Christmas Time's the Only Time

Well this fall/winter season has been quite a whirlwind. September was starting school, Genni's Birthday, Scrooge auditions, Scrooge rehearsals, football games and drumline rehearsals. October was more football games, Scrooge and drumline rehearsals as well as Parades and Dr. appointments and a trip to the Pumpkin patch. November marked the Fall show Love Rides the Rails as well as a continuation of Scrooge and drumline rehearsals, Area All State and Thanksgiving. So far December has been Scrooge performances, NYSSMA conference, basketball games, concerts and Christmas parties. Not to mention all of the Band Aides and London meetings my husband has been to. Through it all I have been going through my first trimester of pregnancy. Anyone else tired yet!

Recently we did finish all of the Scrooge performances, and it went very well, as well as Eric's and my concert last night - both successful. After these next two days of school the only thing left in December is vacation - oh I am so happy we made it this far!

I'm about 16 weeks pregnant now - almost half way there. None of my normal clothes except long shirts fit me now - I'm wondering how on earth I will find enough maternity black dress clothes for the Spring show?!? I'll certainly be waddling by then and need a stool to sit on! Nasuea is mostly gone, it recurs occasionally at the most inopportune moments, but in general my appetite is back and if I didn't have so much going on I would certainly have more energy at this point too. Daily Genni asks when the baby is coming and if she is a big sister yet. She is SO excited about the baby and I really hope that it lasts after the baby is born too! I am looking forward to not having to go through all of the end of the year stuff in June, though I will have to be diligent so that everything is ready for when I come back in September.

Recently Genni was in the Children's Christmas program at church - we do have pictures that I will post just as soon as I remember to bring the camera with me! She was an angel - the littlest angel to be specific - it was so cute to watch the bigger girls help her and lead her around. I was very surprised when I left her that morning with the kids to practice and then didn't see her till their part in the service that she didn't put up any fight and just went with them. Annie was there of course, and she knows her well, but still - usually she isn't quite that eager to let go of mommy and I have to admit though I was proud of her it stung a little that she didn't need me....they grow up too fast. Anyway, the kids where all waiting in the lobby for their part, which was right after the pastoral prayer, and they had been waiting there for about half an hour so I'm sure the kids where restless. Well Gary gets to the part of the prayer where we are all praying silently and all of a sudden we all hear giggles from the lobby - and then the person next to me leans over with a smile and says "I think that's yours" hehe - yup my daughter was giggling up a storm, but at least she wasn't crying so I was happy. She looked super cute in her costume and stood very well with the rest of the angels during the program. This is the first year that we didn't just push her up there at the last minute with an animal costume on so that she could get her picture taken. Such a big girl!

Well Thursday is Eric's birthday and the family is coming over after church for lasagna dinner and such, which means that I need to clean the house - wouldn't it be nice if I could just keep the house clean every time I did it...why is it that I can't seem to do that? I also have an enormous pile of laundry that I'm going to have to take to a laundry mat to get caught up since our dryer is still broken. At least I'll get all of that stuff out of the way this week so next week we can just RELAX! I really can't wait! Pictures coming soon.....

NYSSMA

I can't believe I haven't written in so long! There is no excuse....

So we went to the NYSSMA conference last week, and it was really a great time. It was good to see other teachers in NY that I haven't seen in awhile, get myself inspired to teach again, and spend some time with my family. Eric and Genni both came too - since both our school's sent us she tagged a long too. This is actually Genni's 3rd NYSSMA conference, we only missed last years. It was funny, some people would just smile and say how cute she was and say how well she was behaveng (sometimes true, sometimes not, believe me!). But I did get a few looks that were like "What were you thinking?" and someone actually said to us "I did that one year and I'll never do it again, you'll never get to sit through anything!" Well, we attended, together, every single workshop we were interested in and Genni sat next to us watching her favorite movie (UP) on the laptop with headphones and everything worked out just fine. She definately had her moments over the course of a few days. Once we were in the exhibit hall and Genni didn't want to have anything to do with walking around and was throwing a fit, but we were all hungry so I'm sure that was part of it.

Two side notes on Genni - one, she has learned to pout. When we reprimand her for something (especially if daddy yells at her!) she will sometimes walk off and pout and sulk for awhile and will not talk to us till she's done (which can take awhile) or we tickle it out of her. two - her skin was doing so well we decided to try some milk with her, and then since we were at the conference and Breakfast and Dinner where a buffet included in the room price (I felt bad asking for special food for her since technically we weren't paying for her meal) she definately had milk and some soy, well between the two things we discovered that she is definately still allergic to both, and her skin is all itchy again :(. Poor girl! Back on the diet we go....

