Friday, February 27, 2009

I'm BAAACK!

Whoa! Long time, no post! Not quite sure WHY this is so. Guess I got a bit lazy over vacation, then coming back to work hit like a ton of bricks and then my brother went to FL. What does my brother going to FL have to do with me not blogging, you ask? I am so glad you DID, so I will tell you! Mike & Mom have a package deal with Comcast Cable, for their phone, TV and internet. Now, the internet is highspeed, SO...I use his internet service, since I do NOT have it. Thus, for the past several weeks, we have been rejoicing in the pleasure of it, as compared to dial-up, which we used to use. And THEN. Mike went to FL. And apparently, he unplugged his modem. And so no high speed for another 10 days. Sadness. I, the computer/electronic illiterate, figured this out by calling Comcast and telling them Mom had no phone service, as well as no internet. Who knew that the phone was hooked into the whole cable/internet thing?! Not me, that's for sure! I got the guy laughing hysterically. He asked if I could go and look for the modem to see if it was unplugged. He said usually they are near the computer. I told him I would be happy to, EXCEPT...my brother padlocks the door to his room when he goes away! Not kidding! I told the guy I didn't want to KNOW why he did this, but that I THOUGHT Mike was probably harmless enough. He couldn't stop laughing. Oh, yeah. My brother is ....hmm...odd.

Going to a "Pam*pered Ch*ef" party tonight. I know, I am a wild thing. My sister has become a consultant, and this will be her first party as such. Should be a hoot. Guess I will book a party of my own, to help her out. The best part about it is that my niece Jen is coming, with the babies! :) Oh, happy day!

Speaking of Jen, ShaoXi & I went out for supper last night to the local small family restaurant. And JEN was working behind the counter! She is a pistol, that one! She smiled and said "I needed to get out of the house, without the girls!" I'm sure she did, but I think she is amazing to choose to come to work, after just 4 weeks. She can't carry anything heavy, so she's not waiting tables, but what a woman! And she looks incredible. You would NEVER know she had just had a baby, never mind two. She is back in size 8 pants. Amazing!

So...gotta go help my sister get ready. And maybe, if I'm lucky, Jen will get there early and I can get a baby to hold before people start getting pushy! :)

Blessings...Nancy

Thursday, February 19, 2009

February Vacation

Whoa! Haven't posted in a week! What's up with THAT? Trust me, it's not because my life has been scintillating! No, quite the opposite, really! We're in the midst of February vacation, and have done very little. And truthfully, I like it that way. So often we have tons of things scheduled, and are running around like crazed chickens. This is a welcome diversion. Even the ballet school closes down for vacation!

Of course, Miss ShaoXi is bored to death. But I don't feel too bad for her. She has had a friend come for a sleepover, and has gone to another friend's for an afternoon. But that's not much for the social butterfly. I told her to call someone today and invite them over. The problem is, her bestest friend, Krista, is in Puerta something or other, soaking up the sun. And her best friend Bianca, from her old school in Cheshire, just called to say she CAN'T come to spend the night tonight after all. Poor Shao, she is SOOO bummed!

Yesterday we spent a few hours watching the babies while their mama went on errands and grocery shopped. That girl is amazing. The babies were 3 weeks old yesterday, and Jen is on the move, no problem. PLUS she has lost almost ALL the weight she gained...83 pounds!!!! SHe has lost 68, I think! Amazing. At this rate she will be back in her little two piece bathing suit this summer! :)

Guess I should go accomplish something around here. Have no idea WHAT, but I am sure there is plenty to do!

Blessings....Nancy

Wednesday, February 11, 2009

The usual

Seems to me that every post I write revolves around the weather. Hmm...well, welcome to New England! :) Anyhow, this one's no different. EXCEPT...that it is SUNNY out! Okay, so it's a bit overcast. But it is not snowing...and it is not going to, this week! And that means I get a whole week of work in, so a full paycheck next week! WAHOO!!! It is supposed to be in the high 50's today! I'll take it! I KNEW there was a reason I saw all those robins the other day! :)

Last night ShaoXi danced at a local high school. It was in conjunction with their chorus winter concert. She starred in one of the 3 numbers, and it was so very beautiful! She actually got lifted, typical ballerina style, by the guy in her class. Mama, as usual, had tears in her eyes. She has such a gift!

Tomorrow night (Thurs.) we are heading over to niece Jen's for supper. It is her son Jake's 12th birthday party. And of course, we will also get our baby fix in, so it's all good! :)

Two more days of work after today, and then we have a week off! WHEE!!!! Not that we have any major plans, but it sure will be nice to not have any responsibilities! Well, beyond the normal household ones, that is! :) Am hoping for some nice weather, at least. Hopefully we can get together with several different friends throughout the week. It will be lovely to not have to set the alarm clock, I must say.

Well, I need to get a move on. I have an extra bus run today, so need to be out the door in about 15 minutes. Wasn't expecting it, but am thankful for the extra money...only $15, but it all adds up!

Blessings...Nancy

Wednesday, February 4, 2009

This and that

Yesterday I got a baby fix! Oh, my! Those two girlies are so very sweet! Their poor Mama is exhausted beyond belief, though! Say a little prayer for her, willya? Also, the Drs are keeping an eye on the twins' weights. Jen's milk hasn't come in (she is nursing...or trying to!) and Cadence lost a whole POUND! YIKES! Hayleigh lost quite a bit, too. So, they are not allowed to sleep longer than 3 hours; they are to nurse for 12 minutes, and then be "topped off" with a bottle (breast milk if available, otherwise formula. Between nursing, caring, and pumping, Jen got 3 hours of sleep in 24. And there is little we can do, since she is nursing, and trying to establish her milk supply. Patience...hopefully in a month, things will have evened out!

