We found out that she doesn't have pneumonia, but instead a secondary infection. We are drugging her, pumping her full of fluids and vitamins! Sickness, GO AWAY!!!!

Raise your hand if you think Grandma should put State Wrestling pictures up on her blog.
*hand raised*

Megan's hideous cough is back. Plus, I hear at least 3 times a day, "My ear hurts." We went back to Dr. H today because they're worried that the pneumonia never cleared up. She has a severe ear infection in her right ear....same ear w/the pneumonia, too. Rewind and repeat.

Megan went to play with the Cousins today. She insisted upon taking her tutu and princess shoes. Aunt Kelly emailed me about an hour later letting me know there had been an accident. Megan and Alex were running on the tile floor in princess shoes, and Megan fell and chipped her front tooth! You'd be proud of me...I did not panic. Aunt Kelly, the toddler expert, performed the mouth check to make sure it wasn't an emergency. It doesn't bother her or hurt, but it is very noticable. I just keep thinking that it's so permanent....well until the next set of teeth comes through. Like 4 years though. *sigh* I was really worried about her when she got home, but I've tried to stay positive about it, like it's no biggie, but it's just so there. It's all raggedy and uneven...poor Meg.

If you ever want to piss me off or get my heart a pumpin', just say the words - Romeo and Juliet. I hate this play now! :) And so does my family. But this too shall pass...better be soon.

Maybe I should explain...since January, I have been writing 2 units for a curriculum company...the last one, R&J, is due tomorrow night, and I am WAY behind. I thought I had pulled my last "all-nighter" in college. HA! Then came Megan and Romeo and freakin' Juliet. It sounded like a good plan in January.

This morning it was so warm and beautiful. Meg and I ran to Lowes for more flowerbed plants - can one have too many? We brought them home, planted them, and watered them (Meg LOVES the watering can). However, I need to teach her how NOT to stand on one plant while she waters the other. Now it's freakin' cold and the wind storm has probably blown my new plants away. My guess is that I'll find them in the next neighborhood over.

I am under and very, um, tight deadline. I was in the middle of writing a test, and my laptop went nuts. As effective as I'm sure it was, I started yelling at the laptop. Megan got onto me and told me to stop yelling at her and Daddy. Then, she went and got the fly-swatter. She climbed up on the couch:

Megan: Mommy! Do not yell! I have to 'pank your butt for yelling. No maam. We don't yell. I'm going to 'pank your butt.

You'd think that's something she heard all the time, but I do not tell her I will spank her or refer to her butt as butt!!! We use "booty" here. I asked her where she got that and she said Daddy, but he doesn't say that either. We tried not to laugh at her, but we couldn't help it today.

I learned my lesson...I will not yell because I do not like when my 2 year old 'panks my butt.

For two weeks, Megan has been saying (from Shrek - I've let her watch it again), "Dawn-key is funny. He says I have biggo-wiggers." Grandma, Caity, Daddy, and I have been trying to figure out "biggo-wiggers." It's had us stumped! Finally, Caity figured it out this weekend. "I have big 'ole EARS." Glad that's all it was.

This weekend was the state wrestling tournament in Austin. Meg and I loaded up with Grandma and went to Austin. Scott soundly won his first match on Friday, already accomplishing much more than last year. However, he lost his second and third matches taking him out of the tournament, but not for a lack of skill or heart. He went to state sick, and with a hurt knee, but he wrestled three of the best matches I have seen him wrestle. He had all of his opponents beat with skill and technique, so they had to resort to other means to take him down (straight for the hurt knee was popular).

And then my heart broke. The realization that we won't be spending November through February camped out in the stands cheering for Uncle Cott Cott was just more than I could stand. He's a senior and will graduate in May. After 10 years, the final chapter of the Reinbold Wrestling saga came to a close. I knew it would happen this weekend, but it sure didn't make it any easier.

I cannot even begin to express how extremely proud I am of Scott. Wrestling hasn't always been easy for him as he's had a few psychotic coaches, present one excluded (so far), and no real consistant structure for his 4 years. Yet he used his leadership and charming personality to take advantage of the resources around him and made himself a better wrestler.

Coach C shared some thoughts with the team before the tournament and emphasized the importance of having no regrets. My sweet Scott, you should be extremely proud of your performance this weekend. And as for regrets, they are just that - regrets. Stew over the tournament now, and then when the time is right, let it go. You don't want it to stay with you, 40 years from now (the guy in Napoleon Dynomite comes to mind), a life-long thorn in your side.

