Tuesday, August 31, 2010
Any ideas?
As of this week I am watching the little girl across the street twice a week for a few hours. She tends to get a little stressed when there is a change such as new people coming over or going some place new. So I feel I need to have a structured shedule while she is here to help her feel comfortable and there aren't any surprises. I think I want to do a preschool type activity on the two days that she is here. Any ideas where I can find a lot of activities for such? I'm sure I could come up with a few... but I think my creative juices won't flow as quickly after the first couple of weeks. My idea was to do the preschool thing for about an hour, feed the girls lunch, and then they can play till daddy shows up. Keep in mind I will have my three year old, too, who will need to be involved. So LOW maintenance activities, but something that still teaches them at least their letters and numbers 1-10. Anything would be helpful!
Thursday, August 26, 2010
"Icky" moments (It's LONG)
What we've been through lately...
On our way home from Spokane Ashley told Andy she needed to go potty. It was almost time for us to stop for lunch so we asked her if she could hold it for a little longer. She was okay, and we were grateful, since we were in the middle of nowhere. After about 15 minutes she starts telling us again that she needs to go potty. So we start to look for any sign of a bathroom... nothing! Ashley then starts to dance like crazy and is now in tears. We finally saw an Inn up ahead. I told Andy to stop and we ran in to this really rundown Inn. The guy at the desk tells me that they didn't have a public restroom but to go down to an open door and the housekeeper would let us in. We run down to the last door and HE let us in. I took Ashley into the bathroom and it had one of those doors that slide into the wall. Keep in mind that this place was already creepy, so I didn't want the guy watching us. I started to close the door and saw that the handle on the inside was broken off. I closed it just enough that I thought I could slide it back open. Ashley did her business and as we tried to slide the door open it got stuck!!! The housekeeper left the room and we were trapped. I tried prying it open but I could barely get my fingertips in at this point. I tried wedging my fingers through the crack at the bottom of the door to slide it... no use. I started to panic and I was SCREAMING for help!!! I was pounding on the door and walls and nobody came to our rescue. I didn't have my phone, otherwise I would have just called Andy to get us the heck out of there. We were only in there for about 10 or 15 minutes but it seemed like much longer. I finally had a thought to stick my fingers under the door and pull it toward me. It started moving and I was able to hold it open with a gap big enough for Ashley to crawl through. I tried to explain to her how to open the door and sent her through in hopes she would let me out. It took her a few minutes, but she did it! When we returned to the car Andy said he was getting nervous and was about to come in and see if we were okay. At least he was thinking of helping us. :{
Last week Katie woke me up screaming. I went into her room to find her eyes were still shut. I figured she must have had a nightmare, so I pulled her out of bed and brought her to ours. She was awfully restless and Andy was getting pretty irritated so I switched places and climbed to the center of the bed. After about 2 hours I was so hot and sweaty that I couldn't stand it. I climbed back over Katie and thought, "Man, I don't usually sweat that much." I pulled the sheet back over me and the corner flipped me in the face. I was fuming at that point! I jumped out of bed and said to Andy, "She peed the bed!!!" Andy responded, "Are you sure?" What? I then yelled, "Why would I joke about that at 2:30 in the morning?!" I stripped the pee soaked clothes off me and started taking care of the bed. Andy stripped the pee soaked clothes off Katie and took care of her. It was not a fun night and we decided she is NEVER allowed in our bed again!
On Sunday we sat down as a family and watched the movie Swiss Family Robinson. The girls were enjoying it thoroughly until it came to the part when the boys are in the river and they get attacked by a huge python. They got over it quickly and finished the movie. Since then Ashley is convinced that she saw a snake in her room and refuses to sleep through the night. Last night she convinced Katie that she was scared, too. I was able to get Ashley to go back to sleep and Andy took Katie downstairs for a bit. He said he wasn't feeling great and couldn't sleep anyway. A few minutes later they came up and Andy said, "Katie threw up." I asked if he was serious. (Why would he joke about that at 2:30 in the morning?--- I asked for it.) I took Katie and bathed her while Andy cleaned up downstairs. We laid her back down and dealt with Ashley screaming... again! We thought they were both settled down and a few minutes later we heard both of them screaming. I threw the door open and found out Katie threw up again. I bathed Katie and Andy cleaned up the mess in Ashley's bed. Apparently Katie missed her bed and got Ashley's on the way down. Yuck!!! We finally laid Katie in our room on a blanket on the floor. About 10 minutes later I heard the barf sound and shot out of bed. Katie missed the blanket and got my floor with bright pink puke!!! It was the worst so far. We went through the motions... again! It was about 5 in the morning before we were able to get some shut eye. Poor Andy, he had an early meeting and had to be up at 6.