Anyway, we did have a nice, relaxing, informative trip, but it's good to be home! Now we prepare for two weeks of musical chaos!

Pregnant!

Well for those of you who haven't heard yet, we are indeed expecting a baby about June 9th, 2010! It's too early to tell if it's a boy or girl (everyone's first question) at this point I'll be 10 weeks tomorrow and we have to wait till 20 to tell that, and yes I will find out. We have a girls name we like (Isabelle) but don't have a clue for boys names so suggestions are welcome! Just don't be mad if we don't take your suggestion:).

Genni has two questions about the baby - "when is the baby coming out of your belly?" and "How is the baby going to get out of your belly?" I'm sure there is a book for that one! Since her understanding of the passage of time is not good yet I've already gotten the when question a lot. I figure she will stop asking eventually....

People are always asking me how I feel....I remember getting that a lot last time too. I was pretty sick the first few weeks but I'm starting to feel better now and most of the bad times are at the end of the day when I can just sit and do nothing. My 8th graders think I have been cranky....I want to tell them how whiney and moody they are this year and their only excuse is hormones:).

This past Friday was the first ultrasound and when we saw and heard the heartbeat we both breathed a huge sigh of relief and felt safe making the pregnancy known. So we have two little pictures and a DVD of the ultrasound...at this point the baby has a huge head but at least has no tail anymore:). Last week he/she was olive sized and this week we are supposed to reach an inch and a half I think. Crazy to think of something so tiny that actually has a beating heart inside me while I just go about my day. I think the fact that it took so long was so frustrating this time around makes us really think about everything in a different light. Even though I'm tired and feel sick a lot I'm much less stressed now that I know that I'm pregnant and that everything is going swimmingly (well at least one of us is swimming all the time right! haha)

November Days

Hello! Yes I am still alive, and we are all healthy - lately my schedule has not been conducive to writing but I hope to catch you up! October was full of football games, musical and play rehearsals and drumline practice, parades, homecoming at both schools, going to the pumpkin patch and meeting up with some long lost cousins, London Meetings, Band Aide meetings and Dr appointments. Suffice it to say, we have hoarded our at home time and with Festivals and trips to plan and advisor duties and I don't find much time at school to write notes. So anyway, back to November. This months big activities are the Fall Show, the Campbell Show Eric is helping with, Area All State, Thanksgiving, Tip off tournaments and the Festival of Lights Parade.

Now on to stories of my daughter, who says the cutest things...I am so thankful that she sleeps through the night most nights and that she hasn't been up at 5:30 AM since the time change. I love when she wakes up in a good mood, but every once in awhile she wakes up a huge crank and just wants mommy to hold her and do all manner of things for her....I want to go downstairs, get milk, cereal, etc. etc. etc.....when mommy really needs to get ready for school. It's so hard not being able to just stay there and cuddle with her when she needs it....on the other hand I'm not sure if she would be happy even if I did, on days like that everything makes her cry till she wakes up a little more. Anyway, lately she has also been in a "but I don't want to......" mood...seriously sometimes it's ridiculous, "I don't want it to get dark!" "I don't want the sun to come up!" "I don't want it to be cold!" "I don't want...." Geesh child I can't control the elements!

On a good note Genni had tumbling at the YMCA on Tuesday and Laurelyn told me the teacher said Genni has a lot of natural ability and that if she is still interested in a few years she wants to pull her up to the pre-team group! Especially with her being petite she thinks she might have a future in gymnastics. I'm certainly not going to push her if she loses interest, but I'm so proud that she is doing well at it and that she has talent in something even at 3! I don't think I can quite explain to anyone that does not have a child how it feels to be proud of your child when they are good at something. It's totally different from getting compliments on their behaviour or their looks....and it's just wonderful. It totally made my day when I heard that. No matter what she decides to do later on, I will always remember that at 3 she excelled in tumbling class:). Someday my daughter will roll her eyes at me when I say that.

Cute Girl

Although there is plenty to catch you up on, I'm going to focus on some super cute things my daughter has been doing lately...here are some snapshots.....

