Easter with Snow

I think I jinxed the weather with my recent lovely Spring posting. This Easter weekend, we were greeted with roughly 2 feet of snow. So instead of a lovely, sunny Easter egg hunt on Saturday, we went to an Easter egg hand out at a local school. We actually thought they were still going to "hide" the eggs in some way, and were quite disappointed to find out they were just handing out plastic bags instead.

But we didn't let it get us down! We had a blast coloring eggs. Then I got woken up at 7 this morning because the kids were SOOOO excited. The Easter Bunny hid eggs in our basement, and they couldn't wait to find them.

This afternoon, we went outside and made snowpeople. Of course, if I were talented, they would have been snow bunnies. But I'm not. However, we did use celery for the arms, plastic Easter eggs for eyes, carrots for the ears and an Oreo cookie for one of the noses.

Last year during Easter, it was snowing and cold. This year, we were covered in snow. I swear, one of these years it's going to be nice. Otherwise, I told Steve we'll just have to go to Oklahoma for Easter one year.

Here Comes Spring

Tomorrow (Thursday) is the first official day of spring. Of course, no one around here really counts on good weather until after Memorial weekend. But we couldn't help but enjoy the gorgeous sunshine today. It was almost 50! That's the thing about living in Wisconsin. The winters are cold and you can get sick of all the snow, but the summers more than make up for it, in my opinion.

I grew up in those sweltering, humid summers, and I much prefer the lovely Wisconsin weather that time of year. When it hits low 90s here, people start complaining.

I'm sure we'll have a few more freezing cold days before the nice, warm weather gets here, but I love these little sprinkles of spring. Today, Jack asked me where he could find the flowers, but I had to tell him they weren't here yet. Then he asked me if we could get his pool out so he could swim outside. I had to explain that we would first have to wait for ALL the snow to melt, not just some of it.

Ahhh, spring! And then comes summer!

And the birthdays are over...

We had Jack's birthday party on Saturday at this inflatables place near Steve's mom. Jack was in Heaven, playing with his cousin. They were running around like crazy kids on all these inflatables. Climbing up, sliding down, etc. I got in on the action, too. In fact, I got a little carried away and was actually launching myself in the air and crashing down.

It came back to bite me, though. I was SO sore on Sunday and Monday morning. I guess I was using muscles that I never knew I had.

Unfortunately, I did not get pictures because I forgot my camera. But I'm hoping Uncle Scott got some good ones so I can share some later.

On an Anna note, that girl is talking in all kinds of full sentences now!

"No Jack. I want to do it!"
"Mommy. Sing rock by baby."
"I take my candy, too!"
"Jack. I want to turn light off!"

Oh, and this morning, Anna was trying to drink from the vegetable oil bottle. Now, don't judge. We had muffins and had used the vegetable oil. But she definitely got a little swig because she had an icky look on her face.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY

Happy Birthday to my good friend Heather, who has a laugh that is contagious, a loyalty like no other and the cutest little redhead that I've ever seen.

Daycare Crisis

I admit that I analyze and analyze and worry too much. Even the title of this posting is a little misleading because we are not in an actual crisis.

We've always paid a lot for daycare, and it's always bugged me. But it is what it is. Child care isn't cheap, and the kids love their teachers. We've been at the same place for nearly 4 years, but we have thought a couple of times about switching. Not because we don't get good care there, but more to save money.

So recently, we started thinking about switching again. We even went so far as to fill out the enrollment information and write out a check to the new place. But then something happened. We gave our notice, and the director at our center called me today. She was very sad that we would be leaving and wanted to know if there was anything she could do. I pretty much brushed her off, but then it really got to me. These are all teachers that have known our kids since they were drooling, breast-fed babies. They really care about them and enjoy us as a family. And you just can't buy that.

So guess what? After my analyzing and number crunching, we'll be staying right where we are. We're going to get a slight price break, which will help, but the bottom line is that the kids are happy. (I made Steve call the new place and break the news because I am weak.)

Jack will be starting a 1/2 day K4 program in the fall anyway. And then after that is school full time. Hmmm. It's weird to think about. Don't worry, though. I'm sure I'll do plenty of analyzing and analyzing and analyzing between now and then.