Yesterday we had early dismissal, due to the snowstorm. So I spent the afternoon holding the girls, and putting tiny bows and barrettes (which I made!) in their hair! Daddy was out plowing snow, so I was filling in! No problem! :)

Today we had a 90 minute delay, which is nice in terms of sleeping in, but CRAZY in terms of the day, because it squishes all my runs together, giving me little time in between the morning and noontime ones. Basically, I had just enough time to run to our town's food bank and go "shopping"...yep, we are that poor! Well...money poor...but really, we are blessed...we have a home, each other, and folks we dearly love and who love us. What could be better?!? And thanks to the the food bank, we have food! They don't have meat, or much fresh stuff, so that is a bit sparse around here. But we have lots of canned goods, thank the Lord! We will never starve! I had 10 min. to run it home, then it was off to work again.

Tonight was ShaoXi's Winter Band Concert. She apparently liked performing, as she came home and said she decided she WOULD take band again next year. She was sure she didn't want to, but I am glad she is going to hang on a little longer. This is her third year, and I hate to see three years go down the tubes. On the other hand, this is one area I won't push her in. If she wants to quit, she may, although NEVER in the middle of the year. That is BEING a quitter, which I don't tolerate. But she is SO dedicated to her ballet, and dances four days a week, and so many hours, that anything else she does above that is gravy. Of course, grades are paramount in our home. And she does well. Last year she was high honors all year. This year the first trimester was honors. Truth is, as long as she tries her best, and gets at least a C, I wouldn't be upset. I mean, C is AVERAGE...if the teacher is truly using the "bell curve", then the biggest majority of the class is getting a C. Anything above that is better than the norm, in my book. Do I love to see the A's and B's? You bet...but she pushes herself far harder than I ever would, really. This is a kid who will never allow herself to just let slide through anything. She is motivated and eager, for which I am thankful.

That's about it from here. Tomorrow is one of my favorite days of the week: Thursday. It is the ONE weekday that Shao does NOT have dance, and so it is much more low key, and we can have a nice dinner together. I like that. Summer will be nice...no dance after the first week in June. While she misses it some, it is also nice to have 3 months of down time. She is pretty good about keeping limber, and practicing, etc. Like I said, the kid is motivated! She sets her alarm clock, gets herself up, dressed and fed every morning, and off on the bus by herself. I'm there, but I don't get up until she comes in to say goodbye on her way out the door. What a kid! Blessings....Nancy

Monday, February 2, 2009

Monday...AGAIN!

Sometimes Mondays feel like that movie "Groundhog Day." Which is pretty funny, today, because it IS Groundhog Day. But, seriously! It feels like Monday was just YESTERDAY, and here we are again, trying to get through another Monday. And it's not even that it's so bad. It's just...well....it's just that it's MONDAY. You know, the day after a hopefully lovely weekend, where you didn't have to do ANYTHING you didn't want to do! (Yeah, like THAT ever happens!)

And that sad part is...most of us live our lives longing for Friday. But what that REALLY means is that we are wishing away our lives, one week at a time. Personally, I can't think of a worse thing to do. Seems to me we don't get enough days to truly live out to the fullest, never mind just making do and getting by. I so love my life, with my girl, and with my Lord. And you have to know, that at times it is a really HARD life, in some ways. No "real" job, struggling each month to pay the rent, never really making ANY ends meet. But you know? I'm okay with that, in the greater scheme of things. We are blessed to be surrounded by people we love, and who love us. Shao and I often play the "20 Questions" game, starting off "I'm thinking of a person." One of the first things she will ask is, "Is this person in our family?" And if I say no, then the NEXT question is "Are they in our EXTENDED family?" This is because we have folks in our lives who are truly family to us in our hearts, if not by blood. Shao is so blessed to have multiple sets of Aunties and Uncles, a very special Gramma in her former school nurse, a VERY special Gramma & Grampa in Florida, a wonderful Auntie who lives near the FL G & G. Oh, the list goes on and on! The folks we adopted with...they are DEFINITELY family! My friends from college...oh, yeah. Like I said...we are blessed beyond belief!

So, it's Monday. Normally Shao would be at ballet right now. BUT...today she had band practice from 4:30 to 5:45. I picked her up, we're home for a few minutes, so she can change into her outfit for modern dance. This week is "parent observation" week, so I will go in with her to modern, for awhile. Then it is getting out a half hour later, at 9PM tonight, because TOMORROW they are performing with a local high school's winter choir concert. I guess they are dancing to at least one of the songs they sing? I don't know...we will get more info tonight. So that means she will miss her Tap class tomorrow night.

And on Wednesday she will miss both her ballet AND jazz classes, because it is HER band concert. So much for mom observing those classes! But I will go in on Friday to watch her pointe class, which should be SO cool...first time to see her on pointe!

Meanwhile, it's hard to believe that Cadence and Hayleigh are 5 days old! They came home yesterday. Daddy will stay home for 2 weeks to help, and after that it's all hands on deck. I have the following week off, so I am definitely gonna get my baby fix THAT week! This Fri., after Shao's class, I am going over with pizza, for supper and a small baby fix. The girls are already proving to be a handful, and Jen is worn out. She is nursing, so it is difficult to give her a break. In a month, her milk supply should be in, and then maybe an occasional bottle might be fine, so she can sleep!

Gotta go...girly just advised me!

Blessings...Nancy