Jenny S recently accepted the challenge from me to clean out her closet and take pictures of some of the more "interesting" items she unearthed. Clickety here to see her results. I don't know how long she has been holding on to those sweaters, but have just one thing to say about them, "Burn, Baby, burn!"
Now it's your turn. Be sure to drop me a comment and let me know when to come and look!
I am still in Boston. Early tomorrow morning I will be flying out West, First class! Thanks Secret Agent Man. He and the kids will be sitting in Coach. Muwahaha! Er, I mean. Awwww....
When our plane lands we will be headed to "the river." If you are from that area, you know what I mean when I say "the river." If you are not, you might not know what river I am referring to.
Two days after we get back, I am headed to Portland! Woot and whew!
Thursday, July 31, 2008
Friday, July 25, 2008
Don't shoot until you see the whites of their eyes!
Kimber and Amanda guessed correctly. I am in Boston! I am here visiting my sister, Fashionista, the one who periodically does the wardrobing posts.
The picture from the preceding post was taken at Bunker Hill. It is very similar to the Washington Monument, but the obelisk at Bunker hill is smaller and, from what I understand, it only has one window at the top instead of two. We walked up one side and down the other of Bunker Hill after the most fabulous meal I have ever had which can only be described as mo' rockin'! If you have a chance to visit Tangierino Morrocan restaurant in Charlestown, I would highly recommend it. I am sadly lacking in the review department. It would take a concerted effort on my part to describe the food and the irridescentness of the belly dancers gold costume, so I'm just going to say, it's great! Go there!
I have been here since early Tuesday a.m. My kids were terribly spoiled. We had the last four rows of the airplane to ourselves. Each one of them was able to stretch out on three seats and sleep for the five hour flight.
We have done so many things since we have been here. I don't have time to mention them all now because we are taking advantage of the sunny weather and visiting Plimouth Plantation today. But, I will mention one of the highlights... I met a couple of my sister's closest friends, Dana and Macy. Dana has a gorgeous home and even more gorgeous children. Mini Me was in Girl Heaven, she didn't want to leave. She pouted all the way home. And Macy is a fellow blogger and SYTYCD Recap Goddess Extraordanarious! I was so excited to find out she was a blogger, too! I wasn't planning on a Bloggy Meet and Greet, but it happened anyway! I love that!
Okay, I gotta split. It's time to watch some pilgrims churn butters. I'll tell ya more about my trip later.
Thursday, July 24, 2008
Monday, July 21, 2008
Up, up she goes!
Where she lands, only a couple people know! Now you know that I was in Arizona last night, where I am going today is anyone's guess. E-dub, put your hand down! Give the rest of the class a chance.Saturday, July 19, 2008
Knock, knock...
Someone who reads this blog will be receiving a surprise visit from me on Sunday night. I hope that you will be home. I hope that you will be as excited to see me as I am to see you. I won't be coming alone and I won't be empty-handed.
Could it be you?
Update!!
If you have the chance to stop by Nancy and Lauren's house at 9pm on a Sunday night, I highly recommend it. They were surprised and welcoming. They were in their jammies, too, which was an extra treat! I can honestly testify, having seen them with my own eyes, that they are not men. Nancy and Lauren are all they claim to be on their blogs and more! Our visit was short but sweet, afterall, I did "pop in" on them at bedtime, but I know that if we had the whole weekend to be together, they would be a total blast.
Thank you, thank you Nancy and Lauren for welcoming my family and I into your home.
I don't want to make anyone jealous, but... I saw Lauren's wedding dress!
I had a video of our visit, but the connection here at the hotel in Phoenix is really slow:( Maybe I will try to load it again later.
Thursday, July 17, 2008
What I wish someone would have told me before the Emergency Room
Let me first say that I am not a doctor, nor do I play one on TV, but if someone would have told me some of these things, it may have saved us some dough and my kids some trauma.
Tis’ a Flesh Wound
My son was jumping on the trampoline at my brother’s house. Bless their hearts, they made the effort to put the safety net around their trampoline. But, it was the metal stairs that lead up to the trampoline that my son cut his head on during a mad, three-kid-scramble to climb out. I was at work, my husband was at school, my sister-in-law did the right thing by calling us. Of course, we hurried over to their house to attend to our son. Although the cut wasn’t deep, it was bleeding a lot. We took our five-year-old to the emergency room. By the time we arrived, the bleeding had stopped. We weren’t concerned about a concussion because my son was lucid and his pupils were their normal size, but we thought that stitches might be in order. When we finally saw the doctor, he informed us that head wounds tend to bleed a lot because there are a lot of capillaries near the surface. He said that the cut wasn’t deep or large enough to merit stitches. The doctor asked the nurse to put Neosporin on my kid’s head and sent us on our way. That was the most expensive tube of Neosporin ever!