Balloon failure

Jack had a good birthday. They showed his card on the air, but they didn't read the poem. He thought it was pretty cool, though. The one thing Jack was so bummed about is that he didn't get a balloon on his birthday. I should have thought of this, as that was his favorite part about Anna's birthday. But rest assured, we're having his party next weekend with Steve's side of the family and there will be balloons.

In other news, our basement remodeling project is complete. We just have some finishing decorating touches to add. We gutted the bathroom, got rid of some closets and got new carpet. It looks great down there.

Well, that's about it I'm afraid. Kind of boring from our end. Happy Monday!

Once upon a time, there was a little boy named Jack...

One of the TV shows we watch is the Goodnight Show on Sprout. They're always having promos about "Send in your birthday card. We'll read it on the air."

They stressed that creativity is important if you want to get your card chosen. So we put together a birthday card, and I put together this poem about the birthday boy, who happens to be 4 today. My little man isn't so much a cake person, as the poem explains. (The picture here is Jack pretending to be angry in his birthday crown from school. It cracks him up.)

TODAY IS JACK’S BIRTHDAY,
SO WHY IS HE SAD?
“WE CAN’T FIGURE IT OUT!”
SAID HIS MOM AND HIS DAD.

“I KNOW THE REASON,”
SAID HIS SISTER NAMED ANNA.
“I’LL TELL YOU ABOUT IT,
AFTER I FINISH THIS BANANA.”

SHE SAID, “TODAY IS JACK’S BIRTHDAY,
BUT HE DOESN’T LIKE CAKE.”
“A CHERRY PIE IS REALLY
THE DESSERT YOU SHOULD BAKE.”

SO JACK’S MOM GOT TO WORK
AND MADE THE PIE OF HIS DREAMS.
“YUMMY! YUMMY!” JACK SAID.
“I AM THE BIRTHDAY KING!”

Work just became a little bit cooler...

Yesterday, the CEO of our company made a public statement. "Jeans are OK," she said.

We were watching her address everyone via Internet, as she's based in NY. As soon as she said it, there were a round of cheers. Of course, no one was sure it would apply to our offices, but we all secretly hoped. At least, many of us did. Then today, HR sent an e-mail.

Jeans are OK! I'm so excited. Who cares that I only have 2 pair of jeans that I actually wear? What a great excuse to go jean shopping! Can you tell that I'm excited? I could throw some more exclamation points in!

I know it's kind of silly to be so giddy about something so little, but you have to take what you can get. Ahhhh, jeans. :)

Shopping for Shoes

I was in NYC last week briefly for a business conference. It's not like I do a lot of traveling for work like Steve does. In fact, this was my first business trip ever.

I settled into my hotel room by about 6. I briefly considered just staying in and relaxing, but then I realized there was no way I could do that. This way my only window of opportunity to be in NY before my flight home the next day. I love this place!

It was raining, so I popped open my umbrella and started walking. Soon, I realized that I was along Fashion Avenue near Madison Square Garden. Oooo, Fashion Avenue! Since it was crummy weather, I quickly took refuge in a Macy's store that was an entire block long and like five or six stories tall.

On the first level, there were all kinds of handbags and perfumes. For a few brief seconds, I thought about how cool it would be to buy a $200 or $300 purse from Macy's in NY, but then I came to my senses and starting hitting the sales racks in the clothing areas.

Oh my goodness....there were a lot of clothes to look at. It was insane! I ended up with a pair of jeans and a shirt. Then I asked someone where the shoes were. Level 5. I headed up to level 5 and started searching the sales racks, which is what most of the women there were doing. I found a couple of pairs that I really liked. Then I discovered the catch. They had one shoe out on the floor and its mate in the back. So here's how it worked: You find a shoe that you like and check with a salesperson to see if they have your size. Then if they do, the search is on. They can bring you half of your dream shoe, but you have to search the entire floor to find the other one in your size. This sounds easy, but it is not. I found some great 1/2 shoes that were amazing deals, but their mates were mysteriously missing in my size 9. I only spent about half an hour doing the shoe game before I called it quits. I decided it wasn't worth it after all.

My trip was quick, but I managed to squeeze in a little fun. Now I just want to go back to NYC for some good shoe shopping.

Birthday Countdown

Jack is so excited about his birthday. He mentions it almost every day. He talks about having a party, balloons, etc. I'm taking the day off on his birthday so we can hang out. He's getting a big kid bike, so I think we'll go and pick one out together.

Today Jack got a Toys R Us "Happy Birthday" card in the mail. It had a coupon that was "Take $3 off $3." Now he can't wait to spend his money. I asked him what he was going to buy and even suggested crayons (since he did only have $3 after all). But he insisted that he was going to buy a bike with it instead. Aren't birthday magical when you're young? I love it.

I'm headed to New York tomorrow for a work conference. I'm pretty excited about it, even though I'm not going to have time to really do anything in New York except to walk around by my hotel tomorrow night. Oh well. Maybe that will be enough to satisfy my NY craving.

Not much to report other than that. Jack is over the flu and Anna hasn't picked it up, so we're healthy once again. I don't want to jinx us, though. I'm going to say we might be well.

Up On My Soapbox

The headline is your warning. I'm about to rant about a few things, so get ready.

Jack has the flu. "What?!?" you might ask. "How could this be? Didn't he have a flu shot?" Well, yes. Yes he did. But somewhere in the fine print, I must have missed that you can still get the flu even if you have the flu shot. I feel so betrayed. Something about different strains of influenza A and influenza B. I don't know. I don't even want to know. I just want a moment to be upset because my baby has the flu, despite the fact that he got a flu shot! Thankfully, we've caught it early because it only started this morning. We have a fabulous doctor who even thought to test for flu (after the strep test was negative). Now we're on an antibiotic, and hopefully Jack will feel better soon. Poor kid. I've never seen him so sick.

So we went to pick up the meds, and the pharmacist informs me that we owe $50. Yeah, that's with our insurance. The fee without insurance is like $122! So this brings me to my next rant. Are you kidding me?!? I mean, seriously? This is a great example of why our country's health care system is screwed up. Luckily, we have very good health insurance. But what about the kids' parents who do NOT have good health insurance? I'm pretty sure a family on a tight budget is NOT going to shell out $122 for influenza meds. In fact, that family would probably never even make it to the doctor because a doctor's visit without health insurance is like $300 to $400. Instead, they'll probably end up in the emergency room once the flu is really horrible, at which the cost is thousands. Of course, taxpayers are the ones who absorb those costs, and the vicious cycle continues. Unfortunately, too many kids suffer because of this screwed up system. This is all I'm going to say on this topic, but I'll be voting in the Wisconsin primary tomorrow. You better believe I'll be voting for someone that has an actual health care plan. :)

I'll be staying home with Jack tomorrow, which brings me to my final rant. My company has this dumb sick policy that you can only take sick time for yourself. So, if your child is sick, you have to take a vacation day or have an understanding manager who will allow you to make up your hours at home or during the week. Thankfully, I have a very wonderful and understanding manager who had children herself, so I'll be working from home tomorrow. I don't mind this...I've always done some work at home when the kids are sick and I need to do stuff to stay caught up. But it's just the principle of the matter.

That's all my ranting for tonight. Don't get me wrong. I'm not always bitter. After all, we have meds, I get to vote tomorrow and I can do work from the luxury of my couch. But sometimes you just gotta let it out. :)

Happy Valentine's Day

We started this tradition back when Jack was a baby to take "kissy" pictures around Valentine's Day. We then send them to the grandmas in a card. So lucky you, you get to see some of our efforts this year.

The Good, The Bad and The Inappropriate

My friend, Amber's, recent post is prompting me to write this. She blogged about getting her first ipod and being excited again about music. Amber and I have known each other since we were in coach pitch softball together. It made me start thinking about some of the weird and crazy songs I've loved over the years, some from high school days and some not. So here are some on my "Good, Bad and Inappropriate" list. Sorry if any of these offend you.

• When I Think About You, I Touch Myself. This Blondie song became our "theme song" on our senior trip to Padre. We sang it loud and proud every time we crammed in the van. Oh, and the best part is that my mom was the van driver/chaperone.
• Pussy Control. Yes, this Prince song is a classic. I can't believe no one ever introduced me to Prince growing up. Then I met Steve, and he set things straight.
• Ghetto Cowboy. Is there a better song than Ghetto Cowboy? I don't think so. I can't resist singing along...."yeah, it's just me and my sawed-off shotgun..."
• I Think We're Alone Now. This Tiffany song is the best workout song. If I need a pick-me-up when I'm running or whatnot, I just bust out some Tiffany.
• Dancing Queen. Again, how did I not know any Abba as I was growing up. Thank goodness Mamma Mia changed that.
• Baby, Baby. Amy Grant rocks. I remember rocking out to this song in the 5th grade. We were all so cool, listening to it on our cassette tape in the basketball locker room.
• Fancy. I was a little girl, watching CMT on television when Reba McEntire's music video of "Fancy" came on. I was enthralled. I quickly learned every word and to this day, I can still belt it out with the southern drawl. "And Mama spent ever last penny we had to buy me a dancin' dress."
• California Girls. I discovered the Beach Boys from my dad. I memorized most of the songs, and then I used to play "California Girls" and prance around the room, pretending to be the girls that they sang about.
• Lullaby. This is a newer Dixie Chicks song, and I love it. The first verse is, "They didn't have you where I come from." It's a song about kids/babies. It's so great. It completely captures my feelings as a mom, and it's wonderful. I highly recommend it to any moms out there.
• Mmmmbop. I had to put the boy band, Hanson, on the list.
• Father of Mine. I know this isn't my song personally, but a boy once dedicated this song to my friend, Amber. He said it made him think of her. (!?!) It's such a great story, I had to steal it.
• I Wish You Would Step Back From That Ledge My Friend. This is for Ashley. It makes me think of her when I hear it.
• Strawberry Wine. This one is for Tina. It's the first thing I thought of when I imagined her.

That's it for now. I'm sure there are many others, but that will do for now.

Snow, snow and more snow

So the snow has mostly stopped by now. But there was a lot of it coming down today. Not a record by any means, but a foot of snow in a single day is a lot by any standard. I was at work today but then left around 1:30 to go get the kids. I couldn't even see any road where I was driving. It was just snow, snow and more snow.

After I picked up Jack and Anna, we were driving home and they were just watching, mesmerized by the snow. Pretty soon, Jack says, "Mommy, with all this snow, it's Christmas, right?"

Unfortunately, I had to tell him no, but those are the breaks. This is the same little boy who thinks Santa is going to bring him presents on his birthday. And, he also made himself a birthday card in anticipation of his birthday. (Yeah, he's excited, and there's still a month to go.)

Addictions

Hi. My name is Stacy, and I'm addicted to Coke.

This is where everyone is supposed to chant back, "Hello Stacy," in a mundane voice.

Specifically, I'm addicted to Coca-Cola Classic, the wonderful, carbonated beverage that is so glorious. I don't know why I'm so obsessed with being addicted to this drink. Honestly, I usually allow myself no more than 1 per day and on some days, I don't have any. But the real problem is that I'm addicted to Coke from McDonalds. It's so fizzy and carbonated and the ice is just the right kind of meltiness. It's sad that I'll drive out of my way and pay $1.50 just for a few sips of this beverage.

I don't know why I care so much. After all, this is my one bad habit. I rarely drink alcohol, I eat pretty good and I've never puffed a cigarette in my life. Having a coke addition really isn't so bad, considering all the things you COULD be addicted to. But it still bugs me. Before I had kids, I had pretty much given up coke altogether. It was this crazy thing I did in high school because my friend Tina did it. It wasn't that hard and I never craved it. But then I became pregnant, and I was suddenly craving Coke, one of the very beverages they recommend you DO NOT drink when you're pregnant because of the caffeine.

I only drink coke at night and I almost always brush my teeth afterward because I don't like that sugary feeling on them. And I refuse to switch to diet because really, it's not like that's a healthier option. It just has 0 calories.

So I continue my battle with Coke, reveling in its yumminess, while being bitter that I'm so attached. Stupid, silly, little thing. Do you think they have a support group for people like me?

On a completely separate note, last night I went in to check on Anna. It was about 9, and I always like to kiss her sleeping head at night. Well, I pulled back the covers and there my little girl was, butt naked and sleeping away. (Oh yeah, it was butt naked. Naked alone does not do this image justice. This little gal was butt naked.) She had completely stripped off her pajamas (footed and with a zipper) and then took off her diaper. Rest assured, we got her little tushie covered before we went to bed ourselves.