Sunday, February 28, 2010

More pictures from the dance




Father/Daughter Valentine's Day Dance 2010

Tonight is the Annual Father/Daughter Valentine's Day Dance put on by the Upton Men's Club. In case you're wondering, Jake and I will be sitting around in our sweatpants playing Super Mario Brothers Wii.

The garage is under way!

After almost 8 years of living in this house we have finally started to build the garage. Yesterday we met with the contractor and paid the down payment on the garage. At first we'll only be putting up the shell of the garage (complete with siding) and just an open space upstairs. Slowly we'll be able to finish off the top with a small mother-in-law apartment for when Mom and Dad (and other guests) come to visit. It's exciting to know that we'll soon have a garage but it's a pain in the butt having to deal with contractors again. Just sitting in the meeting with them yesterday and finalizing the contract was like dealing with a used car salesman. You have to look through every little detail to make sure they're not hiding all sorts of hidden fees on you that you'll be required to pay down the line in order to get your occupancy permit. Luckily after dealing with so many contractors for work I'm starting to get the hang of this whole process. Of course that still doesn't mean that I like it but I'll be happy once the garage is done.

Friday, February 26, 2010

And the cheese stands alone

As of about 11:50 p.m. last night Lincoln is officially the only one in our family that hasn't gotten this stomach bug. We had just gone to sleep last night when the sound of vomit hitting the bucket come from down the hall. Luckily, in my paranoia of both kids getting sick while Lincoln was gone last weekend, I had put buckets next to both beds "just in case". Hannah's bucket was still there and she managed to throw up into the bucket. Afterwards, while I tucked her back into bed I had Lincoln clean the bucket. I figured that was only fair since I had spent an entire day with Jake cleaning up his puke and Lincoln had - so far - remained unscathed. But, of course, Lincoln is off to work today and I'm home with a puking kid again. Considering I'm not 100% myself yet after my bout with the bug yesterday, it is going to be one long miserable day until Daddy gets home.

Thursday, February 25, 2010

Sharing

We never should have taught Jake how to share. He has so graciously shared with me the horrible stomach bug that has been going around that struck him this past Monday. I got up this morning to get ready for work, got dressed, put on make-up and then WHAM! It hit me like a ton of bricks. I've been in bed ever since and can barely move. Just posting this has pretty much worn me out so it's time for another nap. I've lost track of how many naps I've taken today.

Wednesday, February 24, 2010

Attention to detail

One of Hannah's chores is to organize the shoes on the shoe rack in the mud room. This morning I grabbed a "pair" of boots, threw them on, and ran out the door. I just noticed one is black and one is brown. Obviously we need to talk to her about paying attention to detail.....not to mention I need to pay more attention. Like mother, like daughter.

Tuesday, February 23, 2010

God bless single mothers (and fathers)

Yesterday was a rough day with Jake being sick. He started throwing up around 5:30 a.m. and by noon I had lost track of how many times he had gotten sick. Lincoln flew back from Virginia that morning and went straight to work so he didn't get home until almost 7 p.m. and I was on my own all day with a sick, feverish, miserable 5-year old. Jake and I did great all day but by the time Lincoln walked in the door I was ready to hand him off and go upstairs for a rest.

I don't know how single parents do it. I also don't know how people do it without family close by. We're lucky enough that Lincoln's parents live right around the corner from us and they could come pick up Hannah for me so that she could catch the bus without me having to bundle up Jake and take him out in the cold. Hannah gets on and off the bus at their house so it's not like she would just be at the bottom of the driveway and I could watch out the window. They also brought her home for me at the end of the day. Simple things like that - getting the healthy kid to the bus without disturbing the sick kid - would be so much harder without them living nearby.

Luckily Jake is feeling much better today. He slept fine last night and woke up asking for something to eat and drink this morning so we took him to Grandma and Grandpa's today. I never received a phone call that he had relapsed so hopefully we're all set with him. Now if we can just keep Hannah from getting sick.....

Monday, February 22, 2010

Keeping careful watch over my babies

Last night I let both kids fall asleep in my bed since Lincoln was out of town. Leo made sure to keep close watch over them for me.

Right now a sick Jakey is sleeping on the couch and Leo is curled up with him. He looks so sad every time Jake starts throwing up. What a sweet puppy.

