Mother's Guilt

Well, Dylan and Sam missed school yesterday and tomorrow is iffy too, especially for Dylan who as of last night was running a 103.5 fever. Sam actually seems to be feeling OK but he is coughing and wheezing a lot. Dylan on the other hand does not feel good and actually told my Mom that he thought he needed to the doctor. Last night he had a hard time sleeping and around 10:30 came to me, asked for some cold water and said he needed to cuddle. It was so cute!!! Although we are pretty strict about the boys sleeping in their own beds, all bets are off when you have a sickie.

Mom, Dad and Blanca too the boys to the doctor yesterday and they're back on nebulizing treatments (3 times a day for a week). The doctor also said that they should not go outside on orange or higher days and that could be half the summer. Needless to say I'm worried about trying to keep two really active little boys in the house for a good chunk of the summer. Once they feel better they will not understand why they're not allowed to ride their bikes and play outside. Obviously I want to keep them healthy and will do anything necessary but I don't want them stuck inside watching TV all the time (that's not healthy either). Anyway I made an appointment to the pulmonologist that treated Dylan the first year. I really liked him. He's a realist, explains the options and listens to the parents.

I'm up early to bike and looking forward to my last day of work this week. Nothing like a two day work week!! Mark and I are heading to Key West tomorrow for Mike and Gina's wedding and I am excited about getting away but feeling guilty about leaving the kids. I know they are in good hands with my folks (two doctors should be able to handle the kids) but it does feel a bit wrong to leave when Dylan is feeling so awful.

Sick Boys

So Dylan is a sickie. He had a temp of 100.7 this morning but was still excited to go out and play. We went to two parks this morning and the boys made some new friends but we all got slightly overheated so we headed to the store to pick up a few things. The boys had some lunch and then went down for their nap.

While the kids were napping Mom and I went out to do some shopping and Papa and Grandpop were on kid duty. I am happy to report that I found a great dress for the wedding in Key West.

Neither boy slept for very long and when Dylan woke up his temp was up to 103 and he threw up a little. When Mom and I got home he looked miserable. Sam and Dylan wanted to go outside to play but when we got outside Dylan just wanted to sit next to Grandpop and then he wanted to go back in the house to cuddle and watch trains.

We made dinner and both boys threw up at the table. It was so absurd we all just started to laugh.


Well, it will likely be off to doctor in the AM.

Preschool Rockers

Well, yesterday was a big day. We started out in Old Town at the Godspeed Festival which is part of the 400th anniversary celebration of America. We got there a bit later than we planned and it was already quite crowded (everyone, except Sam, Dylan and me, slept in late). We didn't get to tour the historic 17th century replica ship but no one seemed to mind. We watched a little performance and then just walked around. We ended up at the Whistle Shop Hobby Shop, a great little train shop in Old Town, a favorite with the boys, then we moved on to the "truck park" a little park with a sandbox and trucks from the neighborhood. After playing for a while we headed back to the car had lunch and the kids took a long nap.

Our evening was all about the HFStival. I can't believe at 40 I went to another HFStival. Tom had everything arranged beautifully!! We drove up the venue and we were guided to a parking spot right backstage. Dylan and Sam were very excited to see Uncle Adam and wear their "ear gloves" - ear muffs to minimize the decibel level and protect their little ears. We watched the Strokes from the side of the stage and the boys danced on top of a big box. We found Kumie and Dail out front but our visit was cut short by a call for a potty run. It's hard to seem cool when you have to run every five minutes to go potty, but I guess I prefer no diapers to appearing cool.

Anyway, CC went on around 10 pm, two hours after Dylan and Sam's regular bedtime and after Dylan had thrown up for the first time of the evening. Sam was very excited but Dylan was feeling a bit under the weather and slept through a good bit on the show. After a potty run backstage, Sam kept pointing to the stage so we took the boys up to the stage to join in the fun of "hangin around". Sam ran all over the stage and Uncle Adam threw him up in the air to the audience's delight. Dylan wanted to be held so I obliged.

During the last three songs both Sam and Dylan threw up and Dylan was over the concert experience. We went backstage, got the boys in their PJs, said our goodbyes and headed home.

Even though Dylan didn't get to sleep until after 12:30 he was still up at 6:00 and ready to get out of bed 30 min later. He told me he is sick and has a fever of 100.7.

While I'm writing they are up playing with Grandma and Grandpa so I better run.

Summer Activities

I signed up the boys for some classes this summer though the county park system. On Tuesday morning I signed them up for Preschool Picassos, an arts and crafts class. Dylan’s preschool teacher suggested the class.

This morning I got the last two slots in a parent/child soccer class. I’m really looking forward to the soccer class. It’s every Saturday morning (at 9:15) for 8 weeks and it’ll give us a chance to run around with the boys while they’re learning to listen to instruction and take turns, skills that will come in handy in the future. Maybe we’ll learn something too.