Eric and Genni were carving pumpkins and Eric took the top off, Eric told her "now we have to scoop out the inside" my daughter looks at the pumpkin and says to her father "Daddy, little girls do not scoop out pumpkins with their hands, my hands will get dirty" "do you want to use a spoon?" "yeah...(disgusted look on her face)"....hahahaha can you you believe it!

We were at dinner with Eric's parents the other night and Genni was trying unsucessfully to get grandma's attention...."Grandma keep your eyes on me!"

She loves driving her little tractor around - but as soon as we get her turning the wheel one way she just leaves it there instead of going back to the middle so she usually ends of driving in a circle.

She has become afraid of bugs! It has been warm out so when the outside light is on at night and we let the dogs in or out bugs fly around the kitchen till they get caught in the lights - she freaked out the other night! I finally convinced her that the bug was not going to hurt her and that it would eventually just sit somewhere. But it reminded me of the day we were on her tractor and she made us come inside because she didn't like the bugs flying around her. What a girly girl!

Another time recently Eric took the sweeper around and got a whole bunch of leaves raked into a pile in the backyard. It was about as tall as me when we were done and we threw Genni into the pile over and over - she would giggle and roll down the mound, we'd rake it back up and do it again. It was a great day, and she never got tired of being thrown into that leaf pile. She was however very upset with daddy when he burnt the leaves. (Which I just discovered is now illegal in NY?!?! Jeesh!)

Yesterday morning I mentioned something to Eric about remembering to take the oboes out of the car for Ken when he got to school....when Eric picked Genni up she says "Daddy, did you take mommies elbows out of the car for Ken or did you forget?" hahaha - now he can never escape!

Every night before we go to bed we say prayers, Genni has a whole list of stuff that I've tried to cut down to "just people hunny" "Oh ok, how about my fan?" "no, people" "my door? my humidifier? my curtains?" The funny thing is she knows exactly what I mean, she's just saying it to be difficult. She also says every single night, "and two mommies and two daddies" "you only have one mommy and daddy hunny" "I have a mommy and Graham has a mommy and I have a daddy and Graham has a daddy and that's two mommies and two daddies" Well I guess I can't argue with her math.

When I go downstairs at church to get her from Sunday School after the service she is sooooo excited to show me all of the crafts and coloring and glueing she has done, literally jumping up and down, it's so cute.

She is aways saying "when I get bigger and bigger I will....."

I was so impressed last night, after doing her little wooden puzzles together a few times she told me to close my eyes and not look so she could do it herself (the only danger was that I would fall asleep) and she did all four of them without any help from anyone....she is getting so big!

Eric got her this little leap frog thing that is a screen with a magnetic drawing pad on top so it will tell her how to make a letter and she can trace it with the pen and then erase it and do another. I'm so impressed that she can hold the pen correctly without having ever been told and is really doing well at tracing the letters....how can she have grown this much!

She can basically get dressed on her own now if I lay the clothes out the right way...bedtime is lots easier. Now if she could just do her own lotion....:)

At her dr. appointment the other week she had an eye test where she had to say the shapes and she did each one perfectly (I was so proud) and then she did the hearing test and followed the nurses directions so well that the nurse was impressed and said "she is a very smart three year old, I always have to repeat those directions, noone ever gets it on the first try!" (proud mama) the Dr. also didn't bat an eye about her food allergies other than to ask if the rice milk is fortified and to say she'll probably grow out of them eventually. He also sggested she take a vitamin but he says that to everyone when they get this age. She has been taking some the last few days but I'm not convinced she isn't having a reaction to them (they have Vitamin E which is generally derived from soy, but we said we would try them and see) but what vitamin doesn't have E?


Well I guess that is enough for now.....more cute things to come

Emergency Room....

Well, for some of you whom I haven't talked to this past week, I don't want you to get nervous in the middle of the post so I will say up front that Eric is doing fine at the moment:)

Tuesday night 10:30-11:30

I went upstairs about 10:30 or so, tired and ready for bed, however I ended up reading for awhile - kind of waiting for Eric to come to bed too- and didn't actually fall asleep till about 11:30 (normal for me, I can't seem to get to bed any earlier most of the time!).