A sick kid

It seems like everyone that we know has been suffering from a horrible stomach bug lately. At least three of Hannah's friends have had it and my friend Tracy, her husband, AND her nine year old son have all had it in the past week. Well, I guess it's our turn. Jake woke up throwing up this morning. At about 5 a.m. I heard him call out and so I went into his room. He said his tummy hurt and that he had swallowed bath water last night. He didn't have a fever but I wasn't taking any chances so I got him a bucket and put it next to his bed. After only a few minutes of being back in my bed I heard the unmistakable sound of a kid vomiting. Luckily he made it into the bucket so it made for easy clean-up.

There is never a good time for the kids to be sick but this week is definitely not a good time. Hannah was on winter break from school all last week so I hope she doesn't get it and have to be out for another week. Lincoln is flying back from Virginia this morning but has to go right to a job site so that means I'll be staying home with Jake. Unfortunately my boss was on vacation all last week as well and today is his first day back so it's not a good day for me to be out either. On top of that the main part of the re-construction is supposed to start this week and I should be meeting with the contractors today before I have to be out for a seminar/conference tomorrow.

But, as always, we'll muddle through and figure it out. That's what we do best.

See, I can be domestic when I want to be

As anyone who knows me will agree, I am not terribly domestic. Luckily Lincoln is. Even though I am physically capable of cooking, I don't. Lincoln loves to cook and over the years he has just sort of taken over the duties and I've gotten away from cooking. Even the recipes that I brought to the relationship have slowly been taken over - and perfected - by Lincoln over the years. And while I do the bulk of the "deep" weekend cleaning I hate the day to day pick-up that keeps the house functioning so Lincoln does most of that. And while I have no aversion to sorting or starting the laundry, I hate hanging up, folding and putting away the clothes. I also don't mind washing the sheets but hate making the beds. This is why Lincoln and I are such a perfect couple. He's willing to do all the things I hate. Isn't it nice when it just works out that way?

This weekend was a different story because Lincoln went to Virginia to visit his best friend, Mike, for his 40th birthday. Mike's family was throwing him a surprise party so for Valentine's Day I gave Lincoln the trip down to Virginia so that he could attend. It was the least I could do since 1) I go on "girl's weekends" all the time with Tracy and 2) I got to fly down to New Orleans for Tracy's 40th birthday.

But that left me in the roll of having to do ALL the household chores this weekend including laundry, cleaning, cooking, and grocery shopping. I really hate the grocery shopping part. I avoid the grocery store at all costs and having to go with both kids did not sound like fun to me.

I don't know what Lincoln bribed the kids with but they were fantastic for me all weekend. We got the house clean, the laundry done, the beds stripped and re-made, and (almost) all the meals cooked. We didn't eat out once this weekend although to be fair I let the kids order pizza Sunday night. It was the least I could do since they were so well behaved this weekend. Hannah in particular was a huge help. She played with Jake and helped him with the computer. She set the table while I was making meals and helped me give the dog a bath when he stepped in his own poop and had it caked all over his feet.

When Lincoln is around I'll admit I usually take the easy way out. I let him do most of the "heavy lifting" when it comes to daily chores but I'm very proud of myself for all that I accomplished this weekend. I'm sure many people think I should be doing this all the time but I know my faults and that's one of them. Luckily Lincoln loves me just the way I am.

Saturday, February 20, 2010

A look into the future

Earlier today the kids were both playing Webkinz at their computers. For those of you not familiar with Webkinz, here is a little history. When you purchase a Webkinz stuffed animal it comes with a computer code that allows you to sign into Webkinz.com. At Webkinz.com you can play games, earn money, and buy stuff for your Webkinz. You can also take them to the doctor, play with them, put them to bed, etc. In order to "buy" stuff for your pet you have to earn money by doing "jobs" (i.e. playing games). Jake is ALWAYS buying stuff and therefore never has enough money to buy what he wants because he runs out. Hannah, on the other hand, rarely buys anything and therefore has a big Webkinz bank account.

Today Hannah decided to buy some items for her Webkinz including a pool and a hammock for the yard which, of course, made Jake insanely jealous. Jake then asked Hannah to help him earn money so that he could buy those things too. She gave him the typical big sister response of "in a minute."

Well, "in a minute" this is what I overheard from the next room.

Jake: Hannah, can you please stop what you're doing and come help me with my money problems?

All of a sudden I felt like I was witnessing the kids 15 years down the road..........

