All the sippy cups are washed

A week ago tomorrow Ryan and I left for a mini-vacation to Tahoe. I have undergone a flurry of emotions in the past 7 days. From excitement and anxiety at leaving the girls behind, to utter relaxation while up in Tahoe, from excitement again at seeing the girls after 3 days of their absence quickly followed by fatigue at taking up motherly responsibilities again. Today, 4 days after our return home I feel my old, motherly self again; the house is somewhat tidied up tonight and I have a bit of energy to type out all the events of my life. And, of course, the sippy cups are all washed and lined up, ready for whatever tomorrow brings.

Happy Birthday Aspen!

We celebrated Aspen's 1st birthday this morning (just the 4 of us). Sage helped me make some muffins and we topped them with icing and sprinkles. Aspen likes cakes -- not unlike her sister : ) We also opened some presents. Sage passed down "Thumper," her very first rocking horse. She wrapped it with dad and handed Aspen the pink slip : ) We also wrapped another gift that we had never taken out since Xmas ... I know, we are so bad! Aspen knew know difference and won't unless this blog is still around when she is of reading age : ) Check out the pics.

Masquerade

Ryan and I got to go to a Masquerade Ball this past weekend. Well, okay, so it wasn't quite a ball, but I definitely felt like Cinderella escaping from her chores to meet prince charming. I was, of course, escaping from our sick house and I, of course, got to go hand-in-hand to the ball with my husband, but you get the point. We won first prize for best dressed but turned back into our old selves at the decent time of 9:30 p.m. We were in the Not-So-Newlywed Game show and got last place! Can't win at everything, I guess. See here for some pictures.

Virgin Mimosas

Because I am always thinking about how to make my days as a stay-at-home mom more exciting and creative, I bring you the virgin mimosa. There is something about drinking my beverages out of a wine glass lately that makes me feel normal; not the tired, boring mommy who just wants to get in a good nap and and type an uninterrupted email, that I am really feeling like. I bought some orange juice at the store the other day. Not something I normally do because, let's face it, real oranges are much cheaper and do just as much good as the juiced stuff. But, I was feeling a tingle in my throat and I thought I would reward myself with some orange juice in a glass. When I poured my first glass I realized I also had some Diet Hansen's (made with Splenda, Tangerine-Lime flavor) in the fridge. Oh, that might be sort of fun, I thought. And it was! It was fizzy and sweet and drinking it out of the wine glass added the perfect touch. When life gives you lemons, make Lemon-lime-tangerine Mimosas!

Change of Plans

At first I was tentative about our Tahoe trip, but then I got really excited thinking about all the quality time Ryan and I would have together. After Sage's first asthma incident we were still thinking of going, although I was pretty hesitant. If the next two nights go fine, we thought, then it would seem safe to go. Then Sage woke up with wheezing the next night again (Sunday at 4 a.m.). Okay, so no Tahoe trip. But we thought it would be fun to at least go to lunch and a movie on Monday, assuming that Sage would be getting better by then. Then Sage was up all night with a hacking cough Sunday night and her fever continued through Monday. Alas, we made the doctor appointment to give me peace that there wasn't anything else we should be doing to help Sage. He mentioned that we shouldn't be too quick to use the term asthma and then mentioned something about a bronchio spasm. Yes, continue to give Tylenol and Advil for the fever but other than that, this is a viral infection and it just needs to run it's course. Before the doctor's appointment we were thinking, "okay, maybe just lunch today." After the doctor's appointment, and after the lack of sleep from the night before set in, we opted for a nap at home; no movies, no lunch. There will be other times for getaways I guess. It's just funny (maybe not so funny) how completely opposite our weekend turned out to be. So, please continue to pray that Sage's body would quickly fight the infection and that we would all get some much needed sleep!

Great Advice

I read in a magazine that when administering medications to your children you should use a white board eraser pen to jot down the times & doses on your bathroom mirror. That way, when you wake up at 1 a.m. you can glance at the notes and know if you should dose your child with more "yummy grape stuff." I remember sort of laughing at the idea; like, why can't you remember the time you gave your child his medication? Sage had an asthma attack a couple of nights ago and she is also battling some sort of infection since she has been running a fever of 104. My mirror reads:

• Ibuprofen: 11 pm
• Tylenol: 9 pm
• Albuterol: 5 am
• Nebulizer: 11 pm

I get it now. No laughing involved.

SMART SPIN

I didn't even know the name of this marvelous organizer until just seconds ago. My mom bought me a SMART SPIN for my last birthday (almost a year ago). You have seen the infomercial; A lady opens up her cupboard and all of her mismatched tupperware falls right in her face. Yeah, that one. I started using the containers but hadn't fully realized the beauty of this gift until I finally took the base/spinner thing out of the box, handed it to Ryan and said, "Here, put this together." Part of the delay in putting all the pieces together was an overcrowded pantry, hence, no room for the spinner. Somehow the kids were distracted enough during the week and I rearranged everything to make room for the SMART SPIN. All I can say is that I wish I would have done it a year ago. It really does make my life a little easier.