Wednesday morning 12:40 AM

I hear Eric screaming for me downstairs and jump out of bed and run downstairs wondering what on earth he's waking me up for this late. He's doubled over in pain from his stomach and seriously scared because he doesn't know what is going on. He's saying "what do I do! what's going on! and I'm like....uhhhhh...did you try going to the bathroom?" It's the first thing I could think of for stomach cramps. Well that didn't work obviously and he's now on the bathroom floor doubled over yelling "call an ambulance!" "to which I reply - "really? an ambulance? get in the car I can have you to the hospital in 15 minutes, let's go!" he is adamant about the ambulance and to his credit he's not really able to straighten up enough to get into the car, so I don't know if I would have gotten him into a seat let alone the hospital. Besides we had no idea what it could be and didn't know if he needed immediate attention. So anyway, for the first time in my life I called 911, talked to the operator and got an ambulance on the way to the house. I always though they stayed on the line with you till the ambulance was there, not true, she said to call back if we had any other trouble....

30 seconds pass and my husband wants to know why they aren't there yet, I'm pacing, and then he says - "I was on the computer with Mike before this happened, get on and tell him what's going on, and there was something on the desktop I need to send him for tomorrow (they were working on the London meeting at 12:40 in the morning)" my reply is "I think that can wait at the moment, but I'll tell Mike what's going on." Poor Mike didn't get much more sleep than us after that, imagine talking to your friend online and all of a sudden his wife is telling you an ambulance is coming to the house.

Wednesday morning @12:55 AM - EMT's arrive at the house and find Eric still on the bathroom floor, the first attack has passed enough so that he can explain to them what is going on, they take vitals and such but can't offer much more till the ambulance arrives. A few minutes after they arrive he has another attack so at least we know we were right to call them, but I don't think they really knew what was going on either. The ambulance arrives soon after and I have to rearrange the kitchen furniture so that they can get the bed rolled in to the house. They told me to take my time getting to the hospital (I still hadn't gotten Genni up, figuring she didn't need to see all that, can't believe she slept through it though)

Wednesday morning 1:30 AM - I got to Corning hospital - strangely there is no one at the desk in the ER so I wait a few minutes before casting some significant looks through the "no admittance" doors to the nurses station. After I find Eric I learn he had another attack in the ambulance on the way but has been fine since they got to the hospital. Both of us are hoping for good answers to all this and after blood tests they discover an elevated enzyme in his pancreas leading to what the doctor called "pancreatitis". Well since he already had bronchitis after being at the doctors on Monday - this is just great. So they talk about the possibility of gall stones, say he should have an ultrasound (unfortunately they can't do that till the morning), and we wait a little longer to see if the pain comes back before leaving the ER.

Wednesday morning 4 AM - We arrive back home knowing we need to be back at the hospital at 6:45AM for his ultrasound. I call in sick for Wednesday and we catch a few hours of sleep before the alarm goes off at 6AM. (By the way Genni was awake the entire time we were at the hospital, but was in a very good mood, so it wasn't bad)

Wednesday morning 6:45 AM - back at the hospital for the ultrasound and listening to the technicians gripe about having to do it before 8AM because "well we don't usually have anything scheduled before 8AM" Well, I pulled my daughter back out of bed with only 2 hours sleep so do the ultrasound! By about 8AM we were on our way out and told to call Eric's regular doctor because he would read the results. Luckily Laurelyn took Genni for the day (who despite lack of sleep was reportedly in a very good mood!) and Eric and I slept for much of the day. After two calls to the doctor we still had no answers because they hadn't even read the tests yet. But the next day they called to say that it wasn't gall stones (according to the ultrasound) but he should see a GI specialist. When they called back with the appointment they said "there was something funny about his ultrasound and blood work, but it's not a big deal so the doctor will tell him about it when he sees him." Now why did he have to go and say that? Was that really necessary? I know something you don't know and I won't tell you.....

Anyway, Eric's appointment is next Friday at 10:30 and we are hoping for answer then. He is relatively fine, although he does get some twinges there sometimes. They said if he has an attack of the magnitude again they'll admit him - and I'll know that the ambulance isn't going to be able to do much for him either than drive fast and I'll just take him there myself.

On a side note, I wouldn't let Eric drive home from the hospital or to the hospital in the morning, for obvious reasons, but he is the WORST backseat driver! He drives my nuts when he can't drive! haha

So all is well that ends well, we are all back to the routine, hoping to enjoy a lazy day tomorrow after church. Other stuff happened this week but I'll have to write about them in another post because I am going to bed!

London here we come!

Yesterday my husband's band was extended their official invitation to go to London in 2011 for the New Year's Day Parade, the Lord Lt. to Her Majesty the Honorable Lord Bramble flew to Corning for the ceremony and a performance by the band. Woohoo!
http://www.the-leader.com/news/x1073706944/Parade-organizers-visit-West-High


http://www.wetmtv.com/mediacenter/local.aspx click on West High School Receives Royal Visit to see my husband on TV!