And when you're ready to eat again, you + me = steak dinner! I love ya, bud!

Comic by Debbie Ridpath Ohi from Inkygirl.com. Please read the re-posting policy prior to posting here.

I can't help myself today. Have you been to the Public Library lately? I come here every Thursday to work while Megan is at school. I like it because I have access to every source of information I could possibly need, as well as free internet, and it is normally very empty and quiet. But man, some of these people are weird. Just in this little area where I am working, there's a white guy writing rap music and singing it while he goes along (and I'm not a rap expert, but perhaps he should stick to listening it) and other man learning Russian or something similar - and practicing out loud. Also, there is a 50 year old-ish man chasing a 2 year old through the bookshelves, while the older man giggles like a 2 year old. And that's just in my little area. Oh well, they probably think I'm weird too. *Update - I decided to mouth the words to the songs while I listen to my iPOD so I'd fit in with the crowd...should'a seen me singing "Breakfast at Tiffany's".*

So I want to fly out to Utah soon because, well you know Krissa and I haven't seen each other in like 3 weeks, but Megan doesn't get to fly free anymore! I used to jet-set all over the nation with her when she was little, and could fly free, but the two of us can't fly for under $500!!! R-I-D-I-C-U-L-O-U-S. I mean come on Mr. Airlines (must be men)...she's going to sit on my lap anyway! And it's not like you serve anything anymore, not even a measly 1/2 oz. bag of peanuts. I'll even forgo the $199 plastic cup of water or apple juice if you'll just let her fly free again. Alas, I am stuck here in my messy, but cool new house. As my Grandpa, Double G, would say, "I have the same pair of pants to get glad in." OR Krissa could just move down here...brilliant idea.

We have workers here fixing our tile grout. They've been speaking Spanish, and Megan is just enthralled - she stands over on the edge of the carpet, concentrating on the conversation. So she just came over to me and whispered, "Mommy, he said 'hola' and that means 'hello'. Can I go tell him 'hola'?" Where did she learn 'hola'? Uncle Jeff, any ideas?

Well, I have my own little explorer. Not one that likes to sail across the seas, but one that likes to explore human anatomy. Which makes for an interesting day. I wish I had one of those little helmet cameras and could record her anatomy discussions. They just pop up out of no where and are a hoot. Like today I got an explanation of how exactly Baby Karah gets food. I won't embarrass Aunt Karlie with the terms and hand gestures (I'm accepting bribes), but they were pretty accurate. Meg used to hate to take a shower, so she would play on the floor in the bathroom. Now she wants to be in the shower, talking about shower things. Drives me bonkers. I'm not ready for all of this stuff!

I've sat here, like a nerd, laughing and in utter shock about some of the answers from the "blog tag." I have known some of you since, well birth, and NEVER knew some of this stuff. More, more, more. Gimme more! Oh, and my 6th thing? I'm a nerd...but you already knew that, right?

Yeah, it's true. I saw this on the news the other day. Only a man would come up with it. Beware ladies...

Sorry Krissa, I forgot to put a picture of the benches earlier...we got one for each side of the rotunda under the art niches. I'm not crazy about the wood color (looked much different in the store), so they might get a coat or two of paint/stain before all is said and done. As you can see, Megan found a nifty little spot for her princess shoes. I plan to put baskets in some of the slots, but maybe not soon - Megan thinks it's a game to empty each hole. Careful when walking through the rotunda...you might just trip over a shoe or hot wheel car.

Poor Daddy-o. As if the bookshelves and hall benches weren't enough...Grab a screwdriver and come on over!! :)

I finally got my very own set of Billy bookcases from IKEA. The bookshelves that we had at the other house wouldn't fit in the corner of the office, so I disposed of them via craigslist - in 45 minutes! What a great excuse for a trip to IKEA. I used to think I had a lot of books...now I think I could use some more! And there's a new Half-Price Books right up the freeway. Sweet!



And Costco, wonderful Costco. I've nearly forgiven them for discontinuing Fruit Leather because now they carry two wonderful products. Organic Pancake Batter, in a squeeze can. I rolled my eyes when Daddy first brought it home (those samples get him every time), but I stand corrected. It's even 10 times easier and yummier than the Bisquick "shake in a bottle" pancakes. My newest find? LaMadeline Potato Soup. HA! To LaMadeline. They can no longer keep me from a bowl of soup during the week when it just sounds good (they only serve it Sat-Mon). Wish I would've had this when I was pregnant with Megan...I made a small scene in the restaurant one Thursday afternoon when they didn't have Potato Soup. By the way, it tastes exactly the same. Yum-o!