A Day at the Farm

Sam Dylan and Luis


Ben Sloane


The phone rang this morning at 5:45 AM while I was biking and it was Blanca. Unfortunately she was calling to tell us that she was feeling quite under the weather. We hope that she feels better soon. Dylan and Sam had a school field trip today so I decided to skip work and be a mom all day, it was so much fun!!!

We started at school singing Shabbat songs. Dylan kept asking where his friend Ben was and was quite distraught until he showed up. When Ben did arrive Dylan and Sam were so happy. According to his mom (Vickie), Ben loves all the attention. The three boys had a play date on Monday and we are planning more especially over the summer break.

Anyway, after songs at the school we loaded up our cars to caravan (kind of) out to Kidwell Farms at Frying Pan Park . The kids had a wonderful time. There was a playground which had a great "rock" climbing side, then we had a picnic, visited the animals, played on the tractors and took a hay ride. All in all it was a wonderful "first" fieldtrip.

After our fun at the farm we headed to "Mama's office to pretend to work", this was Dylan's very appropriate description. We headed into town to pick up some papers I need to work over the weekend on a big project that's due on Tuesday. I had planned to complete the project today but I'm glad I got to spend the day with the boys!!

We have a big weekend ahead of us. Mom, Dad and Adam come into town tomorrow and the band is performing on Sunday. If we have good weather we hope to get to the pool and start the summer with a bang!!

10 Inches Gone

Hair Before and After



So here are my before and after shots. Mark just posted them for me (I will learn how to do it myself soon). I am still adjusting to the new haircut but it is a fun change!

We had a great day today at the Potomac Hunt Club's race day. The boys had a great time watching the horses and chasing Gage around.

I'm off to finish my thank you notes.

Typos

My first week as a blogger has been kind of lame but I just haven't had much time this week to write. And when I was chatting with my Dad earlier tonight he pointed out the typo in the title of my blog. It’s been corrected it and you all should feel free to let me know when I make an embarrassing typo!! I warned you about early morning posting.

Anyway, I will try to be more consistent with my posts.

So I had a pretty rough week. On Monday we found out that a dear colleague and friend died suddenly of a heart attack on Sunday and it threw us all into a tailspin. I had known John Luehrs since he first came to AARP in the early 90’s. As I wrote in his tribute book at work, John guided us in our health advocacy efforts, inspired us with his spirit and dedication, and helped us through challenging situations with his intellect and humor. There was a very touching memorial service at work on Wednesday and his funeral was yesterday. I’m just heartbroken for his family. It’s rough on his friends and I can’t imagine what his family is going through. There were a lot of tears this week and we raised a few drinks in his honor. John was just a great guy and he will be missed.

On a much lighter note, today was a big day for me. As many of you know I have been growing out my hair for 9 months preparing to donate it to Locks of Love (http://www.locksoflove.org/ ) and today was the big day. I chopped off over 10 inches of hair. I took before and after shots and when Mark gets home I’ll have him show me how to post them. Anyway it’s a big change.

OK, I have to get back to the boys. More later.

Gina – the shoes arrived today. You’ll have to tell me what you think.

40 th Birthday

Well, turning 40 was a lot less traumatic than I had been lead to believe.  Actually, I had a really amazing weekend and I want to thank everyone for making my birthday so great.  

Mark did an amazing job pulling off a surprise party right under my nose.  I figured we were going to do a bit more than have dinner with my family but I never guessed that he would whip up such a terrific party.  You can see photos on Mark (http://homerclees.blogspot.com/) and Kumie’s (http://icegrl.blogspot.com/) blogs.

I’m pooped tonight so I’ll write more about the weekend tomorrow.

My first day as a blogger

I'm a devotee of the blogs of several friends (Kumie and Gina) and truly addicted to my husband's blog so as a approach my 40th birthday (Sunday) I decided it was time for me to start a blog of my own.

I'm really not sure what I'll write here but I thought I would give it a go. My life is pretty much about family (I have a great one and married into a great one) so I'm sure that will be my main focus.

I have to learn how to add pictures but Mark (my husband said he would show me).

I'm a pretty early riser so I think a lot of my posts will be early morning and I make no promises about spelling or grammar before 10 am.

Anyway I want to thank everyone (you know who you are) for this week and for making me feel really loved and special as I lead up to my b-day.

I feel pretty good about turning forty, I have a wonderful husband, amazing kids, my family is here (Mom, Dad, and big brother), and the rest of my family and friend are the best in the world. I pretty much think it will just keep getting better. Don't worry, I'm not naive, I know there will be ups and downs but the alternative to aging is not a good option.

Anyway, everyone is still sleeping so I have some time to myself. I got up at 4:30 to ride my bike, took a shower and went back to bed for a bit. Dylan was in bed with Mark and did not leave much room for me but I love cuddling so I really didn't mind. Sam can in around 6:45 and wanted me to take him down to grandma and grandpa who are staying in our basement guestroom. Dylan just came down (7:34) and is now hanging out with me.

Mom and I are getting manicures and pedicures at 10 am and then Mark and I will head to the Kennedy Center to see a ballet. In the evening we are going out to dinner, I don't know where but I am thrilled because I didn't have to plan a thing.

It's going to be a good day!