May 5 - Sick Boy

We have a sick little boy on our hands. Since Saturday night he's been running a temperature in the 100's and it has spiked a few times to 103.5+ and didn't seem to be going down even with Tylenol and Motrin, so off to the doctor we went.

Poor darling has strep throat. I admit to being ignorant about strep throat. I've never had it, that I know of, and Alyssa hasn't ever had it either. Poor little guy did say his throat hurt and we could tell it hurt him to talk and eat. He hasn't eaten hardly anything since Saturday except a popsicle and some jello and drinking some juice. At least now we have some antibiotics and I hope he gets better soon and his fever finally goes down.

So now he can't go to school for the next 3 days. Of course, now I'm feeling like MY throat is starting to hurt. I'm hoping it's just psychosomatic and not the beginnings of strep.

The doctor also told me to throw away his tooth brush in 3 days so he doesn't reinfect himself! I would never have thought about that.

May 3 - What's off my needles!

I finally managed to take some pictures of the completed knitting project I made for my friend in Germany's baby boy. This is baby #6 for her and her 5th boy! As always I'm horrible about mailing things so I've had this ready for a month and haven't mailed it out. It's going out in the mail on Monday for sure. I just hope it still fits him by the time it gets to them.

I made a One Piece Baby Kimono from the Mason-Dixon Knitting book in Crystal Palace Bunny Hop Size 7 needles.



The "Bunny Tails" hat by Susan B. Anderson also in the Crystal Palace Bunny Hop.



And Saartje's Bootees in the same Bunny Hop yarn. These were my first ever pair of booties and I'm pleased with how they turned out.



Currently I'm working on a Debbie Bliss Pinafore dress for my niece.

*****
Tonight I'm off to the Opening Night of the I Puritani with my parents!

May 2 - A Day in My Life

Fridays are usually my "quiet" day. A day when we don't have to get anyone to school -- indeed both Alyssa and Tristan don't have school on Fridays and we all actually really like that. The kidlets enjoy a day that really doesn't have anything major planned, although recently I signed both of them up for a 45 minute gymnastics class together. Alyssa loves it. Tristan enjoys it also, but since he already goes to gymnastics on Tuesday while Alyssa is in school, and has been doing so since the beginning of the school year, it's kind of "old hat" for him.

Anyway, today was anything BUT relaxing. It was a crazy busy day. Just for posterity sake, I want to make a note of what we (I) did today. I realize it's not scintilating reading for you, but so be it.

* I started out the morning early by stripping our bed and throwing the sheets in the washer. I "unwrinkled" the items that were still in the dryer by turning it on for 10 minutes.

* Gave the kidlets some chocolate milk (their morning treat) since Michael had already helped them pour their cereal and milk.

* I fully planned to head straight to the gym to start up my Couch-to-5K program which I had completed and now haven't really run since after doing the Turkey Trot on Thanksgiving while in Fredericksburg, VA. Got side-tracked and realized I'd better get the kidlets signed up for swim lessons and Alyssa's drama class before they were filled up.

* Spent the next hour trying to find the darn website to sign up for swim lessons and get them signed up. I was so frustrated to find that most classes were already completely full so I have very limited choices. I got very annoyed with myself for not checking back sooner. I ended up having to sign Alyssa up for the "first beginner" class since it was my only option. At least I got both of them in that class together. I know it will be too basic for her, but she isn't allowed to join in the next step up classes because she isn't 6 until the end of the summer. I did get her in the "second beginner" class for the following section, but couldn't get Tristan in a class at the same time, so he will be having his class AFTER hers which means one will have to wait while the other has their class. Not a problem if the weather is nice, but if it's cold and rainy like last year (it's an outdoor pool) we'll be out in the rain that much longer.

* Got Alyssa signed up for the "Dragons and Princesses" drama camp! Thankfully that section wasn't full. I know she'll love it. Her preschool class is putting on "Snow White and the 7 Dwarves" for their "graduation" ceremony and Alyssa "won" the part of Snow White after the teachers had all the girls "audition" taking a bite of the poison apple and "swooning". I guess Alyssa's swoon too the cake because the moment she did it, they declared they found their Snow White. Alyssa's always had a flair for the dramatic and, indeed, spends the majority of her playtime pretending that she is different princesses or roles (making Tristan play secondary roles in her productions"). I think the drama camp will be a great experience for her. I can't WAIT to see the school production!!!