Okay, so I need to pay attention to what movies I let my 2 year old watch. She loves Shrek and Shrek II, so we've watched at least parts of it quite a bit lately - especially during the pneumonia days. Well, today that all came to a screeching halt. Here's a snippet of our conversation in the car tonight:

Megan: I want to talk.
Mommy: Okay, what do you want to talk about?
Megan: About I watched Shrek today! It was funny.
Mommy: Oh yes! Shrek is funny. Who do you think is funniest on Shrek?
Megan: Dawn-key! He's funny when he says whooooo what'd you do that for Shrek howcause ("because") Shrek farted.

I got a CD of Christmas pictures from Aunt Krissa and Uncle Matt's camera. While I'd LOVE to post all of the pictures again, I won't. But I do have to post this video of Megan. It is just a small example of just how random my kiddo is. Grandpa and Rylee were just having a quiet moment when BAM! Megan enters in her own weird way and then gone again, flop. Like Double G says, "Megan is a breath of fresh air in the form of a tornado."

Okay, since I'm home alone (no hubby, no kid) and supposed to be doing other things, I'll play. Ashley tagged me, so I am supposed to post 5 random things about myself. Emphasis on random.

1) The taste and smell of honey makes me sick...physically, to the point of vomit. I can do cereal like Honey Nut Cheerios or Golden Grahams, but that's about it. It stems from a bad childhood memory of this lady at church who used to make me eat peanut butter and honey sandwiches. Barf.

2) I can't sleep with socks on my feet. It gives me nightmares. If accidentally I fall asleep with socks on, it's only a matter of time before I wake up and shuck them off. Who wants self-inflicted nightmares?

3) I can take out a can of sour cream and onion Pringles in one fell swoop. Or a cherry pie. Or a cheesecake.

4) I was originally named Julie, but my parents said it just didn't fit.

5) One of my scrapbook layouts was published in a book/magazine.

Joanna, Grandma, Lauren, Kelly G, Karen H, Ashley R, and Krissa - TAG, you're it!

Well, it's cold outside - and getting colder - so I wanted a nice, warm pot of soup tonight. I'm not my dad, the best soup maker ever, so I had to use a recipe for Baked Potato Soup. Yum-o! And the best part is that it's E-A-S-Y! Bon appetit!

I was hankering for a snack, so I stood in the pantry doorway for a few minutes. Finally, a singular granola bar caught my eye. Mmmmm...oatmeal raisin. My favorite. I sat down to eat it, and it tasted like cardboard. Gross. I spit it out, turned it over to look at the date, and what? Nov. 2005? How did that get into my pantry? More importantly, how did that granola bar survive 2 years and 2 moves? Back to the pantry doorway...

Aunt Kelly invited us over for a "small" holiday party and yet once again she knocked my socks off with her festiveness. She had the house nicely decorated with hearts and pink/red. We had a very yummy dinner and desserts, and then what is a true holiday get-together without a craft? We made (messy) Valentines cards to send home with Gran and Papa. I cannot count the number of pieces of candy Miss Meg has had today...unreal. Aunt Kelly and Aunt Taryn had Valentines treats for each of the kids. Apparently I don't know the ins and outs of being a good aunt...I missed that memo. I'll try to make up for it next holiday!

Just a few snippets of the past 5 DAYS together in the house.

Megan: Mommy, I have a good idea.
Mommy: Really? What is it?
Megan: A good idea.

Megan: Mommy, do you want a popsicle? (no pause for response) Okay, I'll go get you one.

Mommy: Let's sit here and rock for a little bit.
Megan: I don't want to take a nap.
Mommy: Okay, but let's rest our bodies for a few minutes.
Megan: Mommy, you're so cute.

Megan: (gasp) I want to go to storytime.
Mommy: We're sick, so we have to stay home.
Megan: But I took my medicine. I feel better, so I can go now, okay?

