Not the Swine Flu

So after noticing there was something wrong with Colby (temper tantrums, bad balance, not eating as well, clingy behavior, fever) I took him to the doctor. It turns out he has an ear infection and a virus. I stayed home with him yesterday after the doctor's appointment and he's staying home today so hopefully he'll be feeling better soon. It seems like he's sick a lot, but at least it hasn't been anything too crazy, mostly colds and whatnot.

We had our first thunderstom yesterday evening. I like thunderstorms...they're cool as long as you can watch them from your house.

I Guess You Can Call it Progress

So, I didn't call the electrician and I didn't make it to Lowes, but I did make it to Walmart to scope out what they had in the vegetable garden department. The only things they had that I would buy were tomatoe's and red peppers. They had a lot of other random stuff, but nothing else that I wanted to give a shot. They did however have some really pretty annuals and perrennials. I bought a flat of petunias (I love petunias!), two Colombines and two small sunflowerish looking flowers that were yellow and orange. I think the Columbines and the sunflowerish flowers will look nice out front to replace those dead bushes that need to be removed. I planted some of the petunias on the back porch last night and noticed that the horses were back for the summer. I really like looking out the back door and seeing those horses so I'm glad they're back. Still working on getting the aderondak (sp?) chairs that Brandon made in high school, once we get those and paint them, our front porch will be good to go - I read a book out there the other night after the sun had set but there was still enough light, but my VT camping chair doesn't look very fashionable out there. Oh, and if you know where to buy a lilac bush, let me know...I want one...they smell really good!

The Weekend of Wastefulness :-)

So, I guess you're supposed to get things done on the weekend, especially when it's nice, but here's a list of what we didn't do...

We didn't start the vegetable garden (we talked about it though - very productive on that front)
We didn't wash the cars
We didn't clean the house (a few things got done, but that's about it)
We didn't go to Wytheville

Here's some things we did do...

Sleep
I read a book
Play with Colby
Hang out with Brandon's family
Go to prom
Waited until Sunday afternoon to turn the AC on

On prom...I discovered that my husband knows all the words to "No Diggity". Who knew! Brandon and I also decided what sort of dress we want our future daughter(s) to wear - it cannot be backless, have ruffles, have a slit, be low cut or missing pieces (there was this girl that had a side missing from the top of her dress...who lets their kid out wearing that!)

Goals for today...
1. Call the electrician
2. Go to Lowes to scope out some gardening materials

We'll see how this goes :-)

Stuff

Colby does not usually cry when I drop him off at daycare. He's usually like 'get lost mom, I have things to do, toys to play with and friends to chat with.' But today he just wailed when I dropped him off. It made me a little upset, but I made myself shut the door and leave because I know he won't cry very long.

Yesterday Brandon and I were invited to a couples Bible study. That was pretty timely because Brandon and I have been having issues more often. Don't get me wrong, we are still madly in love, but I guess the longer you live with someone, the more you grate on each other's nerves. It was nice to air our issues at a structured Bible study, that way there aren't any hard feelings or anything.

Tomorrow I'm going over to Virginia Tech to thank the students that have been working on the PKU tracker. I thought it would be nice for them to see who they've been helping. Plus I need to ask them to do one more thing - data entry. The numbers Robert got for the tracker don't match up with the numbers in the book, so I think we're going to ask a bunch of people to take a section and put together a spreadsheet so the numbers will be right. At any rate, I really appreciate what they've done and Colby will too when he gets older.

Wet Jeans and Great Hair

I decide to let me hair curl and now it's like I got a whole new hair style. But this morning has not been great - my voice is gone and my jeans are wet because the dryer got confused about it's job or something, but I do have great looking hair!

Nothing interesting is going on here. I think Colby is getting his top teeth because he has been CRANKY lately and his hand has been constantly in his mouth. Brandon wasn't feeling well on Monday so he's only worked one day so far this week. It's been nice to hang out with him when I get home frome work. I didn't really get a spring break, so that kind of makes up for it.

Hair, Easter and Birthdays

I got my hair cut on Friday, so here's a picture so you can get an idea of how much I got cut off. I keep running my fingers through it because it's so short. My mother-in-law said I looked like my mom - I guess that's okay :-)

Colby had his first Easter yesterday. He got a giant blue bunny in his easter basket. Yesterday he also had his final celebration for his birthday. I made cupcakes yesterday (which tasted like sugar cookie) and put some frosting on them. He picked at his cupcake and enjoyed the frosting at least :-) I can't believe that he's one already. It seems like yesterday we were just bringing him home from the hospital and now he's walking and talking and growing up so fast. Sigh. I guess that's the way it goes. I just want him to be a little boy forever.

