Caterpillar Factory

5:16 p.m. The fields and ditches have all been very wet today and there is a flood watch in effect for Peoria and the Illinois River. Guess they've had a bit of rain lately!

5:20 p.m. Road closed. Uh oh! Sure hope Jo can find us an alternate route.

First she finds a dead end road – Cucumber Hollow. Looks like it used to go through but doesn't anymore. Hit the detour button. End up following some back gravel roads between cornfields.

5:30 p.m. Pass a donkey and some cows and now we're back to a paved road. And the road closed sign. Ack!!! Press the detour button again and hope for better results.

5:37 p.m. Orange construction sign for a one-lane road ahead. Will we ever make it to Grandma's house?

5:54 p.m. See the checked flag on the screen – we're almost there! The kids are all clapping in the back.

5:58 p.m. We're here! I open the door and Ryan jumps out and breaks into a run. Excess energy from a day spent in the car perhaps?!

Grandma takes us to dinner at Ponderosa buffet. Yum. Then back home for a little tv and relaxation then bed.

Good night!

Day 1

Big Trip 5... Wow. I can't believe this is my fifth time touring the country with 3 kids in a minivan!

Day 1 - Monday - June 21, 2010

Woke up around 0645 after staying up entirely too late last night. That does not bode well for the driving today! I was able to upload my client's digi book (phew) without any technical difficulties this morning. Then time to get the kids' wardrobe for the next month set then get those kids off to school for their last day. A quick stop at Parkwood to get Mrs. K's email address and say good-bye to a couple other teachers. Back home to finish the packing and start loading the car (Ron loaded the camping gear yesterday after he put the roof-box on).

Noon and I think I'm pretty much ready. Remembered that I needed to register the brownie troop for next year (oops - forgot that one on my to-do list!). Attempted to do it real quick before I went to school to pick up the kids. No can do. Technical difficulties galore. Oh well. So much for early-bird registration. Guess we'll do regular registration sometime later in the summer.

Drop off teacher gifts and pick up the kids. Back home to dump the school stuff and pick up our fun trip bags. Last minute items into the car (almost forgot my cell phone charger!) and a photo with Vacation Mouse. Finally, it is time to hit the road.

1:53 p.m. Loaded and ready to go. Temperature, a sunny, steamy 87 degrees. Beginning mileage on the car = 70,049 (aren't you impressed that I actually remembered to write that down?!)

1:57 p.m. Jo (a.k.a. Joette, a.k.a. GPS Lady) is mad at me already. Recalculating... Little did we know that this was just the beginning of Jo's bad day...

2:10 p.m. Mom called to talk to the kids.

2:51 p.m. These kids are killing me with the snacks! I can smell slim jims and brownies and it's making me hungry!

3:13 p.m. West Virginia

3:17 p.m. Our first cow sighting of the trip. Yay!

3:23 p.m. We're off the road and Jo is lost! Guess they built a new highway here recently that's not on her map.

3:25 p.m. Crossing the Lost River. But we can't see it. That's because it's lost. Get it - the LOST river?!?

3:26 p.m. Felisa is taking pictures for me of all the nice scenery. Also, crazy pictures of Bella. Can't wait to see what comes out. Haha!

3:45 p.m. McD's in Moorefield, WV. Bathroom break and grab some food. We're all hungry! Check the map (since Jo doesn't want us to go this way I need to know which way I'm trying to go rather than relying on her instructions. Did I mention Jo is having a bad day? Recalculating...)

4:00 p.m. Leaving McD's. Stuck behind a big, slow truck.

4:20 p.m. Oh look - a nice park with a playground next to a river. Let's stop! This is the South Branch of the Potomac River. The kids run off to the playground first. I see Ryan sliding down the slide, standing up, sliding down backwards. Yikes! That looks dangerous! And I have no idea where the nearest hospital is. Tell the kids they can go down to the river. We take our shoes off and wade in the warm shallow water for a few minutes.

4:46 p.m. Leaving the park. A nice break but we'd better get going or we'll never make it to Ohio tonight!

5:12 p.m. Champe Rocks - cool looking.

5:18 p.m. Seneca Rocks. Another cool looking place. But no time to stop!