Who needs dog toys?

Friday, February 19, 2010

A great family and a great foundation

My father has 7 siblings and even figuring in one bachelor and one nun I still have 22 cousins on my dad's side of the family. It's a fairly big family but we've always been fairly close. I'm pretty sure that most Easters and Christmas Eves at Grandma Lentz's house had a majority - if not all - of us under one roof. Sure there is a huge age gap. The oldest grandchild is in his 40's and the youngest is 13 but, with the exception of the youngest five grandchildren, we all know each other fairly well even if we don't see each other all that often anymore. And it's not that we don't know those younger five, it's just that we didn't have as much time with them before the family started moving all over the country. We used to all be primarily living in Iowa and Illinois. Nowadays, just figuring in the 25 grandchildren on the Lentz side we cover states from Arizona to Massachusetts and Florida to Washington State and a heck of lot of other states in between. Most of Lincoln's family is confined to Massachusetts and Vermont and we see them less than we see mine. In fact, until Nate's funeral in December I had only met 2 of his cousins.

But this is what amazes me about my family. We're close in a way you wouldn't imagine. Do we talk to each other every day and know exactly what is going on in every one's life? No. But we know about the major events like weddings, births, and deaths. And we make sure to celebrate them - or mourn them - as a family.

This year we have two major family events. My cousin Rachel, the youngest of all the grandchildren, had her bat mitzvah in January and all the aunts and uncles, and a good number of the cousins, flew out to New Mexico to help her celebrate. This June my aunt, Sister Bonnie, is celebrating her Golden Jubilee (50 years as a nun) and it sounds like almost all of the cousins will be making it back as well as all of Sister's siblings. I'm flying back alone with both kids for 48 hours even though it means early morning flights that Jake will most likely throw up on. My cousin Brenda is flying in Saturday afternoon for the party and will turn around and fly back to North Carolina the next day.

In this day in age, when everyone is so busy and money is tight and we're spread from coast to coast, I am impressed at what a tight family I have. I am incredibly blessed and I know that all of the credit for creating this tight-knit family rests on my Dad and his siblings. All of them have shown us the meaning of family and it is obviously something that each and every one of us have learned through watching Grandma and Grandpa and their eight wonderful children. Thank you Linus, Charlotte, John, Sister, Dad, Rose, Mike and Joe for giving me such a great foundation.

(And no, I'm not discounting Mom's side of the family. They're pretty freaking awesome too but I only have three cousins on that side so it's not nearly as impressive.) BIG SMILE!

Thursday, February 18, 2010

Just like Mommy

Lincoln and I always joke about the fact that I can multi-task and he can't. We've determined it's because I am a woman and he's not.

Hannah: Mommy, I'm going to do a craft project.

Me: Okay. Can you please go turn off the TV in the other room first if you're not watching it anymore?

Hannah: I'm going to do my project in there.....I'm going to multi-task.

Wednesday, February 17, 2010

Just what a daughter should be....a better me

When I was in elementary school at St. Ben's they had a Handwriting Hall of Fame. I wanted to be on that damn wall so bad but I could never master my lowercase cursive "r" to the teacher's satisfaction. Well guess who came home with a prize for great handwriting last week? Yep. Hannah.

I'll admit it, I was a little jealous.

Tuesday, February 16, 2010

Snow day

Last week our office closed - along with the rest of the state - for what became known as the "Waldo Storm". As in, Where's Waldo? The storm never developed but the entire state had been shut down the night before in anticipation of the huge wallop we were going to get according to the meteorologists.

Instead, we got hit today. By the time we woke up this morning we had an inch or two of snow already and the roads were a horrible, slushy mess. I had a doctor's appointment at 8:30 a.m. and the trip to the doctor's and then the pharmacy and then home again was quite treacherous.

When Lincoln got home he told me that our neighbor had gotten in an accident up the street. Luckily she's not hurt but her car got it pretty bad. It sounds like she was basically in the same situation - and in the exact same location - as I was in last January but unfortunately when she spun around there was another car coming and she got T-boned.

Thank God I had Uncle Linus with me that day.

Monday, February 15, 2010

Nothing to say

I know I've been very quiet on the blog lately. I hate to disappoint my 20+ faithful readers but my mind has been a little too crazy lately to focus my thoughts. Most of all a lot of stuff has been going on at work - and not just the flood - and I've also been feeling very poorly lately.