I don't know what it was...a combination of the antibiotics, cabin fever, weight loss, cough syrup, or the fumes from the tile acid while the guy worked on it today, but I finally got my groove back! I kicked this lazy tail into gear and tackled my out of control life. Here is a partial list of what I got accomplished today, all of which is true (I had to keep track so I could feel like I had accomplished something!):

read 17 books to Megan
unpacked and decorated the guest room (do not pass out Krissa)
6 loads of laundry
played dress-up
mopped the entire house (except for one hallway)
made some bows (do not pass out Krissa)
wrote 2 lessons
wrote 1 grant
2 loads of dishes
watched 2 episodes of Mickey Mouse Clubhouse
medicated the sick-os
vacuumed 2 rooms and 3 rugs
unpacked 2 more boxes
cleaned the kitchen - twice (how does that keep happening?)
played Little People
cooked a healthy dinner
answered 10 emails

Okay, stick a fork in me! I'll be recovering for the next 2 days...

Go back! Levered door handle,
go back from whence you came!
Since you entered our lives
our sleep hasn’t been the same.

With the old door handle life was simple,
I’d put her to bed - maybe sneak a peek.
Now I awake to pitter-patters, chairs moving,
“Mommy wake up!”, a pat upon my cheek.

Tonight you think you could please help us out
and maybe not open or at least stick?
I think if I could sleep through the night
that would really do the trick.

(If not, I’m headed to Lowes to replace you!)

At 5:55 a.m. this morning, I heard a loud noise in the kitchen. I just knew someone had broken into the house. I sat straight up, "What was that noise?" Daddy replied, "I think it was Megan." Sure enough, Megan had made her way from her bed, to the kitchen where she picked up her blue chair, and placed it next to my bed so she could "climb into snuggle mommy." Just yesterday I found her in the kitchen eating out of a bag of chips. She's an industrious little one.

After Megan's fever spiked to 104.6 tonight, the doctor said to take her to Children's (bunch of other symptoms, too. We didn't just call about a fever.). We have a diagnosis...pnuemonia. Seriously. They armed us with meds and wished us good luck. They gave her some Motrin, which if I hadn't seen the label myself I would think was straight sugar - from the second the fever went down she turned into a different, energetic, bouncy 2 year-old, still going at 12:30 a.m.

UNCLE SCOTT IS GOING TO STATE!!

Okay folks, yes, I have been slacking at a lot of things lately. You may call me out on it, but I already know it. I've let my work and ambitions take over for a while, but I'm allowed to do that every once in a while, right? Hang with me, please?

First of all, I've been consumed with moving and deadlines. Pack this, write that, email this, finish that...and to think I used to do 10 times more at once and do just fine. Perhaps age is catching up with me? Or toddler life? Or both?

I had a fantastic 24 hour whirlwind trip to Houston (a grant I wrote was funded!!), and not one single fairy visited my house to finish moving us in while I was gone. Where is my fairy godmother??? Okay, but two sweet grandmas and an awesome daddy took care of the Meg while I was gone - which I greatly appreciate (except that Daddy-o let the little munchkin stay up until 11 p.m. - we'll talk about that later).

Off to dig through boxes to try to find important things...

Okay, so maybe this is a little overdue, but CONGRATS to Aunt Lisa! Aunt Lisa auditioned to be a dancer in an upcoming ballet in Seattle (on tour from NY). She made it! This is something that she has always wanted to do, and we are so proud of her accomplishing that goal. We look forward to getting to see her someday on stage - oh and teaching Megan some awesome moves.

Grandma!!! My mom has helped me so much for the past...let's see...Megan is 2, so 2 years! She makes raising Megan easier - in fact she is the neutralizer. This weekend she has been SUCH a help and SUCH a trooper. She has been, and continues to be, the primary care taker of a 19 month old and a 2 year old, so Aunt Krissa and I can do house stuff (paint, etc). Once again we're leaving her house, without our kids, and she will have quality "Grandma time" - what she refers to it as. Thank you, Grandma! :)

We didn't move across the face of the earth, and didn't fall off of it, but we are SO busy WITH OUR NEW HOUSE!! I know, shut up, I can't believe it either! We closed on our house Thursday morning, and we have the actual keys that actually open the doors. It is amazing. While Aunt Krissa, the girls, and I went to Uncle Scotty's wrestling tournament today - hang on for a report, Daddy-o worked at the house. We have a new fridge, the internet/cable, a garage door opener, a phone, an alarm system, and blinds in most windows. Thanks to Aunt Krissa and Gran Megan's room is painted yellow, and I have a "Longhorn" orange laundry room. When I get a minute, I'll upload pics of the rooms...very colorful! The actual moving begins at 9:00 a.m. tomorrow morning...if you're bored, feel free to come! :)