Sammy's alarm went off at 6:50 and I went in to get her started for the day. She said, "Mom, my tummy hurts." Was this a strategy to stay home from school or was she really sick? I told her to take a shower and get dressed and then tell me how she was feeling. She agreed and then about 5 minutes later she came in and said, "Mommy, my tummy really hurts. It feels like I need to throw up." Great! I grabbed the bowl that was useless to Katie and told her to aim if she needed to spill her guts. About an hour later she did just that! I was so tired I was barely coherent when I think I called the school. I assume I did because they didn't call me, but I could have been dreaming. The puking has finally stopped, but I'm waiting for Ashley, Andy, or myself to start. Needless to say it was a very long night and morning and I'm ready for peace because we are sick and tired... literally!
On our way home from Spokane Ashley told Andy she needed to go potty. It was almost time for us to stop for lunch so we asked her if she could hold it for a little longer. She was okay, and we were grateful, since we were in the middle of nowhere. After about 15 minutes she starts telling us again that she needs to go potty. So we start to look for any sign of a bathroom... nothing! Ashley then starts to dance like crazy and is now in tears. We finally saw an Inn up ahead. I told Andy to stop and we ran in to this really rundown Inn. The guy at the desk tells me that they didn't have a public restroom but to go down to an open door and the housekeeper would let us in. We run down to the last door and HE let us in. I took Ashley into the bathroom and it had one of those doors that slide into the wall. Keep in mind that this place was already creepy, so I didn't want the guy watching us. I started to close the door and saw that the handle on the inside was broken off. I closed it just enough that I thought I could slide it back open. Ashley did her business and as we tried to slide the door open it got stuck!!! The housekeeper left the room and we were trapped. I tried prying it open but I could barely get my fingertips in at this point. I tried wedging my fingers through the crack at the bottom of the door to slide it... no use. I started to panic and I was SCREAMING for help!!! I was pounding on the door and walls and nobody came to our rescue. I didn't have my phone, otherwise I would have just called Andy to get us the heck out of there. We were only in there for about 10 or 15 minutes but it seemed like much longer. I finally had a thought to stick my fingers under the door and pull it toward me. It started moving and I was able to hold it open with a gap big enough for Ashley to crawl through. I tried to explain to her how to open the door and sent her through in hopes she would let me out. It took her a few minutes, but she did it! When we returned to the car Andy said he was getting nervous and was about to come in and see if we were okay. At least he was thinking of helping us. :{
Last week Katie woke me up screaming. I went into her room to find her eyes were still shut. I figured she must have had a nightmare, so I pulled her out of bed and brought her to ours. She was awfully restless and Andy was getting pretty irritated so I switched places and climbed to the center of the bed. After about 2 hours I was so hot and sweaty that I couldn't stand it. I climbed back over Katie and thought, "Man, I don't usually sweat that much." I pulled the sheet back over me and the corner flipped me in the face. I was fuming at that point! I jumped out of bed and said to Andy, "She peed the bed!!!" Andy responded, "Are you sure?" What? I then yelled, "Why would I joke about that at 2:30 in the morning?!" I stripped the pee soaked clothes off me and started taking care of the bed. Andy stripped the pee soaked clothes off Katie and took care of her. It was not a fun night and we decided she is NEVER allowed in our bed again!
