50 minutes

It's not secret that Moe has a dislike for bugs. First the ladybugs, then the ants and now any bug she sees. And now Husband and I are starting to think she's onto something.

Last night, Moe and I spent a rather quick 50 minutes in the emergency room. The cause? An allergic reaction to a bug bite. We could see a small insect bite like spot in the center, but half of her face was swollen and red. Even after two doses of Benadryl, the swelling would not go down. So we checked into the ER at 8:30 pm, seen the doctor, got a dose of Prelone and were out the door by 9:20 pm (the time things significant if you've ever waited at our ER, your usually treated to a minimum of a 4 hour visit!).

This morning, her face was less swollen, but her eye is still 3/4 closed. We picked up her prescription (bubble gum flavor made especially for her -I never knew that you could have them flavored!) and also a can of DEET-free insect repellent. Since we spend alot of times outside, I'd rather not use the heavy stuff on her everyday! Note to self: order some Skin So Soft from Avon. This afternoon, we go back to her doctor for a re-check. Hopefully in the next few days with the Prelone and Benadryl, she'll be back to normal.

Now, all of the girls have had a visit to the ER. Let's hope we don't have to go again anytime soon!

Let's hope this doesn't happen again!

I don't normally take the kids to the ER for an insect bite, but this was bad.

Shouldn't it be Earth Day Everyday?

I pray for my fish who died.
I pray for my hamster that died.
I pray for the twin towers and the people that died.
I pray for planet Earth on Earth Day.
I pray for the world.

Lord hear our prayers and the prayers in our hearts. *

* The above were taken from the morning prayers in my daughter's first grade class. I happened to be in the school and noticed she was prayer leader, so I got to observe in the classroom. The prayers were followed by the Pledge of Allegiance and the singing of the Star Spangled Banner.

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Today my bloglines were filled with posts about Earth Day. I'll be the first to admit, I don't think of myself as a very "green" person, yet I find myself doing more and more "green" things. Most of them, I can say are subconscious.

• Last fall, we stopped using plastic grocery bags and got these reusable one's from Sephora. I can't say enough about them! We use them all the time. I still need to order an extra set. For those of you with TV Guide, they are the one's featured in this week's issue. Yes they are super strong. We can carry cans and bottles in them. For larger items, such as bottles of juice, I just forgo bags all together. Sure, it makes more trips carrying them in, but then I don't have a zillion bags all over the place. Or, if like yesterday, I'm buying totes (in this case, for the playroom) I just have them put everything in the box. Let me tell you, I get alot of odd looks when I say I don't want a bag for those 1-3 item trips!
• I support our local conservation district. In fact, I have a shipment of plants and bushes I need to pick up Friday. If you've read back through my previous posts, you'll notice that I spend alot of time in my gardens. They are nothing spectacular, but I've learned to view them as ongoing projects. It's great to see them grow year by year. As a person who likes to get things done immediately, it took me a while to appreciate their ever changing looks.
  
• I've tried in the past to grow veggies as well. And while I may not get enough to live off of for the summer, we get enough that we will try again this year. Our best crop is the wild raspberries which we can get bowls full of for two weeks straight at the end of June. What I can't grow, I like to buy at the local Farmer's Market in the summer. I cannot wait until they open again for the season!
• I'd like to try a rain barrel, but after researching and realizing that they need to be hooked up to a downspout for maximum benefit, it's just not feasible here. You see, our house runs off of solar hot water and all of the water from our roof run off is stored in collectors behind a wall in the basement. At least, that's what I'm told. I love having the solar system on the house, but would love to modernize it (it's one of the 70's type). Our next house will have a modern solar system which actually produces electricity.
• This year, we plan on adding a compost heap to the yard. We are not sure if we'll get a barrel or lay it out in a corner of the yard. I look forward to not needing to buy soil and compost each year!
  
• The kids have reusable sports bottles for sports as opposed to throw away plastic water bottles (I've checked and they are not the BPA #7 bottles) and they take lunch boxes packed with reusable containers as opposed to plastic bags for lunch. Even Husband does now as opposed to the grocery bags he used to bring. Sometimes, it's tricky trying to fit everything in, but we always manage.
• We recycle. Even the girls help with this.
  