When I get incredibly stressed out I have severe joint problems that flair up and apparently I am seriously stressed out right now since my left food and hand are in constant pain these days. The worst my joints have ever been was when I was graduating college, didn't know what I was going to do with my life, and was about to move to a city where the only person I knew was a former teacher and her family who I hadn't seen in 6 years. At that time it was every single joint in my body....toes, ankles, knees, hips, fingers, wrists, shoulders..... It wasn't pretty.

But I don't need my joints to tell me that I'm stressed. I know I'm stressed. And I know that it has been hard for Lincoln to watch me try to struggle through some things that he can't help me with. He has been incredibly supportive and loving and has acted as an incredible buffer for the kids who, unfortunately, sometimes take the brunt of my stress when I'm yelling at them for things that are usually minor infractions.

So what am I stressed about? That's just it. I can't articulate it. Life is overwhelming me right now and I feel like I can't get a grasp on anything. Work and home and life and Lincoln's company all seem bigger than life and bigger than me and I just want to not be a grown up anymore. I don't want to have all this responsibility and pressure and decision making that needs to be done. I want to go back to high school when the biggest problem I had was whether or not I'd be asked out on a date. Or better yet, back to elementary school when my biggest problem was if I'd be picked last in gym class.

If I could just get a handle on a few of these things I think things would start to fall back into place but instead of getting a handle on anything I just want to curl up in a ball and sleep. Except I'm not sleeping well. And I can't focus on a lazy day of just reading a good book or a stack of magazines because I just feel restless. My mind won't be still.

And that is why I can't write these days. My thoughts aren't focused. I don't know what I want to say...or more importantly what I need to say.....that would be the magic word to make me feel better. I ramble and am unfocused and I just don't know.............

So, I guess, for now I have nothing to say.

Sunday, February 14, 2010

Happy Valentine's Day!

My wonderful husband and kids made me a two layer chocolate cake for Valentine's Day. What a wonderful way to wake up!

Wednesday, February 10, 2010

Someone obviously had a very tiring day


Let it snow!

So far we haven't gotten the crazy snow storms that the rest of the eastern seaboard has been getting and I'm starting to feel a little left out. We haven't had a good snowstorm since December and I actually like snowstorms.

Monday, February 8, 2010

I guess this means dinner is off

Tomorrow night we were supposed to have dinner with my cousin Kate and her husband Jim before their baby was due next week. My plan for getting together in January was pushed back due to all the craziness at work and I made her promise she wouldn't have the baby before our dinner on February 9th. Well, that didn't work out.

Introducing Owen Christopher McQuade, born today at 2:22 p.m.

Like Mother, Like Daughter

The only other time I've been in Albuquerque other than last month was when I went the summer I turned ten. When we were there I bought a yellow dress in Old Town that I absolutely loved so I decided that this time I'd buy Hannah one.



Sunday, February 7, 2010

Potty training

Despite the fact that it doesn't really belong there, we have started leaving Leo's leash on the floor at the end of the kitchen counter. You want to know why? Because he is now potty trained enough to know that if he picks it up and starts dragging it towards the door we'll take him out to go to the bathroom.

What a smart little cookie he is.

Cleaning day

Me: Hannah, you need to go clean your desk. And when you're done step back and ask yourself, "Is this how Grandma Dena would have cleaned it?" And if the answer is "no" then clean it again.

Saturday, February 6, 2010

Damn, she's good

Tonight we were out shopping and both kids wanted to buy something. We told them they could but that they'd have to pay us back from their allowance money when we got home. Jake owed us $10 which he gave us when we got home and Hannah owed us $7. I was sitting here in the office while she went to get her money but she came back with only four quarters.

Hannah: I have a dollar here. You haven't paid me for the past two weeks of allowance so now we're even.

Should we really be allowed to parent?

Today we went out and bought Valentine's Day cards for the kids. I picked up Spiderman ones for Jake while I was out earlier today and tonight after dinner we went to The Paper Store for Hannah to pick out her own. She chose "Cool Tattoos" which are Japanese looking rub-on tattoos with flowers, fish, birds, mountains, etc. When we were leaving the parking lot I commented to Lincoln about how I liked them.

Link: Jake's are tattoos too.

Me: Oh yeah? But these are cool tattoos. Not lame baby tattoos. These are grown-up girl tattoos.