5:26 p.m. Pass a semi on a switchback. We're headed up and he's headed down. His brakes are smoking!

5:28 p.m. Made it to the top! Allegheny Mountain, 3295 feet, Eastern Continental Divide. The sign says there is a 9% grade going down the other side. No wonder that truck's brakes were smoking! We also see our first sheep grazing at the pass.

5:42 p.m. Middle Mountain, 3190 feet.

5:44 p.m. Cones in the road. I wonder why. Oh I see now - a broken down RV on the side of the road.

5:45 p.m. And now we're passing a tractor hauling two hay bales - one on the front and one on the back.

5:55 p.m. Cheat Mountain (missed the elevation on this one)

5:59 p.m. Elkins, WV We saw a cool old building and a statue of Henry Cassaway Davis.

6:41 p.m. See goats and more farmers loading hay. Must be hay-harvesting season.

6:45 p.m. Mom called again to talk to Felisa (the signal dropped during her earlier call) but Felisa is asleep in the back.

7:02 p.m. Clarksburg, WV. Gas, $2.74/gallon. A treat - stop at A&W for a snack. I'm happy to eat there since we hardly ever get to go to A&W but the girls opt out and just refill their water bottles. Ryan gets a hot dog with mustard and a root beer. I hope there's no caffeine in that root beer!

7:23 p.m. Finally getting back on the road from this stop.
Jo -"Continue 76 miles."
Me - "76 miles!?! We'll never make it."
Felisa - "That's not true. We'll make it."

8:11 p.m. Bella is teaching Felisa the cardinal directions chant. "N-E-S-W that's the way my body's going." This goes on for a surprising long time.

8:19 p.m. Well, I'm certainly tired of driving for today. And I think Ryan was feeling a bit carsick earlier from all the curvy mountain roads. But the advantage of taking this route is that there is hardly any traffic out here at all. And lots of great scenery.

8:31 p.m. First Sonic sign!

8:34 p.m. We're stuck in WV!!! The highway signs tell us to go one way. Jo tells us to go another way. We're driving off the map and in circles! Help us! We just want to cross the river into Ohio!!! The girls are in the back, cheering Jo on - "Here we go Jo-ette, here we go!" Ryan says that he is about to lose faith in Jo for today when we finally get headed in the right direction.

8:41 p.m. Ohio!!! But we're on Business Route 50, not regular Route 50. Why, Jo, why?!?

8:47 p.m. See a sign - Barns in stock, ready for delivery. Great! Maybe I'll order one. But how do they deliver a big ol' barn?

8:57 p.m. Must be sunset. Jo has switched to night mode.

9:01 p.m. Ryan is impressed that it is still light outside this late. It's the summer solstice and we are racing the sun to the hotel. Will we make it before dark?

9:04 p.m. See a tractor working in the field with headlights. I don't think I've ever seen a tractor with headlights. Maybe I just don't go out after dark.

9:10 p.m. So I'm driving at 60 mph. How fast is the sun moving away from me? How fast is the earth spinning? (A quick internet search comes up with 700 mph. Hmm. Guess the sun just might win this race!)

9:25 p.m. Made it to the hotel. The sun won. But barely!

Get checked in and changed for swimming. Head to the pool at 9:50. Our room key doesn't work at the pool. Finally get in around 10. Something tells me we're going to be up late tonight...

10:50 p.m. Finally headed back to the room. Showers and pj's for the kids. As I'm helping Bella with her swimsuit, she accidentally bumps me. Then she says, "Sorry but I don't have eyes in the back of my head like you do." How funny is that!

And now everyone is hungry so I head out to the car to grab some snacks from the snack box. I'm missing my nightly before-bed glass of milk tonight. It'll take a few days to get out of that routine so that I'm not missing it as much.

11:30 p.m. Change the channel to something boring (the local weather radar) and force the children to go to bed. After all, they need to get plenty of rest so they will be ready to ride in the car all day tomorrow! Haha!

Tomorrow... 500 miles to Grandma's house!

Rollercoasters!

Ryan on roller coasters...

Ryan - "Whenever there is an ascent, there is also a descent."
Me - "So you mean what goes up, must come down?"
Ryan - "Yeah. And..."
(and he continues to stick with the ascent/descent theme for a while, completely disregarding my perfectly good cliche.)