I know there are other things we can do, like walk to school, but seriously, I can barely get out the door on time when I drive, so I doubt I'd be organized enough to walk. We've done it a few times, but with the three kids, it's more of a pain. We both drive, although Husband car pools and doesn't drive as often as he did. I'm trying to cut our errands to one trip so I'm not going back and forth. We still use paper napkins, although we have gotten out of our habit of using paper plates at home. We keep the heat up because I can't stand the cold.

But I've learned to accept that each small step helps. So things we may not do now, there may come a time in the future where that changes. That many of the things we do today, we didn't do a few short years ago. I like to hope that many of the things we do now, the girls will take with them and pass onto their families.

The videos were taken from YouTube and are lyrics by Jack Johnson (video number two by Jack Johnson and Ben Harper). The girls have a Curious George CD with those songs and love signing them. The other CD the girls like (although I have to admit, its a tad too earth crunchy for me) is Maria Sangiolo's Under the Mystic Sea. The lyrics are catchy and it gets the message across.

Spring Break Recap

Today the girls went back to school. While I really enjoyed spending unhurried time with them this past week, they were more than ready to go back. Well, maybe I was more than ready for them to go back, but they didn't put up a fuss this morning, so I take that as a good sign.

The weekend that their vacation started, we had two birthday parties. Einey was dropped of at one Friday night and picked up later in the evening. Very Easy! Saturday (which did not dawn rainy and cool like fore casted) found us at McDonald's for another party.

Monday morning, we made plans to meet some friends at a local park for some bike riding and to play on the playground. I managed to bring the bikes, despite the jungle gym still sitting in the rear of my van. But then, the seat of Meenie's bike broke off. Broke broke as in there is no fixing it (I still need to call about a replacement). She was not happy to settle with a scooter. Once her sister finished with the other bike though, Meenie spent the remainder of the time riding around and around the track. Oh and we finished Husband's cake for his birthday.


Tuesday found us at the roller skating rink. I was a little apprehensive about getting all three o them skates,but didn't know what else to do with Moe. Einey did okay, she seemed a bit nervous, despite not having any problems zooming around previously. Meenie did remarkably well. Sure, she hugged the walls, but she was able to actually do a short distance unassisted by the time we left. And she was on the rink. Alone. That was a huge improvement over the last time where she stayed on the carpet. Moe did great back and forth on the carpet and even went around the rink once with me, but wasn't comfortable with it. With my first child, I never would have dreamed of putting roller skates on her at three. In fact, she was six before she ever slipped a pair on, it just wasn't anything I ever thought of!

They come in ever smaller sizes. But seriously, how cute is that?

Wednesday found us at the zoo. Normally we stay away during school break weeks, but now that we have a school age child, it make outing like that during the off times harder. But we met friends there (coincidentally in the parking lot!) and had a blast. It was a tad more nerve racking trying to keep track of six kids, but it worked out well. After the zoo (which we've been to a zillion times, but still manage to see new things) we went to Build-A-Bear. But I've already posted about that trip and the fiasco afterwards so you'll have to click the link to read more.

Trying to think outside the box and not add to our bazillion pictures of giraffes. Do you ever find that you have all the same pictures?

I just love the way this came out.

The aforementioned new friends

Thursday dawned and Husband had his one day off of the week that day. We had made plans to go to the aquarium. But like any outing with Husband, the kids had eaten and gotten dressed when he finally started to make his breakfast (he can never deal with a granola bar or bowl of cereal like anyone else). THEN he got on the computer to research other possible ideas/places to go (ALWAYS happens when we involve him). Finally he went to play video games get ready. And much later than we liked, we were on the way to go. We spent a few hours at the aquarium and then had lunch at Olive Garden. Luckily, there wasn't a long wait as the kids were h-u-n-g-r-y. The great thing, that whole trip only cost us $10 plus whatever we used in gas (thanks guys for the gift cards!)!

Husband found the aquarium feature on our camera

Friday we were supposed to go bowling but I decided we needed a day to recharge. SO we hung out and just relaxed! Oh and went for ice cream!

Of course, I didn't list the hour each day Tuesday through Friday that we had soccer practice. Or games as the girls had their first games this week. Neither of them scored a goal, but they tried hard.


Saturday was another birthday party and then dinner at our church.