* Finally got the kidlets in the car and went to work out. Did week 4 of the podrunner program and it kicked my butt. I obviously lost a lot of ground from where I was at Thanksgiving. (Not that I'm surprised.) I need to get back to it though, as I am signed up to do a triatholon relay with two of my girlfriends and I'm doing the 5K leg.

* Came home, popped Tristan in the bath and hopped in the shower with Alyssa. Washed everyones hair. Dried off. Dressed. Dried everyone's hair. Ate a quick lunch.

*Then off to gymnastics.

* After gymnastics came home and folded laundry. Moved laundry from washer to dryer. Did a quick tidy of the house. Folded more laundry. Took chicken out to thaw for dinner.

* In the midst of folding laundry Tristan came down and wanted to snuggle with me. I wondered where Alyssa was and discovered she was fast asleep up in Tristan's room.

* Took Tristan on my lap and read through the whole new "High 5" magazine we recently received. Sniffed and kissed his sweet smelling head at least 100+ times. Tristan said that I couldn't help him with the "hidden objects picture" but he did like my kissing him. I obliged and kissed him some more. (God that child is the sweetest child EVER.)

* Tristan reminded me that I had said we would make a pompom animal after we got back from working out, so we went and made a little pink bear with purple feet and one green ear and one black ear. He was very happy. At this time Alyssa woke up and came down.

* Kidlets asked if they could watch a Curious George episode so I said yes and when I went to put my folded laundry in the basket, found that my basket was already in use...



* Started preparing dinner. Michael called and wanted to see if I could find a sitter so we could go out. I called around but no luck. (What did he expect last minute like that????!!)

* Just as dinner was in the oven, Michael arrived home and I took off to get to my favorite yarn shops monthly Knit Night.

* Realized I hadn't brought the right sized needles that I needed for my project and hadn't brought any other project to work on. Had to buy some more needles that I didn't really need so I could continue working.

* Stopped at Barnes & Noble on my way home and browsed since I rarely get a chance to do that and I was without kidlets.

* Came home to find Michael asleep on the couch and our bed not made although the sheets were dry in the dryer.

* Went up and made bed. Briefly considered writing a journal entry, but decided to cheat and do it today instead.

* Went in and kissed the children who were "camping out" on the floor in Tristan's room and then went to bed.

Fascinating reading, wasn't it. But that was my May 2.

A Post a Day in May

So my goal is to post every day in May. What's been going around in my head though, is what exactly should I post?? Since this is my "Heidi @ Home" blog, I've been thinking about posting about my house and household and what I'm working on. I've been on a huge organizing, cleaning, decluttering kick for a few months already. Believe me, there is always more to do in that department, but I'm feeling like I'm really making some real headway. About the only things I'm feeling frustrated about are the things I really can't do myself, but need Michael's help with. I think I really, really need to revisit the whole idea of a "Honey Do List" as I think that actually works better for my husband than just asking. If it's in writing and is something he can physically cross off, I think that he'd respond better.

Another motivator for me is that we are actually seriously considering moving if the right house (and at the right price) comes up for sale. We actually love our home very much, but there are a few things we'd like to have or would like to change. We waffle back and forth on staying where we are and just remodeling and adding on and just finding something we like that already has what we want. The hard part is finding a house that has what we have now (certainly not smaller square footage wise and a nice-sized, private yard), as well as, all the additional features we wish we had in this home --either a den or an extra bedroom to use as an office, a three car garage, an updated kitchen and/or a nice bonus room for the children. If I'm honest, I'd also really, really, really like for the main living space (kitchen & family room) to be southern facing. With all the overcast days we have here, I'd love a sunny space where I spend the majority of my time. I love how the sun comes into our living room and dining rooms (currently the playroom), but we really don't spend much time in those rooms; and while those rooms are light and bright, I need to turn lights on in my kitchen on even the brightest summer days.

Here are a few pictures to illustrate what I mean:

I love how the sun comes into our living room, unfortunately we don't do a lot of "living" in there.

And this is my kitchen. See how dark it is? I always have to have lights on even in summer.

So, we're still looking around and weighing options. I'll keep you posted.