Bella rode the Wildcat with Ryan while I sat out with Felisa (she's not tall enough). That Aerosmith ride at Disney with Ron must have made her tough enough to ride more rollercoasters.

Felisa went on a rollercoaster that went upside down! The Super Dooper Looper. The name implies and upside-down loop. But I didn't think she was big enough to ride a rollercoaster that goes upside down. Apparently, I was wrong! The line was super short so we rode twice in a row. Whee!

Day at the Beach

Ron took Melissa and the kids to Ocean City today. I got to stay home and clean, clean, clean. I have to admit, I was glad to see them finally come home so that I could stop cleaning and not feel guilty for stopping!

They went through a mirror maze while on the boardwalk. Apparently there was a guy inside who told them that he is paid $5/hour to confuse the people in the maze. It worked, they said. Also, Bella and Felisa both said that's the job they want to have when they get older. Too funny!

It sounds like they had a good day. Spent four hours on the beach and came home with varying amounts of sunburn. I think that much time in the sun would have killed me. Very thankful to have been home.

I have challenged the kids to keep the house clean until they go back to school on Tuesday. Can we do it?

It's supposed to be a challenge... it's a shortcut. If it was easy, it would be The Way.

-from the movie Road Trip

Bits and Pieces

*Miracle of all miracles - Ryan is voluntarily practicing his cello. It's the first time in months he's played it outside of school! I hate to break it up but it's almost time to go - to school!

*My new dryer is here! I was the lucky winner of the 7-9 a.m. delivery window and they were in and out before 8:15. It fits perfectly in the spot and doesn't look like it will be eating my clothes like the last one was! Since it's raining today, I might just have to give it a test drive with a few loads of laundry instead of hanging them to dry. Thanks Mom and Dad Racinez for the dryer! We love you!

*My hero, Ron, bought me a new laptop. It was a very rush-rush last minute affair. I found out on Saturday morning that the motherboard on my old laptop was the problem and it's not worth it to repair. So he had about 24 hours to find me a new one so that I can get busy on my client's project (the client asked me about it Friday afternoon and so I could delay no longer).

*I put out a donation for Purple Heart today. I really hope they come pick it up. I also really hope it stays dry in those black garbage bags since today is another rainy day.

*I'm going to pick up a new bread machine on Freecycle today. Yay! My old one bit the dust last week and I was the winner of the one offered over the weekend. This is good since all the bread machine money (and then some!) went to the new laptop.

And now we have to go or we'll be late for school!

Ryan and Felisa

Felisa to Ryan: You're going to be 11 soon. And pretty soon you are going to move out of this house. (she counts from 10 to 16 to demonstrate)

Ryan to Felisa: That's still a lot of years!

Bella

The part needed to fix my laptop screen has arrived. Yay! Now I just need to set a time to turn it in for repair. Then I will have my laptop back to use as a laptop again. Woo hoo! I can take it up to my room and lie in bed while I work. I'm so happy about that! I'm getting rather behind on all of my scrapping/blogging projects as you may have noticed by my lack of follow-up to my week in the life project (among other absences).

Bella's First Communion was this weekend. Ron's parents were here as was Dad. A nice visit all around.

I am cleaning out the kids' craft area this afternoon. I found this written on a paper. Since it is all about Bella and this weekend was all about Bella, it seemed like a great time to post it.

Eye color: Brown
Body color: Peach
Favorite Accessory: Care Bear
Likes: Frisbee
Dislikes: Fevers
Favorite Food: hot dog from Foster's Grille
Most likely to say: No

Other than the frisbee answer, it sums her up exactly in my opinion. And Frisbee may have been her "thing of the moment" when she wrote this.

Now I'm going to put this in her special stuff drawer in her room then get back to work downstairs.

Monday

Up around 0545 or so...

0600 I'm dressed and ready to go work out. Grab my Luna Bar and water bottle to head out. Notice that Bella is no longer sleeping on the couch (she came down last night while Kim and I were talking) so I make sure she is back in her bed, not out wandering the streets somewhere.