Super excited about going to London - must update my passport!

In other news, Open House for Eric tonight, drumline and choir for me on Thursday, Performance at the stadium Saturday night....isn't life interesting. I was in bed by 9 last night and sleeping by 10 and I still didn't want to get up this morning at 6:15. I'm usually a night owl but I was so exhausted last night!

Genni news - how can I get my previously potty trained now 3 year old daughter to stop having accidents every day? every single day - we have hit a new low. I thought it was the apple juice but she hasn't had any in weeks. Last night she almost made it but it's always a rush to get her pants down and half the time it's just not in time....what now? I've been angry, I've been disappointed, I've threatened, I've time-outted, I'm really not sure what to do next other than hope this is just another phase I have to wait out. They never tell you there are so many phases a child goes though...I thought I had till the teenage years for that....hmmmm.

Life just keeps getting more interesting! :)

3rd Birthday Party

So this Saturday we had a birthday party for my girl Genni, Laurie showed up with face paints for the kids and they all seemed to have a great time, the adults relaxed and visited. It was as always hectic to get everything cleaned up and made on time, but it all came together in the end. My parents were a big help cutting up food for salads and my friend Deb came over early to help clean. Eric's parents stayed late and helped us clean up so now it's Sunday afternoon and I'm not going to clean a thing today! Here are some pictures of Genni at the party, I know Eric's dad and Mike both got photos and video of the cake and singing and presents so I'm hoping to get some more pictures up soon.

Then today we wore one of our new outfits to church and painted this afternoon. I put a little bit of each color on the paper plate and Genni thought it would be great fun to just mix them all up into one big color....and who am I to stifle such creativity? Haha, so here are the pictures she did today, one has stickers on it too.

Catching up again

Well I have been fairly unreliable lately, but things have been uber busy the past two weeks. School during the day and something almost every night - Eric has London meetings, I have drumline and choir, we have football games - it never ends. This weekend is Genni's birthday party and after that is over I'll feel slightly less stressed. It's all stuff we like to do, it just gets a little pressing sometimes when everything we are into wants us in the same week. Next week I have drumline Monday and Wednesday, Auditions for the Fall Musical Monday and Tuesday, Eric has the Lord Leutenant of Greater London coming to formally invite the band to the parade, Thursday I have choir, Saturday is a competition for the band, Sunday is church. Luckily Genni is good at tagging along to most things - I don't know about auditions but everything else she will be at with me. Oh yeah, I think Eric has another London meeting on Monday too. Fun times for us!

So here is interesting news, Kevin called me today and told me he saw my cousin Edward Savoy (not my brother, my cousin, different person) again and that side of the family is trying to connect with me. He gave Kevin a name for me of his sister Mary who lives in Florida but uses Facebook and now we are connected. Her father was my father's brother, and she has three brothers and her mother is still alive too (her father, my uncle it would have been, died a long time ago, I think before I was born even) - so I'm looking forward to meeting some of my father's family and connecting with them.

Well, I'm keeping it short tonight, I'm exhausted and have cleaning to do tomorrow after work as well as cooking for Genni's party. My bed is calling me!

Wow has it been awhile!

I'm starting to get yelled at for not having a post up in a long time! Well it has been over a month, so I'll try to catch you up on the high points of August...

August 6th we went up to Susan and Dan's in Buffalo to work on their house - resided the garage, hung and painted doors and painted the basement with Duralock after scrubbing. It was great to see the two of them and take advantage of Dan's cooking (Eric ate like 7 pieces of fried chicken....amazing!!) while making it a little nicer financially to get through the summer. There was a great park within walking distance from their house and Genni had a great time there at the sand box, playsets and wading pool. There are some benefits of living in a more populated place!

The 13th we drove home after dark and the 14th we took off to NH for the Family Reunion. It was great to see everyone and spend so much time with them. The 16th we went to the beach with Tim and Sandi and Emily, Genni's first trip to the beach! She had a great time. I also got to catch up with my roommate and friend from college Lisa, it was great to see her and catch up too. The 17th we drove home...Genni did particularly well in the car! The rest of the time before band camp was basically spent at West cataloging instruments...it was a long process. My husband is lucky to have such a talented and patient wife to help him with such things! Oh yeah and we also had a morning photo shoot with Mike for some family pictures and another less eventful trip to the library for more books to read. Now we are on our last vacation day before school starts....and somehow can't really believe the craziness is about to begin!