On Sunday we sat down as a family and watched the movie Swiss Family Robinson. The girls were enjoying it thoroughly until it came to the part when the boys are in the river and they get attacked by a huge python. They got over it quickly and finished the movie. Since then Ashley is convinced that she saw a snake in her room and refuses to sleep through the night. Last night she convinced Katie that she was scared, too. I was able to get Ashley to go back to sleep and Andy took Katie downstairs for a bit. He said he wasn't feeling great and couldn't sleep anyway. A few minutes later they came up and Andy said, "Katie threw up." I asked if he was serious. (Why would he joke about that at 2:30 in the morning?--- I asked for it.) I took Katie and bathed her while Andy cleaned up downstairs. We laid her back down and dealt with Ashley screaming... again! We thought they were both settled down and a few minutes later we heard both of them screaming. I threw the door open and found out Katie threw up again. I bathed Katie and Andy cleaned up the mess in Ashley's bed. Apparently Katie missed her bed and got Ashley's on the way down. Yuck!!! We finally laid Katie in our room on a blanket on the floor. About 10 minutes later I heard the barf sound and shot out of bed. Katie missed the blanket and got my floor with bright pink puke!!! It was the worst so far. We went through the motions... again! It was about 5 in the morning before we were able to get some shut eye. Poor Andy, he had an early meeting and had to be up at 6.
Sammy's alarm went off at 6:50 and I went in to get her started for the day. She said, "Mom, my tummy hurts." Was this a strategy to stay home from school or was she really sick? I told her to take a shower and get dressed and then tell me how she was feeling. She agreed and then about 5 minutes later she came in and said, "Mommy, my tummy really hurts. It feels like I need to throw up." Great! I grabbed the bowl that was useless to Katie and told her to aim if she needed to spill her guts. About an hour later she did just that! I was so tired I was barely coherent when I think I called the school. I assume I did because they didn't call me, but I could have been dreaming. The puking has finally stopped, but I'm waiting for Ashley, Andy, or myself to start. Needless to say it was a very long night and morning and I'm ready for peace because we are sick and tired... literally!
Monday, August 16, 2010
S2S
I just got back from Washington and I had to share my experiences! I ran the Spokane to Sandpoint relay race with 12 other amazing people! Our team name was Pillaging Pirates and it was so fun!!! Normally there are 12 people to a team but my father-in-law wanted to run a few legs so he joined our car to make 13! (We started on Friday the 13th! Ah!)
Emily and Nate waiting for the race to begin at 5:30 in the morning!!! (Emily organized our team) And below is Sarah Smith-sister- is the one on the far left in the blond wig.
Sarah Smith (aka: Barb)- friend participating in the brightest outfit contest.
Sarah, Emily, Sarah/Barb just hanging out!
I was runner 12 and my first leg was in the heat of the day and mostly on a trail. As part of this leg I participated in the tattoo challenge. My brother-in-law, Doug, used markers and colored all over my arms, legs, neck, and face. My favorite was my right arm. He drew a huge skull and cross bones at my shoulder and then made it look like a treasure map going from "Spokane" to "Sandpoint". 
(The finished look! I wish I had more close-ups. They looked pretty cool!)
Amy finished with her second leg and just waiting/resting her legs.Below is the hand off from Lisa to me. I didn't know Amy got a picture of this so it was fun for me to see.
I was so tired and hot and near the end I felt like I couldn't finish. I looked up and saw my brother, Nate, from a distance and I almost broke into tears. He ran with me all the way to the next exchange. It was so nice to see my big brother there for me.From there we got something to eat and headed back to Nate and Emily's house for showers and a short nap. I got in the shower and was nervous because only the first layer of the markers came off! After A LOT of scrubbing most of it came off, but you could still see some of the tattoos. The spider web on my left arm is still somewhat visible. We got the text from Emily to meet them at the next exchange and we were off.
Back row left to right: Lisa, Doug, Nate, Emily, Sueanne
Front row left to right: Sarah (sister), Joaquin, Adam, Sarah (friend), me, Dad. Amy was off doing her second leg. It was beautiful in this area!!!
***I have to add one of my favorite parts... and I'll try and paint a picture for you.
During Sueanne's leg at night we drove behind her to make sure she stayed safe because it was so dark. She kept getting passed one by one, and every now and then she would hold up fingers of how many had passed her. We laughed and she really didn't seem to care. Well this guy came up behind us and we didn't realize we sort of got in his way. As he came up behind Sueanne she started weaving across the side of the road with her arms spread out and said, "I'm not going to let you pass me!" It was so funny to see from behind!!! The guy just said, "Is that so?" and kept running. We don't think he was as amused as we were.***
My next leg was at about midnight. It was pitch black and I was not feeling my best. I had a headache that wouldn't go away. It was seconds before the hand off, I threw up in my mouth and then Lisa was only a few feet away. I took the bracelet and ran into the darkness. I felt great, my headache subsided, and the cold air was refreshing. I felt like I held a pretty good pace and I even had one kill!