Don’t Leave Home without your Pharmacy
Our other son tripped a couple weeks ago in the backyard and broke his arm. He is not prone to drama or whining, so when he continued crying and agonizing, I knew something had to be broken. When we got to the ER, they immediately immobilized his arm. That didn’t seem to help with the pain much. They said they had nothing to offer him for the pain. What? Isn’t this an ER? After over an hour of waiting, x-rays, and a temporary cast was put on, finally some Tylenol magically appeared. The instructions were to continue giving him Tylenol or Acetaminophen for the pain, Ibuprophen was not recommended. Had I known that he could have Tylenol, I would have given it to him before we left that house, that way he wouldn’t have had to suffer so much.
Yankee Doodle Out your Elbow
When my daughter was 3 and my sons were 5, they picked her up by her arms and legs and tried to swing her. She immediately started crying and holding her arm. Again, this child is not prone to whining or over-reacting, so when she continued crying and didn’t want to move her arm, we decided to take her to the ER. My husband, the Eagle Scout, created a splint for her. Keeping it immobile seemed to help a bit. Because we didn’t actually see what the boys did to her, we found out later through a remorseful confession, the doctor ordered x-rays, where they moved and manipulated my daughter’s arm as she howled and wailed like a chorus of love sick coyotes. It was awful to hear and to witness. When the x-rays came back clear, the doctor decided she had Nursemaid elbow. Basically he turned her palm up, pressed his thumb on the inside crease of her elbow and bent her arm. Voila, the crying and the pain immediately stopped. Then he repeated the procedure to show us how we could do it at home if it slipped out again. The instructions are on the web. Again, never at any point did they give her anything for the pain.
Up Your Nose with a Rubber Hose
During my jewelry making phase, I wasn’t as careful with my supplies as I should have been. Two-year-old Mini Me, on a couple of occasions, found the beads on the floor and shoved them up her nose. The first time it happened, Secret Agent Man and I ran circles around each other wondering how we were going to get that bead out. While we were stewing over what to do, she pulled herself up onto the couch, which took enough breath and exertion that she just blew it right out her nose. When we repeated the story to Grandma she reminded S.A.M. that Aunt Who’s-Its used to blow things out of kid’s noses by plugging the clear nostril and blowing gently in to the child’s mouth. The air would then force the bead or bean or whatever the offender may be right out. So, the second time Mini Me had a bead stuffed up her nose, obviously neither one of us learned our lesson the first time, Secret Agent Man swiftly blew it out. Aunt Who’s-It's technique worked like a charm!
I feel grateful our trips to the E.R. have been over minor incidences. I also feel grateful for the excellent care we have received. But, I think because of our lack of information and experience our kids have had to suffer and we have had to pay out more than we would have if we had armed ourselves with more information. I’m not suggesting that you don’t take your kid to the Emergency Room, I am suggesting that, we don't let embarrassment or fear of looking like a "bad" or neglectful parent keep us from sharing our stories with each other so that another family can benefit from or make a decision based on information and experience and not panic.
These are just our family's stories and our experience. If blowing into your kid’s mouth to get the macaroni noodle out of their nose, makes them go cross-eyed, don’t sue me because, as I said in the beginning, I’m not a doctor nor do I play one on TV.
Tis’ a Flesh Wound
My son was jumping on the trampoline at my brother’s house. Bless their hearts, they made the effort to put the safety net around their trampoline. But, it was the metal stairs that lead up to the trampoline that my son cut his head on during a mad, three-kid-scramble to climb out. I was at work, my husband was at school, my sister-in-law did the right thing by calling us. Of course, we hurried over to their house to attend to our son. Although the cut wasn’t deep, it was bleeding a lot. We took our five-year-old to the emergency room. By the time we arrived, the bleeding had stopped. We weren’t concerned about a concussion because my son was lucid and his pupils were their normal size, but we thought that stitches might be in order. When we finally saw the doctor, he informed us that head wounds tend to bleed a lot because there are a lot of capillaries near the surface. He said that the cut wasn’t deep or large enough to merit stitches. The doctor asked the nurse to put Neosporin on my kid’s head and sent us on our way. That was the most expensive tube of Neosporin ever!
Don’t Leave Home without your Pharmacy
Our other son tripped a couple weeks ago in the backyard and broke his arm. He is not prone to drama or whining, so when he continued crying and agonizing, I knew something had to be broken. When we got to the ER, they immediately immobilized his arm. That didn’t seem to help with the pain much. They said they had nothing to offer him for the pain. What? Isn’t this an ER? After over an hour of waiting, x-rays, and a temporary cast was put on, finally some Tylenol magically appeared. The instructions were to continue giving him Tylenol or Acetaminophen for the pain, Ibuprophen was not recommended. Had I known that he could have Tylenol, I would have given it to him before we left that house, that way he wouldn’t have had to suffer so much.