Sunday, Meenie and I had alone time, just the two of us. The in-laws took the other two girls to church while I took Meenie to her soccer game. They were supposed to drop them off after lunch, but I never went to get them until 5:00pm! So we had lunch together, worked in the garden, sang songs, talked and played games. We both had alot of fun and I enjoyed spending time with her. I often feel that she gets the short end of the stick most of the time.

Whew!

Anyway, that was spring break in a nutshell. Today, Moe and I went for our weekly coffee and then ran some errands we put off last week.

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Oh and did I mention the ants? Just like their cousins the ladybugs, they've appeared in the house this past week. And yup, you guessed it, just like with the ladybugs, Moe stands and screams. Or if she's got shoes on, stomps. But it has made her have two accidents while she's stood outside the bathroom crying about the ants. The girls seriously needs to learn to deal with bugs. Its almost summer. Ey Ey yi.

I scream, you scream, we all scream for ice cream

The other day at the zoo, I promised the girls ice cream. The only problem was, we didn't see any ice cream carts after I made that promise.

So today being the last day of spring break (we're not counting weekends here) and a fabulous 80 degrees and sunny, we decided to go get that ice cream. You know, ice cream from a stand where there are choices, many of the places which make their own on site and where we don't have to scoop it from a box. The only problem is, none of the 645 million ice cream stands were open. First we tried their favorite place. Nope. Then the giant ice cream cone - the one with melted ice cream because its just kept in freezers - that just re-appeared for the summer. Nope. Okay, well let's drive across town to Carvel, they're open all the time. "Carvel is closed until further notice. Sorry for the inconvinece" WTF man, why is it so hard to find ice cream? The kids were getting upset, and I was getting desperate - almost desperate to show the kids that McDonald's serves ice cream.

Okay, well I know of one the next town over which is open for the season already. And actually, that town has TWO places open, which I found out!

So we found a nice place and the kids made their choices. AT the counter when asked, the ice cream lady got the reply of

May I please have cotton candy ice cream in a cone?
I would like cotton candy please, in a cone.
The blue and pink cotton candy in a cone. Please?

Repeated a dozen or so times until Einey looked up and said,

May we have three cotton candy ice creams in cones, please?

After getting our ice cream and finding a seat, we all sat quietly enjoying our treats. I was able to sit around and take in our surroundings. We were seated next to a friendly older lady who enjoyed making small talk with the girls. She even got up and grabbed napkins for them. Before she left, she stopped at the table and had a nice conversation with us, before handing each of the girls a dollar bill (in our conversation, she mentioned a recent fund raiser for a friend of ours where she attended and handed out treats to the all of kids. When she remarked about how my girls were special - because thats what Einey told her - Einey replied "Everyone in the world is special". At that point, she seemed a bit taken by surprise, and then she smiled and said "that's right" and to me "your doing a great job with these girls") Behind us sat the older gentleman who appeared to be a companion to a handicapped gentleman. All three of them appeared to be regulars at the stand, you could tell from the banter back and forth. Then in came the small group of teenagers, followed by the father and two daughters. Next were the two mothers with their four tweens and another family like ours. In and out, there were older folks, tweens, teens and tots. Young parents with their mother and baby. Fathers, mothers, sisters and brothers. In that short span of time, while we sat licking our ice cream cones, many people passed in on out of the doors. Some staying to eat in the air conditioned room, some taking it outside and others getting it to go.

But do you know what I saw on everyone's face? Every single person had a smile on their face and a relaxed look in their eye. They seemed happy to be there in that span of time. With nothing more important than enjoying that ice cold treat. It's something that we don't see everyday in our busy lives. I was happy to be apart of it, and to be able to say that for once, nothing else mattered.

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In contrast to the short time we spent at the ice cream shop, just being, we had a few more in depth conversations on the way home.

The first was about a sign Einey saw outside the window:

"Freedom is not Free"

We talked about what that meant to us and how it affected our lives.

The second was about the environment. She wanted to know what the eco-friendly label on the on the new Poland Springs bottle meant. So we talked for a bit about the environment and ways we help to protect it. I'm not going to go into much here though as Earth Day is right around the corner.

Holy Build-A-Bear Batman!

It's school vacation week. Instead of staying home and being bored out of our minds, I planned activities to keep us busy all week. Thankfully, the weather has been wonderful all we and we got to do many outdoor activities. More on those later.