What a day!

I want to start out by saying the next time I post I will catch up on what has happened the last few days, but this post st all about today - or this morning really. There are quite a few more pictures from other days on the boat and fish for dinner...

Anyway, today we woke up early because I had to play the guitar for VBS at First Baptist and lead the kids in song - so we were there by 8:30 and done by 9:45...then we took mom to Healthworks for PT and where on our way to the library for some books for Genni (and me:)). Once Eric got his card I found about 9 books for Genni and then went to look for some for me leaving Eric and Genni at the computer in the kids section playing Green Eggs and Ham on the screen. When I returned we were waiting for Genni to finish the book on the computer so we could check out and go when I realized that there was something going on on the other side of the stacks from us. I had noticed a women in the children's section with 3 kids, well more like young adults, with special needs before, but now the boy (taller than Eric and bigger too) seemed to be hitting the girl (a worker from wherever he was for the day). I said to Eric "honey I think he's hitting her" so Eric walks over to get a better look and to step in if he needed to and the boy grabs the worker's hair and starts pulling and won't let go. By this time you can see that the worker is scared and there is noone there to help her - I heard her call for backup on her phone but it was quite a while before anyone else came. In the meantime Eric has the boy restrained, but the boy is not happy about it at all. He seemed Ok for the moment so I walk over to see if the worker is Ok since she looked so shaken up and Genni is still occupied with the computer. Well I see that the boy bit her on the hand and she is in tears so I give her a hug and we all think it's over and he is calming down...not so. He grabs hold of her hair again and mine - I am not quite so patient about asking him to let go since I know he didn't the first time and muscled my hair out of his grip and then Eric and I helped the worker free her hair - I'm not sure what all happened next but we ended up on the floor holding him so he wouldn't bite himself or us and on the way down quite a few books went flying. Oh I forgot at one point he took off his glasses and literally crushed them. There was quite a bit of yelling - but I had his legs and one worker that came over to help had one arm and Eric the other arm (the first worker left with the other two people in her care). Eventually another worker came and took over for me (Meanwhile the receptionist at the children's desk was with Genni at the computer cause she could see we were busy). Well after about 15 minutes he finally chilled out enough to leave the library so we checked out our books and left. All feeling we had had quite enough excitement for the day and just a tad shaken up from the experience. Our adventures for the day did not seem to be over though. Eric walks to the driver's side door to unlock it and all of a sudden the three dogs in the car next to us go absolutely and viciously bonkers - the windows where half down so it got it's head out and the window looked like it was about to break! We didn't dare approach the car from that side and that was the only way to unlock the car...so then we had to call the police. When he came he unlocked the car for us, pepper spray at the ready and tempting fate as the dogs threatened the windows yet again and rocked the car alarmingly. It doesn't sound bad when I write it but it was seriously scary.

Well that was all before lunch, after lunch was much less eventful and boring, including a nap for both of us - but we did not need any more excitement today! Who knew going to the library was going to be so eventful!

Sunday on the Lake

Went fishing with Grandma and Grandpa on the boat this Sunday - Genni loved it! Then she fell asleep on the way back...

Summer Lovin'

I love summer - warm weather (although the weather was warmer in April!), time with my family, a cleaner house, catching up with friends, sleeping in...

Well most of that at least. Also worrying how to pay the bills through the summer, but I promised myself I would stop focusing on that so I could relax since it is summer...

Anyway, youth camp is over - and was successful I think. We were in Mansfield a little longer than we expected on Saturday because our friends Becky and Ryan lost their keys and after a two hour search....they were in Ryan's cymbal bag - hahaha - so we had a very late lunch at Papa V's and when Sunday came I just slept in and did nothing. We all need those days!

So back to swim lessons every day - signed Genni up for tumbling and very excited she gets to go on Wednesday - and planning on going to work half an hour early tomorrow so I can work out a bit. Speaking of work - I bought a bathing suit today, $30, speedo - why so cheap? Cause it's a kids suit. Kids must be getting fatter because it fit me and was half the price of a women's speedo suit so I bought it! Women love getting a good buy so I had to share:)

Oh! I forgot to post pictures of the playset we got for free that Eric restained and painted - it looks awesome!