I'm Getting My Hair Cut

I'm getting my hair cut today. I'm chopping it off an I'm going to try some longish bangs. I'm tired of being the only teacher who doesn't have a hair style, so today I'm going to turn over a new leaf. And if I like the cut, I'm going to make an appointment to keep it that style. Long ago I joined the purse club, so now I'm joining the hair club. Maybe one day I join the jewelry club...baby steps for now.

Tax Return's are Awesome

So yesterday we got our tax return - a little over $2000. I would say we haven't gotten a tax return in several years, so this is a welcome addition to our bank account. I think with some of the money we're going to get our lighting issues fixed (the lights in the laundry room and bedroom closet don't work...and yes we checked the lightbulbs!) and get an outlet installed so we can buy a deep freezer for Colby's food. I can't wait until next year because we'll qualify for the new home buyers tax credit :-) That would be one sweet down payment on a new car if I can talk Brandon into it. I love my truck, but with it's transmission issues and growing age, it needs to retire to a life of light use. I'm talking, haul a tree or dirt or mulch once in a while, not drive 40 miles up and down the interstate. Here's to tax returns!!

Tip for Marriage #1

My stomach has been a mess lately. I had applesacuce for dinner last night. Let me just add, that boys are so clueless. My normal routine is not to eat applesauce for dinner, so in my mind that should be an obvious sign that I don't feel well. Apparently to my dear husband, that doesn't mean anything and when my head is pounding and my stomach is all gurgly and I'm cold, I'm still supposed to help him clean the entire house. He made me very upset when every time he stomped past he cast me a nasty look as if to say "get off your lazy butt and help me." I did help him put away laundry, but I was still upset. I mean, who is he to give me any kind of nasty look when I'm the one that usually cleans the house before HIS parents come over? Who's the one that looks after Colby ALL THE TIME and cleans up his messes? Don't get me wrong, I love Colby, he's just not very good to have around when you want to clean or talk. We finally aired our issues with each other, but obviously you can tell that I'm still carrying around some residual anger. I hate to say it, but I think that being a police officer is changing Brandon. He never used to care about some clutter, but now it's like he needs some order at home after the chaos of his job. I hope that he can learn to leave his job at work and speak up when he's frustrated with me. We could have saved ourselves some problems last night if in the beginning he just asked "Why aren't you helping me?" and the answer would have been "I don't feel good" and then life would have gone on without all the stress. Tip for marriage: Speak up when you're frustrated!

BYOB

My parents came in this weekend for a visit. It was Bring Your Own Bed :-) They brought two beds that my grandparents were getting rid of so they got to sleep on real beds in our house istead of staying at a hotel. The extra bedroom needs to be rearranged because it's impossible to get into the closet with how they are, but at least we have them now, so when Colby is ready to sleep in a big boy bed, we'll have two to choose from. And until then, my family or friends can come spend the night whenever they want to!

My mom and I went out to Wally world to get a food processor. We think that Colby's food problem is a consistancy issue. We're going to try to make his food a little lumpier and see if he'll eat it and then gradually work our way up. I figured it was worth a try at least.

I mowed the law for the first time after Colby went to bed. Using the old timey push mower is not a lot of work contrary to popular belief. It takes a little muscle to turn it around if you don't have a lot of space, but it's definately not like some people make it out to be. It got my blood pumping just a little, but I felt good that I was mowing my lawn but being environmentally responsible. That's our first big step in leaving our planet a little greener. I hope to start recycling again soon which will also be a big step. We all need to do our part is what I've realized lately. If we don't, we're just setting up future generations for failure.

Exam Week = Movie Week

At school we have exams on Thursday and Friday. That means that I can't start teaching anything new so we're watching movies. I made a deal with my kids at the beginning of the semester that the first person who turned in their book vs. movie compare and contrast paper would be allowed to show their movie in class. We ended up with Twilight, The Green Mile, and V for Vendetta - an awesome triple feature if I do say so myself. Especially today since we watched all the boring stuff yesterday. And I never realized how much I enjoy The Green Mile (except for the crazy execution scene, which I wouldn't let my students watch much to their displeasure) and how much I really like Tom Hanks. I think it was a fantastic story to do a report on.

Still no luck getting Colby to eat grown up food. He sort of ate two green beans, Brandon told me, but I'm sure that means he mashed up three quarters of them and chewed on the other fourth, maybe eating it in the process. He has no problem with cereal and crackers, but you better forget it when it comes to the veggies....for now...mwhahahaha. One day he'll eat them because I'm persistent enough to keep offering them.