Is this week really over??

You don't know how badly I am ready for this week to be over with. It's been ridiculous.

First of all, I cannot seem to shake the fatigue. That's mostly due to the fact that this stupid head cold has me up all night either coughing up a lung or shooting what I'm convinced is my brain out of my nose. My poor nose. So much skin has fallen off of it this past week that I'm surprised that I even have a nose left...ah, well, I guess it's just good and exfoliated. Of course, the drowsiness could also stem from the fact that I've been eating the Tussicaps prescribed to me like candy. Well, no, not really, but the codeine makes me feel all warm & fuzzy on the inside and really K.O.'s my cough.

Of course, this cold could just be some twisted punishment from God for picking up my sick child from school last week, but still keeping my wax appointment and vacation plans. Yeah. Daycare called (son only does half-day kindergarten) and said he was running a fever. I picked him up, drove back to work, put him in the care of the receptionist (who is also our cousin...thank goodness I work for a wonderful, family-oriented company!) and the proceeded to speed to my appointment at Spa Phoenix to get my brows waxed. Don't worry...all of you parents out there who are tsk, tsk, tsking me right now can rest assured that I called our pediatrician when I got back to the office (after a side trip to Arby's for my FREE lunch...hello!) and got him an appointment with the nurse practitioner that very same afternoon. The prognosis? Strep throat. What did I end up doing? I called my mother to warn her, picked up the antibiotic and then still got on an airplane the very next morning for Cancun.

This is why I feel as if I'm being punished.

But, the cold could stem from the fact that it was, oh, in the 40s when we left Virginia, in the 80s while we were in Cancun and then in the freaking 20s and snowing when we got to Atlanta. Nah. I was sick as a dog before we even got on the airplane...or at least close to it. I guess I'll stick with the punishment from God theory.

Anyway, as if being sick wasn't bad enough, how about having your five hour layover turn into a two & a half day layover? Yep. There was no way in hell we were going to get out of Atlanta. Not with the crippling snowstorm and all (how funny is it that the sun was shining just an hour after we landed in Atlanta...and our flight had already been cancelled). When we were finally able to get on a flight headed for home, I was:

• t-i-r-e-d -- I did not sleep at all while we were in Atlanta. No matter what I took or how hard I tried, sleep was not going to be my friend while we stayed at the Red Roof Inn.
• o-v-e-r it -- By Tuesday I was ready to be home. Heck, I should have been home. But, no, it had to go and snow BEFORE we even left Cancun.
• d-o-n-e -- Going back to work the very same day that you've returned from being out of town is never a good idea. Especially when you're sick, haven't had a shower and have been in the same pair of jeans for three days. Ew.

The only good thing is that once we got home the rest of the week did go by fast. And, now that I've seen my doctor I'm starting to feel a bit better. But, I'm still tired.

Who knew two days would do this to me? I'm turning into a weenie. Of course, whenever the quantity of alcoholic beverages consumed is greater than the total number of hours that you've slept, well, I guess it's to be assumed that you'll need some recuperation once the fun is all said & done. :)

Desperately seeking summer...

I am over the cold weather.
I am over the colds.
I am over wearing a jacket & wool socks.
I am over the dry skin & runny noses.
I am over cranking up the heat.
I am over my gas bill.
I am over warming up my car.
I am over the howling winds.
I am over the wishy-washy weather forecasts.
I am over it being dark by the time I'm home from work.


I am ready for some warmth of a different kind.
I am ready for road trips to Hatteras.
I am ready for barbeques & horseshoes.
I am ready for humidity (I think).
I am ready for long, summer nights
I am ready for flip flops & pedicured toes.
I am ready for fireflies.
I am ready for sleeping with the windows open.
I am ready for tulips & daisies.
I am ready for seashells & sand.


I am desperately seeking summer.

Snow Day! (Take 3)

There's snow on the ground today. Really. There is SNOW on the ground in Hampton Roads.

S-N-O-W

Of course, by the time I walked out of my house this morning to warm up the car, it was already melting and falling out of the pine trees. I was being pelted in the head by melting snow. Not fun.

But, anyway...

There's snow in southeastern Virginia and it's about damn time. Of course, it's nothing to warrant any closings in our area (which is a big surprise), but it's still exciting nonetheless considering this is the third time we've been told we would get some snow and, finally, the weather forecasters were right.

What I find to be most amusing is the fact that today is a school make-up day for my children. They are making up the snowless snow day from last month...and there's actually snow on the ground today. Go figure.

Snow?

Seriously? They are forecasting snow for our area? 1-3 inches of the white stuff? Really? I'll believe it when I see it. My children have already had one snowless snow day...what's another? Of course, watch, this time the sky will just dump on us and we'll get MORE than the forecasted amount. That would be my luck.

Well, I guess I should get the kids prepared for a possible day at the office. Oh, joy. (can you tell I'm thrilled??)

What snow?!

They are still saying it's going to snow, but I will only believe it IF I see it. And, I'm begging right now, please God let school happen tomorrow...on time. No delays. No cancellations. Please. I know I haven't been the best person lately because I have been so hateful, but really, ease up and just let the schools open. You and I both need this. Forever and ever, Amen.

It's still not snowing...

...what a big surprise. It's funny how we get all pumped up for some snow and then nothing happens. Don't get me wrong, the forecasters are STILL calling for 1-3 inches of the white stuff, but the weather certainly hasn't panned out like they said it would yesterday.