0710 Home from working out. Get Darby up and out. Get a cup of coffee.

0715 Check email... chess club this week! Add it to the calendar.

0723 Empty the dishwasher.

0730 Put away the dry dishes that have been in the dish drainer for too long. Organize the empty jars and put them away. The dishwasher has water left in the bottom so I start the Drain Cycle.

0748 Wake up Ryan and Felisa (Bella is already up)

0750 Ron leaves for work.

0800 Kim tells me that the hair dryer from the kids' bathroom isn't working. Turns on and heats up but no air is blowing. Gets very hot very fast! Executive decision - that one is going in the trash right now!

0802 Time to make breakfast.

0808 Breakfast is served. Oatmeal and Corn Pops. Ryan asks me why I am taking so many pictures today. I tell him that it is Week In The Life week.

0815 Eleanor stops by to say good morning to the kids.

0819 Tell the kids to get dressed. Weather Report is long pants today.

0823 Zoe is here. Her dad dropped her off.

0831 Throw in a load of laundry before we head out.

0834 Leaving the house. Only a few minutes behind schedule!

0842 Drop Kim at the Metro Kiss and Ride. She is headed to DC for some meetings then flying back home to AL tonight.

0845 Drop the kids off at the school Kiss and Ride.

0849 Back home. Move the deer antler out of the driveway and back into the garden. Broke a couple tips off when I backed over it but it's still mostly intact (minus the squirrel tooth marks!).

0851 Feed Darby. He's glad I didn't forget him. I think he was probably nervous when we all left the house and he hadn't been fed yet!

0857 Dentist office called to remind me of my appointment tomorrow. Guess that means the card I found in my purse last week was a current one. I have been known to call the office about my appointment time/date because I wasn't sure if the card was from this year or some other past year. Patty was laughing at me when I told her I had done it again!

0900 - 0939 Paying bills.

0942 Laundry

0945 Grab my MP3 player and take Darby out for a walk.

1009 Back from the walk. Check emails.

1018 I'm too hungry to think. Grab a slice of bologna out of the frig.

1020 Need to make the menu plan for this week.

1023 Still too hungry to think. Warm up a slice of leftover pizza to eat.

1045 A menu plan is somewhat done. I have figured out that I do not need to go to the store today so now I can move on to other things.

1049 and then some... Email two potential clients to set up appointments for this week. Remember that I never activated the Presto Pay for the PTA's gift card orders. Oops! Get that done. Watch the online registration tutorial for the Girl Scouts. Update my calendar with my to do's for the week. Check in on the Simplify 101 message boards. Attempt to clean my desk. Right away I find Christmas cards that need addresses and were never sent. Shani calls so we talk for a bit, catching up on our weekend happenings.

12:35 p.m. School's almost out - better hit McD's for lunch before I pick them up.

1:00 p.m. At school. A bunch of Teacher Wish Lists for gift cards were there -yay!

1:30 p.m. Home again. Homework time. Look up latin roots for Ryan. Address the last two Christmas cards for 2009 now that I have received the updated addresses. I need to clean out/purge/organize the homework basket but that may have to wait until another day. Assorted laundry tasks, email, clutter control etc.

3:00 p.m. Take the girls to Grandma's house but no one is home. Maybe they went for a walk.

3:30 p.m. Picked weeds outside when I got back from Grandma's and Felisa watered the flowers. Now it's time to make dinner and take a shower before baseball.

3:45 p.m. Carlin from the school office called. Bella borrowed lunch money from the office last month but it was never paid back. Got it in an envelope to go back tomorrow.

4:15 p.m. Grandma D is here. Bella goes with her. Felisa stays because it is her turn to play with Ryan on the PS2.

4:35 p.m. Dinner is in the oven. Cheese and sausage are cut and packed to bring to the game for snack. Shower time!

5:15 Leave for baseball.

6:40 p.m. Ron arrives at the game on his way home from work. Gets a chili dog from the snack bar. Then he heads home to be there when the girls come back.

7:45 p.m. or so... the game is finally over. Ryan is upset because he was in the outfield all game except the inning he played catcher (which he doesn't like) and he struck out twice.

Talk to Ron about the game when I got home. Then Jacob stopped by to bring Ryan a snowcone from the snack bar to cheer him up. Such a nice friend!

