Florida and Other Happenings

At the end of April/beginning of May I went to Pensacola with a bunch of the women in Jeremy's family.  For the past few years they have gotten together for a "Gore Girls Reunion," but I have never been able to go, either because of work or babies, etc.  But the stars aligned this year and I got to relax at the beach.  It was great being able to just sit on the beach and not worry about kids drowning.  But I was so happy to see Jeremy and the girls when I got home.  I just do not like to be away from them for long.

Yikes!  My face got SUNBURNED.

Proof I actually did put sunscreen on my face.

As soon as I got home we got to working on Shelby's Free Enterprise project.  She decided she wanted to make and sell bracelets for her business.  We may or may not have ripped off the name from Saved By The Bell.  :)  I thought she did a great job and her store was very professional looking.

Also, every night that week was spent cramming for a CPCU test I had the following Saturday.  I'm kind of proud of myself for being able to read an entire text book and pass a test that is notorious for asking questions worded specifically to trick you.

Shortly after I returned home from Florida, I ruined my favorite purse.  At some point, one of the girls got a hold of a blue Sharpie.  I must have taken it from them and put it in my purse.  Well, of course the cap came off and not only ruined the liner, but soaked through to the leather.  I was so upset.  It wasn't a SUPER expensive designer purse, but it was expensive, and it was my favorite.  It was a couple years old, so it's not in any stores anymore.  Imagine my shock when Mother's Day morning I open my gift from Jeremy and it's a new purse!  He tracked down the only person selling one on ebay, then took it to a leather repair guy to fix some stitching.  Other than that the purse was in perfect condition.  I really thought it was such a thoughtful gift.  And Shelby thinks it's really awesome that I gave her the old one and we are purse twins now.

We had mom and dad over for dinner on Mother's Day.  Of course when I asked mom what her favorite meal was, she responded that she didn't want me to go to any trouble.  So, I made some foods that are both of our favorites- chicken salad (with grapes, apples, and walnuts), and chinese chicken salad.  And for dessert...the Barefoot Contessa's coconut cupcakes (except we made it as a cake).

Me and mom- Mother's Day 2015

The next Friday was a long awaited day for me...Dave Matthews!!  I think this was my 7th time seeing him, but my first time in the pit.  (Unless you count Jazz Fest as being in the pit.)  There are definitely pros/cons to every seating situation, but being so close to Dave was awesome.  We ended up being in the fourth row in the pit, but we were closer to the stage than when we were on the front row at Jazz Fest simply because they had a ton of space open for press at Jazz Fest.  I think I like last year's set list better, but c'mon, it's Dave.  It's always good.

I was just a little bit excited.

This past week has been a bit hectic as well.  I began having Thunderclap headaches, which is a new development to my migraine saga.  I went in to the neurologist and had to have an MRI, MRA, and another EEG.  Thankfully, the MRI and MRA came back fine, but my EEG came back abnormal again.  So they have upped my dosage of seizure meds, and I will go back to the neurologist again this week to discuss everything.

Aside from all of that, our lives have been filled with birthday parties, rain...and more birthday parties and more rain!

Sickies

This has been a week of sickies.  Well, just me and Lucy, really.  I woke up Monday with a horrible pain in my ear.  I ran a low grade fever for two days with worsening pain in my ear and finally went to the dr. who confirmed a double ear infection.  Apparently my sinuses were draining so much it backed up into my ears.  Lovely.

Lucy has been snotty and whiny all week. Finally last night she told me her ear hurt, so off to the doctor she went today...ear infection.  Well, after having an ear infection of my own I have a lot more empathy for her!

This morning I also had a routine checkup with my neurologist, only today I saw the P.A.  I happened to be wearing sandals and he looked down and asked if me feet were always red/purple.  I said, "Oh yeah, I get comments on that but they're usually like that, no biggie."  So he pulled up all my old tests I had done two years ago...and then informs me I had some issues show up on my echocardiogram.  FROM TWO YEARS AGO.  Say what?  Apparently I have a prolapsed valve as well as a mild to moderate leaky valve.  Neither one is a huge concern on its own, but I now have to have an echocardiogram every two years for monitoring as it could develop into pulmonary hypertension.  

Obviously I'm fine now, and I'm sure that's why I wasn't told about this before- to avoid worry.  BUT IT EXPLAINS SO MUCH!  It explains my feet color, why I'm always cold, why I get migraines when I exercise, and also...I don't have exercise induced asthma, it's all related to my heart!  Kinda would have liked to have known this.  All this time I thought I was just really out of shape! ;)

(Sorry I'm in my towel, but look at how red my ear is!)

When Lucy cries long enough I cave and let her in our bed...and she always ends up like this!

Party Like a Rock Star

Last Tuesday Joey turned 5 years old!  I have been a mother now for almost 8 years and am still amazed at every birthday at how quickly time seems to go by.  We started off the day with birthday waffles and presents.  Joey's life was made complete when she finally got a Spider-man skateboard.

We didn't do much that night because Shelby had her school musical that night.  It was based on "Where The Wild Things Are."  We did get to eat dinner and have cupcakes with Grandpa, so she was pretty happy about that.

Today was party day.  She has been counting down forever.  She originally wanted a Spider-man party, but I talked her into a Rock Star theme since she has already had a superhero party before, and since she loves to listen to music and sing songs...like this one:

As guests arrived they each decorated their own guitars.

After that we learned the 4 steps to become a rock star.  First, they learned about instruments and rhythm.  They all sat in a circle and each had a different instrument and played slow and fast and passed the instruments around.  I learned that the drum was everybody's favorite.

Step 2 was learning how to dance.  First they learned a few moves from Just Dance, and then they showed off their own moves with some freestyle dancing.

Step 3 involved fueling up and getting a big ol' sugar high so they'd have lots of energy on stage.  

This cake was soooo good.  It was a Neapolitan cake, so it had layers of chocolate, strawberry, and vanilla cake.)

Step 4 to becoming a rock star was looking the part.  Everyone got (temporary) tattoos, bracelets, colored hair extensions, a microphone, sunglasses, a guitar pick, and then they grabbed their guitars and headed over for their concert on the stage.

I debated on whether or not to open presents with everyone there.  Is it rude not to?  It is always so chaotic with kids crowding around and the child tearing open presents faster than I can write down who gave what.  But, we did it and it was chaotic, but Joey loved it and was very kind and thankful. (Side note:  last night as we were going to bed I was lecturing Joey on being gracious and told her, "I don't care if someone gives you a piece of poop wrapped up in a bag, you WILL tell them thank you.")  

After everyone cleared out and Lucy and Jeremy were napping, the girls and I took advantage of clear skies and played outside.  The girls were cute with their American Girl My Life dolls and having them skateboard with them.

Shelby cracked me up outside.  It was getting hot so she asked if she could take her shirt off (she was wearing a tank top underneath) and said, "My tank top isn't spaghetti noodle."  Lol.  Then a bit later I commented that the breeze felt good and she said, "Yeah, and it makes my hair look good.")

All-in-all, I think Joey had a great day.  She even thanked Heavenly Father tonight in her prayers for having such a great birthday.  Joey is such a smart, beautiful, hilarious girl, and we love having her in our family.  Happy 5th Birthday, Joey!