Busy Weekend

This weekend was a diverse mix of activities.  Friday night both girls participated in their school's multicultural fair.  This year the Magster danced her first ever cultural dance to La Cucaracha and La Nina danced to La Bomba.  Both girls looks lovely in their costumes and did a great job in their dances.  

Then, on Saturday we drove to Sacramento to participate in the Dad's God daughter's confirmation.  I was very honored to be her sponsor as she became an adult in the Catholic Church.  Before the big event, we stopped by the state Capitol and ate a picnic lunch on the lawns, then toured through the park.  

Today, we ended up ditching our indoor soccer game to spend more time with our friends.  We came home tired but ready for another fun-filled week. 

Shhh....LaNina Can't Find Out

We're assuming the Magster's going to be taller than La Nina when all the growing is said and done.  She consistently tracks an inch or so taller than her sister when same age measurements are compared.  Her hands have been bigger for years.  And the doctor projections always leave the Magster standing 3 or so inches taller.  

But today, we took a step closer to seeing this height advantage into reality.  Both girls needed shoes for an upcoming Multi-cultural dance performance.  The instructions were simple:  white dress shoes.  The assignment was not so easy to complete.  There were no shoes at the first two places we visited.  But we found the shoes at our third stop.  And then it happened, the Magster needed a half size larger than her sister.  

The good news is La Nina was so distracted by all the shoes, she never even noticed that her sister and I were shopping in a larger section.  And in the end, she never caught on we bought her sister a larger shoe.  It's not a big surprise, but La Nina's ego will take a beating when she finally figures it out.

Now, if we could just postpone reality a bit longer

We had a fabulous weekend celebrating our 20th anniversary.  We stayed in a charming hotel in Sonoma.  We ate some great meals.  We went on a scenic hike with spectacular views of the valley. We even did some wine tasting.  (Shocking in Sonoma.)   We came home relaxed and ready for a couple of really crazy weeks.  Here's what happened next:  

*  Realized that the cleaning ladies never showed on Friday.  The problem is tomorrow night is a big meeting here.  This completely rearranges my day tomorrow.  

* Refereed about 37 fights between tired children.  One child cried four times in 2 hours.  Ridiculous.

* Reprogrammed the language setting on the Magster's DS from Chinese and Italian to English.  This took quite a bit of guesswork on my part as I don't read Chinese or Italian and finding the language selection option in Chinese was like searching for easter eggs blindfolded.

*  Settled on allowances when one child was sick and unable to complete her chores and the other child simply checked she finished everything including several chores that she wasn't home to complete.  With my negotiating skills, I could be the next Ambassador to the Vatican.  Do you think Obama will call?  

*  Prepared dinner for two children and one husband.  Children didn't like the meal selection, husband still full from brunch.  Put most of dinner in refrigerator for tomorrow.  

*  Discovered one child asleep on the couch well before 8pm, then managed to get the other kid to bed before she fell asleep.  Did I mention the whole time I put the awake one to bed she grumbled about being left home, alone, with no one?  cry, cry, cry....more ridiculousness. 

Whew!  After five hours home, I need another three days in Sonoma.  

Day 10

Every day, for the past 10 days, someone in my house has been running a fever.  Every night, for the past ten nights, someone in my house has needed help in the middle of the night, thanks to the fever or some side effect...see the previous post an example of a side effect.  I'd like to say today was the last feverish day, however, I know we have tomorrow to go.  The current fever, La Nina's, should break tomorrow, no later than Friday.

All this time at home has given me lots of time to get absolutely nothing accomplished.  Oh, I've been busy.  I've administered countless doses of Advil, changed several beds, played many card and board games, completed arts and crafts projects and puzzles.  Lots of puzzles.  And television.  Yes, television has been my best friend.  It drives me batty to hear the fake laugh tracks from bad Disney kid shows mark time during my day, but a mother must do what a mother must do to keep sick kids happy.  

Just my luck, this week the kids are out of school.  So I have both girls here all day, every day.  I feel like my Spring Break was cancelled.  I was looking forward to trips to the park, the mall, the TEA party today, etc.  Instead we've been home, drinking plenty of fluids and taking naps.  I'm going to need a spring break just to recover from my spring break.  With any luck, La Nina's fever will break on Friday, and she'll be fully recovered in time for school on Monday.  Hard to believe, our entire week will be spent home on the couch.

It's a humdinger...

It started at 3am.   The Magster called me and I went into her room to find one heck of a bloody nose in progress.  I'm not talking about a drip.  It was a faucet turned on, full blast and there was no turning it off.  I ran around the house grabbing boxes of tissues, wet wash clothes and clean bedding while simultaneously holding tissues to Maggie's nose and trying to find the right nasal pressure point to stem the tide.  After about 25 minutes, I'm not kidding, it was 25 minutes long, it started to let up.  By 4am, it was over, the bedding was changed, the pajamas were changed, laundry was started and I started to head back to bed.  Then, she sneezed.  And it all started again, but it was much shorter the second time through.  And with changing and laundry included I made it to bed at 4:30am.  

So fast forward to today, I finally decided to run her into the doctor.  She wasn't eating much, she was still running a fever and the whole nose thing had me a bit on edge.  A quick visit to the doc, strep suspected, anti-biotics prescribed.  Nose bleed most likely due to antihistimines, so no more antihistimines for the Magster.  I'm driving home and lighting strikes again in the car.  The nose explodes.  I pull over the first chance I get, I promptly go through my purse pack of tissues and I had a decision: Frighten several people in a dance studio nearby, call 9-1-1 or make a run for the house where my neighbor, a nurse, could help me.   I take option three, tear home, get another neighbor to get the nurse.  It was another 25 minutes of intense nose action.  The neighbor is calm.  I'm frazzled.  The whole car part of the equation left me spooked.  

So, as I put the Magster down tonight, she's a little paranoid about her nose, I'm a little paranoid about her nose, and I'm really just hoping we all get some sleep.  

Twenty Years Ago

Twenty years ago today, I made a great decision and married my husband, known here as the Dad.  On one hand it's hard to believe it's been twenty years.  Yet when I think of all the water that has passed under the bridge of our marriage, it does seem like we've lived a lot of life together.  

We're taking a weekend away soon to celebrate this milestone, but tonight we'd planned to go to a nice dinner at one of our favorite restaurants.  We'd hired a sitter, made a reservation, it was going to be great.  Then, yesterday, Maggie spiked a fever and this afternoon I cancelled the sitter and the reservation.  Tonight we shared a take out spaghetti dinner with La Nina (Maggie slept through it) and that was that.  

But you know, it's okay.  One of the many lessons we've learned after twenty years of marriage is patience.  Patience with situations, patience with the kids, patience with each other.  So even though the night didn't go exactly as planned, we still shared a nice evening and toasted the past, the present and the future in fine style.  And if nothing else, we had a little reminder, life may not go exactly as planned, but you can still enjoy the journey.  And to my dear husband, the adventure continues... Lord knows, it's never dull.