Swim Day

Joanna was here today. She cleans for us once a week and helps me feel like I've started fresh for the week. Everything gets very messy and she helps me reign it in.

Lola and I went to swim class. She is very clingy these days and her favorite word is "no!" Gee, brings back memories! She likes being in the pool, but tends to like to do her own thing, just like at Gymboree. So, I don't force her to do the group things, but we do a bit of both.

She is loving being outside. Her favorite things are squirrels, airplanes and bees, which are really ants. Today she enjoyed smelling the tulips and daffodils on our patio. Unfortunately, she didn't get a real nap today and was very cranky. Both girls ended up going to sleep right around 8, which was so nice!

We picked Grace up and went to swim class. We sat in the grass while we waited for class to start. The days have just been so lovely! Grace was a bit wild while waiting inside, but was good after class. She has so much energy and swimming seems to be the outlet she needs. Her teacher told me earlier in the day that he uses a different tactic with her-that he lets her blow off some steam first by jumping and playing and then starts the teaching when she's more able to focus.

Grace continues to ask intelligent questions. I wish I would have been keeping a log of them! Today she asked how seeds are made-are they man-made or are they just there? Well, that's the age-old question, isn't it?!

We cooked chicken on the grill tonight. Neither kid wanted to eat much dinner. Grace told me she's sick of home-cooked meals and only wants to eat out. Oh boy! We've created a monster! So, I grabbed the Cookie magazine that had an article with 30 meals the author had made for her finicky kids and asked her and Rich to circle what they might like to try. I really am struggling to come up with meals that everyone will eat-it's been impossible, actually!

Busy Day

The day started with getting Grace ready for school and dropping her off. Why has she started saying she doesn't want to go to school every day?! Then Lola and I hit Wegman's and then I went to vote. Then I went to drop money off with Missi at Asbury for the March this weekend.

We zipped home and then were off again to our playgroup at a playground. Lola had fun picking dandelions and running around. After that we headed home to meet my friend Julia for lunch at our place. It's always nice to catch up with friends!

Lola took a good nap, and as usual, I had to wake her to pick Grace up from school. She had lunch and we picked Grace up and went to a nearby park where we met my friend Mirella and her little girl from China, ClaraRose. For some reason Lola wanted to be carried almost the entire stay at the park and didn't get comfortable til we were leaving. I'm finding she is very clingy these days!

We took a breather at home and then went to Friday's for dinner and then to the art reception at school. Grace made us very proud with a lovely painting of a vase a la Picasso. Heidi, whom Rich knew growing up, took our picture looking at Grace's piece as she was taking pictures for the school. There were roaming waiters with food on trays and a trio playing! It was quite impressive! Then we checked out the new organic garden and chicken house. What a great school!

Lola didn't sleep well last night and I'm hoping for a good night tonight. Tomorrow is swim day!

Camping weekend

We made our maiden voyage in the Airstream over the weekend. As usual, it was a lot of work getting ready and it turned out Grace had a half day of school. We got out by 1:30 and got up to Hickory Run State Park pretty early. The first thing that happened when we pulled into our site was the hitch broke or something along those lines. It still worked, but one of the sway bars fell off. We didn't realize it was truly broken, though, til Sunday when it fell off twice after pulling away.

The other thing that we couldn't figure out was the awning. It got bent and didn't work. So, after we left on Sunday Rich dropped us at home and drove on to NJ to take the camper in to be repaired. We learned that we need to read the manuals and both know how to operate everything.

Other than those things, we did pretty well. The girls didn't sleep well the first night, which meant none of us did. Lola slept with us most of the night and the second night Grace was still having a hard time sleeping. So, I put her in the bed with Rich and Lola and I slept on the back couch where Grace had been sleeping.

We enjoyed letting the kids ride bikes and have wagon rides. We had a fire with s'mores the second night. We went to the playground and tried to go to the beach at the lake, but that was too chilly. For the most part, the weekend was a success.

Lola learned to say "tv". She normally just says "t" when she wants to watch something. And, her favorite is always anything "Pooh."

Grace was riding her bike with training wheels really well. She also is doing a nice job being a big sister and taking care of Lola.

Grace had her third crown put in today at the dentist. She is a very good patient! She also learned that her two front bottom teeth are loose!

This Sunday is the March for Babies! We're excited to get out and help make a difference!

Spring has Sprung

Well, we're finally on the road back to health! Rich and Lola were hit the hardest with the flu and both are still hacking away, but the fever has gone and the energy is back.

Grace went on a field trip to see Charlotte's Web yesterday and went to her swim lesson today. I was able to see her learning to dive! She's going to love the lakes and pools this summer! And, her reading is making great strides!

I'll take Lola to a make-up Gymboree class tomorrow. She and I have a lot of Gymboree and swim classes to make up. We'll also be trying to get outside more that the weather is nice.

We cooked out tonight for the first time this season. Yum! We plan to camp this weekend and use the new Airstream-finally!

On a political note, I watched the Democratic debate tonight and am still undecided. I changed my offiliation from Independent to Democrat so I can vote in the primary next week.

Officially Influenza

I just wanted to stop in to say that I haven't written in a while because it's been an infirmary around here! Dr. Perry, the house call doc came to see me on Thursday after I'd been sick since Sunday. I took Lola to her doc on Friday and we called Dr. Perry back today to try to figure out what's up with us. Grace has gotten better and I have, too, but the other two are still fighting it. As doc put it, Rich was to "take one for the team" and do the Influenza test because he suspected that we were all suffering from the Flu. Sure enough, within minutes of a nasty nose swab, it came back positive! Unfortunately, if you don't catch the flu in time, there isn't much to be done about it. He did tell me to watch Lola for signs of Pneumonia, but thought we'd all be back to normal within a day or two as it usually goes about 5 days. While you never know where you pick something up, he guessed that it was probably waiting around in the airport on our return trip to San Francisco. Oh well-I guess it's the cost of a great vacation! Now, if I can just get my sanity back with my physical health I'll be all set!

More photos

Fortune cookie factory
Lola near the Cliff House
Grace hamming it up at the Exploratorium

Well, that's all I have the energy for tonight! I didn't change out of my pajamas all day and am freezing tonight! I'm hopping in bed and will post more pix soon.

Trip photos at last

Easter Parade
View from Twin Peaks
Near the Cliff House

Self explanatory
Grace and Nittany overlooking GGB
Lola holding Easter egg at Amy and Erin's

Lola more interested in the dog than the parade!

I haven't written in a while because we didn't have easy computer access in Yosemite and then we went back to San Fran for a night before our long ordeal getting home on Monday. We ended up getting home at 2:45 am on Tuesday. We slept til noon and Grace didn't go to school. She still seems to be suffering from jet lag, but the rest of us are doing better.

Oh, one thing I do have to mention before I get to the photos, is that we have had a horrible skunk smell in and around our house for several weeks. I thought maybe going on vacation the problem would magically disappear. Well, it didn't so I ended up calling a trapper. He was able to trap the skunk in one night using a trap baited with marshmallows. Now we're hoping it was a mama who had made it's burrow under our house waiting to have her babies. If that's the case, there will be no others in the burrow. He's got the traps out and baited and now we'll wait to see if we catch anything else.

And, without further ado, here are the photos-or at least the ones I have the energy to post tonight. I'm finally succombing to a cold. I still don't have the formatting down, so the pix posted first. I'm not going to bother moving them! I just looked at the preview and one of the pix has posted twice, but I can't see that in my posting screen! Oh well!