Check emails. I can hear the kids playing together on the PS2. They are laughing and having a great time. I hate to disrupt the fun but it is getting to be bedtime.

My back is tired from my workout this morning plus my two hours spent sitting on the bleachers. I miss my laptop... I want to take my computer upstairs and lie down! Do the dishes again, give the kids their allergy meds, and fetch some clean pj pants from the basement for Ryan.

9:38 p.m. Put Darby out one last time. Get my snack of cheesy pretzels and milk. It is finally bedtime! Ron is watching 24. Apparently there are only 6 hours left. My thoughts are that a lot can go wrong in 6 hours. How many more times will Jack Bauer almost die? Ultimately the good guys will win, of course. After 24, the 10:00 news. I watch the weather and the latest on the volcano in Iceland and the ash cloud over Europe. Then I'm asleep. Such a long day today!

So it would seem I have been MIA for a bit... sorry about that! Things are getting busier and busier as we get deeper into the spring season of sports and activities.

I'm doing A Week In The Life this week. Follow along as I make note of the nitty gritty daily doings of me and my family.

Julie, Julia, and Sheila

I finally got to watch Julie and Julia today. And of course I had to multi-task. To just sit and (only) watch a movie just doesn't happen. Appropriately (I think), I chose to cook while watching. I made a Haitian cake (mini cupcakes actually) for Thinking Day tonight. And peeled apples for a batch of applesauce. I picked up my farm food today and included in this month's share - 15 pounds of apples!!! We won't talk about how I hadn't touched the peck of apples from last month. But now I have 5 left from last month and a batch of applesauce simmering away.

I enjoyed the movie. Even though I enjoy cooking, I don't think I could stand up to a year of intense cooking like that!

In other news:
*It looks like we dodged the snow bullet this time. I have to admit though that a tiny bit of me is sorry we didn't get another big storm. I must be crazy to want more snow drama.

*The kids have become my boot police. Each of them on separate occasions have said to me, "Aren't you supposed to be wearing your boot?" My standard reply... "I'll put it on later after I take my shower and get dressed." I like to think of it as ankle exercise to walk around bootless in my pj's in the mornings. I go back next Tuesday for a checkup. Hope it's good news! And in case you're wondering, I'm not wearing my boot right now either. I went out to the compost bin in the back and though most of the mud is frozen, I still needed to give my boot a bath when I came back inside. I promise I'll put it on before I go to school to get the kids!

Sorry!

So there in my email inbox is a note from the National Weather Service... Winter Storm Watch. 5 inches or more. Huh. I think the jury is still out - lots of weather reports are showing the snow as being farther north again this time.

Fast forward a little... I went downstairs to hang the latest load of laundry to dry. I had washed all the towels that had been on the floor catching snowy boots, mittens, etc. I didn't need them anymore so decided to wash them and put them away. Oh so efficient. And then it hit me... It's going to snow. No doubt about it. This is just like when I wash the kids' sheets and then that very night, someone has an accident. Wash the snow towels - a snowstorm comes riding in.

Also, the dentist called yesterday. The kids have an appointment Thursday afternoon. It always snows or rains when we go to the dentist. So that pretty much seals the deal, I think.

So I'd like to apologize in advance to all my snow-weary friends out there... Sorry!