My next leg was at about midnight. It was pitch black and I was not feeling my best. I had a headache that wouldn't go away. It was seconds before the hand off, I threw up in my mouth and then Lisa was only a few feet away. I took the bracelet and ran into the darkness. I felt great, my headache subsided, and the cold air was refreshing. I felt like I held a pretty good pace and I even had one kill!
The exchange was at Silverwood theme park where our whole team rode the Tremors roller coaster! (We're all waiting to ride. Not the best picture of me... but keep in mind I just finished my second leg.) 
It was one of the scariest roller coasters I've ever been on!!! It was so fun, but I screamed the entire way!!! Our car then went to find a Denny's to eat and get some protein in our bodies. There were some interesting people there and you would think that at 2:30 in the morning it wouldn't be busy... there were a lot more people than I expected.
It was one of the scariest roller coasters I've ever been on!!! It was so fun, but I screamed the entire way!!! Our car then went to find a Denny's to eat and get some protein in our bodies. There were some interesting people there and you would think that at 2:30 in the morning it wouldn't be busy... there were a lot more people than I expected.After getting food into our bodies (which by the way, didn't feel great in my tummy) we went to a school that was supposed to be open to runners for sleeping. By the time we got there the gym and halls were full. Someone gave us a small tarp to lay out on the grass and we were able to lay out under the stars... we even saw a few shooting stars. We got about 2 hours of sleep before car 1 showed up for the exchange. Emily was so funny to see because she was so pumped every single time we saw her. She said, "Okay Ally, are you ready to take us across the finish line?! I want to see full on sprint, arms swinging, and head down!" Sarah handed off to Amy and we were in the car again. It was fun to be in car 2 since we were not as competitive and we all had a goal just to finish. Our team members were encouraging and fun. We joked with each other and really had a great time.
My third and last leg of the race I started off with one kill right away. I didn't see anyone else till I reached the bridge and there was a girl WAY ahead of me. The bridge was about 2 1/2 miles long and she was about 3/4 of the way across. There was no shade and the water, though beautiful, was irritating to see because I just wanted to jump in. I kept thinking, "I really want to stop... but if I do then it's going to take me longer. I'm not stopping no matter what it takes!" (It was absolutely beautiful to run across the bridge, though!) I couldn't believe it, I caught up to the girl!!! We ran together for a little while and chatted to keep our minds off the heat. I saw the "1 mile to go" sign and took off! I saw Andy at the corner and when I got to him he said, "We weren't expecting you for 20 minutes!" I thought, "Yeah!!! I must be bookin' it!" I got to the end and saw my team. They formed an arch for me to run under and then we were all supposed to finish together. I SPRINTED to the end just like I was told and got one more kill right at the end!
(Adam and Sarah in their full pirate attire... they are so funny!)
(Adam and Sarah in their full pirate attire... they are so funny!)
We all had our pirate gear on (black bottoms, our pirate shirt, skull and crossbones bandanna, one big hoop earring, skull necklace and ring, finished with a sword) to take pictures! We ate food, bought some S2S shirts/sweatshirts and drove home to Nate and Emily's house. By dinner time we were all smelling much better, but walking funny for some reason. Most of us crashed once our heads hit our pillows. And by the time I woke up I could barely walk up and down the stairs. I'm feeling better, but still walking a little funny.
1 roller coaster
2 vans
12 runners
36 legs
185 miles
248 reasons to run Spokane to Sandpoint!
If you want to see any more info on this awesome relay check out their website here. The pictures of the major exchanges are so pretty and if you look at the last one you can see part of the bridge I ran across!
****My heart goes out to those who lost a loved one. My prayers are with you and I hope that you will soon find peace. I pray for those that were injured and ask the Lord to be with you in your time of recovery.
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