Youth Camp

So after a whole week of sleeping in and not getting out of bed till 8:30 - we have been back to getting up at 6:30 every morning so we can get to Mansfield on time. Sunday-Wednesday Genni came with us to Mansfield and played with Anna (Becky and Ryan Pritchard's little girl) and sat through lessons, masterclass, band and computer classes before falling asleep on the way home at about 4 and consequently not feeling tired at bedtime. I started working at the YMCA this week too. 3 lessons a day, about 40 minutes each with 5 minutes in between. Mostly it's great, they are much better the first day or two than they are now. Now that they are used to us and their parents may stray a bit farther the kids are a bit more pushy and try to get away with more - but it's basically a good time. It's nice to get a little swimming in too - though I will be missing dinner for most of the month.

I heard some very sad news - Harry Potter will not be in the IMAX theatre next weekend because someone with the Transformers movie has bought them all out till the end of the month - no HP in IMAX till July 29th! I can't wait that long to see it, so now I'll just have to see it twice. Still excited about seeing it next week though!!

Well Youth Camp is done with the concert on Saturday, and then we have two weeks of sleeping in and home time (just to the Y from 4-6:30) and getting caught up on laundry, cleaning and carpets! Cheers!

Woo Hoo!

This was the old living room furnture - bought by Eric's parents when his mom went back to work after she had the boys - we have carted it from their house to MD to storage in Corning to out current house in Campbell - after about 4 hours in the front of the bushes it now belongs to someone else - when I came downstairs from putting Genni to sleep it was gone yay!

Here are the new craigslist acquisitions - $250! Can't beat it!

Almost all of our furniture is now something we have purchased or chosen to keep - I guess that means we're getting old!

Stuff I missed and stuff that is coming!

So since the Genni Loves the Lake! post a few things have happened....

My husbands band got the stamp of approval about planning the trip to London! The West High Band has been invited to perform in Her Majejesties 25th anniversary New Year's Day Parade www.whslondon2011.org in 2011 woohoo! Super exciting!

Genni and I went to Towanda on Friday to go to Darius's 3rd Birthday party, Happy Birthday!

Monday I took the Freshman on a little class trip to Watkin's Glen (with my co-advisor) and hiked literally every single trail there - I was so whipped at the end of the day, and my knees where wicked swollen, but I survived. Not really sure if I should post the group pictures of the students since they aren't my kids, so here are a few of the Glen.



And we got a new couch and loveseat that we really like off craigslist, I'll post pictures once we figure out how to get the super duper heavy old couch out of the living room and find it a new home (preferably not up any stairs!)

And I am going to be a swim instructor at the YMCA this summer!

And we went out for our Anniversary last night, to Simon's for dinner (Eric had never been to a hibachi before and really enjoyed it, I adore the food) and then we went to see Transformers - which hasn't gotten the best reviews, and I can see why, but it was still good and I am glad we saw it. However if you are looking for a truly awesome movie to watch go see Star Trek, even if you have never seen a Srar Trek episode (which means you've probably been hiding under a rock, hehe) you'll still like the movie.

Lot's of great things happening, two more days of school - now I need to practice playing pomp and circumstance on the piano....

My Daughter and I

My daughter and I cuddle every morning in bed - even if I've already taken a shower and she had just awoken - her first comments on the day are either what she was thinking of when she went to bed the night before, or whatever exciting is going to happen today. When she wakes up first she climbs on top of me with a smile and a "mommy are you awake?"

My daughter and I get ready for the day, sometimes upset and grumpy, sometimes not,(neither of us are real morning people) but usually with a bit of a rush if there is anything at all to get ready for. She stands at the sink and brushes her teeth when I do, and watches me put my make-up on with comments of "when I get bigger and bigger and bigger then I can wear make-up" to which I reply - "yes, but not till you're in high school."

My daughter and I travel downstairs for her morning drink or breakfast - my stubborn opinionated daughter always knows exactly what she wants and it often takes all my creativeness to spin her desire around to what she should really have, especially when she starts out the day wanting chocolate chips and candy. When she doesn't get her way pouts and drama queen activities take center stage till she gets tired of time out and comes to apologize.

My daughter and I play outside - where she helps my weed the landscaping, shows me how she can finally pedal her tricycle (although she still thinks it's faster to just use her feet on the ground), makes her car crash into her bikes with a satisfying crunching sound, runs from the dogs and alternately runs after the dogs based on how she feels at the moment, cries out for bubbles and more bubbles, draws on the driveway with sidewalk chalk, and swings "all by herself" on the swingset. When mommy sits in the chairs under the canopy she crawls right up to cuddle while munching on veggie sticks or pretzels and her drink. Mommy yells at the puppy who she has noticed stole her sandal out from under her and is now trying to put teeth marks in the replacement sandals since he's already chewed up the good pair!