It's history: Winter 2009-2010 snowiest on record - Capital Weather Gang

It's history: Winter 2009-2010 snowiest on record - Capital Weather Gang: "...PRELIMINARY ALL-TIME SEASONAL SNOWFALL RECORDS SET AT THE THREE MAJOR CLIMATE SITES IN THE BALTIMORE-WASHINGTON AREA...
AS OF 2 PM TODAY...WITH THE 9.8 INCH TWO-DAY SNOWFALL TOTAL MEASURED AT RONALD REAGAN WASHINGTON NATIONAL AIRPORT...THE SEASONAL SNOWFALL TOTAL IN WASHINGTON DC STANDS AT 54.9 INCHES. THIS WOULD BREAK THE PREVIOUS ALL-TIME SEASONAL SNOWFALL RECORD FOR WASHINGTON DC OF 54.4 INCHES SET IN THE WINTER OF 1898-99. OFFICIAL SNOWFALL RECORDS FOR WASHINGTON DC DATE BACK 126 YEARS TO 1884.
AS OF 1 PM TODAY...WITH THE 11.9 INCH TWO-DAY SNOWFALL TOTAL MEASURED AT BALTIMORE/WASHINGTON INTERNATIONAL THURGOOD MARSHALL AIRPORT...THE SEASONAL SNOWFALL TOTAL IN BALTIMORE STANDS AT 72.3 INCHES. THIS WOULD BREAK THE PREVIOUS ALL-TIME SEASONAL SNOWFALL RECORD FOR BALTIMORE OF 62.5 INCHES SET IN THE WINTER OF 1995-96. OFFICIAL SNOWFALL RECORDS FOR BALTIMORE DATE BACK 118 YEARS TO 1893.
FINALLY...AS OF YESTERDAY...THIS YEARS SEASONAL SNOWFALL TOTAL AT DULLES INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT STOOD AT 63.5 INCHES. THIS WOULD BREAK THE PREVIOUS SEASONAL SNOWFALL RECORD OF 61.9 INCHES SET IN 1995-96. AS OF 1 PM THIS AFTERNOON...THE TWO-DAY SNOWFALL TOTAL AT DULLES IS 8.5 INCHES...WHICH WOULD MAKE THIS YEARS SEASONAL SNOWFALL TOTAL 72.0 INCHES. OFFICIAL SNOWFALL RECORDS FOR DULLES DATE BACK 48 YEARS TO 1962.
THESE PRELIMINARY STORM TOTALS ARE AS OF THIS WEDNESDAY AFTERNOON 10 FEB 2010...AND WILL BE UPDATED AFTER THE CURRENT SNOW HAS ENDED."

I got the boot!

{background theme song playing... "I fought the stairs and the stairs won"}

So late Saturday afternoon, after a few hours of shoveling insane amounts of snow and continuously commenting in amazement about the insane amounts of snow, I went inside to defrost and rest. Then I made dinner and did the dishes. Next on the list of things to do... take a shower and get ready to go schlepping through the snow to scrap with my buddy. Unfortunately I'm a bit of a clutz by nature so when I decided to go close the curtain on the back door, instead I missed the step, twisted my ankle as I fell and screamed bloody murder (and lots of obscenities) while I lie writhing in pain on the floor trying to catch my breath. The curtain remained open. After a few minutes I gathered myself together and crawled back up the steps (there are only two steps there - a very dangerous two steps down which many people have fallen over the years though all with less pain and injury), through the kitchen to the living room. Pulled myself up onto the couch, put my leg up on the back of the couch and watched Ron outside clearing off the car. (The kids had all gone up the street to Grandma D's house so only Darby was a witness to my fall.) Debated whether or not to knock on the window and ask for help. Decided I might need the car to get to the emergency room so left him alone to work. Then my scrap buddy called me back to see if all was okay (okay, so maybe there was one other witness to at least the verbal portion of my fall!). I gave her the bad news that I would NOT in fact be going to her house that night. Then I crawled back to the kitchen (did I mention that I heard a snap when I fell? I could bear weight but didn't want to make anything worse than it already was), pulled myself up, turned off the stove, covered the soup, made myself and ice pack and then hopped/crawled my way upstairs to my room. Propped it up with ice and waited for Ron to discover my predicament.

Dr. Google said it might be broken, might be a sprain. Recommended RICE (rest, ice, compression, elevation) of which I was already doing 3 of the 4. Had Ron wrap my foot/ankle with an ace bandage. Popped a few Motrin. Decided to sleep on it and decide whether or not I wanted to go to the ER on Sunday. (Remember the 2+ feet of snow and barely-plowed roads?)

Sunday I talked to some friends and emailed Dr. Julie (sometimes it pays to have a college friend who becomes a pediatric orthopedic surgeon!) who was nice enough to humor me and give me an email consultation. She recommended staying OFF the foot because if it was broken, it could be made worse by walking on it, potentially even bad enough to need surgery. I had seen that exact same thing happen to someone else a year or so ago so I was already paranoid about that and definitely staying off my foot. Ron brought the crutches up from the basement so I could crutch around more and hop less. I decided to just wait until Monday to see the doctor because if it was broken, the ER wouldn't cast me and would just send me to the ortho anyway. Saving time and money and stress by staying in bed another day seemed like a perfectly good option to me.