Wednesday I took the girls to the zoo (never go to the zoo on school vacation week). Since we were in Providence anyway, and they had been asking, I decided to make a surprise stop at Providence Place, and more specifically Build-A-Bear.

For some reason, I envisioned running in, grabbing what we want, filling, dressing and being out a few minutes later. I'm not sure WHAT I was thinking!

First stop, once we got in, was to pick out our animals. Einey quickly choose a turtle, Meenie took a few minutes and finally choose an elephant. Moe oh Moe. She couldn't make up her mind. The bunny. No a bear. No a doggy. Wait. The turtle too. No this one, the dinosaur. That's the one I want.

Next stop was the stuffing station (we skipped the sound station this time - and I'm glad we did - more on that later). There were only two people in front of us, but still ,we had a good 10 minute wait. The girls were in awe as they stood on the foot pedal and watched their creatures come to life. They loved spinning, jumping, waving and kissing the heart they filled with love to place inside their new friends.

After that, we went to the fluffing station. The girls loved giving them an air bath and were very thorough. They asked if we could get an air bath tub for at home.

After that, it was time to get them dressed. They were told one outfit each that's it. Because if I let them add accessories and shoes, we'd probably still be there two days later! Moe saw a yellow fairy outfit and wanted the Belle outfit for her dino. Since I had seen actually Disney Princess outfits in another section, I brought her over to check them out. She liked the fairy costume better. In fact, all three of them choose different color fairy costumes. That brought us the the next stop, the dressing station. And Oops, the turtle has a big slide off shell, so he cannot wear the wings while he's wearing the shell. Einey was fine with that. She calls him a lizard when he takes the shell off. And once the shell is off, he can wear the wings.

The last stop was the naming station. This took a tad longer only because I had to do each one individually. But they all got named and it was off the the registers.

So we left an hour later with a turtle, elephant, triceratops, three fairy dresses (one red, one pink and one yellow), bows for ears/tails/horns, three build a bear "houses" (because the boxes were the second most important thing they had to have you know!), a gift card for a friend, and minus $120. Not to bad for three of them. Oh and codes for the new online interactive website. I may still keep that information to myself though, they've already been sucked into WebKinz world and Little Pet Shop world.

So it was back to the van, with the girls lugging their boxes. After negotiating the escalators (which there were only two falls on - usually I have extra hands!) and finding my van - because we totally forgot what floor we parked on. Thanks Einey for being more observant that I was! We headed home. Well sort of. We actually hoped on 95N instead of 6W. So I had to turn around and head back. But once I found 6W, it was smooth sailings.

We got home, unpacked, found out we had nothing for super, headed to McDonald's and made it to soccer with enough time to grab some food before practice started. While I was walking around the soccer field handing out shirts and picture information to coaches and solving any last minute issues (there are no more fields, where's my team, ect) my girls were nicely eating their supper. Or so I though. Just as I am walking back to the field Meenie was playing on, Einey comes running over "Mom, look what Moe did to me, she spilled her chocolate milk all over me". Only she failed to mention that Moe also spilt chocolate milk on my chair and most importantly all over Dino. Yup, all over the do-not-wash-surface-clean-only-Build-A-Bear.* I was not very happy. So I followed their suggestions, I surfaced cleaned the spots with mild soap and let it airdry. The next morning "Mooooooooom, my dino feels funny. He's hard and crunchy". And he was. While he didn't have chocolate milk spots, he still smelt like chocolate milk and didn't dry very well. SO we borrowed some Build-A-Bear cleaner from a friend and tried that. Nope nada, still the same results. Pretty peeved still, I emailed Build-A-Bear for any other tricks. Their results, while fast, told me:

Thank you very much for emailing us about your furry friend. Some of our animals should not be washed in the washing machine because of their long hair or manes. In addition, if your furry friend has a sound box, the sound would most likely become damaged if submersed in water.

Some of our animals with short fur and no manes can be hand-washed or washed in cold water on gentle cycle with a very small amount of laundry detergent and then air-dried. You would need to visit a store and have the sound removed (if the animal has one) before washing the animal. Please place the bear in a pillow case and tie the case closed (this is only to prevent the eyes from hitting the sides of the washer and possible scratching).