Link: So, what, they go on your lower back?

Me (sarcastically): Yes, they're beginner tramp stamps.

Link: Try it before you buy it, right?

I'm a work in progress

Jake: Daddy, tell Mommy about CCR.

Link: She doesn't know CCR.

Me: Clearance Clearwater Revival?

Link: Did you just say Clearance?

Me: Not right?

Link: No....but you did MUCH better than I thought you would considering they probably broke up before you were born.

Should I get a CLUE?

Today I was reading the local town paper and noticed an advertisement for a small community theater for adults. They were advertising auditions for a local performance of CLUE and I actually stopped and thought for a moment, "That might be fun." I loved doing theater in high school and it might be fun to do something outside the usual routine around here. Or it might just be the additional commitment that causes the men in the white coats to come and get me.

I'll have to give it some thought.

One seriously exhausted dog

Poor Leo was so exhausted after Doggie Daycare yesterday that he practically fell off the couch in his sleep.

Friday, February 5, 2010

Spelling tests

Every week Hannah has a spelling test at school. On Monday she comes home with two lists. The first list is comprised of that week's spelling words for everyone. They take a practice test for those words on Monday and if you pass that you get to do the second "advanced" list for the test on Friday. This is great in the fact that Hannah obviously has to know all the words in the first list AND the second list thereby expanding her vocabulary and spelling abilities. But you have to wonder about the poor kids who don't test out of the first list thereby not having to learn the second list of words. Do they never learn those words then? Aren't they being shortchanged a bit?

For example, the main list for this week includes the words germ, stage, cage, huge, large, and age. The second list includes the words pigeon, pageant, refrigerator, scavenger, and sausage. There is a huge difference as you can see.

Thursday, February 4, 2010

Leo update

I thought today would be a great day to update you a little bit on our littlest munchkin, Leo. Leo has been doing pretty good lately. He still has accidents at night sometimes but for the most part he doesn't have any accidents during the day. The other night when Link and the kids were home he even grabbed his leash and started dragging it over to the door to let them know he needed to go out.

Jake and Leo this morning:


Leo even has his own special bed in the office so that he can be in there while we're all working.




Leo does great when we give him a bath but the best part of the show is afterwards. He hates having his ears wet and goes to great - and humorous - extremes to get them dry:

Wednesday, February 3, 2010

Vegas, baby, Vegas!

Okay, so it's actually Needles, California but we're flying in and out of Las Vegas. That counts right?

Today I booked our flight out to visit Mom and Dad in Needles, CA again this year. We weren't planning on going this year but since it was going to be such a long stretch between currently scheduled visits - and because I stumbled upon great airfare - I went ahead and booked our trip this morning.

This year we'll be heading out in the middle of April instead of the end of February/early March so hopefully it will be nice and hot out there. Last year it wasn't too bad but by April we're going to want a really nice, hot, sunny vacation.

Obviously enough time has lapsed since our trip to Albuquerque a few weeks ago that I'm willing to get back on a plane with my kids. I must admit, 99.99999999999999% of the time my children are fantastic travelers but our return from New Mexico at the end of last month made me rethink my desire to travel with children. I suppose they were actually still better than most children travelers but it was just a long, tiring, frustrating day flying back from New Mexico.

I'm very excited about going to California in March and I must admit it picked me up out of my doldrums a little bit today. It has been a long few weeks and it's great to have another exciting trip to look forward to. I'm always happiest when I'm planning a trip.

Tuesday, February 2, 2010

Yoohoo! Anyone there?

I realize I've been missing in action for the past few days but I have to say, my mental state these days has not been conducive to witty writings about my life. Work has been quite insane and I'm struggling to find the joy in my job these days. There are certain aspects of my job that I love more than anything and others that make me want to jump off the nearest bridge. I don't even know what is going on in my own head much less have the ability to write about it here. Obviously there aren't many things I can change about my situation given the current economy but that doesn't make it any easier to struggle with some of these issues. In fact, it makes it a lot harder.

Luckily I have a great friend in Tracy, who took me out Saturday night to distract me from all my woes. We had a great girls' night in the city where we went to dinner, saw a concert, and then crashed at a hotel after staying up until the wee hours of the morning chatting. Even better, I have a great husband in Lincoln who then let me come home and take a nice long nap and a hot bath to recover from a long night that would have been merely a blip on the radar back when I was 22 instead of 32.