But, in good ole Tidewater fashion, schools are closed today. It's quite amusing to think that we haven't even seen one flake of snow, but the schools (as well as courts, certain office, etc.) are closed. I suppose this shows proper planning and consideration for the children and employees. I remember all too well being in school and having to go home early due to inclement weather. I'm sure that it can turn into quite the cluster fuck when you are trying to coordinate the safe transfer of students in high school, middle school AND elementary school from school to home. That's not an easy task. And, I'm sure working parents, while school closings are inconvenient at times, are appreciative of the heads up on the closing rather than having to deal with childcare arrangements during the work day when their children are sent home early.

Thank goodness for VBCPS's new alert system. Our phone rang this morning just after 6am and the telephone recording notified us that Virginia Beach City schools and administrative offices were closed. Soon after, my cell phone rang and I got the same recording. Then, while checking my email this morning I noticed a similar message. Let me tell ya...their new notification system is a God send...it's a pain in the ass to try and read the list of closings at the bottom of the television screen on the different local news channels. I remember doing it as a kid growing up and I remember having to rely on that list on the news even as recently as last year! I sooooo prefer a phone call at 6am over having to squint my eyes and read fast that early in the morning...this chica doesn't function well at the crack of dawn especially if there is no caffeine involved.

Well, with that being said the kids are with me today at the office. My stress level is already through the roof and it's only just after 9am. God help me. If they keep bickering over the damn portable DVD player I'm going to, as Adam tells Aidan from time to time, "turn green and grow big muscles."

Please, please, please snow.....the weather needs to do something in order to justify this day off from school!

Snow day!

So I may be jumping the gun a bit, but from the looks of the weather forecast, I think it is safe to assume that tomorrow is going to be a snow day for the kids. Even the Weather Channel is talking about it!
Snow days are rare in our neck of Virginia. Very rare. I can probably count on one had how many times we've had a significant snowfall here in Virginia Beach and I've lived here since 1986.

Of course, as excited as I am for the kids and the prospect of missing school because of the snowy weather (because Lord knows that back in the day I used to watch Don Slater on Wavy TV 10 like a HAWK whenever he talked about snow during the school year).......I'm semi-disappointed that tomorrow just might not be the first day back to school after the long winter break. I know, I know...it's silly of me to feel that way, but if your kids had a month off for the holidays and had been coming to work with you for the last couple of weeks you would be feeling the same way as I do. Trust me.

Nonetheless, it's still exciting to know that tomorrow morning there just might be a blanket of the white stuff covering the ground...I guess I'll just send the kids out into the parking lot to play when I bring them to work with me tomorrow. :)

More ornaments!

And, hopefully this time one doesn't have a va-jay-jay mysteriously appear on it...damn paint has it's own mind!

So, here they are...12 more hand painted ornaments in all of their glory. These are smaller ornaments than the ones I previously painted and, again, the photo quality is crappy because I still haven't put batteries in my camera and my camera phone is obviously crap. Enjoy!

Ho Ho Ho-liday break

Today is a half-day for the kids (but, of course, each child will go to his/her respective after-school care program since I'm at the office)...the day is filled with parties, food, sugar, movies and fun. Both kids were so excited this morning to get up for school...if only every morning could be like that.

Yes, folks, today is the last day of school before the holiday break. My kids attend a year-round elementary school so, unlike their standard calendar counterparts who have a full day today, they get out early and start their break a bit earlier. Much to my dismay, they don't return to school for a full MONTH. Yes, a month. M & A head back to class on January 20th.

I can already tell you that by this time next week I'll be very ready for school to be back in session again. Very ready.

Decking the halls...

Well, just Christmas trees...this year I decided to make ornaments for friends, teachers, etc. After 12, yes TWELVE, failed attempts, I finally got it right and did NOT forget the key step of cleaning the glass (duh!). These pictures don't do the ornaments justice and this is only a small sampling of what I've done. But, I'm proud to say that the kids' teachers have all received one and I'm making more this weekend...handpainting ornaments my way (thank you, Google!) is a lot of fun. The pictures are not the best...I used my cell phone since both of my digital cameras were D-E-A-D...guess I need to plug in the charger for the batteries, huh??

Enjoy!

I need a holster for my Lysol can...

'Tis the season for viral illnesses and the most dependable of all the viral illnesses is the wretched stomach virus. At least it seems that way in our household. Without fail, one or two of us always come down with it this time of the year.

As soon as I pulled into the parking lot at work yesterday morning, my cell phone rings and it's Nurse Nancy at the kids' school. Sure enough, Malia is sick. She didn't even make it off of the school bus before she got sick. I show up at school and she gets sick again. Poor thing. She looked awful.

Once we get home she gets changed and snuggles in her bed to watch "Milo & Otis" and seems to do well throughout the rest of the day. She managed to eat lunch (gotta love Amy's Organics Mac & Cheese!) and drank water and nibbled on crackers throughout the day. Dinner didn't set too well with her...I think she just didn't like Adam's concoction...but she made it to bed without incident.

This morning was a different story, however. As I type this, her bed linens are in the wash and her mattress has been hosed down with Lysol (as has everything else in this house that will stay still long enough for me to spray it). She's snuggled up in my bed watching "Max & Ruby" and, hopefully, will be better by tomorrow so she can head back to school and I can head back to the office.

First snow

It snowed yesterday for the first time this year. Nothing stuck...not here in Virginia Beach...but it was still neat and pretty to watch falling down from the sky. Of course, in true Virginia Beach (or maybe it's Hampton Roads overall) fashion, the drive to work was horrible. Absolutely horrible.

And, me being the highly organized and always ready mother than I am (bwahahaha) did NOT take a picture of the fluffy white stuff as it was coming down. Oh, well...next time.