We also have a product that cleans stuffed animals. It is called Bear Stuff Cleaner(tm). This product is available for $6.00. If you would like to order this product, please visit one of our store locations across the United States or Canada. You can also visit our website www.buildabear.com and type "Bear Stuff Cleaner" in the search box, or you can call our toll-free phone number and any representative will be happy to assist you in ordering this item.

If you do not wish to purchase the Bear Stuff Cleaner, we suggest using a mild soap and washcloth to surface clean the animal, and then let it air dry.

Um thanks, but I already told you I tried both those methods. Since it didn't have a sound card (and I wasn't about to drive back to Providence if I didn't have to) and it was short haired, as a last resort, I threw it in a pillowcase in the washing machine on gentle. And then in he dryer on the air only setting. And you know what, it came out perfect. Good as new. I was going to try this anyway. That or send it over to my mother in-laws. She's usually able to fix any problems I have!

So all in all, Moe is happy to have her Dino back and I'm happy I didn't waste $30 on a stuffed animal that was immediately trashed. It was a win-win situation.

So the moral of this story: Even a chocolate covered dinosaur can easily fit in the washing machine.

* And for the record, I was going to have them leave them in the van. Only my hands were full and they promised me they would not put them on the ground or eat near them. It's more my fault than anyone's. They are never allowed to eat with toys.

Playing Hookey

Today we played hookey. Instead of housework, we went to the park. After school, instead of yard work, we went to the park. Instead of dinner tonight, we're getting takeout. The girls choose KFC.

Here's my favorite picture of the day.

Yes, I know the shoes are on the right feet. They usually are. At least she has matching one on today.

Be sure to read the following post from this morning. It's the girls guide to YouTube.

YouTubing

This post is brought to you by Einey, Meenie and Moe. It's their guide of their favorite YouTube videos (with commentary by me).

First up is Primus. The girls LOVE this video. As I wrote in a previous post, I don't think they quite understand it because they keep asking what a devil is. They like the dancing chickens.

The next two are the White Stripes. The first is what the girls dub the Lego Song. It took me forever to figure out what they were asking for (Husband is the one who go them started on YouTube). The next was a coke commercial that was aired only in Australia and once in the UK. It's a great commercial and song. The other night while the girls were watching it, Einey pointed out that everyone had beer. I guess we don't drink enough soda around here.

Usually after that we move onto a Star Wars themed song. It's on I'm sure many of you have heard before. They are not fans of any of Weird Al's other work though. And yes, they like the Don McLean version of American Pie as well.

Then it's back to another commercial, this time to song heard in Apple's IPod ads.

And then there is the ever popular Smash Mouth, popularized by that great green ogre, Shrek! But wait, there's another one.

And of course, life wouldn't be complete without a big scaly reptile in the mix. I mean after all, the girls love anything cold-blooded. I can't even tell you how many times they've asked for turtles/snakes/more lizards. I mean, come on Mom, how cute is that baby bearded dragon over there? And the two lizards we already have, lets just say they like each other. Alot. I think Husband is jealous with how much action goes on in that tank at night. At least they wait until the girls are in bed.

And even I'm not sure what to make of this one.

So, kids, whats your top 10 YouTube mix? Really, because we need some new stuff.

Little Heathens

Every Sunday, I pack the girls up and we go to church for the 11 o'clock Mass. Our children are being raised in the religion their father was raised in. I, myself, was raised in a non-religious family and only started going to church with my Husband prior to getting married. I've made some of the sacraments of our religion, but have yet to make them all.

But, here I am every Sunday bringing the girls to Mass. Once at church, we join my in laws for the duration of the Mass. Ironically, the weeks we usually miss are the weeks Husband is home. For some reason, with an extra adult, we just cannot manage to make it out of the house on time. Not always, but more times then not.

We've been bringing the girls to Mass ever since they came home from the hospital. We've never really had a problem with them acting out in church, although there are occasions where they are a bit loud. Only once have I felt the need to remove them from church for being disruptive and then was quickly told that there was no need to. Everyone understands.

The older two girls go to a private Catholic school. For our family, it fits. It really is a home away from home and we are grateful for the friends we've all made as well as the education the girls are receiving. The girls are happy and love going to school.

So what have I been hearing from the back of the van every Sunday morning?