Monday morning... there is still way too much snow outside. All the schools and even the federal government are closed. And so are the first 3 doctor's offices I call. Finally I call the doctor that mom had used. He was doing surgeries on Monday but had an opening Tuesday morning. I took it! And then spent another entire day in bed. The good news though is that I got the last few monthes worth of digital pictures backed up onto the external hard drive and I am almost completely done with the digital album of our trip to Disney last January.

And now... I have been to see the doctor. My ankle is not broken just sprained. I have a walking boot and go back in 3 weeks for a follow-up. And my "vacation" is over. Oh and that trip down the long icy driveway this morning was a bit nerve-wracking. If my ankle wasn't already broken, I thought for sure it might be by the time I got to the doctor's office! Also, my ankle actually hurts more now that I'm walking on it with my boot. So I must remember to take frequent breaks and rest my foot - not get too drunk on this re-found freedom! All the fun of my housework is just too much to resist sometimes. ha ha.

This experience has allowed me to recognize a few blessings in my life.
*My children took excellent care of me - brought me breakfast in bed twice. And when they remembered to, came up to check on me periodically. Also, if they could hear my yelling, they would come running to help me with whatever I needed (usually a glass of water).
*Ron got the crutches out for me. Did pretty much all of the shoveling. And generally held the fort down while I was out of commission. I know being snowed in for days is not his favorite thing and having a broken wife on top of it is even worse, but he handled it all very well.
*I have lots of friends who care about me and who will keep me company over the phone while I convalesce. They also offered to cook or chauffeur or whatever I need. I love my village!
*While I am not in fabulous shape, I am thankful for how fit I *am*. Getting around on crutches is hard and I'm sore. I can't even imagine how impossible it would have been to crutch and to jump up stairs and to balance on one leg if I hadn't been going to my exercise class (fairly) regularly over the past 4 years.
*I can walk!

32 inches

The snow total at Dulles... 32 inches. That's A LOT of snow! Especially for this area.

edited to include this list of nicknames (thanks, Mapi)...
Snowapalooza
Snowmageddon
Snowpocalypse
The Snowtorious BIG

and of course the much less exciting name, the one used by all the newscasters, Blizzard of 2010.

I think we ended up with the #4 biggest snowfall of all (recorded) time. Not sure how we're stacking up on the total winter snowfall tally.

#501

Just now, when I signed in to Blogger, I noticed that I have made 500 posts. That's a lot. Who knew I had so much to say?!

And now here is post #501, full of randomness...

*Who stole my measuring spoons? I have two sets. One is missing. I recently reorganized my silverware drawer so they shouldn't be lost. They should be even easier to find! So if anyone sees my spoons out wandering the streets, please send them home! I need them to properly prepare nourishment for my family during the Blizzard of 2010.

*I set the mouse trap today. Not sure if the evidence I saw is old or new. Guess time will tell...

*I love sharp pencils. While working at the preschool yesterday, one of my jobs was the sharpen the colored pencils that the kids were using. That was one awesome electric pencil sharpener! Normally I'm a fan of the old fashioned ones that were screwed to the walls in elementary school. But this one was pretty nice. I wonder what the lifespan is of that particular model. Because that's one of my complaints about electric sharpeners - they never seem to last more than a year, even with minimal use. On a related note... pencils are more environmentally friendly than plastic inkpens that are thrown away rather than refilled.

*I am currently loving the red white and bleu potato salad from Safeway and the Mediterranean Feta salsa from Whole Foods.

*Latest snow forecast... 20-30 inches! Yikes! That's a lot of snow! Potentially rivaling the historic Knickerbocker storm in 1922.

Recycling!

I love those "how it's made" shows. For some reason I am fascinated by how things are made. No idea why. I just am.

So "Factory Made" was on tonight when I turned the TV on. Did you know that railroad ties can be made out of recycled plastic and recycled tires? How cool is that!

Quote

A year from now you will wish you had started today.

-Karen Lamb