Yankee Doodle Out your Elbow
When my daughter was 3 and my sons were 5, they picked her up by her arms and legs and tried to swing her. She immediately started crying and holding her arm. Again, this child is not prone to whining or over-reacting, so when she continued crying and didn’t want to move her arm, we decided to take her to the ER. My husband, the Eagle Scout, created a splint for her. Keeping it immobile seemed to help a bit. Because we didn’t actually see what the boys did to her, we found out later through a remorseful confession, the doctor ordered x-rays, where they moved and manipulated my daughter’s arm as she howled and wailed like a chorus of love sick coyotes. It was awful to hear and to witness. When the x-rays came back clear, the doctor decided she had Nursemaid elbow. Basically he turned her palm up, pressed his thumb on the inside crease of her elbow and bent her arm. Voila, the crying and the pain immediately stopped. Then he repeated the procedure to show us how we could do it at home if it slipped out again. The instructions are on the web. Again, never at any point did they give her anything for the pain.
Up Your Nose with a Rubber Hose
During my jewelry making phase, I wasn’t as careful with my supplies as I should have been. Two-year-old Mini Me, on a couple of occasions, found the beads on the floor and shoved them up her nose. The first time it happened, Secret Agent Man and I ran circles around each other wondering how we were going to get that bead out. While we were stewing over what to do, she pulled herself up onto the couch, which took enough breath and exertion that she just blew it right out her nose. When we repeated the story to Grandma she reminded S.A.M. that Aunt Who’s-Its used to blow things out of kid’s noses by plugging the clear nostril and blowing gently in to the child’s mouth. The air would then force the bead or bean or whatever the offender may be right out. So, the second time Mini Me had a bead stuffed up her nose, obviously neither one of us learned our lesson the first time, Secret Agent Man swiftly blew it out. Aunt Who’s-It's technique worked like a charm!
I feel grateful our trips to the E.R. have been over minor incidences. I also feel grateful for the excellent care we have received. But, I think because of our lack of information and experience our kids have had to suffer and we have had to pay out more than we would have if we had armed ourselves with more information. I’m not suggesting that you don’t take your kid to the Emergency Room, I am suggesting that, we don't let embarrassment or fear of looking like a "bad" or neglectful parent keep us from sharing our stories with each other so that another family can benefit from or make a decision based on information and experience and not panic.
These are just our family's stories and our experience. If blowing into your kid’s mouth to get the macaroni noodle out of their nose, makes them go cross-eyed, don’t sue me because, as I said in the beginning, I’m not a doctor nor do I play one on TV.
Tuesday, July 15, 2008
Friday, July 11, 2008
In case you are interested...
Click here to read my latest Home and Garden article. I would like to thank my fellow "homies" for taking part in the informal poll! Do you have any suggestions for topics for my next article?
Thursday, July 10, 2008
Tell-tale Closet
I spent a good portion of the afternoon cleaning out my closet, a project I started months ago. They say that you can tell a lot about a woman by her closet. I wonder if that's true.
I made this t-shirt. Does anyone know the significance of this number?
Got jeans?
You: Annie, do you actually wear that shirt?
Me: What do you think?! Gosh!
Hollywood, Bollywood, Hoochie, Pucci.
Wednesday, July 9, 2008
Them Paynes know how to party!
Excuse the hiatus. I've been partying with the Paynes. Secret Agent Man took us to a family reunion for his side of the family. We all had a blast. About 125 Paynes attended (Insert joke here). What could be confused for torture was actually just pure Payne-style fun!
Yep! The bossy one is mine.
No children where harmed in the making of this video, but the grass will never be the same.
Aunt Sarah gives an underdog.
Paynez gotz jump ropin' skillz
More bells! Warning you will not get the next 35 seconds of your life back.
Tuesday, July 1, 2008
Where this mom draws the line, Part Three: Orange Puffs of Death
Today: I am the top post at Mile High Mamas. Click here to read and comment on where I draw the line when it comes to this popular snack food. One hint: Orange Puffs of Death. Don't even get me started on Oreos and nachos.
Yesterday: Boy #1 broke is arm last night:( I will tell you all about that later. If you have never been through this, I have some advice for you.
Don't forget to scroll down to participate in my informal poll.
Yesterday: Boy #1 broke is arm last night:( I will tell you all about that later. If you have never been through this, I have some advice for you.
Don't forget to scroll down to participate in my informal poll.
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