My daughter and I go to the grocery store - where her patience is sorely tested when we have to wait at the deli and at the butcher stations and she can't understand why she shouldn't be able to give hugs and kisses (her excuse to stand up and try to get out of the cart). She really knows how to spin things so she looks innocent, luckily I teach high school kids and I'm already wise to her antics!

My daughter and I go to sleep - we read stories, sing songs, say prayers, do PJ's, talk about the day and then sit in frustrated wiggledom while my constantly in motion, stubborn opinionated daughter tries every trick in the book to put off the act of actually closing her eyes and falling asleep. And when I get really upset she puts on the pouty face and claims she just "wants me" to cuddle with her so she can go to sleep - telling stories and only 2 1/2 - I'm really in for it!

Genni LOVES the lake!

We went to a party last night at the lake for Eric's lunch group - and my daughter had a blast! She did not want to leave the side of the lake all night. She has been excited about going in the water since we got her a bathing suit, but I wasn't really sure how she would react to actually being in the water, especially a pretty cold lake. I shouldn't have worried, she couldn't get enough. She also went out on the boat with Eric and Allison, and Eric said she was just fearless - likes going fast and was walking around all over the place. She continues to surprise me every time she does something new.
Genni actually looks at the camera and smiles

Genni is concerned because Daddys is too far away

Uh oh the waves are coming!

Daddy and Genni playing with rocks!

I never want to leave the lake!

I can see we are going to have to find a beach this summer for her to play, I think she will love playing in the sand and picking up shells - now I need to find a beach!

Photoshop Fun

In between ordering music for next year (listening to clips of music and looking at scores can only hold my attention for so long!) I was playing with some pictures I took of Genni yesterday - well actually just one of the pictures. I could literally sit there and play for hours on this program and I don't really know that much! Here are some of my attempts:

Fun times!! I love taking pictures of my daughter:)

Colonial Days Weekend

Friday - Eric's Jazz Band played for Colonial Days in the square - here he is with his seniors (he will sorely miss them!)

Friday night my parents came to visit for the weekend too!

Satuday was Colonial Days - here is most of West High's performance

Well the video wasn't loading so I'll try again later.....

Sunday was church and my parents left for home - only two weeks of school left and lots to do!!

Sleeping....

Well my child seems to be going through another phase...the phase where she doesn't get to sleep till 10PM! The past few nights (except for last night) have been pretty routine. We climb the stairs at 8PM - change into PJ's, do her lotion and diaper, brush teeth, wash face, read a book, rock in the chair, I sing her her bedtime songs (Christopher Robin, I'm a Little Teapot, and Twinkle Twinkle. Then I put her in bed, do kisses and good nights and about 8:30 she should be on her way to dreamland....you would think. I have tried rocking her to sleep like I do for naps, sitting in her bed and getting her settled - she is just in perpetual motion! She never stops moving - itch itch rub rub twist turn - seriously never stops. Then I tell her to close her eyes and she says "but I can't see anything!" my comments are usually - "yes" or "exactly" - because yes she says this every night. Then once I leave I am called back upstairs multiple times - "I have to go potty, can I have a drink, will you take my hair ties out, I'm scared of the fan, I have a boo boo" it never ends. Now all this is normal bedtime behaviour for her but recently it has been extended quite a bit. By 10PM am tired and annoyed that I haven't gotten any "me" time - and at the same time I am thinking how cranky she will be the next day.

Well in other news - busy as always. Eric started his graduate classes this week on Monday, I had the Bradford Awards last night and Eric had the Thespian Inductions, this past weekend Eric had the Dairy Parade and I stayed home and wrote out checks. Left this week is choir tonight for me and Eric trying to borrow a lawnmower to mow the lawn since ours is broken - Friday Eric's Jazz Band is playing for Colonial days and I have to take art work to Hammondsport and my parents are coming - Saturday is Colonial Days. The year is winding down and now we need to get started on summer plans. Yay for warm weather!


OH yeah - I went with the art kids to CMOG for a Field Trip on Tuesday - here are some pics

Genni and Emily

Aunt Sandy, Uncle Tim and Cousin Emily are up to visit - here are some pictures of the girls hanging out the past few days: