Hoppy Easter

I took the boys to an Easter Egg hunt yesterday which was a lot of fun for them. There was a firetruck, jumpy castles, free soda and popcorn, a puppet show and, of course, the candy scramble. We went with Harini and her sons Ethan and Aaron.

This morning the boys woke up to giant Easter Baskets left by the Easter Bunny himself. AND we had an easter egg hunt outside. Caught on video of course! The boys have been eating candy all morning and are just in heaven with all the festivities. What a great day to be a parent. Joe and I are having a lot of fun.

Happy St. Patrick's Day

Well, I completely forgot it was St. Patty's Day even though Teacher Tammy sent out a notice to make sure the kids wear green today. And we are irish! Or at least my name is! Thank Goodness the kids are too young to notice.

Well Mason had a good day at school but since the donut store is closed on Mondays I offered up a soda at my Al-Anon meeting. He had to share it with Talan which he actually did not protest.

The boys took forever this afternoon to settle down for a nap. They finally went down at 4pm and I used my time wisely by doing more homework. It never ends. :)

Talan was being so cute today that I took a little video. Enjoy.

Joe, we are counting down the days. When I mention you are coming home Talan says "no" and then signs work.

I went to three meetings this weekend and that was just what I needed. This is the end of a long stretch. Not only had Joe been gone two weeks but prior to that he was spending every day remodeling our new rental house and so it really does feel like it has been a long time since we have had family time.

My Worst Fears Confirmed

Mason's visit to the dentist revealed that he needs to have 2 pulpectomies (baby root canals) as well as four cavities filled. The estimated cost: $4700. That is after $180 for today's visit. He will be knocked out completely for this procedure and the speciality hospital charge alone is $2500.
I am speechless. I have a knot in my stomach. Mason has an abscess in his mouth related to his rotting tooth and that is why he has been complaining his mouth hurts. Joe was alarmed, outraged when I told him the upsetting news. He is ready to fly Mason to Thailand to get the work done there as it is much more affordable. Joe has been planning a visit to Thailand for himself to get some dental work done so now this may speed up that trip!
Needless to say I can't focus on much today. I am beyond upset. These kids just had tonsillectomies which we are just starting to pay for and now this. It is just so unaffordable as to be .....I can't even think of what I want to say. Kids are expensive I say!

I am Awake before Mason!!!!!!

It is 7:30am and Mason is still sleeping. I wouldn't be up either but I have scheduled an 8:20am dental appointment for Mason as he has two teeth that concern me (they look brown and broken). I had nightmares of root canals for him so I need to do this for my sanity. I am going to need to wake these guys up soon but I am so enjoying my coffee in peace.
OK, he is awake now and I have instructed him to give Spike so loving as he is a chatty Cathy kitty this morning. He is now essentially living here other than being out all night, he resides with Misty under my bed. So, I guess they don't mind each other so much anymore. Maybe it reminds Misty of the Guiness days. Love hate type of thing.
So my midterm grades at school were posted and I am getting a B+. This sounds great but I am not getting a lot of points in Lab so I have fears that I may not pass the lab portion of the class. On Tuesday, we had to dissect out the larynx on our Cats but we were also given something called a Sheep Pluck which is essentially a sheep's heart and lungs (we are studying the pulmonary system). So, my lab partner Jackie (who I really like) and I took turns doing the three different dissections that we needed to do. I started with the Sheep Pluck while she did the Cat. I did a lousy job trying to unearth the bronchi and secondary and tertiary bronchus. There was so much fat on the thing that is was slippery and slimy. Well, after 45 minutes we traded and I started to dissect my side of the cat larynx. Jackie found all the bronchial structures and we traded back so that I could dissect out the pulmonary veins and arteries. Well, the only way to find these structures is to slice open part of the heart, insert the probe and see where your probe ends up (as it will go up a vessel). Well, the long and the short of it is that I sliced open the wrong side of the heart (point deductions for poor dissection technique) and was basically hopelessly lost. With 20 minutes of class remaining we still needed to have our teacher give us our eval (short for a 5 point, one minute test on one of the three dissections we did that day). Well, our teacher saw what I had done and grilled me to the point that I was in tears and left to calm myself down. While I was in the bathroom I contemplated not going back to lab and/or quitting the class. Yes, I was very upset but I pulled myself together and went back in and finished taking my eval. She obviously felt sorry for me as she gave me a 4 out of 5 which is the highest score I have received all year. That, and when she asked me to go over the respiratory dissection (bronchi) I started to review the heart (circulation). I was that nervous. She politely told me to think again and start over. Duh. I just get so nervous in there I am a complete mess. I hated the lab portion of these classes at College of Marin and I still hate them today. It is just not the type of learning environment I do well in. So that is my lab story. I am sticking to it! :)
I have to run now but I will post some pictures next time.

Barclay is here

We are SO enjoying our visit with Aunt B. Talan signs and says "B". It is very sweet and Aunt B is very pleased to be so adored by her nephews.
I am enjoying a moment of peace while they follow her (and not me) around the house. ;) We just ate a delicious Salmon and broccoli slaw dinner (complements of our trip to Costco earlier). The boys are eating Chocolate Easter Eggs (compliments of Grandma Jutta) for dessert.
We have been busy. We went looking at house yesterday and today and meet with the Realtor again tomorrow after B's job interview. I always love house shopping so this has been fun for me.
Talan just came out crying so I have to go......

I got an 88 on Exam 2

Well my test is over. I got an 88. I did ok although there were some really tough questions that baffled me and while I could narrow the answer down to 2 or 3 options it was a guess from there.

I took the boys to JumpaLot today before my exam and that was really fun. Talan did a lot more of his own climbing and Mason was totally independent and did not get into any trouble. :) I paid for two hours but after 1 hour 25 minutes Mason wanted to go home. Its a workout running and climbing and bouncing so I am not too surprised.

I took a couple photos of the boys today. I did a lot of cleaning and organizing as Barclay comes tomorrow and so the boys played with everything that I was involved with: laundry baskets, spray bottles, storage containers etc. They are so funny that way. They found the whole thing quite entertaining. They loved it when I had the mattress on its end as I was washing the bed skirt (tons of Misty hair there).

See you tomorrow B.

Leprechaun Scurry

Joe and I did another 5K this morning locally in CDA called the Leprechaun Scurry. My friend Lori and her two kids also did it. Both her children beat me, the 7 year old and the 10 year old! Despite this mortification I am thrilled as I beat my old time by 4 minutes. I did it in 31.20 which puts me at a 10:27 sec mile. Joe did the race in 26.08 putting him at a 8:43 mile. Very cool. Lori wasn't far behind Joe so clearly she kicked my butt! It was all in good fun. You can see our results on http://mysite.verizon.net/resyhgvz/sitebuildercontent/sitebuilderfiles/age_group.htm.
Afterwards Joe and I ate breakfast at Michael D's eatery. I ordered Eggs Benedict essentially wiping out any calorie benefit from the morning's activities! :) But worth it. I love Eggs Benedict! Joe and I went to coffee afterwards and then did a little shopping before returning home to relieve the babysitter. :) The boys seemed to have had a very fun morning and so it worked out for everyone.
As it is Joe's last night home we took the boys to McDonald's for dinner and to enjoy the play area. I think they had fun. Joe and I thought the food was terrible. I think we have outgrown fast food. Joe bought Mason Shrek III so that is what he is watching as I type this. I have no idea what is going on as the closed captioning isn't on but I imagine I'll be watching it again tomorrow and I can put it on then.
So much for studying. I didn't get much done today but I am feeling pretty good about it regardless. I think that might be dangerous to say but I am feeling like I could get a "B" right now and it is a matter of do I want to try for the "A" so I can slack off later! Just kidding. :)
I am beat. I am hitting the hay.