"I'm not feeling so well"

Those words were uttered by Husband one week when he really wasn't feeling well. The following week, Einey uttered them in almost the exact spot. Once I turned the car around and got home, she was miraculously cured. Once I realized what was going on, I stopped heading back home. So Moe was probably more than a little upset that I continued on my way after asking her what didn't feel so well and not getting an answer.

Oh and what's their favorite YouTube video? This one. But really, I don't think they understand it.

Helping Hands

We've all got them. Little hands always there willing to help. Some of us have two, others have four, six or even more. These are the hands that are always there, helping put away food, usually into their mouths as you are unloading your grocery bags, helping with laundry by scattering it around your house and even helping with dishes (no explanation needed here).

While I appreciate the hands that help make their beds, put their laundry away, clean up their toys and clear the dishes*, its the other aforementioned hands I can do without.

Where's this all coming from?

The other afternoon, Meenie had a play date with some friends from school. While I was clearing their lunch dishes, the girls escaped upstairs. Moe was quietly sitting with the dog. And a bottle of lavender scented hand soap. Washing the dog. In the middle of my bed. Have I mentioned the dog is big and I had no way of getting her into the tub, so I had to deal with sponging her off?

Those types of helpful hands I could do without.

* The girls are great. They usually do all the above without any compensation. We do not believe in paying them for small household chores that they should be capable of doing themselves anyway. It's just expected.

Male Dominance

Yesterday we picked up two new lizards. The girls thought that Charizard needed a new friend. So we picked up two more green anoles, which were quickly named Charmeleon and Charmander. The girls were very excited. However, almost immediately after we put the two new anoles in the tank, they started fighting. It seems like Charizard is a ,ale and so is Charmander. They were puffing their dulaps, bobbing their heads, charging and biting each other. Charmeleon would just run away. We believe she is a female. We had to separate the two males after letting them duke it out for a few hours. Hopefully, they will let me return the little guy.

The thing that irks me, is I specifically asked at the pet shop about males fighting for dominance over the cage and they told me they have never had any problems (I must note however, it was a younger kid and not the person we usually deal with at the pet shop).

Overall, the other two seem to be getting along well.

Note to self: Having two male lizards will only result in a pissing match.

My Epiphany

Yesterday, I had an epiphany.

Einey is a smart, wonderful child. However, like all kids, she has some quirks. She is highly forgetful. I cannot tell you how many times we've started to leave the school, only to notice she's forgotten her hat and mittens (which the teacher gave her the next day - complete set, and still she managed to lose one of the mittens), lunch box, sweater, folder and yes, even her coat once (and of course, it was right before a snowstorm - I blame Husband* partly for that one, he failed to notice and grab it, making me go over later in the day). For the minor stuff, I just leave it there and send in a note the next day. No biggie.

Usually I check her backpack before we leave the school, so if her homework is forgotten, we're able to grab it before we leave. And in such, I've realized, I have been enabling her. Yesterday, she went to a friends house after school. When I picked her up at dinner time, I mentioned how she left her homework folder in her class (again - second day in a row). It was when she looked at me and said "so, we can just stop and get it" that I realized, things need to change.

No longer an I going to grab her forgotten item. She is going to learn to be a little more aware of her responsibilities. Next year, the teacher isn't going to just say "it's okay, she can just do it tomorrow", so she needs to take a little bit of responsibility for her own actions. Once, when she forgot, she had three pages of homework from one night and one from the other night to do. She whined and complained how it wasn't fair and how her friends didn't have as much homework to do that night (duh! They all remembered to bring their homework home the night before and only had one nights work to do). She was not happy. You'd think she'd learn!

So now, I think I have come up with a plan. On nights she forgets her homework, she's going to have to write a note to her teacher explaining why she doesn't have her homework. In addition, I will print a page of something (or pull one from a workbook) that relates to their work for the week. She'll have to do that page and turn it in. In addition, she'll still have to make up the homework she missed the next day. I'm even considering making her write "I will not forget my folder" 10x each. And adding five each time she forgets. I don't want to torture her, but I do want her to realize that there are consequences to her actions. Does anyone else have any suggestions?

* Actually I blame Husband for the quirk as well. The man would forget his head if it wasn't screwed on. I cannot tell you how many times I have to find stuff for him as well. Maybe the smarter you are, the more you forget? After all, there's only so much room in the brain, something has to give!